Archive for Israel News

| October 6, 2013
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New IDF barrier for Syrian border is missile proof

 


New barrier, designed by the IDF to prevent the infiltration of terrorists from Syria into Israel has proven to also be missile proof.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN


 

A series of tests recently carried out by the IDF has confirmed that Israel’s new barrier on the border with Syria is missile proof.

Israeli Syrian border in the Golan Heights

Israeli Syrian border in the Golan Heights – Photo: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

The test was carried out by the Golan Brigade, under the command of Col. Arik Hen, to test the the five-meter border barrier’s ability to withstand a direct missile strike, as well as small arms fire.

It came as part of a wider initiative by the army to beef up its defenses along the border with Syria, in light of the ongoing civil war in Syria and the growth of radical jihadi organizations.

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| October 6, 2013
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9 Yr-Old Girl Shot in Terrorist Attack Saterday Evening

The child was playing in her yard when she was shot in the neck.

Report: A terrorist shot her from close range.

By Gil Ronen

 

A nine-year-old girl seriously wounded in the neck Saturday evening in a shooting attack by one or more terrorists at Psagot, in the Binyamin region.

Magen David Adom paramedics were giving the girl first aid as IDF forces began combing the area. She was then evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek hospital with what was initially described as “a serious injury to her upper body.” She was reportedly conscious.

Yoni Hacohen, a paramedic, told Arutz Sheva that she had been hit by a bullet that went clear through her neck. Continue Reading »

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| October 5, 2013
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Israeli Prime Minister: Peace Talks Are Going Nowhere

Prime Minister Netanyahu, during meetings with the heads of American Jewish organizations, reportedly commented that the current peace talks are stuck.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, during his visit to the United States this past week, that the peace talks with the Palestinian Authority are going nowhere.

According to a report on Friday in the Maariv daily newspaper, Netanyahu made the comments in closed meetings with the heads of American Jewish organizations.

Netanyahu reportedly repeated his position and that he is ready for a historic compromise with the Palestinian Authority, but added that “the problem was, and still is, their refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.” Continue Reading »

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| October 4, 2013
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Halevy suggests China involvement in railway to Eilat may upset US

 

Former Mossad director criticizes efforts of PM & Transportation Minister Katz for advocating for Chinese involvement in establishment of train route to Eilat, claiming it could lead to crisis in US-Israel relations.

Transportation Ministry: State will make final decision based on existing options

Amir Ben-David

Former Mossad head Efraim Halevy warns that plans being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz calling for Chinese involvement in the establishment and operation of a railway line to Eilat, could harm Israel’s strategic agreements with the US, and help China make itself a major world power in line with the US, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Continue Reading »

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| October 4, 2013
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Jerusalem residents seek to quiet noisy mosques

 

Despite existing noise pollution laws, non-Muslim residents of Israel’s capital are forced to endure dozens of mosques blasting their electronic call to prayer.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Israel is home to some 1.5 million Arabs, many of them Muslims, so hearing the Muslim calls to pray blasted from the minarets of local mosques is not uncommon. But in some areas the noise pollution can be unbearable, and such is the case in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev.

Jerusalem looks to quiet noisy mosques

Bordered on two sides by densely-populated Arab neighborhoods, the residents of Pisgat Ze’ev are forced to hear these calls to prayer, the first coming at the crack of dawn, from not one, but dozens of mosques. Continue Reading »

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| October 4, 2013
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‘We are not Arabs. We are Arabic Speaking Christians’

 

Many of Israel’s Christians feel that their heritage, culture and even history, has been hijacked by the area’s Muslim Arabs, while they feel a much stronger link to Israel’s Jews.

The Jewish State of Israel is the only middle-east country where we are protected, they say.

By Dror Eydar

 

It was not just any conference. Even the word “historic” would not do it justice. This was nothing short of the shift of an ancient paradigm.

A conference titled “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The advent of an independent Christian voice in Israel” in Jerusalem – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

For a long time we had grown accustomed to thinking about the Middle East as an Arab region. Continue Reading »

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| October 4, 2013
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Israel will seek UN Security Council seat for 2019-20

 

‘We’re going all out to win’ reported Israel’s UN Ambassador Prosor, but other UN diplomats admit it won’t be easy in wake of strong anti-Israel bloc.

By Reuters

 

Israel said on Thursday it plans to run for a rotating seat on the UN Security Council for the first time ever for 2019-2020, although UN diplomats said it will not be easy for the Jewish state to win.

Ron Prosor – Photo: AP

“We’re going all out to win,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor told Reuters. “It’s about time.”

Winning a Security Council seat requires a two-thirds majority in the 193-nation General Assembly. Continue Reading »

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| October 4, 2013
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Women of the Wall Ignore Newly Designated Prayer Area

Dozens of women avoid the new prayer area recently opened at the Western Wall, convene in the women’s section to mark the new month of Cheshvan.

By Adam Ross

 

Dozens of members of the “Women of the Wall” organization arrived at the Kotel, (Western Wall) Friday morning to celebrate the new Hebrew month of Cheshvan.

The women did not pray at the non-denominational  “Israel Plaza” recently opened by Minister for Religious Affairs MK Naftali Bennett, (Jewish Home), but instead insistence on convening in the women’s section of the Western Wall plaza, surrounded by familiar protests, shouts and police officers.

In contrast to previous months, Women of the Wall had not organized transportation to the Western Wall, with women arriving independently for 7:00 a.m.  Continue Reading »

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| October 3, 2013
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Gaza smuggling tunnels quiet with Egypt’s crackdown

 

In Pictures: Hamas’ smuggling tunnels suffer financial ruin as Egypt tightens control of border crossing, sealing fate of Gazans now stuck between Israel’s blockade & Egypt’s security lockdown.

By Associated Press

Gaza’s tunnel smugglers along the border with Egypt are mostly idle these days.

Gaza tunnels – Photo: AP

Some rest on cots in the dank underground pathways, stretching out for a smoke. Others pass the time cleaning the small carts on wheels that are normally pulled through the tunnels carrying cement or consumer goods from Egypt.

“We have no other alternative but to work in these tunnels,” said one of the workers, Hussam Rashwan. Continue Reading »

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| October 3, 2013
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Israel’s Supreme Court rules: No such thing as an ‘Israeli people’

 

Petitioners seek “Israeli” ethnicity to be listed in government registry.

Israeli Supreme Court rules that “Israeli” describes citizenship, not nationality in an ethnic sense. The court claims there is insufficient evidence to suggest such a group exists.

By Edna Adato

 

 

Israeli nationality only refers to one’s citizenship, not ethnic identity, the Supreme Court’s Civilian Appeals Court ruled on Wednesday.

The Israeli Supreme Court – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

Professor Uzzi Ornan, a longtime proponent of separation of religion and state, and journalist Uri Avnery, recently spearheaded an appeal seeking to reverse a lower court’s ruling that denied their request to be listed as members of the Israeli nation in the government’s population registry.

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| October 3, 2013
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Obama administration: US Shutdown will affect military assistance to Israel

“The State Department’s ability to provide military assistance to Israel and other allies … could be hindered depending on the length of the shutdown.”

By JTA

 

 

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration underscored potential cuts in defense assistance to Israel in making its case against the government shutdown.

Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman - Screenshot

Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman – Screenshot

“In the absence of a continuing resolution, we have no FY14 Foreign Military Financing, International Military Education or Peacekeeping Operations funds to obligate,” Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, said Wednesday in prepared remarks about how the failure to keep the government funded through a stopgap funding bill, or “continuing resolution,” was affecting foreign policy.

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| October 3, 2013
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200 Palestinians visit Tel Aviv to promote peace

 

Parent’s Circle Family Forum enables events that encourage reconciliation in midst of harsh reality by allowing Palestinians & Israelis to participate in exchange visit programs & joint projects.

By Leigh Cuen

Official peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians have reportedly reached a dead end, while robust grassroots efforts continue to flourish. For example, the Parent’s Circle Family Forum (PCFF) is engaging people from both sides who lost a family member in the conflict. Women are at the helm of these peacemaking initiatives.

Palestinian women in TA – Photo: Lihi Avidan

Last Saturday around 1,500 people, including over 200 Palestinian men women and children, attended an all-day event in Tel Aviv, “Neighbors: Women Creating Reconciliation.” Continue Reading »

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| October 2, 2013
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NYT says Netanyahu sabotaging Obama’s Iran efforts…not warning him

 

NYT daily dishes out fierce criticism of Netanyahu following his General Assembly address, says the PM ‘seems eager for a fight. It could be disastrous if Netanyahu and his supporters in Congress were so blinded by distrust that they sabotage the best chance to restore relations’

By Yitzhak Benhorin

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to “sabotage the best chance” to restore relations between the West and Iran, the New York Times is claiming in an editorial following Netanyahu’s General Assembly address.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday October 1, 2013 at the United Nations headquarters in New York - Photo: AP/Andrew Gombert,Pool

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday October 1, 2013 at the United Nations headquarters in New York – Photo: AP/Andrew Gombert,Pool

 

“Netanyahu has legitimate reasons to be wary of any Iranian overtures.. Continue Reading »

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| October 2, 2013
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Arab Propaganda at work: Jewish worshippers are now ‘Fanatics’

 

Just as Arab propaganda renamed Judea & Samaria to the ‘West Bank’, the Palestinian cause has begun a media campaign referring to Jewish worshippers as ‘fanatics’.

By Israel Today Staff

 

 

The Palestinian cause has made extremely effective use of rebranding to delegitimize Israel. For instance, what for the past 2,500 years were Judea and Samaria, the ancient heartland of Israel, are today mostly commonly referred to as the “West Bank.”

Arabs are Renaming Jewish worshippers as 'Fanatics' instead of Jews

Arabs are Renaming Jewish worshippers as ‘Fanatics’ instead of Jews

 

Now the Palestinian media, in its English-language outlets, would like you to start viewing Jewish worshippers who dare to ascend Judaism’s holiest site, Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, in a new light. Continue Reading »

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| October 2, 2013
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Golan Heights: Syrian Gunfire targets border fence construction site

 

Israel civilian workers constructing the new border fence between Israel & Syria were targeted by Syrian gunfire.

None injured but small wild-fire broke out.

By Yoav Zitun

Gunfire was opened on Tuesday at laborers raising a new border fence on the Israeli-Syrian border, near the Hermonit Post in the Golan Heights.

IDF soldiers on the Syria-Israel border.- Photo: Yaron Kaminsky

IDF soldiers on the Syria-Israel border.- Photo: Yaron Kaminsky

No injuries were reported, but a fire has broken out in the area.

Border tension was also registered Monday, as IDF fired at two Palestinians approaching the fence in the northern Gaza Strip.The two were hit, one reportedly killed and the other apprehended by security forces, following a short chase. Continue Reading »

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