40% of Palestinians favor suicide bombings
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Out of all the Muslim respondents in a global survey, Palestinian Muslims polled highest in favor of suicide bombings as a justifiable means “to defend Islam.”
A new Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the globe finds that most adherents of the world’s second-largest religion are deeply committed to their faith and want its teachings to shape not only their personal lives, but also their societies and politics.
In most of the 21 countries where the question was asked, few Muslims endorse suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets as a means of defending Islam against its enemies. But four out of 10 Palestinian Muslims see suicide bombing as often or sometimes justified, while roughly half (49 percent) take the opposite view.
In Egypt, 29 percent consider suicide bombing justified at least sometimes. Elsewhere in the Middle East, fewer Muslims believe such violence is often or sometimes justified, including 15 percent in Jordan, 12 percent in Tunisia, nine percent in Morocco, and seven percent in Iraq.
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Cable car to serve Western Wall
(JNS.org) The city of Jerusalem is moving forward with a plan to build a cable car system that will bring visitors to and from the Western Wall.
One line will connect Dung Gate (the Old City gate closest to the Western Wall) with the Mount of Olives to the east, and a second line will connect Dung Gate with the Khan Theater on Hinnom Ridge to the west, Israel Hayom reported.
The system will be able to transport 6,000 passengers per hour. Each of the 1.6 kilometer routes will take around four minutes to traverse.
Jerusalem municipal officials said the cable car system will meet the needs of the growing millions of people who visit the Western Wall and the Old City each year.
“Beyond being a transportation solution, the cable car will also serve as a unique and innovative tourist attraction that will provide breathtaking views,” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said.
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Fatah glorifies terrorist on Facebook
(JNS.org) In the wake of the murder of 31-year-old father of five Evyatar Borovsky on Tuesday by a Palestinian terrorist at the Tapuach Junction in Samaria, Fatah has posted pictures of the terrorist and the victim on its Facebook page with wording describing the terrorist as “the hero, the released prisoner, Salam Al-Zaghal.”
Salam Za’al, a resident of Tulkarem, had arrived at the junction armed with a knife, and stabbed Borovsky while he was waiting at a hitchhiking stop several times in the chest. He then grabbed Borovsky’s handgun and opened fire at a nearby Border Police patrol. He was eventually subdued and taken into custody. Media reports stated that Za’al had been released from an Israeli prison, where he served a three-year sentence for throwing rocks, less than six months ago.
Palestinian Media Watch highlighted text and photos that had accompanied the posts on Fatah’s Facebook page. “A picture of the settler who was killed today at the Al-Za’atara military checkpoint, in south Nablus, by the hero, the released prisoner, Salam As’ad Al-Zaghal from Tulkarem,” the Facebook page administrator wrote next to one of the posted photos. “Peace upon you, on the day of your birth, on the day of your arrest, and on the day you will go free,” another photo caption stated.
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Iranian website claims Jews use sorcery to control Iran
(JNS.org) An Iranian think tank leader with close ties to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, during a speech to religious students in April, called Jews sorcerers that are using their powers to subjugate Iran. This view was already propagated in a March article on the Iranian website Rasanews.ir.
“The Jews are currently subjecting us to an unprecedented trial. As you read in the Koran, [King] Solomon ruled the world… and God ordered a group of sorcerers to come out against him. The Jews have the greatest powers of sorcery, and they make use of this tool,” said Mehdi Taeb, as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
“All the measures that have been brought against us originate with the Zionists. The U.S. is a tool in their hands. So far, they have not used the full [scope of] their sorcery against us. Sorcery was the final means to which they resorted during the Ahmadinejad era, but they were defeated. This ability of the Jews was eliminated by Iran. Five years ago they tried to oust Ahmadinejad [by this means],” Taeb added.
The Rasanews.ir article speculated that Jewish mysticism traditions are being used to wield power over the world. “The Jews have always tended to resort to divination, [a practice] that has its roots in astronomy, astrology and sorcery, [which they picked up] when they consorted with various peoples in the course of history… The [Jewish] people think that ruling over man, nature, and divine traditions can be achieved only by means of sorcery. They believe that it is possible to conquer nature and control the world, and even to control God’s decisions, by using sorcery methods,” the article said.
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Pope Francis accepts Peres’s invitation to visit Israel
(JNS.org) Israeli President Shimon Peres formally invited Pope Francis to visit Israel during a meeting between the two leaders at the Vatican.
Pope Francis accepted the invitation “with willingness and joy,” a Vatican spokesman said, Reuters reported.
“I am expecting you in Jerusalem, not just me but the whole country of Israel,” Peres told Pope Francis during a press conference.
Despite confronting a wide array of internal Catholic issues, Pope Francis has made Christian-Jewish relations and Middle East peace top priorities in his young papacy.
Both of Pope Francis’s two immediate predecessors, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, presided over a deepening of relations between the Vatican and Israel. Both pontiffs also visited Israel during their tenures.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org