Archive for July 19, 2015

Students return after evacuation because of huge fire in Northern Israel

4 firefighting aircraft were called in to protect the homes & dormitories adjacent to Tel Hai academy and extinguish the wildfire that engulfed the hills surrounding Kiryat Shmona. 

By Ahiya Raved

 

A huge fire erupted Sunday afternoon near Kiryat Shmona, leading authorities to begin evacuations in the city’s Bimat Tel Hai neighborhood and the campus of the Tel Hai academy.

The blaze on the hills from Kiryat Shmona. – Photo: Zar Ohayoun

Seven firefighter teams were active at the scene from the upper-Galilee-Golan station and four firefighting aircraft operating out of the Carmiel station.

Heavy smoke led to the closure of Highway 9977 in the area. Continue Reading »

WATCH: Netanyahu Blasts Shirking of Open Iranian Threats After Nuclear Deal

view videoIsrael’s PM voices his amazement at the indifference to the Ayatollah’s public promise to use newly acquired $billions to reequip ‘their terror machine.’ 

By Tova Dvorin

 

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s latest speech mocking the US and declaring “Death to Israel” proves the futility of the Iranian nuclear deal with the West, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stated at the opening remarks to his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – Photo: Kobi Gidon/GPO

“If anyone thought that the far-reaching concessions to Iran will change its policy, they received an overwhelmingly aggressive response from the speech from the ruler of Iran, Khamenei, over the weekend,” Netanyahu said. Continue Reading »

Pollard likely to be released November 21, after 30 years of incarceration

Having served 30 years behind bars, & unrelated to the Iran nuclear deal, it’s highly likely that Pollard will be paroled this Fall, reports The Algemeiner.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

The United States is considering releasing Jonathan Pollard this Fall on November 21st – the day of his parole eligibility – The Algemeiner reported Friday.

Jonathan Pollard – Photo Courtesy

Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison in the United States in 1987, will be 61 years old with his supposed release, having served 30-years behind bars.

His release follows reports in recent years of Pollard’s declining health and hospitalizations, which sparked many calls and efforts on behalf of activists and politicians for his release. Continue Reading »

Facebook set to acquire Pebbles, another Israeli high-tech firm

With the purchase of an Israeli firm pioneering the field of virtual reality, Facebook will follow Apple, Intel & Microsoft who are already operating VR R&D capabilities in Israel.

By Assaf Gilad, Calcalist

 

Facebook is negotiating the acquisition of Israeli Pebbles Interfaces, which deals in one of the social network’s most promising current fields of activity – virtual and enhanced reality. Ynet’s sister publication Calcalist learned that after having acquired Oculus VR, Facebook now wants to buy Emil Alon and Nadav Grossinger’s company which develops gesture recognition technology.

Seeing reality… virtually. – Photo: Archive/Shahar Shoshan

While other pioneers in the field such as PrimeSense and Microsoft focus on body gesture recognition, Pebbles’ technology works with finger gestures, aimed primarily at gamers, but also has applications for TV, computers, or smartphone operation while driving. Continue Reading »

Holocaust Survivor ‘Returns the Favor’ By Saving Syrian & Iraqi Christians

Saved from Nazi-ruled Austria at age 19, British Lord Weidenfeld establishes fund to save Iraqi & Syrian Christians.

By Israel Today Staff

 

At the age of 19, Arthur George Weidenfeld was among the many Jews whom British Christians successfully rescued from Nazi-controlled Austria just as Adolf Hitler and his cohorts were putting the “Final Solution” into action.

Seventy-seven years later, now a British lord, Weidenfeld is looking to return the favor by rescuing Syrian and Iraqi Christians under mortal threat from the advancing Islamist horde known as ISIS.

Weidenfeld was brought to England in 1938 by the Quakers and the Plymouth Brethren. Continue Reading »

US warns Israel against demolishing illegal Palestinian ramshackle structures

US State Department says carrying out Israeli court order to demolish the illegal encampment of Sussiya could have ‘negative impact on the region’

By i24news

 

The United States cautioned Israel against plans to demolish a Palestinian village in the West Bank, warning that such action could have a negative impact on the region.

View of the ramshackle village of Susya on state land near the West Bank town of Hebron – Photo: Hazem Bader/AFP

Israel’s military ruling authority in the West Bank claims the Palestinians built their homes in the village of Sussiya without permission and lack necessary infrastructure.

Residents of the village in the south Hebron Hills insist that they have been forced to build illegally because permits are never granted and they accuse the Israeli authorities of deliberately denying them access to facilities. Continue Reading »

ICC orders prosecutor to reopen closed ‘Mavi Marmara’ war-crime case against IDF

view videoICC decision interjects world body into Israeli-Arab conflict “for cynical political reasons,” Israel PM Netanyahu responded.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

In a shocking 2-1 decision, the International Criminal Court on Thursday ordered its chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to consider opening a full criminal investigation into war crimes allegations against IDF personnel relating to the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, just seven months after she had closed the file.

Using harsh language, the ICC told Bensouda she should have considered more seriously the possibility that the deaths of those killed by the IDF in the incident were “systematic or resulted from a deliberate plan or policy to attack, kill or injure civilians.”The Continue Reading »

Israeli Soccer Fans Overreact in Belgium After Anti-Semitic Chants

After Belgium football fans began making anti-Semitic comments, visiting supporters of Bietar Jerusalem caused ‘outrage & shame’ with their violent reaction.

By David Ben Shimol

 

Fans of the controversial Beitar Jerusalem team shocked the Israeli sports community after a small confrontation with fans of a rival team sparked a violent display at a game in Belgium Thursday night.

Beitar fans hurl smoke-bombs onto field in reaction to anti-Semitic chants by Belgium fans – screenshot

The fans threw smoke grenades and hung a racist flag at the outset of the game, leading play to be suspended. Heavy fines are expected to be imposed on the team, and the team’s owner has pledged to withdraw all support. Continue Reading »

Obama Sets Israel Up to “Perils of Isolation” in UN Over Nuke Deal

UNSC set to adopt Iran JCPOA resolution in quick ‘Blitzkrieg’ vote under a procedure that will expose Israel to isolation should Jerusalem speak out against dangerous Iran deal.

By Mark Langfan, A7 UN Reporter

 

In a diplomatic blitzkrieg, the Obama Administration has set this coming Monday at 9 a.m. EST for a vote at the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on the adoption of the Iran nuclear deal, which was announced by the world’s leading powers and the Islamic Republic of Iran in Vienna on Tuesday.

US President Barack Obama addresses the 69th UN General Assembly – Photo: Reuters

A terse announcement by the New Zealand delegation which assumed the monthly rotating UNSC’s Presidency for July revealed the vote session.
Continue Reading »

Under Netanyahu’s Direction Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill Voted Down: 94-6

MK Sharon Gal, the bill’s sponsor, lists the names of the many MKs & right-wing ministers who openly supported the bill before the PM came out against it.

By LAHAV HARKOV

 

Only Yisrael Beytenu MKs voted in favor of a bill that would make it easier to sentence terrorists to death on Wednesday.

Sharon Gal holds poster, “Also I’m for the Death Penalty for Terrorists!” – Photo Courtesy

The bill by MK Sharon Gal (Yisrael Beytenu) would change the current law allowing death penalty only in a case of judicial consensus, which was only used against Adolf Eichmann, to one allowing a majority of presiding judges to sentence a terrorist to death. Continue Reading »

Arab League Now Demands Nuclear Deal Forced on Israel

Nabil Al-Arabi, the head of the Arab League, insists Iran deal demonstrates ‘double standard’ when Israel isn’t placed under IAEA supervision.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said Wednesday a historic nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is a first step to ridding the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction.

Nabil Al-Arabi – Reuters

The head of the Cairo-based pan-Arab bloc expressed hopes the accord reached on Tuesday would usher in “stability and security” in the volatile region, according to AFP.

Arabi also called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to declare that it has nuclear facilities. Continue Reading »

VIEW: Muslim World Reacts To Iran Deal in Cartoons

A flurry of satirical cartoons reverberates through the Mid-East, both congratulating Iran for its victory & hitting the US hard for capitulating on positions. 

By Roi Kais

 

Arab media outlets responded Wednesday to the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in typical form – satirical cartoons. The reactions to the deal were in no way consistent, and there was a clear demarcation between Sunni Arab states and the Shiite world. 

'Al Quds Al Arabi': Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif announcing he has reached a deal with the "Great Satan" (US), while Netanyahu goes crazy in the corner.
‘Al Quds Al Arabi’: Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif announcing he has reached a deal with the “Great Satan” (US), while Netanyahu goes crazy in the corner.

 

Iran jumps above Obama, from an Iraqi agency
Iran jumps above Obama, from an Iraqi agency

 

The typically anti-Iranian Saudi newspaper Al-Okaz claimed that Tehran had received a prize free of charge: “There are many documents highlighting Saudi concerns that the deal would signify a prize for a regime that does not respect the basic value of being a good neighbor, and is constantly intervening in regional conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen.” Continue Reading »

Hamas Rocket Engineer Receives 21 Years By Israeli Court

Engineer Dirar Abu Sisi, who headed Hamas’ ‘terrorist military academy’ in Gaza, extended the range of Qassam rockets to kill even more innocent Jewish civilians in Israel.

By Ari Soffer

 

An Israeli court sentenced a Palestinian engineer from Gaza to 21 years in jail Tuesday for helping the Islamist terrorist movement Hamas to improve the range of rockets used against the Jewish state.

Dirar Abu Sisi went missing in Ukraine in February 2011, and Israel said a month later that he was in its custody and would be put on trial. He was apparently arrested in an operation by Israeli secret service agents.
Continue Reading »

Two Israelis Posing as Arab Sheiks Almost Nabbed by Police in Dubai

 

Police in Dubai were probably surprised to spot two “sheiks” speaking Hebrew in a busy street in the city this week. What they were witnessing was in fact, the implementation of a dare by a United Hatzalah donor to the emergency services organization’s president Eli Bir.

United Hatzalah’s Eli Bir and Dov Maisel in Dubai – Photo: UNITED HATZALAH‏

Bir accepted the challenge to walk the streets of Dubai dressed as an Arab Sheik in return for two motor ambulances valued at more than quarter of a million shekels. Continue Reading »

Bennett in Hostile BBC Interview: Iran Deal is a Farce, Like with North Korea

view videoWATCH: In a remarkably hostile BBC interview, Israeli Minister Naftali Bennett exposes the changes from what Kerry had promised in final nuclear deal.

By Ari Soffer

 

As reactions for and against the deal signed with Iran Tuesday morning continue to pour in, Israeli Education Minister and Jewish Home party head Naftali Bennett took Israel’s case against the deal to the international media.

P5+1 Nuclear Agreement – Historic Farce

In an interview with a notably hostile, even antagonistic BBC anchor, Bennett outlined perhaps the most glaring hole in the deal: the fact that Iran will receive nearly a month’s notice prior to any inspections of nuclear sites – ample time to hide evidence of illegal, bomb-making activity.

Continue Reading »