‘Difficult to overstate’ American Jewry’s importance to Israel, Netanyahu says
(JNS.org) It is “difficult to overstate the importance of the American Jewish people to the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday at an event in the Israeli Knesset that honored U.S. Jewry’s 100 years of contributions to Israel.
“American Jewry’s contribution to the state has been enormous and it will continue to be important to the future of the Israeli people,” said Netanyahu. “We must be more familiar with American Jewry and we must know more about them, and I’m convinced we will continue to see many young Americans making aliyah (immigration to Israel).”
The first-of-its-kind Knesset ceremony was organized by the Ruderman Family Foundation, which focuses on strengthening Israel-Diaspora relations. The foundation takes annual delegations of Knesset members on trips to the U.S. in order to help them gain a better understanding of the American Jewish community.
“I want to thank the Ruderman Family Foundation for this wonderful initiative and all the work they do to educate our delegates on a better understanding the American Jewish community,” Israeli opposition leader Member of Knesset Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) said Wednesday, on the heels of failed negotiations to bring his party into Netanyahu’s governing coalition. “It’s been a difficult few days between myself and Prime Minister Netanyahu, but one thing we have in common is our roots to the American Jewish people. We must do all we can to keep this golden bridge standing forever.”
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Report: 20 Israeli academics encourage anthropology association’s boycott of Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A new report compiled by Dr. Shahar Golan of the right-wing Zionist organization Im Tirtzu has revealed that 20 Israeli academics are encouraging the American Anthropological Association (AAA) to boycott Israel.
The AAA—the world’s largest professional body for anthropologists—has opened a vote among its 10,000 members on whether to sever all ties with Israel. The voting continues until May 31.
The 20 Israeli academics supporting the boycott are university lecturers and faculty members, some of whom receive their salaries from Israeli tax dollars, meaning that they are essentially supporting a boycott against themselves. The AAA boycott would end all cooperation with Israeli researchers. In an effort to stop the boycott motion, the Israeli Anthropological Association wrote a letter to its American counterpart. But two weeks later, 20 Israeli academics who belong to various left-wing groups expressed support for the boycott in a second letter.
“We encourage an open and public discussion of BDS (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) and other protest measures,” the letter states.
Among the signatories are Dr. Khaled Furani of Tel Aviv University, Dr. Yeela Raanan of Sapir College, Dr. Dafna Hirsch of the Open University, Dr. Dalit Simchai of Tel-Hai College, Chen Haklai of Tel Aviv University, Dr. Hanna Aviram, Noa Shaindlinger of the University of Toronto, Prof. Daniel Monterescu of the Central European University, Matan Kaminer of the University of Michigan, Adi Moreno of the University of Manchester, Michal Ran-Rubin of the University of Chicago, and Eilat Maoz of the University of Chicago. The letter was also signed by a number of Israeli researchers who apparently do not live in Israel, including Prof. Uri Davis (who converted to Islam and married a Palestinian woman from Ramallah), Dr. Naor Ben-Yehoyada, Eliran Bar-El, Hadas Weiss, Barak Kalir, Hilla Dayan, Erella Grassiani, and Nitzan Shoshan.
Tel Aviv University said in response to the Im Tirtzu report, “The university strongly opposes the academic boycott, and it works on many levels to fight against the phenomenon. In keeping with academic freedom and in accordance with the law in the State of Israel, the university does not intervene in the personal opinions expressed by faculty members.”
The Open University released a similar statement, saying, “The Open University opposes any boycott of Israeli academia, a stance we have expressed repeatedly. Faculty members are free to express their personal opinions on any topic, whether they align with the university’s stance or not.”
Tel-Hai College said regarding Simchai’s support of the boycott letter, “Dr. Simchai is expressing her personal opinion alone. Tel-Hai College strongly opposes any boycott of the State of Israel and condemns those who call for a boycott.” Sapir College said Raanan’s stance “does not represent the stance of Sapir College. The academic boycott of Israel and support of [the boycott] are unacceptable phenomena.”
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2 Palestinians arrested on suspicion of raping Jewish wofman with mental disability
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli police have arrested two Palestinian residents of the West Bank, ages 17 and 42, in connection with the rape of a 20-year-old Jewish woman with a mental disability in Jaffa earlier this month.
Tel Aviv District Police commanders instructed police officers not to divulge any details from the incident, which occurred on Israeli Independence Day two weeks ago, possibly in efforts to prevent Jewish-Arab tensions. The victim filed a complaint saying she had been raped by three Palestinians at a Jaffa motel. The woman said her assailants had made racist remarks and humiliated her, and one had filmed the rape on his phone with the express intention of distributing the footage.
The elder suspect is believed to have documented the attack, while the younger one and the third assailant allegedly committed the rape. The identity of the third assailant is unknown and he is still at large. The two suspects now in custody are being investigated on charges of gang rape, sodomy, abuse of a person with a disability, and race-motivated crimes. They have denied any wrongdoing.
In the video documenting the attack, the suspects are seen yelling at the victim during the rape. “You are a Jew, this is what you deserve,” one is heard saying.
Attorney Ofir Katabi, who represents the older suspect, argued in court that the police had been unable to present sufficient evidence to charge his client and demanded that the man be released. Attorney Nir Alfasa, who represents the younger suspect, said, “He is a minor with no criminal record and with extenuating life circumstances. He denies all the allegations against him. He claims that his neighbors conspired to make false accusations against him in order to remove him from the housing compound where he lives, because of his nationality.”
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Israel sees 16% rise in number of new immigrants
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel saw a 16-percent increase in new immigrants in 2015 from the previous year, according to data released by the country’s Central Bureau of Statistics.
A total of 27,908 immigrants from around the world moved to Israel last year, along with 6,461 Israelis who returned to the country. About 53 percent of the new immigrants were from Russia, Ukraine, or other former Soviet Union countries, while 24 percent were from France and 9 percent were from the United States.
According to the data, 6,632 immigrants came from Russia in 2015, a 44-percent leap from the previous year, while 6,886 came from Ukraine, a 20-percent increase from 2014. The number of French immigrants rose by just 1 percent in 2015, to 6,628.
Most immigrants moved to Israel’s larger cities, with 12 percent settling in Tel Aviv, 11 percent in Jerusalem, 8 percent in Haifa, and 6 percent in Ashdod. Sixty-five percent of immigrants to Israel in 2015 had 13 or more years of schooling, with 67 percent working in fields that require an academic education.
A total of about 3.2 million immigrants have moved to Israel since the state was established, with 42 percent arriving since 1990.
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Israel: Hamas diverts 95% of cement meant for rebuilding to military purposes
(JNS.org) The Hamas terror group confiscates 95 percent of the cement Israel transfers to Gaza for the rebuilding of the territory, diverting the cement to “military purposes,” Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold said in an address at the United Nations World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul.
“From our own investigations we found that out of every 100 sacks of cement that come into the Gaza Strip [from Israel], only five or six are transferred to civilians,” Gold said. “A hundred sacks is what is necessary to rebuild a home, the rest are confiscated by Hamas and used for military purposes.”
“Since October, Israel has let into Gaza 4,824,000 tons of building materials…but these have often times been seized and used to build new attack tunnels penetrating Israeli territory,” he added, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Nevertheless, Israel “will continue to adhere to humanitarian standards despite the security risks and unfair political pressures it has to face,” said Gold.
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Brussels Jewish museum holds multi-faith memorial for terror victims
(JNS.org) The Brussels-based Jewish Museum of Belgium convened representatives of different faiths for a memorial for the victims of the terrorist shooting attack that took place at the museum in May 2014.
Chief Rabbi of Belgium Albert Guigui, head of the Muslim Executive in Belgium Salah Echallaoui, and Bishop of Ypres Jean Kockerols attended the ceremony, which featured prayers both in Hebrew and Arabic.
Israeli couple Mira and Emanuel Riva, a French woman, and a Belgian man were shot dead by jihadi terrorist Mehdi Nemmouche inside the museum on May 24, 2014. Nemmouche was later apprehended in Marseilles, France, and is currently detained and awaiting trial.
The ceremony was “a message to the world—especially to terrorists—to tell them that we are all united to fight against all forms of terrorism,” Guigui said, Reuters reported.
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Anti-normalization group slams Jordanian officials for attending Israeli event
(JNS.org) An organization dedicated to opposing Jordan-Israel diplomatic relations strongly criticized Jordanian officials for participating in a recent Israeli Independence Day ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Amman.
“Everyone who participated in the celebrations organized by the embassy of the oppressing entity on our Nakba Day,” the National Committee Against Normalization said in a statement, referring to the Arabic anti-Israel moniker for Israeli Independence Day.
Israel’s embassy in Jordan hosted 200 foreign diplomats and Jordanian officials on May 17.
“While our nation faces the enemy, the international colonialism which is allied with the Zionist movement that attempts to rewrite the history of the region, some Arab leaders have tied their destiny and their interests to the Zionist-colonialist alliance,” the anti-normalization group said, adding, “We, the National Committee Against Normalization denounce everyone who participated in the celebrations hosted by the enemy’s embassy as well as the Arab security coordination with the leaders of the Zionist enemy.”
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Iran to renew financial support for Palestinian terror group Islamic Jihad
(JNS.org) The Iranian government will renew its financial support for the Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist group Islamic Jihad after cutting off that funding for two years amid strained relations, the London-based Arabic daily newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Wednesday.
Iran’s plan follows Islamic Jihad leaders’ trip to Iran in April, in which the terrorist organization’s visiting delegation and Iranian leaders discussed how to strengthen violence against Israel.
“The defense of Palestine amounts to a defense of Islam,” Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shalah said in April.
“The Arab states did not support the popular uprising in Palestine and will never support it since it contradicts their leaders’ agendas. Iran is the only state that supports the intifada and the martyrs’ families,” added Shalah.
Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades will now receive $70 million directly from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The Quds Brigades—known as Islamic Jihad’s “military wing”—was reorganized by Qassem Suleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force. Khaled Mansour, a confidant of Iran, will now command the Quds Brigades.
Iran had reportedly cut funding to the Palestinian terror group over the latter’s refusal to support Iran’s proxy in Yemen, the Shi’a-Muslim Houthi rebels.
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