PM Reportedly Considers Revoking Residency for Eastern Jerusalem Arabs
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly considering revoking the residency status of Arabs living in eastern Jerusalem amid the current spate of Palestinian terror attacks against Jews.
According to Israel’s Channel 2, Netanyahu raised the issue during a meeting of his security cabinet two weeks ago.
“We need to examine the possibility of canceling their residency. There needs to be a discussion about it,” Netanyahu reportedly said.
A number of terror attacks over the last several weeks have been carried out by Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem. In a bid to halt the attacks, temporary barriers were erected and checkpoints were set up in some Arab neighborhoods. But after facing a backlash from some Jewish lawmakers who were upset that the measures were dividing the capital, Netanyahu ordered a halt to the barriers.
Jewish Humanitarian Group JDC Responds to South Asia Earthquake
(JNS.org) The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) on Monday responded swiftly to the latest earthquake to strike South Asia.
JDC said it has disbursed emergency grants to two partners, the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute and the International Blue Crescent, who will provide medical and emergency aid in India, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Additionally, experts from the JDC’s Disaster Relief and India teams are consulting with groups on the ground to assess the damage and humanitarian needs of survivors.
“As we anxiously await details on the tragic loss of life and the extent of the damage in South Asia, we are drawing on our vast experience, network of partners and standing presence in the region to deploy a speedy Jewish response that ensures relief to survivors at their time of need,” said Alan H. Gill, JDC’s CEO.
A powerful 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan on Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquake’s epicenter was located about 28 miles southwest of the village of Jarm, which is near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The tremors were felt as far away as Islamabad and New Delhi. According to early reports from the region, at least 180 people died.
Morgan Freeman Visits Western Wall for National Geographic’s ‘Story of God’
(JNS.org) Beloved Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman arrived in Israel for a surprise visit this week as part of a television series he is filming for National Geographic.
The Oscar winner visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Sunday, escorted by Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz. Due to the ongoing Palestinian terror wave, Freeman was accompanied by heavy security.
Freeman is currently working on a program titled “The Story of God,” which aims to provide an overview of the topic from sites around the world.
The actor, who has played or dubbed the voice of God in a number of productions over the years, told Variety earlier this year, “The story of God is one of the greatest mysteries and most important ideas in the world. For me, this is a personal and enduring quest to understand the divine, and I am humbled by the opportunity to take viewers along on this incredible journey.”
UNRWA Staffers Suspended for Inciting Violence Against Jews
(JNS.org) Several United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees were suspended for inciting violence and anti-Semitism.
“UNRWA condemns and will not tolerate anti-Semitism or racism in any form,” said Farhan Haq, the U.N. secretary-general’s deputy spokesman.
The suspension comes after two revelations by the watchdog group UN Watch documenting at least 22 UNRWA employees inciting anti-Semitic violence. This included UNRWA staff members, such as school teachers and principals, inciting Palestinian stabbing and shooting attacks against Israeli Jews on social media, with one staffer issuing a call on Facebook to “stab Zionist dogs.”
According to Haq, the U.N. has been working closely with Facebook’s legal team on the removal of “more than 90 impostor or unauthorized Facebook pages” that were inciting violence and anti-Semitism.
Abbas’s Brother-in-Law Undergoes Life-Saving Surgery in Israel
(JNS.org) Despite the ongoing wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israelis, a brother-in-law of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas underwent life-saving cardiac surgery at the Assuta Medical Center in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israel Hayom reported.
The Palestinian leader’s relative is still hospitalized and is under heavy guard. An Assuta spokesperson said the hospital could not confirm or deny the information “for reasons of medical confidentiality.”
Last August, Abbas’s wife, Amina, also underwent surgery at the Assuta hospital. The granddaughter of Gaza-based Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh has also received medical treatment in Israel, and a senior Fatah official in February underwent a medical procedure at the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikvah.
Temple Mount Forbidden to Jewish Visitors, Israeli Chief Rabbis Reiterate
(JNS.org) Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel David Lau and Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef, as well as more than 100 prominent Israeli rabbis, issued a statement Thursday reiterating a previous decree barring Jews from visiting the Temple Mount.
The rabbinical decree forbidding Jewish worshippers from visiting the volatile holy site in Jerusalem has been in place for decades. In Jewish law, entering the Temple or the Tabernacle while in a state of ritual impurity is one of 36 offenses punishable by kareth (“cutting off”)—extinction of the soul and denial of a share in the world to come.
“With time, we have become unaware of the exact location of the Temple, and anyone entering the premises may unknowingly enter the holiest of holies, potentially risking kareth,” the rabbis said.
Islamic State Threatens Israel in Hebrew: ‘The True War Hasn’t yet Started’
(JNS.org) The Islamic State terror group on Friday published a Hebrew-language video threatening Israel.
In the video, a masked man holding a weapon and speaking fluent Hebrew says, “The true war hasn’t yet started, what you’ve experienced until now is a child’s war compared to what will happen soon. We promise you that not a single Jew will be left in the entire country… Look how you responded to a few car attacks and stabbings—you fell on your heads, you shot anyone who drove fast and anyone with something in their hand.”
The speaker continues, “Think what will happen to you when soon tens of thousands from all over the world will come to slaughter you and throw you in the trash. We aren’t just full of hot air—we are closing in on you from every direction, from Sinai and from Damascus and more.”
Netanyahu: ‘No Intention of Absolving Hitler,’ But Don’t Ignore Arab Incitement
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuted the criticism voiced against him that he attempted to absolve Hitler from responsibility for the Holocaust, following comments he had made on incitement by the Nazi-sympathizing Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, during World War II.
Netanyahu had said at the 37th World Zionist Congress that Arab attacks on Jews during the 1920s “were instigated by a call of the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who was later sought for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials because he had a central role in fomenting the Final Solution.”
The prime minister later clarified that he “had no intention of absolving Hitler from his diabolical responsibility for the annihilation of European Jews.”
“Hitler was responsible for the Final Solution—the extermination of six million Jews. He made the decision. At the same time, it is absurd to ignore the role played by the mufti, Haj Amin al-Husseini, a war criminal who encouraged Hitler, [Joachim von] Ribbentrop, [Heinrich] Himmler, and others to destroy the Jews of Europe,” said Netanyahu, who explained that the reason he brought up the issue was to illustrate the long history of Palestinian incitement against Jews.
“The Palestinian incitement to kill Jews, which began with [Haj Amin al-Husseini], continues today… For the murder to stop, the incitement must stop,” Netanyahu said.
