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1. Irish Journalist Tries to Arrest Foreign Minister Lieberman
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Security agents stopped an Irish journalist from trying to make a citizen’s arrest of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in the press room of the European Council in Brussels on Tuesday.
David Cronin, a freelance journalist who has written for The Economist
and is a member of the Brussels press corps, shouted, “Mr. Lieberman,
this is a citizen’s arrest. You are charged with the crime of apartheid.
Please accompany me to the nearest police station.”
Before he could advance towards the Foreign Minister, security agents
swiftly and bodily escorted him out of the meeting room as he shouted
“apartheid” and “Free Palestine.”
Cronin’s press credentials were temporarily revoked last year when he
managed to place his arm on the Quartet's Middle East envoy Tony Blair
and tell him he was under citizen’s arrest for Britain’s involvement in
the invasion of Iraq.
Yoel Mester, a spokesman for the Israeli mission to the EU, told The
Guardian that Cronin is "obviously obsessed with Israel; judging by what
he's written, [he is] a dedicated anti-Israel activist.”
2. More Israelis Feared Dead in New Zealand Earthquake
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
At least four Israelis may be dead or trapped alive in rubble from the
New Zealand earthquake disaster, government officials said.
It was publicized yesterday that Israeli backpacker Ofer Mizrachi, of
Kibbutz Magal, southeast of Haifa, was reported by his friends to have
been killed,
but there has been no official confirmation. He is known to have been
struck by a concrete beam that rammed through a car in which he was
riding, and friends said they were unable to evacuate him.
New Zealand officials fear that further building collapses in
Christchurch could raise the death toll from an estimated 75 to beyond
100.
Fears for the fate of missing Israelis have risen because they have not
contacted relatives. Approximately 120 Israelis are estimated to be
traveling or residing in the area of the quake. Most of the Israelis
were not in Christchurch when the earthquake struck at midday Tuesday,
according to Israel’s New Zealand Consul Teddy Poplinger.
The earthquake destroyed the Chabad Center in the center of
Christchurch. People inside the building escaped by running out as the
building fell, said Rabbi Samuel Friedman.
“We are getting everybody together now at the square to see if anybody
is missing, and we are working very hard to help everybody,” he added.
His wife Tzipi told Chabad media that people erected tent cities in
Christchurch after their homes were destroyed. The Friedmans' home
remains standing although “everything inside is ruined.”
“Everyone’s just trying to evacuate. It’s really hectic right now,” she
said. “Everyone is going to be sleeping in tents tonight.”
3. IDF Wounds Seven Terrorists after Attacks on Soldiers, Civilians
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israeli soldiers wounded seven Gaza terrorists Wednesday after mortars
were fired at IDF positions and civilians, none of whom were hurt. Gaza
sources said that one of the terrorists was in critical condition and
that two others suffered serious injuries from shrapnel.
Islamic Jihad terrorists exploded a bomb aimed at soldiers patrolling
the Gaza security fence and later fired at least six mortars, some of
which exploded in the Sdot Region in the western Negev.
As in previous incidents of planting bombs, Hamas claimed that the terrorists actually were civilians collecting building material.
Terrorists have planted more than 12 explosive devices along the
security fence patrol road during the past two months. The IDF on
Tuesday discovered and detonated two of them.
4. TIME Source: Gaddafi to Blow Up Oil Pipelines; Gas Prices Soar
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Libyan president Muammar Gaddafi, once termed a “mad god” by former
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, is threatening to blow up oil facilities, a
source told TIME magazine journalist Robert Baer.
However, the same source two weeks ago told Baer, a former Middle East
CIA officer, that the Middle East revolutionary movement would never
spread to Libya, where Gaddafi is hanging on to power and ordering massacres of protesters while being condemned by the United Nations.
Gaddafi’s reported plan to sabotage oil facilities in the oil-producing
country “is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes:
It's either me or chaos,” Baer wrote.
His source told him that Gaddafi’s main support is from a small but
elite part of his 45,000-man army. "I have the money and arms to fight
for a long time," Gaddafi reportedly said.
Oil prices have skyrocketed this week, passing the $95 per barrel mark
on world markets. Financial analysts are predicting prices of $140-$200 a
barrel if world events do not stabilize. Soaring oil prices could be a
knockout punch to the struggling economic recovery in the United States
and elsewhere and could spawn a new recession.
The monthly adjustment in the price of fuel next Tuesday will cost
drivers at least five cents (17 agorot) a liter, and possibly more if
the price of oil continues to rise. The expected increase more than
cancels out the recent cut in the price of gasoline in Israel after
public protests forced the government to cancel a hike in excise taxes.
One offsetting factor to the hike in world oil prices is the apparent
readiness of Saudi Arabia to increase production to make up for reduced
oil supplies in Libya, Africa’s largest oil producer, with a daily
production of 1.6 barrels.
5. Building Boom and Prosperity in Golan Heights
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Golan Heights, demanded by Syria, is enjoying an unprecedented
building boom, and virtually no apartments are available for rent or
sale, according to a regional official.
“The wave of building is at a record high, Sammy Bar-Lev, chairman of
the regional council in Katzrin, the region’s largest city, told Arutz
7.
“There are 8,000 people in Katzrin today, and there is zoning approval
for more building, with a current project adding 36 new family units,”
he added.
Bar-Lev said the employment situation is excellent and that the jobless
rate is extremely low. Local industry, ranging from a large winery and a
bottled water plant to boutique shops, has created hundreds of jobs.
The nearby city of Tzfat, in the Upper Galilee, also is a source for employment.
Golan Heights residents have been under the threat of expulsion for
years because of America-sponsored attempts for an Israeli-Syrian peace
treaty based on the surrender of the strategic and water-rich area.
The threat has diminished in recent years because of little public
support in Israel for relinquishing the area and due to doubts of
Syria’s sincerity for peace. In addition, the Knesset has passed a law
that virtually prevents a surrender of the Golan by requiring a large
majority of the Knesset for approval as well as agreement from the
public via a referendum.
Bar-Lev reasoned that the recent turmoil in the Middle East makes an agreement with Syria even more distant.
6. Rahm Emanuel Elected Chicago's First Jewish Mayor
by Chana Ya'ar
Former Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel has been elected Chicago's first Jewish mayor.
He faces a series of challenges, beginning with the fact that his last
name is not Daley. His predecessor, Richard C. Daley, and his father,
Richard J. Daley, have controlled the city of 2.69 million for 42 of the
past 55 years. The current economic crisis in the United States has
affected the Midwestern city as it has others, leading to an estimated
budget deficit of some $600 million.
Nevertheless, Emanuel's popularity may stand him in good stead, at
least initially: the 51-year-old former Congressman won 55 per cent of
the vote in a field of six candidates, thus ending the need for a
run-off in April. Gery J. Chico, former chief of staff to incumbent
Mayor Richard M. Daley, his closest competitor, garnered less than half
with only 24 percent.
Emanuel is known as a tough pragmatist and for his blunt manner of
speaking. During his tenure as chief of staff in the Obama White House,
he told an Israeli diplomat that the United States was “fed up”
with Israel. Less than a year later, however, as he considered a run in
the Chicago mayoral race, he told rabbis that the Obama administration
had “screwed up the messaging” and failed to convey its support for the
Jewish State.
President Barack Obama called Tuesday night to congratulate Emanuel,
saying, “As a Chicagoan and a friend, I couldn't be prouder.”
7. A First for Gush Etzion: Arab Bus Driver
by Elad Benari
A story of equal opportunity and non-racism has come out of Gush Etzion.
Residents of the region who recently traveled on a bus operated by the
Gush Etzion Development Company for Egged, discovered that a new driver
has been hired and that he is an Arab.
The residents noted in a conversation with Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website
that this is the first time that they had encountered an Arab driver on
one of the buses belonging to the development company.
The Gush Etzion Development Corporation confirmed in response that “the
company recently added to its ranks an Arab-Israeli driver on the
public transportation service it operates for Egged.”
The company added that “Israeli Arabs are citizens of Israel and are
entitled to work anywhere by law. The company does not discriminate
against anyone, and employs the ranks of men, women, Orthodox and
secular, Jews, and now an Arab-Israeli.”
8. Shomron Honors Druze Soldier Murdered at Tapuach Junction
by Maayana Miskin & Yoni Kempinski
Hundreds of soldiers, Druze from the town of Marar, and Israeli Jews
living in Samaria gathered Tuesday at the Tapuach junction to pay their
respects to slain IDF soldier Ihab Khatib. The terrorist attack in which
Khatib was killed took place at the junction one year earlier.
A memorial was unveiled during the ceremony. Afterwards, members of the Khatib family planted trees nearby, in Ihab's memory.
Residents of Samaria have been in touch with the Khatib family since
shortly after the attack. Samaria Regional Council head Gershon Mesika
paid a condolence call to the family last year, along with Minister for
the Development of the Negev and Galilee Ayoub Kara.
Kara spoke at the ceremony about the close ties between Jews and the
Druze community. “The connection between the people of Israel and the
Druze community has been strong since early history, and unfortunately,
we also share a blood covenant. The brave soldier Ihab Khatib did not
fall as a Druze soldier, but as a soldier equal to any other, a fallen
IDF soldier, a hero of the Israeli forces,” he said.
He called to strengthen the Israeli presence in Samaria “in order to
strengthen our hold in the land of Israel and the state of Israel.” The
government must allow Israelis to build in the region, he said, adding
that he would like to see “a new town right here, where our beloved Ihab
fell, a town named after him that will serve as a memorial.”
“I hope to see all of you soon at the ceremony in which a cornerstone is laid for the new town in his memory,” Kara concluded.
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