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1. Thousands Rally for Rabbi Yaakov Yosef
by Chana Ya'ar
Thousands of supporters rallied for Rabbi Yaakov Yosef in Jerusalem Sunday afternoon after police interrogated the rabbi earlier in the day over his “haskama” – endorsement – of the Jewish legal scholarship of a book called Torat HaMelech.
Haskama does not necessarily imply endorsement of the opinions expressed by the author, or those expressed by others in the book.
The demonstration, which began at 2:00 pm at the rabbi's home in the Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood, jammed the streets surrounding the area, blocking traffic and making it clear that police had once again crossed a line with the religious public. MKs Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz and Michael Ben Ari addressed the crowds.
Hundreds of other demonstrators -- Land of Israel activists -- attempted to block the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway to protest the rabbi's detention. Police employed riot control measures, including water cannons, in an attempt to control and disperse the crowd. Three of the protesters were arrested.
The tome concerns the application of Jewish law to the question of the legal priority of Jewish soldiers' lives versus the legal importance of killing of enemy civilians in time of war.
Police said they detained the rabbi after he refused to answer a summons to appear for questioning months ago.
The rabbi's son denied the claim. He added that his father agreed to be taken into custody for questioning. Rabbi Yosef asked authorities why they acted against a Knesset decision that the laws involved do not apply to religious texts.
Last week police similarly questioned Rabbi Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba / Hevron, after stopping his car inside a tunnel leading to Jerusalem as he was driving to a rabbinical meeting in the Binyamin region.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
Thousands of supporters rallied for Rabbi Yaakov Yosef in Jerusalem Sunday afternoon after police interrogated the rabbi earlier in the day over his “haskama” – endorsement – of the Jewish legal scholarship of a book called Torat HaMelech.
Haskama does not necessarily imply endorsement of the opinions expressed by the author, or those expressed by others in the book.
The demonstration, which began at 2:00 pm at the rabbi's home in the Shmuel HaNavi neighborhood, jammed the streets surrounding the area, blocking traffic and making it clear that police had once again crossed a line with the religious public. MKs Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz and Michael Ben Ari addressed the crowds.
Hundreds of other demonstrators -- Land of Israel activists -- attempted to block the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem Highway to protest the rabbi's detention. Police employed riot control measures, including water cannons, in an attempt to control and disperse the crowd. Three of the protesters were arrested.
The tome concerns the application of Jewish law to the question of the legal priority of Jewish soldiers' lives versus the legal importance of killing of enemy civilians in time of war.
Police said they detained the rabbi after he refused to answer a summons to appear for questioning months ago.
The rabbi's son denied the claim. He added that his father agreed to be taken into custody for questioning. Rabbi Yosef asked authorities why they acted against a Knesset decision that the laws involved do not apply to religious texts.
Last week police similarly questioned Rabbi Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Arba / Hevron, after stopping his car inside a tunnel leading to Jerusalem as he was driving to a rabbinical meeting in the Binyamin region.
Comment on this story
2. Rocket Attack Rattles Negev Residents
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza resumed rocket fire on the western Negev Sunday morning. The missile exploded in an open area, causing no injuries or property damage.
The IDF has not retaliated but, based on previous incidents, it will likely do so in the next 24 hours. Response to rocket attacks usually consists of bombing rocket factories and tunnels designed for terrorists to infiltrate into the Negev in order to kidnap or murder civilians and soldiers. The Defense Ministry has not explained why the targets only are bombed after a rocket attack.
Israel’s mainstream media did not widely report Sunday’s attack, following a usual practice of ignoring missile strikes from Gaza unless they cause damage or injury. The lack of injuries and damage has led mainstream media to report that the Gaza area is enjoying a “calm.”
However, the primitive Kassam rockets have no guidance system, and their trajectory usually leaves Israeli residents in the Gaza Belt area in a situation of being unwilling players in “Russian Roulette.”
Sunday’s rocket was the first in two weeks, when Hamas broke another “ceasefire” announcement. It had stated in April it would hold its fire if Israel did not strike, following an attack with a laser-guided anti-tank missile that struck a school bus, killing one teenager.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza resumed rocket fire on the western Negev Sunday morning. The missile exploded in an open area, causing no injuries or property damage.
The IDF has not retaliated but, based on previous incidents, it will likely do so in the next 24 hours. Response to rocket attacks usually consists of bombing rocket factories and tunnels designed for terrorists to infiltrate into the Negev in order to kidnap or murder civilians and soldiers. The Defense Ministry has not explained why the targets only are bombed after a rocket attack.
Israel’s mainstream media did not widely report Sunday’s attack, following a usual practice of ignoring missile strikes from Gaza unless they cause damage or injury. The lack of injuries and damage has led mainstream media to report that the Gaza area is enjoying a “calm.”
However, the primitive Kassam rockets have no guidance system, and their trajectory usually leaves Israeli residents in the Gaza Belt area in a situation of being unwilling players in “Russian Roulette.”
Sunday’s rocket was the first in two weeks, when Hamas broke another “ceasefire” announcement. It had stated in April it would hold its fire if Israel did not strike, following an attack with a laser-guided anti-tank missile that struck a school bus, killing one teenager.
Comment on this story
3. Enid Wurtman: Pillar of Strength in Need of Lifelife
by Chana Ya'ar
In Jerusalem lives a woman who inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of former Soviet refuseniks to stay strong, stay alive, and to finally make aliyah to Israel. But social worker Enid Wurtman, today 68 years old, now finds herself in need of a lifeline as well.
Wurtman, originally from Philadelphia, made aliyah in 1977 with her husband and children after years of exhorting others to do so.
Once here, she was tireless in making sure that those who arrived were provided for. Many came too late in life to resume their careers. Poverty-stricken, they were unable to find jobs and unable obtain any income, and their pensions were too small to sustain them. Wurtman raised money and made sure they survived.
“No one spent more energy in Israel to help former refuseniks than Enid,” observed one of her oldest friends, former refusenik Natan Sharansky, today head of the Jewish Agency.
But today, she herself is in desperate need of the kind of help only other human beings can give; Wurtman's kidneys failed last year, and doctors say she needs a transplant.
Given the current waiting list, she might have to be patient for at least eight years, but her medical condition won't allow it.
Wurtman needs a kidney now, doctors say.
Filmmaker Laura Bialis, who made the documentary “Refusenik,” was also helped by Wurtman. One of her closest friends, Bialis noted in an appeal she wrote that every time she came to visit after Wurtman's first serious battle with kidney failure, “different people were there... she has touched so many lives – hundreds of people must have come to visit, and some of them came day after day. We were all shocked and saddened that our pillar of support, this amazing, unstoppable force of nature was in such a serious condition.”
Readers who have information on potential kidney donors or would like to inquire about helping Enid Wurtman are asked to please contact enid@wurtman.com .
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
In Jerusalem lives a woman who inspired hundreds, if not thousands, of former Soviet refuseniks to stay strong, stay alive, and to finally make aliyah to Israel. But social worker Enid Wurtman, today 68 years old, now finds herself in need of a lifeline as well.
Wurtman, originally from Philadelphia, made aliyah in 1977 with her husband and children after years of exhorting others to do so.
Once here, she was tireless in making sure that those who arrived were provided for. Many came too late in life to resume their careers. Poverty-stricken, they were unable to find jobs and unable obtain any income, and their pensions were too small to sustain them. Wurtman raised money and made sure they survived.
“No one spent more energy in Israel to help former refuseniks than Enid,” observed one of her oldest friends, former refusenik Natan Sharansky, today head of the Jewish Agency.
But today, she herself is in desperate need of the kind of help only other human beings can give; Wurtman's kidneys failed last year, and doctors say she needs a transplant.
Given the current waiting list, she might have to be patient for at least eight years, but her medical condition won't allow it.
Wurtman needs a kidney now, doctors say.
Filmmaker Laura Bialis, who made the documentary “Refusenik,” was also helped by Wurtman. One of her closest friends, Bialis noted in an appeal she wrote that every time she came to visit after Wurtman's first serious battle with kidney failure, “different people were there... she has touched so many lives – hundreds of people must have come to visit, and some of them came day after day. We were all shocked and saddened that our pillar of support, this amazing, unstoppable force of nature was in such a serious condition.”
Readers who have information on potential kidney donors or would like to inquire about helping Enid Wurtman are asked to please contact enid@wurtman.com .
Comment on this story
4. Egyptian Muslims Harass Coptic Christians – Again
by Chana Ya'ar
Egyptian Muslims are continuing to harass Coptic Christians, this time in the central region of the country.
Military personnel intervened in clashes that began late Thursday when several local Muslim taxi drivers allegedly began bothering a group of Christian girls. Eyewitnesses told the daily Al Masry Al Youm newspaper the fighting began in the village of Qolosna, located in Upper Egypt's Minya Governorate.
Four Christians and three Muslims were taken to the hospital in nearby Samalout with gunshot wounds, according to security sources. At least 10 people were arrested.
A curfew was imposed as well, beginning right after Friday afternoon prayers.
Egypt's Coptic Christian minority comprises only 10 percent of the country's populace. Despite protestations to the contrary, the Tahrir Revolution seems to have done precious little to create a sense of equality between the majority – Muslims – and Christians.
As they did prior to the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak, Muslim extremists have repeatedly targeted Coptic Christians over the past several months.
Last week hundreds of Muslims surrounded a village church only seven kilometers south of Minya, threatening to murder the local priest, according to the Assyrian International News Agency. The church has been repeatedly targeted since renovation work on the building began in March. Muslims have threatened to demolish the church.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
Egyptian Muslims are continuing to harass Coptic Christians, this time in the central region of the country.
Military personnel intervened in clashes that began late Thursday when several local Muslim taxi drivers allegedly began bothering a group of Christian girls. Eyewitnesses told the daily Al Masry Al Youm newspaper the fighting began in the village of Qolosna, located in Upper Egypt's Minya Governorate.
Four Christians and three Muslims were taken to the hospital in nearby Samalout with gunshot wounds, according to security sources. At least 10 people were arrested.
A curfew was imposed as well, beginning right after Friday afternoon prayers.
Egypt's Coptic Christian minority comprises only 10 percent of the country's populace. Despite protestations to the contrary, the Tahrir Revolution seems to have done precious little to create a sense of equality between the majority – Muslims – and Christians.
As they did prior to the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak, Muslim extremists have repeatedly targeted Coptic Christians over the past several months.
Last week hundreds of Muslims surrounded a village church only seven kilometers south of Minya, threatening to murder the local priest, according to the Assyrian International News Agency. The church has been repeatedly targeted since renovation work on the building began in March. Muslims have threatened to demolish the church.
Comment on this story
5. 'Democratic' Tunisia's New Gov't Bans Ties With Israel
by Chana Ya'ar
One of the first acts of Tunisia's commission of political reform was to ensure there will be no future diplomatic ties with the State of Israel despite the Obama Administration's grant last month of $20 million in new funding to support the Tunisian transition to democracy.
The money was to be used to “help draft a new constitution, strengthen political parties and non-partisan civic groups, develop a framework for free and fair elections, create a professional and independent news media and encourage economic reforms,” according to the U.S. State Department announcement.
The country's High Commission for Political Reforms and Democratic Transition on Friday adopted a “pact of reform” that is to provide the basis for Tunisia's new constitution.
In making the announcement panning relations with Israel, Yadh Ben Achour, president of the commission, announced the adoption of the reform agreement without offering many details.
The document states that Tunisia is a democratic country, its language is Arabic and its religion is Islam. But it also states that Tunisia supports the Palestinian Arab cause and rejects “any form of normalization with the Zionist State,” according to the AFP news agency.
Although national elections were originally scheduled for July, continued unrest has prompted the transitional government to postpone the polls until October.
Last Monday, the Islamist movement Ennahda (Renaissance) pulled out of the national commission tasked with drawing up political reforms in the country. The group, legalized in March 30 years after being banned by the government, accused the commission of ignoring the “true” goals of Tunisians.
One day earlier, members of the Salafist Muslim movement attacked a cinema in Tunis showing a film about secularism. The Lam Echaml umbrella organization, comprised of some 80 associations, held a news conference Friday to condemn the attack in a news conference. “We will not accept violence in this extremely tolerant country,” stated Habib Belhedi, head of the targeted Afric'Art cinema.
A conflagration was ignited in January by the self-immolation of a 26-year-old fruit vendor after police confiscated his merchandise. The groundswell of protests that followed soon toppled the 23-year reign of President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali, eventually sweeping through the entire region and destabilizing nearly every other nation along the way.
Meanwhile, some 150 people died in Tunisia, and more than 500 were wounded in the Jasmine Revolution, according to United Nations figures. Ben Ali fled with his family to Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly later suffered a stroke. According to Press TV there are unconfirmed reports that Ben Ali is in a coma.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
One of the first acts of Tunisia's commission of political reform was to ensure there will be no future diplomatic ties with the State of Israel despite the Obama Administration's grant last month of $20 million in new funding to support the Tunisian transition to democracy.
The money was to be used to “help draft a new constitution, strengthen political parties and non-partisan civic groups, develop a framework for free and fair elections, create a professional and independent news media and encourage economic reforms,” according to the U.S. State Department announcement.
The country's High Commission for Political Reforms and Democratic Transition on Friday adopted a “pact of reform” that is to provide the basis for Tunisia's new constitution.
In making the announcement panning relations with Israel, Yadh Ben Achour, president of the commission, announced the adoption of the reform agreement without offering many details.
The document states that Tunisia is a democratic country, its language is Arabic and its religion is Islam. But it also states that Tunisia supports the Palestinian Arab cause and rejects “any form of normalization with the Zionist State,” according to the AFP news agency.
Although national elections were originally scheduled for July, continued unrest has prompted the transitional government to postpone the polls until October.
Last Monday, the Islamist movement Ennahda (Renaissance) pulled out of the national commission tasked with drawing up political reforms in the country. The group, legalized in March 30 years after being banned by the government, accused the commission of ignoring the “true” goals of Tunisians.
One day earlier, members of the Salafist Muslim movement attacked a cinema in Tunis showing a film about secularism. The Lam Echaml umbrella organization, comprised of some 80 associations, held a news conference Friday to condemn the attack in a news conference. “We will not accept violence in this extremely tolerant country,” stated Habib Belhedi, head of the targeted Afric'Art cinema.
A conflagration was ignited in January by the self-immolation of a 26-year-old fruit vendor after police confiscated his merchandise. The groundswell of protests that followed soon toppled the 23-year reign of President Zine al Abidine Ben Ali, eventually sweeping through the entire region and destabilizing nearly every other nation along the way.
Meanwhile, some 150 people died in Tunisia, and more than 500 were wounded in the Jasmine Revolution, according to United Nations figures. Ben Ali fled with his family to Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly later suffered a stroke. According to Press TV there are unconfirmed reports that Ben Ali is in a coma.
Comment on this story
6. Home from Biblical Kingdom Of Israel Discovered on Haifa Coast
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A well-preserved, 3,000-year-old four-room house from the Biblical Kingdom of Israel has been discovered on Haifa’s southern coast by University of Haifa archaeologists.
They also found remains of a Persian city, dating back 2,400 years, and of a 1,500-year-old Byzantine town. The discoveries at the Shikmona Nature Reserve site involved what experts said was detective work, due to the site's having been excavated 42 years ago but since covered with garbage and earth.
Archaeologists from Haifa University re-examined the structure and were amazed to find that it had remained well preserved and is in fact the best-preserved "Four-Room House" dating back to that period known today.
"We had seen the structure in the old photographs, and were sorry that such a rarely preserved finding had disappeared due to neglect. We were not even sure that we would be able to find it again. It was practically a miracle that we managed to locate and uncover it and that it is still so well preserved," said Dr. Shay Bar and Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who headed the excavation team.
Old photographs of the 1970s excavations show a house dating back to the 8th-9th centuries BCE, which is the period of the Kingdom of Israel.
The structure's design of a "four-room house,” the most common design for houses in that era, is characterized by the functional division of the structure into four living spaces: three positioned vertically and the fourth horizontally. The other four-room houses exposed to date have been found in relatively bad condition.
Detective work based on the photographs led the researchers to estimate the location of the house – and luck was on their side as they located the structure and also found it highly preserved.
The archaeologists said that the discovery presents a rare opportunity to study and become familiar with everyday life in the days of the Kingdom of Israel. They hope to include the structure in the public archaeological park.
An additional rare find exposed during the excavations belonging to the period of the Kingdom of Israel is a personal seal showing an inscription in Hebrew or Phoenician. The researchers hope that deciphering this inscription will give the answer to whether the settlement of that time was in fact Israelite or Phoenician.
Other findings from that period give evidence of expansive trade with Middle Eastern neighbors. These include relics imported from Cyprus and the coast of Lebanon, which arrived in fine, delicate vessels of high-quality ceramic. Also exposed were remains of purple-colored pitcher shards.
The researchers explain that these are likely to be rare cases of preserved dye, which is reinforced by the fact that hundreds of the purple dye-producing mollusc shells were also found at the site.
At the site of the Byzantine house, a number of destroyed mosaic floors and storage rooms were uncovered, while dozens of vessels there survived the ruins and were found whole. Many coins, ornaments, pendants, weapons and glass vessels were also found there, providing evidence of the wealth of the inhabitants.
Underneath the remains was the Persian era structure, at which an oven, clay loom weights and storage pitchers were found, indicating Persian settlement of the area.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A well-preserved, 3,000-year-old four-room house from the Biblical Kingdom of Israel has been discovered on Haifa’s southern coast by University of Haifa archaeologists.
They also found remains of a Persian city, dating back 2,400 years, and of a 1,500-year-old Byzantine town. The discoveries at the Shikmona Nature Reserve site involved what experts said was detective work, due to the site's having been excavated 42 years ago but since covered with garbage and earth.
Archaeologists from Haifa University re-examined the structure and were amazed to find that it had remained well preserved and is in fact the best-preserved "Four-Room House" dating back to that period known today.
"We had seen the structure in the old photographs, and were sorry that such a rarely preserved finding had disappeared due to neglect. We were not even sure that we would be able to find it again. It was practically a miracle that we managed to locate and uncover it and that it is still so well preserved," said Dr. Shay Bar and Dr. Michael Eisenberg of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa, who headed the excavation team.
Old photographs of the 1970s excavations show a house dating back to the 8th-9th centuries BCE, which is the period of the Kingdom of Israel.
The structure's design of a "four-room house,” the most common design for houses in that era, is characterized by the functional division of the structure into four living spaces: three positioned vertically and the fourth horizontally. The other four-room houses exposed to date have been found in relatively bad condition.
Detective work based on the photographs led the researchers to estimate the location of the house – and luck was on their side as they located the structure and also found it highly preserved.
The archaeologists said that the discovery presents a rare opportunity to study and become familiar with everyday life in the days of the Kingdom of Israel. They hope to include the structure in the public archaeological park.
An additional rare find exposed during the excavations belonging to the period of the Kingdom of Israel is a personal seal showing an inscription in Hebrew or Phoenician. The researchers hope that deciphering this inscription will give the answer to whether the settlement of that time was in fact Israelite or Phoenician.
Other findings from that period give evidence of expansive trade with Middle Eastern neighbors. These include relics imported from Cyprus and the coast of Lebanon, which arrived in fine, delicate vessels of high-quality ceramic. Also exposed were remains of purple-colored pitcher shards.
The researchers explain that these are likely to be rare cases of preserved dye, which is reinforced by the fact that hundreds of the purple dye-producing mollusc shells were also found at the site.
At the site of the Byzantine house, a number of destroyed mosaic floors and storage rooms were uncovered, while dozens of vessels there survived the ruins and were found whole. Many coins, ornaments, pendants, weapons and glass vessels were also found there, providing evidence of the wealth of the inhabitants.
Underneath the remains was the Persian era structure, at which an oven, clay loom weights and storage pitchers were found, indicating Persian settlement of the area.
Comment on this story
7. IDF: Flotilla, Hamas Have Similar Funding
by David Lev
While organizers of the Gaza flotilla have claimed that they have no connection to terror and that their only objective in sponsoring the flotilla is to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, IDF military intelligence has uncovered evidence that shows that flotilla organizers have received significant amounts of funding from a groups that support Hamas and other terrorist groups.
The flotilla is being funded in large part by three Islamic charity funds from the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition, which directly fund Hamas and other terror groups.
Among the funds is the European Campaign to End the Siege (ECESG), a UK-based umbrella organization of more than thirty Europe-based organizations; it openly supports Hamas. Most of its organizations ― founded as Muslim Brotherhood branches in Europe ― are participating in the 2011 Gaza flotilla. Israeli military sources found that some of these umbrella organizations are sponsors of Hamas terror activity in Gaza.
ECESG Chairman Dr. Arafat Madi Mahmoud Shukri also serves as chairman of the Palestinian Return Center (PRC), which advocates the mass settling of descendants of Arabs who fled Israeli in 1948 in all parts of Israel as a means of destroying the country's Jewish majority, in addition to supporting terror campaigns to frighten Jews into leaving the land. Due to PRC’s flagrant links to Hamas, it was declared illegal in Israel.
In addition to ECESG, the Switzerland-based Droit Pour Tous (“Rjghts for All”) organization and the Italy-based group ABSPP are openly and intimately involved in Hamas charity efforts as well as efforts to illegally break the lawfully enforced naval blockade on Gaza. Droit Pour Tous has, among other things filed a case for the arrest of President Shimon Peres when he visited Switzerland in March on the grounds that he is accused of committing "war crimes and crimes against humanity,” and has sponsored several Swiss members of parliament who are sailing on one of the flotilla ships.
An IDF raid several years ago on Hamas offices in PA controlled cities yielded letters, memos, bank records, receipts, and other materials showing ABSPP financial support to Hamas front organizations in Italy. The funds ended up being distributed in monthly payments to families of suicide bombers, prisoners and Hamas terrorists as a means of rewarding them for their terrorist efforts and as a "social security" program to the families.
Comment on this story
by David Lev
While organizers of the Gaza flotilla have claimed that they have no connection to terror and that their only objective in sponsoring the flotilla is to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, IDF military intelligence has uncovered evidence that shows that flotilla organizers have received significant amounts of funding from a groups that support Hamas and other terrorist groups.
The flotilla is being funded in large part by three Islamic charity funds from the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition, which directly fund Hamas and other terror groups.
Among the funds is the European Campaign to End the Siege (ECESG), a UK-based umbrella organization of more than thirty Europe-based organizations; it openly supports Hamas. Most of its organizations ― founded as Muslim Brotherhood branches in Europe ― are participating in the 2011 Gaza flotilla. Israeli military sources found that some of these umbrella organizations are sponsors of Hamas terror activity in Gaza.
ECESG Chairman Dr. Arafat Madi Mahmoud Shukri also serves as chairman of the Palestinian Return Center (PRC), which advocates the mass settling of descendants of Arabs who fled Israeli in 1948 in all parts of Israel as a means of destroying the country's Jewish majority, in addition to supporting terror campaigns to frighten Jews into leaving the land. Due to PRC’s flagrant links to Hamas, it was declared illegal in Israel.
In addition to ECESG, the Switzerland-based Droit Pour Tous (“Rjghts for All”) organization and the Italy-based group ABSPP are openly and intimately involved in Hamas charity efforts as well as efforts to illegally break the lawfully enforced naval blockade on Gaza. Droit Pour Tous has, among other things filed a case for the arrest of President Shimon Peres when he visited Switzerland in March on the grounds that he is accused of committing "war crimes and crimes against humanity,” and has sponsored several Swiss members of parliament who are sailing on one of the flotilla ships.
An IDF raid several years ago on Hamas offices in PA controlled cities yielded letters, memos, bank records, receipts, and other materials showing ABSPP financial support to Hamas front organizations in Italy. The funds ended up being distributed in monthly payments to families of suicide bombers, prisoners and Hamas terrorists as a means of rewarding them for their terrorist efforts and as a "social security" program to the families.
Comment on this story
8. Flotilla Activists Thrashing without Life Raft
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Pro-Hamas flotilla activists are thrashing in deep political waters without a life raft as support for their aim to break the counterterrorist maritime blockade on Gaza drifts further away.
The Quartet – comprised of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia – has torn the sails of the flotilla movement and noted Saturday that Israel’s maritime blockade reflects its "legitimate security concerns that must continue to be safeguarded.
It supported Israel’s position that anyone wanting to send aid to Gaza can use "established channels so that their cargo can be inspected and transferred via established land crossings."
The Quartet’s statement added a sting to Hamas and its supporters by calling for an end to the "deplorable five-year detention of Gilad Shalit,” who was kidnapped by terrorists in Gaza five years ago.” Activists working against Israel have not taken up the cause of the captive IDF soldier despite the refusal of Hamas to honor the Geneva Convention that requires captors to allow Red Cross visits and communication with family members.
The flotilla effort has been severely crippled by a successful Israeli diplomatic campaign that has pointed out that the activists' real aim is to cause a clash with the IDF on the high seas, similar to the violent confrontation last year aboard the IHH-terror linked Mavi Marmara ship.
The United Nations has stated several times that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and Israel has lifted the land embargo except for weapons. “Dual purpose’ materials can be shipped after examination by Israel shows that the times will be used for peaceful purposes.
Without support from most mainstream media, flotilla activists were dealt blow after blow as Turkey, and now Greece, have barred ships from heading for Gaza under suspicion that they may be violating international law.
Lloyds insurance company, after being warned of possible violations, cancelled its coverage of the flotilla boats following a warning by the Israel Law Center that it would be liable for lawsuits. Similar legal warnings were sent to suppliers of maritime communications equipment.
Despite the prohibition in Greece against sailing to Hamas-controlled Gaza, the US-flagged vessel set sail Friday and immediately was stopped by the Greek coast guard. Congressman Gary Ackerman, during a visit to Israel last week, warned that “the people who would run an international legal blockade are subject to the legal ramifications of all countries, including the United States.”
The State Department added that the flotilla may “violate U.S. civil and criminal statues” that prohibit “conspiring to deliver material support” to terrorist organizations, such as Hamas.
Even flotilla organizers are beginning to admit that their project is sinking. One organizer told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency, "Maybe it’s run its course."
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Pro-Hamas flotilla activists are thrashing in deep political waters without a life raft as support for their aim to break the counterterrorist maritime blockade on Gaza drifts further away.
The Quartet – comprised of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia – has torn the sails of the flotilla movement and noted Saturday that Israel’s maritime blockade reflects its "legitimate security concerns that must continue to be safeguarded.
It supported Israel’s position that anyone wanting to send aid to Gaza can use "established channels so that their cargo can be inspected and transferred via established land crossings."
The Quartet’s statement added a sting to Hamas and its supporters by calling for an end to the "deplorable five-year detention of Gilad Shalit,” who was kidnapped by terrorists in Gaza five years ago.” Activists working against Israel have not taken up the cause of the captive IDF soldier despite the refusal of Hamas to honor the Geneva Convention that requires captors to allow Red Cross visits and communication with family members.
The flotilla effort has been severely crippled by a successful Israeli diplomatic campaign that has pointed out that the activists' real aim is to cause a clash with the IDF on the high seas, similar to the violent confrontation last year aboard the IHH-terror linked Mavi Marmara ship.
The United Nations has stated several times that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and Israel has lifted the land embargo except for weapons. “Dual purpose’ materials can be shipped after examination by Israel shows that the times will be used for peaceful purposes.
Without support from most mainstream media, flotilla activists were dealt blow after blow as Turkey, and now Greece, have barred ships from heading for Gaza under suspicion that they may be violating international law.
Lloyds insurance company, after being warned of possible violations, cancelled its coverage of the flotilla boats following a warning by the Israel Law Center that it would be liable for lawsuits. Similar legal warnings were sent to suppliers of maritime communications equipment.
Despite the prohibition in Greece against sailing to Hamas-controlled Gaza, the US-flagged vessel set sail Friday and immediately was stopped by the Greek coast guard. Congressman Gary Ackerman, during a visit to Israel last week, warned that “the people who would run an international legal blockade are subject to the legal ramifications of all countries, including the United States.”
The State Department added that the flotilla may “violate U.S. civil and criminal statues” that prohibit “conspiring to deliver material support” to terrorist organizations, such as Hamas.
Even flotilla organizers are beginning to admit that their project is sinking. One organizer told the Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency, "Maybe it’s run its course."
Comment on this story
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Messages In This Digest (10 Messages)
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- Libya: 13,460 NATO Sorties, 5,047 Strike Missions From: Rick Rozoff
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- Interview: U.S. Violates Law For Large-Scale Killings In Pakistan From: Rick Rozoff
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- Pentagon Rapidly Expanding Central Asian Supply Lines For Afghan War From: Rick Rozoff
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- July 4th: What U.S. Stands For In Libya - Cynthia McKinney From: Rick Rozoff
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- Canada To Conduct Unprecedented Military Exercises In Arctic From: Rick Rozoff
- 6.
- U.S. Natural Gas Deal Sparks Protests In Bangladesh From: Rick Rozoff
- 7.
- Russia: NATO Runs Roughshod Over International Norms In Libya From: Rick Rozoff
- 8.
- Belarus Accuses West Of Fomenting "Color Revolution" From: Rick Rozoff
- 9a.
- Re: Libya And Millennium Of War From: pml060912
- 10.
- NATO To Deploy 1,000 Spanish Legionaires To Afghanistan Next Year From: Rick Rozoff
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Today from VOANews.com
Opposition Forecast to Win Thai Election by Landslide
Three exit polls show the Pheu Tai party taking more than 290 of the 500 seats
Libyan Rebels Reject African Union Peace Plan
Rebels' spokesman says African Union plan is not complete because it does not call for Colonel Gadhafi to give up power
Rights Activists: Syrian Troops Deploy Around Hama, Make Arrests
Activists and residents say troops entered Hama early Sunday, arresting suspected dissidents
Gunmen Kill 6 Iraqi Policemen
In the deadliest attack, five officers have been killed in a drive-by shooting on a police checkpoint near the desert town of Rutba
Mladic Set to Boycott War Crimes Hearing
Lawyer says former Serb military commander is refusing to appear because the court has not yet approved his defense team
Britain to Pull Some Troops From Afghanistan
The move, expected to be announced Wednesday
Mexico Confirms 11 Deaths After Tropical Storm Arlene
Officials say at least 11 people have died as a result of river flooding and mudslides
Eurozone Releases Another Greek Bailout Installment
Installment approved after the Greek parliament adopted an austerity plan earlier this week
Treasure Worth Billions Found in Indian Temple
The diamonds, emeralds, and gold and silver coins and figurines are found in underground vaults in the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple
