John Kerry doubtful Israeli-Palestinian framework deal is imminent
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Has U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry lost his trademark optimism regarding the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations?
In an interview with the Saudi-based Al Arabiya network on Thursday, Kerry was asked whether he felt a framework agreement between the two sides was imminent. Kerry responded that he doubted such a deal could be reached next month.
“My hope is we can achieve the framework for final status negotiations,” Kerry said. “But it’s very, very difficult and we have a lot of work to do.”
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Israel to launch first civilian satellite into orbit in 2015
(JNS.org) Israel will launch its first civilian satellite into orbit in December 2015, Israel Space Agency Chairman Maj. Gen. (res) Yitzhak Ben Israel said Thursday, Israel Hayom reported.
The Venus Vegetation and Environment Monitoring New Microsatellite program was the joint project of the Israel Space Agency (ISA) and French space agency Centre national d’études spatiales.
The Venus satellite will be launched from the Kourou Islands in French Guiana and was designed for earth observation. The project cost tens of millions of dollars and has an expected lifespan is at least 10 years.
The ISA is slated to launch its largest communications satellite, Amos 6, in the second half of 2016. It is designed to stay in orbit for 16 years.
The space division of Israel Aerospace Industries has already built military (Eros series) and semi-civilian (Amos series) satellites, but the Venus represents the first purely civilian satellite— and its client is the ISA, affiliated with the Israeli Science and Technology Ministry.
According to the agreement signed with the French, Israel will be in charge of the hull of the satellite while the French are responsible for the optics and camera. Israeli company Elbit actually won the international tender for the camera, rendering the French contribution largely financial and the technology almost entirely blue and white.
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Lebanese newborn dons Hezbollah military fatigues as first outfit
(JNS.org) A newborn baby in Lebanon was dressed in Hezbollah military fatigues as his first outfit, according to a Hezbollah news report.
In a report that recently aired on the Hezbollah satellite TV channel Al-Manar and was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), a correspondent said that the military fatigues “were the first garment to touch [the boy’s] tender body.”
Terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas have long been known to indoctrinate children in violence and hate.
“Nothing could be better than him becoming a soldier of Imam Mahdi,” said the Lebanese mother of the boy, referring to a prophet of Shi’a Islam who is believed to return on Judgment Day. “This reflects the continuation of the path of the Islamic resistance, one generation after another.”
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Netanyahu at Davos forum: Israel, Arabs can work together against Iranian threat
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he believes Israeli and Arab leaders can work together against common threats like Iran’s nuclear program or Islamic extremism.
“Central Arab governments are preoccupied with the Iranian nuclear weapons and the Muslim brotherhood,” Netanyahu said. “The nations do not see Israel as an enemy but as a potential ally to combat these threats. They are not assured by the soft words spoken earlier by the president of Iran. They get it. We all wish there was a real change in Iran.”
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who is also attending the Davos forum, spoke earlier in the day, telling world leaders that his country has never sought nuclear weapons. But Netanyahu said Rouhani’s speech had “no connection to what’s going on, on the ground.”
Netanyahu added that the removal of the Iranian nuclear threat would help bring about peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
“Half of Palestinian society is dominated by Iran’s proxy (Hamas),” he said.
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Nazareth billboard warns Christians against slandering Allah
(JNS.org) A large billboard in the center of Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus, warns Christians against slandering Allah and links to a website encouraging them to convert to Islam.
The billboard features an English translation of Quran 4:171 and has an Israeli stop sign on it to warn local Christians. The billboard also has links to two websites on it, including a site called knowingallah.com, which encourages conversion to Islam.
“O people of the Scripture (Christians)! Do not exceed the limits of your religion. Say nothing but the truth about Allah (The One True God). The Christ Jesus, Son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God and His word conveyed to Mary and a spirit created by Him. So believe in God and His messengers and do not say: ‘Three gods (trinity).’ Cease! It will be better for you. Indeed, Allah is the One and the Only God. His Holiness is far above having a son,” the billboard reads.
Bishara Shlayan, a prominent Christian resident of Nazareth who is attempting to start a new Israeli Christian political party, confirmed the existence of the billboard and called it “shameful.”
“It is very shameful to see this in Nazareth,” Shlayan told JNS.org. “Nobody has spoken up about it or has tried to remove it.”
Shlayan explained that Nazareth, which historically has been home to a large Christian community, has seen that community’s population steadily decline as a result of a growing number of Muslims in the city.
“Nazareth has always been known as a Christian city, but we were an open city and accepted everyone. Now today Christian symbols in the city have been removed and Christians [are fleeing] the city,” Shlayan said.
Shlayan believes it is important that the Israeli government and others help the Christian community in Nazareth.
“We want to be declared Israeli Christians and to no longer be declared Arabs,” he said. “We want to take care of ourselves, but we need help.”
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U.S. Department of Defense loosens religious clothing restriction for troops
(JNS.org) The Pentagon has agreed to allow U.S. troops greater freedom to grow beards or wear religious garments such as head scarfs, turbans, and yarmulkes with their military uniforms. The new policy will mostly affect Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, and others with religious traditions pertaining to clothing and facial hair.
Men and women in the military, however, still must seek special accommodation from their commanders to be allowed to wear religious garments, and the request can still be denied. “The new policy states that military departments will accommodate religious requests of service members unless a request would have an adverse effect on military readiness, mission accomplishment, unit cohesion and good order and discipline,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Lt. Cmdr. Nathan J. Christensen said in a statement released by the U.S. Department of Defense.
“All requests for accommodation of religious practices will be assessed on a case-by-case basis… Each request must be considered based on its unique facts, the nature of the requested religious accommodation, the effect of approval or denial on the service member’s exercise of religion, and the effect of approval or denial on mission accomplishment, including unit cohesion,” Christensen said.
According to Col. (ret.) Rabbi Sanford Dresin, director of military programs for the Aleph Institute and Aleph’s ecclesiastical endorser to the Department of Defense, the loosening of these restrictions is a “terrific thing,” but it remains to be seen how the changes will be implemented. The Aleph Institute is one of three endorsing agencies for Jewish chaplains in the U.S. military. The Department of Defense “provides instructions, but the details are left to the individual departments,” such as the Navy or the Marines, Dresin told JNS.org.
Dresin explained that these military departments “have a certain degree of autonomy,” and that he hopes they “will not set any obstacles” for individuals who apply for permission to wear religious garments.
Jews in Green, an independent organization representing Jews serving across the Department of Defense that is not affiliated with the department itself, applauded the new policy.
“The new policy doesn’t make any drastic changes, nor does it allow any items previously prohibited. However, it does clarify the process for granting religious accommodation, and potentially opens the door for observant Jews to serve and observe mitzvot with greater ease,” Jason Rubin, a spokesman for Jews in Green, told JNS.org.
Rubin added that the policy also includes loosened regulations on religious observances such as Shabbat and dietary considerations.
“Perhaps the most important thing about the update is that it shows the DoD’s recognition that religious observance is something that is important to our service members, and by making reasonable accommodations we can be a stronger and more effective force because of it,” he said.
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Birthright expansion includes increased French participation
(JNS.org) Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Taglit-Birthright Israel steering committee, on Thursday officially announced multiple measures aimed at increasing participants in the program that provides free 10-day trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18-26.
In addition to the decision to open Birthright trips to previously ineligible high school students who had already traveled to Israel through other educational programs—a development that was first reported by JNS.org—the steering committee agreed to seek funding for greater participation of French Jews in Birthright. The committee authorized Birthright directors to find the necessary funding for this measure, both internally and from sources in France’s Jewish community.
Bennett said French Jews “face complex challenges.”
“We must act to strengthen their Jewish identity and their connection to Israel and to the Jewish people through Taglit,” he said.
The new Birthright measures could potentially increase expenses for the program by 25 percent, Haaretz reported, and questions remain about where funding for the changes will come from.
The Israeli government currently contributes $35 million a year to Birthright, about one third of the program’s total budget. The additional funding comes from private Jewish organizations and philanthropists. An aide to Bennett told Haaretz that the new measures could increase the number of annual participants in Birthright by up to 10,000. It is unclear how much money will be necessary to finance the new measures, and the funding would need to come from private sources because the Israeli government does not plan to increase its contribution to Birthright, the Bennett aide said.
“I think everybody thought about [the change in the eligibility guidelines] for many years, and everybody wanted to have it. It was a matter of funding, and I think today you see more anti-Israel things on campus, and we realized over the years that people that have been to Israel again have more confidence for talking about Israel, and geopolitics, and anything pertaining to Israel after visiting with Birthright Israel. I think we’re one of the best platforms to do that for college students,” Noa Bauer, Birthright’s vice president of international marketing, told JNS.org.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org