Israeli Navy submarine service – isn’t for everybody

 

Senior recruiting Officer: ‘One doesn’t have to know how to swim, but a good sense of humor is important.’

 

 
 

For the time being, there is no chance for young Israelis to become astronauts, but young men who are highly motivated and intelligent, able to withstand long bouts away from civilization, suited for combat duty, capable of reacting immediately to orders and not disturbed by being cooped up for weeks on end in a small space are invited by the IDF and Israel Navy to apply for military service in a submarine.

Always ‘Watching & Listening” – Photo courtesy: IDF Spokespersons Unit

A 13-month-long preparatory course for the difficult but meaningful job has just been completed. Continue Reading »

EU threatens to label settlement goods if peace talks fail

Is Israel facing surge of support for boycott efforts?

Sanction debate could grow, says EU Mideast envoy, if peace negotiations end in failure, citing discussion to tag Jewish West Bank products, effectively facilitating consumers boycott. 

By Associated Press

Support in Europe for sanctioning Israel over its settlement policies is growing and could gain steam if the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations fail, the outgoing EU envoy to the Middle East said Thursday.

A boycott sticker

A boycott sticker

For now, the European Union is dangling incentives before both sides to nudge them toward a deal, rather than threatening punishment but some commentators have been sounding the alarm regarding a possible surge in boycott efforts. Continue Reading »

Liberman has a new friend, China’s Foreign Minister

The Chinese minister’s visit succeeded in strengthening bilateral ties by discussing business growth and encourage tourism with increased airline service.

By Ari Yashar

 

Amid signs of an emerging alliance between the two nations, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Thursday, welcoming Wang’s first visit as another step in strengthening bilateral relations.

As part of the rapidly warming ties, the two agreed to upgrade the annual national dialogue between Israel and China to a more senior level.

Liberman in late November called on Israel to search for new allies amid tense relations with the US over the Iranian nuclear deal. Continue Reading »

Pentagon: Israel Should Keep ‘West Bank’ to Maintain Secure Borders

 

Because of a Pentagon analysis past American administrations used to support Israel’s control of Judea-Samaria, out of security concerns, but Arab intransigent has eroded this administration’s resolve.

By Israel Today Staff

 

 

A historical document dragged back out into the light by Israel National News reveals that, unlike today, in the wake of the 1967 Six Day War, the American government was of the opinion that Israel should retain control of the “West Bank.”

American Generals: Israel Should Keep 'West Bank'

American Generals: Israel Should Keep ‘West Bank’ – Photo source: Israel Today

Following the war, then US Secretary of State Robert McNamara asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon for their expert opinion on how Washington should approach the issue of Israel’s land gains. Continue Reading »

Washington Times: Israel may destroy Iran’s heavy-water reactor

 

Continue Reading »

Blekinge Sweden to seek ban on circumcision

Much of the intensification of efforts to ban ritual circumcision are by anti-immigration nationalists who seek to limit the effect that Muslim presence is having on Swedish society.

 

A county in Sweden is planning to ban non-medical circumcision of boys, its commissioner said.

Blekinge county, Sweden - Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

Blekinge county, Sweden – Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Commons

Per-Ola Mattsson, commissioner of Blekinge County, said he would move ahead with plans to ban ritual circumcision by bringing the subject up in February with the county’s health board, according to an article published Thursday by the Sydöstran Daily.

According to Dagens Medicin, Mattsson, who is also chairman of the Public Health Board of Blekinge, said he opposed the practice because minors “have no possibility to say no to the surgery and therefore the county should not perform these procedures.”

Continue Reading »

U.S. Designates Another Palestinian Group as Terrorists

 

U.S. State Department designates al-Qaida-linked Usamah Amin al-Shihabi as associate of Lebanese-based militant Palestinian terrorist group Fatah al-Islam.

By JTA

 

 

WASHINGTON — The US State Department added a Lebanon-based Palestinian Islamist linked to al-Qaida to its list of designated terrorists.

Palestinian fighters of the Fatah al-Islam group undergo military training with children. - Photo: Reuters

Palestinian fighters of the Fatah al-Islam group undergo military training with children. – Photo: Reuters

A statement issued Wednesday by the State Department said Usamah Amin al-Shihabi was an associate of Fatah al-Islam, “a Lebanese-based militant group formed in 2006, whose ultimate goal is the institution of Islamist sharia law in the Palestinian refugee camps and the destruction of Israel”. Continue Reading »

Pope Francis plans for Bethlehem Mass Headline Israel Visit

 

Catholic pontiff’s truncated trip disappoints Israeli Christians expecting papal-led Mass in Jerusalem.

Officials in Jerusalem ask Vatican to reconsider decision to hold single service only in Bethlehem.

By Itamar Eichner

Pope Francis will arrive in the Jewish State for a whirlwind visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on March 25, 2014. The trip will last less than 48 hours, as the Roman pontiff will arrive in the morning hours on Sunday and leave the following night.

Pope Francis at Mass (Photo: EPA)

Pope Francis at Mass – Photo: EPA

The forward delegation sent on behalf of the Vatican finished its initial visit to Israel on Tuesday, and preparations are underway for the Bishop of Rome’s trip. Continue Reading »

UN Security Council condemns all military activity on Syrian Golan Heights


Security Council warns Golan fighting could jeopardize the existing ceasefire between both Syria and Israel.

 

 

The UN Security Council has strongly condemned all military activity on the Golan Heights by the Syrian army and opposition fighters warning that it could “jeopardize the ceasefire” between Syria and Israel.

Fire caused by clashes between Syrian army, rebels near Quneitra.

Golan Heights fire caused by clashes between Syrian army and rebels, June 6, 2013. – Photo: AFP

The council approved a resolution Wednesday extending the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force until the end of June. The force, known as UNDOF, was established after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Politicians Target One Another in PA Violence

Palestinian Authority violent infighting sees assassination attempts as minister targeted in shooting or gangster behavior when lawmaker  physically assaulted fellow Fatah official.

By Maayana Miskin

 

A Palestinian Authority minister came under attack on Wednesday, the Bethlehem-based Maan news reports.

Minister of Islamic Endowments Mahmoud Habbash was targeted by unknown gunmen shortly after arriving at his office in Al-Bireh, near Ramallah. The masked men opened fire in the direction of the office.

Al-Bireh’s guards returned fire, and the shooters fled the scene. No casualties were reported.

Earlier Wednesday a scuffle broke out between a PA lawmaker and a senior Fatah official. Continue Reading »

Dutch Prime Minister Rejects Water Company’s Israel Boycott

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte opposes Vitens, a local water company’s decision to boycott its Israeli counterpart, says boycott is against the Netherlands gov’t policy.

By Elad Benari

 

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has rejected a local water company’s boycott of its Israeli counterpart, Kol Yisrael radio reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, Rutte spoke with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and clarified that the decision by Vitens, a Dutch water company, to cut ties with its Israeli counterpart Mekorot is inconsistent with government policy.

Rutte reportedly clarified that Vitens would continue to work with Mekorot.

The reason cited for last week’s decision was Mekorot’s presence in areas located beyond the 1949 Armistice lines. Continue Reading »

Canada asks UNHRC to Fire Richard Falk after accusing Israel of having ‘genocidal’ intentions

 

United Nation’s Rapporteur, wrote an article that said Israel was “slouching toward nothing less than a Palestinian holocaust.”

 

 

Canada called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to dismiss its special investigator Richard Falk after he accused Israel of “genocidal” intentions against the Palestinians in a brief English language interview on Russian television.

UN investigator Richard Falk.

UN investigator Richard Falk.- Photo: Reuters

“Canada has previously called for Falk to be fired for his numerous outrageous and anti-Semitic statements and these comments underscore once more the complete and total absurdity of his service as a UN Special Rapporteur,” Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird said in a statement he issued on Monday.

Continue Reading »

Brandeis University Quits the American Studies Association over Boycott Policy

Brandeis University, the second to quit the ASA

We can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture,–freedom of association and expression.

 

Brandeis University has become the second institution to withdraw from the American Studies Association, following the organization’s decision to boycott Israel. “We view the recent vote by the membership to affirm an academic boycott of Israel as a politicization of the discipline and a rebuke to the kind of open inquiry that a scholarly association should foster,” Brandeis’s American Studies Department posted on their web site. “We remain committed to the discipline of American Studies but we can no longer support an organization that has rejected two of the core principles of American culture–freedom of association and expression.” Continue Reading »

Palestinian shot dead, 7 injured in Jenin from clashes with Police special forces

 

Palestinian reports say 1 died from gunshot wound and 7 injured as result of clashes with  MAGAV unit that arrived in refugee camp in search of terror suspect.

By Elior Levy

 

A Palestinian was killed on Wednesday as a result of clashes with an Israeli security force in a refugee camp in the West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian sources reported.

The Palestinian who was killed, identified as Nafa Jamil Saadi, 22, has reportedly died of his wounds while being evacuated to a hospital.

The Israeli security force, with the Border Guard’s counterterrorism unit, has entered the Jenin refugee camp dressed as technicians to arrest an Islamic Jihad operative, who, in light of the exchange of fire, was not detained. Continue Reading »

Is taxation the right way to fight foreign gov’ts covert meddling in Israel’s internal affairs?

If Jerusalem really wants to expose the immoral corruption spawned by foreign gov’ts funding anti-Israel NGOs, then there are better options than taxation.

By Gerald M. Steinberg

 

 

Once again, members of the government coalition have introduced legislation to tax and curtail foreign government funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs), aiming at groups involved in boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), anti-Israel lawfare, racist activities and the undermining of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

EU Parliament in Brussels

Pedestrians walk toward EU Parliament in Brussels. – Photo: Reuters

Clearly and justifiably, after the widely critical headlines and a pro-forma vote, this legislation is going to be buried following the opposition of the minister of justice, and the concerns voiced by the attorney general. Continue Reading »