News Digest — 10/30/20
Zivotofsky’s 18-Year Quest For US Passport Stamped “Jerusalem, Israel” Ends
After their son Menachem’s birth in 2002, Ari and Naomi Zivotofsky asked for a passport that recorded his birthplace as Jerusalem, Israel but received the document only this Friday (30th) 18-years later.
“I am honored to receive this passport as a representative of the many American citizens who were born in Israel, who can now have their official government documents reflect the fact that they were born in Israel. I want to thank my parents who started this process, long before I understood anything,” Menachem said.
He spoke at a brief ceremony at the US embassy in Jerusalem, in which US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman officially handed him his passport, the first one ever to link Jerusalem with the State of Israel.
His parents told The Jerusalem Post prior to the ceremony that they had requested to register his place of birth as Israel, fully believing such a step would happen, because a 2002 US Congressional Law that had just passed, gave them the option to do so.
“We were surprised therefore when the consular office rejected our request, and were emphatic about it,” said Ari.
Ari and Naomi then filed a legal appeal, which went twice to the US Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled that Congress had exceeded its authority and that the decision with regard to country designation was under the purview of the White House.
18-year-old Menachem, dressed in white shirt, black pants and a skull cap, said, “It is really exciting to be part of history.”
(jpost.com)
‘Statehood Now Or Face Anarchy, Violence and Instability,’ Palestinians Warn
Claiming that the United States and Israel are planning to “redesign” the Middle East via “normalization” and the US peace plan, the Palestinian Authority is threatening “anarchy, violence and instability,”
According to a report by Israeli NGO Palestinian Media Watch, an October 13 editorial in the Ramallah-run Al-Hayat Al-Jadida daily, the PA lashed out at the Arab states that have recently signed peace agreements with Israel, stating that “a fire will burn generation after generation unless the PA gets Palestine.”
“Let the American administration and those doing its bidding not be deluded that it is possible to erase the strong Palestinian number from the equation of the conflict, whether by alternatives(!!) or by other means,” states the editorial.
The PA defines “Palestine” as including all of the State of Israel – regardless of their claims to the international community that they are only interested in the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to Palestinian Media Watch.
The Palestinian Authority, as well as Hamas – the terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip, has strongly rejected the recent rapprochement between the Arab world and the Jewish State, which has seen the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan recognize Israel and seek full ties with it.
Fatah and Hamas both have decried the move as a “betrayal” of the Palestinian cause.
(palwatch.org; israelhayom.com)
The Arab World Has Decided To Move Forward Without The Palestinians – Khaled Abu Toameh
For the first time ever, the Palestinian leadership is now feeling that the Arab world is really fed up with them and does not want to wait for them anymore. The Arab world does not like the condemnations coming from the Palestinians and the accusations of treason. They do not like seeing pictures of their leaders being burned at Al-Aqsa Mosque. They also do not like to hear the PA Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, issuing a fatwa banning citizens of any Arab country that normalizes relations with Israel from praying at Al-Aqsa.
I follow what is being said in the Arab world. It is unimaginable what Arabs in the Gulf are saying about the Palestinians: “You ungrateful people. We’ve given you billions of dollars all these years. In the end, you spit in our face and you burn our flag.” One prominent Emirati academic tweeted pictures of UAE flags in the Israeli city of Netanya. Next to them, pictures of the UAE flag being burned by Palestinians in Ramallah and Gaza. He wrote: “My flag is being honored in Israel while these Palestinians are burning my flag.”
Other Arabs are asking Mahmoud Abbas: “Are you trying to punish an Arab country simply because they want normal relations with Israel? What about you, Abbas? In 1993, didn’t you and Yasser Arafat allegedly recognize Israel’s right to exist? Haven’t you been negotiating with Israel all these years? Haven’t you been conducting security coordination with Israel? Where is the problem, if an Arab country such as the United Arab Emirates wants to make peace with Israel?”
The Palestinians are afraid that if you normalize relations with Israel, you are actually recognizing Israel’s right to exist as the homeland of the Jewish people in this part of the world. This whole conflict is really about Israel’s very existence in the Middle East. There are still a large number of people in the Arab and Muslim world who continue to see Israel as a foreign body imposed on this region by Western powers, even though Jews have been here for more than 3,000 years.
(gatestoneinstitute.org)
Czech Republic Declares Hezbollah Terror Group, Both Political And Military Wings
The Czech Republic has followed the example of other countries and classified the entire Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement as a terrorist organization that threatens all democracies, the Czech News Agency CTK reported Tuesday (27th).
“The Chamber of Deputies calls on the government to promote at the level of the European Union the abandonment of the concept of dividing Hezbollah into two parts and its full inclusion on the list of terrorist organizations,” the resolution in the Czech Parliament said.
In 2013, European Union foreign ministers included only the military wing of the movement on the European list of terrorist organizations.
The decision called on the government to demand that the EU also stop distinguishing between the division of Hezbollah into political and military parts, the report said.
Czech legislators also called on their government to work to suppress Hezbollah’s influence in the world in order to strengthen international security. The resolution stated that the decision “is not a hostile act towards the Lebanese people and that it is interested in maintaining partnership with the Lebanese Republic.
“Hezbollah as a whole is considered a terrorist group in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia, Germany, Austria, and even the Arab League and other countries,” said parliament member Jana Cernochova of the Civic Democratic Party.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi praised the decision, calling the Czech Republic “a friend of Israel.”
Ashkenazi noted that the Czech move came only a few days after Estonia announced a ban on the entrance of Hezbollah operatives into its territory.
According to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in the past year and a half, 12 more countries joined the list of states that recognize Hezbollah’s political and military wings as terrorist.
(worldisraelnews.com)
Man Survives Brain Aneurysm Thanks To Israeli Startup Device
Thanks to a new steerable microcatheter developed by Israel’s BENDIT Technologies and the medical staff at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, a 74-year-old man has survived a brain aneurysm.
This week, doctors at Sheba’s Neuro-Interventional & Stroke Center performed the first procedure using the flexible device.
“The patient had a giant brain aneurysm that was compressing his brainstem and had a high risk of brain hemorrhage,” explained Sheba’s Acute Stroke Director, Dr. David Orion.
“The previous endovascular procedures we performed with the standard devices were unsuccessful due to the patient’s complicated anatomy and the presence of crucial brain arteries coming out of the aneurysm,” the surgeon said.
With in-use protocol failing to help the man, the hospital asked the Ministry of Health for compassionate approval to try the BENDIT microcatheter.
“This is the first-ever use of the BENDIT microcatheter in a neuro indication,” Orion said, adding that he believed the device could “dramatically change the endovascular field.”
According to Bendit CEO Yossi Mazel, “providing endovascular intervention for the brain and hard-to-access organs is a race against time. Being unable to move a catheter through a bend in the artery can result in delayed treatment and devastating outcomes.”
“Dr. Orion’s successful procedure using our device showcases a new frontier in the treatment of brain aneurysms and beyond,” Mazel said.
BENDIT’s patented technology reduces the complex catheterization procedure to a single step, and enables radial access to reduce patient risk. BENDIT Technologies has already received FDA and CE certification for peripheral use of its microcatheter, and plans to submit it for approval for neurovascular indication.
(israelhayom.com)
