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Ashdod Nitzanim Sand Dune Park is a psammosere ecosystem located close to the city of Ashdod on the Israeli Coastal Plain near the Mediterranean sea.

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News article about women. This is from Enab Baladi English.

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Syrian women have played a prominent role in Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution in March 2011. In particular, Syrian women's roles were most influential in the peaceful stage of the revolution.
The Assad regime pushed vigorously for revolting Syrians to take up arms. It also facilitated the entrance of Jihadist groups specifically al-Nusra Front and Islamic State (ISIS) into the Syrian scene. As a result, the influential role which Syrian women performed in the first months of the revolution came under threat.
Syrian women's causes and issues were present in the coverage of alternative media. Syrian women occupied significant positions and management positions in the newly-established newspapers and radio stations after the outbreak of the revolution. Due to Syrian women huge involvement in media and peaceful activism, several Syrian women were awarded prizes in journalism and other fields.

Enab Baladi- Muhammed Ruchdi Sharbaji in cooperation with Syrian Prints Archives
January 10, 2016

International struggle to protect women's rights

Syrian social life experienced a major decline over the five decades of Baath Party rule in Syria.

The Syrian regime promotes itself internationally to be a pro-women secular regime. But in reality, women were exposed to an exceptional cultural decline during the rule of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad not to mention the regime's ruthless massacres of Syrian women.

Women's rights movements started during the European Renaissance between 1550 and 1700. The movement began with rectifying some concepts oppressed states held relating to women. Feminists called for humanizing women, and anchoring new concepts to improve cooperation and integration between the two sexes.

In the 18th century, feminists took a step forward and demanded equality between women and men.

British writer Mary Wollstonecraft was the first to use 'women rights' as a statement in her famous declaration, 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman' in 1792.

Later on, several philosophers provided theoretical contexts to address equality between women and men from a legal perspective. The most prominent of these philosophers is Stuart Mill who wrote The Subjection of Women which is considered the foundation of feminist movements.

First Wave of Feminism

United States

Individual women's voices called for women rights until the mid-19th century. At first, women calling for women's rights were not organized. The emergence of European revolution and democratic movements facilitated the emergence of organizations dedicated to women's causes.

The first conference for women rights was held in Seneca Falls in New York and led by activist the Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

The second women congress was convened in 1850 by Lucy Stone. The two conferences merged in 1869 to form the National American Woman Suffrage with Susan B. Anthony as the leading force. Anthony proposed in 1878 amendments to the voting law (Suffrage movement) in the constitution in order to include women which is also called Anthony Amendment.

Wyoming state was the first American state to offer suffrage right to women. The movement accelerated because of the formation of the National American Woman Suffrage in 1890, and electing Carrie Chapman Catt as the leader in 1900.

The campaign attracted many women, intellectuals, and bourgeois to the cause. Political professionalism, increase of funding and protests in big cities assisted in acquiring more support. The campaign ended with the approval of 'the 19th amendment' and became an applicable law in 1920 which is considered a historical achievement for American women.

Between 1920 and 1960, revolt among women organizations became prevalent like 'League of Women Voters,' in 1920 and 'the National Council of African American women' in 1935. These organizations called for different types of liberal reformations related to rights of both sexes.
United Kingdom

Women in the United Kingdom started their political struggle in 1903. Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union(WSPU), a suffrage advocacy organization. Women from widely different age groups and social classes protested. Protesters were detained and the state banned them from gathering. They were thrown off of the stairs of the Houses of Parliament. The national divide ended with a truce concurring with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The Women Union decided to support the war.

In order to overcome the opposing stand of the British government to its goals, the Women Union encouraged thousands of women to protest and participate voluntarily in war industries and other services.
The suffrage right for women in England was granted in 1918, but only for women over 30. In 1928, women aged 21 were granted the right to vote.

New Zealand

New Zealand is the first country in the world which granted women the right to vote in 1893.
Russia

The Bolshevik Revolution played a significant role in promoting and consolidating women equality in 1917. The church's hegemony over marriage was cancelled and full equality of rights between women and men was acquired. Alexandra Kollontai was the first woman to be appointed as a minister in 1920.
Europe, Latin America, and Asia

Several European countries granted women the right to vote after the Second World War including France, Greece, Italy and Switzerland.

In Latin America, Ecuador was the first country to recognize women's political rights in 1929 and it was followed by Mexico in 1953.

In Asia, Mongolia was first country to grant women the right to vote in 1923.

In Japan and Korea, women were granted the right to vote in 1945.

Second Wave of Feminism

The rebel women's movement emerged in the 60s provoked by women studies like The Second Sex 1949 by Simone de Beauvoir and The Feminine Mysitque 1963 by Betty Friedan. The movement was influenced by post-modernism discourse and the general legislative atmosphere which was supportive of minority issues and stands against discrimination.

While the first wave of feminism address the legal aspect manifested in suffrage rights, the second wave focused on fighting discrimination against women in reality more than in legislations. Expressions like 'gender equality' and 'women empowerment' were widespread.

Feminist writer Betty Friedman founded the first feminist organizations, the National Organization for Women. The organization attracted most left feminist women groups. The organization expanded and turned into the 'Women Liberation Movement' and later on was called the feminist movement. The feminist activities in the United Nations brought forth feminist movements to Europe.

Radica, social, and liberal feminist movements were harshly confronted by the Christian conservative trend. Feminists had to unite under the radical feminist trend and they worked to achieve their goals by forming coalitions with human rights organizations. Simultaneously, the first international conference for women was held in Mexico in 1975.
The women rights movement led by the National Organization for Women lobbied for amendments to equal rights law in the American institution.

Feminist activity in the 80s addressed different issues like reproductive rights, the right to abortion, sexual harassment and what is called 'glass ceiling' (the invisible barrier which prevents minority and women from being promoted in workplace).

United Nation

The United Nations Charter was adopted in 1945. It is considered the first international accord which addressed equal rights between sexes.

The International Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 asserted the principle of equality between humans.

The first international conference for women was held in Mexico in 1975, and the associations between United Nations institutions with feminist organizations, international interest in the issue of violence against women became pervasive.

At first, they addressed domestic violence to solve the issue of violence against women. Mexico's conference work plan showed the necessity of creating educational programs and finding new ways to resolve disputes in households.

An international treaty was adopted in 1979 called CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Following CEDAW, the United Nations organized many conferences, law, and legislations to address women rights and to fight discrimination. The last one was in March 2013. United Nation declaration confirmed on fighting all types of discrimination between the two sexes without invoking religion or traditions.

United Nations described the declaration as a historical declaration to stop violence against women.

Feminist movement in Lebanon and Syria

Feminists from urban and bourgeois background along with literary figures and intellectuals used to organize in literary salons at the beginning of the 20th century.

For instance, journalists like the Lebanese May Ziade who published her first novel in 1909. She used to organize a literary meeting every Wednesday in her house. Cultured, literary figures and intellectuals would attend the meeting with the Damascene journalist Mary al-Ajami. Ajami founded 'The Bride', the first women magazine in 1910 and the Pioneer Literary Association in 1922.

Syrian women were influential in the protests against the French colonisation. They organized big demonstrations in which thousands participated against the French shelling of Damascus in 1925. However, feminist movement activities were reduced after the national movement was exiled outside Syria. Activists isolated themselves and devoted themselves to education and their literary meetings which were elitist to a great extent.

Syrian women were granted suffrage rights after independence in 1948. At first, the right to vote was conditioned on women having completed their elementary education. In 1953, the condition of having an elementary degree was eliminated. In the same year, Syrian women were granted right to run for elections.
Feminist activism stopped during the political turmoil in Syria before the Baath Party coup d'état. The Baath party through a series of campaigns to dominate political and social aspects of Syrians' lives, had hegemony over any feminist activity happening in order to control it.
Honour crimes
Syria is one of the countries with the highest numbers of honour crimes following Yemen and Palestine according to a statement issued by the Syrian Interior Ministry in 2011.

Watan, the Syrian semi-official newspaper, provided statistics at the end of 2013 on incidence of honour killings in Syria for the years 2012-2013. According to the statistics, Aleppo is ranked first in honour crimes among Syrian governorates with 11 recognized crimes followed by Damascus governorate with 9 cases.

In Syria, every year in October a day of solidarity with honour crimes victims is celebrated.

The Syrian revolution retrieved freedom of expression again after it was banned for decades under Baath rule.

Syrian women embraced the opportunity for free expression and enriched the revolution. Syrian women were highly prominent actors in the alternative media which developed in and as a result of the revolution. The establishment of alternative media in Syria is considered one of the most significant achievements of the Syrian revolution.

Alternative media newspapers were founded following the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in March 2012.

New Syrian newspapers covered Syrian women causes and addressed women rights in a considerable number of articles and reports. We tracked the most prominent newspapers which address women issues. They are: Yasemin, al-Ghurbal, and Tl'ina al-Hurriye. They are general newspapers with regular circulations.

Revolutionary commitment to women issues

Newspapers displayed initial commitment to support women's rights and causes. We see this in the opening of the first issue of 'Saydet Suriya' (lady of Syria) magazine. 'Lady of Syria' magazine sought to build a media platform aiming to mobilize women and form a collective perspective for women. The magazine aimed to achieve a higher presence for women in the political and social scene.

The commitment to women's rights and issues is also evident in the slogan of Mazaya magazine issued from Kafranbel (city in Idlib). The slogan reads, 'I am not a burden; I am a support'. This slogan echoes in another article in the 16th issue of Tl'ina Al Hurriye newspaper; 'In Syria women are not separate from men ribs, they fall from the womb of the sky. All women of the earth smell like rain, but Syrian women smell like endless suffering and smell like belonging.'

Furthermore, we see this commitment in assigning the 26th issue of TL'ina Al Hurriye newspaper to celebrate women's day on the 8th of March.

Yasemin Syria, a magazine started as a project by female university students who participated in the revolutionary movement and mobilized in Aleppo University for many months. They were the pioneers as through the magazine they attempted to assert the presence of women in the political scene. Yasemin's editor in-chief, Hussein Biru, and Enab Baladi's managing editor Ammar Ziade said that half of the founders of the new newspapers were women and most of the editorial staff are women, and this made us very committed to women's causes.

Associating women cause to Islam

Mazaya magazine focused on women's place in Islam. In the opening of 3rd issue of Mazaya, 'Islam has given women all legal rights, right to ownership and enjoy what she owns. These are the most important things that Islam gave to women and in this, Islam has preceded other legislations. Sharia made men and women equal in ownership and contracts. Some jurisprudents legalized women access to the judiciary.'

Mazaya's editor in chief, Ghalia al-Rahal said, 'our objective is to shed light on women's roles and rights in our society which is predominated by religion. That's why, it is necessary to address women cause from an Islamic perspective in articles and issues of the magazine. These articles represent moderate religion and the objective is to support women cause.'

Supporting women cause in alternative media is risky

Although there is more freedom in areas under opposition control still these newspapers were banned and their staff were harassed several times.

Tl'ina Al Hurriye 49th issue was banned from being publishing in Douma because according to the barring party, 'of presence of adorned women.' Another issue of Enab Baladi was prohibited in Idlib on similar grounds.
Al-Ghurbal magazine discussed women issues and this focus was reason for ISIS to storm their office in Kafranbel and kidnap the managing editor Ahmad al-Saloom.

Rami Suyyed, the managing editor, explained that of all the armed factions only ISIS prohibited them from addressing women's issues. Ghalia al-Rahal, Mazaya newspaper's editor in chief, and Hussein Biru, Yasemin newspaper's editor in-chief, concur with Suyyed's comment about ISIS and other armed factions' approach to the media publishing about women's issues.

Where is the defect?

Why has the alternative media not succeeded in pushing essential actors in the field to commit to women's cause and issues although alternative media have focused on this issue? Why they have they been denied relative freedom in publishing and distributing on the ground?

Huseein Biru explains, 'it is because we face a social structure in which women are considered to be subjects no more and no less. Even Syrian political forces treat women as a decoration to make the Syrian landscape look nicer or to make donors satisfied. Thus, the road is long and it requires more coordination among media outlets and among feminist organizations to establish an approach which is more effective and more feasible.'

Ammar Ziadeh of Enab Baladi offers another interpretation of the situation. He says, 'the failure for more commitment to women cause is a common failure in the revolution generally because women's cause was part of it. The complex military and political reality, and the fragmentation of the opposition had effect on the media approach towards women cause. It limited media's capacity to act.'

Rami Suyyed considers the problem lies in lack of dispersion and the incapability of media to reach all areas in Syria. He adds, 'extremists controlling areas commit violations against women's freedom in speeches delivered in mosques and in educational institutions. They use force to impose living styles on women and on society. We have to continue working in order to create a ground which will receive new ideas. We cannot reach Syria without dealing with women cause as a general social cause.' Ammar Ziadeh seconds Rami regarding this.

Syrian Women awarded International Prizes

Majd Sharbaji: a courageous woman

Activist Majd Sharbaji was awarded an International Women of Courage Award from the American Government on the 7th of March 2015. She was awarded alongside 9 other women for their efforts in advocating for women rights and advocating causes related to their countries. Majd was handed the award by the Deputy Secretary of the Department of State, Higin Butom, on behalf of Michel Obama, the American President's wife.

Majd was born in Daraya in 1981. She is a founder of Enab Baladi Newspapers, and a member in its General Board. She participated in civil activism in the Syrian Revolution since its outbreak in March 2011. She was detained in late January 2013 and was released after 7 months.

Majd continued to work in the field of women empowerment after her release and she started the 'Women Now' centre in Lebanon in January 2014. Afterwards, she became a representative of the organization 'Women for Development' which opened 5 centres in Syria and neighbouring countries. She is the director of public relations in the organization.

Kholoud Waleed: Searcher for Truth

Syrian journalist Kholoud Waleed was awarded 'Anna Politkovskaya' yearly award from 'RAW in WAR' organization on 7th of October 2015. She was awarded as a tribute for her hard work in conveying the truth of what is happening in Syria. She is also one of the founders of Enab Baladi Newspaper.

The prize is so named as a tribute to the Russian journalist 'Anna Politkovskaya' who is known for her opposition of President Vladimir Butin and the Chechen war.

She was assassinated on the 7th of October 2007. Her assassinator is still free at this time as is Bashar al-Assad who has been assassinating the Syrian people for the past 5 years using all types of brutalities in a bid to oppress the Syrian people who have always had the ambitious of change and freedom. Kholoud said she will be handed the award in March 2016 from the organization's headquarters in London.

Kholoud, who is 31 years old, was born in Daraya (south of Damascus). She is one of the founders of Enab Baladi and a member of its editorial board. She still works as an editor in Enab Baladi. She has a master degree in simultaneous translation from Damascus University in 2010.

Suhair Atasi and Oula Ramadan: No Peace without Justice

The international organization 'No Peace without Justice' which is based in Rome granted its awards to activists Suhair Atasi and Oula Ramadan as a recognition for their efforts in advocating for human rights, and civil and political freedoms.

The two activists were handed the award in an official ceremony in the Italian capital Rome on the 5th of March 2014. In attendance was the Vice President for the Italian Senate, and the former Ministers for Justice and for Foreign Affairs.

Suhair along with other activists founded the General Board of the Syrian Revolution when protests started against Assad regime. She was detained by the regime security apparatus. Oula Ramadan works as an activist in human rights and is a member in the Committee of Syrian Women Initiative for peace and democracy.

Suhair Atasi was director of the coordination unit related to the Syrian National Coalition before she resigned in 2015.

Razan Zaitouneh: a tribute while absent

Razan Zaitouneh, lawyer and civil society activist, was kidnapped from her work headquarters in Eastern Ghouta on 9th of December 2013 along with her colleagues in the violation documentation centre.

Razan could not receive any of the awards she was awarded because of danger of moving out from her work place while in Syria. She received the 5th prize while she is held by an anonymous group in Syria. Her abduction still looms on peaceful work in Syria.

On 8th of October 2011, Razan was awarded the Anna Politkovkaya Award for opposing a regime which accused her of being a spy for the West. The regime accused her on basis of articles she wrote and published on the internet about regime enacted violence against protesters demanding democracy. The awarding committee issued a statement saying that Razan's determination and decisiveness led the Syrian regime to arrest and torture her and her family.

On 27 October 2011, Razan was awarded the 2011 Sakharov Prize, a prize awarded by the European Parliament to honour individuals who dedicate their lives to the defense of human rights and the freedom of thought.

She was awarded alongside the Syrian cartoonist Ali Farzat, the Egyptian Usama Mahfuz, the Tunisian Muhammed Bu Azizi, and Libyan Ahmad al-Sanusi. They were awarded to honour their dedication to the defence of human rights in their countries and their influence on civil society emergence in the region.

In 2012, Razan was awarded by the Ibn Rushd Fund in Berlin. The prize was given that year to activists of 'Arab Spring'.

In June 2014, Vital Voices Organization recognised Razan with another award although she remains kidnapped since late 2013.

Razan was born in Damascus in 1977. She graduated from law school in 1999. She started training in the office of the Syrian lawyer and opposition figure, Haitham al-Malih. She is a member of the team of lawyers for defence of political prisoners. She is a founder and member of the Human Rights Association in Syria (HRAS).

She worked in the association until 2004. In 2005, she founded the Syrian Human Rights Information Link in Syria to function as a database to record human rights violations in Syria. In addition to that, Razan is an active member of the Committee to Support Families of Political Prisoners in Syria.

Early in 2011, she participated in founding Local Coordination Committees and Violation Documentation Centre which transferred to the city of Douma (city in Eastern Ghouta) following the pressure from the Assad regime on her family.

Suad Nufal: Revolutionary against Both States

Acitivist Suad Nufal was awarded the Prize Homo Homini by the Czech human rights organization People in Need in 2014. She was awarded to honour her struggle against the Assad regime and ISIS. She protested against the regime since the outbreak of the revolution. She was not silent when ISIS began to commit violations in Raqqa against its population after they gained control over the city.

The People In Need award is given annually to persons who fought tyranny in peaceful ways to enhance human rights. Every year, a group of activists are nominated and organization's council conducts elections to choose the winner of the prize.

Suad Nufal is a teacher from the city of Raqqa. She is originally from Idlib governorate. She risked her life in protesting against the violations of Assad regime and ISIS.

Zeina Erhaim: A Journalist without Borders

Journalist Zeina Erhaim was awarded two international prizes in 2015 to honour her for her journalistic work and her courage in training staff in regime-free areas.

She was awarded the Peter Makler prize in Washington DC for courageous and ethical journalism. The award was given by Reporters without Borders and the France Press agency for her news coverage in Syria.

The prize organizers of the prize explained that they chose the Syrian journalist based on her behaviour, determination and her ability to focus on the human side of things in war especially in Syria which is one of the most difficult countries for journalists.

Zeina Erhaim, 30 years old, was born in Idlib. She has trained around 100 citizen journalist inside of Syria. One third of them are women. She trained them on the basics of written and visual journalism. She helped found independent newspapers and magazines in the Syrian north. She is a consultant and trainer in the Peace and War Report Institute. She trains media activists living in conflict torn countries and countries under transition to develop and refine their skills.

Samar Yazbek: Unshakable Insight

Syrian journalist and writer Samar Yazbek was awarded the Swedish Tucholsky Prize in 2012.

The awarding organization issued a statement explaining that Samar belongs to a group who placed the truth before their personal safety. She was awarded the prize for her reports on the Syrian Revolution. As well as her courageous texts which demonstrate the suffering of citizens in the middle of crisis in their defence of dignity.

In 2012, she was awarded the prestigious PEN/Pinter Prize 'International Writer of Courage'.
Samar Yazbek was born in Jableh (a city on Syrian coast) in 1970. She is a writer, novelist, journalist and activist who fights for women rights and freedom. She presented cultural and intellectual programs on Syrian TV Channel and Orient TV.

Literature House (publishing house) published several novels for Samar like Cinnamon, Salsal and She Has Mirrors. She opposed the Assad regime even though she is from the Alwaite sect to which al-Assad also belongs. She had to flee Syria a year after the start of the revolution.

Hanadi Zahlout: a revolutionary before the revolution

The United States Department of State awarded Hanadi Zahlout the Human Rights Defenders Award in 2012.

The award ceremony was held in the Department of State building in Washington DC. The Department of State Deputy Secretary, William Burns said 'Zahlout represents a strong symbol for the possible and necessary in Syria's future. So, while the regime and extremists work to tear Syria apart, Zahlout and her peers work to reform the social fabric and build a new democratic and tolerant Syria.'

Zahlout comes from Lattakia governorate. She became involved in the political opposition of the Assad regime in 2004 when she started writing stories with political content in opposition websites. Later on, she joined 'Syrian Women' Observatory along with Samar Yazbek and Rima Falihan. She was called for an investigation by the security apparatus in 2010 for publishing articles in al-Nidaa website which is subordinate to the Damascus Declaration.

Zahlout was arrested for the first time in August 2011 with 5 of her friends from a coffeehouse in Jaramana (south of Damascus) in the outskirts of Damascus. She was subsequently released after two months.

She was arrested for the second time in February 2012 by Air Force Intelligence during her presence in the Media and Free Expression Centre along other activists. She was released after three days. She subsequently fled Syria.

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Syrian Women: Political Presence and Media Appearance

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Syrian women have played a prominent role in Syria since the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution in March 2011. In particular, Syrian women's roles were most influential in the peaceful stage of the revolution. The Assad regime pushed vigorously for revolting Syrians to take up arms. It also facilitated the entrance of Jihadist groups specifically al-Nusra Front and Islamic State (ISIS) into the Syrian scene.

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There is incitement that is done by the [Palestinian] leadership and you see it in the Palestinian media. Other than that I don't see a source that is guiding the terrorism.

- Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, IDF Chief of Staff, February 9, 2015.

Executive Summary

The latest wave of Palestinian violence against Jews is something new, an insidious wave of seemingly un-orchestrated attacks, perpetrated by unlikely assailants, and generally untraceable to any particular organization. They were also characterized by brutality, viciousness and randomness, and the purposeful use of the knife, to drive home the intent of bringing a new and unrelenting wave of slaughter to the Jews; a message to all Israelis that neither they, nor their children, will ever be able to live in this land in peace.

As this document will show, the Palestinian president and those under his authority are indeed instructing young Palestinians what to do. Not sending them into battle as soldiers, but goading them into action through deliberate messaging, distortion and fabrication, sometimes stated openly by senior Palestinian officials, but mostly insidiously, aimed at keeping the conflict alive and portraying the Palestinians as the victims in a whitewash of terror.

There is a guiding hand in all this, the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian faction that leads it, Fatah. What is being witnessed today is the end-game of a strategy adopted by Fatah in 2009 and culminating in Mahmoud Abbas' speech to the UN General Assembly on September 30, 2015, when he announced that the Palestinians are no longer bound by the Oslo (peace) Accords.

A television broadcast that sends a youth on his/her mission of death is part of a carefully calibrated policy of incitement and cynicism, which has brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a new level, one that generates terror without fingerprints, but which adroitly serves Fatah's strategy of an endless war of attrition, by varying means, against Israel.

While the current wave of violence has succeeded in placing the Palestinian issue back on the international agenda to some degree, it has lost the Palestinians a valuable asset: the Israeli political center. Israelis have lost trust in the Palestinians and their leaders, even those Israelis who believe that Israel should relinquish the territories as part of a peace agreement between the sides.

No society can live in fear and with anarchy at its doorstep, where suspicion lurks at every turn.

And no society can live with and tolerate the hatred being spewed against them, via social media and other means, with calumnies and lies reminiscent of the dark days that led to even darker days in the not-too-distant past of the Jewish people.

Israel will learn and adapt to this new situation as it has done in the past. The question is whether the Palestinian leadership will do the same and come around to understanding that the monster they have created, a generation of children led to believe in the culture of death, is not in their own best interest.

Israel can control the damage, but only Fatah and the PA can end it, and it is they, the Palestinian leadership, who have to do so if the path to negotiation and conciliation is to be opened again, and this endless and senseless wave of violence extinguished.

* * *

Notes

- See more at: http://jcpa.org/the-knife-and-the-message-the-roots-of-the-new-palestinian-uprising/#sthash.YqmVOTDm.dpuf

The Knife and the Message:The Roots of the New Palestinian Uprising

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The Knife and the Message: The Roots of the New Palestinian Uprising | Israel Behind the News

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There is incitement that is done by the [Palestinian] leadership and you see it in the Palestinian media. Other than that I don't see a source that is guiding the terrorism. - Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot, IDF Chief of Staff, February 9, 2015.2 Executive Summary The latest wave of Palestinian violence against Jews is something ...

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was one of four Roman colonies for veterans in the Syria-Phoenicia region created by the Roman Empire

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was one of four Roman colonies for veterans in the Syria-Phoenicia region created by the Roman Empire

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A Jewish British Airman’s Awakening.  This is from Enzra magazine

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I remember the words of a Military Royal Air Force rabbi, to a dozen British Jewish servicemen on active service in Libya shortly after the successful El-Alamein campaign.

"If by any chance any of you are able to take leave in the near future, then request a travel voucher permitting you to go to Palestine. There you will be amazed to find a land being settled by Jews, and in particular, the creation of an all new city named Tel Aviv which is similar to Brighton on England's south coast. The Jewish people living there are very hospitable and reasonably happy, despite living under the regime of a British mandate. You will be very welcome, and you will discover a modern-day miracle, the beginnings of the creation of a new state by Jews, for the absorption of Jews from all over the world."

His words about Palestine remain clearly in my mind because I had no knowledge of the Jewish people or religion, having had little Jewish education in the UK. .

My unit, a small mobile unit carrying out repairs and salvage of distressed or crashed aircraft, was posted to Egypt. Shortly after, we were reposted to Palestine, and set off across Egypt from Alexandria to El Qantara and in darkness entered the Sinai desert. It was a rough, dangerous ride and I recall passing through the town of Gedera on the way to the gates of a large RAF station, Aqir, later IAF Tel Nof.

On the first off-duty with friends, I ventured to a café in Gedera and realized that everyone was Jewish. I am also Jewish, I said to myself. My upbringing had barely touched on my Judaism, so, in effect, I was starting a crash course on Judaism from scratch.

Jewish life had made no major impact on me up to then, and there I was, totally unexpectedly, being immersed day by day in the affairs of the Jews in Palestine. But of course I was also a part of the British Mandate force. That was uppermost in my mind most of the time, but receded gradually as I received hospitality from families who hosted Jewish and other military personnel.

This situation exposed me to the ongoing friction that was part and parcel of life then in Palestine.

I met members of the Palestine Police and the local population quite often for sporting activities. As time went on and friendships developed, my understanding of Judaism was developing. I also learned about the moshav and kibbutz movements. I realized that I was undergoing a kind of metamorphosis, for want of a better phrase, "dual loyalty".

My movements with my unit often involved travel to neighboring countries so I inevitably compared what I saw and heard there to conditions in Palestine.

There was always, I felt, underlying resentment from soldiers at the trouble the Jews and Arabs were causing, which resulted in the soldiers being kept far from their homes. There was also at the same time a kind of hidden envy that I could move so easily and freely among the local population. There was little understanding of the Jewish presence in Palestine or its connection to the Mandate and the war in Europe.

Tel Aviv was a great eye-opener and its cosmopolitan atmosphere was appealing to many soldiers on leave. We were provided with transport at weekends from Aqir to Tel Aviv and back again. I remember that after visiting friends in north Tel Aviv, I would have to hurry along the stretch of Ben Yehuda Street to Mograbi Square in order not to miss the last transport back to base.

Later, when I was stationed further North, I frequently visited Afula and Haifa, where I was surprised to see such a busy, thriving and prosperous port.

The Jews I encountered were always curious and wanted answers to questions about my life and upbringing and it was during such conversations that I realized increasingly how much I was missing and had indeed missed in my past - what it meant to be a Jew.

In 1945 I met Hannah, a Palestinian Jewish woman who had escaped with her parents from Germany in 1938 and lived in Tel Aviv.

We met as often as we could whenever I was off duty and could get to Tel Aviv. I made new Jewish friends through her family and friends.

As a technician, I would frequently have to leave my base and travel to other, often remote locations throughout the Levant, sometimes for only a few days but often longer. One such period in Aleppo was four months.

It was while I was in Aleppo that I realized how attached I had become to Hannah and to my newly discovered Jewishness. By the time I was able at last to see Hannah again, I had already learnt that I would be eligible for repatriation and demobilization to the UK in January 1946.

We decided that we would no longer be separated and that we would marry in Palestine, but the arrangements were far from simple since we were obliged to satisfy military regulations. The situation was made more difficult by the fact that I was detailed to move from my base at an air strip at Muqeibila, about halfway between Afula and Jenin, to Aleppo.

How was I going to meet Hannah and make all the arrangements for marriage and repatriation?

I knew that, in principle, the military preferred that British personnel did not marry or have liaisons with local civilians and when a serviceman informed his commanding officer of his intention to marry a local inhabitant, the information was sent to the chaplain responsible for his religion for review. If approved, then after marriage he could be recognized officially as a married soldier, but approval was in no way automatically granted.

While in Aleppo I received notification that I should return to my unit since I needed to travel to Tel Aviv to rendezvous with my prospective wife so that we could travel by train to Egypt and then to England by ship.

Arriving at my base, enquiries at the adjutant's office revealed that the communication requiring me to report to the Transport Office in Cairo to board a ship had not been forwarded until it was too late. My attempts to reach Tel Aviv involved hitchhiking southwards through Homs and Hama in Syria to Beirut, on to Haifa, Muqeibila and finally Tel Aviv. I was greatly excited to be reunited with Hannah and to be able to tell her that we were about to start our journey to the UK.

I had succeeded in delaying repatriation as a single man, and wedding arrangements had to be made quickly. My future parents-in-law arranged for the Vaad HaKehila in Tel Aviv to perform the ceremony. When I arrived in Tel Aviv, I was invited to Jerusalem with Hannah to meet the Jewish Military Chaplain, Rabbi Nathan, who was responsible for all religious matters for Jewish airmen in the Levant.

We learned during this visit that Hannah and the rabbi's wife had studied in the same school in Hamburg. Rabbi Nathan approved the marriage for military and religious purposes and accepted an invitation to perform the marriage ceremony in Tel Aviv.

What I didn't realize was that Hannah's father had already arranged with the Vaad HaKehila that they accept the marriage of a Jewish Englishman to a local Jewish woman and a representative was prepared to come to Hannah's parents' apartment, replete with a chuppah, to perform the ceremony on the same date at the same time!

The difficulties seemed insurmountable because I was in Aleppo; Hannah was in Tel Aviv, Rabbi Nathan in Jerusalem and my application for repatriation with my wife, my records and base in Muqueilia. There was also the matter of the civil ceremony to be performed at the office of the High Commissioner in Jaffa, as a Jewish wedding of a British citizen overseas would not be recognized in the UK. The British High Commissioner was licensed to perform such ceremonies.

The details were ironed out and on the same day as the civil ceremony in Jaffa, it was arranged that we would have the religious ceremony under a chuppah in Tel Aviv. The two ceremonies in the presence of Hannah's parents and friends took place on February 21, 1946. We received a British passport for Hannah and travel documents to enable us to travel to Egypt from Lydda by a train which crossed the Sinai desert only twice a week. At El Qantara station on the Suez Canal we were ordered off the train as Hannah was refused entry to Egypt because she didn't have a visa. We had not been forewarned. We were rescued by an anonymous British sergeant who took our passports promising help. After a short time and a flurry of activity he returned with our passports and the requisite documentation and told us to get on the train which was about to depart.

In Cairo the officer in charge of troop movements, said that he regretted that The Mauritania, the ship sailing to England, was unable to delay and when we didn't turn up had left.

Finally, in mid 1946, we sailed to England to introduce Hannah to my family after my absence of more than four years. That was where our first child was born. We left England once more in 1949 to return to the country that had become Israel, where I joined the IAF.

I was married to Hannah for 67 happy years.
Reggie Sutton served both in the Royal Air Force and later in the Israeli Air Force.

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I remember the words of a Military Royal Air Force rabbi, to a dozen British Jewish servicemen on active service in Libya shortly after the successful El-Alamein campaign. "If by any chance any of you are able to take leave in the near future, then request a travel voucher permitting you to go to Palestine.

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video of Syria and Jerusalem fighting each other.

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Israeli police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem holy site #israel #syria #jerusalem

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Israeli police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem holy site "This video is not intended to be shocking, it's a news video" Subcribe http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJNKZJFyq8Uw0iFAL9jaSOA?sub_confirmation=1 follow us TWITTER @newsdailyplanet Israeli police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem holy site Israeli policemen react in clashes with Palestinians on the ...

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picture of Syria Taliban.

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this is a nice picture of the sunset  in Jerusalem.

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a Palestinian town in the Tulkarm Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 9 kilometers east of Tulkarm. 

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a Palestinian town in the Tulkarm Governorate in the northern West Bank, located 9 kilometers east of Tulkarm. 

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A man is Jerusalem has ran into a bus stop full of people.

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Security video shows deadly attack in Jerusalem

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Police security camera video shows a Palestinian man ramming his car into a group of Israelis waiting at a bus stop in a Jewish neighborhood, and then attacking them with a cleaver. Rough Cut (no reporter narration). Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/reuterssubscribe More updates and breaking news: http://smarturl.it/BreakingNews Reuters tells the world's stories like no one else.

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This is the border of Israel a man is warning to leave before he shots

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Video: Scene of Gaza-Israel border shooting after IDF kills Palestinian

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One adult has been killed and at least 10 teenagers injured after Israeli soldiers opened fire at the Gaza-Israel border, Gaza medical authorities claimed. The incident happened east of the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

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s the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev," it is the eighth most populous city in Israel with a population of 201,086,

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s the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev," it is the eighth most populous city in Israel with a population of 201,086,

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Be'er Sheva, known as the Capital of the Negev, is home to 200,000 residents. Through it runs Nahal Be'er Sheva (Be'er Sheva River), a muddy trickle of water except on the few days a year when flash floods run down its banks. The city's image has mirrored the landscape.

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This a picture of one of the beautiful places in Israel.

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is the city in the northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain

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is the city in the northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain

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The municipal flag of Jerusalem is based on the flag of Israel. It features two horizontal blue stripes reminiscent of the tallit (the Jewish prayer shawl).

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Some western governments claim that, as a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War, there are two governments claiming to be the de jure government of Syria, using different flags to represent the state.

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the sixth-largest city in Israel, located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast where it is situa

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the sixth-largest city in Israel, located in the Southern District of the country, on the Mediterranean coast where it is situa

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 the northernmost coastal city in Israel, with an estimated population of 53,900.

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 the northernmost coastal city in Israel, with an estimated population of 53,900.

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This is a picture of the isreal flag. The flag of Israel was adopted on October 28, 1948, five months after the establishment of the State of Israel. It depicts a blue hexagram on a white background, between two horizontal blue stripes.

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Safed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of 900 metres, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.

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Safed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of 900 metres, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.

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Safed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of 900 metres, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.

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Safed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of 900 metres, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel.

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