Ayatollah’s ‘rabid dog’ remark tops 2013 list of anti-Semitic/anti-Israel slurs
(JNS.org) Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remark that Israel is the “rabid dog” of the Middle East topped the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list of the top 10 anti-Semitic or anti-Israel slurs of 2013.
Following Khamenei on the list were Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who blamed the “Jewish diaspora” for protests against his government; U.N. Special Rapporteur Richard Falk, who accused Israel of “genocidal intentions” against the Palestinians; the American Studies Association for its academic boycott of Israel; and Pink Floyd band member Roger Waters for affixing a Jewish star on a floating pig during his summer concert tour of Europe.
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Justin Timberlake to perform in Tel Aviv in May
(JNS.org) American pop star Justin Timberlake is set to perform on May 28 in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park, Israel Hayom reported.
Producer Udi Appelboim—who in the past brought Alanis Morissette and The Killers to Israel—has signed a contract with Timberlake’s managers, according to a source close to the deal. Timberlake will bring his 20/20 Experience World Tour to Israel, performing his greatest hits in recent years.
According to the singer’s official website, Timberlake will perform in Istanbul two days before the show in Tel Aviv, and on June 3 he will perform in Prague.
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Birthright breaks record as 1,600 participants arrive in one day
(JNS.org) The Taglit-Birthright Israel program broke its own record with 39 groups, totaling 1,600 Jewish young adults from across the globe, landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Monday.
Israeli Tourism Minister Uzi Landau and Taglit-Birthright CEO Gidi Mark attended a ceremony for the trip participants, who came from Australia, Argentina, Russia, the United States, Germany, and Canada, Israel Hayom reported. The participants join the list of more than 350,000 young adults from 64 countries to have taken the free 10-day trips to Israel.
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Bereaved families protest latest release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners
(JNS.org) Nearly 200 bereaved family members of Israeli victims of terrorist attacks on Monday held a march through Jerusalem to protest the third phase of the release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners.
The march began at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem and ended at the Western Wall. This latest group of 26 Palestinian prisoners was released as part of a four-phase agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority for their current U.S.-brokered final status negotiations.
Calls of “Don’t release killers!” were heard as protesters compared U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The prisoners in the latest phase of the release are nearly all convicted of murdering Israeli civilians, Israel Defense Forces soldiers or Palestinians who collaborated with Israel, and have all served 19-28 years of their terms.
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All abortions for women aged 20-33 to be funded by Israel in 2014
(JNS.org) Israeli health officials announced Monday that starting in 2014, the Jewish state will fund abortions for women aged 20-33 regardless of circumstance.
Abortions will be part of Israel’s “health basket,” a list of medicines and technology to be given to patients at a government-subsidized price. Subsidized abortions were previously available for Israeli women of all ages only in the case of medical emergencies, rape, or sexual abuse. Women can now receive the abortion funding for any reason, but must appear before a state committee first.
The expanded abortion subsidies create new options for more than 6,300 women in Israel, Haaretz reported.
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NBA star Tony Parker apologizes for using ‘reverse Nazi salute’
(JNS.org) National Basketball Association (NBA) star Tony Parker apologized for using the anti-Semitic “quenelle” arm gesture.
The gesture, which has been described as a “reverse Nazi salute,” was made famous by French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said his government is considering banning the comedian. A photo recently appeared on Twitter of Dieudonné and Parker, a point guard with the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs, doing the salute together.
“The gesture has gained popularity amongst young people, and reunites extremists from the Islamist camp, the extreme right, and left as well as revolutionaries with one common objective: the fight against the ‘Tel-Aviv-Washington axis’ as well as Jewish power and Zionism,” Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, director of the American Jewish Committee’s Paris office, told JNS.org.
Parker said in a statement, “While this gesture has been part of French culture for many years, it was not until recently that I learned of the very negative concerns associated with it.”
“Since I have been made aware of the seriousness of this gesture, I will certainly never repeat the gesture and sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding or harm relating to my actions,” he said.
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Secret Israeli government report on Temple Mount revealed
(JNS.org) A secret Israeli government report that was published by the Brooklyn-based newspaper The Jewish Voice highlights the Muslim Waqf’s attempts to erase Jewish ties on the Temple Mount and Israeli authorities’ neglect of those activities.
The 2008 report produced by Israel’s State Comptroller was commissioned by the State Control Committee, which sought to examine the conduct of government authorities following construction work carried out by the Muslim Waqf, a Jordanian-controlled Islamic Trust that oversees the Temple Mount. The report was kept secret due to Israeli government fears that it would damage ties with Jordan and lead to violent riots on the Temple Mount.
Reacting to the report, former Knesset member Aryeh Eldad told Israel National News that Israel “must not allow the Waqf to destroy the remains of the First and Second Temple and build an illegal construction site” on the Temple Mount.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org