Israel to re-enact historic UN vote that led to its establishment
The Israeli delegation to the UN on Wednesday (29th) will mark 70 years to the historic vote on Nov. 29, 1947 that resulted in the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel with a festive re-enactment of the vote, to be attended by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and dozens of ambassadors from around the world.
The re-enactment, the initiative of Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon in collaboration with the World Jewish Congress, will kick off a series of celebrations in honor of 70 years to the Jewish state’s founding. The event will be held in the original hall where the vote was held in 1947.
(israelhayom.com)
Israel to mark expulsion of Jews from Arab nations, Iran
Thursday (30th), Israel plans to mark its annual memorial day of the expulsion of some 850,000 Jews from Arab states and Iran. The issue will also be commemorated around the world in the coming week.
Events of the week to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from the Arab countries and Iran will be held in a number of international capitals, next week, including Europe, Latin America, North America and India. The events will include lectures, films and musical performances.
Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 to the early 1970s, 850,000 Jews were either expelled from or fled Arab and Muslim countries.
(israelhayom.com)
PM Netanyahu to fly to Kenya Tuesday to meet African heads of state
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi Tuesday (28th) for the inauguration of new president Uhuru Kenyatta, and will also meet with African heads of state.
Netanyahu will participate in a special luncheon thrown by the new president alongside the presidents of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda, Togo, Botswana and Nambia, including the prime minister of Ethiopia, the vice president of Nigeria and other dignitaries.
(timesofisrael.com)
Senior Hamas official: ‘Military wings’ weapons moved to West Bank to continue to fight against Israel
Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said that as part of the Hamas-Fatah reconciliation agreement “the military wings’ weapons will be moved to the West Bank to continue the fight against Israel.”
Al-Hayya did not go into detail how such a move would be accomplished, but in response the Fatah official overseeing the reconciliation, Azzam al-Ahmad said the issue of weapons was not broached at all during the Cairo reconciliation talks last week.
(ynetnews.com; reuters.com)
IDF declares Naval Iron Dome system operational
The Israeli army’s naval Iron Dome was declared operative Monday evening (27th), the IDF’s Spokesperson’s unit announced.
The Tamir-Adir system was declared operational after a final test where Grad rockets were fired in both single shots and in barrages at the INS Lahav Sa’ar 5 corvette as well as towards Israel’s offshore gas rigs, scenarios envisioned in future conflicts with Hamas or Hizbullah.
In the experiment all the rockets fired were intercepted by the system.
(jpost.com)
Report: Assad agrees to 25 mile demilitarized zone on Israeli border – Shoshana Kranish
The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Sunday (26th)that an Israeli source said Syrian President Assad would agree to a demilitarized zone of up to 25 miles from the Israeli border in the Golan Heights if Israel does not work to remove Assad’s regime from power.
The report claims that Russian Premier Putin called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to relay the message, and that Netanyahu said he would accept the deal, but that Israel’s goal of removing Iran and Hizbullah from Syria would remain.
(al-jarida.com)
Palestinians encourage the use of child terrorists – Alan M. Dershowitz
On Nov. 14, ten members of Congress called on the State Department to “prevent United States tax dollars from supporting the Israeli military’s ongoing detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children.” Yet it is well established that Palestinian terrorist leaders often use teenagers to commit acts of terror on Israeli civilians because they know that the Israeli legal system treats child terrorists more leniently.
In the most recent spate of attacks, children as young as 13 have stabbed Israelis with scissors, screwdrivers and knives with the aim of inflicting maximum harm. Knesset Member Anat Berko has noted: ”To those who are murdered with a knife in the heart it does not matter if the child is 12 or 15. We’ve witnessed numerous cases where 11-year-old children were suicide bombers.”
If children as young as 13 or 14 were roaming the streets of New York stabbing elderly women as they shopped at the supermarket or waited at a bus stop, would these members of Congress protest the apprehension and prosecution of the perpetrators? Of course not. No country in the world would tolerate terror in its cities, regardless of the age of the terrorists.
(gatestoneinstitute.org)
Kuwaiti writer: The Land of Israel was promised to the Jews by Allah
Kuwaiti columnist Abdullah Al-Hadlaq told Alrai TV on Sunday (19th), “Like it or not, Israel is an independent and sovereign state. It exists, and it has a seat at the United Nations, and most peace-loving and democratic countries recognize it.”
The countries that don’t recognize Israel are “the countries of tyranny and oppression.”
“When the State of Israel was established in 1948, there was no state called ‘Palestine,’” he said. “There is no occupation. There is a people returning to its promised land.”
The Land of Israel was promised to the Jews by Allah, he said.
(jpost.com)
Poll: 60% of Israeli Arabs are “proud” to be Israeli – Baruch Ron
73% of Israeli Arabs feel a sense of belonging and 60% are proud to be Israelis, according to a new poll commissioned by Israel Hayom that was released this week.
46% identified as Israeli Arabs and 42% identified as Palestinian Arabs.
82% said they had no desire to live under Palestinian rule.
(israelhayom.com)
New Museum of the Bible in Washington focuses heavily on Judaism and Israel – Ron Kampeas
The Museum of the Bible in Washington, dedicated last week, celebrates Jews and Judaism as the noble, beloved antecedents to Christianity, and argues that its best modern expression is in the State of Israel.
One permanent exhibit is dedicated to the biblical underpinnings of the abolition of slavery and of the civil rights movement. Ron Dermer, the Israeli ambassador, noted, “Those ideas inscribed in your founding documents and etched on your monuments are not merely the values of America, they are the values of the Bible.”
On the fifth floor are artifacts contributed by Israel’s Antiquities Authority. The exhibit is permanent, but the Israeli authority will rotate the items.
(jta.org)
