8 oct 2016
Each year, at the request of Ukrainian forces, Israel sends a task force to help in enforcing order amongst the tens of thousands of Israelis who make a pilgrimage to the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
As they do every year, 15 Israel Police officers traveled last year to Uman, Ukraine, to help in maintaining public order and reducing crime when tens of thousands Israelis travel there to visit the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
This year, they broke up fights between Israeli visitors and others, saved a young man's life who had passed out from excessive drinking and found some people who had been missing for a few hours. They returned to Israel on Thursday afternoon.
The task force is under the command of the Operations Division of the Israel Police and consisted of riot police, a combat medic and a bomb disposal expert. They joined local police to handle dozens of incidents that included drug use, violence and even impersonating an Israel Police officer. The Israeli police there also handled incidents of locals stealing from the visitors and returned the stolen property to its rightful owners.
It was the Ukrainian police who asked for Israel to send the help in dealing with tens of thousands of Israelis who travel for Rosh Hashanah. The Israel Police said that their officers' presence in their uniforms was of great importance. They said that, while their officers worked in tandem with the local forces, there were certain cases when Israeli officers handled an incident before the local police arrived.
Despite these efforts, the mass annual pilgrimage to Uman still had embarrassing moments of shockingly poor behavior by Israelis. One took place on an Israir flight when a physical fight broke out. Another involved an Israeli taking over a PA system to sing and pray through at an airport in Kiev.
As they do every year, 15 Israel Police officers traveled last year to Uman, Ukraine, to help in maintaining public order and reducing crime when tens of thousands Israelis travel there to visit the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
This year, they broke up fights between Israeli visitors and others, saved a young man's life who had passed out from excessive drinking and found some people who had been missing for a few hours. They returned to Israel on Thursday afternoon.
The task force is under the command of the Operations Division of the Israel Police and consisted of riot police, a combat medic and a bomb disposal expert. They joined local police to handle dozens of incidents that included drug use, violence and even impersonating an Israel Police officer. The Israeli police there also handled incidents of locals stealing from the visitors and returned the stolen property to its rightful owners.
It was the Ukrainian police who asked for Israel to send the help in dealing with tens of thousands of Israelis who travel for Rosh Hashanah. The Israel Police said that their officers' presence in their uniforms was of great importance. They said that, while their officers worked in tandem with the local forces, there were certain cases when Israeli officers handled an incident before the local police arrived.
Despite these efforts, the mass annual pilgrimage to Uman still had embarrassing moments of shockingly poor behavior by Israelis. One took place on an Israir flight when a physical fight broke out. Another involved an Israeli taking over a PA system to sing and pray through at an airport in Kiev.
6 oct 2016
Passengers fight on a flight from Israel to the town where Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried; while passengers claim alcohol is to blame, crewmembers express concern that this incident might repeat itself.
Every year during the High Holy Days, Hassidic Jews of the Breslov sect fly to Uman, Ukraine, to visit the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. And almost every year, an unpleasant incident occurs during one of their flights.
This year's, such a case occurred during a recent Israir flight, during which passengers began to act erratically and fight. Crewmembers had a hard time separating the combatants, and other passengers had to assist them.
"If this is what happens between Jews," one of the other passengers could be heard egging them on. "Imagine what would have happened if if this went down with an Arab on board." Another said that "Those people, criminals, give us all a bad name and desecrate God's name."
Taking over the PA system Another strange video shows Breslov followers taking over the PA system at an airport in Kiev. The Israeli passengers began to sing and loudly pray over the PA system, which is normally used for special announcements and security management.
"All sorts of people fly to Uman," said an Israeli awaiting at the terminal. "Some of them arrive drunk or on drugs, embarrassing the rest of us. The local (Uman) police doesn't interfere, because the believers who visit bring in a lot of money, but Israel's reputation is severely damaged. I felt very ashamed while I was waiting to board."
The footage of the raucus caused on the Israir flight was preceded by a different incident of an altercation between Israelis on an El Al flight to Ukraine. In a letter on the events of the flight, the El Al flight's captain warned that "If such occurences continue, the airline is going to lose of its planes."
The pilot continued to describe the flight, saying that "After about an hour (of flying), the flight manager brought to my attention that a large number of passengers occasionally smokes in the bathroom. He informed me that he cannot control them, since every time a passenger is caught smoking, the flight attendant rightfully proceeds to pour water over the the waste basket to prevent it from catching fire, during which time the passenger escapes and a game of 'tag' begins on the plane. The flight attendants also detected the smell of marijuana on board, together with a large number of passengers drank hard liquor out of personal bottles, became inebriated and acted accordingly."
Every year during the High Holy Days, Hassidic Jews of the Breslov sect fly to Uman, Ukraine, to visit the burial site of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. And almost every year, an unpleasant incident occurs during one of their flights.
This year's, such a case occurred during a recent Israir flight, during which passengers began to act erratically and fight. Crewmembers had a hard time separating the combatants, and other passengers had to assist them.
"If this is what happens between Jews," one of the other passengers could be heard egging them on. "Imagine what would have happened if if this went down with an Arab on board." Another said that "Those people, criminals, give us all a bad name and desecrate God's name."
Taking over the PA system Another strange video shows Breslov followers taking over the PA system at an airport in Kiev. The Israeli passengers began to sing and loudly pray over the PA system, which is normally used for special announcements and security management.
"All sorts of people fly to Uman," said an Israeli awaiting at the terminal. "Some of them arrive drunk or on drugs, embarrassing the rest of us. The local (Uman) police doesn't interfere, because the believers who visit bring in a lot of money, but Israel's reputation is severely damaged. I felt very ashamed while I was waiting to board."
The footage of the raucus caused on the Israir flight was preceded by a different incident of an altercation between Israelis on an El Al flight to Ukraine. In a letter on the events of the flight, the El Al flight's captain warned that "If such occurences continue, the airline is going to lose of its planes."
The pilot continued to describe the flight, saying that "After about an hour (of flying), the flight manager brought to my attention that a large number of passengers occasionally smokes in the bathroom. He informed me that he cannot control them, since every time a passenger is caught smoking, the flight attendant rightfully proceeds to pour water over the the waste basket to prevent it from catching fire, during which time the passenger escapes and a game of 'tag' begins on the plane. The flight attendants also detected the smell of marijuana on board, together with a large number of passengers drank hard liquor out of personal bottles, became inebriated and acted accordingly."
5 oct 2016
Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked called for strengthening “Israel's Jewish nature” via the legal system, Yediot Ahranot Hebrew newspaper reported Wednesday.
Shaked claims it is a matter of great substance to the state and its laws, advocating for a more rigid separation of powers. "When we wish to put Israel through advanced democratization processes, we must simultaneously deepen its Jewish identity," Shaked wrote, "These identities are not contradictory.
On the contrary: I believe they reinforce one another. I believe the more Jewish a state we are, the more democratic a state we will be, and that the more democratic a state we are, the more Jewish a state we will be," according to her statements.
"The path of the train of Israeli justice (system) must keep in mind the states' Jewish nature," the newspaper quoted her as saying.
Shaked claims it is a matter of great substance to the state and its laws, advocating for a more rigid separation of powers. "When we wish to put Israel through advanced democratization processes, we must simultaneously deepen its Jewish identity," Shaked wrote, "These identities are not contradictory.
On the contrary: I believe they reinforce one another. I believe the more Jewish a state we are, the more democratic a state we will be, and that the more democratic a state we are, the more Jewish a state we will be," according to her statements.
"The path of the train of Israeli justice (system) must keep in mind the states' Jewish nature," the newspaper quoted her as saying.
2 oct 2016
Israeli authorities locked down the West Bank and Gaza, home to over 5 million Palestinians, in preparation for the national celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which begins at sundown on Sunday. In addition, the Israeli government approved plans for nearly one hundred more settlement units to be constructed in violation of international law in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on illegally-seized Palestinian land.
The lockdown began at 12:01 am Sunday morning, and will continue until 11:59 pm on Tuesday night. Israeli authorities cited ‘security concerns’ as the reason for the closure.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish celebration of the New Year, according to the Hebrew calendar, and is a two-day celebration in which celebrants pray for a new year of peace and prosperity. The celebration involves blowing a ram’s horn and lighting candles.
During the lockdown, Palestinians are prevented by the Israeli military from traveling. They are also prevented from working or attending school, if their work or school is on the other side of an Israeli checkpoint.
Only ’emergency’ cases will be allowed to cross the border – but those ’emergencies’ will have to have been cleared and approved by Israeli authorities in advance of the lockdown, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
Meanwhile, the Israeli group Peace Now has uncovered government documents revealing that the Israeli government has approved the construction of 98 settlement units in the ‘Shiloh’ settlement.
Shiloh is locate in the northern West Bank, north of the Palestinian city of Nablus. According to a report in the Telegraph newspaper, “Shiloh was founded in the early 1970s when the settlers wanted to spread northwards. Several attempts to settle around the Palestinian city of Nablus had been foiled by the army and a more sophisticated approach was required. It came in the form of Ira Rappaport, an extremist even by the standards of the early settlers. After gaining permission from the government to set up an archaeological dig in Shiloh, he quietly started building a settlement.
“Rappaport was a key member of a terrorist group called the Jewish Underground. In 1985, he was found guilty of planting a car bomb in Nablus that blew the legs off two Palestinian officials, Bassam Shakaa and Karim Khalaf. In a ruling that outraged many in Israel, the judge found him not guilty of attempted murder and convicted him on the charge of causing grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to less than a year in prison and on his release was appointed leader of the Shiloh community.”
The new settlement units will be used to house Israeli colonizers who constructed an illegal colonial outpost called ‘Amona’, which was ruled illegal under Israeli law.
All Israeli settlements are considered to be a violation of international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention on the role of occupying nations, and agreements signed between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.
Since 1993, when the Oslo peace agreement was signed, Israel has transferred over 600,000 Israeli citizens into colonial settlements, constructed on Palestinian land that was seized by the Israeli military and then transferred to paramilitary settlement groups with the express purpose of expanding the Israeli state further onto Palestinian territory.
The lockdown began at 12:01 am Sunday morning, and will continue until 11:59 pm on Tuesday night. Israeli authorities cited ‘security concerns’ as the reason for the closure.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish celebration of the New Year, according to the Hebrew calendar, and is a two-day celebration in which celebrants pray for a new year of peace and prosperity. The celebration involves blowing a ram’s horn and lighting candles.
During the lockdown, Palestinians are prevented by the Israeli military from traveling. They are also prevented from working or attending school, if their work or school is on the other side of an Israeli checkpoint.
Only ’emergency’ cases will be allowed to cross the border – but those ’emergencies’ will have to have been cleared and approved by Israeli authorities in advance of the lockdown, according to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
Meanwhile, the Israeli group Peace Now has uncovered government documents revealing that the Israeli government has approved the construction of 98 settlement units in the ‘Shiloh’ settlement.
Shiloh is locate in the northern West Bank, north of the Palestinian city of Nablus. According to a report in the Telegraph newspaper, “Shiloh was founded in the early 1970s when the settlers wanted to spread northwards. Several attempts to settle around the Palestinian city of Nablus had been foiled by the army and a more sophisticated approach was required. It came in the form of Ira Rappaport, an extremist even by the standards of the early settlers. After gaining permission from the government to set up an archaeological dig in Shiloh, he quietly started building a settlement.
“Rappaport was a key member of a terrorist group called the Jewish Underground. In 1985, he was found guilty of planting a car bomb in Nablus that blew the legs off two Palestinian officials, Bassam Shakaa and Karim Khalaf. In a ruling that outraged many in Israel, the judge found him not guilty of attempted murder and convicted him on the charge of causing grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to less than a year in prison and on his release was appointed leader of the Shiloh community.”
The new settlement units will be used to house Israeli colonizers who constructed an illegal colonial outpost called ‘Amona’, which was ruled illegal under Israeli law.
All Israeli settlements are considered to be a violation of international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention on the role of occupying nations, and agreements signed between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.
Since 1993, when the Oslo peace agreement was signed, Israel has transferred over 600,000 Israeli citizens into colonial settlements, constructed on Palestinian land that was seized by the Israeli military and then transferred to paramilitary settlement groups with the express purpose of expanding the Israeli state further onto Palestinian territory.
30 sept 2016
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gets emotional at Shimon Peres's funeral
President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas attended Friday the funeral of former Israeli leader Shimon Peres, who is remembered as a war criminal among Palestinian people.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas extended condolences to the family of Peres, who passed away at the age of 93 on Wednesday two weeks after suffering a massive stroke.
However, Arab members of Israeli Knesset t have refused to express condolences or attend the funeral. While every other political party in the Knesset released statements honoring Peres, the Arab Joint List party refused, even upon request.
Ayman Odeh, chairman of the party, tweeted in defense of the decision that “the memory of Peres in the Arab public is different from the narrative discussed in recent years”.
“Peres’s memory in the Arab community is different from the narrative that has been spoken about over the past few days and I understand that it is difficult to hear such complicated messages in the moments after his death,” Odeh wrote on his twitter account.
He said that in recent years Peres “didn’t pursue real peace” and participated in state-building efforts which, since 1948, “brought disaster to my nation.”
No Joint List MKs visited Peres’s casket on Thursday as he lay in state at the Knesset. Peres, known as one of the main pillars of the Israeli occupation authority, died on Wednesday at 93 following a stroke suffered two weeks earlier.
Peres was known as Israel's last remaining “founding father.” During his tenure as president, the Israeli military launched two brutal wars against blockaded Gaza in 2009 and 2014, killing some 3,700 Palestinians.
Peres was also a staunch supporter of the crippling Israeli siege on the Palestinian enclave. When he was in office as premier in 1996, the regime shelled a United Nations compound near Qana, a village in southern Lebanon, where hundreds of locals were sheltering. The raid killed 106 people and injured around 116 others.
President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Mahmoud Abbas attended Friday the funeral of former Israeli leader Shimon Peres, who is remembered as a war criminal among Palestinian people.
Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas extended condolences to the family of Peres, who passed away at the age of 93 on Wednesday two weeks after suffering a massive stroke.
However, Arab members of Israeli Knesset t have refused to express condolences or attend the funeral. While every other political party in the Knesset released statements honoring Peres, the Arab Joint List party refused, even upon request.
Ayman Odeh, chairman of the party, tweeted in defense of the decision that “the memory of Peres in the Arab public is different from the narrative discussed in recent years”.
“Peres’s memory in the Arab community is different from the narrative that has been spoken about over the past few days and I understand that it is difficult to hear such complicated messages in the moments after his death,” Odeh wrote on his twitter account.
He said that in recent years Peres “didn’t pursue real peace” and participated in state-building efforts which, since 1948, “brought disaster to my nation.”
No Joint List MKs visited Peres’s casket on Thursday as he lay in state at the Knesset. Peres, known as one of the main pillars of the Israeli occupation authority, died on Wednesday at 93 following a stroke suffered two weeks earlier.
Peres was known as Israel's last remaining “founding father.” During his tenure as president, the Israeli military launched two brutal wars against blockaded Gaza in 2009 and 2014, killing some 3,700 Palestinians.
Peres was also a staunch supporter of the crippling Israeli siege on the Palestinian enclave. When he was in office as premier in 1996, the regime shelled a United Nations compound near Qana, a village in southern Lebanon, where hundreds of locals were sheltering. The raid killed 106 people and injured around 116 others.
The Hamas Movement has called on Palestinian Authority president to reverse his decision to attend the funeral of Israeli war criminal Shimon Peres.
In a press release on Thursday, Hamas warned that such a step would encourage other Arab parties to normalize relations with Israel and result in disastrous impacts on the Palestinian national endeavor.
According to different Israeli media outlets, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday approved Abbas's request to participate in the funeral of Peres, the former Israeli president, to be held on Friday.
PM officially authorizes Abbas attendance at Peres funeral
In a press release on Thursday, Hamas warned that such a step would encourage other Arab parties to normalize relations with Israel and result in disastrous impacts on the Palestinian national endeavor.
According to different Israeli media outlets, Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday approved Abbas's request to participate in the funeral of Peres, the former Israeli president, to be held on Friday.
PM officially authorizes Abbas attendance at Peres funeral
The Israeli occupation authorities (IOA) have tightened military grip in Occupied Jerusalem in anticipation of the funeral of Israel’s former president Shimon Peres.
The IOA banned Gazans’ access into Occupied Jerusalem to perform their Friday prayers at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli sources said the occupation police sealed off all access roads leading to Mount Herzl and Ben Gurion crossroads, along with several other entrances to Jerusalem’s outskirts.
The closure is to be maintained from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and resumed from 12:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Traffic jams are expected to crop up prior to and during Peres’s funeral. Over 90 delegations representing 70 countries around the world will join the funeral procession.
Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, Jawad al-Anani, and Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukri, along with Amman’s Ambassador to Jordan will reportedly attend.
A delegation representing the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is also expected to join in.
The IOA banned Gazans’ access into Occupied Jerusalem to perform their Friday prayers at the holy al-Aqsa Mosque. Israeli sources said the occupation police sealed off all access roads leading to Mount Herzl and Ben Gurion crossroads, along with several other entrances to Jerusalem’s outskirts.
The closure is to be maintained from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and resumed from 12:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Traffic jams are expected to crop up prior to and during Peres’s funeral. Over 90 delegations representing 70 countries around the world will join the funeral procession.
Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, Jawad al-Anani, and Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukri, along with Amman’s Ambassador to Jordan will reportedly attend.
A delegation representing the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is also expected to join in.
29 sept 2016
Israel has fears that FIFA, the world's soccer governing body, may decide in its upcoming congress to be held next year to suspend six soccer teams from Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, Haaretz newspaper said Wednesday.
The concern in Israel is that a FIFA council meeting in mid-October intends to discuss the suspension of Israeli teams at the organization's congress next May.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli foreign ministry has embarked on taking quiet diplomatic steps with a number of countries in order to fend off such a decision.
Recently, Human Rights Watch released a report stating that the activity of the settlement teams in the Israeli league broke FIFA rules and its commitment to human rights.
Members of the European Parliament had also called on FIFA in early September to act against Israeli clubs based in West Bank settlements and prevent them from participating in official play.
66 members of the 751-member European Parliament signed a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino urging action at next month's FIFA Council meeting.
The concern in Israel is that a FIFA council meeting in mid-October intends to discuss the suspension of Israeli teams at the organization's congress next May.
According to Haaretz, the Israeli foreign ministry has embarked on taking quiet diplomatic steps with a number of countries in order to fend off such a decision.
Recently, Human Rights Watch released a report stating that the activity of the settlement teams in the Israeli league broke FIFA rules and its commitment to human rights.
Members of the European Parliament had also called on FIFA in early September to act against Israeli clubs based in West Bank settlements and prevent them from participating in official play.
66 members of the 751-member European Parliament signed a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino urging action at next month's FIFA Council meeting.
28 sept 2016
Israeli ex-president Shimon Peres died on Wednesday at the age of 93, two weeks after suffering a major stroke. According to Israeli media sources, Peres suffered a stroke two weeks ago.
His condition had improved before a sudden deterioration on Tuesday.
He was born in 1923 in Poland and settled in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1934.
Peres was one of the last of a generation of Israeli leaders who witnessed the establishment of Israel in 1948 at the expense of Palestinian lands.
Peres held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister and also as president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014.
While the world remembers Peres as a Noble Peace Prize winner, Palestinians would remember Peres as a "war criminal", especially in light of the 1996 Qana massacre.
In that Israeli attack on a southern Lebanese village, at least 106 people were killed. Peres was at that time prime minister. The fact he ordered this massacre in Qana was and still is considered a war crime, according to many observers.
His condition had improved before a sudden deterioration on Tuesday.
He was born in 1923 in Poland and settled in the occupied Palestinian territories in 1934.
Peres was one of the last of a generation of Israeli leaders who witnessed the establishment of Israel in 1948 at the expense of Palestinian lands.
Peres held nearly every major office in the country, serving twice as prime minister and also as president, a mostly ceremonial role, from 2007 to 2014.
While the world remembers Peres as a Noble Peace Prize winner, Palestinians would remember Peres as a "war criminal", especially in light of the 1996 Qana massacre.
In that Israeli attack on a southern Lebanese village, at least 106 people were killed. Peres was at that time prime minister. The fact he ordered this massacre in Qana was and still is considered a war crime, according to many observers.