Archive for April 30, 2013

Wounded Syrian Taken to Israeli Hospital

A Syrian man who was wounded by shrapnel & gunfire from the continuing civil war was transferred to the Ziv Hospital in Tzfat (Safad).

By Elad Benari

 

A Syrian man who was wounded in the ongoing civil war in his country was transferred on Monday evening to the Ziv Hospital in Tzfat, after IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz authorized the move.

The man, who suffered moderate wounds to his waist, was taken to the hospital’s trauma unit for initial treatment. He is expected to undergo surgery overnight Monday.

Israeli media reported that the man’s wounds were caused by shrapnel and gunfire. Continue Reading »

Report from Syria: Israeli Jets bomb a Syrian chemical weapons factory

The Free Syrian Army reports that Israeli jets destroyed a Syrian chemical weapons plant before rebels groups could get their hands on the goods.

By  Israel Today Staff

 

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) reported at the weekend that Israeli warplanes had bombed a chemical weapons base in Damascus. The Israeli government gave no response.

Israel Air Force  F-15 upgraded Eagles - Photo courtesy IDF's Spokesperson's Office

Israel Air Force F-15 upgraded Eagles – Photo courtesy: IDF’s Spokesperson’s Office

 

FSA forces and the Syrian army were reportedly battling close to another chemical weapons base on the outskirts of Damascus on Monday, with the outcome of the battle still very much undetermined.

Israel and the West have taken the Syrian regime to task for reportedly using chemical weapons against rebel populations in recent weeks. Continue Reading »

Israel’s 5th Dolphin class submarine launched in Germany

The INS Rahav is about to undertake its first long-range classified mission & can carry missiles armed with nuclear warheads, according to foreign sources.

 

 

 

Israel and Germany unveiled the Israel Navy’s fifth Dolphin-class submarine on Monday, at a ceremony at the German port of Kiel.

Israel's Dolphin class submarine - Photo courtesy Israel Navy

Israel’s Dolphin class submarine – Photo courtesy Israel Navy

The submarine, called the INS Rahav, is the most expensive defense platform purchased by Israel. It is set to undertake long-range classified missions that are critical for Israel’s security.

The submarine is seen by the navy as a significant “force multiplier” that will enable Israel to cope with threats in the increasingly unstable Middle East region.

Continue Reading »

AJC to Israel: Act Expeditiously to Reverse Academic Boycott’

The American Association of University Professors: ‘Biased attempts to hijack the central mission of higher education’.

By Arutz Sheva staff

 

The American Jewish Committee has expressed outrage over the Association of Asian American Studies’ (AAAS) endorsement of an academic boycott against Israeli academic institutions.

Pro-Palestinan protestsA resolution favoring the boycott was adopted at the national organization’s recent annual meeting, though only ten percent of the membership reportedly voted.

“This pernicious resolution stands in stark contrast to the broader American academic community position opposing such boycotts,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “Moreover, this AAAS action will not bring closer Israeli-Palestinian peace. Continue Reading »

Israeli exports have jumped from $6M to $91B

The Israeli economy has skyrocketed from 138th place to 29th in total exports since 1948.

 

‘In its 65 years, Israel has enjoyed fast growth based, among other things, on the fast and significant increase in exports,’ says Export Institute chairman.

By Avital Lahav

In its 65 years of existence, the State of Israel‘s volume of exports (goods and services) has grown 15,000 times, from some $6 million in 1948 to some $91 billion in 2012, the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute (IEICI) reported Tuesday in honor of Independence Day.

Israeli exports - Photo Avishag Shaar Yashuv

Israeli exports – Photo: Avishag Shaar Yashuv

According to IEICI calculations, this is the sixth highest growth rate in the world during that period, putting the Israeli economy in the 38th place in terms of export volumes and 29th in terms of exports per capita, after South Korea and Britain and before France, Spain, Italy, Japan and the United States. Continue Reading »

Kids from Gaza taught to use rocket launchers

Hamas’s Izzadin Kassam brigades train teens from Gaza how to fire rocket launches & shoot AK-47  (Kalashnikov) assault rifles.

By JPOST.COM STAFF


 

 

Gaza schools are providing military training to teenage boys, teaching them how to fire rocket launchers, Kalashnikov assault rifles and other weapons, The Guardian reported on Sunday.

Gaza schoolboy firing rocket launcher.

Gaza schoolboy firing rocket launcher. – Photo: Video screenshot

Members of Hamas’s Izzadin Kassam brigades assist in the training, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Education website. They also teach schoolboys first aid, firefighting and “the values of discipline and responsibility,” the Guardian reported.

According to the Guardian, the school curriculum is supplemented with voluntary camps during school breaks where the boys get further training in handling guns and explosives.

Continue Reading »

ex-IDF chief: Israel can handle Iranian strike

 

 

Speaking in New York, former IDF chief Ashkenazi says Israel worked ‘long & hard’ to prepare for consequences of military operation in Iran.

ex-Intel chief Yadlin: Israel doesn’t need US for strike

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

WASHINGTON – Former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi said Sunday that Israel can handle the outcomes of a military strike on Iran. “We’ve worked long and hard to prepare ourselves,” he said at a Jerusalem Post conference in New York.

Gabi Ashkenazi speaks in new York - Photo Yaron Brener

Gabi Ashkenazi speaks in New York – Photo: Yaron Brener

Former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin, who also spoke at the conference, echoed Ashkenazi’s statements saying that Israel can mount an attack on its own, without US assistance and can handle the consequences. Continue Reading »

Hundreds Participate in Annual Pilgrimage to Africa’s Oldest Synagogue

Jewish worshippers completed the annual pilgrimage to the El Ghriba Synagogue, Africa’s oldest, amid heightened security.

By Arutz Sheva staff

 

Hundreds of Jewish worshippers on Sunday completed an annual pilgrimage to Ghriba, Africa’s oldest synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba, where security was high to prevent any violence.

Jews pray inside the El Ghriba synagogue in Djerba – Reuters

Organizers expressed satisfaction at the number of pilgrims, including Israelis who flew in from Europe, who took part in the ritual which had been scrapped in 2011, when a massive uprising toppled the regime of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the AFP news agency reported. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu planning reforms to break monopolies & lower prices

Knesset approves legislation to lower cost of cars & spare parts amid looming battles with the Histadrut labor federation.

 

 

 

The government will push forward with economic reforms that will “bring down the cost of living,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Massive battles loom with the Histadrut labor federation and others over the planned changes.

Bibi 521

Bibi – Photo: OLIVER WEIKEN/REUTERS

The cabinet discussed wide-ranging reforms in the automobile sector to increase competition by opening the field to more car importers and decreasing regulation on spare car parts, approving legislation to overhaul the country’s car industry.

Continue Reading »

Terrorists Fire Another Qassam Rocket at Israel

Just like Saturday night, another rocket fired by terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza explodes in Southern Israel. No physical injuries or damage.

By Elad Benari

 

Terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza fired a Qassam rocket at southern Israel on Sunday night.

Qassam rocket (archive) – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The “Red Alert” siren was heard in the communities surrounding Gaza around 2:15 a.m. The rocket exploded in an open area of the Eshkol Regional Council, causing no physical injuries or damages.

The attack is the latest in a recent escalation in Gaza rocket attacks, which came after several months of quiet after the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense in November. Continue Reading »

Obama now knows that Abbas doesn’t want to make Peace

Senior Israeli diplomatic official: PM Netanyahu is willing to make significant progress toward a peace deal, but “everybody knows” that PA President Mahmoud Abbas won’t allow this, continuing to insist on numerous & unacceptable preconditions just to commence peace talks.

By Shlomo Cesana and Israel Hayom Staff

“U.S. President Barack Obama understands today that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is not interested in reaching an agreement with Israel,” a senior Israeli diplomatic source has said.

Continue Reading »

Russian sends deputy FM to meet with Nasrallah

Mikhail Bogdanov meets with Nasrallah & other Lebanese leaders to discuss Hezbollah’s involvement in Syria’s conflict.

 

 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday night along with other top Lebanese leaders to conclude his three-day visit to the country.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah broadcasting from his underground hiding place - Photo Reuters

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah broadcasting from his underground hiding place – Photo: Reuters

The Russian ambassador to Lebanon, Alexander Zaspikin, also took part in the meeting, which dealt with the unstable situation in Lebanon and Syria, according to a report in the Lebanese Daily Star.

Hezbollah’s Al-Manar website reported that Ammar Mousawi, the group’s official responsible for international relations, was also in attendance.

Continue Reading »

Iraqi children come to Israel for heart surgery

 

‘Save a Child’s Heart’, 

an Israel-based int’l organization, coordinates arrival of children, 1, 4 & 5 at a time to the Israeli hospital.

180 Iraqi children have been treated in Israeli operating rooms in past decade.

By Omri Efraim

 

Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar approved Sunday the arrival of three Iraqi children – aged one, four and five – to Israel, in order to receive lifesaving medical care at the Edith Wolfson Medical Center in Holon. The three are expected to arrive at the Israeli hospital within the next few days.

שאמה ואמה. הגיעו מעיראק בסיוע עמותת "הצל לבו של ילד" (צילום: שילה שלהבת)

Shama and her mother, from Iraq – Photo: Sheila Shalhevet

Sa’ar approved the children’s entrance to the country on grounds of humanitarian aid, promoted by Save a Child’s Heart, an Israel-based international project, which has so far coordinated cardiac surgeries for some 3,000 children from 44 countries. Continue Reading »

French court renders verdict: Jerusalem light rail doesn’t violate int’l law

French court dismisses claim that French firms violated human rights by building the transit system  through “occupied territory”.

By
 

 

A French court ruled that Israel did not violate international law by building a light rail line in eastern Jerusalem.

Jerusalem’s light rail – Photo: IsraelandStuff.com/PP

 

The ruling on March 22 by the Versailles Court of Appeals came in response to a lawsuit filed in 2007 by the Palestine Liberation Organization and the France-Palestine Solaridite association against three French firms that participated in the construction of the light rail network. The plaintiffs claimed that the firms were responsible for human rights and international law violations. Continue Reading »

African Infiltrators still sneak into Israel from Sinai

 

4 African migrants and 5 other people scaled the 5-meter (16′) fence to enter Israel illegally last month.

The African infiltrators are taken by law to Saharonim detention center for at least 3 years.

This March, only 2 people breached fence, in contrast with 1,611 March 2012.

By Lilach Shoval

For the first time since the recent construction of the security fence along Israel’s border with Egypt, four African infiltrators and five other individuals managed to breach the barrier and enter Israel during April.

Continue Reading »