Archive for July 22, 2013

Dutch Retailers have begun to ban goods from West Bank

Dutch media reports 2 of Holland’s largest retail chains announce that Israeli products originating beyond Green Line will no longer be sold.


Foreign Ministry: ‘Boycott is tainted with hypocrisy & prejudice’

By Hillel Posek

 

 

Following the European Union announcement regarding official guidelines prohibiting the funding of Israeli bodies and actions beyond the Green Line, it was reported Monday in the Netherlands that at least two large retail chains in the country have stopped selling goods produced in Israeli settlements. A third chain assured its customers that the sources of its products are unrelated to the settlements.

מחרימה. רשת ALDI

Aldi branch in Holland

The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded: “This boycott is tainted with hypocrisy and prejudice, and is only worsening the problem it purports to solve.” Continue Reading »

Schwarzenegger Became Israel’s ‘Hero’ on Hizbullah Vote

Apparently Schwarzenegger’s letter convinced Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann to blacklist Hizbullah, when Peres and Netanyahu couldn’t.

By David Lev

 

One of the unsung heroes of the effort to put Hizbullah’s “military wing” on a European Union blacklist was none other than former Hollywood actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a letter, Schwarzenegger convinced Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann to instruct the country’s Foreign Minister to cast Austria’s vote for the blacklist proposal, something that neither Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu nor President Shimon Peres were able to do.

Austria, along with several other countries, including Greece, Malta, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, were still “on the fence” last week when it came to the decision to blacklist Hizbullah. Continue Reading »

Again lies, racist policies & propaganda by the EU towards Israel

Israel does not make to the world the one case that matters – why Israelis are fully entitled under int’l law to build their homes in these territories; and exactly how Britain, the EU & the UN have grossly mis-stated & misapplied  int’l law.

By Melanie Phillips

 

Consternation in Israel over the EU’s malicious decision to boycott individuals or institutions situated over the ‘Green Line’ between Israel and the disputed territories. This would presumably include boycotting, for example, the Hebrew University which is just over that line or, even more grotesquely, Jewish residents in Jerusalem’s Old City – where ancient Jewish settlement far predated the arrival of a single Arab, dating as it does since King David who built it as the capital of the kingdom of the Jewish people.

Continue Reading »

Palestinians oppose new EU sanctions for fear of loosing jobs

 

If EU boycott guidelines for ‘Jewish settler’ businesses ever become implemented by any of it’s member-states, it will probably boomerang leaving thousands of Palestinians jobless.

By  Israel Today Staff

 

Now even the Palestinians are fighting back against the decision by the European Union to boycott any Israeli businesses with a presence in the so-called “occupied territories.”

Groups have boycotted SodaStream because some of its machines are built in contested territory. Meanwhile, the company employs hundreds of Palestinians.

A senior PalestinianAuthority official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Israeli media that the European decision was not all that popular in Ramallah, despite ostensibly being made in service to the Palestinian nationalist cause. Continue Reading »

Why is the World So Obsessed with Israel?

 

Jerusalem is everywhere. No matter where you are, Jerusalem is. The power of that holy city intrudes into the strangest and most profane of places. I remember once driving to the Hustler Casino in Los Angeles, draped in the paper they give you at In-N-Out Burger, the kind that covers your whole lap while you gorge and drive, and I turned on the radio to hear a local Christian preacher’s extensive, in-depth analysis of Israel’s latest settlement policies and their relation to the Book of Acts. Continue Reading »

Natalie Portman to scout film locations in Israel for directorial debut

 

Hollywood superstar will also perform in her directorial debut in the adaptation of Amos Oz’s autobiographical novel “A Tale of Love and Darkness”.

After Oz approved the screenplay, Portman planned trip to Israel to scout filming locations.

By Eran Suissa

Hollywood megastar Natalie Portman is planning to visit Israel in the near future to scout locations for a new film. The film, based on the epic autobiographical novel “A Tale of Love and Darkness” by Israeli author Amos Oz, will be Portman’s directorial debut. The actress will also star in the film.

Continue Reading »

Extremism in the West Bank is Escalating

After decades of indoctrinating Palestinians from birth, extremism in the West Bank is escalating and there are no signs that it’ll get better.

by Khaled Abu Toameh

 

 

 

The thousands of demonstrators didn’t forget to condemn the Palestinian Authority for “selling out to Jews” instead of seeking Israel’s destruction. Unlike the U.S., Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sees and hears the voices of the extremists at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque, in the West Bank, and in the Gaza Strip. This is precisely why Abbas will never agree to sign a peace deal with Israel: it would turn him into the biggest traitor in the Palestinian and Islamic world.

Continue Reading »

Syrian regime accused of firing chemical weapons on Palestinians

Opposition fighters report 22 killed in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus from gas inhalation.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 

Syrian opposition activists say that the military has used chemical weapons against the Al Yarmouk district of Damascus, an area of the city comprised predominantly of Palestinian refugees, Israel Radio reported.

A Free Syrian Army fighter in Yarmouk refugee camp

A Free Syrian Army fighter in Yarmouk refugee camp – Photo: REUTERS

Palestinian sources said that 22 people have been killed in the area, most from inhalation of poisonous gases.

In what was considered a significant tactical and moral victory, forces battling to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad captured the Yarmouk region this past December.

Continue Reading »

US Congressmen send letter of protest on EU’s ban of Israeli institutions in West Bank

In a formal letter to EU’s Catherine Ashton, US Congress members ask the EU to re-examine their new guidelines banning funding or acceptance of Israeli entities operating beyond 1949 armistice lines.

By Ynetnews

The heads of the bipartisan Congressional Israel Allies Caucus have written European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton a letter expressing “deep concern” over the EU’s intention to ban funding to Israeli institutions in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and urging the EU to revisit the decision.

Congressional Seal

“We are writing to express our deep concern over the European Union’s intention to issue new guidelines restricting European interaction with Israeli entities beyond the 1967 lines. Continue Reading »

It’s Done: EU puts Hezbollah’s military wing on terror blacklist

Blacklisting means imposing visa bans on certain Hezbollah members & freezing assets on organizations associated with the terror group, which is blamed for the 2012 tourist bus bombing in Burgas that killed 5 Israelis, 1 Bulgarian.

By Reuters and

European Union governments agreed on Monday to put the military wing of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on the EU terror list, diplomats said, in a major reversal of policy driven by concerns over the group’s activities in Europe.

Hassan Nasrallah

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah delivering a broadcast speech during a rally, May 25, 2013. – Photo: AP

“Agreement (was) reached to list Hezbollah,” one EU diplomat told Reuters. Continue Reading »

Left-wing, Peace Now: Freeze? There’s no Freeze!

The left-wing NGO, Peace Now, says the current gov’t has so far approved more than 1,500 housing units in Judea and Samaria, advancing construction plans at an unprecedented scale.

By Gil Ronen

 

 

Peace Now, a far-left group that opposes any Jewish presence in the mountainous Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, says that nationalist complaints of a building freeze are unjustified.

The present government, it says, has carried out large scale construction in Judea and Samaria.

According to Peace Now, the government that was sworn in in March has thus far approved over 1,500 housing units in Judea and Samaria. Continue Reading »

Cabinet to decide on release of Arab terrorists

Netanyahu intends to bring prisoners’ release for

peace talks for cabinet vote.

 

The PM & Kerry reached an agreement regarding a de facto freeze in new construction, but only outside of the main settlement blocs.

By Attila Somfalvi

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will bring the issues of peace talks resumption and Palestinian prisoners’ release to a cabinet vote, a source familiar with the details told Ynet Sunday.

PM wants cabinet to vote on release of terrorists - Photo:  GPO

PM wants cabinet to vote on release of terrorists – Photo GPO

The source noted that the “prime minister wants to present the ministers with the issues of resuming negotiations and that of the prisoners, and put them up for discussion as well as approval.” Continue Reading »

Martin Indyk to represent US at Israeli-Palestinian peace talks

Former Ambassador Indyk said to be an accepted mediator by both PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas.

 

Former U.S. ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk might be appointed the U.S. representative at Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, American blogger Laura Rozen reported Sunday, quoting diplomatic sources.

Martin Indyk speaks during U.S.- Islamic World Forum in Doha, June 2013.

Martin Indyk speaks during U.S.- Islamic World Forum in Doha, June 2013. – Photo: Reuter

Writing in Al-Monitor website, Rozen suggested the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was considering appointing Indyk, who also served as the Clinton’s administration’s assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs as the man in charge of the day to day negotiations. Continue Reading »

Hamas: Egypt Curtailing Our Income by Sealing Smuggling Tunnels

Gaza’s leaders are furious with Egypt for destroying their smuggling tunnels between the Gaza and the Sinai.

By Dalit Halevi & Elad Benari

 

 

The Hamas terrorist group, which controls Gaza, is upset with Egypt over its actions to shut down the smuggling tunnels which are used to transfer goods, weapons and even terrorists between the Sinai and Gaza.

Since the Egyptian military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood movement is Hamas’s parent movement, the Egyptian army has been operating in the Sinai to eliminate terrorist cells who take advantage of the lawlessness in the region to carry out terrorist attacks.

Continue Reading »

High Court recommends IDF cease using white phosphorus weapons

High Court recognized the IDF reduced use of white phosphorous after receiving harsh criticism for its use during Operation Cast Lead.

 

 

The High Court of Justice on Sunday recommended the IDF cease all use of white phosphorus (WP) for creating smoke screens during military operations.

White phosphorus bombs exploding over Gaza city

White phosphorus bombs exploding over Gaza city – Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

The recommendation was non-binding, however, as the court recognized that the IDF’s current commitment to eliminate its use in the urban warfare context and to reduce its general use moved the Army’s position significantly toward that of petitioners, NGO Yesh Din.

Continue Reading »