Hamas leader Mashaal to visit Iran
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) In another sign of reconciliation between Hamas and Iran, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashaal will arrive in Tehran on Monday night for an official visit during which he will meet with Iranian leaders.
Mashaal’s trip is taking place after a two-year rift between Hamas and Iran during which Iran suspended economic aid to Hamas. The rift stemmed from the decision by the Hamas political bureau to abandon its Damascus headquarters and announce that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, an ally of Iran, was no longer legitimate.
Arab news agencies reported that Mashaal would discuss with his Iranian hosts ways to strengthen ties between Gaza and Tehran.
*
Egyptian Christians not protected by authorities, Amnesty International report says
(JNS.org) Authorities in Egypt failed to protect Egyptian Christians following the dispersal of the supporters of ousted Islamist Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in Cairo in mid-August, according to a scathing new report from Amnesty International.
The report details how in the days following the August 14 raid, Egyptian security forces failed to prevent more than 200 Christian-owned properties from being attacked. Mobs armed with guns, metal bars and knives also attacked Christians, killing at least four people.
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa called the attacks “deeply disturbing” in a statement.
*
Facebook acquires Israeli startup Onavo
(JNS.org) Facebook announced the acquisition of the Israeli mobile analytics startup, Onavo, as part of a larger plan to reduce the number of people without Internet access. Facebook will also turn Onavo’s Tel Aviv office into the company’s first Israeli headquarters.
Founded in 2010, Onavo focused on intelligence concerning mobile application data.
According to the tech site AllThingsD, the services of Onavo are in line with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Internet.org initiative, which aims to bring Internet connectivity to billions across the world.
“We’re excited to join their team,” wrote Co-Founder and CEO of Onavo Guy Rosen on the company’s blog.
*
Gaza ‘terror tunnel’ uncovered near border kibbutz
(JNS.org) A 1.5-mile tunnel running from the Gaza Strip to the Israeli border kibbutz Ein Hashlosha was uncovered last week, Israeli officials announced Sunday.
The tunnel was meant for the abduction of Israeli soldiers or a large terror attack, defense officials told Army Radio. Equipment found inside the tunnel included a transportation mechanism that could quickly ferry away a hostage.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the discovery of the “terror tunnel” serves as “additional proof that the Hamas terror organization is continually preparing for a confrontation with the state of Israel,” Israel Hayom reported.
*
Lockheed Martin chooses Israeli-developed pilot helmet for advanced F-35 jets
(JNS.org) Lockheed Martin, which is producing advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to be shipped to Israel, announced that it has chosen to manufacture a pilot’s helmet for the jets co-developed by the Israeli company Elbit Systems.
The decision will save $45 million that Lockheed had originally allocated for the development of an alternate helmet, the company said.
The Israel Air Force will receive its first F-35 jets in the second half of 2016. The jets’ “Helmet Mounted Display Systems” provide pilots with unprecedented situational awareness.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon toured Lockheed Martin’s F-35 manufacturing plant in Texas last week, according to Israel Hayom.
*
Iranian citizen caught with forged Israeli passport at Brussels Airport
(JNS.org) Three passengers were caught in early September with forged Israeli passports at Brussels Airport, officials said over the weekend.
One of the passengers was identified as an Iranian citizen who could use the passport to threaten Israeli security. The passengers were on their way to Canada, with the Iranian planning to arrive in Toronto and the others going to Montreal.
The incident follows the attempt of seven Iranians to enter Vancouver with forged Israeli passports in July. The Israeli Population, Immigration and Border Authority is investigating the latest forgery, Israel Hayom reported.
*
Abbas on Palestinian state: ‘No peace without Jerusalem as its capital’
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on the topic of a future Palestinian state that there will be “no peace without Jerusalem as its capital.”
“I will not compromise on the 1967 borders as the border for our Palestinian state; there is no peace without Jerusalem as its capital,” Abbas said on Palestinian TV, reported WAFA, the official Palestinian Authority news agency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained that Jerusalem, which was divided by Jordanian forces from 1949-1967 and won by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, will remain as the undivided capital of Israel in any final status agreement.
*
Pro-Israel ads in Vancouver depict Jewish loss of land, Israeli-Canadian shared values
(JNS.org) The pro-Israel education group StandWithUs has responded to anti-Israel advertising on Vancouver’s public transit system with new ads stressing both the Jewish loss of land from biblical times to the present and Israeli-Canadian shared values.
Posters sponsored by the Palestine Awareness Coalition on Vancouver’s TransLink trains and buses depict Israeli land as a “disappearing Palestine.”
StandWithUs responded with 10 posters in the Translink system that will be up until Nov. 14. One set of ads juxtaposes a map of the ancient Jewish kingdom before 1,000 BCE, a map of the land designated as the Jewish homeland by the League of Nations in 1920, and a map of the smaller current state of Israel. The other set features Israeli and Canadian children waving their national flags.
*
UC Berkeley’s Jewish Student Union rejects J Street membership
(JNS.org) The Jewish Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley has denied membership to a college branch of the J Street lobby, on the grounds that it violated student union’s laws by hosting speakers who demonize Israel.
In particular, J Street U sponsored the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, which works with Israeli veterans who severely criticize Israel’s military operations.
“A lot of people have said that they want the (Jewish Student Union) to stay a place they feel comfortable saying they love Israel,” Jewish Student Union President Daphna Torbati told the Daily Californian.
Shayna Howitt, a spokesperson for J Street U, said the group is “not afraid to stand up and question how we can best support Israel, because we’re committed to the safety of Israel.”
*
DC’s Theater J won’t produce allegedly anti-Israel play, will still present it as workshop
(JNS.org) The Washington DC Jewish Community Center’s (DCJCC) Theater J troupe will not produce Israeli playwright Motti Lerner’s “The Admission,” following concerns that the play reflects an anti-Israel perspective, the Washington Jewish Week reported.
Instead, Theater J will be present the play as a workshop with audience feedback. The decision was made “to give the work the context that the work and the audience deserve,” DCJCC CEO Carole Zawatsky said.
A group called Citizens Opposed to Propaganda Masquerading as Art since 2009 has opposed the funding of Theater J by the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington. Robert Levi—chairman of the board of the National Council of Young Israel—wrote in an August letter to the federation that “The Admission” reflects a “neo-anti-Israeli perspective, which is contrary to the mission of the federation.”
*
Preceding provided by JNS.org