Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said the persecution of Middle East Christians is “a stain on humanity” during a meeting Wednesday with the head of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch and other Christian leaders. Rivlin noted ongoing persecution of Christians such as the Islamic State attacks against Egyptian Coptic Christians in the Sinai Peninsula as well as attacks in Syria by Islamic State and other Muslim extremist groups. “I say to you here, our Christian brothers of Jerusalem, our thoughts are with you at this difficult time,” Rivlin said during the Jerusalem meeting, which came several days…
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Fighters with the Lebanon-based terror organization Hezbollah have reportedly begun retreating from Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, according to a Syrian news agency. The Syrian news agency Al-Ittihad reported on April 13th that the border was being evacuated following demands made by the U.S. State Department. On April 11th, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the terror organization must cease its “military operations in Syria in support of the Syrian regime,” adding that, “Hezbollah forces have helped the Syrian regime implement its brutality against its own people and also caused instability in Lebanon.” According to the Syrian news agency, Hezbollah…
Irina Bokova, the director-general of UNESCO, who last year passed a motion denying the Jewish connection to Jerusalem, shocked many last week when she publicly affirmed the Jews’ historic connection to the Holy City. “In the Torah, Jerusalem is the capital of King David, where Solomon built the Temple and placed the Ark of the Covenant,” Bokova reminded the European Parliament in a session last Thursday. “The protection of the heritage of Jerusalem is part of a broader vision for peace and the fight against all forms of denial of Jewish history, delegitimization of Israel, and anti-Semitism,” she continued. No…
Last weekend, the Israeli army brought a family of Syrian civilians into the Jewish state for refuge and medical treatment. One man, four women, and at least two children were granted entry on the Golan Heights and then taken to a nearby field hospital. One of the children, a 3-year-old girl, was evacuated with her mother to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. She had suffered a serious shrapnel injury to her head and required emergency treatment. These seven Syrians are only the latest of thousands that Israel has taken in amidst a bloody civil war that is tearing apart Israel’s northeastern…
Israel this week officially unveiled a not-so-secret secret weapon it has been working on with the US defense industry for some years. The entry into service of the David’s Sling anti-missile system completes Israel’s multi-tier missile shield. For years, the Iron Dome has already been protecting southern Israel from short-range rockets and mortar shells.The Arrow System recently went into service to defend Israel against long-range ballistic missiles. It was utilized a week ago to defend Israeli warplanes on a mission over Syria from enemy anti-aircraft. David’s Sling is intended to fill the gap between the Iron Dome and the Arrow by…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel’s mainstream media is an “industry of depression.” At a toast held at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, Netanyahu stated the press is constantly focusing on (and, in his view, exaggerating) socio-economic problems, all while ignoring Israel’s successes. Netanyahu sees this type of coverage as part of an ongoing media effort to personally sabotage him. Long at odds with Israel’s mainstream media, Netanyahu recently ramped up the tension by pushing through legislation that would further privatize the state-run press and open the door to greater competition. “I would like to see more competition, more diversity, more pluralism.…
One Israeli was reportedly killed and a second lightly wounded in a suspected terrorist car ramming attack north of Jerusalem on Thursday morning. The attack occurred outside the Samarian Jewish community of Ofra. The victims were standing at a bus stop / hitchhiking post when a Palestinian Arab motorist slammed into them. Israeli security forces in the area “neutralized” the suspected terrorist. One of the victims, both of whom were in the 20s, was at first listed in critical condition, but reportedly succumbed to his injuries a short time later. Originally posted at Israel Today Magazine.
The regime of embattled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has reportedly threatened to fire SCUD missiles at Israel if it carries out any more strikes on Syrian soil. Since the start of the Syrian civil war, Israel is believed to have struck select targets in Syria on several occasions. Most often, the targets were dangerous weapons shipments to the Hezbollah terrorist militia, which is allied with Assad. Israeli forces have also returned fire into Syria numerous times following artillery attacks on the Golan Heights by rebel groups. In a message to Israel reported in the Lebanese outlet Al-Diyar, the Assad regime…
David Friedman was officially sworn in as U.S. ambassador to Israel last Wednesday. Vice President Mike Pence conducted the swearing-in and describe it as “one of the clearest signs” of President Donald Trump’s strong commitment to the Jewish state. “The president of the United States of America is a lifelong friend of Israel and the Jewish people and, under his leadership, if the world knows nothing else the world will know this: America stands with Israel,” Pence said. Friedman—Trump’s former bankruptcy attorney—had encountered significant opposition from Democrats and some liberal Jewish organizations following his nomination for the role, due to…
Thousands of poor and elderly Jews living in the former Soviet Union will be able to observe Passover traditions this year due to support from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and its network of Hesed social welfare centers and JCCs. JDC, through its partnerships with the Claims Conference and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, will deliver more than 50,000 boxes of matzah and other holiday packages. “For generations, JDC has proudly helped Jewish communities celebrate Passover’s enduring message of freedom in the face of oppression. Most poignantly, the Jews of the former Soviet Union, whose Jewish…