14 of 15 United Nation SC members slam Israeli building plans

Germany, Portugal, France, & Britain issue joint statement expressing “extreme concern” over Israeli construction plans in Ma’ale Adumim, E1

Israeli envoy Prosor: UNSC focusing on Israeli housing while Assad bombs his own people.

 

The US prevented a UN Security Council condemnation of Israel for a spate of settlement construction decisions on Wednesday, leading the other 14 countries on the 15-member council to issue separate condemnations of their own instead.

UN Security Council members vote on resolution - Photo: REUTERS

UN Security Council members vote on resolution – Photo: REUTERS

France, Britain, Germany and Portugal issued a joint statement read out after a meeting on the Middle East in the Security Council saying thy were “extremely concerned by, and strongly opposed, the plans by Israel to expand settlement construction in the West Bank, including in east Jerusalem.”

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Signed Checks Worth $500 Million Found at Kotel

Jerusalem police were left bewildered Wednesday, after finding signed checks worth around $500 Million at the Western Wall.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

Jerusalem police were left bewildered after finding signed checks worth around half a billion dollars at the Western Wall on Wednesday.

The 507 checks were discovered in an envelope at the Jewish holy site in the Old City of Jerusalem and handed in to police by a good citizen, the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said in a statement.

“The honest finder handed them over in accordance with the law to the police lost property office. For now the checks are waiting for whoever lost them,” the statement said. Continue Reading »

Elections C’tee bars Zoabi from Knesset for supporting terrorism

The Central Election Committee banned Balad party head, MK Hanin Zoabi from the Knesset elections on  grounds of supporting terror & rejecting Israel as a Jewish state.

The committee is set to discuss disqualifying Strong Israel, haredim from running for Knesset later in the week.

The Central Election Committee banned Balad MK Hanin Zoabi from running for the 19th Knesset on Wednesday, on grounds of supporting terror and rejecting Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

Zoabi’s disqualification will automatically be brought to an appeal before the High Court of Justice. The only individual disqualification to be upheld by the court was that of Rabbi Meir Kahane in 1988.

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In addition to the 2,612, Barak approves another 523 West Bank houses

Report:  DM Barak approved expansion of Gva’ot settlement in Gush Etzion prior to Palestinians’ UN bid.

Netanyahu to Asian envoys: ‘All Israeli gov’ts built in Jerusalem. We’re not going to change that.’

Itamar Fleishman

 

In addition to the approval of 2,612 housing units in Jerusalem’s Givat Hamatos, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has green-lighted the construction of an additional 523 units in the settlement of Gva’ot, located in the West Bank’s Gush Etzion region, Ynet learned Wednesday.

גבעות, גוש עציון

On way to becoming a city. Gva’ot

Barak approved the construction plan prior to the Palestinian bidin the United Nations. It was further reported that the Housing Ministry has issued a tender for the construction of 5,760 housing units across the country, including a 1,000 in Givat Ze’ev, Har Homa, Karnei Shomron and Efrat. Continue Reading »

Sadly, another Israeli warhorse is laid to rest – Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, 68

 

Former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak dies

IDF’s 15th Chief of Staff, at 68 dies after long battle with leukemia.

Mofaz: “We lost an extraordinary man.”
Yachimovich: “He was an officer and a gentleman.”

By Ynet

 

Former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 68-years-old.

He passed away in Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, at noon.

Lipkin-Shahak was the IDF’s 15th chief of staff. He later served as the tourism and transportation minister in the 15th Knesset.

ליפקין-שחק במהלך תרגיל של חטיבת הצנחנים (צילום: זן ארליך, דובר צה"ל)

As chief of staff – Archives: ID

Born in 1944, Lipkin-Shahak enlisted in the IDF in 1962, joining the Paratroopers Brigade. Continue Reading »

Massachusetts-Israel cooperate to build water innovation

A state survey showed that already in 2009, nearly 100 Israeli companies were located in Massachusetts, contributing 6,000 jobs directly & 21,000 jobs indirectly, that were generating $2.4 billion per year.

 

As Massachusetts eagerly seeks Israeli partners in water innovation, a Herzliya-based firm specializing in rapid microbiological water testing will get the chance to showcase its systems in the New England hi-tech hub.

TACount company.

TACount company – Photo: Daniel Selligson

Led by CEO Charles Gast, the TACount company was the winner among six finalists in the W.E.T. (Water Export Technology) Revolution Competition on Tuesday in Tel Aviv, organized by the Massachusetts Water Innovation Mission to Israel – a trade delegation of 48 industry executives. Continue Reading »

Dancing bearded rabbis meet NBA on court

Group of Chabad rabbis in Houston, Texas sets basketball world alight with their on-court performance which is helping promote Judaism’s image  far beyond the court.

By jn1.tv

 

VIDEO –In Houston, Texas, a group of dancing rabbis has set the world of top tier NBA basketball alight with a performance which is helping promote the image of Judaism far beyond the court.

This YouTube video has become a sensation: A group of Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis paring traditional Hora, Texas square dancing and even 1980s style break-dancing at a Houston Rockets basketball game.

Video courtesy of jn1.tv

It may look spontaneous to the untrained eye, but these dancing rabbis have put a lot into this year’s “Hoops for Hanukkah.” Continue Reading »

2,610 Houses Approved for Jerusalem Neighborhoods

More than 2,000 additional new houses have been approved for Jerusalem neighborhoods. More int’l ire is expected.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

More than 2,000 additional housing units have been approved for a southern Jerusalem neighborhood adjoining Talpiot, in a move sure to set off another firestorm of protest in the international community.

Jerusalem’s local committee on Wednesday approved building permits for 2,610 housing units in the Givat HaMatos neighborhood in Jerusalem. The approval was passed by a vote of six to one, with former deputy mayor of Jerusalem Pepe Alalu voting against the proposal.

Givat Hamatos is a southern suburb of the capital located in an area restored to the city during the 1967 Six Day-War. Continue Reading »

Israeli Arab bus-bomber charged with 27 counts of attempted murder

Mohammed Mafarja, 18, is accused of planting hidden bomb on a Tel Aviv bus on the last day of Operation Pillar of Defense

Mafarja reportedly boarded a train to go back to work after he disembarked from the targeted bus

The explosive device was allegedly detonated remotely from the West Bank.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

An indictment has been filed in the Tel Aviv District Court against the Israeli Arab man suspected of planting a bomb on a Tel Aviv bus on Nov. 21.

The site of a Tel Aviv bus bombing last month. – Photo: KOKO

Mohammed Mafarja, an 18-year-old resident of Taybeh, was charged with aiding the enemy during wartime, conspiring to commit a crime and 27 counts of attempted murder, among other charges.

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U.S. St. Dept: ‘EU will soon designate Hezbollah as terrorist group’

U.S. St. Dept’s Daniel Benjamin reports that the US has shared intel with Europeans on Hezbollah’s increased activities in their countries.

 

WASHINGTON – The US State Department indicated Tuesday that it expected the EU to finally designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, following an intensive US lobbying campaign and suspected Hezbollah plots on European soil.

Hezbollah supporters in Beirut [file] - Photo: REUTERS

Hezbollah supporters in Beirut [file] – Photo: REUTERS


“We’ve been engaging with our partners in Europe and we are cautiously optimistic – at last – about the prospects for an EU designation of the group,” Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, said during an address at the Brookings Institution. Continue Reading »

Washington Post challenges Washington’s Pentagon candidate

Joining several senators objecting to Chuck Hagel’s nomination as defense secretary, the Washington Post wonders if his extreme positions on critical issues (Iran, Israel) won’t serve as an obstacle to Obama’s policy

Yitzhak Benhorin

 

Though US President Barack Obama has yet to officially name Chuck Hagel as the defense secretary’s successor, several pro-Israel senators have already announced their objection to his nomination and said they would act to prevent it.

Chuck Hagel Photo: AP

Chuck Hagel – Photo: AP

On Wednesday, the Washington Post joined the opposing voices in an editorial claiming Hagel was not the right choice for the position.

The reason stated by Washington Post was Hagel’s radical stand on Iran and the Middle East, which was clearly evident when he repeatedly voted against enforcing sanctions to halt Iran’s race obtaining nuclear weapon and doubted the use of force to compel it to negotiate. Continue Reading »

Abbas Asks UN in 1st Step to Flood Israel with Foreign Arabs

Abbas asks UN’s chief to take bold first step and flood Israel with foreign Arabs by suggesting Syrian Palestinian “refugees” move to the PA.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is asking the UN to take the first step towards flooding Israel with foreign Arabs by suggesting Syrian “refugees” move to the PA.

Ban Ki-moon speaks to the media during his visit to Al Zaatri refugee camp, in Jordan. - Reuters

Ban Ki-moon speaks to the media during his visit to Al Zaatri refugee camp, in Jordan. – Reuters

Abbas’ request to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, was reported by the official Palestinian Authority website Wednesday.

His latest diplomatic ploy could place Israel again in the role of “bad man.” Continue Reading »

Polls: Palestinians prefer violence and majority support Hamas

Poll shows that Palestinian Authority’s failure to educate its population for peace has set the stage for perpetual conflict.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Two new public opinion polls reveal that in the wake of the recent Gaza war, Palestinians are even more in favor of violence against Israel, and would hand Hamas the reins of the Palestinian Authority if elections were held today.

A poll conducted by the Ramallah-based Arab World for Research & Development found that an overwhelming 87.7 percent of Palestinian Arabs either agree or strongly agree that “armed struggle, as adopted by Hamas, is the best means of achieving Palestinian independence.” Continue Reading »

Richard Falk finally removed from Human RIghts Watch committee

GREAT NEWS: Human Rights Watch has just expelled antisemitic U.N. official Richard Falk, thanks to campaign by UN Watch.

By JTA

 

Human Rights Watch has removed Richard Falk, United Nations special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights, from one of its local committees.

OVERVIEW OF the Human Rights Council at the UNHRC - Photo by Reuters

OVERVIEW OF the Human Rights Council at the UNHRC – Photo by Reuters

Falk, who has compared Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians to the actions of the Nazis and suggested that the U.S. government may have had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks, was removed Tuesday from the international nongovernmental organization’s local committee in Santa Barbara, Calif.

U.N. Watch said in a letter to its supporters that Falk’s removal from the committee came after U.N. Continue Reading »

Israel issues travel visas to Gazans for Christmas in West Bank

 

500 Christian Palestinians & 75,000 tourists to visit Bethlehem for Christmas

IDF to decrease military activity in area during holidays

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, JERUSALEM POST STAFF

 

The IDF is set to issue permits to some 500 Palestinian Christians residing in Gaza allowing them to travel to the West Bank, specifically Bethlehem, for Christmas. Additionally, at least 20,000 entrance visas will likely be issued to Christian pilgrims who are expected to visit Bethlehem from abroad for the holiday.

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem - Photo: Michael Omer-Man

Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem – Photo: Michael Omer-Man

The IDF traditionally decreases its activities in the Bethlehem area around the holiday in order to facilitate Christmas celebrations among the Christian community. Continue Reading »