Shining Light on PSE&G Scam
Scammers are using a new ploy to relieve people of their hard-earned cash. Posing as PSE&G representatives, they threaten to turn off gas and electric service unless an immediate cash payment is made by use of a Green Dot Money Pak available at convenience stores and pharmacies. The victim is then to provide the number on the card to the caller and, as if by magic, the money quickly disappears. Police advise to hang up immediately on such callers and call PSE&G directly if there are any problems with an account. PSE&G does not summarily cut off service.
Arik is in Critical Condition, Systems Shutting Down
The Sharon family announced last week that former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, suffering from a blood infection and kidney failure, is in critical condition. His system is deteriorating as his organs shut down, say his doctors at Sheba Medical Center. Sharon was felled by stroke and went into a coma in 2006, just weeks before the pull out of Israeli citizens from Gush Katif in Gaza. “Unless there is a turn on the level of a miracle, his condition will get worse and worse from day to day,” said Dr. Zeev Rotstein, “The threat to his life has not decreased; it may have even increased.”
Israel Saw 16% Growth in 2013
The Wall Street Journal has reported that in 2014, in contrast to Israeli ventures being acquired by U.S. mega-companies, new Israeli startups will switch to an IPO strategy. Nimrod Kozlovski, a partner at Jerusalem Venture Partners, is describing how “more companies in Israel now are lining up, trying to go to Nasdaq.” The story also described a recent IPO by website development platform Wix.com, which now has a market valuation of over $1 billion. In the meantime, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) Israel reported that last year, [Israeli high-tech] exits totaled $7.6 billion — $1.2 billion of which were raised through IPOs [initial public offerings], while acquisition deals accounted for a total of $6.45 billion, and new data on Israeli high-tech deals in 2013, note the average Israeli startup stands at $170 million.
Thousands of Refugees in Israel on Protest Strike
Starting last Sunday, thousands of refugees from South Sudan, Darfur and Eritrea have flooded Rabin Square and the streets in front of foreign embassies in Israel to protest their treatment by the Israeli government, which has implemented a policy of referring to individuals by number, not name, detaining them without charges and forcibly separating families and deporting them back to dangerous and deadly conditions. The Israeli government refers to these asylum seekers as infiltrators, and these Africans have been under attack by Israeli mobs and individuals in the last two years. The government claims they are not refugees but economic migrants and an internal threat to Israel’s Jewishness and security (There are an estimated 60,000 in a population of 6,000,000+). Activists estimate more than 50,000 work illegally in low-paying jobs in Israel. Many crossed through the Sinai from Egypt, a Bermuda Triangle for terrorists, organ harvesters and kidnappers. Netanyahu’s government is offering refugees willing to return to their home countries a cash incentive of $3,500. But if that doesn’t work, they will deport them. “We are determined to deport the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who are here after having reduced the number of illegal labor migrants who enter Israel’s cities,” said Netanyahu last November. “The steps that we unanimously approved [today] are proportionate and necessary for maintaining the Jewish and democratic character of the state and will restore security to Israel’s citizens while upholding the directives of the High Court of Justice and international law” On the other hand, a typical refugee reaction comes from Dawit, one of the protest leaders from Eritrea. “We don’t want to live here for the rest of our lives. We want basic rights until we can return. …I love my country, the land I grew up in. My family is in Eritrea. But I can’t live there now,” he said, describing turmoil and a policy of forced lifelong military service. “Until I can, I only want Israel to treat me like a human being.”
The Ever-Widening Income Gap in Israel
Despite high economic growth, some people in Israel remain extremely poor. Aryeh Deri, head of the Shas Party, says the country is experiencing a “poverty storm.” Middle-class Israelis often blame the poor themselves. They say haredim and Muslim-Arabs have high unemployment rates and high birth rates by choice. The elderly and new immigrants, 23 percent and 17 percent, respectively, follow. Economic ills add to the many issues that separate Jews and Arabs, along with resentment against those who refuse to work, go to the Army, do national service or integrate into society. In such an atmosphere, there are challenges raising social responsibility issues with an Israeli middle-class that believes poverty is a choice.
Syrian Aircraft Violate Lebanese Air Space
TIP—The Lebanese military has fired on a Syrian aircraft violating Beirut’s airspace, a move that threatens to expand the Syrian civil war into Lebanese territory. Damascus has, on more than one occasion, launched attacks against targets in Lebanon that are allegedly linked to rebels in Syria. For their part, opposition elements inside Syria, reacting to the critical role that Hezbollah has played in enabling the Assad regime to reclaim as much as 80% of Syria, have sought to retaliate against the Iran-backed terror group’s Lebanese strongholds. Hezbollah has denied being an Iranian proxy, but that has proven false, and those interests have put Hezbollah in active conflict with Lebanon and its armed forces.
Secretary Kerry Seeks Recognition for a Jewish State
Last Sunday, a Palestinian official who spoke anonymously because details of the peace process are supposed to stay secret, confirmed that Kerry asked Mahmoud Abbas to recognize Israel as a Jewish State. When asked to do this on previous occasion, Abbas has always said no because it would compromise the rights of Palestinian refugees and Israel’s Arab minority. Kerry met that day with Jordan and Saudi Arabia to discuss pan-Arab backing for Palestinian concessions. Kerry did tell the press that he made some progress in his marathon talks and praised both Abbas and Netanyahu for making “difficult decisions. …You can see in the press and you see in the public debate that the choices they’re making elicit strong responses from their people. And I understand that very, very well,” Kerry said.
PA Becomes First Customer of Israeli Gas
The Delek Group has announced that The Palestine Power Generation Company has signed a 20-year deal with the Leviathan group to purchase $1.2 billion of natural gas from the gas fields off the shores of Haifa. They will supply as much as 4.75 billion cubic meters of gas when the fields start producing over the next two years, the Delek Group said in a statement. The Delek conglomerate owns 45.34 percent of the field, followed by the US-based Noble Energy with 39.66% and Ratio Oil Exploration’s 15%. The Palestinians intend to build a $300 million power plant in Jenin to produce electricity from the gas.
U.S. Provosts Visit Israeli Universities
Jerusalem Post—Last Sunday a delegation of provosts from leading U.S. universities arrived in Israel as part of the American Jewish Committee’s Project Interchange to explore academic partnerships and collaboration with Israeli universities. The trip includes visits to Tel Aviv University, and Hebrew U. where they will learn about new techniques and technology in the classroom and laboratories. The participants will also meet government officials and experts and will travel to Ramallah for high level discussions with Palestinian leaders. Chaired by Marilyn R. Schuster, provost and dean of faculty at Smith College, the delegation is comprised of deans and provosts from Catholic University, Sarah Lawrence, Bard College, Smith College, Rice University, Brown University, Dominican University of California, University of South Florida and University of Louisville. The university provosts will also hold bilateral academic meetings in science, environmental sustainability, biotech, diversity and women’s leadership.
British and German Leaders to Visit Israel
JNS.org—British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are scheduled to visit Israel in February, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced. Cameron is scheduled to arrive in mid-February, while Merkel will arrive a week later. The visit will be the first for Cameron since becoming prime minister in 2010. The Israeli Foreign Ministry denied that the peace talks will be the focus of their trip. Recently the European Union voted to offer Israel and the Palestinians an unprecedented aid package as an incentive for both sides to reach a final-status peace deal. In addition to the two European allies, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit in late January and will address the Knesset.
Iranians Propose Bill to Increase Enrichment To 60%
JNS.org—According to Iranian press sources, 100 Iranian lawmakers have proposed a bill that will force the government to enrich uranium up to 60 percent “in order to provide fuel for submarine engines if the sanctions are tightened and Iran’s nuclear rights are ignored,” said hard-line lawmaker Mehdi Mousavinejad, Reuters reported. If passed, the bill would conflict with the recent deal, brokered by world powers in Geneva, which stipulated that Iran must stop enriching uranium beyond 3.5% and dilute all existing stockpiles already enriched to 20% down to 5%. “The bill is aimed at giving an upper hand to our government and the negotiating team… It will allow the government to continue our nuclear program if the Geneva deal fails,” said Hossein Taghavi Hosseini, spokesman for parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs committee.
Egypt Declares Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Organization
JNS.org—The Egyptian government has declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, blaming the group for a suicide bomb attack that killed 16 people and wounded more than 100 at a police headquarters. As a result, membership in the group has now become a criminal offense. Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education Hossam Eissa declared on behalf of the Cabinet, “the Muslim Brotherhood group and its organization is a terrorist organization..It’s not possible for Egypt the state nor Egypt the people to submit to the Muslim Brotherhood terrorism.” According to AP, Egyptian Minister of Social Solidarity Ahmed el-Borai also said at a news conference that “all activities of the Muslim Brotherhood group are—banned including the demonstrations,”
Exploring Gender and Religion
Targum Shlishi is supporting “The Torch,” a new blog launched in November 2013, organized by JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance) and hosted on the website MyJewishLearning.com. “The Torch” explores issues around the topics of gender and religion in the Jewish community and is written by multiple contributors. Multiple blog entries are posted each week and generate lively comments. Topics of posts have included mikvehs, prenups and the agunah issue, what it’s like to be an Orthodox feminist undergraduate student at Harvard, and tips for creating a partnership minyan. It aims to bring together “voices from across the Jewish world to explore people’s experience of gender in synagogues, schools, home life, politics, and more.”
Warren Buffet Gifts Rambam with $10 Mil
Globes reported that Warren Buffet, the American billionaire philanthropist, has given the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa a $10 Million 75th Anniversary gift. The hospital was founded in 1938 on the shores of the Mediterranean and is considered one of the cutting-edge, high-tech hospitals in the world, yet still retains a personal touch with its patients. The gift was announced by Buffet’s long-time friend and Rambam supporter, Israeli businessman Eitan Wertheimer.
NY Post Under Attack by Jews and Others
Dozens of haredi and other Jewish leaders were joined by African-American politicians in protesting the New York Post’s coverage of the January 2 murder of a Hasidic Jewish real-estate entrepreneur. The NY Post, a sensationalist newspaper to begin with, ran a front page headline asking, “Who didn’t want him dead?” referring to kidnapped and murdered Satmar Hasid from Williamsburg, Menachem Stark, 39, a landlord with an unsavory reputation. His partially burned body was found in a dumpster in Great Neck, and Post editors ran a full page photo of him in Yom Tov garb, wearing a bekeshe and shtriemel, with the headline emblazoned across the page. He was the father of eight children and a pillar of his synagogue, but according to the Post, “The millionaire Hasidic slumlord. . . had so many enemies that investigators say they almost don’t know where to start looking. …Stark left behind a trail of angry tenants from more than a dozen residential properties” as well as “an untold number of unpaid contractors and angry business associates.” Rabbi Avi Shafran of the Agudah accused the Post of crossing a line . . . “even for a paper specializing in the sensational.” An open letter to the NY Post on Vos Iz Nayez accused the Post of declaring open season on landlords, and even The Forward said the Post had reached a new low, “inappropriate” and derisive, and asked: “How about any decent human that believes murder is the wrong way to settle disputes?” On the other hand, there were also concerns as to why Stark’s poor behavior toward contractors, tenants and lenders were not criticized by his own community.
Berlin Memorial Desecrated on New Year’s
Arutz Sheva reports that a video of drunken youths urinating on the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe designed by Peter Eisenman in the heart of Berlin. A video posted on YouTube shows them drinking beer, spraying graffiti and bodily fluids on the stones, lighting fireworks and standing on some of the 2,711 concrete slabs that comprise the memorial. German police on the scene did not intervene, and neither did passersby. Since the memorial was inaugurated in 2005, there have been a number of acts of vandalism and inappropriate behavior. Eisenman rejected having tight security around the memorial when it opened, but authorities plan to increase their presence at the site to prevent further damage.
Lord Janner’s Home Searched in Child Abuse Investigation
London—Lord Greville Janner, who founded the prestigious Holocaust Education Trust, is a vice-president of the World Jewish Congress and is a Labour MP, had his home searched by Leicestershire Police as part of an investigation into “historical” allegations of child abuse in an “ongoing criminal inquiry.” His lawyers told the press that the peer is cooperating with authorities and has not been arrested, but that they are unable to make further comments at this time.
Iran in on Syrian Peace Talks?
AP reports U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry indicated Monday that Iran may be participating in the upcoming peace talks on Syria—the first time there has been any acknowledgment that Iran could play a role. Kerry said Iran could contribute to “the sidelines” and there will be limits to how big a role Tehran could play in helping create a transitional government in Syria. Russia, which has been one of Bashar al-Assad’s best friends in the western world, has insisted that Iran take part in the negotiations, but France and the U.S. have insisted Iran can only play a role if it is willing to agree to the Syrian president handing over power to a transitional government. Meanwhile, Syrian activists said rebel infighting has spread from the country’s north to its east, an area dominated by a group affiliated with al Qaeda.
