Netanyahu: ‘various ways’ I can work with Trump to roll back Iran nuclear deal
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he has “about five” ideas in mind for how to roll back the Iranian nuclear deal once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
“There are ways, various ways of undoing [the deal],” Netanyahu said in an interview that aired Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” program. “I have about five things in my mind.”
When CBS reporter Lesley Stahl asked Netanyahu to elaborate on the ideas, he declined.
“Well, I’d like to talk to the president before I talk to ’60 Minutes,'” the prime minister said.
Stahl also asked Netanyahu about how he plans to move ahead with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and the Israeli leader responded that he would be willing to launch negotiations “at any moment.” He added that he still supports a two-state solution and looks forward to receiving Trump’s help on that issue.
“Two states for two peoples,” he said. “And that’s where I’m focused. I’d like to have President Trump, when he gets into the White House, help me work on that. I’d like to see if the Arab states can help me achieve that. It’s a new reality. A new possibility.”
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Israel urges united front against terror after deadly bombings in Egypt, Turkey
(JNS.org) Israel strongly condemned the bombing attacks in Egypt and Turkey over the weekend.
“Israel condemns the reprehensible terrorist attack at the Coptic cathedral in Cairo,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement on the bombing in Egypt. “Israel shares in the grief of the families of the victims and of the Egyptian people. We must unite forces and fight terrorism together.”
Sunday’s attack occurred during a prayer service at Saint Peter and Saint Paul Church, which is next to Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, the seat of Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II.
Speaking at a funeral for the victims, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi revealed that the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber, identified as 22-year-old Mahmoud Mahmoud Shafik Mohamed Mostafa.
Netanyahu also condemned twin bombings that killed 44 people in Istanbul Saturday.
“Israel condemns all terrorism in Turkey and expects that Turkey will condemn all terrorist attacks in Israel,” Netanyahu said of the bombings, for which a Kurdish militant group claimed responsibility.
“[The fight against terrorism] must be mutual in condemnation and in countermeasures, and this is what the state of Israel expects from all countries it is in contact with, including Turkey,” he said.
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Coin dating back to Jewish revolt against the Romans found in Jerusalem
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev unveiled a coin inscribed with the words “Free Zion” that dates back to the period of the Jewish revolt against the Romans. The coin, which Regev presented at a cabinet meeting Sunday, was discovered by one of the minister’s advisers in Jerusalem’s City of David landmark.
The back of the coin bears an inscription reading “Two years to the Great Revolt,” which dates it to the year 67 CE, three years before the Romans sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple.
Regev said that during the Hanukkah holiday later this month, her ministry and the Israel Antiquities Authority will unveil another discovery, an ancient street in Jerusalem that is “the street the Maccabees trod 2,000 years ago.”
According to Regev, the street in question was a main thoroughfare in ancient Jerusalem, and the shops that lined it have also been excavated. The street is named Olei Haregel (“The Pilgrims”), after the Jews who used it to ascend the Temple Mount from Shiloah Pool.
“I see this project of excavating the Old City, of continued excavations in the Old City, as a national project,” Regev said.
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Belieb it: Justin Bieber to perform in Israel in 2017
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Canadian pop star Justin Bieber will perform in Israel as part of his Purpose World Tour, it was announced Thursday. The singer is scheduled to perform May 3, 2017, at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park.
Bieber first performed in Israel in 2011, when he was 17 years old. Despite a successful concert before some 20,000 fans, the visit did not go smoothly, as the teen sensation clashed with paparazzi while visiting Israel’s holy sites.
Israeli fans will need to shell out 350 shekels ($92) for Bieber tickets in the grass area, 790 shekels ($209) for “Golden Ring” tickets, and 1,190 shekels ($314) for the VIP section. Tickets are scheduled to go on sale Saturday, but members of Bieber’s official Israeli fan club enjoyed an early sale Thursday.
Bieber’s 2009 debut album, “My World,” sold millions of copies worldwide and made him one of the youngest success stories in contemporary pop music.
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Israel signs trilateral research and development pact with Greece, Cyprus
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Jerusalem Thursday, with the three nations signing a trilateral research and development agreement to advance joint ventures and projects.
It was the three leaders’ second meeting, which Netanyahu said “reflects the close and tightening relations between the countries. Relations between our three countries are strategically important for strengthening stability and establishing a regular framework for countries with common interests.”
Netanyahu held separate and joint meetings with the Greek and the Cypriot leaders, and shared his plan to promote the formation of a regional task force specializing in natural disaster response. The multinational task force would come to the aid of countries in the region that are struck by disasters such as wildfires, earthquakes or floods, and would assist in search and rescue efforts and provide logistical support and humanitarian aid.
Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem Thursday, Netanyahu said regarding the agreement with Greece and Cyprus, “We are three democracies in the eastern Mediterranean. We’ve come to the conclusion quite a few years ago that we have so much to gain by cooperating with each other and we’re doing that, point of fact, including with the new agreement we signed today.”
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Media watchdog calls out AFP over employment of aspiring Palestinian politician
(JNS.org) A media watchdog organization renewed its criticism of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency over the “conflict of interest” of employing the chairman of the anti-Israel Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) as a reporter on Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), which initially called out AFP in May over PJS leader Nasser Abu Baker’s statement that Palestinian journalists should boycott Palestinian officials who conduct interviews with Israeli media, revisited the issue following Abu Baker’s recent campaign for a seat on a governing body of the Palestinian Fatah political party.
“My decision to run in the election for the [Fatah] Revolutionary Council stems from my and my colleagues’ desire to awaken the Fatah media, which needs to be awakened so that it would be devoted primarily in favor of the national interest and redirect the compass toward our cause toward Jerusalem and the [Palestinian right of] return,” Abu Baker recently told Palestinian media, according to CAMERA.
The media watchdog said Dec. 7 that AFP’s employment of Abu Baker, “a man who is not only an aggressive anti-Israel boycott advocate but also an aspiring Palestinian politician,” raises “serious concerns.”
“The conflict of interest is clear and blatant,” Tamar Sternthal, CAMERA’s Israel director, said in a statement. “By employing a man who aggressively silences Israeli journalists and perspectives, AFP news about Israel is compromised at best, deceptive at worst.”
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Israeli NGO draws large viewership on video claiming Facebook enables terrorism
(JNS.org) An Israeli legal rights NGO’s video claiming that Facebook aides and abets terrorism garnered more than 750,000 views in the three days after it was launched.
The Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center’s video—titled “Who’s behind terror – Rewound!”—opens with a replay of a bombing in New York City, then repeatedly rewinds time to show moments in which Shurat HaDin says Facebook helped incite terrorism. The NGO argues that Facebook enables terror by failing to ban inciting pages and users from the social network.
Shurat HaDin has two lawsuits against Facebook pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. Cohen v. Facebook, filed in 2015 on behalf of 20,000 Israelis amid the wave of Palestinian stabbing terror attacks, seeks an injunction forcing Facebook to actively monitor and block terrorists’ pages. The Force v. Facebook lawsuit, meanwhile, seeks $1 billion in damages for families of five Israeli victims of Hamas terrorism.
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Israeli security forces break up Hamas terror cell in Hebron
(JNS.org) Israeli security forces announced Thursday that they broke up a Hamas terror cell operating in the Hebron area in October through a joint Israel Defense Forces (IDF), police, and Shin Bet security agency operation.
According to the Shin Bet, the Hamas cell planned to carry out kidnappings and shooting attacks against Israelis “in order to bargain for the release of prisoners.” The investigation also led to authorities seizing weapons and large quantities of ammunition, including two AK-47s, three pistols, and a shotgun.
Security officials said the terror cell revolved around its leader Ibrahim Abdullah Ranimat, a 58-year-old Palestinian who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for his role in terrorist attacks during the 1990s, including the abduction and murder of IDF soldier Sharon Adri in 1996.
Ranimat’s three sons—Fadi Ibrahim Ranimat, Muhammad Ranimat, and Shadi Ibrahim Ranimat—were arrested by security forces. Additionally, security forces arrested J’ad Sultan, who procured the weapons for the cell; Haitham Hamidan, who stored the weapons; and Rami Rajoub, who was also arrested for plotting with Ranimat while in prison.
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Israel’s attorney general to streamline citizenship process for LGBT couples
(JNS.org) Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelbilt informed the country’s High Court of Justice Thursday that he will work to streamline the process of obtaining citizenship for the foreign partners of LGBT Israelis in order to bring that process in line with heterosexual couples.
“This is a huge victory,” said Udi Ledergor, chairman of the Israeli Gay Dads Association, which filed a petition before the High Court on the issue, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “The old procedure struck a fatal blow to the possibility of same-sex couples from becoming parents and giving their children the status they deserve. We decided to attack all the main discriminatory elements, one of which is the absence of naturalization possibilities for foreign spouses.”
The petition submitted to the High Court pointed out that it is more difficult for LGBT Israelis who marry foreign men or women to apply for citizenship than it is for straight Israelis who marry foreigners.
According to the current law, the process for acquiring full citizenship for straight couples takes four years, while the process for naturalization for LGBT couples is seven years, with most same-sex partners only receiving permanent resident status rather than full citizenship.
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Israeli defense chief vows to prevent sophisticated weapons from reaching Hezbollah
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel “does what is necessary” to prevent game-changing weapons from falling into the Hezbollah terror group’s hands, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
“Israel has no interest in intervening in the civil war in Syria. Our policies and positions are very clear, and they are based on three red lines: We will not allow any harm to come to the Israeli public, we will not allow anyone to undermine Israel’s sovereignty, and we will not allow the smuggling of sophisticated weapons or chemical weapons from Syria to Lebanon and to Hezbollah,” Lieberman said Thursday.
Lieberman’s comments responded indirectly to Arab media reports suggesting that Israeli fighter jets struck the Mezzeh Military Airport near Damascus. Several Arabic-language outlets, including Qatar’s Al Jazeera and Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya, reported of a series of large explosions at the airport, which caused a raging fire.
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IDF and Technion join forces to develop ‘medical’ glider
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Medical Corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has collaborated with the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology on the development of a glider that could save lives on the battlefield, Israel Hayom reported.
The “medical” glider is designed to carry up to 110 pounds of medical supplies, such as blood transfusion kits, antibiotics, and intubation kits. The glider can cover a distance of 12 miles within eight minutes. It is 11 feet long and its wingspan stretches 13 feet. The glider was designed with collapsible wings so that if necessary, it could be launched from a plane. It also has relatively low production costs, which stand at tens of thousands of dollars per unit.
“The glider won’t eliminate the need to evacuate [wounded] soldiers, but it will allow us to bring the hospital to the patients and carry out evacuations in a more considered, calm manner, and deliver soldiers to the hospital in better condition,” said IDF Medical Corps Maj. Dr. Dean Nachman.
“Administrating a blood transfusion is a lifesaving measure, and troops on prolonged deployment can’t exactly carry a fridge with blood supplies with them,” he said.
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Israel security forces thwart stabbing attack in Samaria, terrorist killed
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli security forces foiled a terrorist attack Thursday morning at Tapuach Junction in Samaria.
A Palestinian youth who arrived at the junction by bus reportedly approached Israeli Border Police officers stationed at a local security checkpoint, and refused to heed their calls to stop. Moving closer to the troops, he drew a knife and charged the policeman closest to him. The troops engaged, shooting the suspect.
The youth, identified as Mahmad Jad Hassin Harb, 18, from Qalqilya, west of Nablus, was critically wounded and died at the scene.
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Netanyahu tells France’s Hollande he will not attend Paris peace conference
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Francois Hollande that he will not attend an upcoming international peace conference led by France.
According to a statement released by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, Netanyahu called Hollande to tell him that he would not attend the Paris summit. Rather, the Israeli leader said he was willing to meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for direct negotiations.
“Netanyahu told Hollande if there were not an international conference in Paris, the prime minister would meet with Abbas for direct talks without preconditions….Israel will not take part in the international conference, which won’t contribute to bringing peace,” the statement said.
Hollande is reportedly planning to hold a meeting of foreign ministers from nearly two dozen countries in Paris Dec. 21, in an effort to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. France held a similar conference in June; Israeli and Palestinian representatives were not invited to that gathering.
Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he believes peace can be achieved not through international conferences or solutions imposed by third parties, but only through direct negotiations.
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Israel’s Chief Rabbinate to hold meeting to ‘reform’ conversion process
(JNS.org) Israel’s two chief rabbis, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, announced that they plan to hold a meeting this week with the country’s Chief Rabbinate Council and Supreme Rabbinical Court to outline standards for accepting conversions to Judaism that were performed outside of Israel.
“This reform is expected to stop the suffering of many converts who have been through a conversion abroad when they come to register for marriage and divorce in Israel. In contrast to the situation in the past, in which some officials in the Chief Rabbinate assumed the authority to check every case individually, now as mentioned above, every conversion that will be approved by a rabbi who is on the list of the approved rabbis will not be subject to further checking but will be approved automatically,” Yosef said in a statement.
Last summer, the Supreme Rabbinical Court refused to recognize conversions that were preformed by Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, a prominent New York Orthodox rabbi. Lookstein converted Ivanka Trump, President-elect Donald Trump’s daughter. Later, the Chief Rabbinate also rejected a convert who had been approved by Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, the most senior rabbinical judge of the Orthodox Beth Din of America.
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Israel inks deal with India to boost scientific and technological collaboration
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Science, Technology and Space Minister Ofir Akunis, who is on a state visit to New Delhi, met last week with his Indian counterpart Harsh Vardhan.
The ministers signed a scientific collaboration agreement between Israel and India under which each country will appropriate $1 million for joint research ventures in 2017. Additionally, the nations will promote joint projects by young scientists and seek to empower female scientists.
“We are expanding our cooperation in many fields, including science, technology, and innovation,” Akunis said at the agreement’s signing ceremony in New Delhi.
Vardhan said India has much to learn from Israel, which he called “a relatively small country with significant capabilities.”
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin visited India in November to boost ties between Jerusalem and New Delhi.
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German leader Angela Merkel’s CDU party declares BDS movement anti-Semitic
(JNS.org) German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party announced that it passed a resolution declaring that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is anti-Semitic.
“Who today under the flag of the BDS movement calls to boycott Israeli goods and services speaks the same language in which people were called to not buy from Jews. That is nothing other than coarse antisemitism,” said the CDU statement, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Additionally, the CDU compared BDS activists to the Nazis, who launched boycotts against Jews during the 1930s in the run-up to the Holocaust. BDS dresses up anti-Semitism in “new clothes of the 21st century,” the party said, referring to anti-Zionism.
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U.K. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits Nazi death camp in Czech Republic
(JNS.org) U.K. Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who has been plagued by allegations of personal and party-wide anti-Semitism, visited the site the Theresienstadt concentration camp in the Czech Republic during a trip to continental Europe to meet with left-wing political leaders.
During the visit, Corbyn tweeted pictures of himself at the former death camp site, saying “Yesterday, I visited Terezin Memorial—a World War II concentration camp and former Jewish ghetto” and “Never forget.”
A British parliamentary committee report in October had said that Corbyn does not fully comprehend “the distinct nature of contemporary anti-Semitism” and suggested that his party is “institutionally anti-Semitic.”
In an interview before the visit, Corbyn said called the Terezin memorial a “vital reminder of the genocidal crimes carried out during the Second World War and the dangers that far-right politics, anti-Semitism, and racist scapegoating pose to society,” The Independent reported.
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