August 10, 2018
As Dozens Of Rockets Fired At South, IDF Strikes 12 Hamas Targets In Gaza
Israel’s air force bombed 12 Hamas positions across the Gaza Strip Wednesday night (8th), the military said, as dozens of rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israeli communities from the Palestinian enclave, including one barrage that slammed into the city of Sderot, injuring several Israelis.
Among the injured was a man, 54, who sustained moderate wounds. A young man, 23, and a 13 year old boy were wounded as well. The wounded were taken to Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital. MDA reported that 13 others were treated for shock.
Local residents reported that IDF Iron Dome batteries downed at least two rockets near Sderot.
Throughout the night, wave after wave of alarms sounded in the Hof Ashkelon, Sha’ar Hanegev and Eshkol regions, outside Gaza, sending thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters, where many bedded down for the night with their families.
According to the Israeli Defense Forces, 36 projectiles were fired at southern israel, including the eight that were launched at Sderot.
Included in the 12 sites bombed by the IAF in the Gaza Strip Wednesday evening (8th) were a tunnel-part and concrete factory, an offensive maritime terror tunnel shaft along the coast and several terror sites in military compounds throughout the Gaza Strip, among them rocket manufacturing facilities and a central logistical military complex.
The IDF views Hamas terror activity with great severity and is prepared for a wide variety of scenarios while continuing to fulfill its mission to defend Israeli citizens.
(timesofisrael.com; israelnn.com; ynetnews.com)
Palestinians Jailed For Trying To Rob Biblical Archaeological Site – Michael Bachner
Three Palestinians were sent to 36 days in prison on Tuesday (7th) for damaging and attempting to rob the ancient town of Sebastia, a major archaeological site in the West Bank. They were caught at 1:00 a.m. on July 18 by an inspector for the archaeology division of the Civil Administration while carrying digging equipment and a metal detector.
Sebastia served as the capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel in Samaria in the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. The site includes a Crusader cathedral, an ancient Roman city boasting a forum, a colonnaded street and a temple to Emperor Augustus, and the remains of the palace of King Omri, ruler of the Kingdom of Israel.
(timesofisrael.com)
Brazilian Presidential Candidate Pledges To Move Embassy To Jerusalem
The front-runner in Brazil’s race for president, Jair Bolsonaro, recently announced his intention to move Brazil’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, if elected, reported JTA.
Bolsonaro added on Tuesday (7th) that if elected he would shutter the Palestinian Authority’s “embassy” in Brasilia, commenting, “Is Palestine a country? Palestine is not a country, so there should be no embassy here.”
The comments were made in a series of televised interviews in the run-up to Brazil’s elections in November, with Bolsonaro stating during one of the sit-downs, “You do not negotiate with terrorists.”
While Bolsonaro has remained a staunch supporter of the Jewish state, Brazil recognized “Palestine” as an “independent state” in 2010 under Luis Inacio Luia da Silva’s administration
On da Silva’s watch, Brazil provided a $10 million donation to Hamas, with his successor Dilma Rousseff maintaining the anti-Israel party line until her 2016 impeachment.
According to the JTA report, Bolsonaro expressed support for Israel at Rio’s Hebraica Club in 2017, and his three sons, also politicians, have recently been photographed in T-shirts bearing Hebrew messages.
(worldisraelnews.com; jta.org)
Kuwait Airways To Pay Israeli Denied Service In UK Because Of Nationality
Kuwait Airways will pay an Israeli citizen damages for refusing to sell her a plane ticket in November 2017.
Mandy Blumenthal filed a racial discrimination and harassment lawsuit with the assistance of U.K. Lawyers for Israel against Kuwait Airways after they refused to sell her a plane ticket to Bangkok once she presented an airline representative with her Israeli passport, Britain’s Jewish News reported.
The incident was caught on video.
Blumenthal said, “it is horrible to be singled out, to be told you are not allowed to do something because of who you are…In my mind, it is an anti-Semitic policy to single out the only Jewish state to boycott.”
David Berens, one of Blumenthal’s attorneys, said, “The law is clear: Direct discrimination on grounds of nationality in the provision of a service to the public is illegal. Ms. Blumenthal has done a service in showing up Kuwait Airways’ illegal policy. Kuwait Airways is now legally obliged to end this policy or end its services from the U.K. altogether.”
In November, a German court ruled Kuwait Airways had the right to refuse to carry an Israeli passenger due to his nationality after an Israeli student living in Germany sued the airline for canceling his booking for a flight from Frankfurt to Bangkok that included a stopover in Kuwait City.
(israelhayom.com)
A Democratic Nation State Of The Jewish People – Sara Greenberg
→As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Advisor for World Communities, part of my job is to listen to what people around the world have to say. Much of what I have heard from critics following the passage of Basic Law: Israel-Nation State of the Jewish People, is mistaken and misinformed. The accusations about the new law’s effects on Israeli democracy have no connection to the actual content or context of the law.
→The new Basic Law was passed to fill a constitutional void. Israel, like the United Kingdom, lacks a written constitution and instead relies on a set of basic laws. Israel already has basic laws to protect individual freedoms (such as Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty). Israel lacked a basic law defining the identity and purpose of the state.
→During the seven-year debate surrounding the Nation State Law, there was a broad consensus that a basic law was needed to define the identity of the country. However, the new basic law does not contradict or supercede the basic laws that protect and guarantee individual rights of all citizens regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender.
→The new law does not erode a single right or protection of any minority. It actually reaffirms Israel’s commitment to minority groups.
→The new law also, for the first time, constitutionally enshrines Arabic as a language with “special status.” It affirms that “the status given to the Arabic language before this law came into effect will not be harmed.”
(jpost.com)
