Jordan Valley sovereignty bill approved by Israeli ministerial committee
(JNS.org) Israel’s Ministerial Committee on Legislation on Sunday approved a bill proposed by MK Miri Regev (Likud) that would apply Israeli law to Jewish lands and communities in the Jordan Valley.
“This bill is purely motivated by diplomatic and security considerations,” Regev said, Israel Hayom reported. “Until now, the position of all Likud governments was that under any permanent agreement with the Palestinian Authority, the communities in the Jordan Valley would be transferred to the sovereignty of the State of Israel.”
The Jordan Valley has been a source of disagreement in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations. The Palestinians have rejected Israel’s demand to maintain a security presence there following the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnuah) opposed the bill, saying, “This is an irresponsible and populist bill that seeks to tie the hands of the government and the prime minister.”
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Israeli population surpasses 8 million
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel’s population grew in 2013 by 1.8 percent, or 147,000 people, bringing the country’s total population to 8.1 million, according to data from the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Immigrant Absorption Ministry.
Some 19,200 Jews moved to Israel from other countries. The most significant rise was in the number of immigrants from France, with 3,120 French Jews moving to Israel in 2013, a 63-percent jump from the previous year (1,916). The largest group of immigrants, 7,520, came from the former Soviet Union. Some 2,680 immigrants came from the United States.
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Iran building ‘new generation of centrifuges’ for nuclear program
(JNS.org) Iran’s nuclear chief said the country is building a “new generation” of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. November’s interim nuclear deal between Iran and world powers stipulated that the Islamic Republic would not make new centrifuges operational for six months, but did not prohibit Iran from developing centrifuges.
“The new generation of centrifuges is under development. But all tests should be carried on it before mass production,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, reported Iranian media outlets.
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Third Palestinian intifada may be imminent, says PA report
(JNS.org) Palestinian security officials warned over the weekend that a third intifada might be imminent, despite Israeli assessments to the contrary.
Israel Defense Forces officials have deemed that recent attacks on Israel are “atmospheric attacks” that have not been directed by any of the major Palestinian terrorist groups.
But a report compiled by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces, leaked to the media over the weekend, warned that chances of a third intifada are very high. The report recommended that the PA formulate contingency plans to combat the possibility that a violent uprising would erupt, so that it would not be “dragged after the street like in the Second Intifada.”
“There is a lot of rage on the ground over the difficulties in the peace process and the continued settlement construction,” a senior Palestinian security official told Israel Hayom. Under these conditions, “an intifada is very likely,” the official said.
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Israel names 26 Palestinian terrorists to be freed in third phase of release
(JNS.org) Israel on Saturday night published the names of 26 Palestinian terrorist prisoners to be freed in the third installment of its prisoner release for negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. The release is expected to take place Monday night.
The prisoners to be released are nearly all convicted of murdering Israeli civilians, soldiers or Palestinian collaborators, according to the Israel Prison Services website, and have all served 19-28 years of their terms. Among the murderers being released are Muammar Ata Mahmoud Mahmoud and Salah Khalil Ahmad Ibrahim, convicted of stabbing Menahem Stern to death. Stern was a history professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and winner of the prestigious Israel Prize.
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London church accused of anti-Israel bias over Christmas festival
(JNS.org) A prominent London church is drawing accusations of anti-Israel bias over its Christmas-themed festival.
Called “Bethlehem Unwrapped,” the Dec. 23-Jan. 3 festival at St. James’s Church is held to draw attention “to the Barrier that affects every aspect of daily life” in Bethlehem, the church’s website said. The church erected a 26-foot replica of a walled section of the Israeli security fence outside Bethlehem and included several pro-Palestinian speakers in the festival’s program.
“The installation at St. James’s Church is grossly one-sided and extremely insensitive to countless victims of Palestinian terrorist attacks that were the reason the security barrier was built,” Michael Dickson, Israel director of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs, told JNS.org.
StandWithUs is organizing daily protests at the church with U.K.-based pro-Israel groups including We Believe in Israel, the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland.
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Sephardic group cautiously praises Iraqi government for recognizing Jewish history
(JNS.org) The Sephardic group Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa (JIMENA) cautiously praised the Iraqi government for its recognition of Jews’ role in the country’s history, but it maintained its opposition to the government’s claim to the Iraqi Jewish Archive.
In a recent religious ceremony attended by Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S., 49 Torah scroll fragments included in the archive were buried in accordance with Jewish tradition in West Babylon, NY. The Iraqi government said the Jewish community “played a key role in building the country; it shared in its prosperity and also suffered exile and forced departure because of tyranny.”
“This is an important step in the recognition of Jewish suffering that took place in Iraq, as this admission of truth will facilitate reconciliation,” JIMENA said.
JIMENA, however, rejected the Iraqi government’s assertion that the 2,700-item Jewish archive—set to return to Iraq in line with an agreement between Iraq and the U.S. State Department—is “Iraq’s property.” Iraqi Jews say Saddam Hussein’s regime stole the archive from them.
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Israeli team forced to compete anonymously in Dubai chess tournament
(JNS.org) Israeli children competing in the World Youth Chess Championships in Dubai are being forced to compete anonymously and not represent Israel in the international tournament.
On the 2013 World Youth Chess Championships official website, Israelis aged 10-18 are identified under the generic country acronym FIDE, the Federation Internationale des Echecs, or World Chess Federation.
The Israeli children were allowed to compete only after Israeli Chess Federation head Moshe Shalev, supported by Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin, warned the Dubai organizers that the FIDE would cancel the tournament, the Times of Israel reported.
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