About two-thirds of Israelis don’t trust Kerry on security, poll says
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Sixty-four percent of Israelis do not trust U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to take Israel’s security into account as a “crucial factor” in the framework peace proposal he is attempting to formulate in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations, a new poll published on Tuesday found.
The monthly Peace Index poll of the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University found that the lack of trust in Kerry was prevalent both among Israeli Jews (66 percent) and Israeli Arabs (53 percent).
According to the poll, 74 percent of Israeli Jews believe the U.S. is putting more pressure on Israel than on the Palestinians to accept the framework proposal.
The survey, conducted from March 3-4, included 603 respondents who constitute a representative sample of the adult population of Israel.
Haredi conscription becomes law in Israel
(JNS.org) The Equal Sharing of the Burden Bill, which applies the mandatory national service requirement on haredim in Israel, was passed with an overwhelming majority in the Knesset on Wednesday, some two years after the High Court of Justice said the de facto waiver for haredi men was unconstitutional.
Sixty-five Members of Knesset voted in favor of the bill, with one opposed. The Israeli opposition parties, including several haredi parties, boycotted the vote because they believed the government had abused Knesset procedure to ensure its passage, Israel Hayom reported.
Under the newly passed law, a rising number of haredim would have to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces or carry out national service starting in 2017. If the conscription numbers are not met, the state would impose financial penalties on the haredi community.
According to the law, yeshivas will be able to decide which of their students would have to go to the military, and face sanctions if they do not meet the draft quotas. The bill also gives the defense minister a mandate to defer enrollment until the age of 21, or in some cases 26, and to grant exemptions.
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Amb. Dermer to Israeli expats umbrella: Palestinians need to recognize Jewish state
(JNS.org) Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer said at the sixth annual Israeli American Council (IAC) gala that the people of Israel “don’t want a piece of paper” out of the current U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Palestinians, but want “a real peace, and genuine peace, a peace that’s based on mutual recognition.”
“Palestinians ask the Israeli government, the Israeli people, to recognize a Palestinian state. Well, the Palestinians are going to have to recognize the Jewish state of Israel,” Dermer said March 9 in Beverly Hills, Calif. The ambassador’s remarks come after Nabil Elaraby, the head of the Arab League, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas both came out against Jewish state recognition in recent comments.
Dermer, a longtime advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Netanyahu “is not going to allow Iran’s regime to develop nuclear weapons.”
The gala raised more than $2.5 million for the IAC, an umbrella organization for the more than half a million Israeli expats and their children living in the U.S. The IAC says it works “to build an active and giving Israeli-American community in order to strengthen the state of Israel, the Jewish identity of the next generation, and to provide a bridge to the Jewish-American community.”
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Egyptian-Jewish leader buried, leaves behind dwindling community
(JNS.org) Nadia Haroun, the deputy head of Egypt’s Jewish community, was buried Tuesday. She died last Thursday from a heart attack at the age of 59. The funeral ceremony was led by Haroun’s sister Magda, who is now the leader of the small remaining Jewish community in the country.
The burial was held in Cairo’s downtown Gates of Heaven Synagogue. During her life, Haroun was a lawyer and an architect. She was also the daughter of Egyptian politician Chehata Haroun, who was known for expressing anti-Zionist views and defending Egyptian Jews against accusations that they were more loyal to Israel than to Egypt.
Haroun is survived by a son and a daughter. Less than 40 Jews remain in Egypt today, the Associated Press reported.
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Before Purim, non-profit raises funds and awareness for African energy crisis
(JNS.org) Ahead of Purim, Innovation: Africa (iA)—a U.N. award-winning organization that brings Israeli technology to rural Africa—hosted a series of events to raise funds and awareness for that continent’s energy crisis.
The non-profit’s executive volunteer committee marked National Unplugging Day on March 8 by hosting an event in New York City, “Unplugged Yoga and Meditation,” to show participants what it’s like to live “unplugged.” The evening opened with a yoga and meditation class led by the popular yoga instructor Victoria Slagter, and was followed by a light meal in which the participants discussed energy poverty in Africa and ways to find volunteer opportunities.
All of the event proceeds went directly to Africa to fund solar installations in rural villages. To date, more than half a million Africans have benefited from iA’s installations, impacting their access to healthcare, education, and clean water, according to the non-profit.
A day later, iA’s campus committee celebrated International Good Deeds Day by recruiting students from University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Pennsylvania to partake in a day of volunteering. They ran a tech drive and visited inner-city schools, playing sports with the schoolchildren and enlisting their help in cleaning schoolyards and painting murals.
Good Deeds Day in Israel took place March 11, with iA’s Israel team cleaning up a community park together with students from the Ort Guttman High School in Netanya.
“It’s really appropriate that this year the week of Purim coincides with both National Day of Unplugging and Good Deeds Day,” said Emma Goldman, iA’s outreach coordinator, who coordinates a base of close to 1,000 volunteers. “After all, Purim is a time of matanat l’evyonim, giving to those less fortunate, which is exactly what our incredible volunteers are doing this week.”
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Israeli Air Force kills three Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza
(JNS.org) The Israeli Air Force struck and killed three Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists in Gaza following a mortar attack on an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) patrol near the Israel-Gaza border, the IDF said.
In a statement, Islamic Jihad confirmed that the airstrike killed three of its operatives.
“Three martyrs have died in a Zionist strike,” Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP.
“Rapid reaction and operational capabilities are key to combating terrorist activities against Israel and our forces,” IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner stated. “Terrorists must know that there is a price to pay when participating in aggression.”
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Anti-Semitic graffiti spurs call for Sweden to increase security at Jewish sites
(JNS.org) The head of the World Jewish Congress has called on the Swedish government to step up security at Jewish sites around Stockholm following a recent anti-Semitic incident.
On Monday, anti-Semitic graffiti was found on a central Stockholm school that holds classes for Jewish students. The graffiti includes swastikas as well as the phrases “Jewish swine” and “disgusting Jews.” The vandals also spray painted the number “1488,” which symbolizes the Nazi slogan “Heil Hitler,” Sweden’s English-language daily The Local reported. Anti-Semitic graffiti was also found at other nearby schools.
“With an upsurge in Sweden of violent and anti-Semitic behavior linked to political extremism, the authorities must step up protection around Jewish sites,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said.
Lena Posner-Korosi, president of the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, said that the Swedish government has expressed concern about the incident and has been in touch with police.
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Hamas unveils rocket-shaped statue in Gaza City
(JNS.org) Hamas unveiled a new rocket-shaped statue in Gaza on Monday, highlighting the Palestinian terror group’s ability to strike inside of Israel.
“Hamas managed to take the battle to the heart of the Zionist entity (Israel) after developing its rocket system, succeeding where many Arab armies had failed,” said one of the leaders of the Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, AFP reported.
The statue in Gaza City is a life-size model of a large Hamas-made M75 rocket, which has a range of up to 50 miles and was launched at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. It was named in honor of Ibrahim al-Maqadma, a Hamas terrorist and founder of the al-Qassam brigades who was assassinated by Israel in 2003.
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