Archive for June 12, 2015

Spain Approves New Law Granting Dual Citizenship to Descendents of Exiled Jews

In 1492 the Catholic monarchs Isabella & Ferdinand ordered around 300,000 Jews living in Spain to convert to Catholicism or be exiled forever. Today, an estimated 3.5 million Sephardi Jews from around the world could apply for Spanish citizenship.

By News Agencies & Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Spanish government approved a law on Friday allowing descendants of Jews expelled from the country in 1492 to seek Spanish nationality without giving up their current citizenship.

A synagogue in Toledo, Spain, built in 1180 – Photo: Reuters

Spain’s Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón said Spain owed the Sephardi community a debt for spreading the Spanish language and culture around the world as well as fixing what the government calls the “historic mistake” of sending Jews into exile. Continue Reading »

Shin Bet closes Hamas money pipeline from Gaza to West Bank

“Every one along the chain took a commission, and passed the funds on… but a large part of the money she transferred to her brother was used, among other purposes, to purchase a luxury apartment and a vehicle,” the Shin Bet said.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced on Wednesday the arrest of a Gazan woman suspected of transferring hundreds of thousands of dollars from Gaza to the West Bank for Hamas activities.

money

Israeli New Shekels – Photo: REUTERS

Sana’a Hafi, 42, from the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, allegedly transferred the money to her brother Hassin Abu Kayuk, who is serving time in an Israeli prison. Continue Reading »

Kibbutz to export hundreds of millions of flies to Croatia and Bosnia

Israeli bio-tech company will send sterilized flies to be dispersed in orchards along the Croatia-Bosnia border helping farmers combat pests using natural biological techniques.

By Ynet

 

BioBee, a bio-tech company on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu concentrating on the field of biological pest management in agriculture, has won a massive tender with the International Atomic Energy Agency to supply of 400 million sterile flies, in the wake of a successful similar project last fall.

Flies in the lab (Photo: Roi Idan)
Flies in the lab – Photo: Roi Idan

 

According to BioBee, the flies will be dispersed in orchards along the border areas of Croatia and Bosnia over a period of several months. Continue Reading »

Hamas Refusing PA Unity Government Any Authority in Gaza

Fatah spokesperson thanks Egypt for opening of Rafah Crossing to the Sinai, but objects that Hamas has ‘refused’ to hand crossings responsibilities over to ‘unity’ government.

By Dalit Halevy

 

Fatah, the leading faction in the Palestinian Authority (PA), welcomed the opening of Rafah Crossing between Gaza and the Sinai, while emphasizing that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the PA’s embassy in Egypt are working to improve conditions in the terror stronghold of Gaza.

Fatah spokesperson Ahmed Assaf said the PA appreciates the security difficulties Egypt faces dealing with Salafist terror in the Sinai Peninsula, in a likely reference to past Egyptian claims that Hamas provided Sinai terrorists with weapons via the Gaza smuggling tunnels Egypt has been cracking down on.

Continue Reading »

Spanish court suspends 2010 Gaza flotilla investigation against Israel

A Madrid court has decided to temperately shelve its probe into the Israeli leaders of the raid on the Mavi Marmara.

By Reuters

 

A Madrid court on Thursday shelved a five-year-old investigation into the Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound Marmara flotilla.


Marmara Netanyahu & Barak – Photo: IDF Spokesman,Gil Yochanan, Mark Israel Salem
The investigation could potentially be re-opened if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ever visits Spain.

The 2010 raid killed nine Turkish activists, while a tenth Turk died four years later from his injuries. Spanish activists were also present on the ships.

Spain has been pioneering the use of universal jurisdiction, a concept where crimes against humanity can be prosecuted across borders. Continue Reading »

Germany cancels anti-Israel propaganda exhibit

Breaking the Silence propaganda exhibit featuring testimonies of anonymous IDF soldiers alleging human right violations was cancelled for it’s irrelevance to the 50th anniversary of German-Israeli relations.

By Polina Garae

 

Israel succeeded in its efforts to cancel a controversial Breaking the Silence exhibition planned to be held in Cologne as part of the official events to mark the 50th anniversary of the Israeli-German diplomatic relations.

Breaking the Silence exhibition in Zurich – Photo: AFP

The Israeli embassy in Berlin, which coordinates the events held across Germany, was surprised to learn that Cologne municipality had included in its program an exhibit of photos and testimonies of Israeli soldiers alleging human rights violations in the West Bank and Gaza. Continue Reading »

IDF closes case into wrongful deaths of 4 boys on Gaza beach

Decision by military’s Magistrate to close case could still have consequences for the IDF legally and for Israel diplomatically.

 

No criminal charges will be filed against soldiers involved in one of the most infamous incidents of the 2014 Gaza war with Hamas, the killing of four boys on an open Gaza beach area as they reportedly played soccer on a sunny July day, the IDF Magistrate’s office reported late Thursday night.

Gaza

A Palestinian man walks atop the remains of a house that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 10.

Continue Reading »

Code Red Siren Activated in Ashkelon But Terrorist’s Rocket Falls Short, Explodes in Gaza

‘Code Red’ alert siren sounds in southern Israel but rocket launch ‘failure’, as it falls & explodes in Gaza.

By Ynet

 

A Red Alert siren signaling an incoming rocket sounded in the Ashkelon area on Thursday at around 10 PM.

  Rocket launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel (Archive Photo: Reuters)Rocket launched from the Gaza Strip at Israel – Archive Photo: Reuters

 

Locals reported hearing a loud noise north of Ashkelon. No damage or injuries were reported.

The IDF later announced that the siren was prompted by a failed rocket launch from Gaza.

Yuval Sadon, Chairwoman of the Ashkelon Students Union, related her fear of a new round of violence in the wake of the recent attacks: “I want to start the summer with a smile, to start the vacation free of worry.” Continue Reading »

Qatar Promoting Rajoub to Replace the Moderate Abbas

Using soccer as a weapon would cause a deterioration in Arab-Jewish relations & make the soccer teams under Qatar’s sponsorship a hub of friction & provocation.

By Ari Yashar

 

A new research article citing Arabic media sources reveals that Qatar is backing Jibril Rajoub, who was behind the recent failed Palestinian Authority (PA) effort to ban Israel at FIFA, as a replacement for Mahmoud Abbas as PA chairman when – and if – he steps down.

Pinhas Inbar made the revelation on Tuesday in an in-depth article on the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs website. The Center is a research institute headed by Dr. Continue Reading »

RFK’s daughter speaks of father’s legacy & devotion to Israel at IDC Conference

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the former Lt-governor of Maryland and victim to Palestinian violence, delivers moving tribute to her father at the IDC Conference in Herzliya.

By NOA AMOUYAL

 

As a war correspondent for The Boston Post during Israel’s War of Independence, Robert F. Kennedy saw the country as a beacon of hope in a world turned asunder after World War II.

KATHLEEN KENNEDY TOWNSEND addresses the Herzliya Conference at IDC Herzliya on Tuesday. – Photo: IDC

It was his firm commitment to Israel’s right to exist and America’s obligation to support its greatest friend in the Middle East that led Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan to assassinate Kennedy in the midst of his run for the White House 47 years ago. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Family Housed in Haifa Beat & Abused Local Holocaust Survivors

The 7 arrested Arab suspects who were housed by Israel on the same street for assisting authorities, allegedly bullied, stole, and beat up several elderly Holocaust survivors.

By Ahiya Raved

 

The Haifa police said Thursday it arrested seven Palestinians from the same family suspected of abusing Holocaust survivors.

Illustration (Photo: Shutterstock)
Illustrative Photo: Shutterstock

The seven are suspected of assaulting several of the elderly residents of a home for Holocaust survivors in Haifa’s Hadar neighborhood. The suspects allegedly stole from the survivors, bullied them and forbade them from walking on the sidewalk in an area near the home.

Police will bring the suspects for a remand extension on Thursday at the Haifa Magistrate’s Court. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu Praises Dempsey in Jerusalem as the ‘Grand Champion’ of US-Israel Relations

WATCH: Israel’s PM Binyamin Netanyahu thanks U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey in a meeting in Jerusalem, for America’s men & women that are fighting for freedom around the world.

By Cynthia Blank

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met Thursday morning in Jerusalem with US of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Jerusalem with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey on 11, June, 2015 – Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO

“You’ve been a wonderful friend and a grand champion of America and of America-Israel relations,” Netanyahu greeted Dempsey warmly. Continue Reading »

Saving the Jordan River Unites Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians in Common Project

Jordan hosts tri-national initiative with Israeli, Palestinian & Jordanian representatives to save the Jordan River & upgrade the Jordan River Valley on both sides of the river.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

 

The polluted and trickling Jordan River might once again be “deep and wide” as well as clean by 2025, if the joint efforts of Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians bear fruit.

Swimming at the mouth of the Jordon River last week. – Photo: SARAH LEVIN

On the diplomatic stage, Palestinians and Israelis have not held direct peace talks since April 2014. But on Tuesday and Wednesday, activists and officials from both governments as well as from Jordan met at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea for the second time this year about water. Continue Reading »

Hamas Accuses PA President of Treachery, Responsible for Gaza’s Recent Bombing Attacks

After allegedly securing confessions, the ruling Islamist group of Gaza reverses its claim that Salafis have been committing bombings, saying orders came from President Abbas’ PA.

By Elior Levy

 

Hamas claimed on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for a series of bombings in recent weeks, after previously accusing local Salafis who support the Islamic State.

Naim Abu Ful in his alleged confession
Naim Abu Ful in his alleged confession

The Interior Ministry of Hamas in Gaza said at a midday press conference that the PA tried to exploit the regional security situation in order to destabilize the Gaza Strip.

Hamas claimed it arrested a number of people involved in the alleged conspiracy, which it said was led by senior political and security officials in Ramallah.

Continue Reading »

Israel Air Forces and USAF Sign Strategic Agreement

Israel revealed that the IAF and the U.S. have signed an air force agreement last week covering a wide range of strategic cooperation between the 2 air forces.

By Yaakov Levi

 

Israel and the U.S. have signed an important strategic air force agreement, the Israel Air Force revealed Monday. The ASNR (Air Senior National Representative) agreement, signed last week, covers a full range of cooperation between the forces under one roof by building a joint annual work plan addressing these issues with the goal of promoting relevant interests of each force, the IAF said.

According to Brigadier General Ya’akov Sharabani, the IAF’s Attaché in Washington, the agreement “is a significant milestone in the cooperation between the forces, realized for the first time as signed agreement.”

Continue Reading »