Betrayed by history and the present

It’s bad enough that pioneering families at Har Tuv lost their village in the 1948 war. It’s even worse how the authorities are treating their descendants.

For years, descendants of the founders of Har Tuv near Beit Shemesh have felt betrayed by the Israeli establishment. Their agricultural community, founded in 1895 by Zionist pioneers from Bulgaria, became the only Jewish community in the new state that was not re-established after it was destroyed in the 1948 War of Independence.

Har Tuv - Salman - 3.2012

A photo of residents of Har Tuv before the War of Independence. - Photo by: Emil Salman

The local regional council did not use the name Har Tuv (Mountain of Goodness ); it was reserved for a nearby industrial zone.

Continue Reading »

Another ‘Fogel Copycat’ Attack Foiled

An Arab woman with large knife arrested near fence of Emanuel, one day after two terrorists tried to enter Elon Moreh.

The latest terror trend among Arabs in Samaria may be an effort to copy the horrific slaughter in Itamar a year ago, in which five members of a single family were murdered with a knife.

Police from the Samaria Region arrested an Arab woman near the perimeter fence of the city of Emanuel Tuesday morning. She was carrying a large knife.

The woman, 32, was identified by a military force near the village of Imtin, next to Emanuel, located in central Samaria and near the city of Ariel and the communities of Karnei and Ginot Shomron. Continue Reading »

Egyptian militants blow up pipeline carrying gas to Israel

Previous bombings of the pipeline have been blamed on Islamist militants who have stepped up ac-tivity in the Sinai since downfall of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

 

Egyptian security officials say militants have again blown up a gas pipeline in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that transports fuel to neighboring Israel.

The attack on the pipeline is the 12th since the popular uprising that ousted longtime Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak last year.

Police officials said gunmen attacked the pipeline in the north Sinai city of el-Arish on Monday. There were no details on the extent of damage. Previous explosions have shut down gas flow for days or weeks. Continue Reading »

IDF Camouflage Creates ‘Disappearing Soldiers’

The IDF has re-defined the term “disappearing soldiers,” who are being trained to blend in with the environment to avoid enemy detection.

The term “disappearing soldiers” usually spreads fear among Israelis, worried about kidnappings, but the Second Lebanon War taught army commanders to re-define the term for a positive use by camouflaging soldiers.

The concept of camouflaged clothing is not new, but soldiers at the military anti-terror school now are being taught how to use nature to help protect themselves.

'Disappearing soldier'

'Disappearing soldier' - Israel news photo: IDF BaMahane magazine

A three-week course teaches combat units the art of camouflage and how to turn trees and stones in the battlefield into hiding spots, how to spot the perfect tree and how to pay attention to the most minute detail. Continue Reading »

Peres asks Obama to free Pollard

Prime Minister Netanyahu also expected to raise issue for second time in meeting with US President.

 

President Shimon Peres asked US President Barack Obama to release Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard when they met at the White House on Sunday, Peres’s office said Monday.
Jonathan Pollard
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will also raise Pollard’s fate with the US president when they meet Monday, officials in the Prime Ministers Office said.

Netanyahu officially asked Obama to commute Pollard’s life sentence to time served in January 2011. Since then, Obama has not responded.

Pollard’s wife Esther urged Obama to respond favorably to the repeated requests for the release of her husband, who has been in prison for more than 26 years.
Continue Reading »

Israeli court recognizes lesbian couple as biological mothers of child

In precedential ruling, Ramat Gan Family Court criticizes Interior Ministry’s requirement that baby’s egg donor file for adoption.

 

The Ramat Gan Family Court decided Sunday, in a precedential verdict, to recognize both women of a lesbian couple as the mothers of a baby boy.

Pregancy - Dreamstime - March 2012

Photo by: Dreamstime

The lesbian couple underwent a medical procedure six years ago with the permission of the Health Ministry, in which the egg of one woman was fertilized with the sperm of an anonymous donor and implanted in the womb of her partner.

In 2007 their son was born, but the Interior Ministry only registered the child bearer as the son’s mother.

Continue Reading »

Hamas Preacher: Al Aqsa Can’t Remain under Apes, Pigs

‘Palestinian’ incitement against Jews; Hamas preacher declares Al Aqsa cannot remain under the control of “asses carrying books.”

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) exposed another disconcerting video of ‘Palestinian’ incitement against the Jewish people. The video relays a Hamas preacher from Khan Yunis, Gaza, which aired on Al Aqsa TV on February 24, declaring that the Al Aqsa mosque cannot remain under the control of “apes and pigs.”

“We say load and clear: The struggle for Palestine is not a political struggle. It is a purely ideological struggle. It is a clear religious struggle between Islam and Zionism. It is a struggle between Truth and Falsehood, between Islam and heresy, between light and darkness, between good and evil,” the preacher stated. Continue Reading »

2 British journalists accused of spying in Libya

Reporters, employed by Iran’s Press TV, detained after they were found in possession of IDF-issued medical supplies

Two British journalists working for Iran’s Press TV who were detained late last month in Libya are suspected of being spies, the head of the militia which is holding them said on Sunday.

Swehli with the IDF medical supplies Photo: Reuters

Swehli with the IDF medical supplies Photo: Reuters

Faraj al-Swehli, commander of the Swehli brigade, said his men had found among the journalists’ possessions official Libyan documents, equipment used by the Israeli military and footage of them firing weapons.

“We believe they are spies,” Swehli said in Tripoli. He said it was too early to say what country they were spying for, but that this would be established by their investigation. Continue Reading »

Snack foods sell for half-price in Arab sector stores

You don’t have to fly to the United States to buy Israeli products at half price.

 

You don’t have to fly to the United States to buy Israeli products at half price, it seems: Israeli snack manufacturers sell their products at stores catering to the Arab community for significantly less than at shops throughout the rest of the country.

Shoppers at Arab Israeli and Palestinian stores pay as much as half of what shoppers pay at other stores in Israel, TheMarker found.

Take, for example, Pesek Zman, which sparked the latest round of protests and boycott calls against manufacturer Strauss, after a consumer photographed the candy bars selling for half the Israeli price at a supermarket in New Jersey.

Continue Reading »

Obama will Refuse to Name Red Lines on Iran – NYT

Netanyahu wants U.S. president to lay down timetable on Iran strike, but administration officials say he won’t.

Officials in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama told The New York Times that Obama will refuse to give Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu what he wants in their meeting later Monday – namely, a clear statement regarding “red lines” on the Iranian nuclear program and a timetable for striking the Islamic Republic if it crosses those lines.

Netanyahu, Obama in previous meeting.

Netanyahu, Obama in previous meeting. Reuters

The Times‘ Mark Landler wrote Saturday, “Mr. Obama will not lay down new red lines on Iran, even if he discusses them with Mr. Continue Reading »

Israeli Scientists make breakthrough in ALS treatment

BGU researcher, colleagues identify compound that may prolong life for Amytotrophic Lateral Sclerosis patients.

ESTHER PRIEL

Prof. Esther Priel - Photo By BGU

 

A Ben-Gurion University researcher and her colleagues have identified a chemical compound that may lead to prolonged lifespans for patients with Amytotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Prof. Esther Priel and her team published an article in the February edition of EMBO Molecular Medicine Journal, in which they demonstrate how their compound can induce an increased production of the enzyme telomerase in the bodies of laboratory mice and in human stem cells. The increased amount of telomerase slows the progression of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Continue Reading »

Iran ‘May have Tested Nukes in N. Korea in 2010’

Germany’s Die Welt: two nuclear weapons tests in North Korea in 2010 might have been conducted for Iran.

 

The Sunday morning edition of Germany’s Die Welt, quoted by leading journalist David Goldman in Pajamas Media, reports that Western intelligence agencies detected two nuclear weapons tests in North Korea in 2010, and that one or both of them might have been conducted for Iran. The author is the respected German analyst and former top official Hans Rühle, who quotes new documentation showing that the Iranian regime began its drive for nuclear weapons as early as 1984, under the direct orders of Ayatollah Khomeini. Continue Reading »

Missing IAF cadet found alive and well in Eilat

Eshel Zilberstein, who went missing Saturday night, found safe and sound in coffee shop

Eshel Zilberstein, a 19-year-old Air Force cadet who went missing Saturday night, was found alive and well in Eilat, Ynet reported Sunday night.

Police said he was making his way back to his home in Shimshit, located in Israel’s Lower Galilee region. His reasons for travelling to Eilat remain unknown at this point.

Eshel Zilberstein (archives)

Eshel Zilberstein

An investigation found that he had withdrawn a large sum of money prior to his disappearance.

Police officers eventually found him in a coffee shop in one of Eilat’s tourist districts. It is estimated that Zilberstein’s disappearance is related to his army service. Continue Reading »

Israel, Cyprus, Greece sign electric cable deal

287-km. underwater electricity line will connect Israel’s energy supply to EU, via Cyprus and Crete.

 

Israeli, Greek, Cypriot officialsBy IEC

Israeli, Greek, Cypriot officials - Photo By IEC

For both Israel and Cyprus, connecting the countries through an underwater cable will foster more than just electrical stability for two energy islands – it will further the sense of “duty and friendship” between two allies, Athanasios Ktoridis, chairman of the board of DEH Quantum Energy, said in Jerusalem on Sunday.

“Through this project we shall develop a better understanding of our diverse and bountiful cultures,” Ktoridis said.DEH Quantum Energy is owned by Greece’s DEH Public Power Corporation, Quantum Energy of Cyprus and the Bank of Cyprus.

Continue Reading »

Hundreds search for missing IAF cadet

Eshel Zilberstein,19, missing since Saturday night, failed to report to IDF base; footage shows him throwing weapon into trash can

 

Hundreds of military officials, policemen and civilians are conducting a wide search since the early hours of Sunday morning for Eshel Zilberstein a 19-year-old Air Force cadet who has been missing since Saturday night.

The cadet, from northern Israel enlisted in the IDF several months ago and was scheduled to return to the Hatzerim base in southern Israel where he serves on Sunday. He was carrying his personal weapon.

 

החיפושים אחרי החייל הנעדר, היום (צילום: עידו ארז)

Searching for Eshel (Photo: Ido Erez)

The search began when he failed to report to the base after a weekend pass. Continue Reading »