Dutch Aldi supermarkets deny ban on products made beyond pre-1967 lines
(JNS.org) The Netherlands branch of the German supermarket chain Aldi has disavowed comments it made in support of a ban on products made in territories acquired by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Both the Dutch branch of Aldi and another chain, Hoogvliet, had announced on Monday that they will stop selling products made in areas situated beyond Israel’s pre-1967 lines, the Dutch newspaper deVerdieping Trouw reported.
But the Dutch branch of Aldi has since said that “incorrect information” was supplied by an Aldi staffer who announced the new policy, and that “a mistake has been made,” the same paper reported, according to a translation provided by dutchnews.nl.
Aldi did admit that no products from areas beyond Israel’s pre-1967 lines are currently being sold by the company, but a spokesperson said that has nothing to do with politics. “Aldi buys based only on price, quality and availability,” the spokesperson said.
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Hezbollah ‘true face’ exposed by IDF on new website
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces launched a new English-language website earlier this month meant to “expose the true face” of Hezbollah, whose “military wing” on Monday was placed on the European Union’s list of terrorist groups.
The website went online on the seventh anniversary of the Second Lebanon War and was designed to fill in gaps in the international community’s knowledge about the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group that Iran supports.
The IDF said the website would contain experiential and interactive content and would be updated on a regular basis with news about Hezbollah.
The site is run by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and was created in cooperation with intelligence units. It presents information about Hezbollah’s history, ideology, leadership and activities. The site highlights Hezbollah’s cooperation with other terrorist groups and countries, like Iran, and details the group’s missile arsenal.
Though the European Union (EU) has agreed to blacklist Hezbollah’s “military wing,” Jewish groups are still objecting to the fact that the EU’s designation does not treat all of Hezbollah as one entity. B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said, “The distinction between Hezbollah’s ‘military’ and ‘political wing’ has been contrived—it’s a distinction unrecognized by Hezbollah itself.”
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Egypt security forces ignored slaying of Coptic Christians, human rights group says
(JNS.org) A report by the human rights group Amnesty International blames Egyptian security forces for standing by idly and failing to intervene during an 18-hour-long attack on Coptic Christians on July 5 that left four dead and one man hospitalized.
“It is outrageous that this attack was left to escalate unhindered in this way. Amnesty International has documented a series of cases in the past where Egypt’s security forces used unnecessary force or live fire during demonstrations, yet in this case they held back even though people’s lives were threatened,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
According to the Amnesty International report, the attack began around 3 a.m. on July 5 after a body of a Muslim man was found near Christian homes. The family of the dead Muslim man blamed local Christians for his death, and by mid-day more than 100 Christian homes had been attacked by an angry mob armed with metal bars, knives, tree branches and hammers in a small town 18 kilometers west of Luxor.
“The attack went on for 18 hours, and there was not a door on which I did not knock: police, army, local leaders, the Central Security Forces, the Governorate. Nothing was done,” said Father Barsilious, a local Egyptian priest, according to Amnesty International.
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Martin Indyk’s ties to New Israel Fund raise concern over impartiality as potential Mideast broker
(JNS.org) Martin Indyk’s ties to the New Israel Fund (NIF) have raised concern over the long-time Mideast diplomat’s impartiality as a potential broker for upcoming peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.
The State Department has yet to confirm Indyk’s rumored appointment as mediator. In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who according to the New York Times approved of Indyk’s selection, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon opposed the rumored selection of Indyk due to his ties to the NIF.
“The former ambassador, Mr. Martin Indyk, is the Chair of the International Council of the New Israel Fund, which provides funding to anti-Zionist organizations that accuse Israel of war crimes,” Danon in the letter.
“I request that you ask the American administration for an honest broker for these negotiation,” Danon added.
The NIF, a U.S.-based non-profit whose self-described mission is for “advancing democracy and equality for all Israelis,” has been heavily criticized in the past for its alleged funding of groups involved in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, as described in a 2010 report compiled by the pro-Israel group Im Tirtzu. But the NIF denies supporting organizations with BDS programs.
Meanwhile, the rumor of Indyk’s appointment is also drawing criticism from anti-Israel elements. Stephen Walt, co-author of The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, which promotes conspiracy theories on Jewish involvement in U.S. politics, slammed Indyk on Twitter, comparing his appointment to “like hiring Madoff to run ur pension.” The anti-Israel blog Mondoweiss also questioned Indyk’s impartiality due to his prior experience working for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and his failure during Camp David peace talks in 2000.
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Israel, set to free 85 Palestinian terrorists, turned down by U.S. on request to free Pollard
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) U.S. President Barack Obama has refused another Israeli request for the release of imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. During talks that preceded the announcement of the renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, Netanyahu asked for Pollard’s release and was rebuffed by the Americans.
As part of the restart of peace talks, Israel is set to free 85 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned since before the Oslo Accords in 1993.
The U.S. wasn’t convinced by the argument that Pollard’s release would ease the Israeli public’s reaction to the release of Palestinian prisoners.
“Unfortunately, it seems that the Americans are determined to release Pollard only through the normal procedures in their prison system there,” an Israeli diplomatic official said.
Pollard, 58, was arrested by U.S. authorities in 1985 and later sentenced to life in prison for spying for Israel. He will be eligible for parole in November 2015.
The Committee to Free Jonathan Pollard said on Monday that “dozens of top-level American officials have been calling for the immediate release of Pollard, due to the American and basic human values of justice and mercy. … He should be released immediately and without connection to any other issue.”
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Ryan Braun, former league MVP, suspended by baseball for drug violations
(JNS.org) Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, the former Most Valuable Player of Major League Baseball’s National League, was suspended for the rest of the 2013 season by the league on Monday for “violations of the Basic Agreement and its Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.” Braun’s father is Jewish and his mother is Catholic.
Braun’s suspension comes amid the league’s investigation of players allegedly tied to the Biogenesis laboratory. While Braun will not appeal the suspension, he has not addressed allegations about Biogenesis.
“As I have acknowledged in the past, I am not perfect,” Braun said in a statement released by Major League Baseball. “I realize now that I have made some mistakes. I am willing to accept the consequences of those actions.”
Last year, Braun got a 50-game suspension for high levels of testosterone overturned after successfully disputing the drug-testing process. This suspension will encompass 65 games and any possible postseason play.
Braun is a .312 career hitter, with 211 homeruns in seven seasons. In 2011, when he won the Most Valuable Player award, he batted .332 with 33 homeruns, 111 RBI, and 33 stolen bases.
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Ohio to be first state with Holocaust memorial on statehouse grounds
(Cleveland Jewish News/JNS.org) Ohio is set to become the first U.S. state with a Holocaust memorial on statehouse grounds. In an 8-1 vote July 18, the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board overseeing the Ohio Statehouse and its grounds approved the memorial’s construction.
Construction is set to start in the fall and is expected to be finished next April.
“We are very pleased that the project is moving forward,” said Joyce Garver Keller, executive director of Ohio Jewish Communities. “The reason why we pushed this quick deadline is because the average age of a Holocaust survivor is the mid to upper 80s. We want as many Ohio survivors and liberators to be able to attend the unveiling.”
Richard Finan, the board’s chair, cast the lone dissenting vote on the advisory board and questioned the constitutionality of the memorial. Later in the meeting, he announced his resignation from the board.
“I don’t think it belongs on state grounds particularly with the Star of David because it is a religious symbol,” Finan said.
Keller said the $2 million Holocaust memorial, designed by Jewish architect Daniel Libeskind, will be an 18-foot structure with a carved Star of David fractured between adjoining bronze panels bearing the etching of an Auschwitz survivor’s story. A canted-stone wall along the 40-foot path leading to the memorial will double as seating. The wall will be engraved with a quote from Avner Shalev memorializing the Holocaust victims. Shalev is chairman of the Yad Vashem Directorate in Israel.
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ADL: U.S. anti-Semitism down 14 percent in 2012
(JNS.org) The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, published Monday, shows that the total number of anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. went down by 14 percent in 2012, marking the continuation of a three-year trend of the decline of such incidents.
The report looks at criminal and non-criminal incidents reported to ADL in 35 states and Washington, DC. In 2012, according to the report, there were 927 anti-Semitic incidents across the U.S. Among those incidents, 17 were physical assaults, 470 were cases of harassment and threats, and 440 involved vandalism.
“While these numbers only provide one snapshot of anti-Semitism in America, to the extent that they serve as a barometer the decline shows that we have made progress as a society in confronting anti-Jewish hatred,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director.
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Eight more Iranian Christians sentenced to jail, says Christian rights group
(JNS.org) Eight members of the Christian underground Church of Iran in Shiraz were sentenced to jail last week after being found guilty of “action against the national security” and “propaganda against the order of the system” according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), a UK-based Christian human rights group.
“It is both disappointing and deplorable that the Iranian regime persists in detaining religious minorities on political charges, as has occurred once again in this case. These Christians in no way constitute a threat to the state,” Meryn Thomas, CEO of CSW, said in a statement.
According to CSW, seven of Christians sentenced were arrested in October 2012 during raid on a house in Shiraz where the group was conducting prayer services led by Mohammad Roghangir. Their sentences range from one to six years.
The sentencing of the eight Iranian Christians is just the latest of a long line of Christian persecution in Iran, especially of Evangelical Christian groups. One of the most famous cases is that of Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini, who is serving time in one of Iran’s most notorious prisons. The U.S. State Department has condemned his sentence and called for his release.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org