Jonathan Pollard returns to prison after surgery
(JNS.org) Imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard returned to his jail cell in North Carolina on Sunday after undergoing emergency surgery on his kidneys, intestines and, gallbladder last week.
Pollard’s wife, Esther, said after a phone conversation with her husband that he is “very weak” and “totally drained and worn out,” according to Israel Hayom.
“Even though he tried not to let it show, I could hear the pain in his voice. He is still far from his usual articulate self, and far from well,” Esther said.
Pollard, arrested in 1985 on charges of spying for Israel, is the only person in U.S. history to receive a life prison sentence for spying for an American ally.
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Congress expected to approve additional $160 million for Iron Dome
(JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was informed last week during his visit to Washington, DC, that the U.S. Congress is expected to approve an additional $160 million of funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system, Israel Hayom reported.
Currently, there are seven Iron Dome batteries in operation, and the Israel defense establishment’s goal is to have 14 batteries in operation by the end of 2015. The increase would provide Israel’s skies with full coverage against rocket threats.
Last week, Netanyahu met with U.S. President Barack Obama, senior members of Congress, and leaders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, thanking all of them for the anticipated additional funding.
In 2010, Congress approved a special budget of $205 million for the Iron Dome.
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IDF chief Benny Gantz visits U.S.
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz arrived in the U.S. on Sunday for an official visit.
Gantz was scheduled to hold a series of meetings with U.S. defense officials during his visit, and to take part in the Friends of the IDF annual gala dinner on Tuesday in New York.
Israeli Defense Attache to the United States and Canada Maj. Gen. Yaakov Ayish are accompanying Gantz throughout his visit.
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Arab League head urges ‘firm stand’ against recognizing Israel as Jewish state
(JNS.org) Nabil Elaraby, the head of the Arab League, has called on Arab countries to take a “firm stand” against recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.
Elaraby made his remarks Sunday as part of an Arab Foreign Ministers conference in Cairo, the Associated Press reported.
On Friday, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas made similar comments, saying there is “no way” he would recognize Israel as a Jewish state. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, meanwhile, told the PA-based Al-Quds newspaper on Saturday, “The American position is clear, Israel is a Jewish state. However, we do not see a need that both sides recognize this position as part of the final [U.S.-brokered peace] agreement.”
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2013 sees record number of births in Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) 2013 saw a record number of births in Israel, data published over the weekend by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics showed.
The total number of births rose 0.2 percent to 171,207, compared to 170,904 in 2012. Jewish births increased 1.3 percent to 127,101, compared to 125,409 born in 2012. Some 5,000 babies were born to parents who immigrated to Israel under the Law of Return.
The year 2013 saw the number of births among Israeli Arabs drop from 40,433 in 2012 to 39,028—a decline of 3.5 percent. The Muslim Arab sector in particular saw a sharper drop-off of 5.5 percent, with 34,766 births compared to 36,766 in 2012. Arab Christian women gave birth to 2,602 babies, and Druze women had 2,350.
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Bulgarian authorities recover DNA from terrorist who bombed Israel tour bus
(JNS.org) Bulgarian authorities have recovered DNA evidence of one of the terrorists behind the summer 2012 Burgas bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists and their Bulgarian bus driver.
The DNA belonged to a Lebanese-Canadian man named Hassan El Hajj Hassan, who was in charge of logistics for the terror attack, including the remote detonation of the suicide bomb, Sofia News Agency reported.
Hassan’s DNA was found on two baseball caps and a towel he left behind at a nearby hotel room at the resort city of Nesebar, where he was staying prior to the attack.
Bulgarian authorities believe Hezbollah was behind the attack.
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Saudi Arabia declares Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization
(JNS.org) Saudi Arabia has declared Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, the Saudi Interior Ministry declared, Al-Arabiya reported.
The move comes amid a growing dispute in the Gulf as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain recently recalled their ambassadors to Qatar over their support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its influential cleric, Yusuf Qaradawi.
Aside from geopolitical challenges, the Saudi ruling family also considers the Muslim Brotherhood to be a direct competitor to Wahhabism, the ultraconservative Sunni Muslim ideology that is dominant in Saudi Arabia and is espoused by the country’s royal family.
The military-backed Egyptian government declared the Muslim Brotherhood to be a terror group in December. Additionally, the Saudis declared the Syrian jihadist group al-Nusra Front to be a terrorist organization.
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Wounded Ukrainian protesters brought to Israel for treatment
(JNS.org) Nine Ukrainian Jews who were severely wounded during violent protests in Kiev were brought to Israel to receive medical treatment.
The wounded individuals, who all suffered gunshot wounds, arrived in Israel on Friday, March 7, and will be treated at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot and Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. They were previously treated at an emergency center at a synagogue in central Kiev prior to their transport, said Alexander Levin, president of the World Forum of Russian-Speaking Jewry, according to Israel Radio.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org
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