Grants Israel

Hurva to Reopen After 62 Years – Without Netanyahu

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:36:21 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu does not plan to attend the historic reopening of the Hurva synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City on Monday. A senior diplomat told Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew news service that the PM will absent himself in order to avoid conflict with the United States or the Palestinian Authority.
The prime minister will address crowds at the Hurva ceremony by video instead. The diplomat who spoke to Arutz Sheva would not divulge the exact content of Netanyahu’s address, but hinted, “we’re not sure that the nationalists are going to like what he intends to say.”An official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that Netanyahu would not attend the Old City ceremony, but said his absence would be due only to time constraints. “The Prime Minister has a very full schedule these days,” the statement said.Netanyahu was criticized by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden this week for allowing Israeli Jews to build homes in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo in Jerusalem, an area that has never had Arab residents and is located between the densely populated Jewish neighborhoods of Sanhedria and Ramot. . The PA harshly criticized Netanyahu as well, accusing him of torpedoing negotiations by allowing Jews to move into parts of the capital that the PA lays claim to. Netanyahu apologized to Biden for the timing of the Ramat Shlomo building plans. Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin (Likud) and other MK’s of Netanyahu’s Likud criticized Biden’s reaction, some having harsh words for Netanyahu’s apology as well.The PA considers Jerusalem’s Old City to be “occupied territory” as well. While the area is historically Jewish, it was occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967, and the PA considers it Arab land. Israeli attempts to restore historic Jewish sites in the Old City, such as the Kotel tunnels during Netanyahu’s first term of office, have been met with fierce Arab opposition and violent rioting.The Hurva synagogue served as Jerusalem’s main Ashkenazi synagogue for generations, until it was destroyed by the Jordanian army during the 1948 War of Independence. It will be reopened on Monday. Several senior public figures have agreed to attend the event, among them Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin, Housing Minister Ariel Attias, and Jewish Agency head Natan Sharansky. Click here for INN’s exclusive preview filim of the restored synagogue.

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Hurva to Reopen After 62 Years – Without Netanyahu

Al-Jazeera Airs Footage of Israeli Captives

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 04:05:08 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) The pan-Arab news network Al-Jazeera broadcast archive images of captive IDF soldiers from the past

Surprise Closure on Judea, Samaria; Airstrike in Gaza

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:39:27 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minister Ehud Barak has ordered a one-day closure on Palestinian Authority-controlled areas in Judea and Samaria. The order came as a surprise, but was explained

U.S. Jews to Biden: Leave Jerusalem Alone

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:07:17 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) The veteran

MK Orlev: Govt. is Strangling Beit El

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:21:59 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) MK Zevulun Orlev criticized government policy as he toured the town of Beit El in the Binyamin region on Thursday. “It’s hard to accept this absurd situation in which the government strangles Beit El, prevents the town from expanding, while right next door there are abandoned IDF camps that could

Israel Seals Off West Bank to Prevent Unrest

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:00:00 +0000

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has sealed off the West Bank for 48 hours, preventing Palestinians from entering Israel because of fears of unrest.
There have been clashes after Friday prayers at mosques in Jerusalem and elsewhere in recent weeks, sparked by deadlock in peace talks and Israel’s inclusion of two West Bank shrines on a list of national heritage sites.
Several Palestinians have been badly wounded and dozens of protesters and Israeli policemen have suffered light injuries.
Police say only men over 50 will be allowed to pray Friday at the shrine at the center of the disturbances — the Jerusalem compound Jews call the Temple Mount and Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. There are no limitations on women.
The closure began at midnight Thursday and will end at midnight Saturday.

Jerusalem College Holds Conference on Miracles

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:34:01 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) Jerusalem’s Lifshitz College brought the realm of the mystical into the world of academia Thursday by holding a conference on the topic of ‘Miracles in Our Generation.’Dr. Eli Hadad spoke to Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew-language news service about the conference. “Miracles are definitely a mystical subject, but we’re trying to bring them into the realm of reason as well,” he explained.
“The question is how we see our daily reality, what’s called ‘Your miracles from day to day,’” he continued. Dr. Hadad compared the views of two great Jewish scholars, saying, “According to the Ramban [Nachmanides],

Police OK Limited Nationalist March in Shiloach

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:26:23 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) The police have granted permission to nationalist grassroots leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Baruch Marzel to hold a protest march in the neighborhood of Shiloach (Silwan) in eastern Jerusalem. Major-General Aharon Franco, Commander of the Jerusalem District, allowed the march on the condition that it be limited in time and that the number of marchers will not exceed 70.
‘Sanctimonious hypocrites’
Ben Gvir explained the planned march’s message Thursday, saying that “the 216 illegal Arab houses [in Shiloach] are subject to the same law as the homes that are destroyed every day in our outposts. There will be no discrimination in Israel. We say to all the sanctimonious hypocrites who call themselves ‘warriors for the rule of law’ – if you are so concerned about the law, start tearing down Arab houses.”The Chief Prosecutor has demanded that the Jerusalem Municipality carry out a High Court order to evict Jews from Beit Yehonatan, a Jewish-owned building in Shiloach. However, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that enforcement had to be applied to Arab illegal housing as well, and noted that Beit Yehonatan was surrounded by more than 200 illegal Arab-owned structures.Provocation?
Asked if the planned

Tzvia Art School – Creative Art and Jewish Religion Coexist

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:47:31 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) The Wollinitz Tzvia Art School for Girls held an exhibition this week of students’ final projects at the Jerusalem City Hall.

Officer Convicted of Slapping Suspects Won’t Be Jailed

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:43:09 +0000

(IsraelNN.com) A military court decided Thursday not to jail a former deputy company commander in the Kfir Brigade, Lt. Adam Maloul, who was convicted of using undue force against Arab suspects in the village of Kadoum in Samaria. The court also rejected the prosecution’s demand that Maloul be demoted to the rank of private.
The court determined that the 64 days in which Maloul had been detained in military jail last year, and an additional 32 days he spent under house arrest, were punishment enough. The military court in Yafo (Jaffa) convicted Lt. Maloul last December of aggravated assault, for a September 2008 incident in which he allegedly slapped Arab suspects twice during a search for terrorists who had carried out a shooting attack. He was also convicted of conduct unbecoming an officer.The verdict aroused consternation among many Israelis, who saw it as hypocritical and unjust. A petition calling for Maloul’s release collected thousands of signatures. “They ascribe criminal intent to me, but how will they prevent the next officer who serves in the Territories [Judea and Samaria -- ed.] from going to jail?” Maloul said in an interview after his conviction. “This verdict ties my hands and the hands of the IDF because no one knows how to answer these questions,” he said.