July 31, 2018
‘Flotilla’ Seeking To Aid Hamas Stopped By Israeli Navy
An international flotilla seeking to challenge Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip was stopped over the weekend in Israel’s territorial waters by Israel’s navy.
Pierre Stambul, co-president of the French Jewish Union for Peace, told AFP that one of the three vessels, called al-Awda in Arabic, (the return) was scheduled to arrive off Gaza shores early Sunday (29th).
(worldisraelnews.com; afp.com)
Palestinian Arson Balloons Start Blazes At Israel College, Kibbutz
On Saturday afternoon (28th), Israel authorities continued to battle fires started with incendiary devices launched by Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Two of the primary blazes occurred at Sderot’s Sapir College and Kibbutz Gevim, the latter which grew into a sizeable blaze similar to previous fires in the area that have destroyed thousands of acres of farmland and nature reserves.
There was a total of seven incendiary balloon fires over the weekend.
(timesofisrael.com; worldisraelnews.com)
Hamas Deploying Drones To Kill Israelis – Report
Hamas terrorists in Gaza are launching explosive drones against Israeli civilian targets in communities adjacent to the strip, Ynet news reported Sunday (29th).
The report recorded at least three instances in which Hamas drones dropped explosives inside an Israeli community on the Gaza border in recent weeks.
(ynetnews.com)
US Officials Blast Palestinian Leaders’ Silence After Fatal Stabbing Attack
Jason Greenblatt, the Trump administration’s Special Representative for International Negotiations, called the terror attack in the Jewish community of Adam in Samaria “barbaric,” asking “When will Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Palestinians condemn the violence?”
The US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote “my heartfelt prayers for all the families. All life is sacred, but premeditated murder cries out for condemnation. We are not hearing it from Palestinian leadership.”
The attack occurred on Thursday night (26th) when Mohammad Tareq Yousef climbed over a fence in Adam, encountered Yotam Ovadia and killed him by stabbing him multiple times. Another man who encountered the terrorist was stabbed and hospitalized. Finally Yousef was shot and killed by an Adam resident.
(jpost.com; israelhayom.com)
Former PA Intelligence Chief: PA Security “Terrorizing Women, Children” – Khaled Abu Toameh
In a statement on Thursday (26th), Tawfik Tirawi, a former commander of the PA’s General Intelligence Service and member of the Fatah Central Committee, “condemned the practices of some commanders of the Palestinian security forces who humiliate the sons of Fatah and terrorize women and children under various pretexts.”
Tirawi accused security forces of spying on Palestinians and gathering information about “patriotic” Palestinians in a way that harms them and results in their arrest.
(jpost.com)
Netanyahu On Nationality Law: ‘The law doesn’t detract at all from the individual rights of anybody’
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin and Communications Minister Ayoob Kara met Sunday (29th) with Druze local council heads as part of the prime Minister’s ongoing talks with Druze community leaders over the Nationality Law.
“There are unending attempts to rescind the definition of the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish people. We passed the Nation-State Law in order to ensure that Israel will remain the national state of our people – this is the purpose of the state’s existence. The law does not detract at all from the individual rights of anybody. It is designed to make the necessary legal balance, the time for which has come, in order to ensure the character of the State of Israel,” the prime minister said.
(ynetnews.com)
Jordanian Activists Denounce “Normalizing” Israeli Tourism – Suzanna Goussous
Activists last week organized a sit-in in front of the Ministry of Tourism in Amman “to condemn the Ministry of Tourism’s latest decisions to promote Israeli tourism to Jordan,” said Mohammad Absi, head of the Etharrak anti-normalization campaign. “All the agreements for Zionists to enter Aqaba, Wadi Rum and Petra are to provoke the Jordanian people and to pressure them into gradually accepting the enemy.”
(jordantimes.com)
Christians March In Pretoria At Rally For Israel – Nicola Miltz
Thousands of Christians took to the streets in Pretoria last week in a solidarity prayer rally for the State of Israel. Masindi Mmbengwa, leader of the Unity Fellowship Church, said millions of South African Christians were opposed to the government’s continued plans to sever ties with israel.
Reverend Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party, said, “Instead of listening to Hamas, listen to us Christians. We are here representing millions of South Africans and we want the relationship with Israel to be strengthened.” His message to the PA was: “You teach your children to hate Israelis. It is wrong….Israelis teach their children to love, to be innovative.”
(sajr.co.za)
Suburban Indianapolis Synagogue Vandalized
Anti-Semitic graffiti was spray painted on a property of a synagogue in Carmel, Indiana this weekend.
A black swastika surrounded by a red background and the German and Nazi Military Iron Cross were painted on a wall at Congregation Shaarey Tefilla, a 200-member family Conservative synagogue near Indianapolis.
The graffiti was painted on the synagogue early Saturday morning (28th). Shabbat services were held despite the discovery.
The synagogue received words of support from both Jews and non-Jews in comments on its Facebook site.
(jta.org)
