Australian anti-Semitic attack victims thank public for support
(JNS.org) Members of a Jewish family attacked in an anti-Semitic assault at a popular beach town near Sydney, Australia Saturday have issued a statement of thanks.
“We thank G-d that we are alive….we are concerned about the need for the education of future generations about the importance of goodwill and tolerance,” the statement by the Behar family said according to the Israel National News.
Four members of the family and an education representative of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) were physically attacked in Bondi Beach by eight young males shouting anti-Semitic comments.
The family also thanked everyone who expressed their support and assisted them. “The support is deeply appreciated and reminds us that what occurred is not what Australia is about,” the statement also said.
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Israel and Japan to collaborate in agricultural research
(JNS.org) Israeli Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir announced Monday that the Israeli and Japanese governments will establish a joint research and development fund after a meeting with Japanese Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo.
While in Japan, Shamir toured fishing and green house development areas, and examined Japan’s wastewater treatment and dairy industry. The two ministers also discussed the option of exporting Israeli agricultural produce to Japan. A secondary goal of the trip was to promote the International Dairy Federation conference, to be held next October in Israel with participants from 54 countries.
“I was impressed that there is a great appreciation for the scientific and technological capabilities of the State of Israel in the field of agriculture,” Shamir said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
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Hamas loses $230 million a month due to Tunnel closure
(JNS.org) Egypt’s closure of smuggling tunnels between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula is costing Hamas $230 million in lost revenue a month in “industry, commerce, agriculture, transport and (the) construction sectors,” said Hatem Oweida, Hamas’ deputy economic minister, AFP reported.
Hamas used the smuggling tunnels to transfer economic goods, as well as weapons and rockets, into Gaza. Hamas also generates a lot of revenue by taxing goods that pass through the tunnels.
However, Egypt’s military backed government accused Hamas of supporting terrorists in the Sinai and said it has shut down more than 130 tunnels between Gaza and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month. Israel recently uncovered a massive tunnel stretching from southern Gaza to Israel’s Eshkol region.
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Syrian troops take over Christian town from Jihadi rebels
(JNS.org) Syrian government soldiers retook the ancient Christian town of Sadad from Jihadi rebels. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, residents from Sadad reported that rebels from the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization have retreated from the town after heavy fighting with the Syrian army.
According to the Associated Press, Jabhat al-Nusra rebels targeted the village due to its strategic location on the highway north of Damascus, and not because it’s Christian. But Jabhat al-Nusra has a history of brutally attacking Christians in areas it occupies.
“The Islamist rebel attack against the mainly Christian, Biblical village of Sadad and its hospital is just the latest barbaric act in the destruction of Syria. Christians and other religious minorities in Syria are in danger of being eliminated,” Dr. John Eibner, CEO of Christian Solidarity International (CSI), recently told JNS.org.
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Prisoner release protested by bereaved Israeli families
(JNS.org) Several families with relatives killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks on Sunday protested the Israeli government’s planned release this week of the second set of 26 prisoners to the Palestinian Authority as part of the deal to free 104 prisoners for Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations.
“It appears as though as of today negotiations are stuck and we are continuing to free terrorists. We are simply shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Yossi Mendelevitch, one of the prominent activists among the bereaved families, Israel Hayom reported.
On Sunday, representatives from families in the Almagor Terror Victims Association sent a letter to Israeli Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein, asking him to prevent the prisoner release. Weinstein’s deputy, attorney Dina Zilber, responded with a statement saying that freeing prisoners in negotiations “is a clearly political issue in which all of the considerations have been weighed with the highest scrutiny by the executive authorities.”
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Paula Abdul to celebrate her bat mitzvah at Western Wall
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Singer, dancer, choreographer and celebrity judge Paula Abdul is coming to Israel this week as a guest of the Israeli Tourism Ministry.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday that the pop star was planning to celebrate her bat mitzvah at the Western Wall during her visit, nearly four decades after the traditional age of 12.
During her first visit to the country, the Grammy and Emmy winner is scheduled to meet with Tourism Minister Uzi Landau to discuss the many facets of Israeli culture in which she takes an interest—the modern, effervescent, innovative Israel alongside the multicultural historic land.
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Palestinian rockets fired at Ashkelon a day after mortars hit southern Israel
(JNS.org) Palestinian terrorists in Gaza launched two rockets at Ashkelon on Monday following two mortar shells that hit southern Israel on Sunday. No injuries or damage were reported, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Later on Monday, the Israel Air Force responded by striking two concealed rocket launchers in Gaza.
“We will continue to safeguard the civilians of the State of Israel, and prevent future attempts of terrorism formulating in the Gaza Strip,” IDF Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said.
Since last year’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza, rocket fire has been significantly reduced. Nevertheless, sporadic rocket fire continues to threaten southern Israel. According to the IDF, more than 30 rockets have been fired at the region since the beginning on 2013.
Former Israel Air Force chief: Don’t underestimate Israel’s Iran strike capability
(JNS.org) In a thinly veiled message to Iran, former Israel Air Force commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Ido Nechushtan on Saturday warned that Israel’s attack capabilities must not be underestimated.
“I wouldn’t underestimate the capacity of the Israeli Air Force to fulfill the missions it is ordered to carry out. And I think I’ve said enough,” Nechushtan said at an event in Beersheba, according to Israel Hayom.
An attack on the Iran nuclear program should only be carried out “when the alternative is worse,” Nechushtan added.
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New bill to give Israeli fathers eight days of paid paternity leave
(JNS.org) A Knesset committee has approved a bill that will grant new fathers in Israel eight days of paternity leave.
The bill, which was submitted by MK Tamar Zandberg, from the left-leaning party Meretz, enjoys support from across the political spectrum including the right-leaning party HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home). It will now go to the full Knesset for a reading.
The bill gives new fathers three days of paid leave and five days of paid sick leave, to be paid by the employer.
“This bill will let fathers be partners and help begin their connection with their child. The model of equal parenthood is encouraged throughout the Western world, and this bill could be a first step in this direction,” Zandberg told Haaretz.
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Pope Francis I speaks to Simon Wiesenthal Center delegation
(JNS.org) A 60-member delegation from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, including Holocaust survivors, Christians and one Muslim, met privately with Pope Francis I in the Vatican on Oct. 24.
In his address to the delegation, Pope Francis commended the organization’s work in defending human rights and in fighting “every form of racism, intolerance and anti-Semitism, preserving the memory of the Shoah and promoting mutual understanding through education and social action,” according to the Official Vatican Network.
Pope Francis also highlighted the global persecution of Christians.
“I think with particular sadness of the suffering, marginalization and real persecution experienced by many Christians in various countries throughout the world,” he said.
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Drought led to rise of ancient Israelite kingdom, study says
(JNS.org) A series of major droughts may have led to the collapse of several great Bronze Age civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean between 1250 and 1100 B.C.E, leading to the rise of new civilizations such as the ancient Israelite kingdom, a new three-year study published in the Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University says.
Using samples of sediment retrieved from up to 18 meters underneath the Sea of Galilee and other sites such as the Dead Sea, researchers were able to use fossilized pollen grains to understand ancient climate conditions.
“These [pollen] particles tell us about the vegetation that grew near the lake and testify to the climatic conditions in the region,” Palynologist Dafna Langgut, one of the report’s authors, told Haaretz.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org