Unprecedented Loathing Between US-Israel Leaders Bring Relations to Brink of Collapse

Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia & Turkey are all experiencing historic difficulties in their relations with Washington because Obama abandoned alliances in favor of relations with an enemy by defending Iran.

By Ari Yashar

 

A media storm over a “crisis in US-Israel relations” was generated following a Tuesday report that a senior official in US President Barack Obama’s administration called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu “chickens**t” – and according to former Israeli ambassadors to America, its just the latest in an unprecedented crisis in relations.

Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, who served as ambassador between 1992 and 1996, told Walla! Wednesday relations have never been this bad before, commenting “the two sides haven’t just taken off the gloves – they threw them in the trash.” Continue Reading »

Tel Aviv makes list of world’s top culinary cities as “Outstanding”

 

Tel Aviv is home to over 4,500 eating establishments & 3 vibrant open fresh-food markets that food purveyors are proud of, & tour guides flock to with their groups.

By Yehuda Shlezinger

 

Tel Aviv-Jaffa, the cultural capital of Israel, has now been declared an international culinary capital in Saveur Magazine’s annual rankings of the best food destinations around the world.

Denizens of Tel Aviv were unsurprised to hear their city’s food lauded, but some think there is still room for improvement [Illustrative] – Phoot: Yehoshua Yosef

The prestigious American food and lifestyle magazine rated Tel Aviv “Outstanding” along with Florence, Italy and Lyon, France in the category of Best Culinary Destination, Small International, which refers to cities with a population of under 800,000.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s Newest Merkava Mark IV Tanks Rolls Out For Potential Hezbollah Conflict

 

Senior IDF source: The new Merkava Mark IV  platforms will enhance “our ability to both fight in closed areas, & effectively hold & defend areas against the type of organizations we deal with, Hamas and Hezbollah.”

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

 

The IDF’s Seventh Armored Brigade is in the midst of a modernization process that will see all tank battalions equipped with the Merkava Mk. 4 tank by 2016, a senior army source said Tuesday.

Tank crews from the Seventh Brigade’s 75th Battalion train with their new Merkava Mk. 4 tanks. – Photo courtesy: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT

The brigade’s 75th battalion will complete the switch over from the Merkava Mk. Continue Reading »

Knesset Session to Push Bill That Outlaws Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch

The Islamic Movement‘s northern branch needs to be outlawed for openly undermining the sovereignty of the State of Israel, while  cynically exploiting the institutions & basic values of a Jewish and democratic country.

By Yuval Karni

 

 

With the opening of the Knesset’s winter session on Monday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed Yisrael Beiteinu MK Alex Miller to push a bill proposal meant to outlaw the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

Raed Salah (R) - REUTERS

Sheikh Raed Salah (right), leader of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch, escorted (03/04/2014) to begin his 8 months in prison for inciting to violence in a 2007 speech – REUTERS

The proposal, submitted on Monday, noted that: “Recently, we’ve witnessed the strengthening of radical Islam in our region, spreading a lot of death and destruction while demolishing the rule of law. Continue Reading »

Jordan to request UN Security Council session over Israel’s housing plans in Jerusalem

The Jordanian request, on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, comes after Israel announced additional housing construction plans, as Arab violence in area escalates.

 

A spokesman for Jordan’s mission to the United Nations said on Monday his country will request an emergency UN Security Council meeting on behalf of the Palestinians, who have written to the council president about “dangerously escalating tensions” in East Jerusalem.

An orthodox Jew visits Temple Mount

An orthodox Jew visits the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, October 27, 2014.

Continue Reading »

Israel to Get Squadron of F-35 Stealth Jets in $2.7 Billion Dollar Deal

Amid high political tensions in US-Israel relations, Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that the $2.7 billion dollar deal encompasses the acquisition of 19 “stealth” aircraft.

By Uzi Baruch and Tova Dvorin

 

US-Israeli relations have suffered tremendously over the past month, with the State Department making multiple condemnations against Israel for both building Jewish homes in Jerusalem and for increasing its fight against Palestinian Arab terror.

However, it has not damaged the military cooperation between them, as the Israel Aerospace Industries, together with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that Israel will acquire a new squadron of F-35 jets from the US Army and Lockheed-Martin. Continue Reading »

REPORT: John Kerry’s wife gave $50,000 to support anti-Israel propaganda campaign

 

The Washington Free Beacon reveled an endowment, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s wife, gave a $50,000 grant to Conflict Kitchen, a restaurant that is spreading anti-Israel propaganda by rapping its food in anti-Israel leaflets.

By Yoni Hirsch

 

A storm in a sandwich wrapper: A Pittsburgh snack bar that sells sandwiches wrapped in paper printed with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans received a $50,000 grant from a foundation run by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s wife, according to a Washington Free Beacon report.

Conflict Kitchen during its Iranian cuisine period – Photo: AP

Conflict Kitchen is a pop-up restaurant that sells food from the cuisines of countries it says are in conflict with the United States.

Continue Reading »

Study: Intel, Google top two employers sought after by graduates in Israel

 

The survey was conducted among 2,200 participating undergraduate students in academic colleges & universities throughout Israel.

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI

 

A majority of students want to work at hi-tech companies upon graduation, according to a BDI-COFACE study released on Monday.

Intel’s offices in Petah Tikva

Intel’s offices in Petah Tikva: Intel Israel accounts for a fifth of the country’s high-tech exports. – Photo: REUTERS

Thirty-one percent of college and university students want to work at hi-tech companies even if they are not studying in the exact sciences. Fifteen percent said they want to work in services, 13% in finance, and 4% in education.

Leading the list of the 50 most sought after firms to work in were Intel, Google and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Continue Reading »

An arrogant US administration questions Israel’s commitment to peace

State Dept spokesperson expressed ‘deep concern’ over Israel’s construction in existing Israeli towns & cities, emphasizes US opposition to Israel’s unilateral steps on building homes in Jerusalem.

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – The US State Department said Monday that recent Israeli actions are not reflective of an administration pursuing peace. During the daily press briefing, spokesperson Jen Psaki stressed that Israel must lower tensions and take the proper steps towards living in peace.

Ma'ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem (Photo: AP)

Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem – Photo: AP

“We view settlement activity as illegitimate and unequivocally oppose unilateral steps that prejudge the future of Jerusalem,” she said. Continue Reading »

Southern Israel communities get boost after Jewish Agency raised $13.3M

Funds will provide support to victims of rocket attacks, low-interest loans for businesses that were hurt by war, rent subsidies for students and to refurbish shelters & security rooms.

 

The Jewish Agency has raised 50 million shekels ($13.3 million) from donors to rebuild southern Israel areas that were damaged by the country’s conflict with Hamas and enable the communities there to attract more residents.

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky – Photo: Moti Milrod

The Jewish Agency “built southern Israel, helping the early pioneers establish these towns and communities in the country’s early years,” the agency’s chairman of the executive, Natan Sharansky, said in a statement.

Continue Reading »

Shlomo Slonim ז”ל, Survivor of 1929 Hebron Massacre, died today at 86.

 

The 18-month-old child of the Hebron massacre was spared only because he was covered by the corpses of his parents.

By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

 

In 1929, after years of relatively peaceful existence, the Arabs of Hebron responded to the call of the Mufti of Jerusalem and slaughtered the Jews in their midst.

1929 Hebron massacre infobox.jpg

From top-left, clockwise: Shlomo, son of Eliezer Dan Slonim, aged 1, survives with wounds to his finger and forehead; The Holy Ark of the Sephardi Synagogue of Abraham is ransacked; A survivor reflecting in the aftermath of the slaughter; Family Kolstein recover from their injuries.
Bottom: Memorials to murdered rabbinical students in the old Jewish cemetery.

Continue Reading »

Israel PM Allows PA Prime Minister Hamdallah Pray on Temple Mount

Hamdallah, head of Palestinian unity gov’t with Hamas, was accompanied with PA’s Jerusalem ‘governor’ to pray at the site where they banned Jews from praying.

By Ari Yashar

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed the Jordanian Waqf (Islamic trust) directives banning Jews from praying on the Temple Mount – but on Monday, he and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon did let Palestinian Authority (PA) unity government President Rami Hamdallah pray at the site.

The permission given to Hamdallah was announced through the semi-official PA news site Wafa.

According to the reports, not only would the head of the PA unity government with Hamas be allowed to pray at the holiest site in Judaism, but he would be accompanied by the PA “governor” of Jerusalem Adna al-Husseini and senior officials from the PA Security Forces. Continue Reading »

Channel 2 News: Netanyahu ‘Unfreezes’ Judea and Samaria Construction

 

Channel 2 news Sunday evening reported Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of the Economy Bennett agreed on plans for 12 new roads, 3 students’ villages & more for Judea and Samaria.

By Benny Moshe, Gil Ronen

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has decided to end the de facto building freeze in Judea and Samaria and intends to approve thousands of new housing units and roads at a cost of millions of shekels, reported Channel 2 Sunday.

Preparing for more construction at Ramat Givat Ze'ev

Preparing for more construction at Ramat Givat Ze’ev – Photo: Nofei Israel

The move is seen as a bid to strengthen the alliance with the nationalist wing of the coalition, and follows a meeting between Netanyahu and Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, who has threatened to destabilize the coalition if the freeze is not ended. Continue Reading »

Church in east Jerusalem victim to constant Arab attacks, theft and harassment

 

Pastor of Living Bread Int’l Church reported to police that church employees are regularly beaten up or harassed, property vandalized & stolen.

A land dispute between a Christian church and Arab residents of an east Jerusalem neighborhood has devolved into chronic violence, theft, and harassment against the church’s employees, including two disabled orphans living there, its pastor said Sunday.

Vandals at the Living Bread International Church in east Jerusalem on October 16.

Vandals at the Living Bread International Church in east Jerusalem on October 16. – Photo: KAREN DUNHAM

According to Karen Dunham, pastor and director of Living Bread International Church – a non-denominational institution with offices in Jerusalem, Gaza and Jericho – the church has been housed in Musrara, for seven years, with 20 years remaining on its lease. Continue Reading »

Ecuador woman 2nd victim in Jerusalem terror attack to succumb to wounds

22 yr-old Karen Mosquera from Ecuador, came to Israel to study Judaism & convert, was hit by terrorist’s car as she was on her way to a Torah lesson.

By Noam (Dabul) Dvir

 

Ecuadorian Karen Mosquera, 22, who was critically wounded in the Jerusalem light rail terrorist attack last week, succumbed to her wounds on Sunday at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Ein Kerem, raising the death toll in the incident to two people.

Karen Mosquera (left).

Karen Mosquera (left).

Mosquera arrived from Ecuador a year and a half ago and was in the process of converting to Judaism. She spent the past two months in a Midrasha, an institute of Jewish studies for women, with other women from South America. Continue Reading »