Palestinian Authority ordered to compensate victims of 2001 terrorist attack
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Jerusalem District Court has ordered the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay restitution to the families of three people killed in a terrorist shooting attack in 2001. The decision concludes a 2009 lawsuit the victims’ families brought against the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Yaniv Ben Shalom, 27, his wife, Sharon, 26, and her brother, Doron Yosef Sviri, 20, were driving along the Jerusalem-Modiin road on Aug. 25, 2001, when Palestinian gunmen opened fire on their car. Yaniv and Sharon Ben Shalom were killed instantly, and their two young daughters were injured. Sviri was fatally wounded and died the following day.
The court found that the weapons used to commit the murders and money had been transferred from the PA to the commanders of terrorist cells, and that the PA was aware what they would be used for.
Since the PA failed in its duty to ensure that no one was injured by the weapons it supplied, it is required to pay restitution, the court said. The case has now been set aside to collect evidence to determine how much compensation the PA will pay to the victims’ families.
*
Hundreds of anthropologists vow to boycott Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) More than 500 anthropologists from around the world have recently signed a petition declaring their “opposition to the ongoing Israeli violations of Palestinian rights” and vowing to “boycott Israeli academic institutions that are complicit in these violations.”
The petitioners include anthropologists from prestigious American universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Among other things, the signatories commit not to collaborate with projects or events funded by Israeli academic institutions, not to teach or attend conferences at such institutions, and not to publish articles in Israeli academic publications.
More than 500 academics have signed the petition.
*
Mike Huckabee blasts U.S. policy on Israel at Capitol Hill rally
(JNS.org) Thousands of people demonstrated in support of Israel in front of Capitol Hill on Sunday in an event initiated by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee.
Huckabee expressed his disappointment over the White House’s stance during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, saying the Obama administration did not give the Jewish state sufficient backing during the campaign against Hamas terrorism. Other speakers at the rally included U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), Zionist Organization of America National President Morton A. Klein, and political commentator Bill Kristol.
“A clear call needs to go out from here that hasn’t been heard from the [Obama administration], that Israel has the right and the moral obligation to protect the security of its citizens against radical Islamic terrorism,” Huckabee told the audience, according to Israel Hayom.
Referring to recent U.S. criticism of Israeli construction in Jerusalem, Huckabee said, “We waste more time telling Israel not to build in the land that was given to Abraham than we do telling the Iranians to stop building bombs intended for [attacking] the United States.”
*
Swastikas scrawled on Jewish fraternity house at Emory University
(JNS.org) A Jewish fraternity house at Emory University in Atlanta was targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti on the day after Yom Kippur, as swastikas were found spray-painted on Alpha Epsilon Pi’s walls Sunday morning.
“On behalf of our community, I denounce this abhorrent act,” the university’s president, Jim Wagner, said in a statement.
“It is an offense against a Jewish fraternity and the Jewish members of our community, and it is a repugnant, flagrant emblem of anti-Semitism. It is also an offense against the entire university,” Wagner added.
*
Sweden partially backtracks on Palestinian statehood recognition
(JNS.org) Days after new Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s controversial declaration that his country would recognize a Palestinian state, Swedish Ambassador to Israel Carl Magnus Nesser said in a statement that there had been a misunderstanding and that such recognition would only follow extensive peace talks, rather than unilateral Palestinian actions.
In his inaugural address Friday, Lofven had said Sweden was set to recognize “Palestine” as a state, becoming the first European Union (EU) member to do so. He said that “the conflict between Israel and Palestine can only be solved with a two-state solution, negotiated in accordance with international law.”
Lofven later clarified that he was referring to future, rather than immediate, recognition of a Palestinian state.
While several European countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Romania have already recognized Palestinian statehood, they did so before becoming EU members.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Lofven “rushed to make declarations” regarding Palestinian statehood, likely before he took the time to “understand that the side that has been the obstacle for the past 20 years to reaching an agreement has been the Palestinians.”
*
U.S. beauty pageant winners praise Israel after five-day visit
(JNS.org) A delegation of 11 American beauty pageant winners took a five-day trip to Israel last week.
“If Israel had a ‘cover’ title based on what the media portrays, it would be ‘danger,’ ‘warfare,’ ‘disagreement,’ ‘pain,’ ‘death,’ ‘conflict’… and yet after just the first day I realized that this couldn’t be any further from the truth,” said Alicia Monique Blanco, Miss Arizona USA 2009.
The trip was organized by The Face of Israel organization, which offers tours for influential global figures. In Israel, the beauty queens visited all of the standard tourist destinations—like Jerusalem’s Old City, the Dead Sea, and Yad Vashem—but they also got off the beaten path, with visits to the rocket-battered city of Sderot and Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
“[Israelis] have created an exquisite, highly innovative country that provides job security, democracy, health insurance, and top-quality education to people of all religions and races. Most importantly, they value life over death,” said Kristen Dalton, Miss USA 2009.
*
EU threatens deterioration of ties with Israel in response to construction
(JNS.org) The European Union (EU) joined the United States in criticism of Israel’s plan to construct 2,610 residential units in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Hamatos, threatening the deterioration of EU-Israel ties.
“[The construction] represents a further highly detrimental step that undermines prospects for a two-state solution and calls into question Israel’s commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians,” the EU’s External Action Service (EEAS] said in a statement on Friday.
“We stress that the future development of relations between the EU and Israel will depend on the latter’s engagement towards a lasting peace based on a two-state solution,” the EEAS added.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest last week called the Israeli construction plan “provocative” and said it would “distance Israel from even its closest allies.”
*
European prize pulls candidacy of Egyptian who called for murder of Israelis
(JNS.org) The European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) coalition stripped Egyptian activist and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah’s nomination for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, established by the European Parliament in 1988 in honor former Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, after learning of his violent anti-Israel rants on Twitter.
In a statement, GUE/NGL Group President Gabi Zimmer acknowledged Fattah’s 2012 tweet that called for the murder “of a critical number of Israelis,” and said the coalition was not aware of that tweet when it put forward Fattah’s candidacy for the prize.
Fattah, who was released from an Egyptian prison last month, was one of the leading activists of the 2011 protests that led to the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak. He has been known for his anti-Israel incitement, previously tweeting, “Dear Zionists, please don’t ever talk to me, I’m a violent person who advocated the killing of all Zionists including civilians.”
*
Jewish group joins IsraAID’s Ebola relief effort in West Africa
(JNS.org) The American Jewish Committee (AJC) announced that it is partnering with IsraAID, a leading Israeli humanitarian relief organization, to provide assistance to Ebola victims in West Africa.
“The Ebola epidemic in Africa is devastating,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “Medical experts from our Israeli partner, IsraAID, are on the ground bringing urgent, vital humanitarian relief to Ebola victims through health education and awareness training, as well as psychosocial support training.”
IsraAID sent a team to Sierra Leone in late September to help fight the spread of Ebola. The humanitarian organization is providing psycho-social support training to local social workers and health care officials, teaching tactics to help prevent trauma, manage stress, and deal with the emotional side effects of the health crisis.
*
Articles from jns.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman