Israeli attorney general approves broadcast of Netanyahu’s Congress speech
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein told the country’s Central Elections Committee on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to the U.S. Congress has significant news value and that broadcasting it in Israel does not constitute illegal election propaganda.
Weinstein’s decision was made in response to an appeal by Meretz leader Zahava Gal-On to the Central Elections Committee to prohibit the speech, which Gal-On claimed was a violation of Israel’s election propaganda law. The Israeli Knesset elections take place March 17, two weeks after Netanyahu’s speech.
“An examination of the planned speech reveals that there is no reason to prevent its broadcast to begin with,” read Weinstein’s decision. “It is a speech by the prime minister about the Iranian nuclear issue to be made at a time that correlates with the external [negotiations] schedule related to the issue.”
“In preparation for his trip, the prime minister was given a detailed legal guide from the legal department at the Prime Minister’s Office, including instructions and prohibitions relating to elections law, to ensure that his speech, like all of his other speeches made during the election period, will not constitute illegal election propaganda,” Weinstein added.
Meanwhile, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud)—who recently returned from a visit to the U.S., where he met with numerous American political officials—predicted that “90 percent of Democrats will be present for Netanyahu’s speech to the joint session of Congress.”
Some Democrats, including Vice President Joe Biden, have been officially announcing that they will not attend the address. The White House opposes the speech on the grounds that House Speaker John Boehner did not consult Obama about inviting Netanyahu. But the prime minister insists that he must give the speech because Israel’s survival is threatened by a bad nuclear deal between Iran and its Western negotiating partners, including the U.S.
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Jewish woman killed amid fighting in Ukrainian city of Donetsk
(JNS.org) A Jewish woman was killed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, where pro-Russian rebel forces are continuing to battle Ukrainian authorities, on Tuesday night.
The woman, Irina Shelkayeba, was a teacher at the Chabad-affiliated OhrAvner Preschool in Donetsk. She was cooking dinner when a rocket slammed into her apartment, Chabad.org reported.
On Wednesday, a minibus was also hit by rocket fire about 980 feet away from the Donetsk synagogue, where morning prayers were being held. The congregants have since been evacuated from the premises. A local Jewish organization, the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS, is also considering evacuating the Donetsk Jewish community to the nearby city of Rostov.
“This latest development is another stark reminder of the harsh conditions on the ground that impact the lives of the most vulnerable in Ukraine every day. As we mourn the loss of life, our staff on the ground are tending to the elderly and poor Jews we serve in the city to ensure their safety. We remain vigilant and dedicated to delivering humanitarian aid to the thousands in Ukraine who are facing violence, scarcity of food and medicine, and the harsh winter months,” said American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee CEO Alan Gill, the Jerusalem Post reported.
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Hezbollah, Iranian forces advancing against al-Qaeda-backed rebels near Golan Heights
(JNS.org) Hezbollah and Iranian forces are advancing against al-Qaeda-backed rebel forces in southern Syria near the Golan Heights.
Hezbollah and Iranian forces, in support of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, have been attempting to retake the region from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front forces, which took control of the area late last summer.
“The operations are being led by Hezbollah’s special forces,” said Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the United Kingdom-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Associated Press reported. “Their aim appears to be to eventually reach areas bordering the occupied Golan and set up a border zone under Hezbollah’s control.”
According to the Abdulrahman, the operation began two days ago and aims to take control of rebel-held territory southwest of Damascus to Dera’a and Quneitra, which is near the Israeli Golan Heights.
Syria state media and Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV network reported that their forces were able to seize the rebel stronghold of Deir al-Adas.
Last month, an Israeli airstrike in the same region killed six Hezbollah operatives and six Iranians, including Hezbollah commander Jihad Mughniyeh and Iranian general Mohammad Ali Allahdadi.
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Hamas commander killed by Egyptian forces in Sinai
(JNS.org) A commander of the Hamas terrorist group’s Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades was reportedly killed by an Egyptian army airstrike in the Sinai Peninsula.
Abdallah Saeed Kashta, 25, from the southern Gaza town of Rafah, was killed as part of a raid by Egyptian forces against the Islamic State-affiliated Wilayat Sinai jihadist group (formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis) last Friday, Sky News Arabia reported.
Israel’s Channel 2 reported that Kashta was cooperating with the Sinai jihadist group.
Earlier this month, an Egyptian court designated the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s “military wing,” as a terrorist organization. The crackdown on Hamas is part of a wider campaign in Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas’s parent group.
On Tuesday, a video surfaced of Wilayat Sinai showing the decapitation of 10 men whom the group accused of spying for Israel and Egypt.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has waged a massive campaign to destroy Sinai-based terror groups, who have repeatedly attacked Egyptian military forces and civilians in the region.
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Christian-Jewish aid group sends $650,000 in emergency aid to Ukrainian Jews
(JNS.org) The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) has announced that it is sending $650,000 in emergency aid to help poor and displaced Jews in several eastern Ukrainian cities under siege from Russian government-backed rebel groups.
“We get worrisome updates constantly; our prayers are with those in need. We will do everything in our power to ensure that no Jew will be left homeless, go hungry, or not be able to emigrate on aliyah to Israel,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of IFCJ.
Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in fighting between the Western-backed Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels backed by Moscow. Recent peace talks between Russia and the West have failed to end the fighting and resolve the conflict.
According to IFCJ, the emergency humanitarian aid will provide three months of medicine, food, supplies for soup kitchens and security for synagogues and Jewish institutions in the embattled Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Mariupol.
Additionally, the funds will cover temporary housing costs for Jews fleeing the violence, and will increase the discretionary funding IFCJ provides to 23 rabbis in Ukraine who support the Jewish community there. Overall, IFCJ has provided nearly $10 million in aid to Ukrainian Jews since the fighting began more than a year ago.
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Israeli foundation awards $1 million prize to Wikipedia founder and others
(JNS.org) The Israel-based Dan David Foundation has awarded this year’s Dan David Prize for scientific, technological, and cultural accomplishments to Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, among other prominent honorees, the foundation announced Tuesday.
The three annual $1 million prizes are administered by Tel Aviv University and named for late philanthropist Dan David. In the past, it has been awarded to former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen.
In addition to Wales, who is being honored for founding the world’s largest online encyclopedia, the foundation is spreading this year’s prizes among historians Peter R. Brown and Alessandro Portelli as well as scientists Cyrus Chothia, David Haussler, and Michael Waterman. The award ceremony will take place in May.
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