Archive for April 16, 2013

Gaza open Israeli jail replica to honor Palestinian prisoners

Honoring 12 prisoners who died in Saraya, a former Israeli prison in Gaza,  Palestinians refurbish the prison & open it to visitors.

Reuters

Palestinians opened a replica of a former Israeli prison in Gaza on Tuesday to help illuminate the plight of 4,800 kin jailed in Israel after weeks of protests that have triggered clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Illustration Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg

Murals of famous leaders of Palestinian militant groups who were once held in the Saraya prison decorated walls at the site, along with a leather banner listing the names of 12 detainees who died in what locals dubbed “the slaughterhouse”. Continue Reading »

Jews Strip-Searched on Temple Mount to Avoid Israeli Flags Offending Muslim

On the 65th Independence Day, the time has come to correct the strange mistake made by Moshe Dayan, who capitulated on the Temple Mount & gave our holy Mount to our enemies.

By Maayana Miskin

Three yeshiva students were strip-searched Tuesday when visiting the Temple Mount, Temple Mount activists have reported.

The Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

The Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

 

The students were reportedly pulled aside by a commander of the police unit for protection of holy sites. They were asked to remove clothing and their bodies were searched for an Israeli flag.

The officer who performed the search apologized to the three for the invasive search. Continue Reading »

IDF Safeguarding Israel in the shadows

The IDF’s counter-terrorism school gives  a glimpse into its amazing world.


 
IN THE shadows, away from the public glare, several elite combat units operate to safeguard Israel’s security.
A counter-terrorism instructor holds his weapon at the IDF’s Mitkan Adam base near Modi’in.

A counter-terrorism instructor holds his weapon at the IDF’s Mitkan Adam base near Modi’in. – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

Some gather intelligence behind enemy lines, others are sent to secure a strategic site, form Israel’s first response to hostage situations, while still others rescue soldiers in trouble.
Some units receive classified missions that will never be known to the public.But all of them have one thing in common – they train at the IDF’s counter-terrorism school at the Mitkan Adam base, near Modi’in.Headed
Continue Reading »

Fatah: Now that Fayyad Quit, Go Make Peace with Hamas

A member of the Fatah party says PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas must now form a gov’t with Gaza’s Hamas terror group.

By Elad Benari

 

 

Now that Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has resigned, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas must form a government with the Hamas terror group, a high-ranking member of Abbas’s Fatah party said on Monday, according to an AFP report.

Abbas

Mahmoud Abbas

“The president must hold consultations with Palestinian movements to form a national unity government and set a date for elections,” Azzam al-Ahmed, a leader of the Fatah party, told Voice of Palestine radio.

Fatah, which controls the PA-assigned areas of Judea and Samaria, has been at odds for years with its bitter rival, the Hamas terror group that governs Gaza. Continue Reading »

And now, to the next 65 years in the Israeli-US partnership

American companies directly employ about 60,000 Israelis, a full 2 percent of Israel’s workforce. At the same time, Israeli companies are creating tens of thousands of jobs in the United States. This job creation in both our countries is one of the clearest and most tangible expressions of how the U.S.-Israeli partnership touches the daily lives of our citizens.

By Ambassador Daniel B. Shapiro

Congratulations to Israel on 65 years of independence! During his visit to Israel last month, President Obama celebrated 65 years of friendship between Israel and the United States and stressed that our bonds are built on our shared values, democratic ideals and a belief that by providing our citizens with opportunity and freedom we can create more just and righteous societies.

Continue Reading »

VIDEO: What Sharansky’s Western Wall compromise may look like

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, said the implementation of his plan to expand the non-Orthodox prayer site at the Western Wall could begin next month.

 

An illustration of Natan Sharansky's proposal, which will expand the Western Wall and create a permanent egalitarian space in the Robinson's Arch area. (Creative Commons)

An illustration of Natan Sharansky’s proposal, which will expand the Western Wall and create a permanent egalitarian space in the Robinson’s Arch area. – Creative Commons

JERUSALEM (JTA)

Natan Sharansky has presented what could be a historic proposal to expand space for egalitarian prayer at the Robinson’s Arch section of the Western Wall. JTA’s Ben Sales visits the scene to provide viewers with a better understanding of the proposal and the challenges it poses.

Continue Reading »

Hamas bulldozes 3,000-year-old Roman seaport for military training

Hamas military wing destroys part of ancient Roman, Byzantine harbor, slated as UNESCO heritage site, due to “urgent need” for military training site.

By JTA

 

 

The Hamas-run government in Gaza bulldozed part of a UNESCO heritage site to expand a military training zone.

Palestinian diplomats at UNESCO - Photo: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Palestinian diplomats at UNESCO – Photo REUTERS Benoit Tessier

The military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, bulldozed a part of the ancient Anthedon Harbor in northern Gaza along the Mediterranean Sea last month, the Al-Monitor news website reported.

The 3,000-year-old seaport discovered in 1997 was named an international heritage site by UNESCO in 2012, and is the oldest harbor in Gaza.

Continue Reading »

French Jewish Students lodge new complaint over Twitter’s anti-Semitism

The suit filed concerns tweets which still appear on Twitter, which call for killing Jews & praising the Holocaust.

By

 

 

 

A French Jewish group which last month sued Twitter for hosting anti-Semitic content has lodged a fresh complaint against the company and accused it of lying.

Twitter logo.

Photo by Twitter

 

The latest complaint by the Union of Jewish Students of France, or UEJF, was filed on April 12 with the Paris Public Prosecutor’s office against Twitter President and Director Dick Costolo. UEJF and another group, J’ACCUSE, said in the complaint that Costolo was “responsible for racial defamation and publicly inciting to discrimination, hate or violence toward Jews.” Continue Reading »

‘I Represent 3 Generations of ‘Victims of Hatred” said Daniel Pearl’s Dad

Parents of slain Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl, light the flame at the Remembrance Day ceremony in Jerusalem.

By Arutz Sheva staff

 

Judea and Ruth Pearl, parents of Jewish journalist Daniel Pearl, who was murdered in Pakistan, lit a flame at the Yom Hazikaron ceremony held in front of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem.

Parents of slain journalist Daniel Pearl light memorial candle - Sasson Tiram

Parents of slain journalist Daniel Pearl light memorial candle – Sasson Tiram

They attended the annual commemoration of the Jewish Agency to pay tribe to Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror, as well as to mark the memory of Jews murdered in acts of terrorism and anti-Semitic incidents around the world. Continue Reading »

Haredi enlistment begins in 6 weeks

‘Equal share of burden’ committee has 1st meeting. ‘IDF’s needs are our first priority,’ Science Minister Yaakov Perry says.

Attila Somfalvi

 

 

The Knesset Committee for Promoting Equal Share of the Burden, headed by Science Minister Yaakov Perry (Yesh Atid), convened for the first time Sunday. Representatives of the IDF and the Civil Service Administration attended the meeting and stressed they were prepared to intake haredi enlistees.

At the end of the meeting, Perry said: “In six weeks we will have a historic law – the process is sensitive, but the IDF’s needs are our first priority.”

The committee’s meeting took place only a few hours before the beginning of Memorial Day, and while leading the meeting, Minister Perry stressed the symbolic importance of the coincidence. Continue Reading »

Over 1,000 Hizbullah Terrorists Enter Syria to Fight for Assad

More than 1,000 members of Hizbullah have entered Syria in the past few days in order to render support for regime troops.

By Elad Benari

 

 

Hizbullah is continuing to assist Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in his fight against the rebels. Over 1,000 members of the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group entered Syria in the past few days via waterways in the Mediterranean Sea, the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported on Sunday.

Hezbollah terrorists - Photo by EPA

Hezbollah terrorists – Photo by EPA

According to the report, around 1,200 fighters arrived at Syria’s Tartus port in order to fight alongside regime troops.

The armed members who arrived from Lebanon to Syria committed “a hideous crime” in the town of Talkalkh, the daily said, adding that tens of thousands of fighters entered from Iraq to aid the Syrian regime. Continue Reading »

VIDEO: How the U.S & Europe fund Palestinian hatred

The UN agency that administers most Palestinian schools is bankrolled by the EU & US, and it is using their tax money to perpetuate another generation of young Arabs to hate the Jews.

By Israel Today Staff

 

For Israel, the biggest obstacle to concluding a genuine and lasting peace agreement is that the Palestinians have been indoctrinated with a deep-seated hatred for the Jews, and therefore any deal is likely to fall apart at the first opportunity.

UNRWAAnd those portraying themselves as the overseers of this peace process are actually guilty of both initiating and perpetuating this phenomenon.

The first and greatest mistake of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process was importing Yasser Arafat’s PLO to speak for and rule the Palestinians. Continue Reading »

Druse Share in Israel’s Joy & Sorrow

392 Israeli Druse have been killed while serving in the IDF.

The Druse have served & defended Israel in all its wars

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

Israel’s Druse community is proud to take part in both Remembrance Day and Independence Day, identifying itself as an integral part of the state whose members have served in all of the wars in its history.

Druse hospitality – Photo Courtesy

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there are around 130,000 Druse in Israel.

Among them, 20,000 live on the Golan and are seen as distinct in terms of national loyalty as they tend to identify with Syria as opposed to Israel.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s population passes the 8 million mark

 

More than 6 million Jews, 1.6 million Arabs live in Israel, almost 10-fold increase since 1948.

70% of the population were born in Israel

Yaron Druckman

 

On the eve of the Day of Remembrance for fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terrorism, Israel‘s population numbers some 8,018,000 people, stated the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Sunday.

Israel’s population increased almost 10-fold since the founding of the State in 1948, when it stood at only 806,000.

According to the new data, the Jewish population stands at about 6,042,000 (75.3% of the total population), the Arab at 1,658,000 (20.7%) and the “others” – non-Arab Christians, other religions and non-specified – stand at 318,000 (4.0%). Continue Reading »

Peres tells bereaved families: Israel’s enemies know the IDF will always win

President Peres, at the state Memorial Day ceremony for Israel’s fallen soldiers at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, told the guests that the faces of the fallen, ‘will never be erased’ from memory of the Jewish people.

By Gili Cohen and

 

A one-minute siren sounded throughout Israel on Sunday night, marking the official opening of Memorial Day. A torch was lit at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, in the presence of President Shimon Peres and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.

Israeli national flags are seen on graves at the Kiryat Shaul military cemetery

Israeli flags on military cemetery. – Photo: AFP

“We know full well that there are no words we can say this night to assuage your pain,” Peres told bereaved families in his speech. Continue Reading »