Israel tightens law banning indirect business dealings with Iran
(JNS.org) The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee approved a set of guidelines on Tuesday that would effectively forbid Israelis from doing any business with Iran, Israel Hayom reported.
The committee approved the guidelines required to enact the Struggle Against the Iranian Nuclear Program Law, which was already approved last year. The law forbids Israelis from making indirect contact with Iran for business; direct contact has already been banned. The law also stipulates that a special committee of ministers must vote any time a corporation wants to make direct or indirect contact with Iran for business.
With the guidelines approved, the law is expected to go into effect in two weeks.
“At a time when world nations are falling victim to Iran’s fake charm, it is important to severely punish those who do business with our enemies,” committee chairman MK David Rotem (Yisrael Beiteinu) said.
Netanyahu says Israel ‘cannot rule out pre-emptive strikes’
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday at a Knesset plenum marking the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, which began with a surprise attack, that Israel “cannot rule out pre-emptive strikes.”
“Not every situation calls for [pre-emptive strikes], and they should be weighed on carefully,” Netanyahu said. “But there are times when thinking about international response to such a move is not worth the price that we would pay in blood for being on the receiving end of a strategic attack, [an attack] which we would then have to respond to later, and perhaps then it may be too late.”
The prime minister’s comments come during ongoing tension over Iran’s nuclear program. Negotiations between Iran and Western powers started Monday in Geneva.
“Iran is in a bad spot right now, and it is possible to harness the full power of the sanctions to get the desired result. I hope that the international community does this, and I call on it to do so,” Netanyahu said Tuesday.
Assad says he should have won Nobel Peace Prize
(JNS.org) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was quoted in the Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar as saying that he could “shut Israel up” with or without chemical weapons.
Assad—whose country has seen more than 100,000 deaths in the Syrian civil war, including more than 1,400 in what the U.S. said was a chemical attack on civilians—also expressed frustration over not being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his agreement on the removal of his chemical weapons stockpile. Instead, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won the prize for its efforts to remove chemical weapons around the world.
Assad spoke to guests at his presidential palace and called the development of chemical weapons in 1997 his country’s greatest achievement, because it strengthened Syria’s position in the Middle East.
Jewish veterans lament government shutdown
(JNS.org) The national director of the Jewish War Veterans of the USA as well as The Military Coalition, a coalition of 33 leading veterans and military organizations, said that the White House and Congress are financially neglecting veterans and members of the military through the ongoing government shutdown.
Retired Army Col. Herb Rosenbleeth spoke during a Tuesday rally at the National World War II Memorial about the shutdown, which has lasted 15 days and “is eroding military readiness,” he said.
“Veterans are afraid they will not be receiving disability and pension checks, dependents and survivors are afraid they will not receive their benefits,” he said. “Our veterans have served this country; and we need the country to serve our veterans.”
Rachel’s Tomb is site of prayer event broadcast to 25,000 Israelis
(JNS.org) More than 25,000 people at hundreds of locations across Israel tuned in to a live radio broadcast of a prayer ceremony on Monday calling for rain and healing of the sick at Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem, to commemorate the date marking the death of the biblical matriarch Rachel.
More than 100 parents and students from the Gush Etzion region attended the prayer event in person. The ceremony was organized by the Mibereshit Foundation—a Jerusalem-based nonprofit that seeks to connect Israeli children and parents to the founding ideals of the Jewish state—in conjunction with Gush Etzion’s Carmei Yehuda School.
Christian pilgrims to Israel to be led by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan
(JNS.org) Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will lead more than 30,000 Christian pilgrims on an upcoming trip to Israel.
While in Israel, President Jonathan, who is the first sitting Nigerian Christian president to visit Israel, is expected to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreement between Nigeria and Israel, making it easier for Christian pilgrims to visit, AllAfrica.com reported.
According to Nigeria state media, the first round of 2,000 Christian pilgrims will begin arriving Oct. 19, while President Jonathan is expected to arrive Oct. 23. The president will also be joined by several members of his administration and by other governors.
“Our belief is that if Nigerians go on pilgrimage and are morally transformed, they would pursue peace and all the enemies of peace would be defeated,” said John Kennedy Opara, Exectuive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commision, according to AllAfrica.com.
Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria has been racked by sectarian tension for the past decade as Islamic terror groups from the Muslim north have attacked Christians in the south. But Israel and Nigeria enjoy strong diplomatic ties, with several dozen major Israeli companies operating in Nigeria.
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