September 2013 Archives

South African BDS leaders justify chants: ‘Shoot the Jew’

South Africans supportive of Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) chant ‘Shoot the Jew’ in protest of Johannesburg concert of Israeli musician.

BDS Leader says it’s ok to yell, ”Shoot the Jew”.

Jewish leader says, “Real agenda is not to stand up for the Palestinian cause but to incite hatred,”

South African supporters of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel chanted “shoot the Jew” during a protest against a performance of Israeli jazz musician at Wits University last Wednesday.

Anti-Israel protestors in South Africa – Photo: REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

A leader of the South African Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel justified calls to “shoot the Jew” during a protest last Wednesday against a concert by an Israeli musician.

Category: Israel News | Tags: anti-Israel, anti-Semitism, BDS, South Africa

Hundreds of Majdal Shams Druze rally support for Assad

Pro-Assad supporters among village’s Druze community insist the Syrian president couldn’t have been responsible for such attacks, and so they’re protesting against any int’l intervention, saying ‘Assad managed to maintain calm on Syria-Israel border for 40 years’

By Maor Buchnik

Several hundreds attended a pro-Assad in the Druze village of Majdal Shams Monday, carrying banners in favor of the Syrian president and condemning the prospect of a US attack on Syria.

Majdal Shams demonstration – Photo: Aviyahu Shapira

Zahad, local resident and a café owner, noted that protesters were interested in keeping Assad in the government and noted that he was also “against foreign intervention in the country, and not just because of Majdal Shams – it would be dangerous for Israel as well.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Assad, demonstration, Druze, Majdal Shams

Jewish group says Vatican assisting in overturning Poland kosher slaughter ban

World Jewish Congress reports Pope is to host meeting to address Poland’s current ban on ritual animal slaughter.

By The Associated Press

The World Jewish Congress has said the Vatican is getting involved in a divisive issue in Poland over its ban on the ritual slaughter of animals, which has incensed Jews.

Pope Francis poses with a delegation of members of the World Jewish Congress, including its President Ronald S.Lauder, fourth from right next to the pontiff, at the Vatican, Monday, Sept. 2, 2013. – Photo: AP

The group said Monday that Pope Francis instructed the Vatican office in charge of relations with Jews to host a meeting next week to discuss the ban, which Jews consider a violation of their religious freedom. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: kosher, Poland, Pope Francis I, Vatican

US & Russia position warships for Syrian confrontation

U.S. moves USS Nimitz aircraft carrier into Red Sea to help support possible assault.

Russian reconnaissance ship getting into position in the eastern Mediterranean.

Israel sends home its reserves for the meantime as it dials back its missile defenses.

By Shlomo Cesana, Lilach Shoval, Mati Tuchfeld and Reuters

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and other ships in its strike group are heading west toward the Red Sea to help support a limited U.S. strike on Syria, if needed, defense officials said on Sunday.

USS Nimitz – Photo courtesy

Russia, meanwhile, is sending a reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Interfax news agency reported on Monday.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Russia Syria, US Navy

Polish Jews petition kosher slaughter ban in Constitutional Court

Slaughter without stunning first, was made illegal in Poland as of January 1st. About 80 Polish firms, mainly selling kosher & halal products, will participate in an independent lawsuit against the state.

By JTA

Representatives of Poland’s Jewish communities have petitioned the Polish constitutional court to reverse a ban on kosher and halal slaughter methods.

Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

A statement released Friday by the Union of Jewish Religious Communities said the petition concerned “a collision of two laws,” a reference to two laws passed in 1997, one permitting ritual slaughter and the other prohibiting it.

Category: Jewish News | Tags: Courts, kosher, Poland

Gov’t to explore upgrading Israel’s Civil Laws in Area C

PM Netanyahu seeks incorporating Israel’s Personal Laws in the Area C sections of the West Bank as it is applicable in the rest of Israel.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

The government is looking into upgrading through military orders all personal laws for Israelis living in Area C, starting with the workplace, to ensure that they match those legislated by the Knesset for citizens in the rest of the country.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked the Justice Ministry to start the task, at the end of a discussion on the labor law for working mothers in Judea and Samaria, held Sunday at the government’s weekly meeting, an official said.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Area C, Israel law, West Bank

Abbas reveals Israel-PA deal made to restart peace process

PA president says he agreed to avoid lobbying to int’l institutions after Israel OK’ed prisoner release.

By Roi Kais

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed Monday the circumstances of the deal that was made with Israel in order to renew the peace talks between the two sides.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Mark Israel Sellem

Speaking to Fatah members in Ramallah, Abbas said that even before negotiations started, the US demanded that the Palestinians avoid lobbying in international intitutions.

Abbas also addressed the subject of Syria and said that he opposes any military strike from the US. “We will not have an Arab state bombed and we condemn the use of chemical weapons on either side. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Mahmoud Abbas, Peace Process, peace talks

Netanyahu: Violate Our Rosh Hashana Peace, You’ll Pay Dearly

Israel’s PM Netanyahu urged Israelis to relax during the upcoming 3 day holiday, warning all of Israel’s neighbors not to violate the general calmness.

By David Lev

With the Rosh Hashana holiday coming up in just a few days, Israelis will be attending synagogue services, visiting family, and generally taking it easy during a rare three day break from work. And Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said the the country would take steps to ensure that the holiday is a calm one.

PM Netanyahu Warns Syria – Photo courtesy: PMO

With the decision by U.S. President Barack H. Obama to ask Congress to approve military action against Syria, the prospect of immediate American action seems to be postponed until at least next week. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Binyamin Netanyahu, Egypt, Golani Junction, Rosh Hashana, Syria

The Few Jews in Island Struggle to Keep the Faith

With no rabbi, no synagogue & a majority of interfaith marriages, Iceland’s few Jews find unique ways of keeping Jewish tradition alive …with a little help from their friends.

By Jenna Gottlieb, The Forward

Iceland has no synagogue, no rabbis, no Jewish community center or organized structure. In fact, Judaism is not even one of Iceland’s state-recognized religions.

Reykjavík, Iceland’s largest metropolitan area, seen from Hallgrímskirkja’s steeple. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

Still, Iceland has about 100 Jews who call this North Atlantic island home. And last year, roughly 50 of them gathered in a hall downtown on Erev Rosh Hashanah for services — a proportion of prayer attendance that rabbis in many other countries would give their left arms to achieve.

Category: Jewish News | Tags: Chabad, Island, Jewish Diaspora, Jewish World, Rosh Hashanah

Israeli Report: U.S. President Discussed Attack Delay with PM Netanyahu

U.S. President Obama informed Israel’s P.M. in advance that he would ask Congress to discuss future US military scenarios in Syria.

By David Lev

U.S. President Barack H. Obama informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in advance that he would let Congress decide on the appropriate action the U.S. would take in Syria. Reports in Israeli media quoted senior Israeli officials as saying the Obama called Netanyahu on Saturday, some four hours before he appeared on national TV in the US to announce that he was holding back on taking action against Syria until Congress discussed what the appropriate actions should be. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Barack Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel US, Syria

Hamas furious over Egyptian move at creating buffer zone with Gaza

Egyptian families in Sinai protest after their homes were demolished to create a buffer zone with Hamas ruled Gaza.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

The Hamas government said Sunday it was “surprised” to hear that Egypt is planning to create a buffer zone along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian soldiers keep guard in Sinai – Photo: REUTERS

Ehab Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas government, said that there should be no buffer zones “between brothers and friendly countries.”

Ghissin expressed hope that the Egyptian move would not “solidify the blockade” and increase the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Egypt Hamas, Egyptian border, smuggler tunnels, tunnels

Egyptian Security Arrests Duck, as ‘Zionist Spy’

Egypt’s Police arrests water fowl suspected of being an Israeli spy, maybe for the Mossad.

By Maayana Miskin

Egyptian police have arrested a duck that they fear was sent by Israel as a spy, Egypt’s Al-Ahram news agency reports.

The bird was spotted by a fisherman in the Nile River, in the Qena region, as it swam with other birds. The fisherman noticed that the bird had a device attached to its feathers, which he feared could be used to gather information.

A security official told Al-Ahram that experts are examining the device to see if it could have been used to gather intelligence. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Egypt, Mossad, spy

Russian weapons export shipments to Assad increasing

REPORT: The number of cargo ships sailing to Syria from a Ukrainian port used by Russia’s arms export monopoly has increased sharply.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

MOSCOW — More than two years into Syria’s civil war, President Bashar Assad is settling his bills for Russian arms orders through the Russian banking system to try to shore up ties with his most powerful ally, according to a Russian arms industry source.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) with Syrian President Bashar Assad – Photo: Reuters

The payments, which have increased in recent months, show how Assad has sustained his ties with his main diplomatic defender, a relationship that has come under the spotlight this week as Western countries plan military action to punish him for suspected chemical weapons attacks on civilians.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Russia Syria, Syrian unrest, weapons

Azerbaijan’s Jewish shtetl survives among Muslim majority

Over the years, the community known as ‘Mountain Jews’ has endured pogroms by Persian warlords, repression under communism and the rise of post-Soviet nationalism.

By Cnaan Liphshiz

KRASNAIYA SLOBODA, Azerbaijan (JTA) — Even at 70, Yedidia Yehuda can negotiate a narrow mountain path in northern Azerbaijan with a confidence easily mistaken for carelessness.

Yedidia Yehuda, right, and a childhood friend walking down the stairs that overlook Krasnaiya Sloboda, August 2013. – Cnaan Liphshiz

“You take care not to fall yourself and don’t worry about me,” he tells a visitor following him toward a small town on the northern bank of the Kudyal river, where 2,000 Jews have lived for nearly three centuries in their own shtetl, one of the world’s few remaining all-Jewish towns outside Israel.

Category: Jewish News | Tags: Azerbaijan