After Palestinian prisoner release, Netanyahu approves new Jewish construction
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) In the wake of the release of 26 Palestinian terrorist prisoners, Israel on Tuesday approved the construction of 1,500 housing units in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and green-lighted the planning of 2,000 additional housing units in the area.
According to senior political sources, construction on the projects is set to begin immediately based on previous plans set in place and that the move was coordinated with the U.S.
“It was clear, ahead of the resumption of the negotiations that Israel will not agree to any limitations regarding construction,” he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinians in Ramallah and Gaza celebrated the release of the prisoners.
“We welcome our brothers the heroes coming from behind the bars to a world of freedom and liberty,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted as saying at an official reception.
“No permanent peace agreement would be signed as long as there is one single prisoner in Israeli jails,” Abbas added.
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CUFI chairman’s annual event raises $2.7 million for Israeli charities
(JNS.org) Christians United For Israel (CUFI) founder and Chairman John Hagee held his 32nd annual “Night to Honor Israel” event at the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas Oct. 27. Joining Hagee was former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Israeli Consul General to the American Southwest Maya Kadosh.
During his remarks, Pastor Hagee focused on the threats to Israel as well as Iran’s nuclear program.
“Iran’s charm offensive is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to buy more time for their nuclear weapons program,” Hagee said.
Meanwhile, Huckabee spoke about the shared values between the U.S. and Israel.
“If you wonder why this land of ours exists, it exists for liberty, it exists for freedom, it exists for the right of people to exercise their faith. There is only one country on earth that so mirrors that – it is Israel,” Huckabee said.
The event also included the announcement of over $2.7 million in donations that were made to several Israeli charities, including Save a Child’s Heart, Friends of the IDF and the Koby Mandell Foundation.
With more than 1 million members, CUFI is the largest pro-Israel organization in the U.S.
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Jewish groups mourn former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki
(JNS.org) Jewish organizations are mourning the death of former Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki, who died Monday at the age of 86.
Originally a journalist, Mazowiecki joined Poland’s Solidarity trade union movement in the 1980s, which helped end communist rule. He then became Poland’s first non-Communist leader since the 1940s and helped the country transition to a liberal democracy.
“Tadeusz Mazowiecki will long be revered as a passionate, principled and fearless activist and visionary. His calm and reasoned approach was critical to bringing about Poland’s historic transformation from harsh Communist rule to the vibrant democracy that exists today,” American Jewish Committee Executive Director David Harris said in a statement.
Mazowiecki was also noted for support of Polish Jewry, re-establishing diplomatic relations with Israel in 1990 and condemning anti-Semitism.
“The Jews are grateful to Tadeusz Mazowiecki for his staunch defense of their rights as Poland emerged from Communism, and for his help in resolving the crisis of the Carmelite convent on the grounds of Auschwitz in the early 1990s. He will also be remembered for speaking out against anti-Semitism…May his memory be for a blessing,” World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder said in a statement.
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Hamas growing arsenal of rockets that can reach Tel Aviv
(JNS.org) Palestinian terrorist group Hamas is amassing M-75 rockets with a range 43 miles and the capability to reach the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area. While the number of such rockets currently in the group’s possession is still small, Hamas is rapidly working to grow the arsenal. The group does currently have hundreds of anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.
Although many of the tunnels connecting Gaza and Egypt were destroyed or shut down by the Egyptian army, many of those used to smuggle arms have been damaged less, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday. However, due to the Egyptian closure of some tunnels, Hamas is losing $230 million a month from the revenue it was earning by taxing smuggled goods a senior official in the terrorist organization said Monday according to AFP.
Australian anti-Semitic attack spurs KKL-JNF emergency meeting
(JNS.org) The World Chairman of Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) plans to convene an emergency meeting between the organization’s international representatives after four members of the Jewish Behar family and a JNF education representative were physically attacked in Bondi Beach, Australia by eight young males shouting anti-Semitic comments.
“The violent Sydney attack which came just hours after an anti-Israel protest in Denver, Colorado, as well as demonstrations in France and Belgium, require that we address the situation immediately,” said KKL-JNF World Chairman Efi Stenzler, the European Jewish Press reported.
After the attack the victims were taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney with concussions, fractured bones, lacerations and bruises. Three men were later arrested near the scene.
The Behar family also issued a statement of thanks. “Our objective at this time is not vengeance, but justice and concern,” the family’s statement said Monday according to Israel National News. Public support “is deeply appreciated and reminds us that what occurred is not what Australia is about.”
Carmel Caves named newest UNESCO World Heritage Site
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Carmel Caves site in northern Israel has been named the newest World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for “providing a definitive chronological framework at a key period of human development.”
The announcement ceremony, to be held on Tuesday, will be attended by Israel’s National Commission for UNESCO Secretary-General Dr. Dalit Atrakchi, and Israel Nature and Parks Authority Chairman Shaul Goldstein.
“Located in one of the best preserved fossilized reefs of the Mediterranean region, the site contains cultural deposits representing half a million years of human evolution from the Lower Paleolithic to the present,” a UNESCO statement said.
Other World Heritage Sites in Israel are: the Masada fortress; the Old City of Acre; the White City of Tel Aviv; the biblical tels of Megiddo, Hazor and Beersheba; the Incense Route of desert cities in the Negev; and the Baha’i temples in Haifa and the Western Galilee.
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Preceding provided by JNS.org