Jewish news briefs: July 27, 2015

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Israeli minister meets secretly with chief Palestinian Authority negotiator

(JNS.org) Israeli Interior Minister and Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom (Likud) held a secret meeting with chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat in the Jordanian capital of Amman last week.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ways to renew the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which has been stalled for more than a year. In addition to his ministerial and Knesset duties, Shalom is in charge of negotiations with the Palestinians.

An Israeli government official called the meeting between Shalom and Erekat a “very important trust-building step.” Additionally, a source involved in the matter said the closed-door, face-to-face meeting was held in a “positive atmosphere,” Israel Hayom reported.

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Irans Khamenei tweets image of Obama pointing a gun to his own head

(JNS.org) In the aftermath of his country reaching a nuclear deal with a group of world powers that includes the United States, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday tweeted a graphic of President Barack Obama pointing a gun at his own head.

The @khamenei_ir English-language Twitter account has not been officially verified as being Khamenei’s, but is widely believed to belong to him. The graphic shows a silhouette of Obama with a gun to his head, accompanied by the text, “We welcome no war, nor do we initiate any war, but if any war happens, the one who will emerge loser will be the aggressive and criminal U.S.”

In response to Khamenei’s previous post-deal remark that the agreement will not change “our policy toward the arrogant U.S.,” Secretary of State John Kerry told Al Arabiya television that “often comments are made publicly and things can evolve that are different. If it is the policy, it’s very disturbing, it’s very troubling.”

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Google removes Hamas app from Android store

(JNS.org) Google has removed from its Android app store a cell phone application built by Hamas. The app, which the Palestinian terrorist organization created to improve its connection with its followers, appeared in the Google Play Store, but was removed at 10 p.m. Saturday night (Israel time).

Earlier Saturday, Hamas announced via its @HamasInfoEn Twitter feed, “Today we launched the android app for the Arabic version of our website, while Apple refused to host the iOS application.” Hamas launched an English-language website on June 25.

The app included, among other features, historical information about the group, an overview of its terrorist activities, and updates about terrorists being held in Israeli prisons. Google said in a statement that it removes apps that violate its policies, such as those that incite hatred.

 

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Netanyahu views 2,000-year-old Book of Lamentations scroll on Tisha BAv

(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu viewed a 2,000-year-old scroll of the Book of Lamentations (Megillat Eichah), the text that is read each year on Tisha B’Av, the fast day commemorating the destruction of both Jewish Temples in Jerusalem.

The scroll, which was found in the Judaean Desert’s Qumran Caves, was recently displayed for four days at Jerusalem’s Bible Lands Museum. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) brought the scroll to Netanyahu’s office on Sunday, after which point it was returned to an IAA laboratory.

“This is an important and moving find,” Netanyahu said. “It is very significant that that this scroll has been brought to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, our united capital, on the Fast of the Ninth of Av.”

IAA Curator in Charge of the Dead Sea Scrolls Pnina Shor said the scroll is the earliest-known example of the Book of Lamentations.

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Report: U.S. plans to release long-imprisoned Jewish spy Jonathan Pollard

(JNS.org) The United States is planning to release jailed Jewish spy Jonathan Pollard, who has been incarcerated for three decades over a conviction for giving Israel classified information on America, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The report cited “U.S. officials, some of whom hope the move will smooth relations with Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal.”

Pollard is the only person in U.S. history to receive a life sentence for spying for an American ally. Advocates for his release have argued that he should be freed because his time in prison has been disproportionately long. Additionally, in recent years, the 60-year-old Pollard’s failing health has been widely cited as an argument for his release on humanitarian grounds.

According to the Wall Street Journal report, some U.S. officials are pushing for Pollard’s release within the next few weeks, while other officials say he will wait until he is up for parole on Nov. 21, which would mark exactly 30 years since his arrest.

Alistair Baskey, a spokesman for the National Security Council, later said, “Mr. Pollard’s status will be determined by the United States Parole Commission according to standard procedures. There is absolutely zero linkage between Mr. Pollard’s status and foreign policy considerations.”

 

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Knesset speaker receives Jerusalem unity proclamation signed by 50,000 people

(JNS.org) Israel365, an NGO promoting the biblical significance of Israel to Evangelical Christian Zionists, on Thursday presented Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein with a proclamation signed by more than 50,000 people affirming the unity of Jerusalem.

The group’s presentation of the “Jerusalem Covenant” came ahead of Tisha B’Av, a fast day commemorating the destruction of both Jewish Temples in Jerusalem.

“We are so concerned with our day-to-day work that sometimes we forget that for the past 2,000 years, since those days of Tisha B’Av, we didn’t have any signs of independence or symbols of sovereignty. And now, here we are, in the Knesset building in the heart of Jerusalem,” Edelstein said.

Rabbi Tuly Weisz, Israel365’s director, said it is “remarkable to think that so many non-Jews today are joining our efforts to rebuild Jerusalem and ensure that it remains the undivided capital of the Jewish people.”

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Kerry says Israeli strike on Iran nuclear facilities would be enormous mistake

(JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said it would an “enormous mistake” for Israel to launch airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

“That’d be an enormous mistake, a huge mistake with grave consequences for Israel and for the region, and I don’t think it’s necessary,” Kerry told NBC’s “Today Show.”

Kerry has been promoting the Iran nuclear deal to a skeptical Congress and to the American public. Congress has 60 days to review the agreement.

“The more people learn about this agreement, the more people are learning this is the only viable alternative to be able to control Iran’s already existing nuclear program,” Kerry told NBC.

On Friday, Kerry also met with American Jewish leaders to discuss “the U.S.-Israel relationship and regional issues,” the State Department said. Most Jewish groups in the U.S. have either outrightly opposed or expressed concern about the nuclear deal.

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