Archive for May 15, 2013

UNIFIL fear Hezbollah terrorists

Again, UN peacekeeping forces that Israel depends on to keep its borders peaceful are under-maned, under-equipped, & under-trained to actually have to deal with performing their duties.

By Aviel Schneider

 

The peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) are increasingly coming into hostile and even violent contact with the Hezbollah terrorist militia near the Lebanon-Israel border. The Lebanese troops who had taken control of the border after the last war in 2006 have largely been redeployed as a result of mounting tension on the country’s eastern border due to the ongoing Syrian civil war.

UN peacekeepers fear Hezbollah terrorists

UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon – Israel Today

Taking advantage of this power vacuum, Hezbollah has entered the area in force, and is daily confronting the blue helmets of UNIFIL. Continue Reading »

El Al dedicates Torah scroll on int’l flights for country’s leaders

 

El Al unveils Torah scroll that will accompany Israel’s political leaders on future int’l flights.

President Shimon Peres, PM Netanyahu, along with the heads of security services lent a hand in inscribing the scroll.

By Israel Hayom Staff

In honor of the Shavuot holiday this week, when Jews worldwide celebrate God’s giving of the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai, Israeli airline El Al presented a special Torah that will accompany Israel’s leaders on their trips with the airline.

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Venezuelan President declares his grandparents were Jewish

Claiming Jewish heritage, President Maduro claims his gov’t isn’t antisemitic, saying he differentiated between Israel & the Jewish people.

By JTA

 

Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, denying that his government has an anti-Semitic bent, said his grandparents were of Sephardic Jewish descent.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro - REUTERS  Ueslei Marcelino

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro – REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

“My grandparents were Jewish, so many of the Maduros, same as the Moors [Muslims], converted to Catholicism in Venezuela,” Maduro told Apporea, a pro-government media outlet, last week. “The mother of the Minister of Communication and Information Ernesto Villegas is of the same tradition.”

During the interview, Maduro rejected allegations he attributed to Claudio Epelman, executive director of the Latin American Jewish Congress, that his government was anti-Semitic.

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Iran defends its rotation as head of UN’s disarmament committee

According to the established practice and rules of procedure of the UN, it’s Iran’s right to head the UN Conference on Disarmament.

By REUTERS

 

Iran on Tuesday defended its election as the rotating chair of the world’s sole multilateral disarmament forum after the United States announced that its ambassador to the UN Conference on Disarmament would boycott any meeting led by Tehran.

UN General Assembly

The UN Conference on Disarmament has been deadlocked for about 15 years. While the chairmanship of the Geneva-based body is largely ceremonial, it is a high-profile position.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is a founding member of the United Nations,” said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s UN mission.

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Russian warship docked in Haifa, US aircraft carrier in Eilat Port

Over 250 meters long, staffed with over 1,000 crewmen, the American carrier, the USS Kearsarge will remain in Israeli dock for several days.

By Yoav ZItun

 

The USS Kearsarge, an American Navy aircraft carrier, has docked on Tuesday morning in Eilat‘s port and will remain there for the next few days as part of the Navy’s routine operations in the Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf.

הספינה אמריקנית בנמל אילת, הבוקר (צילום: מאיר אוחיון)

The American warship docked in Eilat Port – Photo: Meir Ohayon

 

In addition to combat jets, the ship also carries several V-22 Ospreys aircraft, which can take off and land like helicopters and fly at a cargo plane’s velocity. Continue Reading »

Int’l Criminal Court opens investigation of Gaza flotilla fiasco

International Criminal Court’s prosecutor obliged to open investigation after request from Comoros, an Indian Ocean island nation, to which one of the vessels Israel raided in 2010 was registered.

Few preliminary probes lead to a full investigation, let alone trial.

By Reuters

The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor said on Tuesday she would open a preliminary examination into the events surrounding the 2010 Israel Navy raid on a Turkish-flagged aid flotilla to the Gaza Strip.

Mavi Marmara AP 22.5.10

Mavi Marmara taken on May 22, 2010 – Photo: AP

 

Nine Turkish citizens died during the raid on the flotilla, which set out from Turkey to the Gaza. Continue Reading »

Putin Greets Netanyahu in Russia for talks on Syria

Israel’s PM expected to ask Putin not to carry out S-300 air defense systems sale to Assad, fearing the deal would complicate future foreign intervention in ending Syrian war.

By Attila Somfalv

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday at Putin’s residence in Sochi.

(צילום: EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said upon meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin that he was pleased at the opportunity to discuss instability at the Middle East with Russia. The Russian president thanked the prime minister for accepting the invitation to visit Russia.

The two are expected to discuss developments in Syria and the reported deal between Russia and Bashar Assad’s regime. Continue Reading »

Germany plans to replace Israel in the 2018 UN Security Council

 

Israel has long sought a position on the security council, and it appeared likely when it was scheduled for a seat in 2018, but Germany’s decision to seek the spot eliminates Israel, who lacks the stature to rival Germany’s bid.

By Shlomo Cesana

 

Israel issued a formal complaint against Germany for blocking it from serving on the U.N. Security Council in 2018. Israel has never held a position on the council, although nations such as Syria and Iran have.

The U.N. Security Council – Photo: AP

The Security Council comprises five permanent and 10 rotating members, elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms and chosen from regional groups. Continue Reading »

Pascale Bercovitch an Israeli Paralympian aims at the 2016 Games in Rio

At age 17, the Parisian-born athlete lost her legs in a train accident, went on to represent Israel twice in the Paralympics & became one of the 1st wheelchair-bound volunteers in the IDF.

Israeli Paralympic handcyclist Pascale Bercovitch

Pascale Bercovitch, an Israeli handcyclist who competed in the 2012 London Paralympics, has overcome the loss of her legs to become a world-class athlete.

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UK Muslim MP resigns before charges of anti-Semitism

Lord Nazir Ahmed quits Labor party just a day ahead of a hearing called because of his ‘Jewish conspiracy theory’ slurs.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 

British politician Lord Nazir Ahmed resigned on Tuesday, a day ahead of a scheduled hearing over accusations that he blamed his dangerous driving jail term on a Jewish conspiracy.

Britain's Lord Nazir Ahmed

Britain’s Lord Nazir Ahmed – Photo: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah / Reuters

The Labor MP was suspended in March after The Times of London quoted him as saying that his prison sentence was a result of pressure applied on the court by Jews “who own newspapers and television channels.”

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Palestinian gov’t official to Israel: Beware! We are Enemies

Palestinian official Rajoub, interviewed on Lebanese TV, breaks from moderate tone of PA leaders saying, ‘Palestinians are the enemies of Israel & if we had nuclear weapons, we would use them against Israel’

By Elior Levy

Rajoub, one of several Palestinian leaders who signed the Geneva Initiative, had stated on previous occasions that he was interested in peace with Israel.

Jibril Rajoub - YouTube screenshot

Jibril Rajoub, a Fatah Central Committee member who recently visited Lebanon, said in an interview with the Hezbollah affiliated television network Al Mayadeen, “We the Palestinians are the enemies of Israel.”

In the interview, which took place earlier this month, Rajoub emphasized that Fatah now supports popular resistance, but has not abandoned the idea of armed resistance. Continue Reading »

Turkish F-16 jet goes down, pilot ejects near Syrian border

Turkey’s military said it lost contact with the pilot of a F-16 jet over a mountainous area about 30 miles from the Syrian border in what is thought to be an accident.

By News Agencies

 

Turkey’s military says it has lost contact with a fighter plane in southern Turkey, in what is likely an accident, Turkey’s NTV television cited military sources as saying Monday.

A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet - AP

A Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet. – Photo: AP

A military statement said it lost contact with the F-16 jet over a mountainous area in Osmaniye province, about 30 miles from the border with Syria. Continue Reading »

ex-President Katzav’s Accuser is Accused of Stalking

Coincidence, that a woman who played a central role in the trial of ex-president Katzav faces accusations of stalking, blackmail and caught falsely accusing her prey?

By Gil Ronen

 

A woman who played a central role in the public trial of ex-president Moshe Katzav, now in jail for rape, is facing accusations of stalking.

Known to the public only as “Aleph of the President’s Residence,” the woman was the first to publicly accuse Katzav of raping her. The matter became public when Katzav went to the attorney general and complained that Aleph was blackmailing him, and demanding $200,000.

Israel’s media featured Aleph’s complaints against Katzav in an unprecedented live press conference that disguised her identity through pixellation, as she hurled extreme and explicit accusations at Katzav. Continue Reading »

IDF removes old land mines from Arab fields outside of Bethlehem

IDF demonstrates no ill will toward Palestinian Arabs by clearing Jordanian mines from field next to Bethlehem suburb.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Once again demonstrating that it harbors no ill will toward the Palestinian Arabs, the Israeli army recently got to work clearing land mines from Arab-owned fields in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

IDF clears land mines from Arab fields near Bethlehem

IDF clears land mines from Arab fields near Bethlehem – Photo from Israel Today

Well, of course the Israeli army should do so, it probably planted those mines in the first place! Except that, no, the IDF didn’t do so. The mines were planted by the Jordanian army prior to the Six Day War in 1967. Continue Reading »

Canada finally deports 1968 Palestinian El Al hijacking murderer

Palestinian who killed Israeli man on El Al flight from Athens in 1968 & caught living under false identity in Canada, was deported to Lebanon after fighting in court for 25 years.

By REUTERS


OTTAWA After a 25-year legal battle, Canada has finally deported a Palestinian convicted of an attack on an Israeli airliner in 1968, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said on Monday.

EL AL planes lie at rest at Ben-Gurion Airport earlier this week due to a strike

EL AL planes parked at Ben-Gurion Airport due to a strike – Photo: REUTERS

Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad, a former Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine commando, took part in the assault on an El Al jet in Athens that killed an Israeli man.

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