IDF simulates ‘extreme’ scenarios, including Islamic State attack
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces Southern Command held a surprise drill earlier this week to practice readiness for “extreme” scenarios such as a clash with Islamic State terrorists on the Sinai border.
The IDF noted that Tuesday’s drill was planned in advance and “designed to ensure fitness.” The drill included surprise inspections of the Southern Command by the IDF ombudsman, designed to evaluate the fitness and preparedness of the troops. Each unit was also evaluated on how well it met the challenges of different scenarios on the Sinai and Gaza Strip fronts, including rocket fire, a terrorist incursion into an Israeli community, short- and long-range fire on IDF forces, and the abduction of a soldier.
A battalion of paratroopers was scrambled from northern Israel and flown to the south in a C-130 aircraft. The Shayetet 13 naval commandos held their own exercise.
Discussing the drill, one senior officer told Israel Hayom, “The emphasis was on ongoing security, bringing incidents to a quick close, and launching forces against terrorists.”
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IDF demolishes home of Henkin couple’s terrorist murderer
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli troops on Wednesday night demolished the Nablus home of the head of the Palestinian terrorist cell behind the Oct. 1 shooting attack that killed Eitam and Naama Henkin.
The demolition of Rajab Ahmed Mohammed Aliwa’s home in the Dahiya neighborhood of Nablus was carried out in accordance with orders issued by the political echelon, the Israel Defense Forces said.
Aliwa orchestrated the brutal murder of the Henkin couple, who were shot dead in front of their children while traveling on a road between Elon Moreh and Itamar in Samaria. Aliwa recruited the cell’s members, instructed them to carry out terrorist attacks, and provided them with weapons, the IDF said.
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2 Israelis wounded in Palestinian shooting near Jerusalem
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Two Israelis were wounded Thursday morning in a shooting attack carried out by a Palestinian terrorist on Route 437, near the village of Hizma northeast of Jerusalem.
An Israeli civilian suffered moderate wounds in the attack, while an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded. The civilian was transported to a hospital in Jerusalem for treatment. The terrorist used a pistol in the attack. He apparently opened fire at his victims from a passing vehicle.
Soldiers at the scene returned fire and killed the terrorist.
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New military, national service options offered for Israelis with autism
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) In light of recent data about the rise in autism among the Israeli population, Israel’s government has helped create three new programs to allow young Israelis with autism to integrate into military and national service settings along with their peers.
According to data released by the Israeli Welfare and Social Services Ministry, the number of people recognized as autistic by the government’s autism services department is rising by 20 percent annually. In 2014, some 77.5 percent of Israelis with autism were age 24 or younger.
The new programs will allow high-functioning people with autism to integrate into military or national service in a track that will suit their needs. One of the programs, called “Hiburim” (“Connections”), is organized in partnership with the Israeli Asperger Association and allows young people with autism to join a specialized track in the military that provides guidance throughout their service. Hiburim also provides skill and social training courses prior to enlistment to prepare the young people for the challenges they may face in the army. The program is in its pilot phrase, and six young Israelis have completed it so far.
The second program, “Ro’im Rahok” (“Seeing Far”), offers computer training courses in subjects including deciphering aerial photographs and software quality assurance. After completing the courses, the participants are drafted to the military as a group, serving in the same unit. Ro’im Rahok program is a collaborative effort of the Welfare and Social Services Ministry’s autism services department, Ono Academic College, and the National Insurance Institute. There are 50 participants enrolled in the program.
The third program is for young people with autism interested in completing national service as an alternative to military service. It helps participants integrate into a two-year service track in roles suited to their needs. The program is organized by the Shlomit, Aminadav, and Bat Ami non-profit organizations, which help coordinate national service placements. Last year, 65 people completed the program. This year, the number has gone up to 88.
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German Bundestag leader rejects EU labeling of Israeli products
(JNS.org) The president of the German Bundestag, Norbert Lammert, called the European Union labeling law on products made beyond the pre-1967 lines “unwise,” saying that his country rejects the decision and understands Israel’s anger over it.
“Germany not only didn’t agree to the decision, it rejected it,” Lammert said in a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, on Wednesday.
“We had a very interesting discussion on the product labeling decision that Germany opposed in the first place, but the EU still adopted,” Edelstein said.
Lammert said he understood “Israel’s anger” over the fact that the EU did not label products from other disputed territories like Tibet, Crimea, or the Western Sahara.
“Germany can imagine a better law, if it were to apply to everyone, on principle, to all occupied land,” he added. “Because it’s specifically against Israel, I repeat that it is unnecessary and not very smart.”
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Christian Zionist group holds EU Parliament symposium on labeling laws
(JNS.org) The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) held a symposium at the European Union Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday to address the recent EU decision to label Israeli goods made in Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights, and eastern Jerusalem.
Titled “The Economic Wall of the EU Labeling Move,” the symposium was hosted by MEP Hannu Takkula and MEP Bas Belder and also included renowned international legal expert, Prof. Avi Bell; Greek Orthodox priest and founder of the Israeli Christian Empowerment Council, Father Gabriel Naddaf; and the Chief Rabbi of the Netherlands, Binyomin Jacobs.
Last month, the EU introduced guidelines requiring member states to stop carrying the “Made in Israel” label for products made in Jewish communities situated beyond the 1967 lines.
Prof. Bell told the audience that he believes the labeling law violates international law.
“While the interpretive notice restricts labels on Israeli products, EU law permits Taiwan and the Palestinian Authority to market products in the EU with ‘made in Taiwan’ and ‘made in Palestine’ labels that contradict EU views on sovereignty, according to which neither is an independent state,” Bell said.
Father Naddaf said the labeling move will also hurt Christians, Muslims, and other minorities in Israel.
“As a Christian leader, raised in Nazereth, living among the Arab Muslims, I tell you clearly: this decision affects Muslims, Christians, Druze, and all other minority citizens of Israel, not just the Jews. This labeling of Israeli products is a further betrayal of Christian values in Europe, and it further weakens the Christian spirit in Europe,” Naddaf said.
Naddaf added that the move to label Israeli goods is “a racist, anti-Semitic decision.”
Headquartered in Jerusalem, ICEJ represents millions of Christian supporters of Israel and reaches some 140 countries with branches in more than 80 nations.
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First U.S. soldier to be named Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem
(JNS.org) Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum on Tuesday announced the first-ever “Righteous Among the Nations” honor for a U.S. soldier.
The late Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds rescued Jewish servicemen at the Stalag IXA POW Camp in Germany while he served in the 422nd Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Armed Forces in World War II.
“Master Sergeant Roddie Edmonds seemed like an ordinary American soldier, but he had an extraordinary sense of responsibility and dedication to his fellow human beings,” said Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev.
“These attributes form the common thread that binds members of this select group of Righteous Among the Nations. The choices and actions of Master Sergeant Edmonds set an example for his fellow American soldiers as they stood united against the barbaric evil of the Nazis,” he added.
Edmonds served as a non-commissioned officer in Europe during the war, was taken prisoner by the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge, and was later interned at Stalag IXA.
His son, Chris Edmonds, is participating in a seminar in Israel sponsored by the International School for Holocaust Studies for Christian leaders.
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IDF will allow HIV-positive recruits to serve in military
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces will revoke a long-standing policy and allow HIV-positive Israelis to enlist in non-combat roles in the army, the IDF announced on Wednesday.
People with HIV have been previously exempt from serving in Israel’s required military service in order to void infection via blood contact.
“Medical advancement in the past few years has made it possible for them to serve in the army without risking themselves or their surroundings,” Colonel Moshe Pinkert, head of the IDF’s medical services department, wrote in a statement.
The Israel Aids Task Force praised the policy change.
“This process is a significant step towards shattering stereotypes about people with HIV,” said Yuval Livnat, CEO of the organization. “I’m happy that the IDF understands that HIV-positive people can contribute in their military service just like anyone else.”
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Israelite king’s seal impression found for first time near Temple Mount
(JNS.org) Archaeologists in Jerusalem for the first time ever unearthed a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king.
The royal seal of King Hezekiah from the First Temple period was discovered at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount at the Ophel excavation site, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced Wednesday.
Although seal impressions bearing King Hezekiah’s name have already been known from the antiquities market since the middle of the 1990s, this marks “the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation,” said Dr. Eilat Mazar, who directed the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Archaeology team on this project.
The oval-shaped seal measures 9.7 by 8.6 mm and was imprinted on a 3-mm-thick soft bulla (inscribed clay) dating back to 727-698 BCE.
The inscription is in ancient Hebrew stating, “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah,” with a two-winged sun with wings turned downward, flanked by two ankh symbols, which symbolize life.
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Belgian foreign minister postpones trip to Israel over EU product labeling
(JNS.org) Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders postponed his trip to Israel this week because Belgium had a central role in pushing the European Union to adopt the new labeling guidelines for Israeli products made in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, Israel’s Channel 10 reported on Tuesday.
“Following the decision by the Prime Minister of Israel Mr. Netanyahu to suspend contacts with the European Union on the Middle East peace process, and considering the impact of this decision on the program of the visit of Didier Reynders, the latter confirmed this Tuesday morning to the Ambassador of Israel in Belgium his decision to postpone his visit to a later date,” the Belgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
“Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Netanyahu didn’t cancel the meeting because it wasn’t set due to scheduling problems,” Netanyahu’s office said.
According to Channel 10, officials in Jerusalem believe the meeting was canceled in response to Reynders’s support to remove the “Made in Israel” label for settlement products, as he was one of the 16 foreign ministers who sent a official letter in April requesting the EU’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, to pass the guidelines.
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