Fatwa, what fatwa?
(JNS.org) The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) says U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised a nonexistent fatwa by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on banning nuclear weapons.
In a recent interview with Voice of America, Kerry said, “I show a lot of respect for this fatwa as it is a religious message and is highly respected by people.” According to MEMRI, however, the fatwa “has never been seen” and “in fact does not exist.”
Kerry has called on the Iranian government to put the purported fatwa “into a legally binding, globally recognized, international understanding” form. But in statements documented by MEMRI, the Iranian leadership’s official position is for such a fatwa to remain religious law, which supersedes international law.
“This historic fatwa can be treated as a legitimate document, with validity equal to the validity of the text of international treaties,” Iranian Atomic Energy Organization Director Ali Akbar Salehi said in February.
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Israelis protest possible U.S.-brokered release of terrorist prisoners
(JNS.org) Some 200 Israelis marched in Jerusalem on Wednesday to protest the possible U.S.-brokered release of Arab prisoners, Israel Hayom reported. The demonstrators held pictures of some 300 Israelis killed by prisoners who were released or were about to be released as part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Meir Indor, director of the Almagor Terror Victims Association, called on the Israeli government to stand firm and not give in to “U.S. extortion” in the negotiations.
The march originated from the intersection of King George Street and Jaffa Road, the site of a major 2001 suicide bombing. Some of the perpetrators of that attack, which took place at a now-defunct Sbarro pizza parlor, were released by Israel.
Protesters started the demonstration by reciting Psalms. Then, Rabbi Yehuda Ben-Yishai, whose daughter Ruth Fogel was killed in Itamar three years ago along with her husband and three of her children, recited the Mourner’s Kaddish. Demonstrators then marched to the U.S. Consulate on Agron Street to protest the reported American offer to release imprisoned Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard alongside the Palestinian prisoners. They chanted, “Do not release terrorists,” “Don’t let Jewish blood be spilled,” and “Don’t release murderers.”
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Jonathan Pollard release reportedly ‘out of the mix’ in Israeli-Palestinian talks
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The release of jailed Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard is now “out of the mix” as a measure to extend the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, a senior U.S. official told The Washington Post in a report published Wednesday.
In light of the current confusion on Wednesday surrounding the status of the Israeli-Palestinian talks, the U.S. reportedly toughened its stance on a possible Pollard deal. The Palestinian Authority this week violated the terms of the negotiations by beginning the process of joining 15 international conventions, in response to Israel not proceeding with the fourth round of the release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners.
While President Barack Obama gave Secretary of State John Kerry the green light to float Pollard’s release as part of a larger deal to “give negotiations a genuine chance to succeed,” freeing Pollard would “antagonize the [U.S.] intelligence agencies,” said officials cited by The New York Times.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer said he believes that as of now, the talks are on the verge of dying. “All of the indications are that this is moribund. We’re now into Plan B, which has two parts: the blame game, which is well underway, and a last-ditch effort by the United States not to have the collapse lead to violence,” Kurtzer said.
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Palestinians begin process of joining international conventions
(JNS.org) The Palestinian Authority (PA) began the process of joining 15 international conventions in response to Israel not proceeding with the fourth round of the release of Palestinian terrorist prisoners.
“I presented the letters signed by [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas this morning to U.N. special envoy Robert Serry, as well as to the representatives of the Netherlands and Switzerland,” Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki said, Ma’an News Agency reported.
As part of the agreement to enter peace talks that it signed last July, the PA promised to postpone accession to international bodies.
“Since Israel failed to release the last group of prisoners, the State of Palestine is no longer obliged to postpone its rights to accede to multilateral treaties and conventions,” the Palestine Liberation Organization said in a statement on Wednesday.
Yet al-Maliki said the Palestinians remain committed to the current talks with Israel.
“This action does not detract from the importance of negotiations. We are still committed to these talks,” he said.
The list of 15 international conventions that the Palestinians applied to includes the 1949 Geneva Conventions, conventions on the rights of children and people with disabilities, and conventions against torture and gender discrimination. There are no U.N. bodies on the list.
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Israel divestment overturned at U.K.’s King’s College, defeated in New Mexico
(JNS.org) The student union of King’s College, a constituent college of the University of London, on April 1 overturned an Israel divestment resolution that had passed last week, Britain’s Jewish News reported.
Initially passed in a 348-252 vote, the resolution called on King’s College to “divest from Israel and from companies directly or indirectly supporting the Israeli occupation and apartheid policies.” But the university student body said in a statement that after “careful consideration and taking into account legal advice… we will not promote the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement through the union.”
Only two percent of the student body at King’s College had participated in the initial vote that passed the resolution on March 25.
Additionally, an Israel divestment resolution was defeated April 2 in a 12-7 vote (with one abstention) in the University of New Mexico student government. The resolution failed despite the introduction of a watered-down amended version by the anti-Israel group Students for Justice in Palestine.
“These results show that when student senators are informed, they see through the undemocratic tactics and false reasoning and facts of the anti-Israel BDS movement,” said Roz Rothstein, CEO of the pro-Israel education group StandWithUs.
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Israeli Foreign Ministry strike ends (JNS.org)
The Israeli Foreign Ministry strike, which shut down Israeli embassies and consulates around the world for almost two weeks, ended Wednesday after the two sides came to an agreement on a pay increase for workers.
According to the new agreement reached between the Israeli Finance Ministry and the Histradrut Labor Federation, the foreign ministry will have greater control over sending emissaries abroad; pension plans will be strengthened, especially for families of diplomats; and more financial assistance will be provided for diplomats going abroad.
“After long negotiations, we have arrived at an agreement that will strengthen the foreign service and aid the country’s emissaries in the world [who] work at length in the Israeli diplomatic service,” said Kobi Amsalem, director of the Wages Department at the finance ministry, the Jerusalem Post reported.
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Israeli company to unveil brain surgery module in San Francisco
(JNS.org) The Israeli company Mazor Robotics Ltd. will unveil its new Renaissance Guidance System brain module at the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) annual meeting in San Francisco next week.
The brain module, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for both spine and brain surgery, offers accurate surgical access to areas of the brain.
Using a small platform with three fixation points, the module minimizes the need for incisions and resulting scars. At the same time, physicians have 360 degrees of working volume and can more easily change trajectory during surgery.
“We are very happy to see the benefits that Renaissance Brain Surgery is bringing to neurosurgeons and their patients,” said Mazor Robotics CEO Ori Hadomi, according to Globes. “After years of development, we are excited to introduce our technology to the brain surgery market and continue our efforts in this new arena.”
So far, the system has been used to place 45,000 implants during thousands of spine procedures around the world.
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Hillel International appoints first general legal counsel
(JNS.org) Hillel International President and CEO Eric Fingerhut on Wednesday announced the appointment of Tracy Turoff as the organization’s first general legal counsel. Turoff will advise the Hillel umbrella organization, its campus affiliations, and its external partnerships on all legal and compliance issues. Hillel’s work spans 550 organizations across five continents.
“It’s a combination of three things: she’s very smart, she has tremendous people skills and just knows how to work with people, and finally, and most important, is her strong sense of Jewish identity. Her Jewish identity leads her to be a positive force in the world,” said Fingerhut, the president and CEO of Hillel International, according to the Cleveland Jewish News.
After graduating from Case Western Reserve University, Turoff went on to receive a law degree from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. During her legal career, she was elected as an American Marshall Memorial Fellow and an Alliance of Civilizations International Fellow.
Her positions had sent her to work with government as well as business and community leaders in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. She later worked as an attorney for the law firm of Taft, Stettinius and Hollister. Twenty years ago, Turoff had worked alongside Fingerhut as a legislative aide in Washington, DC, when he represented Ohio’s 19th congressional district.
“Hillel is such a meaningful organization. A really big draw was getting to work with Eric Fingerhut again,” said Turoff, who serves on the Cleveland Jewish News board of directors. “He’s really an inspiring person. He always approaches everything with a sense of vision and intelligence. He is very altruistic in his goals and really a true leader.”
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