Israel’s Netanyahu among world’s 10 most-discussed politicians on Facebook
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the 10th-most-discussed international politician on Facebook during 2015, the social media giant said.
U.S. President Barack Obama topped the list, while Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was second. Over the past year, the upcoming U.S. presidential election has been the most-discussed global topic on Facebook, while November’s Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris ranked second.
Rounding out the 10 most-discussed topics globally were the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis; the Nepal earthquakes; the Greek debt crisis; marriage equality; the fight against Islamic State; the Charlie Hebdo attack; the Baltimore protests; and the Charleston shooting and flag debate.
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Obama and Rivlin fete Hanukkah at White House, stress U.S.-Israel bonds
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed “the unbreakable bond” between the U.S. and Israel while celebrating Hanukkah with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at the White House on Wednesday.
The two presidents held a private meeting before attending a Hanukkah celebration that included lighting the White House menorah. At their meeting, Obama told Rivlin the U.S. wanted to be helpful in reducing tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, which have recently peaked in a spate of stabbings and other violent attacks lasting several months.
Obama said it was critical for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to “unequivocally condemn” the attacks, fight incitement, and pursue dialogue with Israel.
“Although obviously this is a time at which the prospects of serious peace may seem distant, it’s important that we continue to try,” Obama said in the Oval Office.
Rivlin stressed at the beginning of the meeting that, “Israel has no greater friend than the U.S. and I want to say this loud and clear. The people of Israel thank you from the bottom of our heart.”
On the agenda for the meeting were discussions about renewing a 10-year security agreement that could lead to more U.S. military assistance to Israel. Obama said he also planned to discuss terrorism with Rivlin.
On the topic of terrorism, Rivlin noted that “we have no war with Islam. We have war against those who are using ideas in order to create extremism and threats toward the whole innocent people of the world.”
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Bernie Madoff trustee sues Israeli universities, hospitals for $95 million
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The trustee appointed to liquidate the assets of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC to return money to the victims of businessman and Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has filed a $95 million lawsuit against some of the largest educational and medical institutions in Israel.
Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison in 2009 for defrauding thousands of investors out of a total of $65 billion. The trustee, Irving Picard, alleges that though the institutions unknowingly accepted stolen money from Madoff as donations before his scheme came to light, it is now their responsibility to return it to the victims, which they have refused to do, he says.
Among the defendants in the case are the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which is being sued for $36 million; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, being sued for $18 million; the Weizmann Institute, being sued for $13 million; Bar-Ilan University, being sued for $10 million; Tel Aviv University, which is being sued for $6.5 million; and Sheba Medical Center, being sued for $2.3 million.
Picard filed the lawsuit through attorneys Jonathan Agmon and Ady Norman from the Israeli law firm Soroker and Agmon. The institutions apparently received the funds through the Yeshaya Horowitz Association. Picard alleges that the foundation was transferred some $123 million in funds defrauded from Madoff’s investors, much of which it then distributed to Israeli institutions.
The Israeli business news website Globes reported Picard as saying that “the facts establishing the grounds for the claim explain how the innocent Madoff victims’ money was given to hospitals and universities in Israel in the form of ‘donations’ and ‘grants.’ The money from theft and fraud was laundered through the respondents, who are now refusing to restore the money to its legal owners—Madoff’s victims.”
According to the Globes report, the Association of University Heads of Israel said in a statement that the universities did not know about the Yeshaya Horowitz Association’s investments and that the money, which “was legally donated to universities,” had already been used for research.
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On Hanukkah, Israeli high school students discover Hasmonean-era coins
(JNS.org) A team of students from Israel’s Handasaim Herzliya High School found three coins from the historic Hanukkah-era Hasmonean dynasty while on an archaeological dig. The coins were minted during the rule of King Alexander Jannaeus in the 1st century BCE.
“The students’ excitement was contagious,” said archaeologist Dr. Eitan Klein of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), which organized the excavation of the ruins at Adulam Park. “It’s very nice to see their enthusiasm as they connect with the past and with the fascinating world of archeology for the first time.”
Almog Simoni, one of the students who found the coins, told Israel Hayom, “They told us we found something important. We were in shock—complete shock. Everyone was really happy, and the archeologists were surprised as well.”
Student Amit Omer, who also helped find the coins, added that “there was an image of the sun on one of them. They told us that these coins were made about 100 BCE and that they were used for about 200 years, after Alexander Jannaeus’s rule, which makes them very important.”
Dr. Donald Ariel, head of the IAA’s Coin Department, said, “It’s interesting to note that Alexander’s Hasmonean coins were used by residents of Israel even after his death, for about 200 years, until the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. This shows that the economy at [Alexander’s] time was developed and that his rule was very strong.”
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Jordan’s Arab Bank not liable to compensate terror victims, U.S. court rules
(JNS.org) The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Tuesday ruled that non-U.S. citizens whose families were victims of terror attacks in Israel could not be compensated by Arab Bank Plc, the Jordanian bank they had claimed supported Palestinian terror attacks.
The court upheld a 2013 appellate court ruling that dismissed American lawsuits filed against Arab Bank. The three-judge panel said that under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789, it appears that Arab Bank does not have corporate liability for the terror attacks. Judge Robert Sack said that even if corporate liability exists, the circuit court cannot overrule the law set by the lower court.
Arab Bank said that claims by more than 6,000 plaintiffs were affected by the ruling. The latest ruling marks a setback for terror victims and a shift in momentum in the case, after a Brooklyn district judge in April had rejected the bank’s bid to overturn a verdict by a jury that found it liable for supporting terrorism against Israelis.
The bank was originally sued by the victims of 24 terror attacks in Israel that have been blamed on the Palestinian terror group Hamas. The plaintiffs accused Arab Bank of providing Hamas with material and financial support. The case marks the first time in U.S. history that a bank has stood trial over charges stemming from the Anti-Terrorism Act, which enables American victims of U.S.-designated foreign terror groups to seek compensation.
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Israeli medical apps dominate international competition in Germany
(JNS.org) Four Israeli companies were among the 10 winners in the 2015 Medica App Competition, held in the German city of Dusseldorf.
The TalkITT app, developed by the VoiceITT company, won first place for its app that helps people with speech disabilities use their own voice. Third place went to Israel’s Mobile ODT for its Enhanced Visual Assessment app, designed to aid healthcare professionals perform better visual cervical cancer screenings.
Two other Israeli apps were among the 10 finalists, including iFeel Labs Match3, which developed a game that helps people with asthma breathe more effectively while using a sensor. and Doctome, which created a telemedicine platform of online medical services that enables 24/7 video calls/chats around the globe with doctors who speak the patient’s language.
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Swedish lawmaker: government’s stance against Israel is now ‘more extreme’
(JNS.org) Kent Ekeroth, a Jewish member of the Swedish Parliament, on Wednesday accused Sweden’s government of holding Israel to a double standard.
“Sweden has always had misconceptions about Israel, but it has become more extreme,” he told Israel’s Channel 2. “Our government, and especially [Foreign] Minister [Margot] Wallstrom have different standards when it comes to anything related to Israel.”
Wallstrom recently accused Israel of carrying out “extrajudicial executions” against Palestinians. She also blamed the Paris terror attacks on “Palestinian frustration” with Israel. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, meanwhile, said the ongoing wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks in Israel does not constitute terrorism, but then walked back his comments.
Ekeroth said Sweden would defend any other country, but “because we’re talking about Israel,” Sweden “attacks.”
“Either [Wallstrom] doesn’t know that [the Palestinians] support terrorists or she’s just lying,” said Ekeroth. “The foreign minister is carrying out false propaganda and accuses Israel of everything. It’s amazing she doesn’t understand the logic that Israel is defending itself from terrorists. She’s anti-Israel and tries to defend terrorists.”
Ekeroth recently debated Wallstrom in a Swedish Parliament session, in which he questioned how she could call Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas a friend of peace who has denounced terrorism while there are countless examples of how the PA celebrates terrorist attacks on Israelis.
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Palestinian Authority prime minister claims Israel wants a binational state
(JNS.org) Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday accused Israel of implementing a “binational state” (one-state solution) instead of the Palestinians’ desired “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which Israel would hand over Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.
Referring to terrorists killed by Israeli security forces, the PA’s Foreign Ministry stated that it will continue to prioritize Israel’s return of the bodies of “Palestinian martyrs,” blasting Israel for “a crime against humanity.” Additionally, Hamdallah called the Jerusalem Municipality’s decision to set up “Jewish facilities” at the Western Wall a “blatant violation of an Islamic site.” (The Western Wall, however, is a holy site for Judaism since it contains the remains of a retaining wall erected by King Herod from the Second Jewish Temple.)
Hamdallah’s comments come after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent assertion at the Saban Forum conference that Israel is headed for “a one-state reality” in the absence of a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had responded to Kerry’s remarks by saying, “I want to make it clear—Israel will not become a binational state….For there to be peace, the other side will have to decide it wants peace. Unfortunately, that is not what we are seeing. First of all, the Palestinian Authority’s incitement continues. This must stop. And I saw that the chief Palestinian negotiator (Saeb Erekat) paid a condolence visit to the family of a terrorist who tried to kill Jews. So not only did [Erekat] not condemn the attack, he expressed his condolences to [the terrorist’s family], thereby giving encouragement and support for terrorist actions.”
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Palestinian stabbing attack in Hebron wounds 2 Israelis
(JNS.org) The latest Palestinian terrorist stabbing attack in Hebron wounded two Israelis on Wednesday. One Israeli youth was in moderate condition with stab wounds in his upper body, and the other was lightly wounded with a stab wound in his leg, according to the Magen David Adom emergency response agency.
The terrorist, a cousin of another Palestinian terrorist who carried out an attack in Hebron earlier this week, was shot and killed.
Up-to-date Israeli-compiled statistics on the ongoing Palestinian “stabbing intifada” can be found here.
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One-third of Israeli children live in poverty, report says
(JNS.org) An annual report released Wednesday by Israel’s National Insurance Institute shows that 776,500 Israeli children were living in poverty in 2014, indicating a slight increase from 2013.
The number of Israeli families below the poverty line rose from 18.6 percent to 18.8 percent, with one in five Israeli citizens and one in three children living in poverty. Individuals earning less than NIS 3,077 ($797) a month and families with a monthly income of less than NIS 9,230 ($2,390) are considered poor, according to the report.
Researchers suggested that the increase in the number of Israel’s poor families came due to a decrease in employment levels.
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Articles from JNS.org appear on San Diego Jewish World through the generosity of Dr. Bob and Mao Shillman.