New York Post under fire for coverage on murder of Brooklyn Jewish businessman
(JNS.org) Members of Brooklyn’s Jewish community and local politicians on Monday protested a controversial New York Post cover that featured a photo of Menachem Stark, an Orthodox Jewish businessman whose smoldering body was found in a Long Island dumpster on Sunday, accompanied by the caption “Who didn’t want him dead?”
The article describes Stark—a 39-year-old father of eight—as a “millionaire Hasidic slumlord,” and features multiple unattributed quotes claiming that the Brooklyn real estate developer was “a scammer” and that suspects for the murder were unclear given that “any number of people wanted to kill this guy.”
A protest at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall featured many supporters of Stark, including newly elected Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, New York City Councilman Mark Treyger, and New York State Assemblyman Joe Lentol.
“This [New York Post] cover is outrageous and unprofessional,” said Treyger. “His grave is still fresh. He should not be put on trial! We need to find justice for his family.”
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Palestinians arrested for stabbing of 9-year-old Israel girl
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday announced the recent arrest of two Palestinians from the city of el-Bireh near Ramallah, one for the stabbing of 9-year-old Israeli girl Noam Glick in October and another for being complicit in that attack, Israel Hayom reported.
One of the suspects, Abdullah Abu Kabita, 22, told Shin Bet investigators that he broke into the Psagot settlement in order to steal a weapon. He said he needed the firearm because of a personal conflict. A few days before the stabbing of Glick, Abu Kabita and suspect Shebel Atef Shibli Karan, 19, had cut the fence around Glick’s home and loitered near the home. Spotting an oncoming vehicle, the two fled Psagot back in the direction of their homes.
On Oct. 5, Abu Kabita traveled alone back to Psagot, following his path and entering through the same hole in the chain-link fence. Encountering Glick, he stabbed her in the shoulder and fled back in the direction of Ramallah.
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Palestinians sign $1.2 billion gas deal with Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The co-owners of the Leviathan gas field off the coast of Israel signed an agreement with the Palestine Power Generation Company (PPGC) on Sunday for the sale of $1.2 billion in natural gas over 20 years.
As part of the agreement, the PPGC, which is slated to construct a power plant in Jenin, will purchase 4.75 billion cubic meters (168 billion cubic feet) of natural gas.
Palestinian Energy Minister Dr. Omar Kittaneh and Delek Group owner Yitzhak Tshuva were present for the official signing of the agreement in Jerusalem. “A strong and stable economy between the two sides will bring peace and stability to the region. New jobs can be created and entrepreneurial and businesses cooperation should be promoted,” Tshuva said.
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Modern Language Association denies JNS press credential for convention
(JNS.org) The Modern Language Association (MLA) rejected a JNS.org application for a press credential to cover its Jan. 9-12 annual convention in Chicago.
MLA’s convention includes a roundtable discussion titled “Academic Boycotts: A Conversation about Israel and Palestine,” which will feature supporters but no opponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
Mark Aurigemma, a communications professional representing MLA, wrote in an email to the JNS.org reporter who applied that the convention “reserves media credentials for outlets and journalists that are substantively focused on academic issues.”
“In reviewing your request we could only consider the clip that you authored, as you are the reporter applying,” Aurigemma wrote. “We did also visit your archive at JNS to see if there was other academic coverage there with your byline, but did not find anything that meets the convention’s criteria for media accreditation. In keeping with the convention policies, we cannot grant the credentials requested.”
In its application, JNS.org had submitted nine examples of stories it has published on academic issues, including one authored by the reporter who applied. Asked in a follow-up conversation if there were other news outlets MLA rejected for press credentials on the same grounds, Aurigemma told JNS.org there were three or four such outlets but refused to identify them, citing MLA policy. The Daily Caller reported that is was also denied a press credential for the convention.
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Ariel Sharon in ‘battle against all odds,’ says hospital director
(JNS.org) Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is still in critical condition fighting for his life, the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan reported Sunday morning, four days after announcing Sharon’s rapidly deteriorating health and two days since the last update on his condition.
“We’ve succeeded in stabilizing his heart and circulatory system,” said Sheba’s director-general, Professor Zeev Rotstein, according to Israel Hayom. “We still have not been able to stabilize other systems in his body. As we said in the last update, he is suffering from multiple system failure. There’s no doubt that the battle Arik [Sharon] is waging is a true battle against all odds.”
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Pope Francis makes Israel trip official, will visit in May
(JNS.org) Pope Francis officially announced his plans to visit Israel from May 24-26.
“In the climate of joy, typical of this Christmas season, I wish to announce that from 24 to 26 May next, God willing, I will make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,” Pope Francis said following his Sunday service, Vatican Radio reported.
Pope Francis went on to say that the purpose of his visit was to commemorate the historic meeting between Pope Paul VI and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Athenagoras of Constantinople, which took place during a three-day trip to Israel and Jordan 50 years ago in January 1964. That was the first meeting of the heads of the Catholic and Orthodox churches since the Middle Ages.
Pope Francis said he would visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and the Jordanian capital of Amman.
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Israel foils two terror attacks
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Soldiers from the Israel Defense Forces’ Kfir Brigade thwarted a terror attack near the Gush Etzion community of Migdal Oz on Saturday evening.
The IDF received a report of suspicious individuals approaching the south side of the fence that encircles Migdal Oz. Soldiers sent to the area arrested four Palestinians who were driving in a vehicle near the community’s fence. A search of the vehicle uncovered three knives and an improvised weapon.
“The suspects were on their way to carry out a terror attack in the community,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
In another foiled terror attack, on Friday an Israeli border policeman was moderately injured while subduing a female terrorist who attempted to stab him and another Border Police officer stationed near Damascus Gate on the edge of Jerusalem’s Old City.
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Lebanese Christians protest torching of library by Islamic extremists
(JNS.org) Hundreds of Lebanese Christians took to the streets in Tripoli to protest the torching of a decades-old library owned by a Greek Orthodox priest.
The demonstrators held up banners reading, “Tripoli, peaceful town” and “This is contrary to the values of the Prophet [Mohammed],” Ya Libnan reported.
On Friday night, assailants torched the personal library of Greek Orthodox Priest Ibrahim Surouj, destroying two-thirds of the 80,000 books and manuscripts.
The attack came after “a pamphlet was allegedly discovered inside one of the books that insulted Islam and the Prophet Mohammed,” a Lebanese security official told AFP. But it later became clear that no pamphlet existed.
The incident comes amid growing radicalism in Lebanon related to the nearby Syrian Civil War.
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Ya’alon says pullout from West Bank would strengthen Hamas
(JNS.org) Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon believes that the Israeli military must not surrender its ability to operate freely in the West Bank as it did in Gaza in 2005, which led to Hamas’s takeover.
“We will not hand over our citizens’ security into the hands of any foreign entity,” Ya’alon said in recent private conservations, Walla reported.
Ya’alon added, “If we compromise the IDF’s freedom of action and hand over security responsibilities to the Palestinians, we will see missiles being launched from Nablus onto Kfar Saba and Ben Gurion Airport.”
The U.S. recently suggested that Israel withdraw troops from the Jordan Valley and replace them with unmanned drones and early warning stations. Palestinians object to any Israeli presence in the Jordan Valley, while Israel considers its presence there vital to its security.
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Hundreds of Palestinians protest Kerry’s visit to Ramallah
(JNS.org) Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the streets of Ramallah to protest U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s visit with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Friday.
According to Reuters, Palestinian demonstrators evoked the popular street protests of the “Arab Spring” by chanting, “Kerry, you coward, there’s no place for you in Palestine!”
Palestinian leaders have accused Kerry of pro-Israel bias during the U.S.-brokered Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations. Specifically, they have dismissed a plan for Israel to retain limited control over the Jordan Valley, which Israel considers vital to its security.
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Hezbollah upgrading its missile arsenal from Syria
(JNS.org) The Lebanese-based and Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah has been secretly upgrading its missile arsenal piece by piece, taking advantage of the coverage provided by the Syrian civil war for its next confrontation with Israel.
Over the past year, Hezbollah’s efforts have largely been hindered by at least five Israeli airstrikes on its smuggling routes. In turn, Hezbollah has now attempted to smuggle the missiles in a piecemeal fashion, overseen by Iran’s al-Quds force, to avoid Israeli detection, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Israeli and U.S. officials say that Israel’s past strikes on Hezbollah’s smuggling efforts have kept shipments of SA-17 anti-aircraft and Fateh-110 rockets out of Lebanon. But U.S. officials believe as many as 12 advanced Russian-made anti-ship guided missile systems may now be in Hezbollah’s possession inside of Syria.
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Up to 7,000 foreign jihadists reportedly fighting in Syrian civil war
(JNS.org) There are between 6,000 and 7,000 foreign jihadists fighting in the Syrian civil war, according to a report released Thursday by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center in Tel Aviv.
The report said that the two main jihadist factions in Syria are the al-Nusra Front (Jabhat al-Nusra), which is a branch of al-Qaeda in Syria under the command of Ayman al-Zawahiri, and its main competitor, the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria. These groups have a combined membership of about 9,000, with an estimated 6,000-7,000 foreign fighters.
Roughly 4,500 of the foreign jihadists come from the Arab world, while another 1,000 or so are from Western Europe and about 500 from Asia. There are also a small number of Israeli Arabs fighting in Syria, between 15 and 20, the report says.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org