November 2014 Archives

European Move For Unilateral Palestinian Statehood Suffers Setbacks

Following Germany Chancellor Merkel’s decree not to follow Sweden’s lead, French and Dutch leaders oppose their country’s unilateral recognition of a Palestinian State.

By Israel Today Staff

Efforts to secure unilateral recognition of an independent Palestinian state suffered serious setbacks in Europe last week, despite warnings by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that, following Sweden’s decision, far more countries were likely to recognize “Palestine” with or without the agreement of Israel.

On Wednesday, former, and possibly future, French president Nicolas Sarkozy urged members of his UMP party to vote against an upcoming motion in France’s National Assembly demanding Paris follow Stockholm’s example regarding a Palestinian state.

Category: The Diaspora | Tags: Europe, Nicolas Sarkozy, Palestinian recognition

Report: ISIS kidnaps former IDF female soldier who went to fight with the Kurds

Earlier this month, Gill Rosenberg, 31, said she decided to join the Kurdish fighters for humanitarian & ideological reasons, saying, “because they are our brothers.”

By JPOST.COM STAFF

The Canadian- Israeli woman who joined the ranks of Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State earlier this month has been kidnapped by the organization that she went to fight, Channel Two reported on Sunday citing Syrian jihadi websites.

Gila Rosenberg(R) – Photo: FACEBOOK

Gill Rosenberg, 31, from Tel Aviv, said in an interview with Israel Radio earlier this month she had decided to join the fighters for humanitarian and ideological reasons and “because they are our brothers” who are fighting the evil of Islamic State. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: IDF girls, ISIS, kidnapping

Ron Prosor tells European Leaders: “You’re failing us again today.”

In an unapologetic speech at the UN, Israeli envoy Ron Prosor tells European countries: “You failed us in the 1940s, in 1973 & you are failing us again today.”

From Israel at the UN:

Usually, during the UN International day of solidarity with the Palestinian People debate, the European Union makes a collective announcement.

This time, Sweden decided to honor us with its presence and hold its own speech.

To the Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Annika Soder who attended the debate (that results in numerous anti-Israel resolutions) and to the rest of the European nations, Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, said:

“You, the European nations, never stood beside us, and it is no surprise that you aren’t standing beside us today. Continue Reading »

Category: Video's worth Viewing | Tags: Ron Prosor, UN

Enumerating Erdogan’s Last Half-Dozen Outlandish Rants

Turkey’s anti-Semitic President has caused bewilderment around the world with his controversial comments, but with his conservative uneducated constituency at home, he connects.

By AFP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has raised eyebrows around the world with a series of outlandish comments but while his remarks sometimes cause bafflement abroad they strike a chord with many conservative Turks at home.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (Photo: Associated Press)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. – Photo: Associated Press

In the last month alone he has declared that Muslims discovered the Americas before Columbus and that women are not equal to men. But these were just the latest headline-grabbing declarations from Erdoğan over a long career of controversy. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Recep Tayyip Erdogan

IDF agrees to export used Israeli cars to Gaza – but will Abbas Agree?

Currently, the new cars exported from Israel are for the wealthy Gazans, but importing used vehicles would appeal to the Strip’s middle class.

By Daniel Schmil

The Israel Defense Forces’ Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories is due to approve the export of used Israeli cars to the Gaza Strip, TheMarker has learned. Israel already allows the import of new cars into the territory.

Palestinian children play in a damaged car outside a U.N. school in Gaza City, Sept. 3, 2014. – Photo: AP

Following the easing of some other aspects of its blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, officials at COGAT have decided to allow the import into Gaza of used cars, in the hope it will aid Gaza’s economy and create jobs for workers who would be involved in servicing the cars.

Category: Israel News | Tags: COGAT, Gaza, Israel Gaza

Watch: Becoming an IDF Search and Rescue Soldier in 90 Seconds

Watch the incredible journey of an IDF soldier who documented his intense 8-month training on the way to becoming an IDF combat soldier.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

A soldier from the Home Front Command’s Combat Search and Rescue Brigade documented his intense eight months of training on the way to receiving his orange beret and becoming an IDF combat soldier.

The result is the following 90-second video feature released by the IDF:

View original Arutz Sheva publication at: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/188027#.VHrSw8nVIn4 Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Video's worth Viewing | Tags: IDF search & rescue team, IDF soldier

israelandstuffcom | November 29, 2014

Egyptian court drops graft charges & wrongful death charges against Hosni Mubarak

CLEARED: Egyptian judge drops case against ousted president Mubarak over killings of anti-government protesters and also cleared of him of graft charges involving a gas deal with Israel.

By Jack Khoury

An Egyptian court on Saturday dropped the case against ousted President Hosni Mubarak for his involvement in the killing of antigovernment protesters in 2011.

Supporters of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak chant slogans as they wait for him to be transferred to a court, in front of Maadi military hospital in Cairo, November 29, 2014. – Photo: Reuters

Egypt’s former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, and his aides have also been cleared of ordering the killing of protesters during the uprising that ended Mubarak’s three-decade rule.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Egypt, Hosni Mubarak

Gadi Eizencot selected as next IDF chief of staff

Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot to be named IDF’s 21st chief of staff in official announcement to be made Saturday evening. Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz, the current chief of staff, is scheduled to step down in February.

By Yoav Zitun

Following a prolonged waiting period, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally approved Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s choice for the appointment of the next Chief of Staff. The official announcement regarding the successor of Lieutenant General Benny Gantz will be made on Saturday night. However, it can already be stated that Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot will be named as next chief of staff of the IDF. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Chief of Staff, IDF

Jewish Refugee Day Commemorates 850,000 Jews Exiled From Arab Lands

While the world extends disproportionate attention to the Arab displacement during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, the Jewish refugees that were forcefully banished from 10 countries are totally ignored by all, except the Jews.

By Israel Today Staff

On Sunday, November 30, Israel will commemorate the 850,000 Jews driven from their homes in neighboring Arab countries on the occasion of the Jewish state’s rebirth.

Aharon Aboudi grew up in Iraq, before his family was evicted and forced to build a new life in Israel – Screenshot

While the international community has numerous days and events marking the flight of hundreds of thousands of Arabs from the land during Israel’s War of Independence (there is even an official UN commemoration), the Jewish side of the equation is all but ignored.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Jewish refugees

Ben-Gurion’s vision materializes as Israel plans 22 new Negev communities

The “Negev Progress Plan”, expected to increase Israel’s desert population by half a million people in the upcoming 20 years, will be a nod to David Ben-Gurion’s vision for prosperity & settlement in the Negev, as it will also help ease overcrowding in Israel’s center.

By Hezi Sternlicht

The cabinet is set to vote Sunday on a plan for increased development in the Negev Desert, including the establishment of 22 new communities. The new plan, nicknamed the “Negev Progress Plan,” references the Jewish Agency’s historic 11 Points in the Negev plan, which established 11 settlements in 1946.

Beersheba, in Israel’s Negev desert – Photo: Lior Mizrahi

The new plan will establish settlements from Sderot to Yeruham, near the original 11.

Category: Israel News | Tags: David Ben-Gurion, Israel settlements, Negev, new construction

Security thwart likely stabbing attack: Female Palestinian with knife arrested in Hebron

Police say initial investigations conclude that the 17 yr-old girl had planned to stab Jewish security personnel at Israel’s holy site.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Security forces arrested a 17-year-old Palestinian girl found to have a knife in her possession on Friday at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

Knife of Palestinian teen in Hebron. – Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit

The knife was revealed during routine security checks. Police said initial investigations indicated that she had planned to stab security personnel.

During the incident the youth initially refused to undergo a routine security check, leading security forces to repeatedly question her to do so. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Cave of the Patriarchs, Israel Police, Palestinian terrorist, Palestinian violence, Stabbing Attack, terror arrest

Chief IDF Rabbi: Praying Muslims face Mecca, with back towards Jerusalem & Temple Mount

Chief IDF Rabbi Rafi Peretz makes controversial comments on Muslims’ relation to the Temple Mount and Jerusalem: ‘In the Qur’an, the word Jerusalem isn’t mentioned a single time, and that most Muslims have no idea what’s written in Qur’an.’

By Ynetnews

“In the Qur’an, the word Jerusalem is not mentioned even once. Nothing. It’s not even hinted at,” Chief IDF Rabbi Rafi Peretz was recorded saying in an explosive comments first broadcast by Israeli media.

Chief IDF Rabbi Rafi Peretz – Photo: Ido Erez

Speaking to a group of seminary students, Peretz said also said that “90% of Arabs have no idea what is written in the Qur’an,” the Channel 10 recording revealed. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: IDF Chief Rabbi, Jerusalem, Qur'an, Temple Mount

Venezuelan Lawmaker: ‘Zionists’ Financed Hitler’s Third Reich

In response, Jewish group blasts Congressman Adel El Zabayar who’s using, ‘Nazi tactics of the big lie & bogus conspiracy theories to incite hatred, endangering the safety of Venezuela’s Jewish community.’

By JTA

JTA – A Latin American Jewish group has called for the removal from office of a Venezuelan lawmaker who said during an interview that “Zionists” were the main financiers of Hitler.

Zabayar (center) was part of Chávez’s delegation that visited Assad in Damascus in 2009, on a tour that included stops in Libya, Algeria, and Iran – Photo source Girish-Gupta

Congressman Adel El Zabayar, a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly, told the Hezbollah-sponsored Al Manar TV headquartered in Lebanon that: “In order to understand what is happening today in the Middle East and what happened in the world in the First and Second World Wars we must examine the original Zionist conspiracy If we look into who financed Hitler before WWII we will see that the main financiers were the Zionists.”

Category: Jewish News, The Diaspora | Tags: Adolph Hitler, anti-Semitic propaganda, Holocaust, incitement, Venezuela

Israel Police’s new ‘spy balloons’ gives added security to Jerusalem residents

Israel’s aerial optical security technology provides police a “3rd dimension” in efforts to quell Arab rioters
• Skystar 180 aerostat can be airborne for 72-hrs, using its sensitive cameras.
• Imam of Al-Aqsa mosque: “It is practically over the houses. It violates the privacy of people”

The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

In the face of Jerusalem’s worst wave of violence in nearly a decade, Israeli police are watching from above in their attempts to keep control in the city.

The Skystar aerostat surveillance system, which the Israeli police recently started using in Jerusalem to track clashes – Photo: AP

Police have been flying surveillance balloons over the city’s eastern sector and Old City — the location of its most sensitive holy sites — to monitor protests and move in on them quickly.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Israel Police, Jerusalem, Skystar aerostat