Obstacles ‘substantially overcome’ in Turkey-Israel normalization talks
(JNS.org) Obstacles have been “substantially overcome” in negotiations to restore diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said, Reuters reported.
The talks have centered on determining a financial compensation package for the Turkish family members of the victims of the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, which led to the severing of Turkey-Israel relations. After militants attacked Israeli soldiers on board the flotilla, which was trying to break the naval blockade of Gaza, eight Turkish nationals and one Turkish American were killed in clashes. In the current negotiations with Israel, Turkey has continued to push for the lifting of the Gaza blockade, a demand that Israel has so far rejected.
Discussions on the compensation issue “were going on and we can say they reached a certain level, but of course until the discussions reach a final outcome, we do not have a solid remark,” Davutoglu said Thursday.
“Because of this, when we reach a certain point about the compensation and the limitations being applied to Gaza and Palestine, we will share them with the public,” he said. “But as our prime minister and deputy prime minister have mentioned, we can say the problems are being substantially overcome.”
The push to reestablish Turkish-Israeli relations began during a March 2013 visit to Israel by U.S. President Barack Obama. At the time, Obama urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize to Erdogan for the flotilla deaths. Netanyahu made the apology over the phone.
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Israeli Christian priest Nadaf purportedly sacked by church for pro-IDF stance
(JNS.org) The Greek Orthodox church in Israel has purportedly sacked Israeli Christian priest Father Gabriel Nadaf over his outspoken support for Christian integration into Israeli society and his pro-Israel Defense Forces stance.
“We warned him before to keep to his priestly duties and not to interfere in matters of the army,” Greek Orthodox Church spokesman Essa Musleh said, AFP reported.
“When he did not heed our warning we held a meeting of the church court which decided to sack him,” said Musleh.
But Nadaf, who heads the Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum, disputed the announcement, saying that has not received a call or letter from the patriarch’s office informing him of the decision.
“I have not received any call or letter from the patriarch’s office,” Nadaf said.
Nadaf, along with several other Israeli Christian leaders, have been outspoken in their support for enlisting Christians in the Israel Defense Forces.
Recently, Israel announced that it would start sending volunteer notices to Christians of military age. Christian enlistment in the IDF has tripled over the past year, with nearly 100 Christians now serving.
“I welcome this important and historic step, where the IDF correctly determined and demonstrated that the Christian community is part of Israeli society, and chooses to integrate it into society as citizens with equal rights and responsibilities,” Nadaf said shortly after Israel’s announcement last month.
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U.N. Human Rights Council appoints pro-Palestinian diplomat to replace Falk
(JNS.org) The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed pro-Palestinian Indonesian diplomat Makarim Wibisono to a new six-year term as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on “the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967.”
Wibisono, who served as Indonesian ambassador to the U.N., replaces Richard Falk, who was widely criticized for his anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and anti-American views. The decision to appoint Wibisono comes after a lengthy process that saw the emergence of several candidates, including early front-runner Christina Cerna—an international human rights lawyer from Georgetown University who was seen as neutral on the Arab-Israeli conflict but was rejected by the sizable Arab-Muslim voting bloc in the UNHRC.
Wibisono has made several controversial statements on Israel. In a 2006 statement to the UNHRC, he described Israel as showing “ruthless contempt for the lives of the innocent,” and perpetrating “callous attacks against terrorized and defenseless civilians,” according to Fox News.
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Israeli high schoolers win again in global physics competition
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Youngsters from the Ilan Ramon Youth Physics Center in Beersheba, Israel, notched an achievement on a global scale Wednesday by winning yet another prize in the “First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics” annual competition, widely considered the world’s most prestigious science prize for high school students.
Between 2007 and 2014, the Ramon Center has placed Israel as the world leader in prizes for physics research conducted by high schoolers. The center has won 45 total prizes during that period, leaving countries like South Korea, the U.S., and Russia far behind.
The Ramon Center operates in conjunction with physics teachers from across the Jewish state to identify the most gifted southern Israeli students. The students write their research work with the guidance of experts from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
This year, 10 of the best research projects were submitted to the prestigious U.S.-based competition, and on Thursday the students’ research projects were presented to the wider Israeli public for the first time.
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Israel evacuates U.S. tourists stranded due to heavy rain
(JNS.org) As Israel was hit with an unusually high amount of rain Wednesday and Thursday, several school groups and dozens of American tourists were stranded in the Negev desert due to the weather. Israeli rescue services were forced to evacuate about 70 U.S. tourists who were stranded overnight in a parking lot.
The evacuation took place via helicopters and jeeps Thursday morning, said Israeli Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. according to The Associated Press. Nobody was injured in the incident.
Elsewhere around the country, flooding yielded the shutdown of roads and highways, causing problems for drivers and hikers, according to police. The rain was “exceptional with large amounts,” said Amos Porat, director of the Israel Meteorological Service Climate Department.
“The rainfall and thunderstorms we have experienced are a result of a very unstable atmosphere caused by warm air at low levels of the atmosphere accompanied by an upper air trough with cold air… We received a lot a humidity and cloudiness from the tropical areas of Africa,” Porat told The Jerusalem Post.
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More than 200 Christian leaders call for protection of Mideast Christians
(JNS.org) More than 200 Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders, as well as several secular leaders, joined forces to call on the U.S. government to take action to protect Middle East Christians and other minorities under threat from extremism.
“We, as Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant leaders, have come together in this joint pledge to speak up for our fellow Christians and other threatened religious communities in the Middle East,” the statement said.
The grassroots campaign, which is not spearheaded by any particular organization, was launched Wednesday by U.S. Reps. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Anna Eshoo (D-CA).
“We are compelled to take this action by the grave dangers that confront the Churches of Egypt, Iraq and Syria, in particular,” said the statement.
“In a siege that has accelerated over the past decade, Egypt, Iraq and Syria—the three Middle Eastern countries with the largest Christian communities remaining—have seen scores of churches deliberately destroyed, many clergy and laypeople targeted for death, kidnapping, intimidation and forcible conversion, and hundreds of thousands of believers driven from their countries,” it added.
The statement also urges the U.S. government to take action in several specific areas, including appointing a Special Envoy on Middle East Religious Minorities, reviewing foreign aid and other assistance, and providing direct assistance to refugees in the Middle East.
“While the fate of Christians in the Middle East is unquestionably important to Christians, it should be emphasized that the continued presence of Christians, along with other religious communities, is in the national interest of that region’s countries and it is in America’s own national interest,” the statement said.
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Catholic Church in Israel condemns ‘price tag,’ Israeli leaders vow to fight attacks
(JNS.org) The Catholic Church in Israel issued a statement condemning recent “price tag” attacks after a church property in Jerusalem was vandalized.
According to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, “Death to Arabs, Christians and all those who hate Israel” was found spray painted on a wall outside of the Office of the Assembly of Bishops in Jerusalem.
“Price tag” describes the vandalism carried about by Jewish extremists targeting Christian, Muslim, and even Jewish landmarks and symbols.
“Heads of the Churches in the Holy Land are preparing a series of actions aimed at informing local and international public opinion, and to make the authorities and law officials aware of their responsibilities,” the Church said.
Several of Israel’s top leaders have been outspoken in their condemnation of the recent “price tag” attacks and have vowed to crack down on them.
In a town forum meeting last week with Arab, Bedouin, and Druze leaders, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned the price tag attacks, saying they go against Israeli values.
“We will catch those responsible,” Netanyahu said, the Jerusalem Post reported. “This is a central goal for us because [the acts] go against our meaning and our values.”
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also spoke out this week against the attacks, some of which have vandalized Israeli military bases.
The Israel government has an “obligation to fight [price tag attacks] with an iron fist,” Ya’alon said in a speech on Israeli Remembrance Day.
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