Archive for December 19, 2013

Blekinge Sweden to seek ban on circumcision

Much of the intensification of efforts to ban ritual circumcision are by anti-immigration nationalists who seek to limit the effect that Muslim presence is having on Swedish society.

 

A county in Sweden is planning to ban non-medical circumcision of boys, its commissioner said.

Blekinge county, Sweden - Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

Blekinge county, Sweden – Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

Per-Ola Mattsson, commissioner of Blekinge County, said he would move ahead with plans to ban ritual circumcision by bringing the subject up in February with the county’s health board, according to an article published Thursday by the Sydöstran Daily.

According to Dagens Medicin, Mattsson, who is also chairman of the Public Health Board of Blekinge, said he opposed the practice because minors “have no possibility to say no to the surgery and therefore the county should not perform these procedures.”

Continue Reading »

U.S. Designates Another Palestinian Group as Terrorists

 

U.S. State Department designates al-Qaida-linked Usamah Amin al-Shihabi as associate of Lebanese-based militant Palestinian terrorist group Fatah al-Islam.

By JTA

 

 

WASHINGTON — The US State Department added a Lebanon-based Palestinian Islamist linked to al-Qaida to its list of designated terrorists.

Palestinian fighters of the Fatah al-Islam group undergo military training with children. - Photo: Reuters

Palestinian fighters of the Fatah al-Islam group undergo military training with children. – Photo: Reuters

A statement issued Wednesday by the State Department said Usamah Amin al-Shihabi was an associate of Fatah al-Islam, “a Lebanese-based militant group formed in 2006, whose ultimate goal is the institution of Islamist sharia law in the Palestinian refugee camps and the destruction of Israel”. Continue Reading »

Pope Francis plans for Bethlehem Mass Headline Israel Visit

 

Catholic pontiff’s truncated trip disappoints Israeli Christians expecting papal-led Mass in Jerusalem.

Officials in Jerusalem ask Vatican to reconsider decision to hold single service only in Bethlehem.

By Itamar Eichner

Pope Francis will arrive in the Jewish State for a whirlwind visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on March 25, 2014. The trip will last less than 48 hours, as the Roman pontiff will arrive in the morning hours on Sunday and leave the following night.

Pope Francis at Mass (Photo: EPA)

Pope Francis at Mass – Photo: EPA

The forward delegation sent on behalf of the Vatican finished its initial visit to Israel on Tuesday, and preparations are underway for the Bishop of Rome’s trip. Continue Reading »

UN Security Council condemns all military activity on Syrian Golan Heights


Security Council warns Golan fighting could jeopardize the existing ceasefire between both Syria and Israel.

 

 

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned all military activity on the Golan Heights by the Syrian army and opposition fighters warning that it could “jeopardize the ceasefire” between Syria and Israel.

Fire caused by clashes between Syrian army, rebels near Quneitra.

Golan Heights fire caused by clashes between Syrian army and rebels, June 6, 2013. – Photo: AFP

The council approved a resolution Wednesday extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force until the end of June. The force, known as UNDOF, was established after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Politicians Target One Another in PA Violence

Palestinian Authority violent infighting sees assassination attempts as minister targeted in shooting or gangster behavior when lawmaker  physically assaulted fellow Fatah official.

By Maayana Miskin

 

A Palestinian Authority minister came under attack on Wednesday, the Bethlehem-based Maan news reports.

Minister of Islamic Endowments Mahmoud Habbash was targeted by unknown gunmen shortly after arriving at his office in Al-Bireh, near Ramallah. The masked men opened fire in the direction of the office.

Al-Bireh’s guards returned fire, and the shooters fled the scene. No casualties were reported.

Earlier Wednesday a scuffle broke out between a PA lawmaker and a senior Fatah official. Continue Reading »

Dutch Prime Minister Rejects Water Company’s Israel Boycott

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte opposes Vitens, a local water company’s decision to boycott its Israeli counterpart, says boycott is against the Netherlands gov’t policy.

By Elad Benari

 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has rejected a local water company’s boycott of its Israeli counterpart, Kol Yisrael radio reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Rutte spoke with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and clarified that the decision by Vitens, a Dutch water company, to cut ties with its Israeli counterpart Mekorot is inconsistent with government policy.

Rutte reportedly clarified that Vitens would continue to work with Mekorot.

The reason cited for last week’s decision was Mekorot’s presence in areas located beyond the 1949 Armistice lines. Continue Reading »

Canada asks UNHRC to Fire Richard Falk after accusing Israel of having ‘genocidal’ intentions

 

United Nation’s Rapporteur, wrote an article that said Israel was “slouching toward nothing less than a Palestinian holocaust.”

 

 

Canada called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to dismiss its special investigator Richard Falk after he accused Israel of “genocidal” intentions against the Palestinians in a brief English language interview on Russian television.

UN investigator Richard Falk.

UN investigator Richard Falk.- Photo: Reuters

“Canada has previously called for Falk to be fired for his numerous outrageous and anti-Semitic statements and these comments underscore once more the complete and total absurdity of his service as a UN Special Rapporteur,” Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird said in a statement he issued on Monday.

Continue Reading »

Brandeis University Quits the American Studies Association over Boycott Policy

Brandeis University, the second to quit the ASA

We can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture,–freedom of association and expression.

 

Brandeis University has become the second institution to withdraw from the American Studies Association, following the organization’s decision to boycott Israel. “We view the recent vote by the membership to affirm an academic boycott of Israel as a politicization of the discipline and a rebuke to the kind of open inquiry that a scholarly association should foster,” Brandeis’s American Studies Department posted on their web site. “We remain committed to the discipline of American Studies but we can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture–freedom of association and expression.” Continue Reading »

Palestinian shot dead, 7 injured in Jenin from clashes with Police special forces

 

Palestinian reports say 1 died from gunshot wound and 7 injured as result of clashes with  MAGAV unit that arrived in refugee camp in search of terror suspect.

By Elior Levy

 

A Palestinian was killed on Wednesday as a result of clashes with an Israeli security force in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian sources reported.

The Palestinian who was killed, identified as Nafa Jamil Saadi, 22, has reportedly died of his wounds while being evacuated to a hospital.

The Israeli security force, with the Border Guard’s counterterrorism unit, has entered the Jenin refugee camp dressed as technicians to arrest an Islamic Jihad operative, who, in light of the exchange of fire, was not detained. Continue Reading »

Is taxation the right way to fight foreign gov’ts covert meddling in Israel’s internal affairs?

If Jerusalem really wants to expose the immoral corruption spawned by foreign gov’ts funding anti-Israel NGOs, then there are better options than taxation.

By Gerald M. Steinberg

 

 

Once again, members of the government coalition have introduced legislation to tax and curtail foreign government funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aiming at groups involved in boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), anti-Israel lawfare, racist activities and the undermining of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

EU Parliament in Brussels

Pedestrians walk toward EU Parliament in Brussels. – Photo: Reuters

Clearly and justifiably, after the widely critical headlines and a pro-forma vote, this legislation is going to be buried following the opposition of the minister of justice, and the concerns voiced by the attorney general. Continue Reading »

Druze Sheikhs Indicted for illegally crossing into Syria

 

Northern Magistrates Court rejected the 16 sheikhs’ appeal to dismiss its indictment against them because Israelis are forbidden from crossing into Syria.

Group of Sheikhs say they should be free to visit holy sites in Arab republic.

By Hassan Shaalan

The Nazareth Magistrates Court rejected Wednesday the appeal of 16 Druze sheikhs filed against an indictment according to which they were accused of illegally entering Syria.

Sheikhs in court (Photo: Hassan Shaalan)

Sheikhs in court – Photo: Hassan Shaalan

The sheikhs crossed into Syria via Jordan in 2010, with the purpose, according to the defendants, of visiting relatives and the gravesite of a Muslim prophet. Continue Reading »

5 Years Later, Israeli Airlines Begin Flights to Turkey

Agreement signed between Israel & Turkey civil aviation authorities allow scheduled flights after five-year hiatus.

Turkey agrees to exercise Israel’s security protocols.

By Tova Dvorin

 

Yisrael Katz, Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, announced Wednesday that Israeli airlines would be resuming flights to Turkey after more than a five-year hiatus.

Flights between Israeli carriers to the middle-eastern country stopped in 2007 due to security issues at Turkish airports, which were not up to the special standards set for air travel by the Israeli government.

Katz noted that the move opens up new opportunities for Israeli carriers, who can now compete on equal terms with Turkish airlines. Continue Reading »

Former Egyptian President Morsi to stand trial for conspiring with Hamas & Hezbollah

 

Egyptian prosecutor says ousted Islamist president Morsi committed acts of violence & terrorism with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Morsi is also being charged with conspiracy in “terrorist plan” with Hamas Palestinians from Gaza and with Lebanese terror groups.

Prosecutor says charges could result in execution.

By REUTERS
 

CAIRO – Egypt’s public prosecutor ordered former President Mohamed Morsi and 35 other Islamists to stand trial on charges including conspiring with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts in Egypt and divulging military secrets to a foreign state.

Deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi

Deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi – Photo: REUTERS

The charges leveled against Morsi and other top Muslim Brotherhood members on Wednesday could result in their execution.

Continue Reading »

West Bank Nature Reserve Denies Entry to Palestinian Security Offenders

Palestinians who served time for security offenses are refused entry by the parks authority inspectors at Ein Prat Nature Reserve.

 

 

Palestinians convicted of security offenses are being barred from entering the Ein Prat Nature Reserve in the Judean Desert, even though visitors’ security records aren’t checked at other West Bank nature reserves.

People cooling off in the waters of Ein Prat in the Judean desert.

People cooling off in the waters of Ein Prat in the Judean desert. – Photo: Amir Aloni / The Israel Nature and Parks Authority

Inspectors from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority kept two Palestinian visitors out of Ein Prat, also called Ein Fara, two weeks ago, said Dror Etkes, a researcher who monitors settlement construction and was with them at the time. Continue Reading »

EU threatens Israel not to make further settlement construction announcements

 

EU dictates to Jerusalem: No gov’t announcements on new settlement construction after Palestinian prisoner release at end of month.

European delegation tells Israeli officials: There will be dire consequences if current round of peace talks collapses.

By The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

The European Union yesterday said it had asked Israel not to announce any new West Bank settlement construction following an expected Palestinian prisoner release, warning it would be blamed for any resulting failure in the Mideast peace talks.

A construction worker working on a new housing unit in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har Homa, which the EU considers illegal [Archive] – Photo: AP

In further pressure on Israel, a European delegation told Israeli officials there could be dire consequences if the current round of peace talks collapsed, including economic sanctions against the settlements, an EU official said. Continue Reading »