Int’l Expert: Israel’s Children Living Near Gaza Suffer PTSD

Advisor to Human Rights Commission worries that Israeli children that are always under attack by Hamas, have come to accept war as a normal part of life.

By Israel Today Staff

 

A leading international expert on the psychological struggles facing children living in conflict and war zones recently visited southern Israel and concluded that Israeli children residing within range of the Gaza Strip face an unhealthy upbringing.

International Expert: Children in Southern Israel Suffer PTSD – Israel Today

Voices in the international community like to complain about the siege Israel has allegedly imposed upon Gaza. But Eliasz Gocal-Czerwinski, advisor to the secretary-general of the International Human Rights Commission on child affairs, described the living conditions for children in southern Israel as very much a kind of emotional siege.

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Israel’s Knesset to vote on closing ‘Israel Hayom’ on Wednesday

 

Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz (Likud): ‘A democracy shouldn’t close down newspapers’

By LAHAV HARKOV

 

 

The Knesset will vote on a bill to ban Israel Hayom Wednesday, after the Ministerial Committee for Legislation did not decide on a government position on the measure.

Sheldon Adelson

Las Vegas gaming tycoon and Israel Hayom proprietor Sheldon Adelson. – Photo: REUTERS

The ministers voted on Sunday to give cabinet members freedom to vote according to their conscience on the bill, which means Wednesday’s preliminary vote in the Knesset could easily go either way.

The entire committee voted to be able to vote freely, except for Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi), who thought they should reject the coalition-shaking legislation. Continue Reading »

Israel to advance Coke plant for Gazans

 

Israel hopes new Coca-Cola factory at the Karni industrial area, creating jobs for 3,000 Palestinians, will spur economic growth in Gaza & decrease terrorism.

By Yossi Yehoshua

 

The construction of a Coca Cola factory in the Gaza Strip, set to create jobs for thousands of Palestinians, will begin this week after it has been green-lighted by Israel’s defense establishment.

Israel's Coca-Cola products - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Israel’s Coca-Cola products – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

A Palestinian entrepreneur had to submit a request to build the factory to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon then decided to accept COGAT head Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai’s recommendation. Continue Reading »

Hamas criticizes UN’s reconstruction mechanism for Gaza

Hamas spokesman condescends United Nations procedures as ‘unacceptable and inefficient.’

 

Hamas says it opposes a UN reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip following the 50-day war against Israel this summer.

A Palestinian boy looks out of his damaged house after a ceasefire was declared, in the east of Khan

A Palestinian boy looks out of his damaged house after a ceasefire was declared, in the east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 27, 2014. – Photo: Reuters

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Sunday called the UN mechanism “unacceptable, inefficient.”

The UN announced the plan in September, creating a system to bring in badly needed reconstruction materials while sidelining Hamas.

Despite its unhappiness with the system, Abu Zuhri gave no indication that Hamas will disrupt the shipments.

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Now the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ Sign from Dachau Camp Was Stolen

Last time, in December 2009, the sign from Auschwitz , which bears the same slogan, was stolen & cut into pieces.

By Arutz Sheva

 

German police have announced that part of the large iron sign at the entrance to the Dachau Concentration Camp which says “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work Makes You Free) has been stolen. No suspects have yet been identified.

The entrance to the Auschwitz death camp. – Photo: REUTERS

Dachau, which is not far from Munich, was the first of the Nazi concentration camps in Germany.

The sign over the main gate at the Auschwitz death camp, which bears the same slogan, was stolen and cut into pieces in December 2009. Continue Reading »

US Supreme Court to end decade long drama on Jerusalem passport case

The Justices will determine whether “Israel” can appear on U.S. issued passports of Americans that were born in Israel’s capital.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB

 

The US Supreme Court is expected on Monday to make its final historic decision on whether Americans born in Jerusalem can have “Israel” written on their passports as their place of birth.

US Passport - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

US Passport – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The case, Zivotofsky v. Kerry, has been winding through the US courts for years with major setback decisions followed by unexpected decisions putting the case back on track.

The policy of the US, both under Republican and Democratic presidents, since the founding of the State of Israel has been that passports of Americans born in Jerusalem will read merely “Jerusalem” as place of birth, not “Israel.” Continue Reading »

El Al video parody: ‘Committed to your spiritual safety’

American-Jewish comedy writers Levinson Brothers post satirical in-flight El Al Airlines safety video in wake of recent news incidents of flight delays on Delta & El Al, due to Jewish ultra-Orthodox men’s refusal to sit next to women.

Ynetnews

 

“Gentlemen, and unfortunately, ladies,” the announcement featured in a satirical in-flight safety video by Jewish-American comedy writers Stephen and Joel Levinson begins. The parody of El Al’s flight safety video presents guidelines for passengers, following recent cases in which flights were delayed after ultra-orthodox Jewish men refused to take their seats next to women.

Picture that stirred a row – Photo from New York Daily News

In one of the latest of such incidents, which was first published by Ynet, passengers aboard an El Al flight from New York to Israel described their trip as an “11-hour long nightmare” due to disruptions caused by Haredi travelers during the flight. Continue Reading »

Kenya hires Israeli biometric firm for national ID project to stem terror

Unnamed Israeli company, chosen to aid in the fight against terror, will gather biometric data and issue e-cards in Kenya’s endeavor to increase security in East African nation.

 

An unnamed Israeli firm has signed a deal to help Kenya develop a biodata system for issuing ID cards to all its citizens, which the government hopes will aid it in the fight against terror, The East African reported Saturday.

Westgate

Mourners remembering their loved ones killed in the Westgate terror attack at the Amani Garden memorial site in the Karura Forest in Nairobi, Kenya, Sept. 21, 2014. – Photo: AP

The information is also meant to help the rein in tax evasion, loan defaults and corruption, according to the news site.

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Israel closes Gaza border crossings in retaliation for Friday’s rocket fire on Southern Israel

Jerusalem notifies the Palestinian Authority of decision that Rafah Crossing to Egypt will remain closed.

 

Israel has announced it will close the border crossings to the Gaza Strip on Sunday, after a projectile was fired from the coastal enclave toward the Eshkol Regional Council overnight Friday.

A Palestinian worker walks next to a truck loaded with sacks of cement at Kerem Shalom

A Palestinian worker walks next to a truck loaded with sacks of cement at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on its way from Israel to Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 14, 2014. – Photo: AP

The defense establishment announced Saturday that the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings will be closed until further notice. Continue Reading »

Egypt Army Enters Gaza, Destroys Homes Making Buffer-Zone & World is Silent

Hamas (AND the world) remains silent as tanks, helicopters and Egyptian soldiers force Gazans out of their homes before being blown up for Cairo imposed buffer zone, with no international criticism, condemnation, or protests.

By Ari Yashar

 

Arab residents of Gaza were rounded up by armed soldiers and forced to flee their homes, which were promptly exploded in impressive plumes of dust and sand – but the soldiers were Egyptian, and there has been no international criticism of the buffer zone Egypt is establishing by force on the Gaza side of the Sinai border.

In the buffer zone plan, Egypt is seizing and evacuating all homes and farmland up to 500 meters (over 1,640 feet) into Gaza, all along the 13 kilometer (over eight mile) border.  Continue Reading »

IDF confirms: Gaza Rocket Landed in Israel

IDF never activated sirens on Friday for Gaza frontier communities. No one hurt, no damages reported.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

A rocket launched from Gaza on Friday landed in the Eshkol Regional Council in southern Israel, the army said.

gaza rocket

A rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel. – Photo: REUTERS

The IDF had detected a projectile heading toward Israeli territory – the second such incident since Israel and Hamas reached a deal on August 26 to halt seven weeks of fighting. The cease-fire has largely been holding.

It was not immediately clear whether the rocket landed in Israel or within Gaza, as no sirens were heard in Gaza frontier communities. Continue Reading »

IN PICTURES: Rain pours in Israel

 

First massive rain & storm front covered most of Israel, ahead of what may be seen as a rainy weekend. Flooding reported in parts of central & northern Israel.

By Michal Margalit

 

 

Rain began to fall heavily Thursday evening, hitting the north and coast line, and is expected to continue with thunderstorms throughout Friday and Saturday in the Sharon region and Negev, as October comes to an end.

 

Tel Aviv – Photo: Yaron Brenner

 

Photo: Yair
Photo: Yair

 

Rain suprises beachgoers (Photo: Yaron Brenner)
Rain suprises beachgoers (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

 

Flooding in Ganey Tikvah (Photo: Naftali Yahlentzik)
Flooding in Ganey Tikvah (Photo: Naftali Yahlentzik)

 

Photo: Yair Yam Potzker
Photo: Yair Yam Potzker

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Motti Kimchi
Photo: Motti Kimchi

 

 

Photo: Motti Kimchi
Photo: Motti Kimchi
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Rare Hebrew Bible bought on eBay for $7,000 lost in mail

A rare 16th-century Bible written in Hebrew was sold to a New York man who reports it never arrived, despite contrary information from postal authorities alleging it was delivered.

From Haaretz

 

A rare 16th-century, eight-volume Hebrew Bible sold on eBay earlier this month for $7,000 has gone missing.

Hebrew Bible

Hebrew Bible (illustrative).- Photo: Rangreiss/Dreamstime.com

Gene Albert, a Virginia artifacts dealer sold the bible to Jacob Gestetner, a resident of Monsey, New York, home to a large Orthodox Jewish population. Gestetner claims he never received it despite postal tracking information showing it was delivered Oct. 10, according to the Journal News.

The bible set dates to the 1540s and was part of the collection of Andrew Fletcher, a 17th-century Scottish politician renowned for his private library, according to the paper. Continue Reading »

PA Calls Assassin Terrorist That Shot ‘Freedom of Religion’ Activist, ‘Hero Defending Freedom’

PA Prisoner Affairs Minister hails shooter of prayer rights activist in Jerusalem, Yehuda Glick, lauding the terrorist’s history of arrest and assault on (Jewish) prison guards.

By Ari Yashar

 

Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of Prisoner Affairs Issa Qaraqa on Thursday lionized Mu’taz Hijazi, the Islamic Jihad terrorist who tried to assassinate Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in Jerusalem on Wednesday and was later killed in a shootout with police.

“Hijazi was one of the heroes of the Palestinian prisoners’ movement who defended freedom and dignity,” Qaraqa wrote in a statement published by the Palestinian Arab Ma’an News Agency.

Calling Hijazi a defender of “freedom and dignity” is particularly ironic, given the fact that he shot Glick who has championed the effort to gain Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount – the holiest site in Judaism – where the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic trust) has banned Jewish prayer and discriminated against Jewish visitors. Continue Reading »

Israel Police Open Temple Mount for Limited Worship on Friday

Israel’s PM Netanyahu urges restraint following an assassination attempt by an Islamic terrorist on Yehuda Glick, a  right wing Jewish activist.

By i24news

 

 

The Temple Mount will be open Friday to Muslim men over the age of 50 and to women of all ages, the Israeli police announced Thursday evening after on Wednesday it decided to close the compound until further notice amid the recent escalation in violence in east Jerusalem and Wednesday night’s attempted assassination on a Jewish right wing activist.

Ahmad Gharabli (AFP/File)

“Israeli soldiers walk in front of the Dome of the Rock in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, in Jerusalem’s old city on October 19, 2014” – Photo: Ahmad Gharabli /AFP/File

“It was decided to restore [the compound] to normal… effective immediately,” police spokeswoman Luba Samri told AFP. Continue Reading »