Israel reportedly hit by rocket from Lebanon
(JNS.org) While tensions in the region remained high due to the Syrian civil war, residents of Metula in northern Israel said they heard a blast late Sunday night that reportedly came from a rocket fired from Lebanon.
The rocket was launched at Israel from the area of Marjayoun, a Lebanese town situated about six miles from the Israeli border, the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen media network reported.
In Lebanon on Sunday, a pair of rockets hit a car dealership and a residential building in Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut.
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Air-raid sirens sound across Israel for homefront drill
(JNS.org) Israel’s nationwide homefront defense exercise reached its peak on Monday, with two air-raid sirens going off midday and in the evening.
Along with the sirens, citizens received messages on cellphones and other communication devices with instructions, according to Israel Hayom. The exercise is intended to test Israelis’ responses to emergencies at workplaces, schools and homes. If there were no safe rooms in the vicinity when the sirens went off, citizens were asked to seek the most protected area they could find and stay there for 10 minutes.
The weeklong exercise, named “Resilient Homefront 1,” was designed to simulate missile attacks all over Israel as part of a mock total war, including urban population centers and areas of strategic importance. The exercise simulates missiles being fired from Syria, Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, some of them with chemical warheads.
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Scandinavian countries still refuse placing Hezbollah on terror list
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel is pushing for the U.S. and other Western countries to pressure Scandinavian countries to drop their opposition to adding Hezbollah to the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations.
In recent weeks, there has been growing European support for adding Hezbollah to the list. But according to EU law, such a decision would have to be unanimous, meaning that any single country could block it. Israel’s recent efforts have been mainly focused on Sweden and Denmark.
European support for designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization was initiated by Holland and immediately gained the support of Britain. In recent weeks, Germany and France have also thrown their support behind adding Hezbollah’s armed wing to the EU’s list of terrorist organizations.
Such a designation would make it more difficult for Hezbollah members to travel and for the group to transfer funds.
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Palestinian Authority media reject ‘truces’ and ‘compromise’ with Israel
(JNS.org) While the U.S. continues its attempts to restart Israel-Palestinian peace talks and Israel expresses willingness to participate in those talks, the official Palestinian Authority media are explicitly rejecting concepts such as “truce” and “compromise,” Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported.
According to PMW, on May 10 Palestinian Authority TV broadcast a video with statements such as “Let all religions know that I do not make truces” and “Let every person know that I do not compromise” appearing on the screen. The statement “Let Jaffa know that I will return to it” also appeared in the video, representing a Palestinian declaration of the intent to take control of an Israeli city.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his fourth trip to Israel over the past four months. Before meeting with Kerry Netanyahu said of peace talks, “It’s something I hope the Palestinians want as well, and we ought to be successful for a simple reason—when there’s a will, we’ll find a way.”
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Kerry cites ‘skepticism’ on latest trip to revive Israel-Palestinian peace process
(JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, making his fourth trip to Israel in four months to revive the dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace process and again failing to achieve a breakthrough, on Thursday cited the “skepticism” and “cynicism” about the prospects for peace.
“I know this region well enough to know that there is skepticism,” said Kerry—who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Shimon Peres, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday—according to Reuters. “In some quarters there is cynicism and there are reasons for it. There have been bitter years of disappointment.”
“It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, we can lay out a path ahead that can conceivably surprise people but certainly exhaust the possibilities of peace,” Kerry added.
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Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon hit by Syrian rockets
(JNS.org) A pair of rockets hit a car dealership and a residential building in Hezbollah strongholds in south Beirut on Sunday, the Associated Press reported.
The attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon may be the result of spillover from the Syrian Civil War. Hezbollah’s fighters have been increasingly involved in support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s fight against the rebels.
Last week, speaking on the anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah attempted to link his group’s involvement in Syria to defending Lebanon.
“If Syria falls into the hands of America, Israel and takfiris [Muslims accused by other Muslims of apostasy], the resistance [Hezbollah] will be besieged and Israel will enter Lebanon and impose its will,” Nasrallah said, as reported by Israel Hayom.
Nasrallah added that if Syria falls, “Palestine will be lost” and “the people of our region and its nations will enter a bad and dark period.”
In response, Syrian rebel leaders accused Hezbollah of aiding the Syrian government and vowed attacks against the terrorist group.
“We used to say before, ‘We are coming Bashar.’ Now we say, ‘We are coming Bashar and we are coming Hassan Nasrallah,’” said Col. Abdul-Jabbar al-Aqidi, commander of the Syrian rebels’ Military Council in Aleppo, according to the Associated Press.
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Average Palestinian attacker just 12-14 years old, IDF colonel says
(JNS.org) IDF Colonel Yaniv Alaluf said that the average Palestinian attacker behind recent rock and firebomb attacks on Israeli drivers is only “12-14 years old,” Israel National News reported.
At a meeting in the Etzion region in Judea and Samaria, Alaluf met with residents to address concerns over the increase in rock and firebomb attacks on drivers in the region.
A report from Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, revealed there were 90 attacks on Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria in April, up slightly from 101 in March. Most of these attacks were firebombs or the planting of roadside bombs, Haaretz reported.
Alaluf said many people beg soldiers not to arrest the teenage attackers “because they have tests in school the next day.”
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Israeli electric car company Better Place files for bankruptcy
(JNS.org) The once-promising electric car company Better Place filed for bankruptcy this week in a Tel Aviv court, Israel Hayom reported.
After failing to raise the necessary capital to stay afloat, Better Place’s leadership decided to liquidate the company.
Founded in 2007 by Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi, the company developed a breakthrough system that allowed drivers of electric vehicles to swap out batteries at various electric charging stations. Customers could also buy subscriptions to purchase driving distance similar to how customers buy minutes for cell phone airtime. But after launching in Israel and Denmark, the company had difficulty keeping costs down.
“Unfortunately, in the past few months we have seen that the rate of entry into the market was not as the company had thought and does not allow for its continued operation and existence,” CEO Dan Cohen posted on the company’s Facebook page.
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Sheldon and Miriam Adelson donate another $40 million to Birthright
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Birthright Israel Foundation today announced a new $40 million gift from Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson that continues their commitment to fund free, 10-day educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults between the ages of 18 and 26. The gift brings the Adelsons’ total donations to the program to $180 million.
Dr. Miriam Adelson said, “Exposing young Jews to Israel helps broaden their awareness and deepen their cultural identity. We are committed to the goal of all young Jewish adults having the opportunity to be inspired by their ancestral homeland.”
Sheldon Adelson added, “As a proud American, I celebrate Israel’s commitment to liberty and democratic values. By supporting Birthright Israel, Miriam and I want to give young people not only an enjoyable experience, but also knowledge of Israeli society, and the desire to live for a cause larger than themselves.”
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Louis Farrakhan ‘satanic Jews’ speech condemned by Michigan congressman and ADL
(JNS.org) U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) apologized for anti-Semitic statements made by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in a speech Conyers attended at a Detroit Baptist church on May 17.
Conyers condemned the speech, saying in a statement, “It was my expectation that Minister Farrakhan’s speech would focus on the many challenges facing the city of Detroit… Regrettably, he used this opportunity to promote views that have no place in civilized discourse.”
“It is deeply disappointing that so many Detroit leaders are apparently so willing to turn a blind eye to Farrakhan’s anti-Semitism. Where are the voices in our community who are willing to stand up and say no to racism and anti-Semitism?” said Heidi Budaj, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Detroit Regional Director, in a statement.
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Senate, in unanimous vote, urges Obama to enforce Iran sanctions, support Israeli self-defense
(JNS.org) The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously voted in favor of a measure supporting the “full implementation of United States and international sanctions on Iran,” urging President Barack Obama to “continue to strengthen enforcement of sanctions legislation,” and affirming Israel’s right to self-defense.
S. Res. 65 also urges that “if the Government of Israel is compelled to take military action in legitimate self-defense against Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” the U.S. government should “stand with Israel and provide, in accordance with United States law and the constitutional responsibility of Congress to authorize the use of military force, diplomatic, military, and economic support to the Government of Israel in its defense of its territory, people, and existence.”
Reacting to the 99-0 Senate vote, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in a press release called the resolution “an extremely significant and timely statement of solidarity with Israel.”
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Christians face growing number of blasphemy accusations in Egypt
(JNS.org) Under Egypt’s new Islamist-led government, blasphemy (insulting Islam) cases against Egypt’s Coptic Christian community have been on the rise.
The trial of Dimyana Abdel-Nour, a Coptic Christian teacher in Luxor, has gained media attention. Three of her students, aged 10, said that Abdel-Nour said former Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda was better than the Prophet Mohammed. Abdel-Nour was imprisoned for a week and released on nearly $3,000 bail, a large sum for a case like hers.
“This case is not just about Dimyana,” Archbishop Sarabamon El Shayeb, head of the monastery in Abdel-Nour’s village, told the Christian Science Monitor. “It’s about organized repression of the Copts. The Islamists are giving out the accusations of blasphemy generously and openly, mostly against Christians.”
While blasphemy cases have been prevalent in Egypt for years, since the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and the rise of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood as well as the ultraconservative Salafis to power, blasphemy accusations have increased, especially under Egypt’s new constitution, which criminalizes blasphemy.
According to the human rights group Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), there were at least 36 blasphemy cases initiated in 2011 to 2012, including 10 convictions, with Christian teachers being frequent targets, the Associated Press reported.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org