February 16, 2018
Rivlin send his condolences to U.S. after shooting
On Thursday (15th) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin expressed his condolences via Twitter after a gunman shot dead 17 people and wounded more than a dozen others in an attack at a Florida high school.
“The people of Israel stand with the people of Florida, and all America, in grief this morning. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” he tweeted.
(jpost.com)
Palestinian man who killed three Israelis at their Shabbat table gets four life sentences
A Palestinian man convicted of murdering three members of an Israeli family as they sat around their Shabbat table in a Jewish settlement was given four life sentences.
Omar al-Abed, 20, who stabbed to death the three members of the Salomon family in July, also was ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation to the family.
(timesofisrael.com)
Congress passes bill condemning Hamas for using human shields
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday (14th) unanimously passed the Hamas Human Shields Prevention Act, which sanctions Hamas for violating human rights standards by using civilians as human shields.
The legislation was introduced by two Congressmen, Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Seth Moulton (MA-06), joined by original co-sponsors Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27) and Congressman Ted Deutch (Fl-22).
The bill states that it is U.S. policy to condemn the use of human shields by Hamas as an act of terrorism and a violation of human rights and international humanitarian law, and to act against those engaging in or supporting the practice.
Meanwhile, Hamas has condemned the U.S. bill.
(worldisraelnews.com; ynetnews.com)
Gaza’s only power plant shut down over fuel shortage
The sole electricity plant in the Gaza Strip stopped working Thursday (15th) because of a lack of fuel, officials said, as concerns grow over worsening humanitarian conditions in the Hamas-controlled area.
The closure of the plant, which normally provides around a fifth of Gaza’s electricity, will exacerbate an already critical power shortage.
(israelnn.com)
Who’s responsible for the mess in Gaza? – Liel Leibovitz
We know from both Israeli and Palestinian estimates that Hamas spends approximately $100 million a year – about 20% of the budget of the government in Gaza – on preparing for and executing attacks against Israel. The New York Times told us this past Sunday (11th) that “Five concrete plants have been set up, supplying 20 digging sites, at a cost of nearly $1 billion, ”all for the purpose of digging tunnels designed to facilitate the kidnapping and murdering of Jews.
Given Hamas’ steadfast commitment to destroy Israel at all costs, and given their dedication to spend every last shekel on tunnels, Qassam missiles, drones and other weapons – and if Israel isn’t going to provide free electricity, sewage treatment, and hospital care to the terror group busy trying to kill it – we’re looking at a deep humanitarian crisis.
(tabletmag.com)
The Palestinian textbook problem – Yaakov Ahimeir
Dr. Arnon Gross, formerly a senior Arabic language broadcaster at Voice of Israel Radio, read 200 Arabic textbooks to understand what Palestinian students are taught. He found that the school system drills into the heads of students that there is no entity called “Israel.” And if it does exist, it should be called “the Zionist entity” that must be destroyed.
He says the books clearly “demonize the Jews and Israel, and encourage a violent struggle to liberate Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” The area in question here is not just the West Bank but the whole Land of Israel. Gross stresses that from year to year, Palestinian textbooks have not become more moderate – quite the opposite, in fact.
(israelhayom.com)
Despite official boycott, over half of East Jerusalem Arabs want to vote in city elections – Nir Hasson
Palestinians have consistently boycotted Jerusalem municipal elections and those who sought to run for election were violently attacked until they withdrew their candidacies. Yet a new poll by Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion found that nearly 60% believe they should participate in municipal elections, while only 14% oppose doing so. Moreover, 97% opposed a redivision of the city along the 1967 lines that would end free access to both sides of the city.
(haaretz.com)
Iraqi militia vows to back Hizbullah in war with Israel
The head of the powerful Iraqi militia Harakat Al Nujaba pledged on Tuesday (13th) to stand alongside its Lebanese ally Hizbullah if a new war breaks out with Israel. On Tuesday, the movement’s secretary general , Akram Al Kaabi, visited the tomb of top Hizbullah commander Imad Mughniyeh to commemorate the 10 years since his death. Both Harakat Al Nujaba and Hizbullah are backed by Iran.
(afp.com)
Ukrainian monument to Jewish Holocaust victims vandalized
A monument for Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust in what is today Ukraine was vandalized by unidentified individuals who painted swastikas and the SS Nazi symbol on the structure.
The incident occurred earlier this month in the city of Ternopil, located about 80 miles east of the city of Lviv in Western Ukraine, Eduard Dolinsky, the director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, wrote on Facebook Wednesday (14th).
The day before the incident, on Feb. 2, the local newspaper carried an article that claimed Jews have excessive power in Ukraine and that only 800,000 Jews died during the Holocaust.
(jta.com)
70,000 attend anti-terror, pro-Israel rally in India
An estimated 70,000 people attended one of the largest-ever anti-Islamic terror, pro-Israel rallies on Wednesday (14th) in Calcutta, India.
The event was organized by the Hindu Samhati, who have a long history of supporting strong India-Israel relations.
Vijeta Uniyal, an Indian journalist based in Europe, addressed the rally, praising Zionism as the national liberation movement of the Jewish people.
At a time when anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe and Islamic terrorism threatens Jews and Israelis, hundreds of millions of Indians stand with Israel, Uniyal declared.
(worldisraelnews.com)
