Jewish Agency, Israeli government convene strategic summit on Israel-Diaspora ties
(JNS.org) More than 120 Jewish leaders gathered in Jerusalem on Wednesday and Thursday for a first-of-its-kind strategic dialogue conference—led by the Israeli government and The Jewish Agency for Israel—focused on formulating ways to bolster both Israel-Diaspora ties and the Jewish identity of youths.
“This is an historic moment for our organization—a moment of pride and hope,” Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky said of the conference. “Together with our partners from the government, led by the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, we have embarked upon an unprecedented process. It emphasizes our central role as the convener of a global Jewish conversation.”
Israel invests $127 million annually in programs meant to strengthen Diaspora Jewry’s ties with Israel, primarily Taglit-Birthright Israel and the Jewish Agency’s Masa Israel Journey.
Islamist firebrand convicted of incitement for intifada sermon
(JNS.org) A Jerusalem Magistrates’ Court judge on Thursday convicted Islamic Movement northern branch leader Sheikh Raed Salah of incitement for giving a sermon calling for a third intifada, leading to public disorder and violence, Israel Hayom reported. Salah was acquitted of incitement to racism charges.
Salah was indicted in 2008. The indictment stated that on Feb. 16, 2007, Salah appealed to hundreds of his supporters in the north, where he leads the local branch of the Islamic Movement, calling on every Muslim to “start the Arab Islamist intifada, from ocean to ocean, to support the holy city of Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque.”
“We never allowed ourselves to knead the bread of the holy Ramadan breakfast with the blood of children. If someone wants a more detailed explanation then all they need to do is ask what happens to some of the children in Europe, if their blood is used to knead holy bread,” Salah said.
“On that same day all the streets of holy Jerusalem will be purged of the blood of innocents, who let their own blood exacting the souls of Israeli occupation soldiers occupying the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque… I say clearly and without hesitation, you who incite against us, do not be tempted by the ranks on your shoulders. These ranks and stars on your shoulders are made from the skulls of our martyrs,” he said.
AJC France condemns NGO for one-sided film on Israeli-Palestinian conflict
(JNS.org) AJC France condemned the humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger (ACF) for distributing a film that solely blames Israel for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The film, Broken Hopes, presents the views of three anti-Israel experts who are in various ways connected to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestiture and Sanctions (BDS) movement or to organizations that oppose Israel’s existence.
The film “presents a unilateral and partial story of Palestinian ‘victimization’” and disregards the Palestinian Authority’s “corruption regarding the management of aid received from the international community,” AJC France Chair René-Pierre Azria wrote to the president of ACF in Paris, Stéphanie Rivoal.
Azria added that the film contradicts ACF’s commitment to “independence, neutrality, non-discrimination, free and direct access to victims, professionalism and transparency.”
Holocaust comparison spurs condemnation of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi
(JNS.org) Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi outrsaged Italian Jews after comparing his family’s legal issues to the persecution of Jews during the Holocaust in an interview with Italian journalist Bruno Vespa. The comments were released as part of an advance excerpt of the Vespa’s book on Wednesday.
Berlusconi was asked if his five children have told him to sell his media empire and leave Italy in order to avoid more legal difficulties. “My children say that they feel like Jewish families in Germany under Hitler’s regime. Truly, everyone is against us,” he answered, Reuters reported.
This comparison “is not only inappropriate and incomprehensible, but is offensive to the memory of those deprived of all rights and, after being subjected to atrocious and unspeakable atrocities, their lives,” said Renzo Gattegna, head of Italy’s Jewish community association.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks hindered by Palestinian incitement, Netanyahu says
(JNS.org) Palestinian incitement is preventing progress in Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday in Jerusalem.
“I’m concerned about their progress because I see the Palestinians continuing with incitement, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid, run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace,” Netanyahu said.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas recently held a celebration in honor of the second set of 26 Palestinian terrorists released by Israel as part of negotiations. Abbas called the freed prisoners “heroes” despite their violent history.
“Praising of murderers by Abbas is the ultimate incitement to violence because it’s telling Palestinians that if they want to be heroes, if they want to be accepted by their society, then the fast track to becoming a success in Palestinian society is by killing an Israeli, injuring an Israeli, or committing any kind of terror against Israelis,” Itamar Marcus, director of Palestinian Media Watch, told JNS.org.
Future D.C. Bible museum likely to partner with Israeli museums
(JNS.org) The upcoming international Bible museum in Washington, D.C., which has yet to be named and is slated for opening in 2017, will seek to partner with Israeli museums and others around the world to “share the history, story, and impact of Jewish and Christian texts.”
The international Bible museum is an initiative of Steven Green, president of the national retail chain Hobby Lobby, whose Green Collection is the world’s largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts. Green says he plans to donate his entire collection to the upcoming museum.
“Besides an investment in the hundreds of millions of dollars to preserve and share the history, story and impact of the Jewish and Christian texts, and the huge investment for continued research and resources, the museum will also have a space offered to Israeli institutions for display,” Jerry Pattengale, director of the Green Scholars Initiative, the research arm of the Green Collection, told JNS.org.
Pattengale added that in addition to rotating exhibit space, the Bible museum would offer more than 12,000 square feet of its permanent space to the works of “major world museums,” which may include Jewish or Israeli institutions.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to have a special presence a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol,” Pattengale said.
Currently, a number of ancient manuscripts and artifacts from the Green Collection are on loan as part of an exhibit entitled “Book of Books” at Jerusalem’s Bible Lands Museum.
Israel’s Sodastream to air $4 million Super Bowl ad
(JNS.org) Sodastream, the popular Israeli carbonated drinks company, has announced that it will kick off its 2014 advertising campaign with a $4 million Super Bowl ad for the second year in a row.
“The Super Bowl is a proven venue for SodaStream to deliver our beverage revolution message to over 100 million viewers, empowering consumers to enjoy a smarter, ‘better-for-you’alternative to packaged soda,” SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said in a statement.
Headquartered near Tel Aviv, Sodastream offers devices that allow consumers to use regular tap water to create homemade carbonated beverages. Last year, the company generated more than $436 million in revenue.
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