Archive for May 9, 2013

Deputy Defense Minister Danon: There is No Building Freeze

Dep Defense Minister: The IDF’s Academies for Command & Staff will have thousands of IDF soldiers transferred to Mount Scopus.

By Gil Ronen

 

Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon spoke Thursday at the Moskowitz Prize ceremony and said that the IDF’s Academies for Command and Staff will be moved from Gelilot, just north of Tel Aviv, to Har Hatzofim (Mount Scopus), in the course of this year.

“Thousands of soldiers will live here on this mountain,” he announced, “and they will live beside hundreds of Jewish families that are taking care to preserve the Jewish presence here.”

“Look at Maaleh Hazeitim,” he added. Continue Reading »

Guardian: Prof. Hawking accused of hypocrisy for boycott of Israel conference

 

Hawking’s critics say that if he’s going to boycott Israel, he should stop using Israeli technology in computer equipment that allows him to communicate.

in Jerusalem

 

Stephen Hawking‘s decision to boycott an Israeli conference in protest at the state’s 46-year occupation of Palestine was derided as hypocritical by some, who pointed out that the celebrated scientist and author uses Israeli technology in the computer equipment that allows him to function.

Hawking, decision to boycott a conference in Israel has been described as hypocritical. - Photo AFPGetty Images

Hawking, decision to boycott a conference in Israel, has been described as hypocritical. – Photo: AFPGetty/ Images

Hawking, 71, has suffered from motor neurone disease for the past 50 years, and relies on a computer-based system to communicate.

Continue Reading »

Latest Poll: 61% of Israelis trust Obama vs. 15% Palestinians

Poll: Israelis are much more confident in Obama’s foreign policy regarding world affairs than the Palestinians

By JTA

 

WASHINGTON– Israelis by a 4-to-1 margin are more confident than Palestinians in how President Obama handles his foreign policy, a poll found.

Netanyahu & Obama - Photo by Kobi Gideon

Netanyahu & Obama – Photo: Kobi Gideon

The Pew Research Center poll released Thursday found that 61 percent of Israelis “express confidence in the American president to do the right thing regarding world affairs,” as opposed to 15 percent of Palestinians.

Obama’s numbers numbers among Israelis are a 12 point increase over when the same question was asked in 2011. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu says Hawking needs to study up on facts about Israel

Member in PM’s entourage: ‘Intelligence’ doesn’t equated to the truth.

 

 

 

BEIJING — Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu slammed Stephen Hawking for joining the boycott against Israel and canceling plans to attend President Shimon Peres’ conference next month, saying the celebrated physicist should “study the facts.”

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking – Photo: REUTERS/Valentin Flauraud

Asked by The Jerusalem Post about Hawking’s boycott at a press briefing, Netanyahu said, “he should investigate the truth, he is a scientist. He should study the facts and draw the necessary conclusions: Israel is an island of reason, moderation and a desire for peace.”

Netanyahu said that Hawking knows that there are many false theories in science. 

Continue Reading »

Scholarly Islamic cleric visiting Gaza: Israel has no right to exist

 

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent Islamic scholar says ‘This land has never once been Jewish. Palestine is for the Arab Islamic nation’

By AP and Elior Levy

 

A prominent Islamic scholar who is making a landmark visit to the Gaza Strip has declared that Israel has no right to exist.

קרדאווי והנייה, היום. אזרחות עזתית ודרכון דיפלומטי (צילום: רויטרס)

Al-Qaradawi with Haniyeh in Gaza – Photo: Reuters

Yusuf al-Qaradawi said Thursday that “this land has never once been a Jewish land. Palestine is for the Arab Islamic nation.” The Qatar-based cleric was made famous by his popular TV show and is widely respected in the Muslim world.

Al-Qaradawi, who arrived in Gaza accompanied by dozens of clerics, was welcomed by Hamas officials including Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in a ceremonial reception. Continue Reading »

Chinese president urges Palestinian & Israeli leaders to start ‘building trust’

Chinese media reported the visit this week of both Netanyahu and Abbas, emphasize China’s ‘active involvement in Middle East affairs.’

By DPA

 

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to “build mutual trust” and resume dialogue, saying China wanted to promote peace in the Middle East.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu clinking glasses with his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, May 8, 2013. – Photo: AP

“We hope Israel and Palestine can work together, take feasible measures, gradually build mutual trust, restart the peace talks as soon as possible and make substantial progress,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry quoted Xi as telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue Reading »

Lebanese Report: Assad Will ‘Give Hizbullah Everything’

A Lebanese newspaper reports Assad as saying Syria will “give Hezbollah everything” in recognition of its support & will follow its model of “resistance” against Israel for the sake of Syria & future generations.

By Arutz Sheva staff

 

Syria will “give Hizbullah everything” in recognition of its support and will follow the terrorist group’s model of “resistance” against Israel, a Lebanese newspaper on Thursday quoted President Bashar al-Assad as saying.

Hezbollah terrorists - Photo by EPA

Hezbollah terrorists – Photo by EPA

His comments, published by Al-Akhbar, reportedly came during meetings with Lebanese visitors in Damascus and appeared intended to refute any suggestion that Israeli raids on Syrian targets would halt assistance to the Shiite group Hizbullah in Lebanon. Continue Reading »

Report: Israel briefed US on planned Russian advanced-missile sale to Syria

 

WSJ reports Israel informed the U.S. that Russia has sold advanced S-300 anti-aircraft missile batteries to Syria, making any future no-fly zone impossible.

Intel comes a day after Kerry left Moscow.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Israel has warned the U.S. that Russia plans to sell advanced ground-to-air missile systems to Syria despite Western pressure on Moscow to hold off on such a move, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Continue Reading »

Facebook in talks to buy Israeli GPS mega-hit Waze

If the $500 million deal happens, this will be Facebook’s 3rd acquisition in Israel, along with Face.com & Snaptu.

By GLOBES

 

Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) is in advanced talks to buy Israeli navigation and traffic congestion app company Waze Ltd. for $500 million.

Waze traffic software Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Waze declined to respond to queries by “Globes” on the subject. When asked whether Facebook would close the company, as it has done with its previous acquisitions, Waze replied, “Don’t worry, we’ll be all right.”

There were reports in January that Waze was in talks with Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) at a company value of $400 million, but no deal materialized.

Continue Reading »

NGO: Civilians constituted majority of fatalities in Pillar of Defense

 

Rights group,  B’Tselem reports

87 civilians of the 167 Gazans were killed during Pillar of Defense.

 During 2nd half of op, 70 civilians died.

 

B’Tselem: ‘Civilians not given enough warning, IDF acted contrary to laws of war.’ – IDF: ‘Oversight committee concluded no justification for criminal investigation’

Elior Levy

 

 

Most of the Palestinians killed during Operation Pillar of Defense were civilians not involved in fighting. This according to a report released by B’Tselem on Thursday, some six months after the operation.

תוצאות תקיפה ישראלית במהלך "עמוד ענן" (צילום: AP)

Boy views Gaza ruins – Photo: AP

According to the report, during the eight days of the operation, 167 Palestinians were killed, of whom 69 were “combatants” (with seven being assassinated);11 of those killed could not be identified as combatant or civilian. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu: Israel Can Learn From China’s Great Wall

On a tour of the Great Wall of China with his wife Sara, Thursday, PM Binyamin Netanyahu said that the wall was an apt simile for Israel’s situation.

By David Lev

 

On a tour of the Great Wall of China Thursday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the wall was an apt simile for Israel’s situation. China had constructed a wall to defend itself, and Israel must do something similar, he said.

 

“Just like the Chinese defended themselves by locking themselves behind a great wall, we too will continue to do so in a similar manner on our southern border, on the Golan Heights, and on all the fronts we face,” Netanyahu said at the Great Wall. Continue Reading »

Minister Bennett’s compromise: Prayer shawls allowed but reading the Torah, not

Religious Services Minister, Naftali Bennett, meets the Women of the Wall organization & proposes allowing women to pray out loud & wear prayer shawls, but not wearing tefillin or reading an open Torah.

By Yehuda Shlezinger

 

Religious Services Minister Naftali Bennett (Habayit Hayehudi) met with the Women of the Wall organization on Tuesday after Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein instructed him to devise specific statutes defining what kind of religious observances would be allowed at the Wall.

Continue Reading »

P.A. Health Minister in historic visit to Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital

P.A.’s Minister of Health, Dr. Hani Abdeen, visits patients at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital & emphasized the importance of cooperation in teaching, healing & research.

 

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian Authority minister of health visited Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem reportedly for the first time.

Palestinian Authority Minister of Health Dr. Hani Abdeen visits eight-year-old Sarah Ghanem. a patient in the Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Department, from the village of Durah, near Hebron

Palestinian Authority Minister of Health Dr. Hani Abdeen visits eight-year-old Sarah Ghanem. a patient in the Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Department, from the village of Durah, near Hebron – Photo: .Hadassah.org

 

Dr. Hanu Abdeen, accompanied by other senior officials from the Palestinian Authority, visited the hospital on Sunday and met some of the dozens of Palestinian physicians who are doing their residency training there. Continue Reading »

Fatah: Resistance doesn’t take orders from Assad or Hezbollah

Fatah plays down report that Assad wants Palestinians to attack Israel via the Golan in response to alleged air-attack.

 

 

Fatah spokesman Ahmad Assaf played down the report from The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, which stated that Syria was planning to allow Palestinian factions to attack Israel through the Golan in response to the alleged Israeli attack against Syria.

Palestinians in Syria protest [file]

Palestinians in Syria protest [file] – Photo: REUTERS

The press statement said that the Palestinian resistance does not function by the “push of a button,” according to a report in the London-based daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi.The resistance, according to the statement, does not take orders from any party in respect to the Syrian situation.

Continue Reading »

Jordanian parliament demands Israeli ambassador expelled

Jordan’s lower house of parliament unanimously demand that the gov’t tell Israeli ambassador to leave Jordan & to recall Jordanian ambassador from Tel Aviv due to ‘repeated Jewish settler assaults on Al-Aqsa Mosque’

Roi Kais

Jordan’s MPs on Wednesday unanimously demanded the government expel Israeli Ambassador Daniel Nevo over “the occupation measures” at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, state media reported.

Al-Aqsa Mosque (Archive photo: AFP)

Al-Aqsa Mosque – Archive photo: AFP

The measure cannot be implemented without King Abdullah‘s approval.

The Jordanian MPs called the decision “historic” and claimed the government must implement it.

The non-binding vote came after Israel limited the entrance of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount on Tuesday and allowed Jews to visit the compound on the occasion of Jerusalem Day, which continued into Wednesday. Continue Reading »