British medical journal editor ‘deeply’ regrets anti-Israel letter
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The editor of British medical journal The Lancet said on Thursday that he “deeply” regrets publishing an open letter this summer that accused Israel of a “massacre” in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.
Dr. Richard Horton was invited to the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa to see the Israeli medical system for himself, including its treatment of Palestinians as well as Syrians wounded in their country’s civil war. Horton also gave a lecture to hundreds of Rambam doctors.
“I need very honestly to set the record straight with you,” he said. “First, I deeply, deeply, regret, the completely unnecessary polarization that publication of the letter caused. Irrespective of our intentions, which I am very happy to discuss, this outcome was definitely not my intention. Second, and contrary to some incomplete accounts of a conversation I had with a journalist recently, I was personally horrified at the offensive video [made by white supremacist David Duke] that was forwarded by two of the authors of that letter.”
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Israeli library reveals page with Yom Kippur liturgy from 12th-century prayer book
(JNS.org) The only known remnant of one of the world’s oldest Jewish prayer books is now accessible to the general public through the National Library of Israel.
The now-digitized page is part of a Machzor (High Holidays prayer book) believed to have been written no later than the 12th century C.E. in Egypt. It features a famous poem, “Ein Aroch Lecha,” which translates to “There is no Comparison to You (God).”
A scanned image of the page can be viewed on the National Library of Israel website and is expected to appear on its Facebook page. Only a few stanzas from the original poem appear on the artifact.
“This partially torn piece of paper has Yom Kippur liturgical poems on both sides,” the head of the Collections Division at the National Library of Israel, Dr. Aviad Stollman, told Israel Hayom.
“That is the only thing that remains of that prayer book, which may have been written in 1108 or earlier. It was originally composed by Elazar ben Killir, who lived in the 6th or 7th century, and who is considered one of the greatest Jewish poets of all times,” said Stollman.
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British conference tries to force Israeli scholars to hide university affiliation
(JNS.org) Two scholars from Israel’s Ariel University decided to withdraw from an academic conference in the United Kingdom after conference organizers told them they would not be permitted to reveal their institutional affiliation.
The two scholars, who were not named by the Samaria-based university, submitted scholarly papers to the third annual Conference on Israel Studies hosted by the European Association of Israel Studies (EAIS) at the SOAS University of London from Sept. 14-16. The scholars were told by the organizers that they would not be permitted to represent their university because of its location beyond the 1967 lines.
“The event described is an extreme manifestation of hypocrisy and absurdity. While the conference organizers are interested in research and researchers of Ariel University they are trying to ignore the existence of the institution where these studies have emerged,” Ariel University said Oct. 2.
Founded in 1982, Ariel University has been a target of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement due to its location. The school was granted full university status by Israel in 2012.
EAIS chairman Clive Jones told the U.K.’s Times Higher Education that because of the school’s location, the organization had taken the position that “until the status of the Occupied Territories has been decided between the two parties, we cannot recognize Ariel as a university which is part of the broader Israeli higher educational body.”
“When we had proposals submitted by people working at Ariel, we decided that they were welcome to come and present their papers but would have to give them as individual scholars rather than as academics representing Ariel University,” Jones said.
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354 U.S. lawmakers press Kerry on Iran nuclear transparency
(JNS.org) In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 354 members of the U.S. House of Representatives pressed Kerry to insist on full Iranian transparency regarding its nuclear program with international inspectors as nuclear negotiations resume between Iran and the P5+1—the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog group, has sought information of “potential military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear program. But in a Sept. 5 report, the IAEA said that Iran has failed to meet deadlines outlined by a November 2013 deal in which Iran agreed to work with the IAEA on inspections of its nuclear facilities, including its secretive Parchin military base.
“We believe that Iran’s willingness to fully reveal all aspects of its nuclear program is a fundamental test of Iran’s intention to uphold a comprehensive agreement,” the lawmakers, spearheaded by Reps. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), wrote in the Oct. 1 letter to Kerry.
“We are concerned that an agreement that accepts Iran’s lack of transparency on this key issue would set the dangerous precedent that certain facilities and aspects of Iran’s nuclear program can be declared off limits by Tehran, resulting in additional wide-ranging restrictions on IAEA inspectors, and making effective verification virtually impossible,” they wrote.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) commended the letter.
“The overwhelmingly bipartisan support for this letter reflects Congress’s determination to ensure that any agreement with Iran must prevent Tehran from attaining a nuclear weapons capability,” AIPAC said in a statement.
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Christian Zionist ‘Feast of Tabernacles’ is Jerusalem arena’s first major event
(JNS.org) The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), a Christian Zionist organization based in Jerusalem, has announced that it will hold its weeklong “Feast of Tabernacles” celebration at the new Jerusalem Payis Arena in mid-October, marking the first major international gathering at the arena.
For the past 33 years, ICEJ has hosted the Feast of Tabernacles celebration at the Jerusalem Convention Center to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. The event draws tens of thousands of Christian Zionists from across the world.
“Our move to this new facility in Jerusalem is a very exciting development which will allow us to further grow the Feast of Tabernacles,” said Dr. Jürgen Bühler, ICEJ’s executive director. “We believe that in the years to come, this new hall will be filled every Sukkot with even more pro-Israel Christians from around the globe. So this is a thrilling moment for the city of Jerusalem and for our ministry.”
The new 15,000-seat arena, which includes a massive LED screen and several luxury executive suites, was inaugurated by Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat last month. Barkat described the arena as “the most advanced, state-of-the-art venue of its kind in the Middle East.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to ICEJ in September that thanked the organization for its support of Israel during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. ICEJ raised more than $277,000 for nine public bomb shelters for Israelis living near Gaza and sent hundreds of southern Israeli residents on vacations within the Jewish state and abroad to escape from the rocket fire.
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NYC transit authority sued for rejecting bus ad on Hamas terror
(JNS.org) The American Freedom Defense Initiative, a pro-Israel organization run by conservative blogger Pamela Geller, has sued New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) for refusing to place a bus advertisement that used the phrase “Hamas Killing Jews.”
The lawsuit, which was filed Wednesday, states that the advertisement is particularly timely because of “ongoing terrorism conducted by Hamas operatives against Israeli civilians in the name of Islamic jihad.” The transit authority, however, said last month that it refused to run the ad because it “would imminently incite or provoke violence.”
MTA Director of Safety and Security Raymond Diaz also said such an advertisement “would lead reasonable observers to interpret it as urging direct, violent attacks on Jews, given turmoil in Gaza, Syria, and Iraq, and New York City’s heightened security concerns.”
But according to the lawsuit, the advertisement was intended to express a message on current events, including on “issues such as Islam’s hatred of Jews.”
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Palestinians with bombs, gun, and knives arrested at checkpoint
(JNS.org) Israeli border police officers on Thursday detained two Palestinians who were carrying pipe bombs, a gun, and several knives at the Tapuach Junction in Judea and Samaria.
Meanwhile, two Israelis who were driving through eastern Jerusalem on Thursday were attacked by rock-throwers. They were lightly injured after their car windows were smashed. Both victims were transferred to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center for treatment.
Both incidents come shortly before Yom Kippur and the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha. Israeli police plan to increase security during those holidays.
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