Leaked document shows George Soros donated to anti-Israel causes
(JNS.org) The website DC Leaks has released a confidential report composed of documents showing that Jewish Hungarian-American business magnate George Soros has contributed a large amount of funds to anti-Israel causes. The documents were accessed after Soros’s company was hacked as part of the larger hack that targeted the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in June.
According to the leaked documents, Soros gave more than $2 billion to Adalah, a self-described “independent human rights organization” that has accused Israel of war crimes and called on governments to sever diplomatic relations with the Jewish state. More than a $1 million was also donated to the Palestinian media center I’lam, which has accused Israel of ethnic cleansing and has published anti-Zionist content. Other organizations that received funding from Soros according to the report include: Mada al-Carmel, Kayan-Feminist Organization, Mossawa Center, Molad, The Galilee Society, Al-Tufula Center, Ma’an, Injaz, Sidreh, Lakiya, Baladna, Arab Association for Human Rights, National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities in Israel and PILI Foundation.
In addition, the leaked documents also revealed how Soros and his network’s efforts to promote awareness of perceived Israeli violations against Palestinians, while at the same time making an effort not to draw attention to this goal.
“For a variety of reasons,” states one of the leaked documents. “we wanted to construct a diversified portfolio of grants dealing with Israel and Palestine, funding both Israeli Jewish and PCI (Palestinian Citizens of Israel) groups as well as building a portfolio of Palestinian grants and in all cases to maintain a low profile and relative distance—particularly on the advocacy front.”
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Chabad sets up donation page for Baton Rouge flooding victims
(JNS.org) The Chabad center in Baton Rouge, La., has started a donation fund to help victims of the massive flooding that has hit the region over the past few days.
Rescue efforts continue after parts of the area were officially declared federal disaster areas, more than 10,000 people have been displaced into shelters, and four people were killed. More than 20,000 people have been rescued across the state, USA Today reported.
“Baton Rouge, Louisiana and the surrounding areas have been hit by historic floods over the last few days. People have lost their homes, cars, are out of work, and need food, clothing and shelter. Chabad, although only open one year, has many contacts here, specifically in the Jewish community, some of which have seen major devastation. It is our job to reach out and help in any way we can,” stated Chabad on a crowd funding page it set up via gofundme.com.
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AJC condemns murder of NYC Imam and assistant
(JNS.org) The American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) U.S. Director of Muslim-Jewish Relations Robert Silverman condemned the “cold-blooded dual murder” of Imam Maulama Akonjee and his assistant Thara Uddin, who were shot in the head in Queens, New York on Sunday afternoon.
“We are deeply pained by this cold-blooded dual murder of Muslim religious leaders,” Silverman said after visiting the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque, where Akonjee worked, and its congregation late on Sunday.
“Our hearts go out to the families of the slain men, to their congregation, and to the Bangladeshi Muslim community in New York.”
Silverman will also represent AJC at the funerals of both victims. “Spending time, speaking with some of the men who knew and admired Imam Akonjee was especially heartbreaking. We stand with this traumatized community, and offer much support and understanding for healing,” he said.
As of yet, although the New York Police Department has taken a suspect into custody, no motive for the crime has been determined. “Bringing the killer to justice must be an utmost priority,” Silverman said.
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Jordan’s King Abdullah promises to defend Al-Aqsa from Jewish ‘extremists’
(JNS.org) Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Monday said he will stand against any attacks on the Al-Asqa Mosque on the Temple Mount by so-called Israeli “extremists,” following clashes on Sunday at the holy site.
“Our responsibility towards the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem is our top priority in the international arena, and we use all means necessary to defend al-Aksa Mosque,” King Abdullah said in an interview to the Jordanian daily, Al-Dustour, as reported in the Jerusalem Post.
King Abdullah claimed that Israel has continually tries to “change the status quo” on the Temple Mount, which currently restricts non-Muslim visitation and allows for unlimited Muslim prayer at the site. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said there will be no changes to the status quo.
Following the 1967 Six Day War, Jordan was given the authority to manage the Temple Mount and Al-Asqa Mosque, where several clashes have erupted over the years, often between Muslim activists and Jewish worshipers during holidays.
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Second Temple-era synagogue unearthed in northern Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The remains of an unusual structure that served as a synagogue during the Second Temple era have been unearthed at an archaeological excavation underway at Tel Rechesh in the heart of the Nahal Tavor Nature Reserve in the lower Galilee.
The synagogue is one of only eight synagogues discovered in Israel that date back to the Second Temple era, said Dr. Motti Aviam, a senior researcher at the Kinneret Institute for Galilean Archaeology at the Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee.
“This is the first synagogue discovered in the rural part of the Galilee and it confirms historical information we have about the New Testament, which says that Jesus preached at synagogues in Galilean villages,” Aviam said.
In the first century C.E., a large farm was built on the tel (a hill comprising layers of archaeological remains). The farm buildings include one structure containing a large room that measures 8 meters (26 feet) by 9 meters (29.5 feet). The walls of the room are lined with benches constructed from skillfully hewn limestone. Along the northern wall, archaeologists also discovered two large basalt stones that formed part of a ritual altar that had been used some 1,500 years earlier in a temple in a Canaanite city that stood on the same spot.
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‘Termites’ congressman toured West Bank with pro-Palestinian group
(JNS.org) U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), who became embroiled in controversy last month for comparing Jews who live in Jewish communities across the pre-1967 lines as “termites,” had reportedly toured the West Bank earlier this year in a trip funded by a pro-Palestinian group.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Johnson, along with his wife, Mereda David Johnson, traveled to Ramallah and Jerusalem in late May in a trip paid for by MIFTA, an organization that advocates for a Palestinian state, and the American Global Institute.
The $13,000 trip was billed as an opportunity to meet with “Palestinian officials, and business and community leaders to learn more about the regional economy, politics and culture.”
While the visit was legal under U.S. House of Representatives rules, the revelation comes as Johnson is attempting to mend ties with Georgia’s Jewish community.
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France, U.S. slam Israeli demolition plans of illegal structures
(JNS.org) The French and U.S. governments both condemned Israeli plans to demolish illegally built Palestinian structures in the West Bank.
In a statement on Thursday, the French foreign ministry said that it was the third time this year that Israel has torn-down French-financed structures, “which includes the dismantling of a school in February.”
“France is deeply concerned by the accelerated pace of demolitions and confiscations of humanitarian structures that should benefit the Palestinian population living in Area C,” it added, AFP reported.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to put an end to these practices which are contrary to international law.”
Under the 1994 Oslo Accords, Israel maintains full military and civilian control of Area C of the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department added that it was also concerned about Israeli plans to demolish tiny Palestinian village of Susiya in the southern West Bank.
“If the Israeli government proceeds with demolitions in Susiya, it would be very troubling and would have a very damaging impact on the lives of the Palestinians living there who have already been displaced on other occasions,” spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters.
However, according to Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the structures are being demolished because they were built without a permit.
“No request for building permits of the illegal structures had been received by their owners. They were invited to a committee to give them a chance to rectify the situation and gain permission but they failed to appear,” COGAT said, Reuters reported.
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Jewish filmmaker: German hotel removed Israel from phone list because of Arab guests
(JNS.org) French Jewish filmmaker Claude Lanzmann has accused a five-star hotel in Berlin of intentionally removing Israel off a list of international dialing codes in response to pressure by Arab guests.
Lanzmann, who is known for directing the renowned Holocaust documentary “Shoah,” told the German newspaper the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that a hotel employee told him Israel was not on the list because Arab guests of the hotel requested that it be removed.
However, hotel director Birgitt Ullerich denied this allegation to the Associated Press, saying that the omission “was simply an oversight.”
Nevertheless, Berlin Interior Minister Frank Henkel has asked the hotel to investigate the allegation.
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After losing, Egyptian judoka refuses to shake Israeli judoka’s hand
(JNS.org) Egyptian judoka Islam El Shahaby was booed by spectators for refusing to shake the hand of Israeli judoka Or Sasson, after losing to him in the first round of the men’s over-100kg competition at the Rio Olympic Games on Friday.
El Shahaby would not take Sasson’s hand after the match, despite the fact that the Japanese judo tradition dictates that both opponents bow to one another and shake hands after a bout. After El Shahaby left the mat area, he was called back by the referee to bow and was loudly booed by angry supporters of Sasson.
Before the match El Shabby, 32, had been pressured by social media and hardline Islamist groups in Egypt to withdraw from the fight, despite the fact that Israel and Egypt have had a peace treaty since 1979, the Times of Israel reported.
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Pentagon: Iran has improved cyber abilities and ballistic missiles since nuke deal
(JNS.org) Iran has gradually improved both its cyber abilities and developed more advanced ballistic missiles since the singing of the nuclear deal with world powers in July 2015, a new report from the U.S. Defense Department said.
The Islamic Republic now has a “substantial inventory of missiles capable of reaching targets throughout the region, including U.S. military bases and Israel,” the Pentagon said in an unclassified summary, Bloomberg News reported.
The report issued by the Pentagon is part an annual review mandated by Congress from the defense agency as a result of the nuclear deal being approved last years.
In addition to boosting its cyber and missile technology, the Pentagon report also said that Iran seeks to continue to control strategic regions in the Middle East such as the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. The report noted that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards are also trying “support and carry out” terror attacks to advance their strategic interests.
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