Could Pakistan become friends with Israel?

Israel & Pakistan could cooperate on the political & diplomatic levels. Both countries could pose as mediators. Pakistan can mediate between Israel & the Palestinians, whereas Israel can exert influence on India in the Indian-Pakistani dispute over Kashmir.

By Elizabeth Blade

 

It’s hard to imagine a Muslim state that would be cordial to Israel. Pakistan is no exception. Last year, it promised to retaliate against Israel in the event of a preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Then – during Israel’s recent operation in the Gaza Strip – Pakistan condemned the effort to curb Hamas rocket fire, calling on the United Nations’ Security Council to demand an immediate cessation of Israel’s military action. Continue Reading »

Habayit Hayehudi MKs say they want to start afresh with Likud

Habayit Hayehudi MKs say that if Bennett keeps us out of coalition, he will have no more support, & that the main goal of coalition talks should be joining the gov’t, with or without Yesh Atid.

By Mati Tuchfeld & Yehuda Shlezinger

 

Some Habayit Hayehudi MKs have called on their party leader Naftali Bennett and Likud-Beytenu officials to put aside past inter-party rivalries and conduct “serious coalition negotiations.”

Habayit Hayehudi head Naftali Bennett. – Photo: Yakov Felbergaum

These Habayit Hayehudi MKs emphasized that they still trusted Bennett to manage the coalition talks, but said that the main goal of these talks should be to join the government, “with or without [Yesh Atid leader] Yair Lapid.”

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Bulgarian FM urges EU to recognize Hezbollah as terrorist organization

Sofia urges EU to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist organization & make an effort to prevent further attacks to EU members.

 

The European Union must take collective action against Hezbollah, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov said on Monday morning.
Relatives of a victim of the Burgas bomb attack

Relatives of a victim of the Burgas bomb attack – Photo: REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov

Mladenov attended a meeting in Brussels to brief his counterparts on an initial investigative Bulgarian report which blamed Hezbollah for the bombing outside the Burgas airport that killed five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver last July.

“We believe the attack that happened in Burgas last year was organized by people connected to the military wing of Hezbollah,” Mladenov said.

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Police arrest ‘modesty squad’ that ‘terrorized’ Beitar Illit

 

The two ultra-Orthodox men that have been harassing the city’s female residents for what they claim is unchaste behavior, have been caught & arrested.

By Eli Senyor

 

Two ultra-Orthodox men were arrested Monday for instilling what allegedly heading a “modesty squad” that terrorized the female residents of Beitar Illit over what they deemed their “immodest behavior.”

Two ultra-Orthodox menThe two, both in the 30s, are believed to be responsible for what the police called “a reign or terror.”

The two are suspected of a line of violent acts including threats, beatings, kidnappings and more, against what they believe are indecent women, and at times – men. Continue Reading »

Israel supplies Turkey with military hardware for 1st time since Marmara

Under pressure from Boeing & White House officials, the Israeli gov’t capitulated & ended its freeze on advanced electronic warfare systems to Turkey’s Air Force.

 

Israel has supplied advanced electronic warfare systems to the Turkish Air Force, marking the first exchange of military equipment with Turkey since relations between the two countries deteriorated in the wake of the Israeli Navy raid on the Mavi Marmara ferry in May 2010.

AWACS plane.

A Turkish AWACS plane. – Photo by Seattle Aviator (Wikipedia)

The deal was reported on Sunday in the Turkish newspaper Zaman and confirmed today by a senior Israeli defense source. Continue Reading »

Tzipi Livni to be Justice Minister

Hatnua chairwoman Tzipi Livni, will reportedly be appointed as Justice Minister in Netanyahu’s new coalition & will hold a key position in peace talks with the Palestinians.

By Elad Benari

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, frustrated with the Bayit Yehudi and Yesh Atid parties, has reportedly once again turned to Hatnua chairwoman Tzipi Livni. Reports several weeks ago indicated that the two had been holding talks.

Channel 10 News reported on Sunday that Livni’s party is probably the closest to joining Netanyahu’s coalition. The report indicated that Livni is in constant touch with the Likud Beytenu’s number 2, Avigdor Lieberman, and that understandings between the two parties are beginning to emerge. Continue Reading »

EU rejects declaring Hezbollah a ‘terrorist organization’

EU sources report that if Hezbollah’s involvement in last July’s terrorist attack in Bulgaria is proven, the most the EU will do is consider implementing pinpoint sanctions against it, but the European Union will not call Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

By Dan Lavie, Daniel Siryoti & Israel Hayom Staff

 

If the required proof implicating Hezbollah in the terrorist attack in Bulgaria last July is provided, then the EU would lean toward implementing pinpoint sanctions against elements involved in the attack, but would refrain from formally declaring Hezbollah a “terrorist organization,” European Union sources said on Sunday.

The scene of the terrorist attack against Israeli tourists in Burgas, Bulgaria, last July.

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Dershowitz: Papacy contender is an anti-Semite

James Carroll, distinguished columnist for the Boston Globe, who is himself a Catholic, has characterized Rodriguez Maradiaga’s “crackpot” mindset: “When the church has a problem — here is the oldest move of all — blame the Jews.”

By JTA

 

In a letter to the editor of the Miami Herald, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said that one of the leading candidates to replace Pope Benedict XVI is an anti-Semite.

Alan Dershowitz, professor of law, Harvard University – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

Responding to a list published last week after the resignation of Benedict, which identified Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras as a possible successor to the current pope, Dershowitz wrote:  “He has blamed the Jews for the scandal surrounding the sexual misconduct of priests toward young parishioners! Continue Reading »

Neurologists discover Parkinson’s breakthrough

Neurologists explain how a device that induces deep brain stimulation at an early stage of the disease will be better for motor outcome & quality of life later on.

The implantation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) devices at an early stage of Parkinson’s disease – rather than at an advanced one – has been shown, in a breakthrough study published Thursday, to significantly reduce the tremors and other symptoms of the widespread neurodegenerative disease that begins mostly from age 60. The study, which appears in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, is likely to end the global practice up to now of implanting an electrical stimulating device only as a last resort, when medications are no longer effective.
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Hezbollah Invades Syria

14 Hezbollah soldiers killed by rebels in past 2 days in battles over control of villages on Lebanese border

By Roi Kais

 

Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian civil war continues to grow. Syria’s main opposition group claimed Sunday that no less than 1,000 Hezbollah men have entered Syria in the past 24 hours.

Hezbollah rocket launcher“It’s a coordinated ground invasion,” the Free Syrian Army spokesman said. “Hezbollah has started a war against us.”

At least two Hezbollah operatives and five rebels were killed in battles southwest of Homs. Earlier on Sunday, rebels claimed they killed 12 members of the Lebanese terrorist group on Saturday. Continue Reading »

Swift IDF Action Nabs Arab Terrorists

2 Arabs arrested after caught firing shots at Kibbutz Migdal Oz in the Etzion Bloc.

By Gil Ronen

 

A quick IDF operation led to the arrest of two Arabs who fired shots at the kibbutz (cooperative community) of Migdal Oz in the Etzion Bloc Saturday night.

IDF PhotoThe shots were fired from the nearby village of Bayt Fajar.

A military source told Arutz Sheva that the source of the gunfire was identified shortly after the shooting began, and that a force from the Nachshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade, which was on routine assignment in the area, was alerted.

The soldiers carried out the normal procedure for arresting suspects and fired in the air. Continue Reading »

The Knesset & US Congress jointly urge Obama to release Jonathan Pollard

With Obama’s pending trip to Israel, MK Danny Danon & former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee initiated a joint petition urging Jonathan Pollard’s pardon.

President Shimon Peres set to urge U.S. Senators to seek Pollard’s release as well.

By Mati Tuchfeld and Yori Yalon

 

A joint initiative by Knesset members and the U.S. Congress is calling on President Barack Obama, scheduled to visit Israel in a few weeks, to secure the release of imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard in time to bring the news to Israel personally on his visit.

Jonathan Pollard. – Photo: AP

The two politicians behind the initiative, Israeli MK Danny Danon (Likud-Beytenu) and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, met on Thursday to discuss the joint endeavor.

Continue Reading »

Australia’s very own, the ASIO ‘burned’ Zygier

Analysis: Australian intel agencies’ conduct played key role in low level Mossad operative’s decision to end his life.

By Ron Ben-Yishai

 

Ben Zygier was a victim. From details that have already been published by British and Australian media we learn that he was a victim of his own personality and also of the over-enthusiasm and lack of caution on the part of his handlers in Israel. Most infuriating is the fact that people who worked for the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) purposely got the Mossad operative in hot water and indirectly contributed to his decision to commit suicide.

Ben Zygier

According to the details that have surfaced so far, Zygier and two of his colleagues, who were also born in Australia and held Australian citizenship, were recruited to Mossad at the beginning of the last decade. Continue Reading »

Arabs: Keep Marathon Runners Away from Temple Mount

The PLO threatened Israel not to use the upcoming annual Jerusalem Marathon as an attempt to “Judaize” Jerusalem

By David Lev

 

With the Jerusalem Marathon set to take place March 1, the Palestinian Authority is warning Israel not to use the race to “Judaize” the city, presenting it as a “unified capital of Israel,” said the chairman of the PLO’s action committee, Ahmed Qureia. Qureia is also the head of the “Al-Aqsa Department” in the PA, and on Sunday he warned Israel to ensure that marathoners stay away from the Temple Mount, where the mosque is located.

Runners from some 50 countries are expected at this year’s marathon. Continue Reading »

Haredi Rabbi: 12 Reasons Why Secular Israelis Reject Haredim

Here’s a refreshing perspective from a respected Haredi Rabbi with a clear view of the Haredi contribution to the problems between the secular & the ultra-Orthodox.

 

 

Rabbi Dovid Bloch is the official spokesman for the Nahal Haredi, the Netzah Yehuda IDF battalion, was among its founders, and is the spiritual guide (mashgiach ruchani) of its recruits. This part of his record is impeccable, as far as secular Israelis are concerned. Rabbi Bloch studied at Yeshivat Ponivez and for many years served as Rosh Yeshiva of the Midrashia in Pardes Hanah. He currently is a Ram (Rosh Metivta) in Nahora Yeshiva High School and a Rosh Kollel in Jerusalem. Continue Reading »