Israeli Navy foils attempt to smuggle explosives into Gaza
(JNS.org) The Israeli Navy thwarted an attempt to smuggle explosives into Gaza from Egypt, Israel Hayom reported.
Israeli Navy vessels spotted Palestinian boats heading toward Egypt from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said. When the vessels headed back to Gaza, the Navy opened fire, setting off secondary explosions, which showed that the boats were carrying explosives and ammunition.
The Palestinian news agency Maan reported that no one was killed in the blasts and that the wounded Palestinians were evacuated to a hospital in Rafah. The weapons smuggling attempt comes after the IDF’s discovery last week of a terror tunnel leading toward Israel from Gaza. It was the fourth and largest such tunnel Israel has found in the past year and a half.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday night, IDF troops along the southern part of the Gaza border fence uncovered two explosive devices that had been planted by terrorists for the purpose of targeting an IDF patrol. IDF sappers detonated the devices in a controlled explosion.
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Abbas: Jewish state recognition off the table in Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, one of Israel’s conditions for peace, will not be discussed in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations.
“Recognition of a Jewish state is a condition that we absolutely refuse to discuss,” said Abbas at the Arab League summit in Kuwait, Israel Hayom reported.
Abbas went on to say that a future Palestinian state would be based on 1967 lines with some adjustments, that eastern Jerusalem would be its capital, and that there would be Palestinian control over border crossings and airspace as well as full independence and sovereignty.
“We do not need a new round of agreements that Israel will bury under conditions, reservations, and interpretations,” Abbas added.
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Israel divestment voted down by University of Michigan student government
(JNS.org) An Israel divestment resolution failed early Wednesday morning in a 25-9 vote, with two abstentions, by the University of Michigan’s Central Student Government (CSG).
The resolution, introduced by the pro-Palestinian group Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, cited “the Israeli occupation’s policies and systematic discrimination against Palestinians.”
“Not only is this resolution regarding an issue that is only peripherally related to campus life, the issue is incredibly divisive and greatly contributes to animosity between groups on this campus,” said CSG representative Jacob Ruby, MLive.com reported.
The resolution’s failure comes after university police said two “Arab males” shouted “threats of violence” at a student who refused to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel during a sit-in by pro-Palestinian students at the school’s student union last week. Other pro-Israel students were allegedly called anti-Semitic slurs such as “kikes” and “dirty Jews,” the Washington Free Beacon reported.
Jacob Baime, executive director of the Israel on Campus Coalition, called on University of Michigan officials to protect its students from “violent threats.”
“The hateful anti-Israel BDS movement is reaching new depths of depravity,” Baime told JNS.org on Tuesday. “This isn’t about Israel as much as it is about free speech. Students have the right to express their views without fear of physical harm.”
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Loyola student government again passes Israel divestment, but by smaller margin
(JNS.org) After four-and-a-half hours of debate, the United Student Government Association (USGA) at Chicago’s Loyola University passed an Israel divestment resolution for the second straight week on Tuesday night. But after the divestment measure introduced by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) passed 26-0 last week, Tuesday’s passage came by a much smaller margin, 12-10 with nine abstentions.
“What is especially telling is that there are nine confirmed members of Students for Justice in Palestine on the USGA board,” Brett Cohen, a Loyola University alumnus and National Campus Program Director with StandWithUs, wrote for The Times of Israel. “Essentially, this means that SJP was only able to convince three senators of their bigoted views, while pro-Israel students valiantly swayed 17 senators to change their votes to no or abstentions.”
“What this shows, is that when actual debate happens and light is shown on the BDS movement, sensible people don’t support it,” Cohen added.
Emily Briskman, director of the Israel Education Center of Chicago’s Jewish United Fund, noted that Loyola University is not invested in all eight Israel-based companies listed in the divestment resolution, demonstrating “that the purpose of the resolution was not to promote human rights but simply to drag Israel’s name through the mud.”
According to the Jewish United Fund, Talia Sobol, one of the student presenters who spoke in opposition to the resolution Tuesday, said, “The point of this resolution is not to inspire a balanced, rational, or informative debate on the Israel/Palestine issue. No, the point is to frame this issue using the question, ‘Israel is guilty. How should we punish it?’”
Pro-Israel students will now seek for USGA President Pedro Guerrero to veto the resolution. A Guerrero veto could only be overturned by a two-thirds vote, which Cohen wrote is “not likely to succeed.”
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Israel and Turkey nearing compensation agreement for Gaza flotilla incident
(JNS.org) Turkish media outlets are reporting that Turkey and Israel are getting ready to sign a compensation agreement for the families of the Turkish citizens killed on board the Mavi Marmara Gaza flotilla in 2010. The signing of the agreement would restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the deal is expected to be signed after the country’s local elections next week, and would then go to parliament for approval. Subsequently, ambassadors from both nations would be reassigned to each country, the Hurriyet daily newspaper reported.
Last year, Israel apologized to Turkey for the deaths on the Gaza flotilla and agreed to pay compensation under the right terms. In May 2010, eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish American were killed in clashes after militants attacked Israeli soldiers who had boarded the flotilla.
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Birthright division helps young Jews host creative Passover seders (JNS.org)
Hundreds of young American Jews will host imaginative and creative Passover seders with friends this year as a result of assistance from the NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel program.
The program grants Birthright Israel alumni resources and funds designed to encourage them to create their own take on the traditional holiday’s festive meal. Participants have until April 14 to register for the program, which has sponsored more than 1,000 Passover seders since 2011.
“My colleagues really enjoyed learning about the ties between the story of Jewish slavery and African American slavery in the United States… We used a progressive Haggadah that also discussed modern slavery and quoted Anne Frank and Nelson Mandela,” said Ben W. from Washington, DC, who hosted his 2013 NEXT Seder for co-workers at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
“NEXT Passover seders tap into the creativity and passion of the Birthright Israel Generation—and the desire to engage in Jewish experiences with their peers,” CEO of NEXT Morlie Levin said in a statement.
NEXT’s stated mission is to “empower communities, professionals, and Birthrighters themselves to create meaningful Jewish experiences for young adults.” Additionally, NEXT “routinely shares information about national young adult engagement trends, and trains engagers—the professionals who interact directly with young Jewish adults—to successfully reach young adults in their communities,” a press release said.
The NEXT Shabbat initiative has helped more than 7,600 Birthright alumni host more than 17,800 Shabbat meals. Former NEXT Passover seder host Vanessa R. of Brighton, Mass., said, “I have never found a Haggadah that I was truly satisfied with so I decided to write my own and test-drive it with my friends. I envisioned a seder where my peers felt engaged enough in the story of Passover to have meaningful discussions about it. I also wanted to make the story relevant to modern-day life and relate it to some of the social justice work I do.”
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