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Israeli Defence Minister in Washington talks
18 may 2012
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has hosted Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Washington. The key focus of the meeting will likely have been the ongoing situation regarding efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, something which both Israel and the United States have promised to oppose but reportedly differ in their assessments of Iran’s atomic progress.
Iran has recently returned to the negotiating regarding nuclear issues after a series of alarming United Nations reports. However thus far the Islamic Republic’s negotiators have offered no concessions and have accused the international community of wishing to bully the regime into abandoning nuclear development.
Israel appears to have toned down its rhetoric since earlier this year when it appeared a strike on Iran ’s secretive nuclear facilities seemed possibly imminent but these talks and recent comments from the US ambassador that both countries are at a high state of military preparedness suggest that both sides remain acutely concerned about Iran’s atomic ambitions .
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Magazine devotes cover to Israeli PM Netanyahu
18 may 2012
Time Magazine has devoted its lead story to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under the heading "King Bibi."
The internationally renowned publication points to Netanyahu’s strong approval ratings among the Israeli public, which stand at over 50% and the likelihood that he will soon become the Jewish state’s longest serving leader .
The article goes on to discuss what it calls “Bibi’s choice:” to be remembered as an efficient manager or a historic figure. The magazine identifies the peace process with the Palestinians and possible military action to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons as key issues which will define what remains of Netanyahu’s time in office and may determine his legacy.
In the article Netanyahu is quoted as downplaying both rumours that he does not enjoy a close personal relationship with US President Barack Obama and that he is a close personal friend of US Presidential contender Mitt Romney after the two worked together in management consultancy in the US in the 1970s.
Time Magazine earlier this year named the 62 year old Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
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Officials show prison in attempt to discredit HRW
18 may 2012
The Iraqi government has taken journalists on a tour of a prison in Baghdad where Human Rights Watch, or HRW , says beatings and electrocutions of prisoners have taken place.
A spokesman for the military says the accusations lack credibility. The HRW report suggests that Iraq is still running the prison , but officials point to its shabby condition as evidence of the fact that it has not been used since it was closed down in early 2011.
The detention facility is located in an area known as Camp Honor, a former US military base of more than 15 buildings that was handed over to Iraqi forces in 2006.
HRW has accused the Iraqi administration of pushing the country back towards authoritarianism by cracking down on protests, harassing opponents and torturing detainees. The rights group alleges that the government has carried out several waves of detentions, surrounding neighbourhoods and going door-to-door with lists of people marked for imprisonment .
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Hollande’s cabinet meets and takes 30% pay cut
18 may 2012
France ’s new left-wing cabinet have convened for the first time and have all agreed to take a 30 percent pay cut. Newly elected President Francois Hollande will be no exception, meaning his new salary stands at under 15,000 euros a month. The gross pay of cabinet members will drop to 9,940 euros a month, in a move which seems to have been taken primarily to show the Socialists won’t renege on promises to help solve the Eurozone’s debt crisis .
Meanwhile, there have been fears amongst France’s Israeli population that Hollande’s cabinet may be more pro-Palestinian than its predecessors. Analysts predict that the government may now show “less negative emotion towards Turkey and less positive emotion towards Israel ”.
But Hollande ’s new government contains three Jewish members. One of them is the new Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici , who says there is nothing to fear from Hollande’s Israeli policy and that all the Socialist Party wants is to bring about a peaceful solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
It may be that French Israeli’s, 90 percent of whom voted for Sarkozy , have less to fear than they think.
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Candidates label Israel the “enemy” in presidential race
18 may 2012
With less than a week to go until the start of Egypt’s presidential elections , it looks to be a two-horse race. Polls indicate that Islamist candidate Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh and the more liberal-minded former Arab League chief Amr Moussa , are neck-in-neck.
Like many other candidates, both have capitalised on anti-Israeli sentiment among the Egyptian electorate. Whilst neither has said that they want to tear up the peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979 , they have, like all the presidential hopefuls, made calls for it to be reviewed.
Abol Fotouh has described the Jewish state as an enemy, whilst Moussa has used the term “adversary”. Such emotional words may prove effective in the race to take Egypt’s highest office.
Psychology Professor of American University in Cairo Mona Amer:
“What we know is that often times; people select the candidate because they feel. They feel. There's something emotional, like they feel more connected to the candidate , they feel like, this is who I want as a president, I really like this guy and things like that. So one of the challenges that we have right now is that a lot of people really care about who's going to be the next president.”
But apart from relations with neighbouring states, more pressing for the new leader may be to tackle the problems of poverty and Egypt’s failing economy . In some shanty towns of capital Cairo , men and women working as drinks and ice cream sellers earn under USD 10 per day.
Egypt’s military rulers have pledged to hand over power to the new president by July 1. They say they are not taking sides and have promised voting will be free and fair.
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Police await a thief to pass a stolen diamond
18 may 2012
In Ontario , Canada, police are closely monitoring the bodily functions of an alleged jewel thief they believe to have swallowed a diamond worth USD 20,000.
Police are eagerly awaiting the evidence of the alleged crime but are less eager about retrieving it.
After nearly a week the diamond has still not emerged, though doctors remain unsurprised, saying that it all depends on the individual how long it will take to pass something like a diamond .
But police are hoping the rock will appear soon and say that the suspect is being cooperative by taking regular laxatives.
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President says he wants to attend Olympics 2012
18 may 2012
In Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed a wish to attend London’s Olympic Games but complained that the British authorities were reluctant to admit him into the country.
Tensions between London and Tehran are high after London had to close its embassy in Tehran when students rampaged the building earlier this year. The UK was also one of the first countries in Europe to impose sanctions on Tehran’s central bank in protest of the country’s nuclear development .
In 2011 Iran protested to the International Olympic Committee against the official logo of the 2012 Games saying it was “racist” because the word “Zion” could be read in the design . The organisers were surprised by this saying that the logo was modern and appealed to young audiences.
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New assembly includes 21 Golden Dawn members
18 may 2012
Greece 's new parliament has been sworn in, including 21 lawmakers from the extremist right-wing Golden Dawn party which is widely believed to be the most extreme nationalist party to have taken seats in a European parliament since World War II.
The new parliamentarians who were elected only this month will take their seats for just one day before the body is dissolved for a new vote next month after recent coalition talks collapsed after nine days. A new parliamentary election is scheduled for 17 June.
The Golden Dawn party campaigned on a platform of ridding Greece of immigrants and a strict approach to law and order. They refused to stand for the swearing-in of two Muslim deputies who took their oaths on the Quran instead of on the Bible , remaining seated while the rest of the assembly stood. The party won nearly 7 percent of the vote, up from the tiny 0.3 percent it won in the 2009 parliamentary election.
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Negotiator seeks “cooperation” from world powers
18 may 2012
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator has said the Islamic Republic is seeking cooperation from world powers ahead of talks in Baghdad next week.
Saeed Jalili said the talks will have to recognize that Iran has a right to a nuclear programme , warning against pressure from the West.
His comments come after a round of talks in Vienna with the UN’s top nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency . While the two sides were in negotiations, images emerged purporting to show an explosive containment chamber inside a military complex. The UN has sought to inspect the site, but Iran has so far refused access. Despite all this, the IAEA has said the talks were productive.
Iran has denied that it is building nuclear weapons , asserting that its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy purposes .
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Romney hints at possible Israel visit before election
18 may 2012
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has indicated that he is considering a second visit to Israel in less than two years.
The candidate has already said he would make Israel his first foreign visit if elected as a show of support for the Jewish state .
Critics have charged that the plan is a political move to try to embarrass President Barack Obama , who visited the country as a candidate but hasn’t been back since taking the oath of office.
Obama’s popularity among Jewish voters has sunk to 61% from the 78% he received among Jews during the 2008 election.
Romney is also known to be a close friend of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , a point he has tried to make on the campaign trail to try to boost his likeability among Jews .
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Court awards family of terror victim USD 332 million
18 may 2012
A US district court has ordered Iran and Syria to pay USD 332 million to the family of a 16-year-old American who died during a 2006 suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
The court ruled that the two countries were responsible for providing material support to militant group Islamic Jihad , which coordinated the deadly blast inside a packed restaurant that killed Daniel Wultz and wounded his father. Iran is said to provide somewhere between USD 300 and USD 500 million a year in funding to organizations the US considers terror groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah .
While the two countries aren’t expected to agree to pay the damages, the US Senate is considering a bill that would allow the government to raid Iranian assets held in US banks, meaning victims of terrorist-related violence could gain access to as much as USD 2 billion in Iranian money frozen in a Citibank account in New York .
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Al-Qaeda leader warned Egypt about food security
18 may 2012
As Egypt prepares for elections a warning to the country’s future leaders has come from an unlikely source. Documents which were seized during the raid on Osama Bin Laden ’s compound show that the al-Qaeda leader was concerned that were Egypt to install an Islamic government the so called “unconventional weapon” of international economic sanctions could bring the republic to its knees.
Bin Laden specified providing wheat for Egypt’s 85 million citizens as a key concern as the country is the world’s largest importer of the foodstuff.
According to the released document, Bin Laden wrote: “How long would the public tolerate having to go without bread? That has nothing to do with whether the public liked or disliked the Islamic state. A dangerous shortage of food causes death and people do not want to see their children die of hunger .”
Egypt’s first post-Mubarak presidential election is scheduled for next week and Islamists are among the top contenders. While sanctions are not being planned in response to the country’s democratic choice there are fears that a theocratic government would not take necessary steps to jumpstart the country’s economy and tourist industry after months of severe decline .
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Security tight ahead of weekend strategy meeting
17 may 2012
Security in Chicago is expected to be tight as the city gears up for this weekend’s NATO summit .
The US government will enforce a no-fly zone and police will be on high alert in anticipation of groups of protests who have said they intend to hold demonstrations .
Even the Chicago’s Shedd aquarium will be shut during the meeting, with only some five dozen employees on hand to take care of the facility’s 32,500 residents .
Shed Aquarium Animal Care Vice President Ken Ramirez:
"With NATO coming up this weekend, we have elected to close the aquarium for those three days. And during that time many of our staff are going to be staying here round the clock so that we're prepared for caring for our animals on a day to day basis, for any emergencies that might come up."
The summit will draw world leaders from NATO member states as well as Pakistan , whose delegation was rumoured to have been uninvited amid a diplomatic dispute between Washington and Islamabad over the killing of 25 Pakistani troops by US warplanes.
One state that will not be attending is Israel . Its absence has caused disagreement between the US and Turkey before the meeting even begins. Turkey has claimed that it vetoed Israel’s participation in the meeting after two years of blocking the Jewish state from NATO activities. But according to the US, NATO never intended to invite Israel to the summit.
Relations between Turkey and Israel began to sour when Israeli soldiers killed nine Turkish activists aboard a flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip in 2010.
The disagreements highlight deepening divides between countries with strategic interests in the region as NATO members try to chart a course for Afghanistan ’s future.
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Iran puts to death man they say is Mossad agent
17 may 2012
Iran has hanged a man who it says was an agent of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad . 24-year-old Majid Jamali Fashi was convicted of murdering Iranian nuclear scientist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi in 2010. Iran’s state news agency said Fashi admitted both to the crime and to travelling to Tel Aviv for Mossad training before returning to Iran to plot the assassination .
London newspaper The Times has reported that Iranian authorities may have used information from a US embassy document published by Wikileaks to track down and arrest Fashi.
Scientist Ali-Mohammadi was killed in an explosion caused by remote-controlled bomb attached to a motorcycle outside his home in Tehran . Iran has accused the US and Israel of being behind the attack as well as a string of others since 2010. The Islamic Republic says the West is trying to sabotage is nuclear programme .
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Former military base has become shelter to many
17 may 2012
A former military base belonging to overthrown Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in the suburbs of Tripoli has been transformed into civilian living space. Captured by anti-Gaddafi forces in August 2011 and subsequently demolished, the compound attracted scores of visitors until squatters started to use the place as somewhere to live.
Now more than 130 people, many of whom lost homes during the fighting, are living in what’s left of the buildings – called No.15 Camp by officials. The local government are yet to provide low-cost housing but have given compound residents access to power and water , as well as providing them with daily necessities.
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Election monitors have complained of restrictions
17 may 2012
As worries increase over whether Egypt’s upcoming presidential vote will be free and fair, reports have emerged suggesting that in Cairo, foreign election monitors are having their movements restricted by the authorities.
Egypt has installed a new committee to oversee the work of the monitors and its tough restrictions appear to contradict United Nations-agreed monitoring principles. Despite this, Egypt’s ruling military generals have given assurances that the election will be fully democratic. But they are under fire from critics who say they will try to illegally influence the vote.
Muslim Brotherhood volunteer Basant Ateff:
"Of course they (the Generals of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces) want to fake the elections, but they will not be able to. They cannot; simply they will not do that because we are here, we are not here… I'm not speaking about myself, we are here - I mean by 'we' the whole Egyptian population and every free man in this country.”
Former Muslim Brotherhood official and Islamist candidate Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh is a strong contender to be the election winner. But the rise to prominence of Islamists has sparked a debate within the electorate over how much of a role religion should play in the politics of the country.
The coming vote will be Egypt’s first presidential election since the overthrow last year of Hosni Mubarak and only the second election in Egyptian history with more than one candidate.
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Jihad manual
17 may 2012
After the death of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden last year, many thought the radical Islamic movement would lose its cohesion and become fractured.
But propaganda chiefs have again sought to embolden their followers with the release of a new English-language guide to jihad .
The 16-page professionally designed manual calls for attacks by home-grown militants on Western targets by specifically asking “brothers and sisters from the West to attack America in its own backyard.”
Authored by British-born Pakistani al-Qaeda operative Samir Khan, the guide provides day-to-day practicalities of waging jihad in Arab nations as well as in the United States.
The how-to manual does not include instructions for building bombs , though it does cover subjects such as personal hygiene and what to do if you are caught in an aerial bombardment .
The online booklet echoes similar online guides made by former al-Qaeda recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki and seems to reflect a startling trend of easy-to-understand instructions geared toward novice militants.
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Egyptian Christians show concern through performance
17 may 2012
As fears of hostility spread through Egypt’s Christian community after the rise of Islamist factions in the country’s new parliament, some members of the Coptic minority have turned to theatre to express their concerns and take a critical look at their own future.
A theatre group in Cairo called “Wa Lisa lil Funoun,” or “Art will Endure,” brings together both Christians and Muslims to take the sting out of worries that they say has been exaggerated.
Christian amateur actor, John Milad:
"We noticed with the beginning of the rise of the Islamic movement since the parliamentary elections that many Christians have left the country and immigrated and there was a state of fear and horror, because they thought that this country will not be for them anymore and there is no a space in the country for them, that is why we work on this show, to send a clear message against this fears and to stop migrations."
One play the members recently rehearsed is meant to represent their worry about Islamist rule. But the actors say that while their performances can be critical, they are not meant to stir up sectarian divisions .
Several attacks against churches blamed on Salafi Muslims as well as a perception that anti-Christian sentiment is growing has prompted many Copts to leave Egypt. As the first round of voting for the presidential election looms on May 23 and 24, Egyptian revolutionaries are watching and waiting to see if the country can bridge its sectarian divisions.
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Judges call for Judicial reform with red-band protest
17 may 2012
Judges, lawyers and court workers in Morocco are campaigning to free the county’s judiciary from external influence.
Over half of judges have signed a petition calling for judicial reform and campaigners wore red armbands over their court robes to highlight their cause.
A year ago, such a protest would have landed judges in a great deal of trouble, but lawyers and justice ministers are backing the campaign.
The Moroccan government and the Royal family are seen to have inordinate power over the judiciary through their control of salaries and promotions and it is believed that many verdicts follow the will of the executive branch.
So far, however Morocco has not seen the kinds of violence that has rocked the region during the Arab Spring and last year a new constitution was promoted by the King in order to head-off large scale protests.
The red armbands seem to show that these reforms did not go far enough and the may signify the determination of the Moroccan people for greater social and political freedom.
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Bomb-blast outside nightclub leaves two wounded
17 may 2012
An explosion outside a nightclub in Kenya has wounded two people in the coastal city of Mombasa .
Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack which has been blamed on the al-Qaeda affiliated Somali militant group called al-Shabab .
The group vowed to target Kenya for its role in fighting militant groups in Somalia, and in March carried out a grenade attack that killed six people and wounded 63 others at a bus station in the capital Nairobi .
The blast also comes as a British citizen Jermaine Grant stands trial in Kenya accused of blotting terrorist attacks in Mombasa along with the widow of one of the 7/7 London bombers , Samantha Lewthwaite who has be accused of bankrolling the attack.
Kenya, which receives US support including military training, says its forces will stay in Somalia until the insurgency is defeated.
Border disorder: Palestinian terrorists open fire at IDF soldiers operating within Israeli territory near the security fence with north Gaza. No injuries are being reported
Equal rights: Israel’s High Court rules that the onus is on employers to explain why they pay women lower salaries than men
Listening in: Justice Ministry proposes a bill that would expand the state’s power to tap phones and almost double the number of state agencies allowed to access the data while conducting investigations
Earphone law: Lawmakers are mulling new legislation that would forbid bicycle riders to listen to music with earphones while on the road
Anti-US assistance: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says US military assistance to Israel, including the recent decision to grant Israel an additional USD 70 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system, is encouraging the Jewish state to commit war crimes
Emergency landing: a London-bound El-Al jet makes an emergency landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport shortly after takeoff on Friday after the jet’s flaps malfunctioned and the plane dumped its fuel the sea
Equal rights: Israel’s High Court rules that the onus is on employers to explain why they pay women lower salaries than men
Listening in: Justice Ministry proposes a bill that would expand the state’s power to tap phones and almost double the number of state agencies allowed to access the data while conducting investigations
Earphone law: Lawmakers are mulling new legislation that would forbid bicycle riders to listen to music with earphones while on the road
Anti-US assistance: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh says US military assistance to Israel, including the recent decision to grant Israel an additional USD 70 million for the Iron Dome missile defense system, is encouraging the Jewish state to commit war crimes
Emergency landing: a London-bound El-Al jet makes an emergency landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport shortly after takeoff on Friday after the jet’s flaps malfunctioned and the plane dumped its fuel the sea
News
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European Jewish Parliament Convenes for Second Day
In the command center of pan-European politics, the European Jewish Parliament convened for a second day… At the European Parliament, panel discussions were held on the economic crisis in Europe and its impact on extremism, populism and anti-Semitism … Dr. Antonyia Parvanova, a member of the European Parliament from Bulgaria, moderated… Parvanova says she and her colleagues are aware that baseless hatred for Jews is rearing its ugly head again in violent acts, in anti-Israeli sentiment and in politics…
Igor Kolomoiskiy , the President of the European Jewish Union, was the guiding light behind the first-ever Parliament for Jews and forging ties with other European leaders is one of its priorities. The European Jewish Parliament was modeled in some ways after the European Parliament. Its members are elected osein contrast to how other Jewish leaders in Europe are chosen which is usually by those inside existing organizations. The European Jewish Parliament hopes its system can attract young, unaffiliated Jews with fresh ideas.
A Jewish woman from Washington joined the EJP’s meetings…but she’s not an American working for President Obama or Republican candidate Mitt Romney …Her boss is King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain… Hoodah Nunu is the Bahraini Ambassador to the US, a Jewish woman who represents her Muslim country. EJP members also expressed hope that they can help build bridges between Jews and Muslims wherever they clash. Nunu’s colleague – the Bahraini Ambassador to the EU – attended the panel discussions. Tomorrow these new Jewish reps of Europe will head back to their home countries after two days of sharing ideas, solutions and meeting like-minded politicians.
Jordana Miller, JN1 , Brussels
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Sephardic Jewish Cuisine Celebrated in Germany
The gruene sosse or green sauce festival marks the beginning of spring, and celebrates Frankfurt’s most popular dish which in turn is a symbol of Frankfurt ’s Jewish heritage. For more than six centuries Frankfurters have indulged in green vegetables and herbs – a custom that also ties in with the arrival of Sephardic Jews in the Frankfurt region.
About 30,000 Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 came to Germany. The Sephardic kitchen was characterized by the absence of garlic and a very generous use of herbs. The seven herbs found in the Frankfurt green sauce certainly do justice to the old Sephardic cuisine. Nowadays, there are of course countless varieties of the original Jewish green sauce recipe .
Jews not only provided the original recipe for green sauce, for centuries they also made the herbs available to the public. Many became peddlers, buying the products directly from the farmers and selling them in the streets of Frankfurt . At the beginning of the 20th. century in Frankfurt the Jewish peddler were members of the Jewish community living in the East End of the city, the home of about four thousand Jews who immigrated from Russia and Poland.
The East End had the largest synagogue in Frankfurt, boasting 1600 seats. It was destroyed on November 9, 1938, when the Nazis unleashed a wave of pogroms against Germany's Jews . Today in Frankfurt's East End on the site of the destroyed synagogue, the Place of Remembrance documents a facet of National Socialist viciousness: In 1942 a civil defense bunker was erected by French prisoners of war on the foundation of the destroyed Synagogue. The bunker now contains a permanent exhibition on Jewish life in Frankfurt ’s East End in the pre- Nazi period. It’s a place of learning and reflection about the site and it’s past.
Seventy years after Festival the Holocaust Jewish heritage and culture is once again thriving in Frankfurt … and Frankfurters of all ethnic backgrounds are discovering the centuries old Jewish recipe for green sauce.
Wilson Ruiz, JN1 , Frankfurt
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EJP Holds General Assembly in Brussels
The newly elected European Jewish Parliament held its first general session in Brussels… The 120 members were elected last fall in an online vote that drew over 400,000 Jews across western, central and eastern Europe. Now the representatives of 47 countries are meeting to set their agenda…it’s a diverse group of men and women, religious and secular, old and young…
The alarming political gains of far right-wing nationalist parties is one of the newest and most pressing issues. EJP Co-Presidents Vadim Rabinovich and Joel Rubinfeld say the Parliament will build ties with the European Parliament , the EU and others to defend the needs of the Jewish community.
The European Jewish Parliament , for the first time is bringing Jews from the East and West together under one umbrella organization. The hope is that some of the more established communities – like in France and England – can help some of the smaller struggling communities in the east with the challenges they face… After the opening remarks, the Parliamentarians broke into committee groups on topics ranging from foreign affairs to education to culture.
Jordana Miller, JN1 , Brussels