U.S. denies it prevented FBI from aiding search for Israeli soldier
(JNS.org) A U.S. official denied a report published by Israel Hayom that the U.S. prevented the FBI from aiding Israel in the search for IDF soldier Oron Shaul, who was initially feared kidnapped during Operation Protective Edge. Shaul was later deemed to be killed in battle.
“There was significant cooperation between the U.S. government and the government of Israel in developing information in support of the search for Corporal Shaul,” the official said. “The FBI did immediately pass useful intelligence information to Israeli authorities related to Corporal Shaul’s social media account which answered the initial Israeli request. The FBI further undertook other investigative efforts pursuant to legal authority as a result of follow on Israeli requests in an attempt to assist our allies in the search for their missing soldier.
Steven Emerson, the report’s author and director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, said in response, “My source said this explanation lacks any credibility. He reiterated the fact that ‘law enforcement officials directly involved’ were specifically told in writing that permission was withdrawn from the FBI to obtain a court order to present to Facebook to get server information on Shaul’s Facebook page. The FBI was told to ‘stand down’ after previously having been given the green light.”
“Moreover, Israeli officials never got the Facebook information on Oron’s Facebook account from the FBI when they requested it,” Emerson added.
Ebola protocols in place at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, hospitals
(JNS.org) Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday began implementing protocols put in place to prevent an outbreak of the Ebola virus in the Jewish state.
Passengers arriving in Israel from West African countries plagued by the deadly virus are being tested for fever or any other symptoms related to Ebola. Air Sinai passengers were escorted to a hall in Terminal 1, where their temperatures were taken using infrared thermometers. All passengers were examined within 10 minutes and found to be in good health. They were then shuttled back to Terminal 3 to complete their entrance procedures into Israel.
Also on Sunday, the Israeli Health Ministry ordered the formation of two emergency treatment centers for potential Ebola patients, at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv and the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. The centers are equipped with isolation tents.
“The special isolation tents were set up at the lower level of the hospital’s underground emergency compound,” Professor Rafi Beyar, Rambam hospital’s director, told Israel Hayom. “This will allow us to ensure [Ebola] patients are indeed isolated from the other wards, and since the facility is equipped for emergencies, it has the same infrastructure as the regular hospital.”
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Israel warns against nuclear-armed Iran as deadline for deal approaches
(JNS.org) With the Nov. 24 deadline for a final nuclear deal between Iran and world powers approaching, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that a nuclear-armed Iran “is a threat to the entire world.”
“Today, we are facing the danger of an agreement that would leave Iran as a nuclear threshold state, with thousands of centrifuges with which it could produce material for a nuclear bomb within a short period of time,” Netanyahu said at an event honoring former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir.
Israel’s Channel 2 reported that the U.S. is willing to accept an agreement that would permit Iran to retain 5,000 centrifuges.
In a New York Times op-ed published Sunday, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz wrote that Iran “has softened its inflammatory anti-Western rhetoric and shown some flexibility on less important issues, but we must not be duped by these gestures.”
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Arab Knesset members say IDF worse than Islamic State
(JNS.org) Israeli Arab Member of Knesset Hanin Zoabi (Balad) drew widespread condemnation by saying Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces is worse than the Islamic State terrorist group.
“They (Islamic State) kill one person with a knife each time, while the IDF kills dozens of Palestinians at a time by pressing a button,” Zoabi told Israel’s Channel 2.
Fellow Balad member MK Basel Ghattas echoed Zoabi’s remarks in an interview with Army Radio on Monday, saying that “unlike the IDF,” Islamic State never committed crimes against humanity.
On Facebook, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman accused Balad of becoming a part of Hamas, and its members of helping the Palestinian terror group “while using the Knesset to advance terrorism and taking advantage of their parliamentary immunity.”
“After their former leader, Azmi Bishara, fled from Israel because he was suspected of spying against Israel and aiding Hezbollah, the members of Balad continued, and even increased, their anti-state activity,” Lieberman wrote.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) called the Balad remarks “a clear case of defamation, treason, and sedition.”
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Hackers of Israeli Trauma Association website threaten to ‘erase Israel’
(JNS.org) The website of the Israeli Trauma Association was recently hacked, presumably by a group of jihadists who displayed a black screen with a jihadist symbol and the words, “We will erase Israel and the Zionist pigs from the face of the Earth.”
The site was hacked during registration for the association’s annual conference, scheduled for Oct. 30. The association, established in 1993, works to develop and improve the care provided to trauma patients and to provide a framework for healthcare officials working in trauma care.
“I thought [the hacking] might have been related to Operation Protective Edge because we treated many of the injured [over the summer],” said Prof. Gad Shaked, the conference organizer and head of the trauma department at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
“I contacted the [Internet service] provider and we were able to solve the problem,” Shaked said.
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U.S. to honor Israeli founder of flash storage company
(JNS.org) Dr. Eli Harari, the Israeli founder of the SanDisk flash storage company, has been named as one of the nine 2014 recipients of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Harari will receive the medal at a White House event later this year.
“These scholars and innovators have expanded our understanding of the world, made invaluable contributions to their fields, and helped improve countless lives,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.
According to the White House, the medal “recognizes those who have made lasting contributions to America’s competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nation’s technological workforce.”
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Four Israeli trekkers among Nepal blizzard death toll
(JNS.org) At least 43 trekkers died in the aftermath of a blizzard and avalanche in Nepal’s Annapurna mountain range, including four Israelis. Michal Gili Charkesky, a 36-year-old Israeli woman who had gone missing, was confirmed dead on Monday.
A plane carrying seven Israelis injured in Nepal arrived at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday. Additionally, Israel-based Harel Insurance chartered a helicopter to rescue stranded Israeli trekkers.
Nadav Khalifa, who coordinated Harel’s efforts in the region, told Israel Hayom that his team “tried to rescue all the Israelis who were stranded at high elevations; we managed to bring them down with the helicopter, we rescued 40 on Friday and another 20 a day earlier.”
Professor Avraham Rivkind, head of the Shock Trauma Unit at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, treated the Israeli trekkers who arrived at the hospital.
“The majority of the patients suffer from frostbite and other related injuries; one was treated for fractures. … We expect a long recovery period, and only then will we be ready to assess the state of the internal organs,” Rivkind said.
The Israel Defense Forces and the Magen David Adom emergency services organization also dispatched relief teams to Nepal.
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Israeli Bedouin killed while fighting for Islamic State
(JNS.org) Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon confirmed Sunday that Othman Abdal-Kian, 26, a former Bedouin physician with the hospital, was killed while fighting for the Islamic State terror group. It is unclear exactly where the battle in which he was killed took place.
“[Othman Abdal-Kian] had graduated from medical school in Jordan, and after passing his certification exams in Israel, he was granted a temporary medical license and began his residency at Barzilai Medical Center in February,” the Ashkelon hospital said, according to Israel Hayom.
“He chose to do his elective residency, which was supposed to begin in May 2014, at Soroka Medical Center [in Beersheba] but he failed to report for duty. Later that month, we were approached by defense officials who inquired after him, which was when we learned that Alkiaan had joined the Islamic State group,” added the hospital.
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Israel’s Lieberman: Abbas is anti-Semite trying to ignite holy war
(JNS.org) Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Saturday that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is responsible for the recent unrest in eastern Jerusalem.
Lieberman’s comments came after Abbas suggested Friday that Jews should be banned from the Temple Mount.
In a speech quoted by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, Abbas said Jewish “settlers” should be prevented from entering the site “by any means.”
On Saturday, Abbas referred to Jews who visit the Temple Mount as a “herd of cattle.”
Lieberman said that Abbas had again revealed his true face as a “Holocaust denier who speaks about a Palestinian state free of Jews.” The foreign minister added that Abbas was and remains an anti-Semite.
“Behind the suit and the pleasantries aimed at the international community, he is raising the level of incitement against Israel and the Jews and is calling for a religious war,” Lieberman said.
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