Archive for June 13, 2013

After years of bureaucracy Itamar will grow by 538 new homes

 

Plans for Itamar settlement to be expanded by 538 housing units. The decision was made 2 years ago, following the Fogel family murder.

Housing Ministry statistics show that no new housing has been put up for sale in east Jerusalem since the beginning of the year.

By Efrat Forsher

 

 

Shortly before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returns to the Middle East in an attempt to renew negotiations, Israel’s planning bodies continue to move ahead with plans to expand the Itamar settlement by 538 housing units.

The entrance to the Itamar community in Judea and Samaria – Photo Oren Nachson

The entrance to the Itamar community in Judea and Samaria – Photo: Oren Nachson

Objections to the plan, which would increase the size of the settlement by a factor of five, are being heard this week.

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House committee ups missile funding, seeks partnership in Iron Dome

Armed Service Committee tripled Obama’s request for missile defense from $96 million to $284 but now wishes to involve the U.S. in Iron Dome’s development.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Service Committee tripled President Obama’s request for missile defense collaboration with Israel and sought to include the United States in Iron Dome development.

United States House of Representatives - Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

United States House of Representatives – Photo Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The increase in the National Defense Authorization Act from $96 million to $284 million referred from the committee in a 59-2 vote June 6 to the full House includes an additional $15 million in funding for Iron Dome, the short range anti-missile program Israel used against Hamas last November during the Gaza war.

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Arabs say ‘No’ to Israel’s Western Wall plans for egalitarian prayer-site

PA religious affairs minister says replacing Mugrabi Bridge to Temple Mount for egalitarian section may “push all of us to new conflicts and problems,” stressing the Western Wall is an Islamic holy site.

 

 

The Palestinian Authority will not permit Israel to change the entrance to the Temple Mount in order to facilitate the building of an egalitarian prayer area near the Western Wall, PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud El Habash told The Jerusalem Post in Ramallah Thursday morning.

PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud El Habash.- Photo Gil Hoffman

PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud El Habash.- Photo Gil Hoffman

Sharansky’s plan will allow for the construction of an additional section of the Western Wall Plaza at the southern end of the Kotel, equal in size and height as the northern prayer area, for egalitarian prayer and accessible as part of one unified Western Wall complex with a single entrance.

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Open Mic Catches Egyptian Politician Plotting ‘War’ with ‘Enemies’ Israel & U.S.

This open microphone incident of Egypt’s senior politicians plotting against American interests, admitting the US to be their enemy will be ignored as White House policy continues its support of Morsi & his gov’t.

President Mohammed Morsi gathered a group of politicians last week who thought they were speaking privately at a parliamentary meeting. Continue Reading »

Israel Air Force Pilots are Training to Neutralize all Syrian or Lebanese Threats

IAF pilots have begun daily training to meet any possible threat posed by the growing instability in neighboring Syria & Lebanon.

By Rina Tzvi

 

Israeli air force pilots are training daily to meet threats posed by instability in neighboring Syria and Lebanon, pilots at a base in the north of the Jewish state said on Wednesday.

 

Daily drills include preparing to counter “the transfer of all kinds of weapons that could lead to terror attacks,” Lieutenant Colonel N, who could not reveal his last name, told the AFP news agency on a rare visit by journalists to Ramat David air base. Continue Reading »

In Gaza summer (terrorist) camp kids play ‘kidnap Israeli soldier’

Gaza’s Islamic Jihad invites 1000’s of young children to carry a real AK-47, fight in activities ranging from shooting practice, soldier kidnapping, & IDF outpost attack.

Elior Levy

In a somewhat unorthodox summer camp in the Gaza Strip, children aged between six and 16 picked up AK-47s and engaged in a series of quasi-military drills, including a lively game of “kidnap an Israeli soldier” in the sand dunes of Rafah.

An AFP correspondent listed some of the activities the Islamic Jihad summer camp offers its enrollees: Weapons use, jumping over fire and crawling under barbed wire, all performed to the tune of exploding charges. Continue Reading »

BDS Head: ‘Only Solution is Violence’ against Israel

BDS leaders which seek only to delegitimize & demonize Israel worldwide, said openly that they oppose any peace talks, even with Israeli building freeze.

By Rina Tzv

 

Leaders of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to delegitimize and demonize Israel worldwide, said they oppose any peace talks, even if they include a long-demanded freeze of Israeli construction.

Hamas cartoon – Israel news photo screenshot“We have no faith… in the so-called negotiations,” said Omar Barghouti, head of the BDS movement, which lobbies worldwide for the economic, cultural and academic boycott of Israel.

Speaking to the AFP news agency on the sidelines of the fourth annual BDS conference at Bethlehem University at the weekend, Barghouti said the talks were “absolutely useless, just another smokescreen to allow Israel to continue its colonization its building of settlements.” Continue Reading »

Jerusalem to Host Historic Debut of Formula 1 Road-Race

Jerusalem’s “Peace Road Show” to traverse Old City & downtown streets  and will feature ‘Blue & White’ Formula 1 race car built by Ben Gurion University students.

 

 

In a first, Formula 1’s internationally renowned race cars and drivers will traverse the capital’s streets Thursday through Friday, accompanied by models designed by the nation’s leading race car engineers.
Mayor Nir Barkat preparing for Formula 1 race in Jerusalem - Photo Courtesy

Nir Barkat preparing for Formula 1 race in Jerusalem Photo: Courtesy

The event, part of Formula 1’s “Peace Road Show,” will feature world-class cars and drivers representing Ferrari, Mercedes and Audi – as well as models constructed by Ben-Gurion University’s student race car team, “Ben- Gurion Racing.”

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Florida Atlantic University Continues To Allow Campus Antisemitism

Another year elapses and the university administration refuses to publicly speak out and set a moral example by denouncing anti-Semitic and other hate speech that’s commonplace on the campus.

By Dr. Richard Swier

 

In response to a new online video documenting the anti-Semitic messaging and extreme anti-Israel activism of a campus hate group at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is again demanding that FAU publicly condemn anti-Semitic bigotry on campus and take other steps to remedy the hostile environment. The video can be seen at www.exposingfau.com.

Visit_FAU

Less than a year ago, FAU was the site of a highly publicized incident, where the campus’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) organization posted hundreds of anti-Semitic fake eviction notices on student dorms. Continue Reading »

Both of the Youths Beaten by Illegal Workers – Arrested

2 youths were beaten by infiltrators who were following a girl. At least that was the story 10 days ago. Police now report the victims are in fact the attackers.

By Gil Ronen

 

Police have reportedly arrested the Jewish two youths who were badly beaten by illegal workers ten days ago in a southern Tel Aviv neighborhood.

Itamar Cohen By  Itamar Cohen

Itamar Cohen By Itamar Cohen

One of the two youths got out of their car when they saw two workers following a woman, and offered the woman a ride.

Chen Yadegar, a friend of the youths, who all attend the same high school in Tel Aviv, told Arutz Sheva that at that point, two other foreign workers materialized, and all four threatened they would “rip his eyes out,” and even kill him, if he “interfered,” Chen said. Continue Reading »

From Malibu to Special Forces

 

‘Soldier A’ serves in an elite, undercover combat unit in the Border Guard along Israel’s southern border, came from southern California beach life for IDF service.

‘A.’, ‘My father and grandfather imbued me with the virtue of IDF service’

By Gadi Golan

 

When he was 12, “A.” left Israel with his family and moved to Malibu in southern California. After finishing high school, and a little over a year after he started studying in university, A. decided to head back to Israel and join the army. Now, he serves in the Israel Defense Forces in an elite undercover unit along Israel’s southern borders abutting the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

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Hamas to execute two Gazans as “collaborators” with Israel

Both men to hang before month’s end, or as early as next week.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Hamas is planning to execute two Palestinians from the Gaza who were recently convicted of “collaborating” with Israel.

Gaza children

A Hamas official said that the two men, who were not identified, would be executed by hanging before the end of this month, or probably as early as next week.

The official said that the two men had been convicted by a Palestinian court of passing on to Israeli authorities information that led to the killing of Palestinians.

Salah Eddin Abu Sharkh, a senior official with the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior, confirmed that his government was planning to execute convicted “collaborators” in the near future.

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Wounded Syrian sent to Israel with thank you note from doctor.

 

Syrian being treated in Safed hospital brings note from doctors who treated him before being transfer to Israel.

Note reads: ‘Patient was hit by bullet that penetrated his chest and caused a fracture in the lungs. Please do what is needed. Thank you in advance’ 

By Maor Buchnik

One of the two injured Syrians who were admitted to Safed‘s Ziv Medical Center on Saturday entered Israel with a note from the doctor who gave him first aid on the other side of the border.

The note, which was written in Arabic and addressed to Israeli doctors, includes details about the injured young Syrian’s condition: “To the respectable surgeon hello. Continue Reading »

Auschwitz youth center to receive $1.3 million donation from Volkswagen

Volkswagen, which used concentration camp prisoners during the Holocaust, says work at site is an ‘important undertaking’ for staff & company.

By

Volkswagen said Tuesday it was donating $1.3 million to the Auschwitz International Youth Meeting Center.

Volkswagen Type 82E

Volkswagen Type 82E Photo by Wikipedia Commons

The automaker made the announcement at a meeting at the company’s headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany.

Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in a statement that the money will be used for educational work and modernization of the facility.

He said Volkswagen has been involved with the center, an educational site located next to the Nazi death camp in Poland, for more than 20 years. Continue Reading »

Is the IDF to Choose: Hareidim or Women Soldiers?

Women’s groups and political organizations have been pressuring the IDF to place more women in more combat units throughout the IDF.

By Arutz Sheva

 

 

Political organizations and women’s groups are putting pressure on the IDF to press on with the integration of women in the army’s combat units.

Elinor JosephThe organizations are joined by senior reserve officers who are offering a wide strategic plan for embedding women in all levels of the combat array.

One of the senior officers is the head of the Institute for National Security Studies, Major General (res.) Amos Yadlin, who said at a round table conference held by the Israeli Democracy Institute Tuesday that the integration of women into military units enhances Israel’s strength. Continue Reading »