Israel reportedly seeking to acquire stealth version of F-15 jet
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Within the framework of talks over a “compensation package” of military aid the U.S. is set to offer Israel in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal, Israel has reportedly asked to receive the stealth version of the F-15 fighter plane, the F-15SE Silent Eagle.
This request by Israel was reported by a number of media outlets, including Flightglobal.com. Israeli officials declined to confirm the reports. The F-15SE was meant to be Boeing’s answer to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth fighter plane, but Boeing has not yet found a buyer for it.
Israel has already ordered 33 F-35s and is set to receive its first two by the end of 2016. The backbone of the current Israeli Air Force fleet consists of non-stealth F-15s and F-16s.
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Israeli deputy FM blasts upcoming EU move on Judea-Samaria product labels
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) on Tuesday lambasted the European Union’s impending move to require member states to label Israeli products manufactured in Judea and Samaria.
Hotovely was speaking to reporters at the Barkan industrial zone in Samaria, where thousands of Palestinians are employed.
“Anyone who wants to see a tranquil Middle East needs to encourage a common economy, which is why in my view this place is a symbol of our ability to live together side by side,” Hotovely said.
Aiming her comments at the EU, Hotovely stressed, “There is no danger here to the Israeli economy, which is growing stronger. If anything, what you are hurting is the livelihoods of over 10,000 Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, German Ambassador to Israel Dr. Clemens von Goetze on Tuesday expressed his objection to the EU initiative, which is slated to be introduced Nov. 11.
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Proposed 2016 Israeli defense budget insufficient, MKs say
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Knesset’s Joint Committee on the Defense Budget narrowly voted against the proposed 2016 Israeli defense budget Tuesday, saying it was insufficient. The joint committee, comprising members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and Finance Committee, rejected the budget outline by a vote of 16-15.
The panel ruled that the proposed $14.5 billion budget would fail to meet the defense establishment’s needs. Most committee members agreed that defense spending should be increased by at least $1.5 billion.
Ahead of the vote, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, and Defense Ministry Director General Dan Harel urge the committee to reject the budget proposal.
“The proposed budget, as outlined here, will not allow the defense establishment and the IDF to pursue acquisitions and meet the country’s defense needs,” Ya’alon said. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made it clear that the defense budget proposal was not final, and that defense spending should increase.”
“The threats Israel faces have not diminished, they have only changed,” he added. “Whether it’s the current wave of terrorism or other regional developments, the situation requires we revise intelligence and other readiness abilities.”
MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) said, “The proposed budget is insufficient given the challenges the IDF faces. It would have been irresponsible to approve it.”
MK Moti Yogev (Habayit Hayehudi) said, “The current threats require more intelligence [gathering] and increased readiness. Unless we ensure the IDF is fully able to defend our existence, the harm that could befall the homefront could exponentially outweigh any addition to the [defense] budget.”
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Sudanese man attacks Israeli man on Ethiopian flight
(JNS.org) A Sudanese man was arrested by Ethiopian authorities for attacking an Israeli man on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from N’Djamena to Addis Ababa last week, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.
A 54-year-old Israeli man, identified as Arik and an employee for an Israeli communications company that operates in Africa, was on the flight with the intent to get on another flight to Israel after landing in Addis Ababa.
“About 20 minutes before the plane started its descent the passenger sitting behind me identified me as Israeli and Jewish,” Arik told the newspaper.
“He came up behind my seat and started to choke me with a lot of force,” he continued, “and at first I couldn’t get my voice out and call for help. He hit me over the head with a metal tray and shouted ‘Allah akbar’ and ‘I will slaughter the Jew.’ Only after a few seconds, just before I was about to lose consciousness, did I manage to call out and a flight attendant who saw what was happening summoned her colleagues.”
Most of the other passengers chose not to get involved, with the exception of one Lebanese passenger who assisted the crew in stopping the attack, Arik said.
“After they pulled him off me he hit me and shouted in Arabic. Some of the flight staff took me to the rear section of the plane and two guarded the attacker during the last part of the flight. After we landed the Lebanese guy told me that I’d been saved twice, because after they’d overpowered my attacker he said to everyone: ‘Let’s finish him off.’ During the moments when I thought I was going to die, I’d already begun to separate from my family in my thoughts,” Arik said.
A statement released by Ethiopian Airlines about the incident said that “the attacker, who has been identified as Ahmed Mohamed, showed no signs of violence as he was boarding the flight. He attacked not only the Israeli but also other passengers and members of the flight crew. He is still in detention and is due to appear in court on Wednesday. The Israeli passenger was taken to a medical clinic in the airport and released shortly after. He was able to continue on to Tel Aviv as planned. We are sorry for the incident and will do everything we can in order to prevent further such attacks on our Israeli customers.”
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U.K. Labour leader Corbyn denounces ‘Jewish money’ claim of Jewish MP
(JNS.org) The leader of the U.K. Labour Party and the British parliament’s opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, condemned MP Sir Gerald Kaufman for comments he made on “Jewish Money” taking over the governing Conservative Party. The comments are particularly noteworthy to anti-Israel stances Corbyn himself has taken in the past.
Kaufman, who is Jewish himself, told an audience at a recent event sponsored by the Hamas-linked Palestine Return Council that Israel is “executing” innocent Palestinians, and that the Conservative Party is becoming “more and more pro-Israel” because “Jewish money, Jewish donations, to the conservative party as in the general election in May, support from the Jewish Chronicle, all of those things, bias the conservatives.”
“Last week’s reported comments by Sir Gerald Kaufman about the Jewish community, the Conservative party and Israel are completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable. Such remarks are damaging to community relations, and also do nothing to benefit the Palestinian cause,” Corbyn said in a statement.
“I have always implacably opposed all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and will continue to do so,” he said.
The chief executive of the U.K.’s Jewish Leadership Council, Simon Johnson, said in a statement that “the fact that Mr. Corbyn has distanced himself from Sir Gerald’s despicable comments is in itself a welcome intervention. We await a response from the Chief Whip as to whether any further disciplinary action will be taken and, of course, if Sir Gerald will apologize.”
Corbyn, elected in September, is no stranger himself to controversy with regard to Jews and Israel. The 66-year-old is known for his denunciations of the Israel Defense Forces as well as his reference to the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah as “friends.”
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Joseph’s Tomb restored following damage in Palestinian riots
(JNS.org) The Jewish holy site of Joseph’s Tomb was restored overnight on Tuesday following Palestinian riots last month that damaged the site.
Overnight, around 50 workrs came to the site under escort by the Israel Defense Forces to make the necessary repairs. The Shomron Regional Council paid approximately NIS 100,000 ($25,830) for repairs to the tomb.
Last month, Joseph’s Tomb, which is located near Nablus in the West Bank, was set ablaze by more than 100 Palestinian rioters as part of a “Day of Rage” across the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. They threw a firebomb inside the premises, which set part of the site on fire. Rioters also threw rocks at Israeli troops. Multiple fires caused by the rioting were eventually put out by Palestinian security forces who control the site.
“The sovereign over Joseph’s Tomb is the Jewish people, and so the Jewish people have restored this place of rest of one of its ancestors,” said Davidi Ben Tzion, deputy chairman of the Shomron Regional Council.
According to the Book of Joshua, Joseph was buried outside of the city of Shechem, which is modern-day Nablus. As part of the 1993 Oslo Accords, Jewish prayer is limited at the site to only once a month during the middle of the night, when the IDF secures access to the tomb. But Jewish worshippers often sneak into the site to pray.
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Archaeology find in Jerusalem’s City of David may solve centuries-old mystery
(JNS.org) Archaeologists believe they have uncovered the location of the Acra fortress from the Maccabean Revolt against the Greeks in Jerusalem’s City of David.
The fortress was discovered as part of archaeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in the Giavti parking lot at the City of David, which is part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park.
The Acra fortress was built by Selucid Greek Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes following his sack of Jerusalem in 168 BCE. The fortress went on to a play a significant role in the Maccabean Revolt against the Selucids and was later destroyed by Simon Maccabeus in 141 BCE. The location of the fortress, which was described in the Book of Maccabees as well as by Roman-Jewish historian Josephus Flavius, has eluded archaeologists for over a century.
“This sensational discovery allows us for the first time to reconstruct the layout of the settlement in the city, on the eve of the Maccabean uprising in 167 BCE,” Dr. Doron Ben-Ami, Yana Tchekhanovets and Salome Cohen, excavation directors on behalf of the IAA, said in a statement.
According to the archaeologists, the new finds “indicate the establishment of a well-fortified stronghold that was constructed on the high bedrock cliff overlooking the steep slopes of the City of David hill.”
“This stronghold controlled all means of approach to the Temple atop the Temple Mount, and cut the Temple off from the southern parts of the city,” they said.
The archaeologists noted that the Selucid-era coins and the wine jars imported from the Aegean Sea region found at the site also indicated the non-Jewish identity of the inhabitants. Additionally, sling stones, arrowheads, and ballistae stones were found as evidence of Maccabean attempts to conquer the stronghold.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.