Venezuela’s Chavez, Iran supporter and Israel adversary, dies of cancer
(JNS.org) Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, known for his close relationship with Iran and adversarial one with Israel, died Tuesday at 58 following a two-year battle with cancer.
Chavez in 2006, during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, was the first head of state to condemn Israel’s actions. In reaction to the Gaza flotilla incident, Chavez shouted,“Damn you, State of Israel!” During Israel’s fall 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza, he said, “Another attack on the Gaza Strip began. Savage. Savage. Israel again bombing the Gaza Strip. Reasons? What reasons? Because [Palestinian Authority] President Mahmoud Abbas has insisted once again he will ask for Palestine to be included as a member of the United Nations.”
Among the fellow dictators befriended by Chavez were Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, and Cuban Presidents Fidel and Raul Castro.
In January 2012, Chavez mocked the U.S. the warning the world to avoid close ties with Iran.
“They’re not going to be able to dominate this world,” he said of Iran. “Forget about it, [President Barack] Obama, forget about it. It would be better to think about the problems in your country, which are many. We are free. The people of Latin America will never again kneel, dominated by the imperial Yankee. Never again.”
On Wednesday, Ahmadenijad reacted to Chavez’s death by calling him a “martyr” who fell to a “suspect illness,” the Lebanese Daily Star reported.
Last year, when Henrique Capriles—a practicing Catholic whose mother’s family, the Radonskis, arrived in Venezuela after surviving the Holocaust in Poland, and who has other family members that perished in the Nazi concentration camps—ran for president in Venezuela, Chavez’s camp called him a “gringo,” “bourgeois,” “imperialist,” and “Zionist,” using “Zionist” to mean “Jew.”
“Chavez will probably be remembered as the one who made Venezuelan Jews feel that for the first time they were not welcome in their own country, a chilling reminder of past tragedies,” Sammy Eppel, director of the Human Rights Commission of B’nai B’rith Venezuela, told JNS.org columnist Ben Cohen in January.
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Proposed Senate bill would increase security ties between U.S. and Israel
(JNS.org) Two U.S. senators have introduced legislation intended to strengthen the security cooperation between the U.S. and Israel.
U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013, which if passed would authorize an increase of the U.S. weapons stockpiled in Israel to a value of $1.8 billion. Additionally, the bill will ask the U.S. government to raise Israel’s status in the Strategic Trade Authorization program so that the country can receive some U.S. technology and product exports license-free.
“I’m proud to help lead this bipartisan bill, which once again demonstrates Congress’ commitment to Israel’s security and deepens our country’s defense relationship with our ally Israel during this extremely critical moment in the Middle East region,” Blunt said.
If passed, the bill would require President Barack Obama to consider and submit to Congress an option to create a joint United States-Israel Cyber Security Center. The president would also be able to assist Israel more with other matters such as energy and water. Finally, the bill would make it possible for Israelis to travel to the U.S. without a visa.
“This bipartisan legislation reaffirms the strong, historic relationship between the United States and Israel. The bill will enhance cooperation on a range of issues—from defense to energy to cyber security—so we can work together to address the many foreign policy challenges facing both countries,” Boxer said.
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Hassidic community mourns death of baby saved from crash after parents’ funeral
(JNS.org) The Hassidic community in Brooklyn continued to mourn Tuesday after a baby, who had initially been saved from the womb of a young mother killed in a car crash with her husband, also died.
Twenty-one-year-old Nachman Glauber and his 7-month pregnant wife Raizy, also 21, were in a taxi Sunday on their way to the hospital when they were hit by a BMW. Suspect Julio Acevedo, according to authorities, was driving at twice the allowed speed limit and fled the scene after the collision. At the hospital, the couple’s baby was delivered via C-section, but died soon after.
The Glaubers were members of the Satmar Hassidic sect. In keeping with Jewish tradition, the couple was buried the day after the accident in a massive funeral with 1,000 attendees. The baby was later buried near his parents.
“The mood in the neighborhood is very heavy. We all hoped the baby would survive,” Oscar Sabel, who lives near the scene of the accident, told the Associated Press. Isaac Abraham, a spokesman for the Hasidic Jewish community, demanded “the prosecutor charge the driver of BMW that caused the death of this couple and infant… with triple homicide.”
Acevedo was reached by the New York Daily News and said the accident occurred because he was allegedly fleeing gunshots and didn’t realize the couple had been killed until he saw the news later. “My heart goes out to them,” he said, adding that he left the scene because he “was scared of someone shooting” at him. He indicated plans to turn himself over to authorities.
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17 Israelis on Forbes World’s Billionaires list
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Forbes Magazine on Monday published its annual list of The World’s Billionaires. The list includes 17 Israelis, the richest of whom is Idan Ofer, with an estimated fortune of $6.5 billion.
Ofer’s controls Israel Corporation Ltd., whose holdings include Israel Chemicals, a leading global fertilizers and specialty chemicals company. Idan Ofer is in the 182nd spot on the Forbes list. The next Israeli on the list is Eyal Ofer, whose assets are estimated at $6 billion. Eyal Ofer is ranked as the 198th-richest man in the world. His fortune omes from real-estate projects, among other things.
The third-richest Israeli is Stef Wertheimer and family, in 286th place. Wertheimer founded ISCAR, a cutting tool company, selling control of it to Warren Buffett. His assets are estimated at $4.4 billion. The next-richest Israeli, in 308th place, is businesswoman Shari Arison, who is often described as the richest woman in the Middle East. Her assets are estimated at $4.2 billion.
Israeli-raised Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan is in the same spot as Arison, also estimated by Forbes to be worth $4.2 billion. Next in wealth among Israelis is diamond mogul Beny Steinmetz, at $4.1 billion, in 316th place in the worldwide rankings. Yitzhak Tshuva, with assets of $2.2 billion, is the eighth Israeli on the list, according to Forbes. The last Israeli ranked, in 1,342th in Forbes, is one of the founders of Check Point, Marius Nacht. His net worth is “only” $1 billion.
On the worldwide list, the wealthiest person for the third straight year is Carlos Slim. His assets are estimated to be about $73 billion. The Mexican titan owns large telecommunications concerns in South America as well as large software and finance companies.
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UN agency cancels Gaza marathon after Hamas bans women
(JNS.org) The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations’ aid agency for the Palestinians, has said it will cancel the upcoming Gaza marathon because Hamas authorities will not allow women to compete, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“UNRWA regrets to announce that it has had to cancel the third UNRWA marathon which was to be held on 10 April. This disappointing decision follows discussions with the authorities in Gaza who have insisted that no women should participate,” said a statement from the agency.
The 3rd annual Gaza marathon was organized by UNRWA to raise money for children in Gaza. Hamas, a terrorist organization which has ruled the Gaza Strip since a bloody coup against its Palestinian rival Fatah in 2007, has increasingly implemented strict Islamic laws in the coastal enclave, including bans on alcohol and restrictions on women.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org