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| Sunday, Oct 11 '09, Tishrei 23, 5770 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. Turkey Forced to Cancel Drill After US, Italy Pull Out by Hana Levi Julian  A multinational military drill has reportedly been cancelled due to Turkey's unwillingness to allow the Israel Air Force to participate in the exercise. The cancellation came after the United States and other nations allegedly withdrew from the joint drill following Turkey's ban on Israel's participation. The air force exercise, which has been held five times since June 2001, was to be hosted by Ankara and originally involved Turkey, Italy, the U.S., NATO forces and the IAF. But Turkish military officials informed the IDF last week that the IAF was not welcome to fly in this week's "Anatolian Eagle" exercise due to the use of its planes during Israel's counterterrorism Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last winter. The operation was launched by Israel on December 27, 2008 to end the thousands of rocket attacks fired at civilians living in towns and cities in Israel's southern region. It lasted until Janary 20, 2009. Anatolian Eagle was slated to begin Monday, October 12, and continue through October 23. According to a Jerusalem source, the United States and other members of NATO (North American Treaty Organization) expressed to Turkish officials their displeasure at the ban on Israel. Turkey was forced to postpone the exercise indefinitely after the U.S. and Italy refused to take part without the IAF. Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told Voice of Israel government radio on Sunday, however, that "Turkey has been, and remains an important strategic anchor in the Middle East, and certainly its relations with Israel are something that serve the entire region." The Anatolian Eagle exercise, intended to improve international aerial cooperation, was hosted at the Konya air base, 250 kilometers south of Ankara. The aircraft trained over the plains of Anatolia (hence the name), near Turkey's borders with Syria, Iran and Iraq. Israel and Turkey, which until last year enjoyed strong diplomatic, military and trade relations, have flown together over each other's territory in various joint military drills since the signing of a bilateral defense alliance between the two nations in 1996. Formerly warm ties between Israel and Turkey have cooled considerably since Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's harsh criticism of Israel's role in Operation Cast Lead. Tensions between Turkey and Israel intensified in the wake of a harsh debate over the matter between Erdogan and President Shimon Peres at the World Economic Forum, held in Davos, Switzerland last January. Comment on this story 2. One More Time: Mitchell Meets with Netanyahu Prior to Departure by Hana Levi Julian  U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell continued his shuttle diplomacy mission between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) on Sunday, meeting once more with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu before heading back to Washington, D.C. It will be the second time the two men have talked since Friday and follows a day of talks with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and other PA officials. The American negotiator was back in Jerusalem Saturday night, meeting with Yitzchak Molcho, chief negotiator for Israel, and Michael Herzog, chief of staff for Defense Minister Ehud Barak, after spending 24 hours in Samaria. The U.S. envoy had followed up his meeting Friday morning with Netanyahu by traveling to Ramallah, where he met with Abbas, PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, chief PA negotiator Saeb Erekat and other officials. Mitchell told reporters at a joint news conference with Erekat following a two-hour meeting Friday night, "We discussed our common vision of a viable and independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory. President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are deeply committed to that." Erekat implied in his statement that the PA was continuing to insist on preconditions before it would agree to resuming talks with Israel. The Jewish State, he said, should "first express clear commitment to implementing the Roadmap plan, which includes stopping settlement, and be commited to the two-state solution" before the PA would agree to resume talks. He also said Israeli and PA negotiators would most likely travel to Washington within the next two weeks. Israel, however, has not made any commitment to freeze construction on public buildings such as synagogues, schools and health clinics in existing communities, nor anywhere in Jerusalem. Moreover, Netanyahu has not approved a freeze on the 2,500 housing units that are currently being built, nor has he reneged on his agreement to allow construction of 450 units that were approved a month ago. Comment on this story  3. Diplomacy Expert Calls Obama Nobel Prize Award 'Curious' by Gil Ronen  Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to U.S President Barack Obama was a “very curious” decision, according to former Israeli envoy in Washington Yoram Ettinger. “Obama has no achievement which justifies the awarding of the prize,” Ettinger told Arutz Sheva's Hebrew service. "In the international arena, Obama has failed thus far, both in the struggle against Iran which is constantly threatening and ignoring his calls, and regarding North Korea which is also hurling insults at him and continuing to threaten world peace,” Ettinger said. “As for Al Qaeda – the fighting in Afghanistan is getting fiercer since he entered the White House and the situation in Iraq has not improved. In addition, [Russian strongman Vladimi Putin is advancing his aspirations which threaten the republics.” In the Israeli-Arab arena, the former diplomat noted, Obama has had no achievements either. “Obama has succeeded in making the Arabs' unrealistic expectations of Israel even more extreme,” he explained. "The only reason I can give for such strange awarding of the prize is that political considerations have taken over the award process,” Ettinger said. “They see Obama as the president who intends to (…) be guided more by a world view which is favored in the U.N and Europe, a world view that is shared by the leaders in the Nobel award committee.” "When they see him diving in U.S opinion polls they hope to improve his standing,” he explained. Comment on this story 4. Nobel Prize Winner: Release all Terrorists from Jail by Gil Ronen  Professor Ada Yonath, who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry last week, wasted no time in using her newly found fame to air her political views. In an interview Saturday on Army Radio station (Galei Tzahal) she opined that Israel should release all the terrorists incarcerated in its jails. "We need to think of ways that people will not have motivation to go and kill and be killed,” Yonath said. “It is is not just a political matter. These people are people who usually do not have a horizon, they have no hope, they have no reason to want to live and therefore they do not care that others will not live, and at the same time maybe they will also go to heaven and receive some rewards. This does not happen to people who have options for life, who have a life in which they at least have the possibility of hope. We can change that.” Yonath seemed to dispute the very term “terrorist” when she said that regardless of the question of releasing captive Sgt. Gilad Shalit, “anyone who sits in our jails who is not just a criminal but what we call a terrorist, with or without blood on his hands – and these definitions are also unclear to me – should not be sitting in our custody.” She added: “As for the argument that they will go back to crime, or what you call terror, I believe that there are enough [terrorist without them. I think that when a young man or woman sits in our jails for years, his or her family gets angry and we create additional terrorists.” Using terminology which is often heard in “gender studies” academic circles, Yonath drew a connection between her gender and her pacifist views. “As a person, as a woman, as a mother – but mainly as a person – it pains me that a sweet guy [like Shali is in jail for three years, or is a hostage, and I do not know if we see him returning and I do not understand why he is there.” Comment on this story  5. Israelis Return from Nepal with Typhoid by Zalman Nelson  Five Israelis travelers have been hospitalized and are undergoing treatment for typhoid at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer following recent trips to Nepal. A sixth is hospitalized in Tiberias. Hospital officials said that all six are suffering from fever and are being treated with intravenous antibiotic. Following investigation, it was discovered that all of them had eaten at two Chabad centers in Nepal, including meals during the recent holiday period. The possibility that that the disease was transferred to their food by one of the local employees is being considered. Because of the potential connection to the Nepal centers, Health Ministry officials suspect that there are additional cases of as-yet-undiagnosed infection. Israelis who were in Nepal over the past month and who have experienced a fever are asked to immediately seek medical attention and be tested. On Sunday, an Israeli woman who returned from a trip to Nepal was was taken for treatment to a hospital in Tiberias after complaining of severe stomach pains. She is in stable condition, said doctors who diagnosed her as the sixth traveller suffering from a typhoid infection. Stomach typhoid is caused by the salmonella virus, which is ingested in food or drink, entering the digestive system and then the circulatory system. It is characterized by a severe, sustained fever, and carries the risk of death if not treated in time. The accepted treatment for typhoid, also known as typhoid fever, involves two weeks of intravenous medication. The Health Ministry said that it is investigating the source of the infection, as well as attempting to track down additional infected patients. World health officials handling several recent natural disasters acknowledged that they are worried about possible outbreaks of such flood-borne diseases like typhoid, cholera, leptospirosis, A/H1N1 flu virus, and hepatitis A. Comment on this story 6. 'Shvut Ami Bet' Destroyed, 13 Arrested by Zalman Nelson  Security forces evacuated and dismantled the Mitzpe Ami settlement near Kedumim in Samaria on Saturday night. There were no reports of injuries or violence. According to Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew news service, 13 settlers were arrested for opposing the evacuation which began just before dawn when forces arrived and presented a notice that the area had been declared a closed military zone.  More than 800 people filled the settlement and surrounding villages Saturday night for Simchat Torah celebrations and to voice opposition to the evacuation.  Speeches at the celebration called on Israel to build more settlements and take hold of every bit of Israeli land. “The Jewish people reject any notion of capitulation and surrender of any piece of the land of Israel,” said one speaker.  Knesset member Michael Ben Ari (National Union), Samaria Council director Gershon Mesika, and director of the Likud party’s Jewish Leadership faction Moshe Feiglin were in attendance.  Mitzpe Ami, a secondary development within Shvut Ami that was also called Shvut Ami Beit, was established in August of 2009. In response to the evacuation, settlements in Shvut Ami, Ramat Migron, Mitzpe Avichai and others are expected to be opened in the near future, settlers said.  Comment on this story 7. Simchat Torah Dancing in Homesh Ruins by Gil Ronen  Veteran Homesh activists and guests celebrated the holiday of Simchat Torah among the ruins of the Shomron (Samaria) community razed in the 2005 "Disengagement" and said they believe it would soon be rebuilt. Most of the celebrants were members of the “Homesh First” group and of the Homesh Yeshiva, which has been operating at the mountainous location for the past two years. “It was an uplifting sensation,” one of the guests told Arutz Sheva after the holiday ended. “There was great holiday joy in the air and excitement over the privilege of holding rounds of dancing in the very spot where a harsh and criminal eviction had taken place. Simchat Torah in a place like Homesh gives strength and power for the coming year.” Hoping for rebirth "Holding Simchat Torah at Homesh is the most symbolic thing,” said Homesh First spokesman Yossi Dagan. “The ones who came and destroyed Homesh wanted one thing more than anything else: to smash religious Zionism and the strength combined strength of Torah and land which are embodied in the people... The tikkun (correction) of the crime of the expulsion began when thousands of people ascended to Homesh, and is advanced daily by the students of the High Yeshiva at Homesh, who study at the spot despite the many evictions.” Dagan added: "We are certain that with the grace of HaShem, in the next winter that is coming upon us, the political establishment, too, which already admits that the expulsion was a grave mistake, will correct that mistake and formally and fully re-establish the communities that were uprooted: first, Homesh, Sa-Nur, Ganim and Kadim in northern Shomron, and later with HaShem's help, the communities of Gush Katif.” Comment on this story | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Everyday of Freedom is an Act of Faith for my writings ============> http://robertoscaruffi.blogspot.com for something on religions ===> http://scaruffi1.blogspot.com
Sunday, 11 October 2009
http://www.web-view.net/Show/0XFA093E69AFC5FDE6AD61A39C0BC3FA3DA56DEF2B44CF57B98186735DBD637488.htm
