Israel seeking recognition of Yom Kippur as U.N. holiday
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel has launched a campaign to have Yom Kippur recognized as an official holiday on the United Nations calendar.
The U.N. officially recognizes 10 holidays, including Christmas and Eid al-Fitr. Absent from the official holidays is a Jewish one. A holiday at the U.N. entails a day without meetings, committee hearings, or official events. Several members of Israel’s delegation to the U.N. have said being compelled to show up to work on Yom Kippur is troublesome.
The U.N. General Assembly convenes annually in September. On years in which such meetings have conflicted with Yom Kippur, special requests are submitted to postpone the assembly to allow the Israeli prime minister to participate.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor has distributed a letter among U.N. ambassadors as a first step in a comprehensive campaign to highlight Israel’s request, paving the way to bring it for a General Assembly vote. There are three monotheistic religions, but just two of them appear on the U.N. calendar, Prosor said, adding that such discrimination must come to an end.
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Poll: 2/3 of Americans side with Israel on peace talks collapse, Palestinian unity
(JNS.org) A new national poll reveals that two-thirds of Americans side with the Israeli perspective over the Palestinian perspective in assessing blame for the recent collapse of the U.S.-brokered peace talks.
In a poll of 1,595 likely voters that was commissioned by The Israel Project, when presented with a statement that each side in the peace talks blamed the other for the negotiations’ failure, 67 percent of respondents said they agreed more with Israel’s point of view and 33 percent sided with the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Regarding the recent unity deal between PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party and the terrorist group Hamas, 66 percent agreed more with Israel’s statement that it “cannot be expected to negotiate with a government or party that does not recognize its right to exist and seeks to destroy it” than a Palestinian statement that “a unity government of all Palestinians is the first step to lasting peace.”
“Two out of every three Americans understands that recent peace talks collapsed because of Palestinian intransigence, and the same overwhelming majority understand that Israel can’t be expected to sit across the table from a government comprised of terrorists, who call for the annihilation of Jews and their country,” said Josh Block, president and CEO of The Israel Project.
Additionally, 51 percent of respondents said the U.S. should be a supporter or strong supporter of Israel, while only nine percent said America should be a supporter or strong supporter of the Palestinians.
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IDF raises alert levels for ‘Nakba’ commemorations
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces heightened levels of preparedness ahead of Palestinians’ annual “Nakba Day” (“Day of the Catastrophe”) commemorations, which take place throughout the West Bank on Thursday, Israel Hayom reported.
The IDF deployed reinforcements in the West Bank and decided to keep soldiers on their bases over the coming weekend, which could be a volatile one due to its proximity to
“Nakba Day”—marked annually by Palestinians on May 15, the day after the Gregorian calendar date of Israel’s Independence Day.
While Israeli defense officials said serious unrest and incidents of extreme violence were not expected, the IDF’s Central Command did not take any chances, boosting readiness and refreshing riot control procedures for soldiers.
The IDF said the greatest threat for unrest was at the normal sensitive spots, including Hebron, Qalandia, Beitunia, Kafr Qaddum, and the entrance to Nablus.
Meanwhile, Deputy Interior Minister Faina Kirschenbaum requested Wednesday that Finance and Education ministry officials withhold funding from Israeli academic institutions that have supported or are continuing to support “Nakba Day” commemorations.
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Israel offers to help Turkey in wake of coal mine explosion
(JNS.org) The Israeli government on Wednesday offered to help Turkey cope with the coal mine disaster that killed more than 230 people. More than 100 miners continue to be trapped inside the mine as ongoing rescue efforts attempt to get them out.
“At times of tragedy we must all do what we can to help one another and we have offered Turkey whatever assistance you require at this time,” Israeli President Shimon Peres wrote in a letter to Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
The coal mine explosion may be the worst in Turkey’s history. More than 780 people were inside the coal mine in Soma (about 155 miles south of Istanbul) when it exploded Tuesday, reported USA Today. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Recep Erdogan announced that the number of deaths had reached 238 on Wednesday, and that about 120 miners are still missing.
The Israeli Embassy in Ankara also canceled its belated Israel Independence Day ceremony, which had been scheduled for Wednesday, due to the disaster.
“The State and people of Israel share the grief of the Turkish people, pay condolences to the families of the deceased, wish speedy recovery for the wounded and hope for positive news from the ones still in the mine,” the Israeli embassy said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a Magen David Adom spokesman told the Jerusalem Post that the Israeli emergency services organization has also offered to help to Turkey.
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‘Homeland’ creator wants more U.S. TV shows to film in Israel
(JNS.org) Writer and director Gideon Raff, the Israeli co-creator of the U.S. spy television series “Homeland,” says that the Jewish state should become a major filming location for American shows about the Middle East.
Raff is also leading production of the Fox drama “Tyrant” and theNBCUniversal archeological mystery “The Dig.” Both shows are being filmed in Israel simultaneously, which is a first for the country. “Homeland” was based on Raff’s Israeli television drama “Hatufim.”
“To concoct the Middle East in Los Angeles you have to spend a lot of money. You need to get the cars, the attire and the faces right,” Raff told Reuters. “The Middle East is not just a desert, and Americans are increasingly sophisticated and expect a show set outside the United States to have been shot outside of the United States.”
“The Dig” centers on an FBI attaché to Israel dealing with a murder mystery. Raff said the show’s selection of shooting locations, especially in Jerusalem, was meant to be apolitical.
“We are not doing anything to be provocative,” he said, adding, “This is not a show about the [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict.”
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JDC to honor Christian-Jewish aid group’s leader for humanitarian service
(JNS.org) One humanitarian group will honor the leader of another on May 20, when the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) presents Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) with the Raoul Wallenberg Award for his “profound contribution to the Jewish people as founder and president of ICFJ.”
Founded in 1983, IFCJ promotes understanding between Jews and Christians. The group has raised more than a billion dollars—mostly from Christian donors—for Jewish immigration, social programs in Israel, and struggling Jewish communities around the world.
More recently, the group has raised tens of millions to help the Jewish community of Ukraine.
“Rabbi Eckstein and IFCJ have done so much to help so many of the world’s most vulnerable Jews and we are proud of all that we have done together to reach so many in need,” said JDC CEO Alan Gill.
The prize is named after Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, who saved tens of thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Past recipients of the award have included Donn Weinberg, Edgar Bronfman, and Elie Wiesel.
JDC, meanwhile, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
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Israel won’t hand over sovereignty of select Christian sites during Pope Francis visit
(JNS.org) Israel will not hand over sovereignty of select Christian sites, including the “Last Supper room,” during Pope Francis’s upcoming trip to the Jewish state.
“The State of Israel has no intention of signing with the Vatican, during the pope’s coming visit, an agreement to transfer the responsibility of sites like these or others, or other gestures,” Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Tuesday.
One of the areas of contention has been the status of the Cenacle—the traditional site of the Jesus’s Last Supper on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. But the building containing the Cenacle is also revered by Jews as the tomb of King David. Hundreds of religious Jews recently held a protest against the rumored transfer.
Last year, Israel and the Vatican signed an agreement that would allow the Vatican a special modicum of control over the site, including an official seat in the room.
Lior Haiat, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official who is handling public diplomacy activity for the papal visit, said the rumors surrounding the impeding transfer of sovereignty over the Last Supper room are “untrue.” Nevertheless, Israel has been in discussion with the Vatican over the status of Christian holy sites.
“We are having a very long negotiation process with the Vatican, not only on this issue, but on a lot of issues regarding the Vatican’s presence in Israel and the holy places,” Haiat told JNS.org.
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Israeli Arab arrested for joining Syrian jihadist group
(JNS.org) Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said it has arrested an Israeli Arab man on suspicion that he fought with a jihadist group in Syria.
The suspect, Ahmed Hiri Shurbaji, 23, was allegedly traveling to Syria in January, along with three other Israeli Arab men, to join the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria.
In Syria, Shurbaji learned military combat training, participated in battles against the Syrian army, and was indoctrinated in jihadist ideology, according to the Shin Bet.
“In his investigation, Shurbaji admitted he went to Syria to join the struggle against the Syrian army,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Shurbaji was arrested April 20 upon attempting to return to Israel. The three other Israeli Arab men have not yet attempted to return.
“The trend of Arab Israelis leaving for Syria entails great danger to the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet said.
According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terror Information Center, there are more than 5,000 foreign Arab fighters in Syria.
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