Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday, 22 June 2012


HomeVideoMP3 RadioNewsNews BriefsIsrael PicsOpinionJudaism
Friday, Jun 22 '12, Tammuz 2, 5772
 
Today`s Email Stories:
Nationalist Found Innocent, Becomes Lawyer 
Hanegbi: U.S. Wasting Time Talking with Iran 
Shafiq Reclaims Victory, Attacks Brotherhood 
Clinton: Some in Iran Want to be Attacked 
9/11 Survivor Circumcised at Age 50 
Mofaz Thanks Obama During Surprise Meeting 
Rabbi: The Hunger Strike Wasn’t for Nothing 
 More Website News:
Ceasefire? Three Rockets Fired At Ashkelon 
Romney Tells Hispanics That They Have A Choice 
Negev Family Saved by Compost as Katyusha Strikes 
Norway Boycotts Israeli Construction Firm 
‘Our Land of Israel’ Rabbi Under Investigation 
 MP3 RadioWebsite News Briefs:
Talk:Media Terrorists
Using a Strong Arm
Music:Yom Hashoah 
Israeli Hassidic Selection




1. Praise for Mohammed on Synagogue Walls
by Maayana Miskin Praise for Mohammed on Synagogue Walls

Residents of the small agricultural community of Maor, east of Hadera, went to their synagogue Friday for morning prayers and were appalled to find that it had been vandalized overnight.



The vandals sprayed the walls of the building with the words of Muslim prayers, written in Arabic, and with praise for Mohammed, who Muslims believe was a prophet.



Police are investigating the incident.



Last month vandals desecrated the ancient synagogue in Naaran, next to Jericho. Jews who visited the site found swastikas and slogans in favor of “Palestine". The synagogue’s unique ancient musaic floor had been damaged.



MK Uri Ariel of the State Control Committee said the Jericho incident “proves that the only ones who are able to, and want to, defend Jewish holy sites are our security forces.” Ariel said he has asked officials to repair the damages immediately, and has asked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to restore the area to Israeli control.



MK Michael Ben-Ari called on police to “treat the damage to a synagogue as if it had been a mosque.”





Comment on this story

Israel Pics

View It!
Political Cartoon
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
View It!


2. Nationalist Found Innocent, Becomes Lawyer
by Maayana Miskin Nationalist Found Innocent, Becomes Lawyer

Nationalist activist and parliamentary aide Itamar Ben-Gvir of Hevron has finally become a lawyer, two years after finishing his law degree. Ben-Gvir faced opposition from the Israel Bar Association due to his history of political protest, which has included numerous run-ins with the police. He was most recently arrested just over two weeks ago, for confronting police officers over their decision to bring horses to a protest outside the Knesset.



Ben-Gvir was suspected of support for the outlawed Kach organization formed by Rabbi Meir David Kahane.



When informed of the Bar Association’s opposition, Ben-Gvir send the group a list of precedents in which people with politically extreme views were allowed to become attorneys. A terrorist who attempted to kidnap a soldier was certified as a lawyer with no opposition from the Bar Association, he noted.



Several people were certified despite support for far-left groups such as Anarchists Against the Wall.



An internal Bar Association group agreed with Ben-Gvir, but decided to condition his certification on the completion of three trials against him. The three – for participating in an unauthorized gathering, possession of defamatory posters, and insulting a public servant – ended in Ben-Gvir’s acquittal.



The long-time land of Israel activist was then allowed to take an oral exam. Examiner Judge Gilad Neuman praised Ben-Gvir for his knowledge and approved him for the bar.



Ben-Gvir finally received his diploma along with 2,091 other new attorneys in a ceremony in Jerusalem’s Binyanei Hauma building.



He expressed hope that his certification will help restore faith in the legal system. “There is an entire community that feels that many of the courts are the territory of the far left,” he said. “There is an entire community that feels discriminated against, and I hope to serve that community, to represent it faithfully and with dignity, and to prove that the courts listen to arguments made by the right and by settlers, as well.”



He plans to continue his work as a parliamentary aide to MK Michael Ben-Ari (Ichud Leumi) alongside his new legal career.





Comment on this story
 


3. Hanegbi: U.S. Wasting Time Talking with Iran
by Elad Benari Hanegbi: U.S. Wasting Time Talking with Iran

Former Kadima MK Tzahi Hanegbi criticized this week the United States and its conduct during the negotiations with Iran on its nuclear program.

Hanegbi, formerly the chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, spoke at a meeting of the Professors for a Strong Israel organization, and accused the United States of taking part in meetings aimed at wasting time and creating a falseimpression. A recording of the meeting was received by one of the writers of the Makor Rishon newspaper.

“It so happens that today the third meeting, probably the last in a series of three comic encounters, is taking place,” Hanegbi said of the talks between the six world powers and Iran in Moscow. “The first was in Istanbul, the second was in Baghdad, the third in Moscow, and the intention here is to deceive Israel. This is the purpose of the meetings. The Americans are aware of the fact that nothing will come out of these talks, but they need to earn that time, to show a façade of discourse.”

Hanegbi also referred to Iran's conduct, saying, “The Iranians are playing the game, as usual, using their seasoned sophistication, and time goes by. We are approaching the decisive moment. Eventually the diplomatic effort will be over, I believe, with a very slim chance that Iran will announce that it is accepting the Security Council resolutions.”

He claimed that most European leaders, and some American leaders, have decided to accept the possibility that Iran will have nuclear weapons.

“I think that many in Europe, almost all European leaders, as well as a significant number of U.S. leaders, have already mentally accepted a nuclear Iran,” said Hanegbi. “There are many excuses. Anyone who follows can read articles by some very prestigious research institutes in the United States which preach for this reconciliation, because it actually a recycling of the successful example of the Cold War.”

Hanegbi expressed hope that if all else fails Israel will take matters into its own hands and launch an attack on Iran.

“What we see as pure Western common sense, which is only considerations of cost vs. benefit, could be a different common sense where the Iranian leadership is concerned,” he said. “Even if there is not a high chance that [Iran using nuclear weapons on Israel] this would happen, the risk is too high. And that’s why on this issue I can only hope that, if all the optimistic scenarios one after another are unsuccessful, the State of Israel will take its fate into its own hands.”





Comment on this story
 


4. Shafiq Reclaims Victory, Attacks Brotherhood
by Elad Benari Shafiq Reclaims Victory, Attacks Brotherhood

Ahmed Shafiq, one of the two candidates for president of Egypt, repeated on Thursday his claim of victory in weekend runoff elections, The Associated Press reported.

Shafiq, who was deposed President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, made the claim in a news conference, his first one since the runoff.

AP reported that Shafiq accused the Muslim Brotherhood, whose candidate is running against him, of “playing games” to put pressure on election authorities before announcement of the official results.

He also accused the group of striking “backdoor deals” with outside powers to sway the results and urged world capitals not to interfere.

Shafiq has claimed victory in the runoff and the Brotherhood also declared soon after the election that its candidate, Mohammed Morsi, had won.

Meanwhile on Thursday, the Brotherhood escalated its fight with the military, calling for a mass protest Friday to denounce what it called a power grab by the generals. AP reported that three major Islamist groups said they would join the protest in Tahrir Square.

Thousands of protesters, mostly Islamists, gathered in Tahrir Thursday for the third successive day, AP reported, demanding the reinstatement of the Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved by a court ruling last week. They also called on the military to rescind a "constitutional declaration" granting the generals sweeping powers and stripping the next president of much of his authority.

Shafiq denounced the Brotherhood's public appeals, saying, “These protests in the squares and fear-mongering campaigns in the media are all aimed at putting pressure on the election commission.”

Egypt's election commission had been scheduled to announce the results of the runoff on Thursday, but delayed the announcement as it was looking into appeals from lawyers of both candidates into alleged campaign violations and disputed vote counting.

The commission said it won't release the results till at least the weekend, "Saturday or Sunday," and possibly even later.





Comment on this story
 


5. Clinton: Some in Iran Want to be Attacked
by Elad Benari Clinton: Some in Iran Want to be Attacked

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Secretary of State James Baker believe that an Israeli attack on Iran would not stop its nuclear program.

The two made the remarks in an interview with Charlie Rose on Wednesday. Baker also said that only the United States – not Israel – would be able to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“We ought to try every possible avenue we can to see if we can get them to correct their desire and goal of acquiring a nuclear weapon, but we cannot let them acquire that weapon,” Baker said, adding, “We are the only country in the world that can stop that. The Israelis, in my opinion, do not have the capability of stopping it. They can delay it. There will also be many, many side effects, all of them adverse, from an Israeli strike. But at the end of the day, if we don’t get it done the way the Administration’s working on it now – which I totally agree with – then we ought to take them out.”

Baker noted remarks by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey, who “said if Israel hits the Iranian nuclear facilities, we’re going to lose a lot of American lives in the region,” according to Baker.

“There are a lot of unanticipated consequences that could follow from that, not least of which is strengthening the hand of the hardliners in Iran,” said Baker. “I mean, you don’t want to do that. They’re having troubles now. The sanctions are not complete yet. We want to squeeze them down more. But they’re having an effect. And the government is having some problems, and you don’t want to lose all that.”

Clinton mentioned the “vigorous debate going on within the leadership decision-making group in Iran. There are those who say look, these sanctions are really biting, we’re not making the kind of economic progress we should be making, we don’t give up that much by saying we’re not going to do a nuclear weapon and having a verifiable regime to demonstrate that.”

She also said that “frankly, there are those who are saying the best thing that could happen to us is be attacked by somebody, just bring it on, because that would unify us, it would legitimize the regime. You feel sometimes when you hear analysts and knowledgeable people talking about Iran that they fear so much about the survival of the regime, because deep down it’s not a legitimate regime, it doesn’t represent the will of the people, it’s kind of morphed into kind of a military theocracy.”

Clinton also warned that a nuclear Iran would result in an “arms race that would take place in the region with such unforeseen consequences. Because you name any country with the means, anywhere near Iran that is an Arab country, if Iran has a nuclear weapon – I can absolutely bet on it and know I will win – they will be in the market within hours. And that is going to create a cascade of difficult challenges for us and for Israel and for all of our friends and partners.”

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak likened the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the impasse over Iran's nuclear program to “a miracle” in a Washington Post interview Wednesday.

"Whoever thinks that it’s complicated to deal with Iran right now, as some think-tank leaders are writing: Just close your eyes and think what it will mean to deal with these very same issues once Iran turns nuclear as a result of an absence of political will," Barak said. “It will be much more dangerous, much more costly in terms of human lives and financial resources. And it will become nuclear if the world will not be tough enough to stop it.”

At a meeting with Clinton in Washington on Wednesday, Vice Prime Minister and Kadima head Shaul Mofaz said that it was imperative that Iran's nuclear program be stopped, and that no option should be taken off the table.

“After the failure at the third round of talks with the Iranians in Moscow, it is time for the United States and the Western powers to impose more severe sanctions in the oil embargo and financial sectors in order to stop Iran's nuclear development program,” Mofaz said at the meeting. He added that in addition to these measures there is a need “to continue to prepare all of the other options.”

Agreeing with Mofaz was former British Prime Minister and current Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair. In an interview on Army Radio Thursday, Blair said bluntly that “all options, including the military option, are still on the table. All these options are terrible,” Blair said, “but Iran cannot be allowed to go nuclear.





Comment on this story
 


6. 9/11 Survivor Circumcised at Age 50
by Elad Benari 9/11 Survivor Circumcised at Age 50

50-year-old Alexander Yabisebitz, a survivor of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was circumcised on Thursday. The circumcision ceremony was organized by the Brit Yosef Yitzchak non-profit organization.

Yabisebitz, who was born in the city of Gomel in Belarus, worked as a programmer in one of the towers of the World Trade Center. He was five minutes late for work on the day of the terror attacks, and was thus saved.

The Brit Yosef Yitzchak organization said that last week, Yabisebitz was sitting with some friends raised when one of them, who underwent a circumcision five years ago, suggested that Yabisebitz do so as well. Yabisebitz, who did not have a circumcision at the age of eight days, immediately agreed.

After he agreed, Brit Yosef Yitzchak called a mohel (ritual circumciser), booked an operating room and arranged for the ceremony. Yabisebitz has said that having the circumcision now is his way of thanking G-d for sparing his life on that awful day.

The United States recently announced charges against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused of orchestrating the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and four others accused of involvement in the plot.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the four suicide attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda terrorists on the morning of September 11, 2001.





Comment on this story
 


7. Mofaz Thanks Obama During Surprise Meeting
by Elad Benari Mofaz Thanks Obama During Surprise Meeting

Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz had an unscheduled meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday.

The President unexpectedly joined a meeting between Mofaz and National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon, at the White House.

During the meeting, which lasted for over half an hour, Mofaz briefed the President on the challenges facing Israel and the region. He pointed to the newly formed coalition in the Knesset as a window of opportunity to restart talks with the Palestinian Authority.

When discussing the Iranian nuclear threat, Mofaz emphasized the importance imposing harsher sanctions on Tehran while continuing to prepare other options which would prevent the Iranians from obtaining nuclear weapons.

He also emphasized to the President that maintaining the peace treaty with Egypt is of paramount importance to Israel. Finally, Mofaz thanked Obama for his steadfast support of Israel.

On Wednesday, Mofaz met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary. During this meeting as well he said that it was imperative that Iran's nuclear program be stopped, and that no option should be taken off the table.

“After the failure at the third round of talks with the Iranians in Moscow, it is time for the United States and the Western powers to impose more severe sanctions in the oil embargo and financial sectors in order to stop Iran's nuclear development program,” Mofaz said at the meeting. He added that in addition to these measures there is a need “to continue to prepare all of the other options.”

On Wednesday, Clinton also met with Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat. The meeting was part of the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts to get Israel and the PA to return to peace talks.

U.S. officials said the goal of the efforts is to improve the atmosphere for direct talks that broke down three years ago.

Mofaz has publicly called on Abbas to take advantage of the large coalition and begin peace negotiations.

Speaking at a meeting of the Kadima council, Mofaz addressed Abbas, saying, “Forget the letters, forget the preconditions - Let's talk peace now. The coalition today is the widest ever, and this allows for a political breakthrough.”





Comment on this story
 


8. Rabbi: The Hunger Strike Wasn’t for Nothing
by Maayana Miskin Rabbi: The Hunger Strike Wasn’t for Nothing

Five buildings in Beit El are to be torn down despite efforts to save them, but Rabbi Yair Frank believes the protest was not in vain.

“Our protest cause the Prime Minister to commit to building instead of destruction, that the policy of demolition will stop, that the state’s responses to the Supreme Court will look different,” he told Arutz Sheva.

Rabbi Frank, the rabbi of Amona, said the government will be tested at the end of the month. “We want to see if the promises are kept,” he said. “They promised to change the course taken in responses to the Supreme Court, and at the end of the month, the state will have to give the Supreme Court an update regarding Amona.

“There is no conclusive verdict on Amona, so the state has a real opportunity to give an answer that will match its promises,” he explained.

He added, “We hope they won’t be like a dog going back to its vomit, destroying [again] without checking if there’s a serious claim.” State attorneys agreed to demolish the Beit El homes, as well as homes in Migron, without asking the Palestinian Authority Arabs who claimed ownership of the land to prove their claims.

While he expressed strong support for Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria, Rabbi Frank condemned acts such as the vandalism last week of a car belonging to Ze’ev “Zambish” Hever, who heads the Amana construction organization. “It is forbidden to damage someone else’s property as a protest,” he said.





Comment on this story
 


More Website News:
Ceasefire? Three Rockets Fired At Ashkelon 
Romney Treads Fine Balance Responding To Obama On Immigration 
Negev Family Saved by Compost as Katyusha Strikes 
Norway Boycotts Israeli Construction Firm 
‘Our Land of Israel’ Rabbi Under Investigation