Egalitarian section proposed for Jerusalem’s Western Wall

Plan by Natan Sharansky would mark dramatic step toward pluralism at Judaism’s holy site.

 

Natan Sharansky, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, will present a plan today to expand the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to include a new section for egalitarian prayer to American Jewish religious leaders, the Forward has learned.

Western Wall in Jerusalem,  03/02/2010


Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men participate in a blessing during the holiday of Sukkot, in front of the Western Wall. – Photo: AP

 

If implemented, the proposal, a product of months of deliberation, would mark a dramatic acknowledgement by the state of Israel that prayer at the Wall — regarded as Judaism’s holiest site and a modern-day symbol of national sovereignty — should include non-Orthodox practice in which men and women pray together. Continue Reading »

Two Life Terms for American-Israeli ‘Jewish Terrorist’

Jack Teitel , an American-Israeli was sentenced to 2 counts of life in prison for murder, & 3 counts for attempted murder.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Two Life Terms for American-Israeli ‘Jewish Terrorist’ Jack Teitel - Screenshot

Two Life Terms for American-Israeli ‘Jewish Terrorist’ Jack Teitel – Screenshot

Yaakov “Jack” Teitel, who has been dubbed “the Jewish terrorist,” was sentenced Tuesday to two life sentences plus 30 years in prison. Teitel was convicted on two counts of murder and three of attempted murder.

The American-born Teitel was also ordered to pay his victims 560,000 shekels in compensation.

Three months ago, the High Court ruled that Teitel bears full responsibility for his actions, and cannot claim insanity as a defense. Continue Reading »

Yeshiva U Alumni say Carter’s Entrance will be Blocked

Alumni of Cardozo School of Law at the Yeshiva University say they will physically prevent the ex-president from receiving the peace prize.

By Gil Ronen

 

Enraged alumni of Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law have threatened to physically block Jimmy Carter from entering the school, where he is due to receive a peace award on Wednesday.

Former President Jimmy Carter - Photo by AP

Former President Jimmy Carter – Photo by AP

 

Daniel Rubin, 62, told the Jewish Daily Forward that about a dozen former alumni are planning an act of civil disobedience to prevent Carter from picking up the International Advocate for Peace Award, given annually by Cardozo’s Journal of Conflict Resolution. Continue Reading »

Gaza Rocket Attack disrupts local Holocaust memorial ceremony

Israel closes Gaza border after Gaza rockets hit south. No injuries reported. Last week Israel retaliated for another barrage with airstrikes. 

By The Associated Press & Israel Hayom Staff

Israel shut a crossing with the Gaza Strip on Monday, a day after rockets that were fired from the Hamas-ruled territory forced Israelis to run for cover in the middle of a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony.

Terrorists prepare to launch rockets from the Gaza Strip.- Photo: Rafael Ben-Ari

Israeli TV showed footage of the ceremony in southern Israel suddenly being interrupted by the sound of a Color Red alert of an incoming rocket, just as a musical performance got underway. Continue Reading »

In Holocaust Day message, U.S. President promises to combat intolerance


President Barack Obama says that on this day we must ‘commit ourselves to the understanding, empathy & compassion that is the foundation of peace & human dignity.’

By

U.S. President Barack Obama, in his Yom Hashoah message, recalled his recommitment in Israel last month to combating anti-Semitism and intolerance.

Obama at Yad Vashem.

Obama pausing for a moment as he lays a wreath during his visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, March 22, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

 

“Today, we honor the memories of the 6 million Jewish victims and millions of others who perished in the darkness of the Shoah,” Obama said Monday in a message timed for Holocaust Remembrance Day. Continue Reading »

Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s Former PM, a ‘staunch friend of Israel,’ dies

Thatcher believed that the Arab-Israel conflict was at the center of the Western world’s difficulties in the Middle East, pressing Israeli leaders to make peace with the Palestinians in order to cool regional tensions.

By JTA

 

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was considered a good friend of Israel despite a rocky relationship with Prime Minister Menachem Begin, has died.

Margareth Thatcher meet Foreign Minister Shimon Peres 23rd of June 1987.

Margaret Thatcher meet Foreign Minister Shimon Peres 23rd of June 1987.

Thatcher died Monday after suffering a stroke. She was 87. Thatcher suffered from dementia at the end of her life, which was dramatized in the 2011 movie “The Iron Lady.” Continue Reading »

NGO warns: Save enough natural gas for domestic use

The NGO Adam Teva V’Din to legislators: Be sure Israel allocates enough offshore gas for use at home.

 

 

 
Environmental advocacy group Adam Teva V’Din (Israel Union for Environmental Defense) has distributed a question-and-answer guide to MKs about minimizing natural gas export, the group announced on Sunday.
Tamar natural gas rig.

Tamar natural gas rig. – Photo: Albatross

As gas from the Tamar offshore reservoir began to flow into Israel a week ago, green groups have responded by pressuring government officials to ensure that the country keeps enough for its own citizens. The 250 billioncubic- meter supply from Tamar alone would be able to support Israel for the next 25 years, and the developers have estimated that adjacent Leviathan reservoir contains about double the supply.
Continue Reading »

A Controversial Advocate or Grand Pretender

Yeshiva University criticized for presenting award to former President Carter after decades of demonizing Israel.

 

Pro-Israel activists have launched a campaign to prevent a Jewish university from presenting anti-Israel former President Jimmy Carter with the school’s “International Advocate for Peace Award.”

Jimmy CarterYeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is scheduled to present Carter with the award on Wednesday, leading former alumni and pro-Israel advocates to galvanize in opposition to what they say is the former president’s anti-Israel views.

“I can’t imagine a worse candidate for any kind of a human rights award,” Harvard law professor and pro-Israel author Alan Dershowitz told the Washington Free Beacon Monday. Continue Reading »

Elderly Arab shepherd severely beaten; settlers offer assistance

Hassan Barhoush, 80, severely beaten & left for dead while tending his sheep.
Shocked Avnei Hefetz residents visit him in hospital, seek
assailants.

By Itamar Fleishman

 

Hassan Barhoush, an 80-year-old Palestinian shepherd from Kafr al-Labad in the West Bank, remains hospitalized at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv after being severely beaten a week-and-a-half ago by two unknown assailants with rods.

"לא תהיה יותר מאנרכיה". חוסני ברהוש ואביו בבית החולים (צילום: ירון ברנר)

Barhoush and his son at the hospital – Photo: Yaron Brener

Both of Barhoush’s hands were broken in the attack, and he was left bleeding on the ground. Police have launched an investigation into the incident.

The elderly man’s son, Husni, told Ynet his father tends his sheep for two or three hours a day and then returns home. Continue Reading »

Arab Youth Discuss Holocaust’s Impact After Visiting Poland

Scores of Israeli Arab youths in the National Service participated in a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony, then discussed the sad events and its relevance to Israeli Arabs.

By David Lev

Dozens of Arab youths in the National Service (Sherut Le’umi), who serve as counselors in the No’ar Oved Ve’lomed youth group (associated with the Labor Party), participated in a Holocaust Memorial Day ceremony on Sunday night. After the ceremony, the youths discussed the importance of the Holocaust to the Jewish people – and its relevance to Israeli Arabs.

Israeli youth at Auschwitz

Israeli youth at Auschwitz – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Many of the youths had recently returned from a trip to Poland, where they visited the concentration camps and learned first-hand about the Holocaust. Continue Reading »

Health Ministry seeking to drop salt from Israeli tables

With 75% of Israeli salt consumption coming from processed foods, the Health Ministry released a plan to reduce salt intake by 3 grams a day in the average Israeli’s diet within 7 years.

The Health Ministry has unveiled a new program to reduce the amount of salt in food in Israel. The move is expected to have a gradual effect on the taste of most processed foods sold here.

The Health Ministry is revising salt-intake recommendations

The Health Ministry is revising salt-intake recommendations. – Photo: Bloomberg

Sunday was World Health Day and the theme for 2013 was high blood pressure. In honor of the event, the Health Ministry released a plan to reduce salt intake by 3 grams a day in the average Israeli’s diet within seven years. Continue Reading »

Kerry meets Abbas then conveys to Israel precondition #6 to begin talks

When Kerry met PA president in Ramallah, Abbas adds relinquishment of W. Bank area under Israeli control (as per Oslo Accords) to list of preconditions.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH & HERB KEINON

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry flew into Israel from Turkey late Sunday afternoon, his second visit in two weeks, and went directly to Ramallah for talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Ramallah

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Ramallah – Photo: REUTERS

Abbas reiterated his stance regarding the resumption of peace talks with Israel, but added a new demand: that Israel hand control over parts of Area C in the West Bank to his authority.

Continue Reading »

Police Catch Temple Mount Terrorist Cell

The group of Hamas terrorists that were operating from the Temple Mount, were behind recent string of firebomb & stone attacks that left 5 Israeli police officers injured.

By Israel Today Staff

 

 

 

Israel on Sunday revealed that its security forces recently captured a Hamas terrorist cell operating out of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

The Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

The Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site for well over 3,000 years.

 

The five-man cell had been behind a string of recent stone and firebomb attacks on and around the Temple Mount. Nine Israeli police officers were wounded last month in one of the firebomb attacks. Continue Reading »

Worldwide Anti-Semitism for 2012 is up 30%

 

Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry annual report notes disconcerting increase in violent incidents against Jews in 2012, especially in  Greece, France, Hungary & the Ukraine

Kantor Center Report: “EU is not doing enough to combat this phenomenon”.

By Yael Branovsky & Israel Hayom Staff

A new report published Sunday, the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, noted a 30 percent increase in anti-Semitic violence and vandalism worldwide in 2012.

The report, by Tel Aviv University’s Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry, said the past year had seen “an alarming rise in the number of terrorist attacks and attempted attacks against Jewish targets, and an escalation in violent incidents against Jews worldwide.”

Continue Reading »

Binyamin Netanyahu, ‘We won’t put our fate in the hands of others’

On eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, PM Netanyahu pledges ‘never again,’ referring to Iran.

Israel President Peres: ‘Threat against one nation is threat against all.’

 

 

 

“There will never again be another Holocaust,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pledged on Sunday evening, in a direct challenge to Iran, during the state ceremony marking the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu speaks at Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu speaks at Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Yad Vashem – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

Calling the Jews a people that “seeks peace,” Netanyahu noted that “there are who seek to extinguish this light of ours.”

Continue Reading »