Report: British primary schools removing Hebrew as officially recognized language
(JNS.org) Hebrew will be removed as an officially recognized foreign language in the British primary school system, potentially preventing even some Jewish schools from teaching the language, the Jewish Chronicle (JC) reported.
For many Jewish primary schools in the UK who offer Hebrew as their only foreign language, the language’s removal from the government-recognized list could eliminate it from being taught altogether because those schools will be required to offer one of seven other languages, according to the JC. That is the case because British Education Minister Elizabeth Truss last month announced plans for a new primary school requirement to teach an officially recognized foreign language.
The plans to scrap Hebrew would be “extremely detrimental to our community’s identity,” Laura Marks—senior vice president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews—told the JC, urging the British government “to reject the idea of stipulating just a narrow range of languages.”
Hungarian politician burns Israeli flag, attends anti-Semitic protest
(JNS.org) Less than a month after a Hungarian lawmaker from the far-right Jobbik party called for Jews to be registered on lists as threats to national security, another member of the Hungarian government attended an anti-Israel demonstration outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and burned an Israeli flag.
Unaffiliated politician Lenhardt Balazs was previously a member of Jobbik, which condemns a relationship between Hungary and Israel and holds 47 seats in the Hungarian Parliament. Balazs left the party because he thought it had become less radical.
At the demonstration, about 100 protesters gathered to protest Israeli “atrocities” against Palestinians, and reports indicate that they also used anti-Semitic slogans such as “filthy Jews,” and “to Auschwitz with all of you!” Balazs was arrested and questioned for the flag burning incident last weekend, and then was released. Afterward, he posted pictures of himself burning the Israeli flag on Facebook, writing that “It is important to destroy the symbols of the enemy,” according to the Jewish Press.
Turkey investigates local Jewish citizens for role in Gaza flotilla incident
(JNS.org) The National Intelligence Organization (MİT) of Turkey is investigating five Turkish-Jewish citizens who they claim collaborated with Israel in the 2010 boarding of the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara flotilla by the Israel Defense Forces, Turkish media outlets reported.
Turkey accused the Jews of helping Israeli troops board the vessel and assisting in the interrogation of flotilla activists when the ship reached Israel.
Israeli naval troops boarded the Mavi Marmara in May 2010 after the ship violated the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, killing nine Turks in response to violent attacks by the activists on board.
A United Nations report on the flotilla had concluded that Israel’s blockade of Gaza is legal. Yet, Turkey continues to pursue action against Israel for the incident, in November beginning a trial of four high-ranking IDF officers (including former Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi) in absentiafor their involvement.
Turkey launched the latest investigation after some of the flotilla activists said they had heard some IDF soldiers speaking Turkish on board. Attorneys with the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) told the Turkish daily newspaper Zaman that their organization has photos and videos proving that some Turkish citizens were brought on board the flotilla by the IDF to act as interpreters.
Hüseyin Ersöz, the Deputy Chairman of the IHH, told a Turkish television station on Saturday that after the names of the accused will be released to the public, “everyone will know who the Turkish Jews are that served in the Israeli army and killed Turkish civilians on the Mavi Marmara,” Israel newspaper Maariv reported. Rafael Sadi, spokesperson for the Association of Turkish Immigrants in Israel, also told Maariv that Turkey is “trying to intimidate the Jews” and Israel.
Knesset speaker: Construction in Jerusalem ‘not negotiable’
(JNS.org) A day after Israel approved the construction of 1,500 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo, an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in the northern part of Jerusalem beyond the Green Line, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud) issued a message to his colleagues around the world insisting that Israel’s decision to build in Jerusalem was “not negotiable,” Israel Hayom reported.
“Israel refuses to accept the fact that mere weeks after rockets were fired from Gaza into Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, there are still those who see Israel’s decision to hold on to strategic territory surrounding Jerusalem, and to build within its capital, as the biggest obstacle standing in the way of peace,” Rivlin wrote in a New Year’s message he sent to the heads of parliaments across Europe and around the world on Tuesday.
Rivlin added that “there is a sense that nations in Europe are more interested in establishing a Palestinian state than in ensuring the safety and existence of the Jewish state.”
“The Europeans are wrong to assume that Israel’s existence is guaranteed and a given,” he wrote.
Palestinians prefer Hamas leader Haniyeh to Abbas, poll shows
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) If Palestinians were to vote for their president today, they would elect Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh over Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a recent poll shows.
The survey of 1,270 people, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, found that 48 percent of respondents would have voted for Haniyeh while 45 percent backed Abbas. The results differ from similar polls taken last month, before Operation Pillar of Defense, in which 51 percent backed Abbas and 40 percent voted for Haniyeh.
It appears that the Palestine Liberation Organization has candidates more popular than its current chairman Mahmoud Abbas. When respondents were asked to choose between Haniyeh and senior PLO member Marwan Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences in Israeli prison for taking part in multiple deadly terrorist attacks during the Second Intifada, 51 percent of those polled chose Barghouti, and 42 percent Haniyeh.
Survey editors explained the rise of support for Hamas’ prime minister as a result of the perception that Hamas defeated Israel in Operation Pillar of Defense. Hamas fired rockets at central Israel for the first time during the operation, and while most were intercepted by the IDF’s Iron Dome system, the unprecedented attacks netted Hamas a propaganda victory.
Syria to pay $338 million for kidnapping following Israeli law center’s efforts
(JNS.org) While rebels and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad continue to wage war overseas, the Syrian government lost a different kind of battle on American soil Monday—to an Israeli attorney.
Syria will pay $338 million to two American families for its funding of a 1991 kidnapping of American biblical archeologists during an excavation in Turkey for the remains of Noah’s Ark, the Israeli law center that helped win the judgment announced in a press release.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Tel Aviv-based Shurat HaDin Law Center, represented the families along with New York attorney Robert Tolchin. Syria was found vicariously liable for the kidnapping, which was perpetrated by the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) terrorist organization.
The ruling by Royce Lamberth, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, “points to an underlying fact” that “the free world will no longer stand idle while international crimes are committed and it will fight against those rogue regimes which support these heinous acts,” Darshan-Leitner said in a statement.
“Above all, the court found that this kidnapping was brutal and heinous, and involved threats of execution, torture, as well as marches through mountains and dense forests,” she said. “It is therefore fitting that compensation should be in the millions not in the tens of thousands. These days Syria continues to commit crimes against those who oppose the regime, and Syria will pay.”
Jewish groups remember deceased Hawaii senator for pro-Israel legacy
(JNS.org) Jewish groups on Monday mourned the passing of nine-term U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI) at age 88, reflecting on what they called his legacy as one of the most pro-Israel legislators in Washington.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) recalled that Inouye’s appreciation for Israel began when he sold Israel Bonds in Hawaii in 1951, and his co-sponsorship of resolutions condemning Hezbollah and Hamas, supporting Israel’s right of self-defense, and urging President Barack Obama to oppose the Palestinians’ unilateral declaration of statehood at the United Nations.
“For 50 years, Senator Inouye was one of the United States Senate’s most energetic advocates for Israel’s quest for peace and security, and the mutually beneficial U.S.-Israel relationship,” AJC Executive Director David Harris said in a statement.
Inouye, as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, “worked tirelessly and effectively to ensure that America’s ally, Israel, had the necessary resources to defend her people,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) said in a statement.
The National Jewish Democratic Council also praised Inouye’s contributions on the Senate Appropriations Committee, saying that the senator’s efforts “resulted in significant increases in aid for Israel.” In a statement, NJDC called Inouye “one of the strongest pro-Israel voices on Capitol Hill.”
Tel Aviv remains most expensive city in the Middle East
(JNS.org) Is Tel Aviv becoming more affordable? Israel’s commercial and cultural capital dropped 13 spots in ECA International’s annual Cost of Living survey, yet it still holds the title of most expensive city in the Middle East.
ECA’s annual listing compared 425 cities worldwide, and ranked them according to the costs of three categories: food (groceries, dairy products, produce, meat and fish), basic goods (alcohol and tobacco, miscellaneous goods, services) and general costs (clothing, electrical goods, motoring, restaurant meals).
Tokyo kept the top spot as the world’s most expensive city, with items like movie tickets costing an average of $22.93 and a can of soda costing $1.85.
Tel Aviv went down from 32nd in 2011 to 45th place this year, though it remained much more expensive than other large cities in the Middle East. Dubai for example was ranked 173rd, while the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah was named the most inexpensive in the Middle East, in 224th place.
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