History made: 2 Israeli films up for best documentary Oscar

Both, Dror Moreh’s “The Gatekeepers” & “5 Broken Cameras,” directed by Emad Burnat & Guy Davidi are nominated for Academy Awards.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, HANNAH BROWN, REUTERS

 

Two Israeli films were nominated for the 85th Academy Awards’ Best Documentary Feature category on Thursday, The Gatekeepers and 5 Broken Cameras.

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Dror Moreh’s The Gatekeepers, which features interviews with all six living former chiefs of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).

The film features interviews with Yuval Diskin, Avi Dichter, Ami Ayalon, Ya’acov Peri, Carmi Gillon and Avraham Shalom.

The interviews are interspersed with newsreel and archival footage and computer-enhanced imagery.

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1st Sign of Anarchy: Fatah Gunmen Form New Opposition Organization

In response to PA’s weapons confiscation drive, renegade Palestinians in Balata refugee camp announce establishment of ‘army of free fighters’ 

By Elior Levy

 

A group of Fatah gunmen from the Balata refugee in Nablus camp have announced the establishment of “the army of free fighters” on Wednesday.

החמושים במחנה בלאטה

Gunmen in Balata refugee camp

The group members celebrated the occasion by holding a march at the camp during which they fired in the air.

Palestinian security forces have been engaged in a large-scale mission to confiscate illegal weapons in the Jenin and Balata refugee camps in recent months.

The raids often involved fire exchanges with the gunmen, some of whom are former members of Fatah’s military wing the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Continue Reading »

Obama Picks Orthodox Jew as Treasury Secretary

Jack Lew, an orthodox Jew with strong ties within the Jewish community, is Obama’s choice as Treasury Secretary.

By Annie Lubin

 

U.S. President Barack Obama is set to appoint White House chief of staff Jack Lew as Treasury Secretary on Thursday, an orthodox Jew with strong ties within the American Jewish community.

Obama will name Lew as Secretary of Treasury

Obama will name Lew as Secretary of Treasury – Reuters

Lew is an observant Jew who attends Congregation Beth Sholom in Potomac, Maryland.

When asked about how he would be able to balance his religious beliefs and the high profile job of being in the President’s cabinet, Lew aid that having already worked with Obama as his Chief of Staff, he knows that the President is very respectful of his faith.

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MK Erdan: Media doesn’t report enough on gov’t’s achievements

PM Netanyahu: We know that any territory that we vacate will be seized by Hamas & Iran.

Outgoing Communications & Welfare Minister Moshe Kahlon to star in ad about reforms he initiated in cellular communications.

By Mati Tuchfeld and Efrat Foresher

 

 

Two days after televised campaign ads began being aired on Israeli television, the Likud-Yisrael Beytenu coalition’s campaign is kicking into a higher gear. The star of Likud-Beytenu’s next ads will be outgoing Communications and Welfare Minister Moshe Kahlon, who announced in October that he would be taking time out from political life and who is not running in the Jan.

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Italy Sets Guidelines to Prohibit anti-Semitic Chants at Football Matches

The guidelines were issued in the wake of two cases of anti-Semitic & racist behavior of fans in Hungary & Bulgaria that resulted in fines & sanctions by FIFA.

 

By JTA

 

New guidelines issued by the Italian Interior Ministry govern how police may halt or interrupt a soccer match because of racist or anti-Semitic behavior by fans or on the pitch.

FIFA

The guidelines were issued following a meeting this week of the Ministry’s watchdog commission on sporting events that dealt with the “despicable phenomenon of racism” noted recently at some matches.

Italy’s police chief as well as leaders of the Italian Soccer Federation took part in the meeting. Continue Reading »

NGO claims El Al prevents its flight attendants from voting

The NGO, Movement of Quality Government complains to Election Panel that Israeli El Al workers were given shifts on Election Day that prevents them from voting.

 

Many El Al flight attendants will not be able to exercise their right to vote, according to a complaint submitted by the Movement for Quality Government to the Central Election Committee on Thursday.

El Al

El Al plane – Photo: Courtesy from Facebook

Some flight attendants will leave the country before the polls open on January 22 and return the next day.

The Movement for Quality Government wrote that some of the flight attendants requested not to work that day, but were rebuffed.

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Watch: IDF’s Unit 669’s intricate rescue of Palestinians

IDF’s Ultra-Orthodox unit use civilian tractor to pull Palestinians trapped in car; 669 unit helicopter boards Palestinian family trapped on roof surrounded by water, power lines

Yoav Zitun

 

Lifesaving cooperation occurred Tuesday between haredi IDF troops and Palestinians who were trapped in a stream growing violent due to the stormy weather.

ההצפות אמש בטייבה

Floods in Tayibe

Soldiers of the IDF’s haredi battalion Netzah Yehuda managed to rescue three Palestinian men before the fierce currents washed over them. Ynet obtained a documentation of the rescue.

The IDF troops were called to an area near the Nablus River, where, they were told, cars were stranded with their drivers trapped in a constantly intensifying current. Continue Reading »

BREAKING NEWS: 4 Wounded as Car Explodes in Tel Aviv

VIDEO: Car explodes in Tel Aviv’s old north, at least four people wounded

Bomb appears to have been detonated by a motorcylist nearby

breaking news

 

A car exploded in Tel Aviv’s old north early Thursday afternoon, after a bomb was apparently detonated by a motorcyclist nearby. At least four people were wounded, and were being treated by paramedics at the scene.

An initial investigation indicated that the bomb, which targeted a Mazda on Jabotinsky Street, was criminally linked and not related to terrorism.

The car burst into flames immediately after the blast. A nearby bus empty of passengers was also hit in the blast. Continue Reading »

Snow Photos & Video Exposé: Jerusalem of White

Schools throughout the Jerusalem area are closed Thursday, with buses & light rail not running. Snow expected to fall until afternoon.

By Annie Lubin

 

Forget Jerusalem of gold, because after the snowfall that began Wednesday and is expected to last until Thursday afternoon, the city should be called Jerusalem of white.

Residents of the capital woke up to more than 10 cm of snow which accumulated overnight. The snow left its mark throughout the center of the city, but the higher neighborhoods, such as French Hill and Mount Herzl, experienced the most amount of accumulation

The Jerusalem Municipality opened a special operations room to address any transportation problems which may arise due to the weather. Continue Reading »

NABBED: Jerusalem-Arab Indicted in Bedouin Kidnapping Ring

Nadal Tubasi, a 35-year-old Arab resident of Jerusalem, was indicted for kidnapping with the intent to murder or blackmail & extortion.

By Annie Lubin

 

The Jerusalem District Attorney filed an indictment Wednesday against Nadal Tubasi, a 35-year-old Arab resident of Jerusalem, who is charged with kidnapping with the intent to murder or blackmail and extort.

According to the indictment, filed by prosecutor Aviad Dwek, the accused participated in the kidnapping of Sudanese and Eritreans in Sinai by marauding Bedouins. The hostages were held in harsh conditions and threatened with execution by kidnappers if their families did not pay a ransom. Continue Reading »

As Hamas & Fatah reconcile, Netanyahu vows never to cede more land

PM scorns Abbas for meeting with “terrorists trying to annihilate Israel,” and asserts Iran & their proxy Hamas, would seize any territory Israel evacuates.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

As rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas met in Cairo to discuss reconciliation on Wednesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he would not cede any more land to the Palestinians.

BibiEarlier this month, Netanyahu indicated that he believed Hamas could overthrow the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority in the West Bank.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal were expected to meet in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss ending a long-running dispute between their rival political factions, Fatah and Hamas.

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Twitter forced to divulge details of their anti-Semitic clients

Jewish student union petitions Paris court to order Twitter to divulge details.

Nazi hashtag makes list of top 5 trending topics in France on Saturday.

By

 

France’s main Jewish student union asked a Paris court to order Twitter to divulge details about users who post anti-Semitic comments.

Twitter logo.

Twitter logo. Photo by Twitter

Tuesday’s hearing came on the heels of a weekend of Twitter posts using the hashtag #SiJetaisNazi, or #IfIWereANazi, which was one of the country’s top five trending topics on January 5.

#agoodjew is a dead Jew

The court is expected to hand down a decision in the case on January 24. Continue Reading »

Dershowitz: Hagel appointment sends mixed signals, is green light to Iran

 

Renowned jurist Professor Alan Dershowitz says the Iranians are celebrating this appointment in Tehran but says appointment won’t affect U.S. Defense Dept policies regarding Israel’s security.

By Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Regarding President Barack Obama’s nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary, renowned jurist Professor Alan Dershowitz said, “I think it’s a mistake.”

Professor Alan Dershowitz: Obama is making a mistake with Hagel appointment. – Photo: Dudi Vaaknin

Dershowitz conducted an interview with The Algemeiner, a new English-language incarnation of an old Yiddish newspaper, and wrote an opinion piece for the paper.

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Hungary & Bulgaria’s soccer teams fined for fans’ anti-Semitism

FIFA strongly condemns all forms of racism in football, and any form of discrimination will not be tolerated and will receive a strong response by the relevant FIFA authorities.

According to Article 67 par. 1 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, the home association is liable for the improper conduct among spectators, regardless of the question of culpable conduct.

 

By JTA

Hungary’s national soccer team will face sanctions because of anti-Semitic chants by its fans in August, the FIFA soccer association has announced.

Hungary and Bulgaria sanctioned to play without spectators

Hungary and Bulgaria sanctioned to play without spectators – Photo: AFP

The punishment handed out by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s disciplinary committee on Jan. Continue Reading »

Syria trades civilian prisoners for rebel-held Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen

Assad’s regime releases over 2000 civilian prisoners in exchange for 48 Iranians captured last August by fighting Syrian rebels.

By REUTERS

 

Syrian rebels freed 48 Iranian hostages on Wednesday in exchange for the release of more than 2,000 civilian prisoners held by the Syrian government, the head of a Turkish aid agency which helped broker the deal said.

zqzqzqzqThe Syrian rebel al-Baraa brigade seized the Iranians in early August and initially threatened to kill them, saying they were members of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps sent to fight for Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The Islamic Republic, one of Assad’s closest allies, denied this, saying they were Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims visiting shrines, and it asked Turkey and Qatar to use their connections with Syrian insurgents to help secure their release.

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