Archive for January 17, 2014

Australian FM: Exactly Which Law does ‘Israeli Settlements’ Break?

Australian Foreign Minister Bishop again comes out swinging in defense of Israel, saying the world has it all wrong labeling Jewish settlements as ‘illegal’.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop this week continued to demonstrate what is, on the international diplomatic stage, rare support not only for Israel, but for its historic right to this land.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop - Photo Source: The Australian

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop – Photo Source: The Australian

In a must-read interview with The Times of Israel, Bishop said it was wrong for most in the international community to speak of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria as “illegal.” Continue Reading »

A guitar maker becomes a paratrooper

 

A guitar maker from South Carolina, Louis Berman came on Birthright to Israel & fell in love with the country, “A strong Israel & a strong IDF will guarantee the safety of the Jews in the Diaspora. I want to help & contribute,” he says.

By Danny Brenner

 

Continue Reading »

Hamas prepares Gaza’s teens for next battle with Israel

 

Hamas trains Palestinian youth for next armed conflict against Israel with teen boot camp teaching how to shoot rifles, crawl under barbed wire and jump through burning tires.

‘We will know how to overcome the Israeli army’ says 15-year-old student.

By Ynet

 

The New York Times followed a graduation ceremony at Hamas‘ training camp in Gaza, where the next generation of fighters is being trained ahead of a possible future battle with Israel.

Photo: AP

Photo: AP

Some 13,000 high school students in the Gaza Strip joined a six-day program, Futuwwa, run by the movement controlling Gaza since 2007, in order to undergo intensive training carried out by members of Hamas’ military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Continue Reading »

UNESCO postponed Jewish ties to Land of Israel exhibit saying it could harm peace process

 

UNESCO has postponed a Jewish exhibit 2 years in the making, entitled “People, Book, Land – The 3,500 Year Relationship of the Jewish People and the Land of Israel,” after a last minute protest from the Arab League.

 

 

Less than a week before the planned opening of an exhibit chronicling 3,500 years of Jewish ties to the Land of Israel, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has postponed the event, slated to open at its Paris headquarters Monday, out of concern that it could be harmful to the peace process.

UNESCO advocates for Syrian youth education, another example how the Arab League controls UNESCO

UNESCO advocates for Syrian youth education, another example how the Arab League influences UNESCO

“UNESCO is deeply committed to the successful outcome of the peace process in order to achieve stability in the region and we have a responsibility in ensuring that current efforts in this regard are not endangered,” wrote director-general Irina Bokova on Wednesday to the exhibit’s cohost, the Los Angels-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. Continue Reading »

Catholic Church in Poland Unveils 18th Century Blood Libel Painting

On Thursday for the Catholic Church‘s Int’l Day of Judaism, a controversial picture was uncovered to expose realities of the church’s anti-Semitic past.

By Ari Yashar

 

The Catholic Church of Poland unveiled a painting on Thursday that had been kept hidden since 2006, after protests from both Catholics and Jews opposed the depiction of Jews murdering Christian children in the classic anti-Semitic blood libel trope.

The painting, an 18th century CE work by Italian painter Charles de Prevot called “Mord Rytualny (Ritual Murder),” has been mounted on a wall at the cathedral in Sandomierz but hidden behind a red curtain for the past 8 years due to its contents. Continue Reading »

Ex-Ambassador Michael Oren Joins CNN as Their Mid-East Commentator

The former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., who had his share of run-ins with mainstream media, was very popular with American Jewish groups during his 4-year term in D.C.

By and

 

Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, has joined CNN as a commentator on the Middle East, JTA reported Thursday, quoting the news channel.

Michael Oren

Michael Oren. – Photo: Bloomberg

The U.S.-born Oren, who handed over his ambassadorial post in September to Ron Dermer, was very popular with American Jewish groups during his four-year stint in Washington. Before that, he wrote two best-selling books of history – “Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East,” and “Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present.” Continue Reading »

Netanyahu Angry over EU ‘Hypocrisy’ on Settlements while ignoring Arab Incitement

After Israeli envoys in Europe were called to explain new settlement construction, Netanyahu quips, ‘When did the EU summon the Palestinian ambassadors over their incitement calls for Israel’s destruction?’

By Gil Ronen and AFP

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu slammed the European Union Thursday for summoning envoys over recently unveiled plans for some 1,800 new homes for Jews in the ancient Jewish capital of Jerusalem, and the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria.

“This is hypocrisy. The EU calls our ambassadors in because of the construction of a few houses? When did the EU call in the Palestinian ambassadors about incitement that calls for Israel’s destruction?” Continue Reading »

Legendary Woodstock rocker Neil Young will perform in Israel this summer

 

The world famous rock musician will perform in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park in his 1st Israeli show since 1995, when he played with Pearl Jam.
The show was years in the making and is a dream come true, says promoter Shuki Weiss.
By Yoav Kutner and Eran Susia

 

Continue Reading »

Now explosives discovered at Czech Palestine mission after explosion & cache found

CZECH investigators have reported that after the discovery of a large illegal weapons cache, they later discovered explosives at the Palestinian embassy complex in Prague where a possibly booby-trapped safe killed the ambassador on New Year’s day.

AAP

 

 

Police discovered 12 illegal weapons following the explosion at the embassy that killed Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal, but this is the first time that authorities said explosives were also found in the new complex that includes the embassy and the ambassador’s residence.

Explosion at home of Palestinian ambassador in Czech Republic

Firefighters search the area after the explosion, Prague January 1, 2014 – Photo: Reuters

It remains unclear what caused the safe to explode but the ambassador’s death is being investigated as a case of negligence.

Continue Reading »

WATCH: IDF releases video of morning retaliatory IAF airstrike on Gaza terror targets

Watch Israel Air Force’s reaction after Iron Dome intercepted 5 rockets fired from Gaza at Ashkelon.

There were no reports of injury or property damage with the 6th rocket landing in an open, uninhabited area.

 

The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted five rockets fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza at Ashkelon early Thursday morning. An additional rocket may have landed in an open, uninhabited area.
There were no injuries in the Palestinian attack.

Israel Air Force - Phot courtesy: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Israel Air Force – Photo courtesy: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

The IAF responded to the rocket fire on Thursday by attacking four targets in the northern Gaza Strip: a terror site, an underground rocket launcher, a weapons storage facility and a weapons manufacturing site, the IDF Spokesperson said. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu meets King in Amman for talks on Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative

Israel’s PM conducting quiet closed-door meetings with King Abdullah at his palace in visit that was not publicly announced.

 

 

Jordan’s Royal Palace says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Amman for talks with the king on the latest in Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meets Jordan's King Abdulla at the Royal Palace

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, meets Jordan’s King Abdulla at the Royal Palace, Aqaba, May 14, 2009. – Photo: Reuters/Haaretz Archive

The palace said in a statement to The Associated Press that Netanyahu and King Abdullah are holding talks behind closed doors today about the “developments in the peace process” and Israeli-Palestinian negotiations sponsored by the United States. Continue Reading »

Israel Strikes Gaza Back Just Hours After Hamas Rocket Attack on Ashkelon

Israel Air Force jets hit terror-related sites in northern Gaza, a few hours after a rocket barrage targeted the city of Ashkelon.

By Elad Benari

 

Israeli Air Force (IAF) aircraft targeted terror-related sites in Gaza early Thursday morning, several hours after a rocket barrage targeted the city of Ashkelon.

Early morning IAF retaliatory strikes Gaza (archive) – Reuters

A statement from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that a concealed rocket launcher, a weapons storage site and a center of terrorist activity in northern Gaza were targeted.

Direct hits were confirmed, said the statement, which noted that the airstrikes came in retaliation to the rocket attack on Ashkelon earlier in the night. Continue Reading »

Gag order lifted: It’s a can of worms with Senior Police Officers, FBI, Bribes & Rabbi Pinto

 

Judge lifts gag-order: FBI wiretaps will reveal suspected misconduct by senior Israeli officials, in both Israel Police and within political echelon.

‘If this can of worms is opened, many Israeli officials will be embarrassed by findings,’ source says

By Aviel Magnezi

 

It was cleared for publication Thursday that Israel Police is conducting an investigation of senior police officers on suspicion of accepting bribe from Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto

 Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto - Photo: ILAN ASSAYAG/HAARETZ

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto – Photo: ILAN ASSAYAG/HAARETZ

In Wednesday’s issue of newsletter the rabbi releases periodically to his supporters, he wrote: “I will reveal my emotions before you. Dear brothers, this dark time forced upon us haunts us without us having committed any crime, and only due to narrow-minded and cruel considerations of those who use scare tactics.” Continue Reading »

Proposed Bill Would Cancel Gov’t Stipends to Early Release of Terrorists

MK Yariv Levin: The bill is to guarantee that early released terrorists should not also benefit by receiving ‘acclimation’ payments.

By Gil Ronen

 

Terrorists prisoners released before the end of their jail terms in diplomatic deals and exchanges like the Schalit deal will not receive “acclimation stipends” from the National Insurance Institute (NII), and their eligibility for other NII payments will be limited, according to a bill proposed by MK Yariv Levin (Likud-Beytenu).

Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail - Photo: Tal Cohen

Palestinian prisoners in an Israeli jail – Photo: Tal Cohen

Levin told Arutz Sheva that the proposed law will make released terrorists ineligible for any NII payments for the duration of the term that they were sentenced to, so that terrorists who had received life sentences would never be eligible for payments. Continue Reading »

Pamela Anderson & Rick Salomon honeymooning at King David Hotel in Jerusalem

After quietly remarrying her ex-husband Rick Salomon on Sunday, the 46 yr-old Baywatch actress boarded an El Al flight & headed straight for Israel.

By Jana Banin

 

Forget Hawaii! Newly remarried couple Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon took an El Al flight straight to Israel after exchanging vows on Sunday. According to The Times of Israel, the former “Baywatch” star and her film producer hubby (of Paris Hilton sex tape fame) are staying in a suite at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. They have already visited the Dead Sea.

It’s not Anderson’s first trip down the aisle with Salomon (the two were married briefly in 2007) or her first trip to Israel.

Continue Reading »