Ethiopians seek compensation for loved ones who perished making Aliyah

Ethiopian groups turn to High Court seeking reparation for family members who died en route to Israel.

Groups point to State negligence during aliyah operation as leading to ‘tragedy’.

Aviel Magnezi

 

The State initiated the aliyah of Ethiopian Jews, and hence it must compensate families whose loved one’s perished along the way, claim representatives of the Ethiopian community who filed a like minded High Court petition Thursday.

הפגנה של יהודי אתיופיה ב-1987 להעלאת קרוביהם (צילום: מגי איילון, לע"מ)

Protest demanding aliyah of remaining Ethiopians – Photo: Megi Eylon

According to the petition, the aliyah of Ethiopian Jews in the beginning of the 80’s, was undertaken under the auspices of the State of Israel and it is responsible for its sloppy execution. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu’s ‘Thank you’ Message to Israel’s citizens

PM writes citizens: “Thank you for awarding me the privilege of serving you as Prime Minister for the 3rd time.”

By Gil Ronen

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu conveyed the following message to the citizens of Israel, shortly before the Sabbath:

 

Dear citizens of Israel,

Congratulations, we have a new government.

I thank you for awarding me the privilege of serving you as Prime Minister for the 3rd time. I view this as both a great privilege and a major responsibility.

I will see to it that the new government works for the benefit of all Israeli citizens, and guarantees first and foremost the security of each and every one of you. Continue Reading »

Israel and Jews pleased with newest Pope

As archbishop of Buenos Aires, newly dedicated Pope Francis I maintained openly warm relations with the local Jewish community; Peres: ‘He is welcome in the Holy Land any time.’

By Israel Today Staff

 

Israeli leaders on Thursday welcomed news that Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires had been selected as the new pope.

Israel, Jews pleased with new pope

Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires will be sworn in as Pope Francis I – Photo: Israel Today

Bergoglio will be sworn in as Pope Francis I next week.

“The new pope will be welcomed in the Holy Land with love and appreciation by Jews, Muslims and Christians as one,” said Israeli President Shimon Peres. Continue Reading »

IMF reports of PA’s ‘increasingly precarious’ fiscal sustainability

The Int’l Monetary Fund (IMF) calls for immediate action to assist Palestinian Authority close its huge budget deficit.

“Domestic sources of financing are drying up … Left unchecked, these trends will ultimately lead some to question the legitimacy of the PA.”

By Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Palestinian Authority’s fiscal situation is “increasingly precarious,” the International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In the past few months, the PA has failed to pay full salaries to its 160,000 employees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. – Photo: Reuters

The IMF called for urgent action to help it close a gaping budget deficit and to stabilize the economy.

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Hezbollah Backed Paper Sabotages UN Investigation of Rafik Hariri Assassination

The newspaper’s leaks demonstrates the lengths to which opponents of the tribunal will go to undermine its mandate: to investigate who was behind the powerful car bomb that killed the former Lebanese PM, Rafik Hariri, and 22 others in 2005.

 

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The first shock came when a leading Lebanese newspaper published a confidential list of 17 witnesses who may testify in the murder trial of a former prime minister — showing their names, passport pictures, dates of birth and where they work.

A man shouted for help at the site of a blast that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. - Photo by Mohamed Azakir-Reuters

A man shouted for help at the site of a blast that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005.

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Israel warned by Hamas against harming Palestinian Minister

After Shin Bet published a report that Hamas Interior Minister Hammad was involved in plotting attacks against Israel, Hamas warns not to reciprocate.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

The Hamas government on Thursday warned Israel against harming its interior minister, Fathi Hammad.

Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad [file].

Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad – Photo: REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

The warning came in response to a Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) report that said that Hammad had been involved in plotting attacks against Israel.

The report, which was published Wednesday, revealed that Hammad had appointed a number of close aides affiliated with Hamas and the Defenders of al-Aksa group to smuggle explosives into the West Bank.

Continue Reading »

1 dead & 12 in serious condition at Tel Aviv’s Marathon

Magen David Adom: One runner dead, 12 in serious condition after falling from heat exhaustion at Tel Aviv’s annual Marathon.

Over 20 participants were taken to hospital suffering from heat stroke.

Boaz Fyler

 

Tragedy at Tel Aviv Marathon: A 30-year old runner has died and 12 others were seriously injured on Friday morning in the Tel Aviv Marathon.

(צילום: מוטי קמחי)

Runners in the marathon – Photo: Moti Kimchi

According to Magen David Adom medics, the injured are currently unconscious and undergoing artificial respiration, a few even requiring CPR.

The first aid tent at the starting point has become a field hospital with more and more runners arriving at the scene on stretchers due to suspected dehydration. Continue Reading »

Syrian Regime Threatens to Strike at Rebels Inside Lebanon

Syria’s FM tells Lebanon’s FM that a ‘large number’ of rebels have left Lebanon & entered the Syrian town of Tel Kalakh over the past 2 days.
Friday is the 2nd anniversary of uprising against Bashar Assad.

By Reuters and DPA

 

Syria has warned it may strike at rebels hiding in neighboring Lebanon if the Lebanese army does not act, as its patience “is not unlimited,” the state news agency SANA said on Friday, as the country marked two years since the start of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Syrian rebels make victory signs near the border with Turkey last year.

Syrian rebels make victory signs as they patrol a street in the town of Tal Abyad near the border with Turkey, last year.

Continue Reading »

Dramatic Terror Arrest by Yamam in Tel Aviv

Special Border Police & Shin Bet units rappelled from rooftop to snatch a terror suspect.

By Gil Ronen

 

Maariv reported Friday about a dramatic arrest operation in central Tel Aviv that netted a terror activist.

Special Yamam police and Shin Bet forces cooperated in the operation.

Intelligence regarding the presence in Tel Aviv of a terror activist reached the Shin Bet in the late evening hours Thursday. Large police forces sealed off central Tel Aviv.

The forces closed in on an apartment on the corner of Tchernichovsky and Rashi streets, near Dizengoff Center. At around midnight, Yamam forces rappelled from the building’s roof with drawn weapons and burst into one of the apartments, arresting the suspect.

Continue Reading »

Muslims’ entrance to Temple Mount to be restricted after firebomb

Intel about plans to incite violence after Friday prayers lead police to limit entrance to Holy site to men over 50 & women.

By Noam (Dabul) Dvir

 

Jerusalem District Police have decided to restrict the entrance of Muslim worshippers to the Temple Mount on Friday following reports of planned disruptions after prayers.

Last week’s clashes in Temple Mount – Photo: AFP

Entrance will be restricted to men with Israeli ID cards over 50 and women of all ages. Thousands of police and Border Guard officers will be deployed in the Old City and east Jerusalem to maintain the order. “Police will take a firm hand against any attempt to disrupt the order,” a statement said. Continue Reading »

Lawyer accuses Hamas of murdering 16 Egyptian soldiers

An Egyptian lawyer has accused the Hamas government in Gaza of masterminding the murder of 16 Egyptian border guards last August.

Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

 

On Thursday, Samir Sabry filed a complaint with the prosecutor general, claiming Hamas had ordered the deadly attack on a guard post in Sinai on 5 August.

Relatives bewailing during a funeral for soldiers who were killed during an attack along the Sinai border with Israel by unknown gunmen, August 7, 2012. - Photo Hossam Fadl

Relatives bewailing during a funeral for soldiers who were killed during an attack along the Sinai border with Israel by unknown gunmen, August 7, 2012. – Photo: Hossam Fadl

He also said there were 32 people involved in planning and executing the assault.

Sabry described the incident as premeditated murder and a breach of Egypt’s sovereignty. Continue Reading »

My View from Istanbul: When, How Did Hatred Become a Religion?

The more a Muslim country is opposed to  America & Israel, the more prestige it has gained among other Muslim countries. Hatred has become a sign of religious devotion. Hatred has become religion.

By Aylin Kocaman

 

For some, religious devotion has long been “hatred”. If a Muslim hates Jews, Christians, Zionists and Freemasons, then that is considered being devout. Some religious teachers and people who claim to be scholars have enjoyed a great deal of success in that way; they have made a niche for themselves and so much so that the more they have expressed a policy of hatred of Jews, the more crimes they have laid at America’s door, and the more damage they have inflicted on other schools, the more admiration they have acquired. Continue Reading »

NASA’s Pod Transports Are Getting Closer to Tel Aviv

If all goes as planned, within the next 2 years Israel will be the first country to adapt this futuristic NASA transport pod, into a suburban public rapid transit system.

By

 

Transport pods that look like silvery fish could soon be whizzing above the streets of Tel Aviv. The Israeli city is looking to become the world’s first to get a mass-transit system co-developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said during a Monday visit to Bloomberg News.

Courtesy Skytran

The SkyTran system, which Huldai said could help relieve the traffic congestion that plagues his Mediterranean city, consists of two-person vehicles that hang from rails above street level. Continue Reading »

Abbas seeks peace talks with Israel in 2013

Meeting with Russian President Putin PA President Abbas expressed caution but hopes peace talks with Israel will resume in 2013, leading to a 2-state solution.

By Reuters

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday he hoped peace talks with Israel would restart this year although the chances of a resumption seemed slim.

Mahmoud Abbas Photo by Marc Israël SellemAbbas made his comments during a meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Russia would do all it could to promote peace in the region.

“We … hope that substantive peace talks will start this year, although the hopes are probably not very high,” Abbas said through an interpreter at talks at a state residence outside Moscow. Continue Reading »

In increasing radicalism Mideast, Arab-Israel conflict far more complex to solve

IDF Military Intel chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi says Iran producing enough enriched uranium for 5-6 bombs, should it decide to arm.

Turkey, Egypt, Iran & Saudi Arabia are all led by religious leadership who see Israel as unwelcome regional element.

By Amir Mizroch

 

 

IDF Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aviv Kochavi on Thursday presented a grim picture of Israel’s strategic surroundings, saying that four of the Middle East’s superpowers — Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt — were all led by religious leadership whose fundamental view of Israel is one of a “foreign, unwelcome element” and who increasingly see the world through religious lenses.

Continue Reading »