Jewish news briefs: March 27, 2015

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Ex-security prisoner suspected of spying on Israel for Syria
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Several residents of the Israeli Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the Golan Heights, were recently arrested in a joint Shin Bet security agency and police operation on suspicion of spying for Syria, defense officials said Friday.

A gag order placed on the case was partially lifted by the Nazareth District Court on Friday, allowing the Shin Bet and the police to release some details to the media. One of the suspects, identified as Tzadki Makat, 48, is a former security prisoner released from Israeli prison in 2012.

According to Israel’s Channel 2, Makat was indicted on several counts of espionage, conspiracy, aiding and abetting the enemy in wartime, contact with a foreign agent, and supporting a terrorist organization. He has denied any wrongdoing, though a police source said that Makat has implicated himself in all the offenses for which he was indicted.

It is believed that Makat and the other suspects in the case gathered intelligence on Israeli military movements along the Israel-Syria border for several months, and relayed it to their handlers in the Syrian government and intelligence community. According to the indictment, Makat sent the information over the Internet, through a Syrian television station, and by direct contact with his Syrian handlers.

In 1985, Makat was convicted of various security offenses, including illegal arms and explosives offenses and affiliation with an illegal organization, and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. He served his full sentence. According to Channel 10, during his interrogation, Makat admitted to having direct contact with Madhat Salah, a Syrian government official with known ties to the country’s intelligence community.
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Israeli medical students ‘adopt’ wounded Syrian boy
(JNS.org) Six Israeli medical students have “adopted” a 14-year-old Syrian boy who was badly injured in his home country’s civil war and is currently hospitalized at Baruch Padeh Medical Center, near Tiberias.

The boy, who is undergoing extensive treatment in the hospital’s orthopedics department, lost a leg in an explosion while tending to his family’s herd of sheep. His other leg was also severely injured in the blast, and he is suffering from serious burns. He was brought to Israel for medical care, where he underwent a series of surgeries.

The Syrian teenager has no family or friends in Israel. The six Israeli students felt compelled to provide the boy with care beyond medicine—specifically, a sense of family. They visit him, play with him, and accompany him to appointments and surgeries. They put together a few thousand shekels of their own money to buy him headphones as well as a digital tablet loaded with games, radio shows, and Arabic-language movies.

“The way he fought for his life, the way he is dealing with the situation—going into surgeries and everything all by himself, no mom or dad,” is really touching, said one of the medical students, Eyal Shach, Israel Hayom reported. The boy said he is grateful for his new family of medical students and for the care he has received so far.
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Israel’s unemployment rate hits record low of 5.3%
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israeli unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 percentage points in February, hitting a record low of 5.3 percent, compared to 5.6 percent in January, the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said Thursday.

Israel’s unemployment figures are now among the lowest jobless rates recorded among the member nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The data represents a drop from 203,000 job-seekers in January to 214,500 job-seekers in February.

According to the CBS, unemployment in Israel has dropped by 2.6 percentage points since 2009.
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U.S. may allow Iran to keep nuclear centrifuges at secretive underground site
(JNS.org) The U.S. is considering allowing Iran to retain its nuclear centrifuges at the Islamic Republic’s once-secretive Fordo fortified underground military site, officials involved in the Iran nuclear negotiations told the Associated Press.

The report said that in exchange for being allowed to keep the several hundred centrifuges at Fordo, Iran would not be able to do work there that would allow it to develop a nuclear weapon, and the site would be subject to international inspections. At the same time, Iran would also be required to scale back the number of centrifuges at other nuclear sites such as Natanz. Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium, which is necessary for a nuclear weapon.

The officials added that instead of enriching uranium at Fordo, the centrifuges can be used for separating out isotopes from elements such as zinc, xenon, and germanium, which are used in medicine, industry, and science.

Officials said that the goal of a deal with Iran is to restrict the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program enough to keep the country at least a year away from producing an atomic weapon for the duration of the agreement, which will run at least 10 years. But critics contend that allowing Iran to keep the Fordo site intact could be problematic since it could be quickly repurposed to enrich uranium for a nuclear weapon.

The Fordo site has drawn concern for years due to the fact that it is deep underground in a mountainside, making it unreachable through airstrikes.
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Israeli President Rivlin to attend funeral of Singapore’s first prime minister

(JNS.org) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin traveled to Singapore on Wednesday to attend the funeral of the country’s first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who died earlier this week at age 91.

“I am traveling with a sense of respect for the great people of Singapore upon the death a significant leader such as Lee Kuan Yew,” Rivlin said in a statement before departing on Wednesday for the funeral, which is scheduled for Sunday.

“I’m going to represent the State of Israel and its citizens not only to express condolences at the passing of the founder of Singapore, but also to express our appreciation for his work as an important and valued leader,” said Rivlin. “The State of Israel sees Singapore as a significant and important friend, and I have no doubt that relations between the two countries will continue to get stronger.”

First assuming office in 1959, Lee was instrumental in helping to establish Singapore as a major global hub for trade and business. He served as Singapore’s leader until stepping down in 1990.

Lee forged a close relationship with Israel during his time as prime minister. The two countries first established diplomatic relations in 1969, and Israel played an important role in the development of Singapore’s armed forces in both training and weapons-system exports. Today, the two countries enjoy a robust military relationship and strong economic ties, with bilateral trade totaling $1.956 billion in 2013.
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Houthi crisis sheds light on anti-Semitism and plight of Jews in Yemen

(JNS.org) As Shi’a Muslim Houthi rebels continue overtaking Yemen and the country’s capital, Sana’a, after the escape of Western-backed President Abd-Rabbu Mansour, the Houthis vowed to take revenge on “the Zionist Saudi regime” in their country.

This is not the first time the rebels have used the term “Zionist” or other pejorative slogans referencing Israel and Jews, such as their use of “Death to Israel. A curse on the Jews” on flags and other propaganda materials. Last week, a suicide bomber blew up a Houthi mosque where the crowd had been shouting “Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse upon the Jews. Victory to Islam. Allahu Akbar,” the Times of Israel reported.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s small Jewish community finds itself in a precarious position amid the ongoing conflict.

“The situation is very bad here. Every day—there is danger. We want to sell the house, but can’t. No one wants to buy. The [non-Jews] want us to leave without getting money. We want to get out of here as quickly as possible,” said Avraham, 40, a father of five from the city of Rayda, reported Israel Hayom.

“We know that you in Israel are worried about us and are thinking of us. Our country is being taken over and there isn’t much we can do. We want to move to Israel but we have matters to finish tending to and everything here is very difficult,” said Yehiye, 35, a father of six from Sana’a.

Both Iran and the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, which are siding with the Houthi rebels, have condemned the airstrikes launched by Saudi Arabia on Yemen to try to stop the rebels. “This aggression will have no result except to spread terrorism and extremism, and increase insecurity throughout the region,” said Iranian Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham. Hezbollah condemned the strikes as “unjust aggression,” Reuters reported.
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Sen. Schumer says he will cosponsor bill requiring Congressional review of Iran deal
(JNS.org) As the March 31 deadlines approaches for a political framework agreement in the nuclear talks between the P5+1 powers (a group that includes America) and Iran, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) on Thursday announced that he is adding his name to the list of cosponsors of legislation that would require Congressional review of a nuclear deal.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tennesee.) and Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), stipulates that President Barack Obama must submit the text of a nuclear pact to Congress within five days of a deal being reached. The legislation also prohibits the president from suspending, waiving, or reducing Congressional sanctions against Iran for 60 days. Schumer had already publicly supported the Corker-Menendez oversight bill before officially announcing his cosponsorship on Thursday.

“We must do everything to prevent a nuclear Iran and so any potential agreement must prevent Iran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon,” Schumer said in a statement. “Congress played a lead role in crafting the tough-and-effective sanctions regime that brought Iran to the table, and Congress should have a role on how those sanctions are altered in any final agreement with Iran. That’s why I strongly support this legislation, which will give Congress the ability to weigh in on any potential Iran deal. This issue is far too important—for the United States, for Israel, for the entire Middle East—for Congress not to have any ability to review a nuclear deal with Iran.”

According to the bill, after the 60-day Congressional review period, the president would be required to assess Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal every 90 days. The legislation’s other cosponsors include Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina.), Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), John McCain (R-Arizona), Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana), Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Heidi Heitkamp (R-North Dakota), Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), Bill Nelson (D-Florida), James Risch (R-Idaho), Angus King (I-Maine), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Arkansas), Dean Heller (R-Nevada), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Michael Bennet (D-Colorado), Lamar Alexander (R-Tennesee.), and Rand Paul (R-Kentucky).

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