Poll: 2/3 of Israeli Jews support unilateral strike against Iran nuclear sites

 

Poll comes just days after Israel’s PM Netanyahu tells UNGA: “If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone”.
Most Israelis don’t believe talks will end Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
By Israel Hayom Staff

 

Should the need arise to attack Iran, an overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews would support a unilateral Israeli strike even without international support, a new Israel Hayom-New Wave Research poll shows.

Israelis say that if necessary their country should launch its own strike on Iran

Israelis say that if necessary their country should launch its own strike on Iran

According to the poll, 65.6 percent would be in favor of such a move and 21.8% would oppose it. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu admits he’d ‘consider’ taking phone-call from Rouhani

Netanyahu: “If I meet with these people I’d stick this question in their face: Are you prepared to dismantle your program completely?”

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. media he would not initiate contact with the new Iranian president, but would not turn down an overture out of hand.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – Photo GPO

“Yeah, we’re not the first to call,” Netanyahu told Piers Morgan, a CNN host who asked him in an interview broadcast Thursday if he would take a call from Hassan Rouhani.

Separately, Netanyahu told NPR in an interview broadcast Thursday that he would consider an offer to engage directly with Rouhani, but also suggested such engagement was beside the point. 

Continue Reading »

New IDF barrier for Syrian border is missile proof

 


New barrier, designed by the IDF to prevent the infiltration of terrorists from Syria into Israel has proven to also be missile proof.


 

A series of tests recently carried out by the IDF has confirmed that Israel’s new barrier on the border with Syria is missile proof.

Israeli Syrian border in the Golan Heights

Israeli Syrian border in the Golan Heights – Photo: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

The test was carried out by the Golan Brigade, under the command of Col. Arik Hen, to test the the five-meter border barrier’s ability to withstand a direct missile strike, as well as small arms fire.

It came as part of a wider initiative by the army to beef up its defenses along the border with Syria, in light of the ongoing civil war in Syria and the growth of radical jihadi organizations.

Continue Reading »

PA Police begin security crackdown on Jihadists in Jenin

 

Hundreds of Palestinian police officers arrest wanted individuals in & around West Bank city of Jenin including a raid at the home of Jihadist leader Bassam Saadi.

By Elior Levy

The Palestinian Authority is trying to regain control of the problemtic refugee camps in the West Bank. The PA’s security forces began this weekend an arrest operation that concentrates mainly on the refugee camp in Jenin.

Palestinian forces arriving at Jenin – Photo: AP

The operation began on Wednesday, when hundreds of security forces entered the city. During the operation, forces raided the homes of suspects, some of whom are also wanted by the IDF. Continue Reading »

9 Yr-Old Girl Shot in Terrorist Attack Saterday Evening

The child was playing in her yard when she was shot in the neck.

Report: A terrorist shot her from close range.

By Gil Ronen

 

A nine-year-old girl seriously wounded in the neck Saturday evening in a shooting attack by one or more terrorists at Psagot, in the Binyamin region.

Magen David Adom paramedics were giving the girl first aid as IDF forces began combing the area. She was then evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek hospital with what was initially described as “a serious injury to her upper body.” She was reportedly conscious.

Yoni Hacohen, a paramedic, told Arutz Sheva that she had been hit by a bullet that went clear through her neck. Continue Reading »

Israeli Prime Minister: Peace Talks Are Going Nowhere

Prime Minister Netanyahu, during meetings with the heads of American Jewish organizations, reportedly commented that the current peace talks are stuck.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, during his visit to the United States this past week, that the peace talks with the Palestinian Authority are going nowhere.

According to a report on Friday in the Maariv daily newspaper, Netanyahu made the comments in closed meetings with the heads of American Jewish organizations.

Netanyahu reportedly repeated his position and that he is ready for a historic compromise with the Palestinian Authority, but added that “the problem was, and still is, their refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.” Continue Reading »

Halevy suggests China involvement in railway to Eilat may upset US

 

Former Mossad director criticizes efforts of PM & Transportation Minister Katz for advocating for Chinese involvement in establishment of train route to Eilat, claiming it could lead to crisis in US-Israel relations.

Transportation Ministry: State will make final decision based on existing options

Amir Ben-David

Former Mossad head Efraim Halevy warns that plans being pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz calling for Chinese involvement in the establishment and operation of a railway line to Eilat, could harm Israel’s strategic agreements with the US, and help China make itself a major world power in line with the US, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Continue Reading »

Jerusalem residents seek to quiet noisy mosques

 

Despite existing noise pollution laws, non-Muslim residents of Israel’s capital are forced to endure dozens of mosques blasting their electronic call to prayer.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Israel is home to some 1.5 million Arabs, many of them Muslims, so hearing the Muslim calls to pray blasted from the minarets of local mosques is not uncommon. But in some areas the noise pollution can be unbearable, and such is the case in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze’ev.

Jerusalem looks to quiet noisy mosques

Bordered on two sides by densely-populated Arab neighborhoods, the residents of Pisgat Ze’ev are forced to hear these calls to prayer, the first coming at the crack of dawn, from not one, but dozens of mosques. Continue Reading »

‘We are not Arabs. We are Arabic Speaking Christians’

 

Many of Israel’s Christians feel that their heritage, culture and even history, has been hijacked by the area’s Muslim Arabs, while they feel a much stronger link to Israel’s Jews.

The Jewish State of Israel is the only middle-east country where we are protected, they say.

By Dror Eydar

 

It was not just any conference. Even the word “historic” would not do it justice. This was nothing short of the shift of an ancient paradigm.

A conference titled “Israeli Christians: Breaking Free? The advent of an independent Christian voice in Israel” in Jerusalem – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

For a long time we had grown accustomed to thinking about the Middle East as an Arab region. Continue Reading »

Beth Shalom in Surabaya, Java’s one and only synagogue, demolished

‘It was designated a heritage site by the Surabaya Heritage Society in 2009. It should’ve been protected,’ the director said.

 

 

The last vestige of one Indonesia’s oldest and largest Jewish communities is now just a pile of rubble.

A view of the synagogue in Surabaya before it was demolished. - JG Photo/Christyandi Tri Syandi

A view of the synagogue in Surabaya before it was demolished. – JG Photo/Christyandi Tri Syandi

Beth Shalom in Surabaya — Java’s one and only synagogue — was demolished in May after being sealed off by Islamic hard-liners in 2009.

“It’s not clear when exactly it was demolished and who did it,” Freddy Istanto, the director of the Surabaya Heritage Society (SHS), told the Jakarta Globe. Continue Reading »

Israel asks Council of Europe to cancel anti-circumcision resolution

“For the Jewish people, this is a path that stood the test of thousands of years, and now the Council of Europe is trying to erase it.”

 

 

Israel on Friday called on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to annul a resolution it passed on Tuesday against circumcision, calling it a “moral stain” on the Council.

Rabbi holds boy for circumcision

Rabbi holds boy for circumcision – Photo: REUTERS

“Circumcision of male children is an ancient religious tradition of two important religions, Judaism and Islam, and it is also common among some Christian circles,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Continue Reading »

Israel will seek UN Security Council seat for 2019-20

 

‘We’re going all out to win’ reported Israel’s UN Ambassador Prosor, but other UN diplomats admit it won’t be easy in wake of strong anti-Israel bloc.

By Reuters

 

Israel said on Thursday it plans to run for a rotating seat on the UN Security Council for the first time ever for 2019-2020, although UN diplomats said it will not be easy for the Jewish state to win.

Ron Prosor – Photo: AP

“We’re going all out to win,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor told Reuters. “It’s about time.”

Winning a Security Council seat requires a two-thirds majority in the 193-nation General Assembly. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu in BBC interview: Iran’s nukes will mean slavery for Persians

Israel’s Prime Minister also told CBS that Iranian missiles could hit the U.S.

Lead U.S. negotiator with Iran suggests to lawmakers to delay imposing additional sanctions against Iran ahead of the talks.

By and Reuters

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told BBC Persian Thursday that if Tehran develops nuclear weapons, it will spell slavery for the Iranian people. The interview was one of several given in the wake of his United Nations General Assembly address.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in interview with BBC Persian.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in interview with BBC Persian (screenshot).

 

“If the Iranian regime gets nukes, the Iranian people will never be freed from tyranny and will live in slavery forever,” he said in his first interview to a Persian-language television channel, which broadcasts to around 12 million people every week, according to network figures. Continue Reading »

Women of the Wall Ignore Newly Designated Prayer Area

Dozens of women avoid the new prayer area recently opened at the Western Wall, convene in the women’s section to mark the new month of Cheshvan.

By Adam Ross

 

Dozens of members of the “Women of the Wall” organization arrived at the Kotel, (Western Wall) Friday morning to celebrate the new Hebrew month of Cheshvan.

The women did not pray at the non-denominational  “Israel Plaza” recently opened by Minister for Religious Affairs MK Naftali Bennett, (Jewish Home), but instead insistence on convening in the women’s section of the Western Wall plaza, surrounded by familiar protests, shouts and police officers.

In contrast to previous months, Women of the Wall had not organized transportation to the Western Wall, with women arriving independently for 7:00 a.m.  Continue Reading »

Gaza smuggling tunnels quiet with Egypt’s crackdown

 

In Pictures: Hamas’ smuggling tunnels suffer financial ruin as Egypt tightens control of border crossing, sealing fate of Gazans now stuck between Israel’s blockade & Egypt’s security lockdown.

By Associated Press

Gaza’s tunnel smugglers along the border with Egypt are mostly idle these days.

Gaza tunnels – Photo: AP

Some rest on cots in the dank underground pathways, stretching out for a smoke. Others pass the time cleaning the small carts on wheels that are normally pulled through the tunnels carrying cement or consumer goods from Egypt.

“We have no other alternative but to work in these tunnels,” said one of the workers, Hussam Rashwan. Continue Reading »