Jewish news briefs: August 26, 2015

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Vatican demands removal from Palestinian flag bid at U.N.(BreakingIsraelNews.com/JNS.org) Despite its recognition of a “State of Palestine,” the Vatican has requested it be removed from a Palestinian-prepared United Nations General Assembly draft resolution that calls for the flags of “Palestine” and the Holy See to be flown at U.N. headquarters in New York City.

The draft resolution, which was prepared without consultation with the Vatican, seeks to change U.N. policy to allow non-member observer states (which is the Palestinians’ U.N. status) to fly their flags outside the U.N., coinciding with Pope Francis’s visit to the U.S. next month.

The pope is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Sept. 25 during his official visit.

“The Holy See does not intend to co-sponsor a draft resolution that the State of Palestine may eventually present on the matter,” the Vatican said in a statement, Reuters reported.

“The Holy See asks the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine and the United Nations kindly to remove in its draft resolution any reference to the ‘Holy See’ and any generic reference ‘on behalf of the Observer States,’” added the statement.

The Palestinian proposal, seen as yet another unilateral step to obtaining statehood recognition via the U.N., has already been placed on the agenda of the annual General Assembly.

In May, the Vatican officially recognized the “State of Palestine” in an official bilateral treaty. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it was “disappointed” in the decision and that the Vatican’s move would deter the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Police complaint filed against Ehud Barak for alleged leak of security secrets

(JNS.org) In the wake of the publication of leaked recordings of former Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak commenting on sensitive security affairs, including government discussions about attacking Iranian nuclear facilities from 2010-12, attorney Eitan Peleg on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Israel Police against Barak for the alleged revelation of state secrets.

In the complaint, Peleg said Israelis from all walks of life were “astounded by the scope of the confidential, not to mention top secret, information revealed by Barak to journalists Ilan Kfir and Danny Dor.”

Peleg said there was a “vital and urgent need” for the opening of a criminal investigation of Barak. The Israel Police acknowledged receiving Peleg’s complaint and said it would be processed. Peleg told Israel Hayom that he is “determined” to pursue legal action against Barak.

Also on Tuesday, it was reported that Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and other top law enforcement officials have held consultations on whether to open a probe into the Barak matter. The Israeli Justice Ministry declined to comment.
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Israeli doctors restore sight to 90 Kyrgyzstanis in ‘Eye from Zion’ initiative

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A group of doctors from Israel restored the eyesight of 90 adults and children in Kyrgyzstan earlier this month in an ambitious endeavor undertaken by the “Eye from Zion” organization.

Eye from Zion is a volunteer Israeli-Jewish group established to provide medical treatment to underprivileged populations around the world. The organization sends delegations of experienced medical professionals and advanced equipment to places where they are needed most. The Eye from Zion delegations perform surgeries together with local medical teams and instruct local doctors on modern medical techniques.

Many of the patients treated this month in Kyrgyzstan had been blind for years. The Israeli delegation, which included Dr. Yonina Ron from the pediatric ophthalmology team at Schneider Children’s Medical Center and Dr. Asher Milstein from Kaplan Medical Center, arrived in Kyrgyzstan a week and a half ago to perform complicated procedures such as cornea surgery, plastic surgery, tumor removal, and the treatment of cataracts in children.

Among the patients were several members of the Kyrgyzstani Jewish community, and the head of the Jewish community in the country stressed that the arrival of the Israeli delegation had contributed to elevating the status of the community.

Professor Dov Weinberger, the head of the Ophthalmology Division at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva and the medical director of the Eye from Zion delegation, said, “I get excited every time an Israeli delegation uses its knowledge and medical experience to restore people’s eyesight. Many patients remain blind only because the doctors in their countries do not possess the know how or the modern means to perform these surgeries.”
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Report: American Airlines dropped Israel due to alliance with Arab carriers

(JNS.org) Aviation industry sources claim that the recent American Airlines decision to cease flights to Israel is the result of the U.S. carrier’s ties with Arab airlines.

The airline had announced that it would stop its flights from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv beginning in January 2016 due to financial considerations.

Casey Norton, a spokesman for American Airlines, told Bloomberg News that the carrier has lost $20 million last year on the route alone. But aviation sources told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that the actual reason for the route’s impending closure is the airline’s participation in the OneWorld alliance, whose members include Arab airlines like Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian as well as Malaysia Airlines (Malaysia is a Muslim-majority nation).

“Profitability wasn’t a problem. The past year hasn’t been easy for the airline industry in general, but that’s far from saying that the route wasn’t profitable. No one would have operated a money-losing route for so many years,” an anonymous industry source said, Haaretz reported.
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Report shows BDS influence on campus on the rise, but overestimated

(JNS.org) A new report by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) reveals that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel may not be “taking over” American college campuses to the extent that has been publicized.

The ICC’s “Campus Trends Report,” released Monday, says that “while there was a significant increase in campus BDS campaigns this academic year, the rate at which BDS campaigns were defeated on campuses nationwide remained relatively static.”

According to the report, during the 2014-15 academic year, there were 1,630 documented anti-Israel events at 181 colleges and universities across the country, mostly focused on the 2014 Gaza conflict. At the same time, more than twice that number of pro-Israel events—3,753—were documented at 213 schools.

But the report also states, “There is no doubt that Israel’s detractors are increasing their efforts on college campuses across the country. They are using new tactics and in some cases reaching broad swaths of the campus population, simplifying a complex Middle East reality and latching on to other progressive social causes. They have also found success recruiting and supporting pro-BDS student government candidates who then introduce and pass anti-Israel legislation.”

The report notes that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group known for harassment and intimidation of pro-Israel students that has often veered into anti-Semitism, established a presence on more than 40 new campuses during the 2014-15 academic year. The far-left anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, meanwhile, opened campus chapters at 14 schools during that period.

SJP and its allies, according to the report, “continue to deepen their involvement with social justice-oriented organizations on campus. This year saw efforts by anti-Israel groups to build coalitions with progressive campus organizations that deal with issues such as LGBT rights, fossil fuel divestment, private prison reform, racial discrimination, and immigration reform.”
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In newly uncovered document, Islamic State vision echoes Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’

(BreakingIsraelNews.com/JNS.org) A 32-page Islamic State document calling for open warfare against non-Muslims has been uncovered in Pakistan and authenticated by retired U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency director Gen. Michael Flynn and other intelligence officials. The document has been compared to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, the political manifesto in which the Nazi leader outlined his plan for the future of Germany and its Jews.

The Islamic State document blames the appearance of jihadist organizations on the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The document declares, “No sooner had the British government relinquished control of Israel, Ben-Gurion, the leader of the Jews, declared the independence of the State of Israel, triggering a global migration of Jews to the Jewish State, and launching the systematic persecution of Palestinian Muslims who had to abandon their homes and migrate.”

The document, titled “A Brief History of the Islamic State Caliphate (ISC): The Caliphate According to the Prophet,” contains a six-stage plan for the development of Islamic State and for conquering the world. Geoffrey Grinder laid out the stages as follows for the “Now the End Begins” blog:

Phase 1: “Awakening,” 2000-2003: Islamic State calls for “a major operation against the U.S….to provoke a crusade against Islam.” [September 11, 2001]

Phase 2: “Shock and awe,” 2004-2006: Islamic State will lure U.S. into multiple theaters of war, including cyber-attacks, and establish charities across the Muslim and Arab world to support terrorism.

Phase 3: “Self-reliance,” 2007-2010: Islamic State will create “interference” with Iraq’s neighboring states, with a particular focus on Syria.

Phase 4: “Reaping/extortion/receiving,” 2010-2013: Islamic State will attack “U.S. and Western interests” to destroy their economies and replace the dollar with silver and gold, and expose Muslim governments’ relations with Israel and the U.S.

Phase 5: “Declaring the Caliphate,” 2013-2016: Not much detail. The document only says, “The Caliphate According to The Prophet.”

Phase 6: “Open warfare,” 2017-2020: Islamic State calls for open, worldwide warfare against all non-Muslims, followed by a messianic vision of a “peaceful” era. The document’s messianic vision paints a picture of a world in which only believing Muslims remain alive.

Asked about the document’s implications for Israel, Jerusalem-based author and Torah scholar Rabbi Nachman Kahana told BreakingIsraelNews.com that the Jewish Talmud explains how God “will eventually send to the world a leader whose decrees will be as drastic as those of Haman, the villain from the Book of Esther who intended to wipe out all the Jews, in order that we, the Jewish people, will do teshuvah (repent) and then the final geula (redemption) will arrive.”
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Senior Iran official: no change in stance on Israel, which ‘should be annihilated’

(JNS.org) A senior Iranian official on Tuesday called for Israel’s annihilation and rejected the claim by British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond that Iran’s government has shown more nuance towards the Jewish state.

“Our positions against the usurper Zionist regime have not changed at all; Israel should be annihilated and this is our ultimate slogan,” Hussein Sheikholeslam, a foreign affairs adviser to Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani, told reporters on Tuesday, the Fars News Agencyreported.

On Monday, Hammond, who was in Tehran to re-open the British embassy there, suggested that the current Iranian government under President Hassan Rouhani has shown a more nuanced approach towards Israel than the leadership of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

“What we’re looking for is behavior from Iran, not only towards Israel but towards other players in the region, that slowly rebuilds their sense that Iran is not a threat to them,” Hammond said.
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Shin Bet foils plot to attack Jewish worshippers at Joseph’s Tomb

(JNS.org) Israel’s Shin Bet security agency revealed that it has foiled a plot to attack Jewish worshipers at Joseph’s Tomb.

According to the Shin Bet, four Palestinians were arrested in connection to a plot to launch a bombing and shooting attack at the site. The four named suspects were Nassim Damiri, 30, who has been jailed a number of times by Israel; Muhammad Damiri, 23, who serves as a Palestinian Authority police officer; Yasser Tsarawi, 25, also a former prisoner and a known Hamas terrorist operative; and Adwan Nazzal, 24, an Islamic Jihad terrorist operative.

The Shin Bet said the plot was armed and directed by Islamic Jihad from the Gaza Strip.

“During the interrogation, Nassim Damiri admitted his intention to carry out a terror attack at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus, and his cousin, Muhammad Damiri, admitted to conducting surveillance and collecting information on the movements of the worshipers there, in order to facilitate the attack,” the Shin Bet said.

Joseph’s Tomb is the final resting place of the biblical patriarch Joseph as well as his sons Ephraim and Manasseh, and is located near the biblical city of Shechem. Today, the site sits on the outskirts of Nablus and is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority. The tomb is normally closed to Jewish worshippers, with the exception of monthly planned visits under the protection of the Israel Defense Forces. The terrorists plotted to attack Jewish worshippers who frequently sneak into the tomb to pray.

“In this investigation we have seen again very clearly that there is high motivation of operatives in Gaza to push and direct terror in the West Bank,” a Shin Bet source said, the Jerusalem Post reported.

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