NGO Monitor leader ‘not surprised’ of AP media ban
(JNS.org) NGO Monitor leader Professor Gerald Steinberg says he is “not surprised” of the alleged revelation that the Associated Press banned its reporters from contacting the watchdog organization.
In an article published in The Atlantic on Sunday exploring media bias covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, former AP journalist Matti Friedman claims that he had explicit orders from the AP bureau chiefs to never quote NGO Monitor or its leader Professor Gerald Steinberg because of their alleged pro-Israel leanings.
“In my time as an AP writer moving through the local conflict, with its myriad lunatics, bigots, and killers, the only person I ever saw subjected to an interview ban was this professor,” Friedman wrote.
“Based on our experience in publishing detailed research on over 150 NGOs claiming to promote human rights and humanitarian objectives, we are aware of the intense efforts to maintain the NGO ‘halo effect’ and prevent critical debate. While the AP censorship was explicit, we have experienced similar silencing from other media platforms,” Steinberg responded to Friedman’s article.
*
Pope Francis, Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew deplore ‘terrible situation’ for Mideast Christians
(JNS.org) In a rare display of Christian unity, Pope Francis and the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew issued a joint plea deploring the “terrible situation” facing Middle East Christians.
“Many of our brothers and sisters are being persecuted and have been forced violently from their homes. It even seems that the value of human life has been lost, that the human person no longer matters and may be sacrificed to other interests. And, tragically, all this is met by the indifference of many,” the Church leaders said at a meeting in Istanbul on Sunday, Vatican Radio reported.
Pope Francis wrapped up his historic three-day visit to Turkey on Sunday, where he urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that “it would be wonderful if all the Muslim leaders of the world — political, religious and academic, spoke up clearly and condemned” the violence perpetrated by Islamic extremists.
*
Hamas says Palestinian unity government is over
(JNS.org) The national unity government signed by Hamas and Fatah last spring has ended, according to a Hamas spokesman.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said that the six-month unity government has expired and that negotiations between the two Palestinian factions should resume, Ma’an News reported.
However, Faisal Abu Shala, a senior Fatah official, disputed Hamas’ claim that the interim government would expire after six months, saying “if the Hamas movement has retracted the reconciliation agreement and the termination of rivalry that is a different case.”
Over the summer it was revealed that Hamas had plotted to assassinate PA President Mahmoud Abbas and overthrow the PA government in the West Bank. More recently, Fatah accused Hamas of launching a series of bomb attacks on Fatah member in Gaza in early November.
Meanwhile, Hamas also slammed PA security forces for continuing to arrest Hamas supporters in the West Bank.
“Hamas denounces the escalating violations and criminal acts by the PA security services against supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian resistance,” Abu Zuhri said.
*
Israeli civilian stabbed in Gush Etzion terror attack
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A female terrorist stabbed an Israeli civilian at the Gush Etzion junction in the northern Judean hills on Monday, wounding him lightly. Soldiers stationed at the junction noted the attack and opened fire at the terrorist, seriously wounding her.
Israeli troops were called to the scene to hunt for three suspected accomplices who are believed to have transported the attacker to the junction. The attacker has been identified as a 20-year-old resident of the Palestinian town of Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem.
The victim sustained stab wounds to his shoulder and was treated at the scene. The terrorist has been transported to a hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.
*
Israeli-Canadian woman believed captured by Islamic State ‘is safe’
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Gill Rosenberg, the Canadian-born immigrant to Israel who became the first foreign woman to join Kurds battling the Islamic State group in Syria, was reported by extremist Islamic websites to have been captured by Islamic State, but her Kurdish comrades are denying the reports.
The reports, many of them on Palestinian websites, say that Rosenberg, 31, was taken prisoner by Islamic State during battles in Kobani, but do not provide more information. Islamic State has not responded to the reports, and Kurdish officials say they are false.
However, another post on her Facebook page is addressed at people concerned about her. “Gill is safe and she is not active on Facebook [be]cause she has no Internet access,” her friend Oliver Brimo wrote.
The Foreign Ministry released a statement saying it was following the reports but had not received any requests for help from Rosenberg’s family.
*
Israel names successor to IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz
(JNS.org) Israel announced that Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot will succeed Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz as chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) next February.
Eizenkot, the IDF’s current deputy chief of staff, began his military service in the Golani Brigade, which he would eventually lead from 1997-1998. He later served as military secretary to the prime minister and defense minister, head of the IDF’s Judea and Samaria Brigade, head of the Operations Directorate, and General Officer Commanding the Northern Command.
“Throughout his service, Maj. Gen. Eizenkot has demonstrated integrity and ethics, and he has always stood by his principles and opinions,” Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Saturday.
*
3 Palestinians charged in plot to attack MK Feiglin, activist Glick on Temple Mount
(JNS.org) Three Palestinian men were indicted over the weekend on suspicion of conspiring to throw stones and firecrackers at Member of Knesset Moshe Feiglin (Likud) and activist Yehuda Glick on the Temple Mount in late October.
Attorney Yifat Pinhasi said the three suspects had planned to stay in the Al-Aqsa mosque the night before Feiglin and Glick were scheduled to visit the Temple Mount, and then to emerge during the visit to attack them.
Charges against Majed Bin Maher Kriki, 21, Mohammed Bin Azmi Bikri, 20, and Mahmoud Bin Amjad Jaber, 18, include conspiracy to commit a crime, production of a weapon, carrying a weapon unlawfully, arson and causing bodily harm, attempt to cause injury, rioting, and unlawful association.
Glick, a promoter of Jewish access to the Temple Mount, was shot by an Arab terrorist in a separate incident on Oct. 29 and was hospitalized for a month.
*
Israeli foreign minister suggests paying Arabs to move to Palestinian state
(JNS.org) Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman suggested that Israeli Arabs who consider themselves part of the Palestinian people should be offered financial incentives to move to a future Palestinian state.
“Those [Israeli Arabs] who decide that their identity is Palestinian will be able to forfeit their Israeli citizenship and move and become citizens of the future Palestinian state,” Lieberman wrote Friday on his Facebook page, adding, “Israel should even encourage them to do so with a system of economic incentives.”
Arabs make up about 20 percent of Israel’s population.
*
First woman to command vessel in Israeli navy
(JNS.org) For the first time, a woman was appointed as a vessel commander in the Israeli Navy.
Captain Or Cohen, who is currently a navigation officer on a missile boat, will become the deputy chief of a patrol boat. During this summer’s war between Israel and Hamas, Cohen participated in a mission that intercepted a ship smuggling weapons from Iran to Gaza.
“As an IDF officer, I believe in the integration of women into meaningful combat roles, and I’m glad that I’ve been given the chance to have influence,” Cohen said, Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
*
Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman
.