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Dear Friends of Arutz Sheva
Every year at this time, Arutz Sheva takes upon itself the funding
of the Passover seder for the Ethiopian Jewish community in Yaffo.
south Tel Aviv.We understand that this is the largest seder in Israel, and has been over the years, a momentous occasion for our Ethiopian Jews, in so many ways.
This year, over fourteen hundred Jews are expected to attend, G-d willing.
We take this opportunity of asking you to participate by way of a monetary gift.
In the event that you would like to support this effort with us, then kindly e - mail me at. Jonathan@arutzsheva.org or click here
We shall need your telephone numbers, so please include these, I shall ensure that one of our staff here at Arutz Sheva call you within a few hours to collect your gift.
With thanks.
חג פסח כשר ושמח
Happy Pesach
Yonatan Boofty
Arutz Sheva
Bet El
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1. MK Places Mezuzah on New Jewish Home in Hevron
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Kadima Knesset Member Otniel Schneller placed a mezuzah Sunday on the building in Hevron bought by Jews from Arabs last week.
Several Jewish families last week moved into the building, located across from the Cave of the Patriarchs, but the IDF declared the purchase a “provocation” and declared the area a closed military zone, banning visitors. MK Schneller has parliamentary immunity and was allowed to enter to place the mezuzah, which contains a parchment of the “Shema Yisroel” (Hear O Israel) verses of the Torah and is found on every Jewish home.
He told residents, “Jerusalem and Hevron are the head and the heart of the Jewish people, and retaining them is a root of our existence in the Land of Israel.”
He emphasized that existing information shows that the “House of the Patriarchs,” as the building has been dubbed, was purchased legally, and said the government must help the new Jewish owners to complete the bureaucratic process concerning their property rights.
After placing the mezuzah, MK Schneller added, “The Prime Minister has done and will do whatever is legally possible to strengthen the Jewish presence in Hevron and the Patriarchs’ Cave.”
Information Minister Yuli Edelstein of the Likud visited the home Saturday night and examined the deed of purchase. “There is no doubt that this was a legal purchase of the building sold by an Arab family,” he said.
“We must put a stop to the practice of the Palestinian Authority’s hunting down those who legally sell property to Jews,” MK Edelstein added.
The PA operates under a previous Jordanian law that allows for the execution of any Arab who sells property to Jews. Jordan occupied Hevron between the War for Independence and the 1967 Six Day War.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Kadima Knesset Member Otniel Schneller placed a mezuzah Sunday on the building in Hevron bought by Jews from Arabs last week.
Several Jewish families last week moved into the building, located across from the Cave of the Patriarchs, but the IDF declared the purchase a “provocation” and declared the area a closed military zone, banning visitors. MK Schneller has parliamentary immunity and was allowed to enter to place the mezuzah, which contains a parchment of the “Shema Yisroel” (Hear O Israel) verses of the Torah and is found on every Jewish home.
He told residents, “Jerusalem and Hevron are the head and the heart of the Jewish people, and retaining them is a root of our existence in the Land of Israel.”
He emphasized that existing information shows that the “House of the Patriarchs,” as the building has been dubbed, was purchased legally, and said the government must help the new Jewish owners to complete the bureaucratic process concerning their property rights.
After placing the mezuzah, MK Schneller added, “The Prime Minister has done and will do whatever is legally possible to strengthen the Jewish presence in Hevron and the Patriarchs’ Cave.”
Information Minister Yuli Edelstein of the Likud visited the home Saturday night and examined the deed of purchase. “There is no doubt that this was a legal purchase of the building sold by an Arab family,” he said.
“We must put a stop to the practice of the Palestinian Authority’s hunting down those who legally sell property to Jews,” MK Edelstein added.
The PA operates under a previous Jordanian law that allows for the execution of any Arab who sells property to Jews. Jordan occupied Hevron between the War for Independence and the 1967 Six Day War.
Tags: Hevron ,Mezuzah ,Otniel Schneller
More on this topic
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2. Edelstein: Sale of Hevron Home to Jews Undoubtedly Legal
by Elad Benari
Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said on Saturday evening that the sale of Beit HaMachpelah (HaMachpelah House), which Jews had purchased from an Arab owner, was undoubtedly valid.
Edelstein made the comments during a visit to the building, where he was the guest of about 70 people who spent Shabbat at the newly purchased home near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. A group of Jews moved into the house on Wednesday night.
The Jews had quietly moved into the building, hoping to avoid a confrontation with local Arab neighbors, but a large contingent of IDF troops arrived to maintain security at the scene and declared the area a “restricted military zone” soon after the new residents moved in.
The new residents insist they possess all the necessary legal documentation to prove their purchase of the building. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority Arab who sold the building to the Jews is reportedly being held by the Palestinian Authority. MK Uri Ariel (National Union) has called on the defense establishment to find a way to rescue him.
“There is no doubt that this is a legitimate purchase of a home sold by an Arab to a family,” Minister Edelstein said Saturday night, after examining the documents of sale and speaking to the home’s new owners.
“The phenomenon whereby PA police persecutes those who legally sell their homes to Jews must stop,” he added. “I intend to continue to visit Hevron in general and in homes belonging to Jews in particular, especially those homes that were purchased legally.”
Other ministers and MKs are expected to visit the home in the coming days. On Friday, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that “assuming that the acquisition was done properly, the Minister of Defense must permit the transaction under his authority and allow Jewish residents to live in the home which they purchased.”
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein (Likud) said on Saturday evening that the sale of Beit HaMachpelah (HaMachpelah House), which Jews had purchased from an Arab owner, was undoubtedly valid.
Edelstein made the comments during a visit to the building, where he was the guest of about 70 people who spent Shabbat at the newly purchased home near the Tomb of the Patriarchs. A group of Jews moved into the house on Wednesday night.
The Jews had quietly moved into the building, hoping to avoid a confrontation with local Arab neighbors, but a large contingent of IDF troops arrived to maintain security at the scene and declared the area a “restricted military zone” soon after the new residents moved in.
The new residents insist they possess all the necessary legal documentation to prove their purchase of the building. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority Arab who sold the building to the Jews is reportedly being held by the Palestinian Authority. MK Uri Ariel (National Union) has called on the defense establishment to find a way to rescue him.
“There is no doubt that this is a legitimate purchase of a home sold by an Arab to a family,” Minister Edelstein said Saturday night, after examining the documents of sale and speaking to the home’s new owners.
“The phenomenon whereby PA police persecutes those who legally sell their homes to Jews must stop,” he added. “I intend to continue to visit Hevron in general and in homes belonging to Jews in particular, especially those homes that were purchased legally.”
Other ministers and MKs are expected to visit the home in the coming days. On Friday, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar said that “assuming that the acquisition was done properly, the Minister of Defense must permit the transaction under his authority and allow Jewish residents to live in the home which they purchased.”
More on this topic
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3. Jordan Arabs Attack Anti-Zionist Jews
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Jordanian Arabs scuffled with anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian Authority Neturei Karta members in the Global March on Jerusalem rally Friday. No one was injured.
Neturei Karta is a small fringe sect that attracts much publicity from wire service photographers, following its activities from the United States to Iran in its campaign against the establishment of the State of Israel. The sect's hassidic dress makes it easy to generalize and make them seem more important than they are. The group joined approximately 30,000 Jordanian Arabs in the protest that failed to reach a significant percentage of the 1-2 million people that organizers promised.
American, European and South African activists attended the rally, and most of the Arabs were Muslims against the regime of King Abdullah II. The country’s Muslim Brotherhood leader, Hammam Said, told the demonstrators, “Volunteers from around the world have come to Jordan to demand the end of occupation and returning Palestinian rights to their owners. They have sacrificed thousands of martyrs and prisoners so far.”
A measly turnout in Lebanon was augmented by foreign protesters and Arabs from UNRWA villages, who were transported by buses to protest points. Three Neturei Karta agitators also were there.
Lebanese soldiers prevented them from reaching the border with Israel.
Hizbullah terrorist leaders joined the demonstrators, and one Hizbullah sheikh said, "The nation's right to the whole of Palestine is not dead.
"Palestine is not waiting for the Arab summit or international decisions. The Palestinian nation relies on the guns of fighters in Gaza, in Ramallah and in Bint Jbeil,” a village near the Israeli border and which was a key battle site in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
The entire episode, part of the much vaunted and little noted March on Jerusalem, fizzled out after a short while.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Jordanian Arabs scuffled with anti-Zionist and pro-Palestinian Authority Neturei Karta members in the Global March on Jerusalem rally Friday. No one was injured.
Neturei Karta is a small fringe sect that attracts much publicity from wire service photographers, following its activities from the United States to Iran in its campaign against the establishment of the State of Israel. The sect's hassidic dress makes it easy to generalize and make them seem more important than they are. The group joined approximately 30,000 Jordanian Arabs in the protest that failed to reach a significant percentage of the 1-2 million people that organizers promised.
American, European and South African activists attended the rally, and most of the Arabs were Muslims against the regime of King Abdullah II. The country’s Muslim Brotherhood leader, Hammam Said, told the demonstrators, “Volunteers from around the world have come to Jordan to demand the end of occupation and returning Palestinian rights to their owners. They have sacrificed thousands of martyrs and prisoners so far.”
A measly turnout in Lebanon was augmented by foreign protesters and Arabs from UNRWA villages, who were transported by buses to protest points. Three Neturei Karta agitators also were there.
Lebanese soldiers prevented them from reaching the border with Israel.
Hizbullah terrorist leaders joined the demonstrators, and one Hizbullah sheikh said, "The nation's right to the whole of Palestine is not dead.
"Palestine is not waiting for the Arab summit or international decisions. The Palestinian nation relies on the guns of fighters in Gaza, in Ramallah and in Bint Jbeil,” a village near the Israeli border and which was a key battle site in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
The entire episode, part of the much vaunted and little noted March on Jerusalem, fizzled out after a short while.
Tags: Neturei Karta ,Land Day ,Jordan
More on this topic
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4. Iranian Terror Cell to Attack Jewish, Western Targets in Turkey
by Rachel Hirshfeld
Intelligence agencies have reportedly discovered an underground Iranian terrorist group sending members to Turkey to attack Jews, Israelis and Western targets. The organization, known as ‘Unit 400,’ is said to be part of the Al Quds Brigade.
Sky News reported an intelligence source who said that the unit "has been developing in the last few months a standing operating procedure for carrying out an attack in Turkey against western targets as well as Israeli and Jewish. It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon."
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei is said to control the Quds Force through his close ally Qassem Suleiman.
"He runs the whole thing - directly. [Mahmoud] Ahmedinajad [the Iranian president] makes all the noise and gets the attention but it's the Supreme Leader who is in charge of what is going on especially when it comes to international operations," said a senior intelligence official.
“It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon,” the source added.
A secret study conducted by a foreign intelligence agency explained, "Unit 400 is a top-secret ‘special ops’ unit within the elite overseas wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF). It plans and carries out terror attacks on external targets, and provides material support to foreign militia groups, at the direct behest of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This is in accordance with the regime's core strategic considerations about how best to challenge perceived enemies in Israel and the west - through asymmetric warfare - and to cope with mounting international pressure over its nuclear programme."
According to the report, the sources cited evidence showing that Unit 400 was given instructions to carry out more frequent and more daring attacks around the world as a demonstration of ‘Iran's asymmetric power,’ Zee News reported.
The planned attacks are said to come in response to the growing threat of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Comment on this story
by Rachel Hirshfeld
Intelligence agencies have reportedly discovered an underground Iranian terrorist group sending members to Turkey to attack Jews, Israelis and Western targets. The organization, known as ‘Unit 400,’ is said to be part of the Al Quds Brigade.
Sky News reported an intelligence source who said that the unit "has been developing in the last few months a standing operating procedure for carrying out an attack in Turkey against western targets as well as Israeli and Jewish. It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon."
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei is said to control the Quds Force through his close ally Qassem Suleiman.
"He runs the whole thing - directly. [Mahmoud] Ahmedinajad [the Iranian president] makes all the noise and gets the attention but it's the Supreme Leader who is in charge of what is going on especially when it comes to international operations," said a senior intelligence official.
“It is our firm assessment that these procedures are in a very advanced stage, and that the intention is to act on the plans very soon,” the source added.
A secret study conducted by a foreign intelligence agency explained, "Unit 400 is a top-secret ‘special ops’ unit within the elite overseas wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF). It plans and carries out terror attacks on external targets, and provides material support to foreign militia groups, at the direct behest of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. This is in accordance with the regime's core strategic considerations about how best to challenge perceived enemies in Israel and the west - through asymmetric warfare - and to cope with mounting international pressure over its nuclear programme."
According to the report, the sources cited evidence showing that Unit 400 was given instructions to carry out more frequent and more daring attacks around the world as a demonstration of ‘Iran's asymmetric power,’ Zee News reported.
The planned attacks are said to come in response to the growing threat of an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
More on this topic
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Obama Intentionally Leaking Israeli Intelligence Information? -
A Passover Message from the Chief Rabbi of South Africa
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Obama Imposes Tough New Sanctions on Iranian Oil
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Report: Iran Supplying Weapons to Gaza, but Not to Hamas
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Khamenei: Syria's Anti-Israel, So We'll Defend It
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Baku: No Strike on Iran From Azeri Soil
Comment on this story
5. Report: Israel Scales Back Covert Operations Inside Iran
by Elad Benari
Israel’s intelligence services have scaled back covert operations inside Iran, TIME Magazine reported on Friday.
Senior Israeli security officials told the magazine that the Mossad has been ratcheting down by “dozens of percent” in recent months secret efforts to disable or delay the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
The reduction runs across a wide spectrum of operations, the officials said, and includes cutting back not only alleged high-profile missions such as assassinations and detonations at Iranian missile bases, but also efforts to gather firsthand on-the-ground intelligence and recruit spies inside the Iranian program.
One official told TIME the new hesitancy to operate in Iran has caused “increasing dissatisfaction” inside the Mossad. Another senior security officer attributed the reluctance to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, saying the Prime Minister is worried about the consequences of a covert operation being discovered or going awry.
Iranian intelligence already has cracked one cell trained and equipped by Mossad, Western intelligence officials confirmed to TIME. The officials admitted that the detailed confession on Iranian state television last year by Majid Jamali Fashid for the January 2010 assassination by motorcycle bomb of nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohmmadi was genuine.
The report also noted that the covert campaign also invites retribution from Iran’s own far-reaching underground, which may be a reason for Israel scaling it back. TIME noted the recently thwarted plots against Israeli targets in Thailand, Azerbaijan, Singapore and Georgia, as well as the attack near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, which Indian officials have blamed on Iran.
While scaling back covert operations against Iran also carries costs, the report said, Iran itself has estimated that sabotage to date has set back its centrifuge program by two full years.
The report suggested that the computer virus known as Stuxnet, which hit Iranian computers last year, was a joint effort by intelligence services in Israel and a European nation. That alleged effort involved a variety of governments besides Israel, involving equipment made to purposely malfunction after being tampered with before it physically entered Iran.
TIME noted that the resulting setbacks prompted Iran to announce it would manufacture all components of its nuclear program itself, but outside experts have been highly skeptical Tehran has the ability to actually do that.
“Iran has said for some time that they’re self-sufficient, but that’s a bag of wind,” Mark Fitzpatrick, a former State Department nuclear proliferation specialist told TIME.
Fitzpatrick noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad announced in February that Iran had perfected a far more efficient centrifuge — a “fourth-generation” machine, three levels beyond its original centrifuges, made from designs purchased from Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan. He, however, said he doubts this is true.
“They haven’t been able to get the second generation to work over the last ten years,” noted Fitzpatrick.
Finally, the TIME report said, the alternative for Iran is importing equipment, but that leaves the product vulnerable to continued tampering, especially in the shadowy markets of front companies where Iran has been forced by U.S. and international sanctions to do much of its business.
“The easiest way to sabotage is to introduce faulty parts into the inventory from abroad,” Fitzpatrick said.
Comment on this story
by Elad Benari
Israel’s intelligence services have scaled back covert operations inside Iran, TIME Magazine reported on Friday.
Senior Israeli security officials told the magazine that the Mossad has been ratcheting down by “dozens of percent” in recent months secret efforts to disable or delay the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
The reduction runs across a wide spectrum of operations, the officials said, and includes cutting back not only alleged high-profile missions such as assassinations and detonations at Iranian missile bases, but also efforts to gather firsthand on-the-ground intelligence and recruit spies inside the Iranian program.
One official told TIME the new hesitancy to operate in Iran has caused “increasing dissatisfaction” inside the Mossad. Another senior security officer attributed the reluctance to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, saying the Prime Minister is worried about the consequences of a covert operation being discovered or going awry.
Iranian intelligence already has cracked one cell trained and equipped by Mossad, Western intelligence officials confirmed to TIME. The officials admitted that the detailed confession on Iranian state television last year by Majid Jamali Fashid for the January 2010 assassination by motorcycle bomb of nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohmmadi was genuine.
The report also noted that the covert campaign also invites retribution from Iran’s own far-reaching underground, which may be a reason for Israel scaling it back. TIME noted the recently thwarted plots against Israeli targets in Thailand, Azerbaijan, Singapore and Georgia, as well as the attack near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, which Indian officials have blamed on Iran.
While scaling back covert operations against Iran also carries costs, the report said, Iran itself has estimated that sabotage to date has set back its centrifuge program by two full years.
The report suggested that the computer virus known as Stuxnet, which hit Iranian computers last year, was a joint effort by intelligence services in Israel and a European nation. That alleged effort involved a variety of governments besides Israel, involving equipment made to purposely malfunction after being tampered with before it physically entered Iran.
TIME noted that the resulting setbacks prompted Iran to announce it would manufacture all components of its nuclear program itself, but outside experts have been highly skeptical Tehran has the ability to actually do that.
“Iran has said for some time that they’re self-sufficient, but that’s a bag of wind,” Mark Fitzpatrick, a former State Department nuclear proliferation specialist told TIME.
Fitzpatrick noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad announced in February that Iran had perfected a far more efficient centrifuge — a “fourth-generation” machine, three levels beyond its original centrifuges, made from designs purchased from Pakistan’s A.Q. Khan. He, however, said he doubts this is true.
“They haven’t been able to get the second generation to work over the last ten years,” noted Fitzpatrick.
Finally, the TIME report said, the alternative for Iran is importing equipment, but that leaves the product vulnerable to continued tampering, especially in the shadowy markets of front companies where Iran has been forced by U.S. and international sanctions to do much of its business.
“The easiest way to sabotage is to introduce faulty parts into the inventory from abroad,” Fitzpatrick said.
Tags: Iran Nuclear threat ,Mossad ,TIME Magazine
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Obama and Clinton Turn the Screws on Iran
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69% of Israelis Support US-Israeli Attack on Iran
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Report: Israel Buys Azeri Air Field on Iran's Northern Border
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Report: Iran's Centrifuge Workshops Are Well Hidden
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Obama: U.S. Pushing for World Without Nuclear Weapons
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Obama Omits Deadline on 'Diplomatic Window' for Iran
Comment on this story
6. Danes Protest Muslim Threat, 80 Arrested
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Danish police arrested 80 protesters Sunday in a rally against the growing Muslim threat of turning Europe into part of an Islamic empire.
Scuffles broke out when a large number of masked leftist counter demonstrators tried to push past police to reach approximately 300 protestors from Denmark, Britain, Germany, Sweden and Poland. They also threw bottles and rocks at police vans and a busload of protesters.
The rally in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, began with a moment of silence for the Toulouse victims of the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist who gunned down a rabbi, three young Jewish children and three Muslim soldiers of North African origin in France last month.
The right-wing English Defense Group has attracted several similar groups to become active in several countries as large-scale Muslim immigration and their growing birth rate has catapulted Islam into a religious, political and demographic concern to Europeans who fear the threat of radical Islam and its drive towards a worldwide Caliphate. In England, Islamic Shari'a law already has been allowed to be the accepted authority in several communities.
Anti-Islam leaders have insisted they are not neo-Nazis or anti-Semites. German Defense League members at the protest waved German and Israeli flags, and one banner in at the rally stated, “Peace will dominate the world and not Islam.”
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Danish police arrested 80 protesters Sunday in a rally against the growing Muslim threat of turning Europe into part of an Islamic empire.
Scuffles broke out when a large number of masked leftist counter demonstrators tried to push past police to reach approximately 300 protestors from Denmark, Britain, Germany, Sweden and Poland. They also threw bottles and rocks at police vans and a busload of protesters.
The rally in Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, began with a moment of silence for the Toulouse victims of the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist who gunned down a rabbi, three young Jewish children and three Muslim soldiers of North African origin in France last month.
The right-wing English Defense Group has attracted several similar groups to become active in several countries as large-scale Muslim immigration and their growing birth rate has catapulted Islam into a religious, political and demographic concern to Europeans who fear the threat of radical Islam and its drive towards a worldwide Caliphate. In England, Islamic Shari'a law already has been allowed to be the accepted authority in several communities.
Anti-Islam leaders have insisted they are not neo-Nazis or anti-Semites. German Defense League members at the protest waved German and Israeli flags, and one banner in at the rally stated, “Peace will dominate the world and not Islam.”
Tags: Islamic regime ,Muslims ,Denmark
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Video: Afghan Muslims Up in Arms over Koran Burnings by US
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Norwegian Child Camp Killer Planned to Hit Amnesty
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Arab Rioters Stone Temple Mount Tourists after Muslim Incitement
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Canadian Television Gag Irks Muslims
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Video on Gingrich: ‘Yes’ to Muslim President but ‘No’ to Sharia
Comment on this story
7. Obama and Clinton Turn the Screws on Iran
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
U.S. President Barack Obama declared Friday that the world market can get along without Iranian oil, and he approved new sanctions to mount more pressure on the Ahmadinejad regime to halt unsupervised nuclear development. The next day, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tehran that “it is running out of time” before military action may be taken against Iran.
“I will closely monitor this situation to assure that the market can continue to accommodate a reduction in purchases of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran,” President Obama said. He announced that the United States will fine foreign banks who continue to handle energy transactions for Iran and conduct business in the country.
He has exempted several European Union countries from sanctions because they have reduced their imports of Iranian oil, and other countries have until June 28 to comply with the demands or face sanctions.
China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has rejected President Obama’s sanctions policy, but Turkey has agreed to reduce imports by 20 percent.
The Chinese side always opposes "one country unilaterally imposing sanctions against another according to domestic law. Furthermore it does not accept the unilateral imposition of those sanctions on a third country,” the Chinese foreign ministry stated Saturday.
Clinton joined the harsh tune of the American government and warned that the chances of a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear knot "will not remain open forever."
She joined with officials from the oil-rich countries of Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in what apparently was a discussion to assure that they would increase oil production to make up for the loss of Iranian oil.
"We're going in with one intention: to resolve the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program," she said after the meeting in Saudi Arabia. "Our policy is one of prevention, not containment. We are determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
U.S. President Barack Obama declared Friday that the world market can get along without Iranian oil, and he approved new sanctions to mount more pressure on the Ahmadinejad regime to halt unsupervised nuclear development. The next day, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tehran that “it is running out of time” before military action may be taken against Iran.
“I will closely monitor this situation to assure that the market can continue to accommodate a reduction in purchases of petroleum and petroleum products from Iran,” President Obama said. He announced that the United States will fine foreign banks who continue to handle energy transactions for Iran and conduct business in the country.
He has exempted several European Union countries from sanctions because they have reduced their imports of Iranian oil, and other countries have until June 28 to comply with the demands or face sanctions.
China, a major buyer of Iranian oil, has rejected President Obama’s sanctions policy, but Turkey has agreed to reduce imports by 20 percent.
The Chinese side always opposes "one country unilaterally imposing sanctions against another according to domestic law. Furthermore it does not accept the unilateral imposition of those sanctions on a third country,” the Chinese foreign ministry stated Saturday.
Clinton joined the harsh tune of the American government and warned that the chances of a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear knot "will not remain open forever."
She joined with officials from the oil-rich countries of Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in what apparently was a discussion to assure that they would increase oil production to make up for the loss of Iranian oil.
"We're going in with one intention: to resolve the international community's concerns about Iran's nuclear program," she said after the meeting in Saudi Arabia. "Our policy is one of prevention, not containment. We are determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon."
More on this topic
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70 Foreign Nations Meet in Istanbul Over Syria
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Report: Israel Scales Back Covert Operations Inside Iran
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69% of Israelis Support US-Israeli Attack on Iran
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Report: Israel Buys Azeri Air Field on Iran's Northern Border
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Report: Iran's Centrifuge Workshops Are Well Hidden
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Pollard’s ‘Handler’ Says Obama Likely to Free Him
Comment on this story
8. Brooklyn Syrian Jews Apologize to Rabbi Hecht 17 Years Later
by Chana Ya'ar
It has taken 17 years, but the Brooklyn Syrian congregation of Shaare Zion finally apologized publicly on behalf of the entire community to their Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Avraham Hecht, over a scandal connected with Israel's former prime minister.
The apology was tendered by community leaders Stanley Chera and Joe Carrey in the presence of Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar at a celebration of the rabbi's 90th birthday, held at Brooklyn's Sephardi Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht, son of the rabbi, who himself leads a congregation and serves as a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Norwalk, Connecticut, called it a “miracle," commenting that the Jewish calendar is currently in the Hebrew month of Nissan, a “time of miracles.” He added that his father was deeply involved in the “saving of so many of Egyptian Jewry... and the remnant of the Syrian Jewish community.”
The elder rabbi is the author of three books, has served as president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, and was key in helping establish Brooklyn's Sephardic Jewish community.
The congregation, however, had summarily dismissed Rabbi Hecht, their long-standing, famed spiritual leader, after a speech before a gathering of rabbis that set off alarm bells among leftist media.
Hecht had warned that “by handing over Israeli land and property, Israeli leaders are betraying Jews to non-Jews.” The rabbi noted at the time that it is permissible according to Jewish law to kill such a person.
When media picked up the comment, it was taken out of context and in at least one article, embroidered by a journalist who dubbed the rabbi as having “sentenced” then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin to death.
One month later, Rabin was assassinated by convicted murderer Yigal Amir, who shot him at point-blank range during a rally, for signing the Oslo Accords.
Amir remains incarcerated to this day – but the rabbi was blamed for Rabin's murder as well.
In a spiritual sense, Rabbi Hecht was forced to serve a similar sentence despite his innocence, barred from entering Israel for “security” reasons and dismissed from his position as senior spiritual leader at Shaare Zion by its executive board, where he had served for nearly half a century.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
It has taken 17 years, but the Brooklyn Syrian congregation of Shaare Zion finally apologized publicly on behalf of the entire community to their Rabbi Emeritus, Rabbi Avraham Hecht, over a scandal connected with Israel's former prime minister.
The apology was tendered by community leaders Stanley Chera and Joe Carrey in the presence of Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar at a celebration of the rabbi's 90th birthday, held at Brooklyn's Sephardi Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht, son of the rabbi, who himself leads a congregation and serves as a Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Norwalk, Connecticut, called it a “miracle," commenting that the Jewish calendar is currently in the Hebrew month of Nissan, a “time of miracles.” He added that his father was deeply involved in the “saving of so many of Egyptian Jewry... and the remnant of the Syrian Jewish community.”
The elder rabbi is the author of three books, has served as president of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, and was key in helping establish Brooklyn's Sephardic Jewish community.
The congregation, however, had summarily dismissed Rabbi Hecht, their long-standing, famed spiritual leader, after a speech before a gathering of rabbis that set off alarm bells among leftist media.
Hecht had warned that “by handing over Israeli land and property, Israeli leaders are betraying Jews to non-Jews.” The rabbi noted at the time that it is permissible according to Jewish law to kill such a person.
When media picked up the comment, it was taken out of context and in at least one article, embroidered by a journalist who dubbed the rabbi as having “sentenced” then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin to death.
One month later, Rabin was assassinated by convicted murderer Yigal Amir, who shot him at point-blank range during a rally, for signing the Oslo Accords.
Amir remains incarcerated to this day – but the rabbi was blamed for Rabin's murder as well.
In a spiritual sense, Rabbi Hecht was forced to serve a similar sentence despite his innocence, barred from entering Israel for “security” reasons and dismissed from his position as senior spiritual leader at Shaare Zion by its executive board, where he had served for nearly half a century.
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