Jonathan Pollard cancels speech to avoid risk of being sent back to prison
(JNS.org) Jonathan Pollard, who was released in November after serving 30 years in a U.S. prison for spying on America for Israel, canceled a speech he was scheduled to give at a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
Pollard, whose plan to speak was reported by the Forward last week, canceled after his lawyers warned him that if his comments were leaked or taken out of context, he faced the risk of being sent back to prison. Instead, Pollard ended up simply thanking his hosts at the meeting and explaining why he decided to curtail his remarks.
Pollard was reportedly planning to speak on the topic of his legal battle to ease the conditions of his parole. Before being freed, Pollard was the only person in U.S. history to be sentenced to life in prison for spying for an American ally.
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Palestinian terrorists kill Israeli woman, wound another at grocery store
(JNS.org) Two Israeli women were stabbed at a grocery store by two Palestinian terrorists in the Samaria community of Beit Horon on Monday. One of the women, 24-year-old Shlomit Krigman, died from her wounds on Tuesday.
According to reports, the two terrorists stabbed one of the women inside of the grocery store and stabbed the other as they were fleeing the scene. The surviving victim, 58, was in stable condition with moderate wounds. A security guard eventually shot dead both of the terrorists. Security forces also apparently found three home-made bombs that were planted by the terrorists near the store.
The two terrorists, Ibrahim Alan, 22, from Beit Ur al-Tahta, and Hussein Abu Ghosh, 17, from the Qalandiya refugee camp, infiltrated the Jewish community by jumping over the community’s security fence, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
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Survey of Israeli Arabs finds growing need to stave off extremism
(JNS.org) A new survey has found that a large majority of low-income Israeli Arabs feel deeply discriminated against and alienated, making them susceptible to growing extremism.
The survey, commissioned by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship) in conjunction with the Stat-net Institute, found that “Israeli Arabs are more likely to feel strongly connected to the Jewish state if they believe the government is treating them fairly and helping them to the same extent it helps low-income Jewish citizens.”
According to the survey, 67 percent of Israeli Arabs feel discriminated against, while 71 percent feel that low-income Israeli Jews receive more state aid than they do. Furthermore, 54 percent of Israeli Arabs believe the government does not care about their interests.
“If we don’t invest in Israel’s Arab citizens, ISIS will,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, The Fellowship’s president and founder.
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New Liberal party Canadian FM draws criticism over Israel remarks
(JNS.org) Canada’s new Liberal party government drew criticism over a statement expressing concern over continued Israeli settlement construction as an obstacle to peace.
On Sunday, Foreign Minister Stephane Dion’s office said that Canada is “concerned” by the continuing violence in Israel and the West Bank. While the statement went on to reaffirm Canada’s support for a two-state solution, it also said that “unilateral actions, such as Palestinian initiatives toward statehood in international forums and continued Israeli settlements, are unhelpful and constitute serious obstacles to achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace.”
On Monday, a spokesman for Dion, Joe Pickerill, doubled down on the statement.
“We’re steadfast allies and good friends, and good friends can occasionally deliver tough messages, but it’s by no means to suggest that we’re somehow retreating from any kind of support of Israel,” Pickerill said, Reuters reported.
Canada’s Conservative party, which pushed for a strong pro-Israel policy during its decade in power under former prime minister Stephen Harper before falling to the Liberals in the latest Canadian election, said that by omission, the statement “equates such terrorist attacks with Israeli settlement construction. This is unacceptable.”
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NPR publishes map that labels Israel as ‘Palestine’
(JNS.org) National Public Radio (NPR) on Monday published an article with a map of the Middle East that omitted Israel, instead labeling the Jewish state’s territory as “Palestine.” The map illustrated the article “What Are You Afraid Of In 2016? Globetrotters Share Their Fears,” focusing on travelers’ fears of Islamic extremism in the Middle East.
Following complaints from readers, NPR removed the map and apologized, stating that “the map had a number of errors. The countries of Cyprus, Israel, and Turkey were either not shown or not labeled; the label for ‘Palestine’ should have read ‘Palestinian territories’; and Afghanistan and Pakistan were mistakenly included. NPR apologizes for these errors.”
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Tu B’Shvat report showcases Israeli agricultural innovation
(JNS.org) On Tu B’Shvat, Israel’s New Year for trees, Prof. Yoram Kapulnik—director of the Volcani Center, an Israeli agricultural research organization—updated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on his group’s latest innovation.
According to Kapulnik’s update, the organization is developing new varieties of fruits and vegetables, and is making innovations in “improving flavor, extending shelf-life, product quality, and making the fruits and vegetables more accessible to the public at large.”
“Israeli agricultural products are winning worldwide acclaim. Some of the exhibited fruits are still in developmental stages and some are already being marketed,” said Kapulnik.
Netanyahu praised these developments, saying he is “proud of Israeli agriculture” and how “Israeli farmers are incredibly creative.”
“Many countries, from every continent, want to benefit from our innovations….I have revolutionary thoughts about how to use this ability on the commercial, international, and diplomatic levels,” Netanyahu said.
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Shimon Peres, 92-year-old former Israeli president, readmitted to hospital
(JNS.org) Former Israeli president Shimon Peres, 92, was admitted to the hospital for the second time this month after experiencing chest pain. Peres was rushed back for treatment a week after being released in good condition following a mild heart attack.
On Sunday, Magen David Adom paramedics who performed an electrocardiogram test on Peres found that he was experiencing a mildly irregular heartbeat. According to Reuters, Peres’s son-in-law and personal physicia, Rafi Walden, said that Peres “felt a slight discomfort and we diagnosed that he has some difficulty with the rhythm of the heart, which is called atrial fibrillation. He was taken to hospital…and this is over already spontaneously, without even the need for any treatment.”
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