January 17, 2018
In India, Netanyahu called on democracies to unite against radical Islam
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking at a conference in India, called on democracies like Israel and India to unite together against threats like radical Islam.
Netanyahu said that only democracies that value human rights can ensure a world of “international communities that protect those norms.”
“The quest for modernity is being challenged by radical Islam,” Netanyahu said, calling for an “alliance of democracies….to ensure our common futures.”
The prime minister called on India and Israel to step up economic, diplomatic and military cooperation to achieve these goals.
(timesofisrael.com)
President Rivlin: Abbas returns to past anti-Semitic rhetoric – Jonathan Lis
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin told a visiting AIPAC delegation in Jerusalem on Monday (15th) that in Mahmoud Abbas’ speech on Sunday (14th), he re-engaged with ideas for which he had in the past been accused of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.
“To say that Israel is the result of a Western conspiracy to settle Jews in Arab lands, and to say that the Jewish people have no connection to the Land of Israel, Abbas said exactly what he had been accused of years ago, with anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. These are exactly the things that block us from making any progress.”
“In his words, he denies our return to our homeland, even though Abbas also knows very well that the Koran itself mentions the recognition of the Land of Israel as our land.”
(haaretz.com)
Abbas is not a peace partner – Dore Gold interviewed by Gil Hoffman
“PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has disqualified himself as a serious peace partner unless he pulls back and changes the tone and content of his approach,” former Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold told the Jerusalem Post on Monday (15th). “Israel has complained for years about Palestinian incitement and Abbas’ speech on Sunday (14th) revealed that the source for the incitement has been Abbas himself.”
“It’s critical for Abbas’ strategy to characterize Israel as an apartheid state, to put Israeli history in the context of colonialism, and to advance the BDS movement, and other lawfare against the Jewish state. These become the messages he wants to leave for Palestinian youth even after he goes, and this is extremely destructive.”
(jpost.com)
Palestinian rocket fired at Israel strikes home in Gaza, wounds three – Hagay Hacohen
A rocket fired at Israel on Monday (15th) fell short and hit a Palestinian home in Deir al-Balah by mistake, wounding three, Arab media reported on Monday.
Two were seriously injured, and one was lightly wounded according to reports.
(jpost.com; israelnn.com)
Palestinians plant bomb at Joseph’s Tomb – Judah Ari Gross
Army sappers detonated a cellphone-operated explosive device planted by Palestinians at the entrance to Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus early Tuesday morning (16th), ahead of a visit by 1,000 Jewish worshipers, an IDF spokesperson said.
The Jewish holy site has been targeted by Palestinians in the past. In October 2015, hundreds of Palestinian rioters set the tomb ablaze. The site suffered severe damage but no one was wounded.
(timesofisrael.com; reuters.com)
Iran’s Khamenei says Muslim world has ‘totally ignored’ Palestinian issue
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seems to think that the Muslim world has “totally ignored” the Palestinian issue and that the struggle against Israel will one day “bear fruit.”
“Palestine is an important issue of the Muslim world which has been totally ignored,” Khamenei said in a tweet Tuesday (16th).
But he also predicted that Israel will eventually be defeated.
“Defeating the Zionists in a soft war is possible just as it is during a hard war,” he tweeted. “I believe that this struggle against the Zionist regime will bear fruit, just as the resistance has progressed today.”
(afp.com; timesofisrael.com)
Report: UNRWA lays off more than 100 workers in Jordan
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has dismissed more than 100 workers in Jordan and frozen appointments within the agency, according to Israel Radio.
This is part of an attempt to save expenses due to the agency’s estimated $174 million financial deficit.
(israelradio.org)
British woman attacked by Palestinian terrorists demands probe of UK-aid used for terrorists – David Maddox
Kay Wilson, a British woman who was butchered and left for dead by Palestinian terrorists, discovered that the Palestinian Authority is using British taxpayers’ money to pay her imprisoned attackers, who also killed her American friend Kristine Luken.
“I watched my friend being killed before my eyes. I only survived because I played dead,” she said. She was stabbed 13 times and had over 30 bones broken. After leaving her for dead they returned for one final assault. “I watched my attacker plunge the knife into my chest, just missing my heart.”
The two attackers who were jailed belonged to a group allied with Fatah who runs the Palestinian Authority. The PA has since used aid-money to pay them while they sit in jail.
Wilson has written to House of Commons International Development Committee Chairman Stephen Twigg asking for an investigation of the Palestinian Authority’s funding and incitement of terrorism. She also asked for a British version of the U.S. proposed Taylor Force Act which would block payments to the Palestinian Authority until it terminates its payments to terrorists.
(express.co.uk)
Poll finds majority of Arabs interested in visiting Israel
An international survey in Arabic by Israel’s Foreign Ministry this week drew thousands of responses and found that a majority of respondents, 57%, expressed interest in visiting Israel.
Some of the responses stated,” I am Iraqi and am interested in visiting Israel.” Another Iraqi wrote, “My dream is of going to Israel.” A resident of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia wrote,”Israel has become an established reality and is a better country than all the Arab states.”
The survey appeared on the Foreign Ministry’s Twitter page for only 24 hours and drew thousands of positive responses.
(israelhayom.com)
Gravestones vandalized in Jewish cemetery in Eritrea
Dozens of gravestones were toppled and broken in a cemetery in Eritrea. The damage at the cemetery located in the capital of Asmara is believed to have happened in recent days.
“The cemetery suffered vandalism and a large number of graves were defaced,” Danny Goldschmidt, from the Aden Jewish Heritage Museum in Tel Aviv said. Police have not made any arrests in the incident.
The London-based Jewish Chronicle was sent photos of the damage by an unnamed reader in London of Eritrean descent, who did not want his name published for fear of retribution against family members who remain in Eritrea.
(jta.com; thejc.com)
