In Israel, and Around the World, Muslims Begin Ramadan

The month long fast of purification is when Muslims try to ‘quit lying, profanity & gossiping’, or for many others, it’s a way to just lose weight.

By Hassan Shaalan

 

The Muslim world is on Thursday celebrating the start of the month of Ramadan, when Muslims fast from early morning to night and pray for a whole month.

Shop stocked up for the holiday in Taybeh

Countless people around the world and Israel will consecrate the next month to the purification of the soul by avoiding food, drink, smoking, and sexual relations. In the Arab sector they point out that during Ramadan many will try to “quit lying, gossip and profanity.” Continue Reading »

78 ‘Lost Jews’ from India Return to Ancient Homeland to Resettle in Golan Heights

A group of 78 Bnei Menashe Jews return ‘home’ to settle the Golan Heights – where their ancestors, the Menashe tribe, lived 2,700 years ago before being forcibly exiled.

By Orly Harari

 

The Shavei Israel organization brought a group of 78 Bnei Menashe immigrants on Aliyah Thursday from the northeastern Indian state of Manipur, which borders Burma and Bangladesh.

3,000th Ben Menashe oleh – Photo: Shavei Israel

Absorption Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) greeted the immigrants upon arrival.

These new olim (immigrants) will be settled in Katzrin on the Golan Heights, which was the tribal patrimony of Menashe (Manasseh) in Biblical times. Continue Reading »

Outraged Netanyahu Instructs Shin Bet to Investigate Possible Arson of Historic Church

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the church torching is a heinous crime & an “attack on us all…Freedom of worship is one of Israel’s cornerstones,” the prime minister said. “Hatred & intolerance have no place in our society.”

By i24news

 

A fire broke out Wednesday night at a major Catholic pilgrimage church on the shores of the Sea of Galilee in what police have determined was arson. Police were investigating whether the arson was a hate crime on the part of extremist Jews.

5th century church set on fire in suspected hate crime, June 2015 – Ynet/Avihu Shapira

A member of the Roman Catholic Benedictine order, which manages the site, said one of the buildings within the compound was completely destroyed in the blaze but the church itself was not damaged. Continue Reading »

100 major German company heads to visit Israel at month’s end

Celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, German’s leading industry leaders will enjoy a 2-day innovation conference with cutting-edge Israeli researchers.

By Shlomo Cesana

 

While many in Europe are calling for a boycott of Israel, a delegation of 100 German industry leaders is preparing for a trip to Israel to meet with top businesspeople in an extraordinary show of support for the Jewish state, marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Israel’s Commercial Attaché in Berlin Hemdat Sagi – Photo: Boaz Arad

Some of the companies to be represented in the group that arrives in 10 days’ time are SAP SE, BMW, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Merck & Co., Continue Reading »

US envoy Defends Israel at UN: Listing Israel with Boko Haram, ISIS ‘is fundamentally wrong’

At an open UNSC meeting US Envoy for Special Political Affairs David Pressman said, “The idea that the gov’t of Israel, as some have suggested, would be listed on the same page as ISIS, Boko Haram or Syria, is factually & fundamentally wrong.”

 

The United States strongly condemned countries, diplomats and UN officials seeking to compare Israel with Islamic State in a speech that its envoy to the United Nations gave to the Security Council in New York on Thursday.

Delegates sit for a Security Council meeting at the UN Headquarters in New York. – Photo: REUTERS

“The idea that the government of Israel, as some have suggested, would be listed on the same page as ISIS, Boko Haram or Syria, is factually and fundamentally wrong,” US Ambassador to the UN for Special Political Affairs David Pressman said. Continue Reading »

Palestinians to Charge Israel at ICC on June 25

Palestinian accusations will detail Israel’s alleged violations of int’l law by its acts during summer of 2014, in bid to bring criminal charges against leaders of Jewish State. 

By AFP

 

The Palestinians will next week submit their first file to the International Criminal Court in their bid to open criminal proceedings against Israel, an official said on Thursday.

Sign at the International Criminal Court in The Hague – Photo: Getty Images

 

The move is part of an increased focus on diplomatic maneuvering and appeals to international bodies by the Palestinians, who have been frustrated by a lack of progress in peace negotiations. Continue Reading »

Hypocrite Ban Bashes Israel Ignores Hamas For Making Gaza Children ‘Suffer’

UN chief demands Israel take steps in protecting the children of Gaza, but fails to mention Hamas exploiting civilian shields & terrorist embedding themselves in hospitals & UN schools in their attacks against unarmed Israeli civilians.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon attacked Israel on Thursday, saying it needed to do more to protect the lives of Palestinian Arab children during counter-terror operations in Gaza – even as international law experts say Israel is warning Gazans too much and harming the ability of Western democracies to combat terror.

Ban Ki-Moon

Ban Ki-Moon – Reuters

“Last year was one of the worst in recent memory for children in countries affected by conflict,” the UN leader said, adding he is “deeply alarmed at the suffering of so many children as a result of Israeli military operations in Gaza last year.”

Continue Reading »

Chief Palestinian negotiator recommends retracting recognition of Israel

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat suggests PLO should consider rescinding recognition of Jewish State until “reciprocal recognition” of a Palestinian state is made by Jerusalem. 

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat released a lengthy report on Thursday, detailing the current state of Israeli-Palestinian relations, and proposing a “comprehensive review” of the status quo.

Saeb Erekat

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. – Photo: REUTERS

The 56-page report – dubbed, “Determining Palestinian-Israeli relations: Changing, not merely improving, the situation” – lays out a set of recommendations for the Palestinian leadership, including the possibility of retracting official recognition of Israel.

The top Palestinian official suggests that recognizing a Jewish state – as the PLO did circa 1988 – should be conditioned on a “reciprocal recognition” of a Palestinian state by Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

#BDSfail: Swedish supermarket chain reverses Israel boycott policy

Thousands of pro-Israel activists flooded the COOP chain’s management with messages against their improper anti-Israel discrimination, threatening to boycott the supermarket chain instead, if it continues its unfair trade policy against the Jewish State. 

By Itamar Eichner

 

Israel has won an important victory over the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS) when a boycott on the sale of Israeli products in a supermarket chain in Sweden has been cancelled.

COOP store in Sweden.COOP store in Sweden.

The national supermarket chain COOP has 655 branches across Sweden. Israel, that was worried the boycott would spread from three local stores in the city of Varberg to all branches nationwide, launched an impressive media campaign to combat it.

Continue Reading »

A Lebanon War III scenario

New hostilities, would bring pride & honor to the organization, but now, after major losses these past few years, the IDF has the capacity to defeat Hezbollah, bringing a real change in the area’s strategic balance.

By SHAUL SHAY

 

AFTER EIGHT years of relative quiet on the Lebanese front, there is growing concern in Israel over possibility of a renewed outbreak of fighting with Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shi’ite militia. Israelis tend to attribute the protracted lull to deterrence ostensibly achieved through the Second Lebanon War in 2006. But there are other factors that have been no less central to the Hezbollah decision to avoid escalation against Israel. Continue Reading »

Israel’s newest radar system detects incoming from thousands of kilometers away

This more extensive model allows rapid & accurate identification of ballistic missiles launched from thousands of kilometers away, as well as enemy satellites.

By Yoav Zitun

 

Development of Israel’s largest radar system (and one of the world’s largest) was recently completed by Israel Aerospace Industries, and details of its design and capabilities have been released.

ULTRA C-22 Radar - IAI

ULTRA C-22 Radar – IAI

The radar system, called ULTRA-C1, is not expected to enter the IDF arsenal anytime soon – but like other radar systems developed by IAI, will possibly be used by Israel in the coming years.

The ULTRA-C1 system, which permits high-frequency scanning operations, including in surroundings with high electromagnetic density, comes in three configurations – regular, large, and very large, to meet every mission requirement. Continue Reading »

Hamas media: US, Egypt & Israel Seek to Replace Abbas With Candidate Who Wants Peace

Propaganda? Unnamed “senior Palestinian sources” claim Egypt, Israel & the United States met recently in Cairo to discuss a replacement for PA chairman who seeks a relationship with Israel.

By Dalit Halevi

 

Israel, Egypt and the United States are seeking to replace Mahmoud Abbas as chairman of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Quds Press news agency reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed “senior Palestinian officials”.

According to the report, a meeting was held in Cairo two weeks ago with representatives from the Israeli Mossad, Egyptian intelligence officers and an American official. That meeting dealt with the question of Abbas’s successor.

Continue Reading »

Surge in French Jews Escaping Local Antisemitic Terror, Finding Refuge in Israel

A mere 5 months after the last antisemitic terror-attack in Paris, a surge of 25% more French Jews moved to Israel, compared to the same period in 2014.

By Itamar Eichner

 

The number of French Jews who have made, or are making aliyah to Israel between January and August 2015, is 25% higher than that same period.

The scrolls with the French olim names (Photo:Zed Fillman)

The scrolls with the French olim names – Photo:Zed Fillman

The number of immigrants from France rose from 4,000 in 2014 to 5,100 in same period in 2015. The numbers where submitted to Immigrant Absorption minister Ze’ev Elkin by the Heads of French Jewish organizations. Continue Reading »

PA Leaders Prefer Arabs Boycott Al-Aqsa Mosque To ‘Hurt’ Israeli Economy

Balking at Israeli ‘gesture’ of inviting Gaza and PA Arabs to visit Temple Mount during Ramadan, top Palestinian Authority officials sabotage requests to deter Arabs from spending their money in Israel.

By Yaakov Levi

 

Despite historic Israeli “gestures” designed to make travel to the Temple Mount much easier for Arabs from Judea and Samaria during Ramadan, top officials in the Palestinian Authority have been calling for PA Arabs to boycott the Al-Aqsa (Dome of the Rock) Mosque – for fear that Arabs will spend money while they are there, enhancing the Israeli economy.

Palestinian women from East Jerusalem are shopping & spending leisure time at the Mamilla Mall, in the Western part of Jerusalem.

Continue Reading »

PA President Abbas: Palestinian unity-gov’t to dissolve ‘within 24 hours’

Abbas to announce dissolvement of technocrat unity government just a year after its formation due to continued conflict with Hamas & its inability to work in the Gaza Strip.

By i24news

 

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas announced Tuesday that the Ramallah-based government would resign within the next 24 hours, several senior Fatah officials told AFP.

AFP

Hamas, Fatah sign unity government agreement – Photo: AFP

“Within 24 hours the Palestinian government will resign,” Abbas told members of the Revolutionary Council of his Fatah movement, according to several officials who attended the meeting.

Amin Maqbul, secretary general of the ruling Fatah movement’s Revolutionary Council, told AFP earlier Tuesday that “the government will resign in the next 24 hours because this one is weak and there is no chance that Hamas will allow it to work in Gaza.” Continue Reading »