BDS pressure Rolling Stones to quit Israel concert is ignored

 

Day after official announcement, pro-Palestinian propagandists call on legendary rock band to cancel performance ‘in apartheid Israel.’

 

A day after producers officially announced that the Rolling Stones will be performing in Israel for the first time ever on June 4, Palestinian campaigners have launched an appeal urging the British rock group to cancel the event.

Rolling Stones in Tokyo

The Rolling Stones perform during their concert at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Feb. 26, 2014. – Photo: AP

“We are writing to urge you to refrain from playing in apartheid Israel and not to condone Israel’s violations of international law and human rights against the Palestinian people,” the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) said in a statement. Continue Reading »

Israeli drones to secure Brazilian skies for World Cup

 

The fleet of Elbit’s Hermes 900, which will be equipped with a new & advanced intel gathering systems, will be carrying out “safety & security missions” to secure the 2014 World Cup.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

 

Elbit’s Hermes 900 unmanned aircraft system will be deployed by the Brazilian Air Force to help secure the 2014 World Cup, the Israeli defense firm announced on Wednesday.

Drone to be deployed at 2014 World Cup

Elbit’s Hermes 900 unmanned aircraft to be deployed at 2014 World Cup

The drone will be equipped with a new and advanced intelligence gathering system, and will fly together with Elbit-produced Hermes 450 drones, which the Brazilian Air Force purchased in the past, to secure the games. Continue Reading »

University of Michigan votes down BDS, but Chicago’s Loyola narrowly passes

After a 6-hour meeting, Michigan’s student gov’t votes down Israel divestment. In Chicago, the vote to accept the BDS proposal went smoothly.

By

 

 

An Israel divestment resolution was narrowly passed a second time by the student government of Chicago’s Loyola University, while a similar resolution was defeated at the University of Michigan.

University of Michigan

University of Michigan – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Loyola United Student Government Association first passed a resolution on March 19 calling on the university evening to remove its holdings from eight companies that provide equipment to Israel for use in the West Bank. The vote on a measure proposed by the Loyola chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine passed 26-0 with two abstentions.

Continue Reading »

Jew to run for Ukrainian Presidency – What anti-Semitism?

Leader of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress, Vadim Rabinovich, says he will run for president in Ukraine’s May 25 election.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Vadim Rabinovich, president of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress and founder of the European Jewish Parliament, announced on Tuesday that he will run for the presidency of Ukraine, reports the Jewish Daily Forward.

Huge Kiev rally – Reuters

According to the report, Rabinovich told the Russian Interfax news agency that he was running to “destroy the myth about anti-Semitism in Ukraine.”

In recent months, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have accused groups that overthrew Ukraine’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych, of being fascists and anti-Semites. Continue Reading »

Achieving Peace: ‘No less than a miracle’

 

Israel State Archives’ newly declassified telegrams, letters, records of conversations and meetings, show the tensions & drama in Israeli-Egyptian talks that led to their historic peace 35 years ago.

By i24News

 

On 26 March 1979, Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty between their two nations. Afterwards they joined hands with US President Jimmy Carter in the famous triple handshake, which has since come to symbolize an event which changed the history of the Middle East. The ceremony on the White House lawn, broadcast live to the entire world, barely hinted at the dramas of the previous months.

Continue Reading »

Hamas Tells Palestinians They Must Slaughter the Jews

Palestinian parliament member says on Al Aqsa TV that Allah commands Muslims to kill all infidels when you can’t subjugate them.

By Israel Today Staff

 

A Hamas member of the Palestinian parliament said in a recent televised address that Palestinian Muslims must either subdue or massacre the Jews, and that genuine, long-lasting peace with the infidels is not achievable.

Hamas: We Must Slaughter the Jews

Hamas supporters rally in Gaza to mark the 10th anniversary of the assassination of the group’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin – Photo source: Israel Today

Speaking on Hamas’ Al Aqsa TV, MP Yunis Al-Astal explained that in the Quran, Allah taught the Muslims that “they [the Jews] are the ones with whom you made a covenant, but they break their covenant every time.” Continue Reading »

Twin sisters from Miami volunteer for the IDF

 

Identical twin sisters from the US, Rachel & Yarden Paul move to Israel, and join the IDF through the Garin Tzabar program.

Yarden Paul: ‘Our friends who went on to university don’t understand why we chose to come to Israel & join the IDF. They think it’s too dangerous.’

By Danny Brenner

 

Continue Reading »

U.S. envoy to UN anti-Semite Falk: ‘Don’t let the door hit you on the way out’

U.S. Amb. Power was clear about Richard Falk’s term: “His publication of bizarre & insulting material has tarnished the UN’s reputation & undermined the effectiveness of the Human Rights Council.”

 

WASHINGTON – Richard Falk’s term as a U.N. human rights investigator “tarnished” the body’s reputation and the United States is looking forward to his imminent departure, U.S. envoy Samantha Power said.

Samantha Power testifies on Capitol Hill, July 17, 2013

Samantha Power testifies on Capitol Hill, July 17, 2013 – Photo: Reuters

Power said it was  Falk’s incessant focus on Israel and the Palestinians that caused the blot on the U.N.’s record.

“His publication of bizarre and insulting material has tarnished the U.N.’s

Continue Reading »

E. Jerusalem residents petition High Court over lack of water, demanding it free

 

After years of water theft/piracy, illegal building with unauthorized connections to state water main, and the residents refusal to pay water bills, tens of thousands go dry for 3 weeks, with Water Ministry, Water Authority, Jerusalem municipality & the Hagihon utility passing blame.

 

 

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel and east Jerusalem residents appealed to the High Court of Justice on Tuesday, petitioning against the lack of running water in several neighborhoods east of the security barrier for the past three weeks.

Palestinian woman carrying water

Palestinian woman carrying water – Photo: Nayef Haslamoun / Reuters

Most homes in the neighborhoods of Ras Hamis, Ras Shahada, Dahyat a-Salam and the Shuafat refugee camp have either had no water or very low water pressure, ACRI attorney Keren Tzafrir wrote in the petition. Continue Reading »

4 Smugglers shot by Israeli Navy while heading to Gaza, boat explodes

 

Israel’s Naval troops said they heard secondary explosions after they fired on the 2 suspicious boats sailing from Egypt’s Sinai to the Gaza Strip.

By Yoav Zitun, Elior Levy

 

Israeli naval troops in the Mediterranean Sea opened fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning on suspected Palestinian smugglers traveling in two boats from Sinai to the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians said that four people on the boats had been wounded.

Israel Navy patrol vessels – Photo courtesy: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

It is not clear what exactly the boats were carrying, but the IDF said that the boats were damaged, and that they had heard secondary explosions after they had opened fire. Continue Reading »

Washington denies agreement to release Pollard for extending peace talks

Israel’s Army Radio reported U.S. suggestion of freeing the Israeli spy if timetable for peace talks extended & Israel releases more additional Palestinian murderers.

 

 

Washington denied an Israeli radio report Wednesday that the Obama administration was planning to free Jonathan Pollard, who is serving a life sentence for spying on the United States for Israel, as a way of revving up stalled peace talks.

Pollard protest

Demonstrators holding placards of Jonathan Pollard during an Israeli protest for his release. – Photo: Reuters

“There are currently no plans to release Pollard,” said a statement issued by the U.S. National Security Council and the U.S.

Continue Reading »

White House Offers Israel Pollard for Israel’s 4th Terrorist Release

If Jerusalem does not renege on releasing the 4th batch of Palestinian murders from prison, and continues ‘peace talks,’ Washington says Pollard will go free, according to IDF Radio.

By Shimon Cohen, Tova Dvorin

 

The United States has offered to release longtime captive Jonathan Pollard from jail if Israel agrees to release the fourth tranche of terrorist murderers that it is supposed to free as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority (PA), reports IDF Radio‘s Ilil Shahar. In addition, Israel has to agree to continue “peace talks” with the PA. 

Jonathan Pollard – Yehuda Glick

The decision was reportedly made after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the US that many of his his government’s ministers executing the fourth tranche of releases, and that he will not be able to carry out the release. Continue Reading »

Women have been absent in the pursuit of Mideast peace, conclusions?

 

As the diplomatic process fails to bare fruit, one cannot wonder whether the fact that only one woman at the negotiation table has something to do with it. Activist says, ‘More women need to be among the decisions makers.’

By Alexandra Lukash

 

Except for a handful of women, the majority of people leading diplomatic efforts to reach peace since the time of the Oslo Accords have been men. However, a string of unofficial grassroots projects led by women are intended to change that, with Arab and Jewish women meeting on a regular basis in the hopes of feminizing the process. Continue Reading »

Israel’s largest healthcare firm bought by Chinese

Chinese group buying Naftali Healthcare Solutions expected to be worth $100 million.

By  

 

Guangzhou-based Jinpeng Group, a Chinese conglomerate focusing on information technology and services industries, will reportedly acquire Natali Healthcare Solutions, Israel’s largest private healthcare and homecare service provider.

Elderly patients at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital.

Patients at Haifa’s Rambam Hospital. – Photo:Hagai Fried

The deal, worth about $100 million, is expected to be finalized soon, China Daily news reported Tuesday.

Naftali Healthcare Solutions was established in 1991, and holds a 60 percent stake in Israel’s elderly care market. It provides services such as doctor’s house calls, first aid telephone services and retirement solutions.

According to China Daily daily, the number of Chinese aged over 60 is expected to increase by 30 percent by the year 2050.

Continue Reading »

Tel Aviv mayor facilitates grocery stores opening on Shabbat

 

‘We cannot turn this issue into a religious war… We are all Jews, and Judaism has many faces.’ said Mayor Ron Huldai, who was slammed by a religious councilmen, who called the move ‘a black day for Jews’ while bursting into tears.

By Gilad Morag

 

A limited number of grocery stores and kiosks would be allowed to operate in Tel Aviv on Saturday and holidays, the city’s municipality approved Monday.

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai – Photo: Dan Keinan

The decision, an amendment to the municipal by-law, still depends on the approval of the Interior Ministry. If passed, it would allow any grocery store that meets the criteria to request permission to open on Saturday. Continue Reading »