Sun 15th August: Israeli soldiers ordered to show sensitivity during Ramadan

Israeli soldiers stationed in Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”) have been ordered to refrain from eating, drinking or smoking in front of Palestinian Arabs during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

An IDF spokesman said: “The soldiers were instructed to show greater consideration toward the residents, and to refrain as much as possible from eating, drinking and smoking in public in front of the population, especially at the crossing points, and to be alert and accommodating.”

The IDF will also keep several major checkpoints open later in the night during Ramadan to accommodate those who travel to feast with their families after sunset.

Devout Muslims observing Ramadan fully refrain from eating, drinking or smoking during the daylight hours. They then feast after sunset.

The IDF order, which is issued every year, contradicts the international media-supported image of Israeli soldiers as routinely oppressive and inconsiderate.

Sun 15th August: Gilo Security Wall Comes Tumbling Down – for Now
by Hezki Ezra & Yoni Kempinski

The IDF has begun removing the wall which was put up in 2001 in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Gilo when it came under intense near-daily rifle attacks from the adjacent Arab neighbourhood of Beit Jalla. Israel National News TV was on the scene Sunday and spoke with the IDF representative and local residents.

“We were approached by the Jerusalem municipality, which requested that we remove this wall.” explained IDF Home Front Command’s Brig. Gen. Chezi Revivo “After a professional assessment of the current situation at the IDF Home Front Command, the Home Front commander issued an order to dismantle this wall.”

One of the local residents told Israel National News TV that he is very scared now that the wall is being removed; “It must not be moved now! Do you think that they’re not waiting for this? Tomorrow morning there will be firing towards here, and when that happens and someone dies, we’ll talk again.”

However, the head of the local administration of the neighbourhood chose to express complete support in the act: “When the security authorities decided that it was necessary, we were behind them,” he said. “When they decide today that it can be removed, then we still back them up and believe in them.”

And what will be if, G-d forbid, the attacks are renewed? The IDF will not be putting these cement pieces too far away, in case of need. “We’re trying to keep everything in order, according to how it was placed here” explained Birg. Gen. Revivo, “but we of course hope that we won’t need to put this puzzle back together.”

Sun 15th August: Best Ever Year for Tourism
(Israelnationalnews.com)

The year 5770 of the Hebrew calendar, which comes to a close in three weeks, is the best-ever Hebrew year for incoming tourism: about 3.1 million tourists visited Israel during 5770 – 18 percent more than in 5769, when the number of tourists was 2.6 million, and 10 percent more than recorded in 5768.

During the past few months, the Tourism Ministry has been preparing to welcome the 260,000 tourists who are expected to visit Israel during the Jewish holidays in September as well as the tens of thousands of Israelis who are expected to visit tourist, leisure and entertainment sites around the country.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov has toured the country in recent months to investigate the readiness and levels of cleanliness and maintenance of hotels and tourism attractions. The minister will also visit additional hotels in the coming days in Eilat, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where particularly high levels of occupancy are expected, in order to check their readiness, levels of cleanliness and maintenance for the upcoming Rosh HaShanah New Year holidays.

Inspection teams from the Ministry will carry out inspections in tourism areas where high tourist traffic is expected during the Jewish holidays in order to ensure a pleasant vacation for tourists and Israelis alike.
Minister Misezhnikov said that the focused marketing efforts of the ministry in the last year have succeeded in significantly increasing incoming tourism and improving Israel’s image as an attractive tourism destination. “The Tourism Ministry will increase its marketing activity in the coming year in order to progress the ministry’s target of bringing another million tourists to Israel by 2012 and 5 million by 2015,” he added.

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Tues 17th August: Mortar Fire Wounds 2 Soldiers; IDF Has Not Yet Retaliated
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded in a mortar attack on the western Negev Tuesday morning, barely 12 hours after mortar shells and rockets were fired Gaza and exploded in an open field of a kibbutz in the same area. The soldiers were carrying out engineering tasks along the security fence when they were attacked.

The Salah al-Din Brigades, a military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) terrorist organization, subsequently claimed responsibility for firing the two mortars.

IDF helicopters evacuated the victims to nearby Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva. Israeli media generally ignore the attacks when no one is wounded, but this time reported on the latest explosions following the news that soldiers were wounded.

The government and military adopted a policy in the past year to retaliate after every terrorist attack from Hamas-controlled Gaza, and a response is likely in the next 24 hours.

Monday night, one Islamic Jihad terrorist was killed in an exchange of gunfire with the IDF after soldiers discovered a cell trying to plant bombs along the Gaza security fence, where IDF jeeps conduct regular patrols. One soldier was lightly wounded in the skirmish.

More than 115 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israelis since the beginning of 2010, and more than 400 rockets were fired from Gaza since the end of Operation Cast Lead early last year.

Hamas has alternately increased and reduced the number of Kassam rocket attacks. The latest escalation may be timed to interfere with the apparent likelihood that the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority will agree to direct talks with Israel over a proposed new Arab country within Israel’s borders.

Tues 17th August: Central Israel Oil Discovery: 1.5 Billion Barrels
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Estimates of the amount of oil in the Rosh HaAyin discovery have rises to 1.5 billion barrels, and there is more oil off-shore, but it is not yet known how much of the “black gold” can be extracted for commercial use.

The new estimate, along with the gas and oil finds off the Mediterranean Coast, raise the likelihood that Israel will be self-sufficient for energy for the next three decades and even become an exporter of gas. The amount of oil at Rosh HaAyin represents a tiny percentage of Israel’s oil consumption, but development is continuing in the area as well as in the Dead Sea.

Economists have noted that the discoveries will have a huge impact on society, creating more jobs and strengthening the shekel against word currencies.

Investors in the project at Rosh HaAyin, located on the edge of Samaria and several miles east of Tel Aviv, have been waiting anxiously for months for news about the amounts oil underground at the Megged 5 oil well. The full engineering report will not be available until mid-September, but the company has decided to adopt the recommendation in the initial report.

Oil samples were found as having high quality with very little sulphur, and the amount of water in the samples was less than 10 percent.

It added, “A reasonable estimate of the amount of oil…is 1.525 billion barrels of oil” but warned that the final estimates may be lower, with a chance that they could even be higher. The report does not include estimate of other sections in the field.

Previous reports estimated that daily production could reach 382 barrels a day. The latest company statement said it is will not be known before next month the new estimated production rate, but it should reach at least 450 barrels a day.

Thurs 19th August: Algeria, Lebanon sending blockade runners to Gaza

Israel’s Channel 10 TV news reported on Thursday that a ship from Algeria is on its way to attempt to run the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. The ship, which is sponsored by the Libyan government and organized by a private group called the Muslim Wise Men, has several prominent religious and political leaders aboard in addition to food, educational materials and medical supplies.

Meantime, the Lebanese ship the “Miriam,” named after the Virgin Mary and carrying aid and some 70 female activists, will set sail from Lebanon on Sunday in hopes of breaking the Israeli blockade, even though Cyprus has warned the vessel will not be allowed to pass through its waters. A senior Cyprus official said today his nation has a “moral and legal responsibility” to those entering its waters, and that a blockade-busting ship could endanger lives along with “regional peace and stability,” a clear reference to the deadly Mavi Marmara incident in late May.

Lebanese leaders have refused to meet with the flotilla sponsors, indicating the mission does not have their blessing. Israel has eased the Gaza blockade in recent weeks to allow everything in except weapons and dual use materials, but anti-Israel activists still appear determined to make their point. Former British MP George Galloway, whose group Viva Palestina is preparing its own aid flotilla for September, said this week:  “We are at a moment when pressure can be brought to bear as never before to frustrate Israel’s moves to crush the Palestinians.”

Thursday 19th August: Israel preparing massive underground bomb shelters

Israel is planning to build massive new underground bomb shelters in train stations and other public facilities, and will upgrade older shelters, all for use in case of anticipated missile barrages and chemical or biological attacks. “The State of Israel is preparing to build additional large underground spaces which would be able to absorb tens of thousands of people and protect them from non-conventional weapons for a long period of time,” Major-General Ronny Seri, head of the Home Front Command’s fortification department, told Yedioth Ahronoth on Tuesday. The new spaces are being built with state of the art air filters, medical facilities and communications lines. The new train station in southern Jerusalem will be equipped with a shelter 80 meters underground to protect up to 5,000 people against a chemical or biological attack. The subway in Haifa, a new underground parking garage in Holon, and the recently renovated Habima theatre in Tel Aviv are also being planned for use as emergency public shelters against unconventional attack.

Thurs 19th August: Palestinians indicted for selling Jewish products

The Palestinian Authority of “moderate” leaders Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad on Tuesday decided to indict four Palestinian Arabs accused of selling Jewish-made products in their stores.

Fayyad, the PA’s current prime minister, recently enacted new laws forbidding the import, sale or promotion of goods or services that originate in Jewish towns and villages in Judea and Samaria (the so-called “West Bank”).

Those found guilty of violating the boycott face a punishment of 2-5 years in prison and a $14,000 fine. They are also likely to have their business licenses revoked.

The Palestinian Authority is using the boycott to choke the economy of the Jewish settlements, which constitute the fastest growing sector of Israeli society. However, the new, which also bans Palestinians from working in the Jewish communities, is having a far bigger impact on the Palestinian economy. The 7,000-10,000 Palestinians that currently work for Israeli building contractors will soon be out of work, and stores are being forced to stock more expensive goods imported from neighbouring Arab states.

Fri 20th August: Jewish groups to help Pakistan flood victims
By GIL SHEFLER
08/20/2010 02:13
Organizations raising funds for Muslim nation.

Jewish organizations have begun raising funds for flood relief in Pakistan, the world’s second most populous Muslim nation.

In the past week, organizations such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the American Jewish World Service and World Jewish Relief have asked donors to give money to help the estimated 20 million Pakistanis suffering from the effects of the torrential rain and flooding.

“By harnessing our vast experience in international disaster relief and tapping our network of partners on the ground to assess the most pressing needs, JDC will quickly respond to those affected by the floods in Pakistan,” JDC CEO Steven Schwager said in a press release on Wednesday.

William Recant, assistant executive vice president at JDC, who is charged with overlooking the relief effort to Pakistan, told The Jerusalem Post how his organization planned to distribute donations.

“We’re looking to work with traditional partners such as Heart to Heart, which sends medical volunteers; the Blue Crescent operating out of Turkey, who we’ve helped a few years ago to build a school in a distant region of Pakistan, and the Afya Foundation, which collects medical supplies in hospitals throughout the New York area and sends containers of medical goods,” he said.

JDC has been involved in humanitarian efforts in Pakistan twice before, in response to earthquakes that struck the South Asian country in 2006 and 2008.

The first time JDC reached out to Muslims in need was in 1999, when it helped Kosovan refugees returning from Macedonia after the civil war in their country ended.

Meanwhile, the UK-based World Jewish Relief called donors to help buy the 800 kits containing rehydration salts, mosquito nets, blankets, kitchen equipment, a floor mat and a plastic sheet for shelter it plans to distribute to those in need in Pakistan.

The Jewish organizations’ response to the crisis in Pakistan illustrates the well-established change in the pattern of Diaspora Jewish giving in recent years. There was a time when raising money from Jewish donors for people in need in a predominantly Muslim nation wouldn’t have been on the agenda of a Jewish organization.

Up until about two decades ago funds were exclusively related to Israeli or Jewish causes.

However, Jewish organizations across the board now support a large and growing number of non-Jewish causes in Israel and around the world.

Recant cited two reasons for this change. First, he said the media has raised awareness among Jews and non-Jews to international humanitarian crises by “placing it in our faces.”

He said the second reason is the willingness of governments to cooperate and the increased ease in transporting aid around the world.

“Today, unlike 20 years ago, we can get goods into the country,” he said. “There is real coordination.”

Such aid is controversial in certain quarters, with some Jewish leaders arguing Jewish money should be given only to Jewish causes.

Recant said that so far, no Pakistani recipients have rejected Jewish aid on political or religious grounds and the government of Pakistan has willingly accepted and acknowledged support from Jewish organizations.

The JDC added that money raised for Pakistan and other international crises, like relief for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami or the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, is entirely separate from its core activities supporting Jewish communities around the world.

He said helping Muslim flood victims in Pakistan complied with the Jewish tenet of tikkun olam, or repairing the world.

“Doing this work in an interfaith basis working with Christians, Muslims and others, it’s incredible,” Recant said. “And the fact that the Jewish community is sitting at that table has been tremendous.”

With thanks to Israel Today, ICEJ, Arutz Sheva, Jerusalem Post, Israel International News