Trump wishes Happy Hanukkah
US President Donald Trump wished the Jewish people a Happy Hanukkah as the Festival of Lights got underway at sundown Tuesday (12th).
“Hanukkah is a time for Jewish families around the world to come together around the lighting of the menorah and celebrate the miracles of the past and promises of the future. Melania and I wish all of our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrating this meaningful holiday a happy and healthy eight nights in the company of those they love,” Trump said in a statement.
(israelnn.com)
Police chief lights first Hanukkah candle at Western Wall
Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh had the honor of lighting the first light of Hanukkah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City Tuesday night (12th). He told those in attendance, “A little light repels much of the darkness. It was not for nothing that the people of Israel chose to commemorate Hanukkah through light. Light is like love, devotion and service that can be passed to others, and that is what every Israeli police officer does. We security forces are fighting again and again against the darkness.”
The police commissioner added,”We welcome the lighting of ‘the Hanukkah candle,’ even though many candles are lit. The lighting of the Hanukkah candle creates and symbolizes the unity of the Jewish people – one nation with one heart.”
(israelnn.com)
Another rocket fired at Israel Tuesday evening
The “Red Alert” siren was sounded Tuesday evening (12th) around 11 P.M. in two localities in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council in southern Israel. Upon investigation, the IDF Spokesperson’s Office stated that a rocket had been fired from Gaza into Israeli territory.
Another rocket was launched late Monday night (11th) at communities in the Ashkelon area. It was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile-defense system.
Early Tuesday morning (12th) IDF tanks and IAF fighter jets attacked Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation.
(reuters.com; ynetnews.com)
Two Islamic Jihad terrorists killed on ‘jihadi mission’ in Gaza
The Israeli military on Tuesday (12th) denied Palestinian reports that it killed two members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group as they were riding a motorcycle in the northern Gaza Strip.
The two men were reportedly riding through the town of Beit Lahiya when their motorcycle exploded.
Islamic Jihad’s military wing, The Jerusalem Brigades, said in a statement on its website that the two Palestinian men died while on a “jihad mission.”
The statement also referred to the two as “martyrs of preparation,” in a possible reference to working with and carrying explosive materials for rockets that the group fires at the Jewish state.
(timesofisrael.com; afp.com)
Palestinian ambulance seen transporting rioters
A Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance has been filmed dropping off rioters at a demonstration in Ramallah on Monday (11th). IDF Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories wrote to the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross: “A Red Crescent ambulance was documented aiding Palestinian rioters in Ramallah, under the guise of providing medical treatment. I view this with the utmost severity and demand the incident be investigated.”
(jpost.com)
ICC reports Jordan to UN Security Council for not arresting Sudanese President Bashir
The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday (11th) it would refer Jordan to the UN Security Council for failing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir when he visited Amman in March. The court issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009 and 2010 over his role in war crimes, including genocide in Sudan’s Darfur province. Jordan as a member of the ICC, is obliged to carry out its arrest warrants.
(reuters.com)
Why the “Arab Street” didn’t explode – Ralph Peters
In the wake of President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the “experts” predicted strategic calamity: vast, violent protests and a wave of terror would sweep the Muslim world. Rather than waves of protest, the waiting world got tepid statements of disapproval from otherwise-occupied Arab governments and demonstrations in the West Bank and Gaza of a few thousand activists. An act of justice for Israel did not ignite Armageddon.
The regional ambitions of Iran, Israel’s top enemy, have ironically made it Israel’s unintentional benefactor. To the Arabs, yesteryear’s Israeli boogeyman now looks more like Casper the Friendly Ghost. And blame the Palestinians, not Israel, for their lack of statehood. Since the failed 1948 Arab assault on newly reborn Israel, the Palestinians have had literally dozens of opportunities for an advantageous peace.
Will there be more terrorism? Sure. As there would have been more terrorism, anyway. Terrorism isn’t about us, it’s about them. If Arab leaders refuse to let the “Palestinian question” shape their policies, why should we allow it to deform ours?
(nypost.com)
Iran preparing for war with Israel from Syria – Brig. Gen Dr. Shimon Shapira
Iran is laying the groundwork to absorb tens of thousands of fighters of the Shiite Legion as they wind up the war against the Islamic State in Syria, in order to build a military infrastructure to pursue its jihad against Israel on the Lebanese and Golan Heights borders.
During Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day celebrations in June 2017, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah proclaimed that in the next war with Israel he would open Lebanon’s borders to tens of thousands of fighters from Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Iraq, so they can fight Israel.
On Dec. 9, 2017, it was reported that Qais al-Khazali, commander of the Iraqi Shiite militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq (League of the Righteous), toured the Lebanese-Israeli border accompanied by Hizbullah commanders.
Al-Khazali was arrested in Basra in 2007 by the British SAS but was released in 2010 in a hostage exchange.
Before US forces withdrew from Iraq in 2011, Asaib Ahl al-Haq was involved in attacks that inflicted heavy casualties on allied forces.
(jcpa.org)
After second incident, Swedish anti-Semitism watchdog warns of wave of attacks
In the aftermath of a second anti-Semitic attack this week in southern Sweden, the spokesman for a local watchdog group said the Jewish community must be vigilant but will not go underground.
Willy Silberstein, spokesman for the Swedish Committee Against Anti-Semitism, spoke on Monday (11th) with Israeli media hours after a Jewish cemetery in Malmo was targeted by arsonists.
He said, “There is a wave of anti-Semitic attacks right now in Malmo, and I suspect this incident won’t be the last.”
(jta.org)
Anti-Semitic vandalism on LA synagogue
Temple Aliyah in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of LA was vandalized on Monday (11th). The Los Angeles Police Department told the Los Angeles Jewish Journal that it considers the attack a hate crime, but it has no suspects.
Graffiti was spray painted at the entrance to the synagogue, including a swastika and gang symbols.
(jta.org)
