Yom Kippur provides no respite from Iranian rhetoric against Israel
(JNS.org) Wednesday’s observance of Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, provided no respite in the routine rhetoric against Israel from Iranian leaders.
“We will certainly destroy Israel,” said Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi, commander-in-chief of the Iranian Army, this week during a parade that launched Iran’s “Defense Week,” a commemoration of the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War.
“We long for Israel to take action against us as soon as possible so we will be able to destroy it before 25 years are up,” Salehi said, the Tasnim News Agency reported.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, meanwhile, blasted Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians amid Jewish-Muslim tension at the Temple Mount holy site.
“The Zionist regime’s crimes in Palestine and repeated insult of the sacred sanctuary of Al-Aqsa mosque…are the foremost problem for Muslims,” Khamenei was quoted as saying by his official website, according to Israel Hayom.
Khamenei added that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians is the “ultimate degree of ruthlessness and evil.”
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Eid al-Adha holiday prompts Israel to ease security restrictions on Palestinians
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Wednesday approved the easing of security restrictions on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is one of two religious holidays observed by Muslims worldwide each year, alongside Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Among the restrictions being eased is the limitation placed on prayers in the Al-Aqsa mosque— Palestinian men ages 45 and older and women 30 and older will be allowed unlimited access to the site on Thursday and Friday. The adjacent Temple Mount compound has been closed to tourists and Jewish worshippers in an effort to minimize friction.
Married Palestinian couples who reside in Judea and Samaria will be able to visit family members in Israel over Eid al-Adha, all border crossings with Jordan and Egypt will extend their operating hours over the holiday, and Palestinians seeking to travel through Ben-Gurion International Airport will be able to do so as well.
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai and the Jerusalem District Police have been tasked with implementing the measures.
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UAV strides by Pakistan and China spur India to expedite Israeli drone purchase
(JNS.org) India has accelerated plans to purchase Israeli drones that can be armed amid concerns regarding its conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir and its border dispute with China. Just weeks ago, Pakistan was reported to have used a domestically manufactured drone while attacking militants on its soil.
An Indian defense source said that while the plan to buy Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was first established three years ago, India has asked Israel for a speedy delivery in the wake of both Pakistan and China developing their own drone capabilities. India has already purchased and deployed some Israeli drones along the Kashmir mountains for surveillance, and along its disputed border with China.
In September, the Indian government approved the purchase of 10 Heron TP drones from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) that can be equipped with weapons, according to an Indian air force official.
The former head of the government-funded Center for Land Warfare Studies in New Delhi, Gurmeet Kanwal, said the Israeli-purchased Heron drones that will enter into Indian service by 2016 will allow India to conduct deeper strikes, Reuters reported.
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Satellite photos reveal Russia building two additional bases in Syria
(JNS.org) Russia is in the process of building two additional military bases in Syria, new satellite imagery has revealed.
According to satellite photographs provided by IHS Jane’s, a defense intelligence group, to the Wall Street Journal, Russia is developing a weapons depot and military facility north of Latakia, along the Syrian coast.
Until recently, reports indicated that Russia had been focused on the buildup of a Syrian air base near Latakia.
Meanwhile, as Russia increases its support for the Syrian government, a report in Lebanon’s Daily Star says that Hezbollah will shift towards a more defensive role in the Syrian civil war. The Iranian-backed Lebanese terror group says that it will pull back after capturing the town of Zabadani, the last rebel-held village in the mountainous border region west of Damascus. Hezbollah has played a key role in supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
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Jewish-Christian group sways Colgate Divinity School to nix anti-Israel speaker
(JNS.org) Roc4Israel, a Rochester, N.Y.-based Jewish-Christian pro-Israel organization, has successfully swayed Colgate Divinity School to cancel an event featuring Rev. Graylan Hagler, who has made a number of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements over the years.
Hagler was scheduled to speak at the four-year-old “Witness Palestine” Film Festival until the school canceled the event.
“This was a wake-up call. Dozens of progressive churches in our city promote BDS (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel),” said Tim Altier, co-founder of Roc4Israel. “Even more alarming is the Greater Rochester Council of Churches sign-on as a patron of the Witness Palestine Film Festival. The organizers of that film series co-sponsored the Hagler talk at Colgate.”
Hagler, who serves as senior minister of Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ in Washington, DC, earlier this year at a Jewish Voice for Peace rally condemned “pimply-faced white boys in Israeli uniforms.” In 2010, he met with then-Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and in 2012 stated at a panel discussion that he is working to “disengage” Christians from Hebrew Scripture.
“Progressive Christianity is spear-heading BDS and promoting the Ferguson to Palestine meme. This has to stop,” said Patti Munter, another co-founder of Roc4Israel. “Colgate Divinity School has a rich and storied history in this city. It should be commended for doing the right thing.”
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U.K.’s Labour Friends of Israel group invites Corbyn to explain Israel stance
(JNS.org) The United Kingdom’s Labour Friends of Israel group has invited the newly elected Labour and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn to its upcoming conference in order to explain his stance on Israel and the Palestinians.
Corbyn, who has a history of anti-Israel rhetoric and a controversial association with a group run by a Holocaust denier, was elected overwhelmingly as the new leader of the Labour party on Sept 12.
Labour MP Joan Ryan, who chairs the pro-Israel group, says that she wants to open a process of dialogue with the Corbyn over Israel.
“It’s the start of a process. What I will do over the coming weeks and months is have open dialogue with the party’s new leadership,” Ryan told London’s Jewish Chronicle.
“The invite is the beginning of that process. It’s not a one-off—I’ve also asked for a meeting with him,” added Ryan.
Under former Labour leader Ed Miliband, who is Jewish, the party was behind a move by parliament to urge the British government to recognize Palestinian statehood. Some fear that Corbyn, who has stated he supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, will push for boycotts against Israel.
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