Foiled: Hamas Planned Bombing Church on Christmas Day

Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas reportedly planned to murder Egyptian Christians by bombing Churches on Holy Day.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood planned a series of bombings at Egyptian churches, according to a report in the Kuwaiti paper Al-Watan, according to Channel 10 news.

According to the report, the attacks were to take place on Christmas. Terrorists in Sinai had succeeded in gathering explosives for the planned attack.

Egyptian intelligence reportedly foiled the plot after discovering communications between the two groups. Intelligence agents also listened in on calls between the Muslim Brotherhood and other Gaza-based terrorist groups. Continue Reading »

Thinking they were Jewish, Arabs attack Palestinian family

Three Arab thugs tried pulling the couple out of the car as they beat them. Luckily, the wife was able to speed away when the attackers paused, hearing Arabic spoken by the couple.

By: Sarah Weiss

 

 

A group of Arab thugs attacked a Palestinian family in Jerusalem after they thought they are Jews, the family said in a statement.

Rashuan and Dina Salman - Photo source: .yourjewishnews.com

Rashuan and Dina Salman – Photo source: Your Jewish News

The Muslim family of East Jerusalem, came under attack by three men in the Sur Baher area. However, after the group learned that the family was Palestinian, they fled from the scene.

Continue Reading »

Deputy foreign minister echos Abba Eban: “The 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders!”

Deputy FM Zeev Elkin added: Likud must reject any proposal to withdraw from the West Bank, “Anyone who gives up the Jordan Valley will turn Kfar Sava into Sderot.”

 

 

Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin said Thursday that “the 1967 borders are Auschwitz borders” and therefore Likud has to reject any proposal to withdraw from the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud hard-liner Zeev Elkin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin. – Photo: Olivier Fitoussi

Elkin, of the Likud party himself, spoke during a morning tour of settlements in the Jordan Valley attended by parliamentarians and ministers that are members the Land of Israel lobby. Continue Reading »

Women of the Wall Allowed, but Their Torah Scroll Banned from Kotel

Controversial women’s group, Women of the Wall were allowed into the Kotel to pray, but without their Torah.

By Maayana Miskin

 

The controversial women’s prayer group Women of the Wall held its monthly Rosh Hodesh prayers at the Kotel (Western Wall) on Thursday in honor of the first day of the new Hebrew month.

Activists with Torah scroll – Photo: Miriam Alster

The group brought roughly 200 worshipers – an unusually large number given the group’s usual attendance of several dozen at best. While the group was allowed in to pray, the Torah scroll they had planned to use in their service was not allowed in. Continue Reading »

Unconfirmed Report: Defense Ministry Rejects White House Security Plan for Jordan Valley

Maariv daily reports that Israel’s Defense Ministry rejected proposed security plans offered by John Kerry for Jordan Valley, based on White House perception of Israel’s security needs.

By Tova Dvorin

 

The Defense Ministry has rejected the US’s security plan for the Jordan Valley, Maariv reports Wednesday.

According to the daily, Jerusalem has told US officials ahead of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit this week that the Jordan Valley security arrangement is unacceptable for Israel’s security needs. This report remains unconfirmed.

The US’s security plan involves a slow transition from IDF patrols over the region to Palestinian Authority (PA) forces, with an international presence, according to reports. Continue Reading »

Unemployment in Israel at all time record low

 

Israel’s unemployment reaches a record low of 5.5%, according to govt’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

Housing prices rise by 9.4% this past year, making a cumulative jump of 77.4% since 2008.

Rent prices climb an average of 17% since January 2011.

By Zeev Klein

 

Continue Reading »

1st Time: Israel is naming a military facility after a non-Israeli

For the 1st time, Israel is naming an IDF military base, the Arrow site, after a foreigner, the former U.S. Senator and Medal of Honor recipient, Daniel Inouye.

 

 

Israel plans to name an Arrow defense missile facility after deceased former US senator Daniel Inouye for his contribution to Israel, marking the first time Israel has named a military facility after a non-Israeli.

Arrow missile defense system. - Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Arrow missile defense system. – Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

“I knew Inouye for 30 years, and he was Israel’s greatest supporter in Congress,” Robert Asher, a former president of AIPAC, told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

1st Time: US extradited to Israel man who refused to give ‘Get’

 

In legal precedent for both countries, Israel’s Justice Ministry uses suspected criminal offenses to ask American authorities to extradite man who fled Israel without granting his wife a Jewish divorce.

By Kobi Nachshoni

 

 

A man who fled to the United States without granting his wife a divorce has been extradited to Israel by the American authorities.

Woman 'chained' to her marriage - Photo: Shutterstock

Woman ‘chained’ to her marriage – Photo: Shutterstock

This is the first time an Israeli citizen is extradited over denial of a “get” (a religious divorce under Jewish Law), which is not considered a criminal offense – using other offenses he is suspected of. Continue Reading »

Within Upcoming 2 yrs Israel’s Knesset plans to become greenest Parliament in the world

 

A $2 million plan to minimize Knesset’s ecological footprint, including it’s own solar panel field to generate its electricity, has expected savings at $430,000 per year.

 

 

Over the next two years, Israel’s Knesset compound will undergo a series of renovations, aimed at transforming it into a “green parliament.” With an unprecedented price tag of 7 million shekels ($2 million), 13 different water and electricity saving systems will be constructed for the Knesset, headlined by a solar battery that will cover 4,500 square meters on the facility’s roof.

The Knesset

The Israel Knesset – Photo: Eli Tamsa

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said on Wednesday that “this is not a small financial investment, but it will bear fruit, and pay for itself in time. Continue Reading »

Hospitalized Former PM Ariel Sharon’s Condition Deteriorating

Israel’s former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s condition has taken a turn for the worse, after undergoing surgery last month.

Family members report, Sharon, 85, has 1-4 days to live.

By Tova Dvorin

 

 

Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s condition continues to worsen, Sheba Hospital in Tel HaShomer reported Wednesday to Channel 10.

Sharon’s condition has been on the decline since being hospitalized for renal failure. The former premier underwent kidney surgery last month to fix the problem, but the move backfired, causing a further breakdown in his vital functions.

Medical officials are reportedly not optimistic; all treatment options have been exhausted they say. Continue Reading »

The PM’s Envisioning the Galilee’s future: Connecting the North to the South

 

PM Netanyahu says Kiryat Shmona is to be linked with Eilat by road & rail, and the Galilee will become a global center for life sciences.

President Shimon Peres calls to establish a university in the Galilee.

By Daniel Siryoti

 

Continue Reading »

Making History: For the 1st time Israeli gov’t pays salaries to Reform Rabbis

“This is a historic & important step in the long struggle toward pluralism, religious freedom & the recognition by the State of Israel of all branches of Judaism,” said Rabbi Gilad Kariv.

 

 

JERUSALEM — Israeli government money was transferred for the first time to the Reform Movement in Israel to pay the salaries of four community Reform rabbis.

Rabbi Miri Gold. – Photo: Gil Cohen Magen/HAARETZ

The transfer of the more than $86,000 on Wednesday comes 18 months after Israel’s Supreme Court approved an arrangement to enable non-Orthodox rabbis who lead congregations to receive state salaries like their Orthodox counterparts.

Continue Reading »

Palestinian ambassador to Czech Rep. dies from blast injuries after opening old case

 

Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal dies from injuries in bomb blast at suburb home in Prague.

Police say no other injuries reported & confirmed unidentified explosive was detonated inside diplomat’s residence.

By REUTERS

 

 

 
PRAGUE – The Palestinian ambassador to the Czech Republic has died after sustaining injuries in an explosion at his residence on Wednesday, a police spokeswoman said.
firefighters

firefighters – Photo: Reuters

The blast occurred before midday and Ambassador Jamal al-Jamal’s family was also at the two-story residence in a northern suburb of the Czech capital. But no one else was hurt.

“There has been a detonation of a so-far unidentified explosive mixture,” spokeswoman Andrea Zoulova said.

Continue Reading »

Founder President Peres snubbed from Dimona reactor 50 years celebration

 

The ceremonial event celebrating 50 years for Negev Nuclear Research Center neglected to include the man who helped establish Israel’s nuclear reactor – President Shimon Peres

By Itamar Eichner

 

About 3,000 guests visited the newly inaugurated Negev Nuclear Research Center in Dimona last Thursday, but the event was missing one key figure in the reactors history, after someone high up decided to toss their invite.

The reactor in its early days (National Security Archive)

The reactor in its early days (National Security Archive)

The guests saw images of the reactors’ establishment in the 1950s, as now-President Shimon Peres‘s personal project when he was the director-general of the Defense Ministry; they heard about its development in the 60s under the supervision of then-Deputy Defense Minister Peres; they learned about the challenges that the reactor overcame against a wave of international criticism in the 80’s, supported by then-Prime Minister Peres. Continue Reading »

December’s snowstorm cost Jerusalem $80 million in damages

Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, asks for state funds to rebuild, calling the storm Israel’s ‘tsunami.

 

 

The unusual snowstorm that swept Jerusalem last month will cost the capital more than $80 million in damages, Mayor Nir Barkat said Wednesday.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. – Photo: Reuters

 

Appearing before the Knesset Finance Committee, Barkat demanded that the state compensate the municipality for the estimated 290 million shekel cost of repairs. “This was a tsunami that the city has never seen before,” Barkat said. “The state must recognize this storm as a natural disaster.”

“The municipality expects the government to volunteer and provide significant financial assistance to enable the city to return to its pre-storm state and to ensure that the damage does not fall on the residents’ shoulders and double their suffering,” he said. Continue Reading »