Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks won’t lead to deal, 87.5% of Israelis say in poll
(JNS.org) A vast majority of Israeli Jews—87.5 percent—believe the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations will not lead to a peace agreement, according to a new Israel Hayom poll that coincided with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s latest visit to the region.
The poll, conducted by New Wave Research, found that only 6 percent of Israeli Jews think the negotiations will lead to a deal. The respondents were a random pool of 500 Jewish Hebrew-speaking Israelis over the age of 18.
“We have always known that this is a difficult, complicated road, and we understand that,” Kerry said after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. “I believe we are making some progress, and the parties remain committed to this task.”
Jordan to back Israeli control of Jordan Valley in any peace deal
(JNS.org) Jordan will back Israeli control of the Jordan Valley in any peace deal with the Palestinians, according to an anonymous senior Israel official.
“They (Jordan) pressure the Americans to accept Israel’s security demands that they also protect the kingdom of Jordan,” a senior Israeli source told Maariv following U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit to the region.
As part of any peace deal with the Palestinians, Netanyahu has long insisted that Israel retain the Jordan Valley as a security buffer on any attacks from the east, including Iranian missiles. Palestinian negotiators have rejected the plan.
The senior Israeli official told Maariv that Netanyahu is determined to finish building the border fence between Israel and Jordan, a move that Jordan also sees as beneficial to its security.
OECD lauds Israel’s economic growth
(JNS.org) The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Thursday praised Israel’s economic growth in 2013 and predicted that its economy will continue to grow in 2014 and 2015 at a rate that exceeds growth projections for the OECD’s other 33 member nations, Israel Hayom reported.
“Israel’s output growth remains relatively strong, unemployment is at historically low levels, its high-tech sector continues to attract international admiration, and new off-shore gas fields have come on stream,” the OECD said in the executive summary of its 2013 Israel Economic Survey.
The report projected that Israel’s economy would grow by 3.7 percent in 2013, compared to 3.9-percent growth in 2012. Growth projections for 2014 and 2015 were pegged at 3.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively. As a result, unemployment is expected to rise from its current historic low of 5.9 percent to a range of 6.6-6.9 percent. The OECD also praised the Israeli economy for being one of the most turmoil-resistant economies in the West, and for its high-tech industry.
Egypt government mulls declaring Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization
(JNS.org) Egyptian media reports indicated that the military-backed government is mulling the possibility of declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
According to Egypt’s El-Watan, interim Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi has discussed with his ministers a directive that will declare the Islamist group a terror organization. Egypt’s military blames the Muslim Brotherhood for organizing violence and protests since the July 2013 ouster of former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s defense minister and de-facto leader General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” according to a fan poll conducted on their site. El-Sisi, who came to power during the Morsi ouster, won 26.2 percent of the vote, beating out Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and American pop star Miley Cyrus.
Jewish groups mourn death of Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid icon
(JNS.org) Nelson Mandela, a revered South African leader who was instrumental in the fight against apartheid and is widely considered to be the father of modern South Africa, died Thursday at the age of 95.
Jewish organizations have joined the global community in mourning Mandela. “Nelson Mandela will be long remembered as one of the greatest figures of his generation and one of the most inspirational and effective freedom-fighting figures in modern history,” Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director, said in a statement.
“During the years of his trials and tribulations, the Jewish community of South Africa supported him, and when he sought freedom Mandela returned the friendship and appreciation,” Foxman added.
Mandela became the first president of democratic South Africa in 1994 after having been imprisoned for 27 years under the apartheid regime. “As president, Mandela worked to create a multicultural society after years of minority rule. His new government in post-apartheid South Africa wrote a new constitution, investigated human rights abuses by the previous regime, tackled the issue of racism in his country and focused on helping the poor and disenfranchised,” B’nai B’rith International said in a statement.
“As Jews, we honor every year the miracle of freedom, teaching our children that ‘we were once slaves in the land of Egypt. Mandela’s life embodied a personal and national journey from subjugation to freedom. We are indelibly inspired by his example and can say of him, as we can say of few others, that he truly helped repair the world,” said American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris.
Stop rewarding Palestinian terrorists with aid money, Dutch Parliament says
(JNS.org) The Dutch Parliament has called on the Dutch government to pressure the Palestinian Authority (PA) to stop giving Palestinian terrorists aid money.
According to research complied by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW), Palestinian terrorists who spend more than five years in Israeli prisons continue receiving money even after their release. Much of the money comes from aid funds provided by European Union nations. An unpublished report by the European Court of Auditors detailed how EU aid to the Palestinians has been “misspent, squandered or lost to corruption” to the tune of 1.95 billion euros between 2008 and 2012, The Sunday Times reported in October.
After the U.K. and Norway inquired about the PA aid terrorists, the PA admitted its law originally stated it was paying “salaries,” called “ratib.” Following the inquiries, the PA changed its description of the aid to “la’ana,” meaning “assistance.”
“This is very rewarding to see that the Netherlands is following Norway in demanding a change in the PA. If these and other countries, including Britain, which are pressuring the PA about its support for terror will follow through with concrete financial actions—that will give a strong message to the PA. The PA will finally have to choose: Either the PA will continue be a terror-supporting entity ostracized and isolated by the Western world, or a terror-fighting entity and peace partner for Israel. It is time that Western counties who support the PA financially demand that the PA make this choice,” Itamar Marcus, director of PMW, told JNS.org.
Israeli actress Gal Gadot gets Wonder Woman role
(JNS.org) Israeli actress Gal Gadot has been cast in the role of Wonder Woman in Zack Snyder’s “Batman vs. Superman” movie, also starring Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill.
Gadot got the Wonder Woman role via Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein of the ADD agency, which represents her in Israel and abroad.
“Wonder Woman is arguably one of the most powerful female characters of all time and a fan favorite in the DC Universe. Not only is Gal an amazing actress, but she also has that magical quality that makes her perfect for the role. We look forward to audiences discovering Gal in the first feature film incarnation of this beloved character,” the upcoming film’s director, Zack Snyder, said in a statement, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
Gadot has previously acted in “Hollywood’s Fast and Furious 6,” whose other star, Paul Walker, was killed in a car accident earlier this week. “So sudden and tragic… Hard to believe… Paul was a great man with a big heart and passion for life. I’m so sad he’s no longer with us,” Gadot wrote on Facebook.
BDS campaign by United Church of Canada denounced by Jewish groups
(JNS.org) Jewish groups condemned a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign that was launched this week by the United Church of Canada. The campaign, titled “Unsettling Goods,” urges the boycotting of Ahava, Keter Plastics, and SodaStream, which all have factories in Judea and Samaria.
“How shameful that any Christian, much less the United Church of Canada, would choose to ignore the ongoing persecution of Christians in the Middle East, and instead, incite hatred for Israel, the only democracy in the region where tolerance and religious freedoms are practiced. There can be only one conclusion—the nearly irrelevant United Church of Canada’s leaders have fallen prey to the world’s oldest hatred, and their motives can only be attributed to bigotry and anti-Semitism,” Meryle Kates, executive director of the Canada branch of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs, told JNS.org.
B’nai B’rith Canada CEO Frank Dimant said the United Church of Canada “would realize who they really are hurting” if they took “time to examine the facts,” noting that SodaStream “employs 500 Palestinians as well as 400 additional Arabs living in eastern Jerusalem at its Ma’ale Adumim manufacturing facility alone,”Israel National News reported.
Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center President and CEO Avi Benlolo said, “Despite Hamas’ repeated calls for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews, based on Article 13 of the Hamas Covenant, which states ‘There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad,’ and despite calls by Fatah officials for a third violent intifada against Israel, the United Church sees fit to pray for a successful boycott against Jewish businesses in Israel, while ignoring the ongoing incitement to violence and genocide against Israel and Jews coming from Palestinian leaders.”
*
Preceding provided by JNS.org