Istanbul suicide bomber reportedly trailed Israeli tourists
(JNS.org) Several Turkish media outlets reported Monday that contrary to initial assessments by Turkish authorities, a group of Israeli tourists were in fact the specific target of a suicide bombing on Istanbul’s busy Istiklal Street on Saturday.
Three Israelis were killed in the suicide bombing on Saturday, which occurred on a long pedestrian avenue lined with stores and foreign consulates. An Iranian man was also killed.
According the latest Turkish reports, the terrorist, whose identity has since been confirmed, had waited outside the restaurant where the group of Israelis had dined on Saturday morning, detonating himself moments after they exited the establishment.
Turkey’s Haberturk newspaper reported that police were examining closed-circuit TV footage from the scene, which appeared to corroborate the report that the suicide bomber had followed the group of Israeli tourists for several miles from their hotel and then waited outside the restaurant where they ate breakfast.
The report suggested that the suicide bomber, identified as Islamic State member Mehmet Ozturk, recognized the Israelis were speaking Hebrew and decided to target them for that reason.
In addition to the three Israelis killed, at least 36 people were wounded, among them 11 Israelis. The three murdered Israelis have been identified as 60-year-old Simha Dimri, Yonatan Suher, 40, and Avraham Goldman, 69. Dimri’s husband, as well as Suher’s and Goldman’s wives, were all injured in the attack.
The U.S. State Department confirmed that Suher and Goldman were American citizens. The fourth victim killed in the attack was identified by Turkish officials as Iranian national Ali Reza Razmhah.
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Israeli cyclists win 2nd place in global competition
(JNS.org) Israeli cyclists Idit Shub and Gal Tsachor on Sunday rode to an unprecedented achievement in Israeli sports, taking home second place for their second time as a team in the prestigious and grueling Absa Cape Epic mountain bike competition in South Africa.
Despite Shub suffering from severe dehydration on the second day of the competition, the duo managed to close the gap on the leaders, traversing 402 miles in just eight days.
Shub, 35, and Tsachor, 43, finished the seventh and final stage of the race in Cape Town after 36:41:09 hours of cycling, coming ahead of some 1,200 mountain bikers from across the globe. The two began the race with hopes of winning, but on the second day, some 12 miles from the second-stage finish line, Shub was severely dehydrated and the two were forced to stop and recuperate for 20 crucial minutes. Shub and Tsachor finished strong, however, taking second place in the fifth stage and winning the final two stages.
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Biden at AIPAC: ‘no political will’ on either side for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks
(JNS.org) Reflecting on his recent visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Vice President Joe Biden told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on Sunday that there is currently “no political will, among Israelis or Palestinians” to move forward with serious peace negotiations.
“After extensive meetings with leaders on all sides, including the different [political] parties in Israel, I must tell you I didn’t walk away encouraged,” Biden said.
Biden condemned what he called actions on both sides that undermine trust between the Israelis and Palestinians, including Palestinian efforts to marginalize Israel at the United Nations and Israeli settlement activities. Biden drew some boos from the AIPAC crowd when he said that settlements are “eroding prospects” for a two-state solution.
While he said he knows that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “talking about it (a two-state solution), and I hear it being talked about on the Palestinian side,” Biden argued that such talk is not being backed up by actions.
“I know we have to work on renewing that will for peace…The terrorist attacks must stop, the rhetoric that incites violence against innocents…it must stop. The acts of retribution and revenge must stop,” Biden said.
“Trends on the ground…are moving in the opposite direction, towards a one-state reality, which is a reality that is dangerous,” he said.
Biden—who on his latest visit to Israel found himself about a mile away from a Palestinian stabbing rampage in Jaffa that injured 11 Israelis and killed visiting American graduate student Taylor Force—condemned “the failure to condemn” terrorism and said that is “exactly what I said to [Palestinian Authority] President [Mahmoud] Abbas when I met with him in Ramallah.”
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Breaking the Silence under probe after reportedly gathering classified information on IDF
(JNS.org) The controversial left-wing NGO Breaking the Silence is under investigation for reportedly attempting to glean classified information from former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.
Israel’s Channel 2 reported that Breaking the Silence actively worked to place people in classified units in the IDF in order to gather information that it could use in its activities against “the occupation.” Additionally, activists from the group interviewed IDF veterans on issues related to military secrets, and not human rights.
Channel 2 gained the information about the group using hidden camera footage filmed by activists from the right-wing NGO Ad Kan.
Breaking the Silence has long been controversial in Israel. The NGO attempts to expose alleged IDF human rights abuses in the disputed territories by using testimonies of former IDF veterans.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said security officials are now investigating Breaking the Silence’s actions.
“Breaking the Silence has crossed another red line,” Netanyahu said. “The defense establishment’s investigative bodies are looking into the issue.”
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that the IDF has opened an investigation into whether or not Breaking the Silence had gained classified information from former soldiers.
Israel beats U.S. on list of happiest countries, ranks 11th worldwide
(JNS.org) A new report ranking countries by happiness shows that Israel is the 11th-happiest country in the world—happier than the U.S., which was ranked 13th.
The report, prepared by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York, shows that the world’s happiest countries (in this order) are Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Israel, Austria, and the U.S.
The report ranks 157 countries based on their GDP, social support, life expectancy, freedom of choice, and generosity.
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Kenyan runner wins 6th Jerusalem Marathon
(JNS.org) Kenyan runner Kipkosgei Shadrack, 25, won the sixth annual Jerusalem Marathon on Friday with a time of 2:16:33.
The marathon, which attracted 25,000 Israeli and international participants, took place along the city’s many political and historical sites such as the Knesset, the Old City, Mount Zion, the German Colony, the Mount of Olives, and more.
In addition to the full 42-kilometer (26-mile) full marathon, there was a 21-kilometer (13 miles) half-marathon, as well as races of 10 and 5 kilometers (6 and 3 miles), a “families’ race” of 1.7 kilometers (about a mile), and a special-needs race of 800 meters (half a mile).
The event was secured by more than 1,000 police officers in light of the ongoing wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis in Jerusalem and elsewhere.
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