April 20, 2018
Netanyahu: Preferential treatment given for first 10 embassies moving to Jerusalem
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday (19th) at a welcoming ceremony for diplomats and consular staff that “preferable treatment” will be given to the first 10 embassies moving from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The U.S. is set to be the first to move its embassy to Jerusalem, followed by Guatemala.
(ynetnews.com)
100,000 Israelis took to nature on Independence Day
Some 100,000 Israelis visited national parks and nature reserves across the country on Thursday (19th), Independence Day, according to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Quite a few sites were crowded and closed to additional visitors.
(nature.org)
U.S. lights-up blue-and-white for Israel’s 70th birthday
Buildings in major US cities lit up with Israeli flag colors in honor of Israel’s 70th Independence Day, including Boston’s South Station, and Zakim Bridge, Miami’s Freedom Tower, and several buildings in Chicago.
In Los Angeles, the Consulate of Israel held a special event to mark the Jewish state’s 70th Independence Day.
Eight different U.S. governors also sent videos with messages of support for Israel.
In June, the Empire State Building will be lit up in blue-and-white ahead of the Israel support march on Fifth Avenue.
(ynetnews.com)
Gaza tent city moved 164 feet closer to border
The ‘supreme national authority of the return march and the breaking of the siege in Gaza’ announced Wednesday (18th) the relocation of the protest tent city to 164 feet, bringing it closer to the border fence with Israel, the al-Resalah Arabic news site reported.
The council stated that the relocation of the tent city would serve “as a continuation of the national program of the return marches and the breaking of the siege. It is a message of determination from our people to the world that we declare the camps of return are now 164 feet closer, as a first step.”
(israelnn.com)
Gaza Islamic Jihad video threatens IDF generals
In a video posted on social networks, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad organization in Gaza issued an explicit threat on Thursday (19th) to harm senior commanders in the Israel Defense Forces, according to Israeli media.
Among the officers targeted are Major General Yoav Mordechai (COGAT) and Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir – as well as other soldiers – including snipers – and civilians. The video ended by saying,” Our gunsights and our snipers are leveled at your senior commanders.”
(timesofisrael.com)
European Parliament condemns Hamas terror for the first time
For the first time, the European Parliament voted to condemn the Hamas terrorist organization for its acts of terrorism and its use of human shields.
The motion, which also criticized Israel, was passed by an overwhelming majority of 524 “yes” votes to 30 “no” votes, with 92 abstentions.
The three-page document notes that Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the European Union (EU), that it repeatedly calls for the destruction of Israel, and continues to fire rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip.
(israelnn.com)
IDF fires at terrorists operating at Gaza border fence
An IDF tank early Wednesday (18th) fired shells at a terrorist cell that was operating at the security fence on the border with Israel.
The IDF stated that troops identified five suspects, at least one of which was armed, approaching the security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. In response the troops fired toward the suspects.
Palestinian sources reported that at least three of the terrorists were hit by the shells.
(worldisraelnews.com)
EU to demand Palestinians remove anti-Israel incitement from textbooks
Two amendments to European Union ()EU) legislation that were approved Wednesday (18th) may help Israeli-Palestinian relations in the long term more than any leaders’ meetings, as they demand that Palestinian Authority (PA) textbooks no longer include the anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli material they have had since before the signing of the Oslo Accords.
The groundbreaking changes were hidden among dozens of other clauses inside long reports of the European Union’s Committee on Budgetary Control, and referred to the main body that has funded the PA since 2008, PEGASE.
The European Parliament is now insisting that the Palestinians comply with the common values of freedom, tolerance and non-discrimination through education.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Berlin anti-Semitic attacker identified as Palestinian-Syrian – turns self in
A young man wearing a skullcap was openly beaten Tuesday (17th) on a Berlin street by a man yelling “Yahudi,” which is Arabic for Jew.
The assailant was one of three men who had cursed repeatedly at the victim, Adam Armush, and his friend as they walked to a nearby train station. When one of the assailants came at Armush with a belt, he took out his phone to record the anti-Semitic act.
Armush, a 21-year-old student, is actually an Israeli Arab who wore the head covering to see if it was safe to don the Jewish religious symbol on the streets of an upper class Berlin neighborhood.
Armush said, “I am not Jewish, I am an Israeli and I grew up in Israel in an Arab family.” “It was an experience for me to go out into the street wearing a skullcap.”
After Armush was struck several times by the screaming assailant, a passerby stopped the attacker, pushing him away.
After an investigation was started, the attacker turned himself in to police Thursday (19th). He was a 19-year-old Palestinian asylum-seeker from Syria.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Jewish cemetery vandalized near Paris
A Jewish cemetery near Paris was desecrated by a person who vandalized eight headstones, a watchdog on anti-Semitism said.
The incident earlier this week resulted in damage to the headstones at the cemetery in Seine Saint Denis, north of the French capital.
Sammy Ghozlan, President of the National Bureau for Vigilance Against Anti-Semitism (BNVCA) said, “The cowardly hatred that is proliferating today is driving those who hate Jews to attack not only the living, but also the dead.”
(jta.org)
