Archive for June 5, 2016

Political reshuffle in Turkey likely to facilitate amicable end of reconciliation talks

 

For Israel, Turkish President Erdoğan’s removal of Hakan Fidan, the head of Turkish intelligence, who is considered an ‘agent’ for Iran & an obstacle in the reconciliation talks with Jerusalem, is a positive development.

By Itamar Eichner

 

Two recent political developments in Turkey could mark the successful end of Ankara’s reconciliation talks with Israel.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Photo: AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently decided to remove the head of Turkish intelligence, Hakan Fidan, from his post, and make him Anakara’s ambassador to Japan instead. At the same time, the Turkish president also decided that Turkey’s Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu, would be be appointed Ankara’s ambassador to the UN. Continue Reading »

A history of the disappearing Western Wall & its slow reapearence

The Western Wall plaza was cleared after the liberation of Jerusalem almost 50 years ago, allowing the Jewish people to view their sacred site freely. But still, much of the Wall is hidden under Arab houses. “Those houses were built up against the Western Wall a few hundred years ago with the express intention of hiding it… Sewage drains empty directly onto the stones of the Western Wall. What other people would allow such a thing?” remarked PM Menachem Begin.

The secret of the disappearing Wall

 

On June 8, 1967, while IDF paratroopers were clearing out the last pockets of resistance in the alleys of the Old City, Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, came to the Western Wall passageway, accompanied by Jerusalem Mayor Teddy Kollek and head of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority Yaakov Yanai. Continue Reading »

Photo Essay: 48 years after the Israeli Dolphin class submarine Dakar sank

A former Dakar crew member describes what it was like to search for the sunken submarine after he was ordered to return on a different sub from Portsmouth to Haifa, the journey the Dakar never finished.

By Yoav Zitun

 

It’s been almost 50 years since the Israeli Dolphin class submarine Dakar sank in the waters off of Crete. Now, new color pictures are being released of the crew and of the submarine – the last pictures of these young men before their submarine sank to the bottom of the sea, never to surface again.

The Dakar – Photo: Association of Former Dolphin Submariners

A short video of the sailors and the submarine has been gathering dust in the house of one of the submariners’ widows, Bat Sheva Tal.

Continue Reading »

ICC Prosecutor: Israel is “exchanging information” in Gaza war crimes inquiry

 

An Israeli gov’t source confirmed there was contact with the ICC on procedural issues for an investigation over possible war crimes during Operation Protective Edge in the summer of 2014.

By Reuters

 

GENEVA – Israel is holding discussions with the International Criminal Court over its investigation into possible war crimes in the 2014 Gaza conflict, the ICC’s prosecutor said.

Israeli airstrike during Operation Protective Edge – Photo: Reuters

The disclosure would indicate a step-up in Israeli engagement with the Hague-based tribunal and a shift from a policy of non-cooperation with ICC probes of alleged war crimes in Palestinian territories. Continue Reading »

Palestinian human rights activist: ‘Abbas’ Palestinian Authority is the real ‘Nakba”

view videoWATCH Interview: Ex-B’Tselem (pro-Palestinian) human rights activist surprises conference by saying, ‘Palestinians would love Israeli annexation. We’ve had enough. The real Nakba was the PA’s formation, with its corruption, it’s incitement and disregard for its people.’

By Yoni Kempinski

 

Palestinian human rights activist Bassem Ayyad, a former investigator for the radical leftist NGO B’Tselem, surprised a conference of Judea and Samaria researchers at Ariel University on Thursday when he revealed unofficial Palestinian views.

Arutz Sheva got the chance to speak with Ayyad about how Palestinian Arabs view the Palestinian Authority (PA), and learned he thinks most would in fact love to see Israel annex Judea and Samaria. Continue Reading »

Female Palestinian terrorist shot dead in knife-attack on IDF soldiers

In initial report, the Palestinian terrorist was shot & wounded by security forces at the scene after unsuccessful attempt to apprehend the female knife-wielding terrorist.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

I Palestinian woman was shot and killed on Thursday after she tried stabbing IDF soldiers in the northern West Bank.

Screenshot from scene of attempted stabbing attack on IDF soldiers in the West Bank, June 2, 2016. – Photo: Courtesy

The IDF said that the knife-wielding Palestinian woman arrived at a military post near the Palestinian town of Anabta, where she tried attacking nearby troops. The soldiers reportedly left their guard post and initially tried apprehending the woman before firing shots at her. Continue Reading »

United Nations Has a Pro-Israel Moment

view videoIsraeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, “Never before have so many people, from so many places, gathered here in the General Assembly to declare unanimous support for the State of Israel.”

By Israel Today Staff

 

“Look around you. This is an historic moment in the UN!”

Those were the words of Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on Tuesday as he looked out over a packed General Assembly Hall at the start of an event opposing the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

More than 2,000 attended the session, making it one of the rare occasions, if not the only to date, in which the UN General Assembly Hall could be described as a place of pro-Israel sentiment. Continue Reading »

Israeli 10th grader unearths 3,330 yr-old Egyptian amulet at Galilee dig

 

Dr. Daphna Ben-Tor, curator of Egyptian archaeology at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, who identified the scarab amulet, added that “this is an Egyptian scarab from the times of the Ramses, the 19th Dynasty, the golden days of the pharaohs of Egypt.”

By Yori Yalon

 

Tzipori (Sepphoris) in the Galilee has revealed another exciting find: On Tuesday, a group of young students participating in an archaeological excavation run by the Israel Antiquities Authority at the ancient site discovered an Egyptian amulet that is over 3,000 years old.

The Egyptian amulet dates back to the 19th Dynasty – Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

Like so many important archaeological findings in Israel, the object was uncovered at a dig being conducted as part of preparations for an infrastructure project — in this case, a new access road. Continue Reading »

New NGO ‘transparency bill’ will identify sources to 27 foreign-gov’t-funded groups

 

The new bill requires any NGO receiving more than half its funding from a foreign political entity, to identify itself as such in any publications, & any meetings with public officials.

By LAHAV HARKOV

 

Legislation requiring greater transparency for organizations getting most of their budgets from foreign governments will affect 27 NGOs, Nonprofits Registrar representative Yafit Shemer told the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee Wednesday.

A woman reads testimonies during a gathering in Tel Aviv to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Israeli NGO “Breaking the Silence”. – Photo: AFP

Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky (Bayit Yehudi) prohibited Shemer from presenting the list to the MKs, arguing that he wants the bill to be “clean” of being drafted in a way that would target specific NGOs, sparking vocal debate among lawmakers. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Shabak is recruiting

 

Israel’s Shabak, also known as the Shin Bet, is recruiting people to become elite bodyguards for the Israeli leadership.

By Itamar Eichner

 

The public barely knows about its existence. They mainly see it on their TVs, while people armed with pistols and earpieces are surrounding the leaders of the country.

They are the VIP Protection Unit of the Shin Bet, and they’re looking for the next generation to protect Israel’s leaders.

Screenshot from the Shin Bet video

Still from the Shin Bet video

Last week the Shin Bet sent out a WhatsApp message featuring a video which portrayed the intense and important work of protecting the state leadership – including the president and the prime minister – against terrorists and sabotage both in Israel and abroad. Continue Reading »

Jerusalem halts Waqf’s illegal construction of dozens of toilets next to Temple Mount

 

Israeli archaeologist were pleased that Jerusalem’s Municipality issued the Jordanian Waqf, ‘stop-work’ papers on the site, saying, illegal building has been going on for years.

By Benny Toker

 

Archaeologist Dr. Gabi Barkai, a member of the Committee for Preventing the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities, welcomed a decision Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made Tuesday to stop the Jordanian Waqf from building toilets at the foot of the Temple Mount.

Illegal building – Photo: Regavim

More measures are needed to save the site, however, he explained in a special interview with Arutz Sheva.

“Sewage infiltrating areas of the Western Wall tunnels is the dangerous possibility; beyond that there is a danger of flooding,” Barkai said, noting that serious restoration work needs to be done and that there “are not enough stop-work orders.” Continue Reading »