# data[].attributes.body
Still light on bibliography of pads in text and Titles

# data[].attributes.body
Arab news 11/6/15

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Palestinian citizens of Israel cannot enter Arab countries. This is how they are rewarded for holding on to their land and tolerating decades of Israeli oppression. It is prohibited to sell their products in Arab markets, while Jewish Israelis can visit Arab countries if they carry other passports.
Israel prohibits Palestinians in the occupied territories from leaving the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while most Arab governments prohibit them from entering their countries unless they carry Egyptian or Jordanian passports.
Most Arab governments prohibit their citizens from visiting Palestinians in the occupied territories to support their tourism or benefit from their services. A Saudi football team recently refused to play a football match in the West Bank because it is considered as dealing with Israel and recognizing the latter's authority.
Arab League
This strange and shocking treatment of Palestinians actually has legal justifications. Arab League decisions oblige member governments not to deal with Israel or with anything it controls. Over the course of 60 years, this has harmed the Palestinians and their cause, and completely failed to harm Israel or its occupation. It has harmed the Palestinians as much as Israel has harmed them, sometimes more so.
Arab decisions have impoverished and besieged the Palestinians in their occupied lands, and in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where they live on the little support provided to them by international organizations. Palestinian citizens of Israel have better living conditions, but the decades-old Arab boycott of them has isolated them.
If I had not known who worked at the Arab League when all these decisions regarding Palestinians were taken, I would have thought it was run on the basis of a conspiracy by Tel Aviv. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The League's boycott has facilitated the occupation's task of prohibiting dealing with Palestinians. More Jews than Arabs have visited Jerusalem and its mosques and churches, as Arab governments prohibit their citizens from visiting them.
Palestinians no longer have any hope in a political or military solution. Time and Arabs' attitudes toward the Palestinian cause have proven that it is merely a soccer ball they play to serve their own interests.
It is prohibited to buy from the Palestinians, to sell to them, to visit them, to host them, to pray in their mosques or to play football with them. The Arab League must be blind and deaf not to distinguish between the victim and the executioner, between the occupier and the occupied. It is time to reconsider the concept and policy on how to deal with Palestine and Israel.
This political absurdity established by naive Arab politicians - who half a century ago thought the Israelis would pack their bags and return to New York, Saint Petersburg and London - must end. Millions of Palestinians pay the price every day as they continue to be besieged by both Arabs and Israelis.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
hajj،عرب نيوز

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Palestinian citizens of Israel cannot enter Arab countries. This is how they are rewarded for holding on to their land and tolerating decades of Israeli oppression.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Netanyahu passes controversial gas deal, says move is 'essential' for Israel's security; 7 women claim interior minister sexually harassed them

Related Topics

Bar Refaeli named as supermodel being investigated for tax fraud

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is named as the celebrity who is being investigated for potential tax offenses.

Refaeli, whose name was initially kept under wraps by a gag order, reportedly spent 12 hours being questioned at the Tax Authority offices in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, during which time the entrance to the floor she was on was blocked to the general public.

Putin backs joint fight against terror

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia doesn't see a new anti-terror coalition led by Saudi Arabia as hostile to its interests, but he called for pooling global efforts to fight against terrorism.

Speaking at a news conference, Putin said that he doesn't quite understand the purpose of creating the new coalition, because many of its members are part of the US-led coalition.

At the same time, he adds that Russia has cooperated with Saudi Arabia despite their differences on the Syrian crisis.
- AP

Austrian Nobel's doctorate revoked for Nazi past

Austria's prestigious Salzburg University posthumously revokes the honorary doctorate of Nobel-winning ethnologist and zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989) because of his Nazi past.

The university cites the Austrian's 1938 application to join the Nazi party in which he says that he had "of course always been a National Socialist as a scientist" and that "my life's work... has been in the service of National Socialist thinking."

Lorenz won the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1973 together with German Karl von Frisch and the British Nikolaas Tinbergen. Salzburg's honorary doctorate came in 1983 but his Nazi past was kept quiet at the time, the university says.

He became well known for his research into the process of imprinting in birds, whereby chicks bond with the first moving thing they see after leaving the nest - even, as he showed, goslings with Lorenz himself.

Salzburg University, which last year began looking into the past awarding of degrees, also strips German jurist and former SS member Wolfgang Hefermehl (1906-2001) of his honorary doctorate.
- AFP

Iran registers candidates for powerful clerical body

Iran begins registering candidates for an influential clerical body that has the power to choose or dismiss the country's supreme leader.

Elections for the 88-seat Experts Assembly will be held simultaneously with parliamentary elections on February 26, with both open to all eligible voters.

The assembly monitors Iran's supreme leader and picks a successor after his death, making it potentially one of the most powerful institutions in Iran, although it does not involve itself in daily affairs of state.

Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said this week that an assembly committee has already begun compiling a list of potential candidates to succeed current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, breaking a taboo on speaking openly about the top leader's successor.
- AP

Putin calls Trump an 'outstanding, talented' man

Russian President Vladimir Putin describes US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a talented and outstanding man, welcoming his stance on Russia.

"He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented," Putin tells journalists after his annual press conference in Moscow.

"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race," Putin adds.

Putin says Russia is ready to work with the United States no matter who is elected president next year. "We are ready to work with any president chosen by the American people."
- AFP

Meretz files petition over PM gas deal signing

The Meretz party files a petition with the High Court against Netanyahu over his use of Clause 52 of the Restrictive Trade Practices (antitrust) Law to pass a controversial deal which paves the way for a consortium of Noble Energy and the Delek Group to begin work on extracting gas from the massive Leviathan gas field off Israel's coast.

"One can argue about the deal itself, the environmental and economic implications and the protections it guarantees or does not guarantee the public in face of the huge monopoly of [Yitzhak] Tshuva [the owner of Delek Group], and Noble Energy," a post on the party's Facebook page reads. "But you cannot argue about the bizarre and despicable behavior, anti-democratic and doubtfully legal actions of the prime minister, who promoted this deal as if he were possessed."

During a ceremony at the Ne'ot Hovav industrial zone near Beersheba, Netanyahu called the gas "a gift from God" and said the deal would pave the way to energy independence.

"Unfortunately, this issue has become a political and populist discussion," he said. "This plan is vital to our security, because we don't want to be left with one power plant that's under fire; we need multiple gas fields."

13-year-old critically injured in stabbing celebrates bar mitzvah

Naor Ben-Ezra, who was critically injured when two Palestinian teenagers stabbed him as he rode his bike in Jerusalem's Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in October, celebrates his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.

The celebration is attended by members of the medical team who treated him at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital's pediatric wing.

Naor tells Ynet that he had been "preparing for this moment for a long time," and that "from a health perspective, I feel 90-95 percent [healthy]."

Jose Mourinho leaves Chelsea for 2nd time

Only seven months after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is leaves the club, which is languishing only one point above the relegation zone.

Chelsea says "both Jose and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways."

Chelsea has lost nine of its 16 league games, with Mourinho's last match a 2-1 loss to Leicester on Monday. After easing to the league title in May, Mourinho was awarded a new four-year contract.

First hired by Chelsea in 2004, Mourinho won the league twice before a fallout led to his firing three years later. He was brought back in 2013 by owner Roman Abramovich.

Earlier this year, Mourinho said none of his players were concerned about coming to Israel for a European Champions League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, despite British Home Office warnings about a surge in Palestinian terror attacks. Everybody "just wanted to come" and nobody had any fears, Mourinho told a pre-match press conference at the time.

"I had even a player who maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow, his wife is having a baby. And he's here to play, because he knows how important it is for us."
- AP and Times of Israel staff

US lawmakers slam European call to label West Bank products

A group of US congresspeople introduced a resolution expressing opposition to European Commission guidelines which call for labeling imported Israeli products made in the West Bank.

"New European Commission guidelines to single out Israeli products manufactured in the West Bank and other areas only encourage and prompt consumers to boycott all Israeli goods," reads the resolution by Nita Lowey (D-NY), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Ed Royce (R-CA).

"This is counterproductive to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, harmful to US national security interests, and contributes to the deeply misguided anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement."

"Boycotts chip away at economic integration, which negatively affects Israelis and Palestinians alike. The establishment of the European Economic Community was predicated on the notion that peace and security are achieved through trade, economic cooperation, and job creation - not boycotts and isolation. The same is true for Israelis and Palestinians."

Ben Carson cancels trip to Israel

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson cancels a trip to Israel and 3 African countries scheduled for the end of this month, a spokesman tells reporters.

"The trip has been canceled due to significant security concerns," spokesman Doug Watts says.

Carson was scheduled to depart for Israel on December 27, and from there to travel to Kenya, Zambia and Nigeria.

IDF investigating rocket alert sirens in south

The army is investigating the rocket alert sirens heard in southern Israel, an IDF spokeswoman tells The Times of Israel.

Hezbollah slams Saudi-led anti-terror alliance

Lebanon's Hezbollah denounces the new Saudi-led "Islamic military alliance" and the Lebanese prime minister's decision to join the coalition.

The Shiite terrorist group says the coalition was a "US project," and accused Saudi Arabia of supporting "terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen." Hezbollah also says the kingdom is "responsible for spreading extreme terrorist ideology all over the world."

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced the 34-member coalition, saying it will have a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam welcomed the Saudi move and said it is only "natural" for Lebanon to be part of such an alliance against terror.

Hezbollah says Salam's remarks "represent his personal opinion."
- AP

US poised to lift sanctions on Iran under nuclear deal

The US appears poised to lift at least some sanctions against Iran - possibly as early as January.

Secretary of State John Kerry says in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the agreement in what Kerry calls a "transparent" and "verifiable" way, and that "suspension of sanctions ... is appropriate."

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.

The letter also says Iran hasn't engaged in covert activities that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program.

The committee's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, says at a hearing that it appears that sanctions relief could start as early as January, not in the spring as first expected.
- AP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Israel and Turkey outline plan to renormalize diplomatic ties

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Netanyahu passes controversial gas deal, says move is 'essential' for Israel's security; 7 women claim interior minister sexually harassed them Related Topics Bar Refaeli named as supermodel being investigated for tax fraud Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is named as the celebrity who is being investigated for potential tax offenses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Netanyahu passes controversial gas deal, says move is 'essential' for Israel's security; 7 women claim interior minister sexually harassed them

Related Topics

Bar Refaeli named as supermodel being investigated for tax fraud

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is named as the celebrity who is being investigated for potential tax offenses.

Refaeli, whose name was initially kept under wraps by a gag order, reportedly spent 12 hours being questioned at the Tax Authority offices in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, during which time the entrance to the floor she was on was blocked to the general public.

Putin backs joint fight against terror

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia doesn't see a new anti-terror coalition led by Saudi Arabia as hostile to its interests, but he called for pooling global efforts to fight against terrorism.

Speaking at a news conference, Putin said that he doesn't quite understand the purpose of creating the new coalition, because many of its members are part of the US-led coalition.

At the same time, he adds that Russia has cooperated with Saudi Arabia despite their differences on the Syrian crisis.
- AP

Austrian Nobel's doctorate revoked for Nazi past

Austria's prestigious Salzburg University posthumously revokes the honorary doctorate of Nobel-winning ethnologist and zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989) because of his Nazi past.

The university cites the Austrian's 1938 application to join the Nazi party in which he says that he had "of course always been a National Socialist as a scientist" and that "my life's work... has been in the service of National Socialist thinking."

Lorenz won the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1973 together with German Karl von Frisch and the British Nikolaas Tinbergen. Salzburg's honorary doctorate came in 1983 but his Nazi past was kept quiet at the time, the university says.

He became well known for his research into the process of imprinting in birds, whereby chicks bond with the first moving thing they see after leaving the nest - even, as he showed, goslings with Lorenz himself.

Salzburg University, which last year began looking into the past awarding of degrees, also strips German jurist and former SS member Wolfgang Hefermehl (1906-2001) of his honorary doctorate.
- AFP

Iran registers candidates for powerful clerical body

Iran begins registering candidates for an influential clerical body that has the power to choose or dismiss the country's supreme leader.

Elections for the 88-seat Experts Assembly will be held simultaneously with parliamentary elections on February 26, with both open to all eligible voters.

The assembly monitors Iran's supreme leader and picks a successor after his death, making it potentially one of the most powerful institutions in Iran, although it does not involve itself in daily affairs of state.

Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said this week that an assembly committee has already begun compiling a list of potential candidates to succeed current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, breaking a taboo on speaking openly about the top leader's successor.
- AP

Putin calls Trump an 'outstanding, talented' man

Russian President Vladimir Putin describes US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a talented and outstanding man, welcoming his stance on Russia.

"He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented," Putin tells journalists after his annual press conference in Moscow.

"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race," Putin adds.

Putin says Russia is ready to work with the United States no matter who is elected president next year. "We are ready to work with any president chosen by the American people."
- AFP

Meretz files petition over PM gas deal signing

The Meretz party files a petition with the High Court against Netanyahu over his use of Clause 52 of the Restrictive Trade Practices (antitrust) Law to pass a controversial deal which paves the way for a consortium of Noble Energy and the Delek Group to begin work on extracting gas from the massive Leviathan gas field off Israel's coast.

"One can argue about the deal itself, the environmental and economic implications and the protections it guarantees or does not guarantee the public in face of the huge monopoly of [Yitzhak] Tshuva [the owner of Delek Group], and Noble Energy," a post on the party's Facebook page reads. "But you cannot argue about the bizarre and despicable behavior, anti-democratic and doubtfully legal actions of the prime minister, who promoted this deal as if he were possessed."

During a ceremony at the Ne'ot Hovav industrial zone near Beersheba, Netanyahu called the gas "a gift from God" and said the deal would pave the way to energy independence.

"Unfortunately, this issue has become a political and populist discussion," he said. "This plan is vital to our security, because we don't want to be left with one power plant that's under fire; we need multiple gas fields."

13-year-old critically injured in stabbing celebrates bar mitzvah

Naor Ben-Ezra, who was critically injured when two Palestinian teenagers stabbed him as he rode his bike in Jerusalem's Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in October, celebrates his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.

The celebration is attended by members of the medical team who treated him at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital's pediatric wing.

Naor tells Ynet that he had been "preparing for this moment for a long time," and that "from a health perspective, I feel 90-95 percent [healthy]."

Jose Mourinho leaves Chelsea for 2nd time

Only seven months after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is leaves the club, which is languishing only one point above the relegation zone.

Chelsea says "both Jose and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways."

Chelsea has lost nine of its 16 league games, with Mourinho's last match a 2-1 loss to Leicester on Monday. After easing to the league title in May, Mourinho was awarded a new four-year contract.

First hired by Chelsea in 2004, Mourinho won the league twice before a fallout led to his firing three years later. He was brought back in 2013 by owner Roman Abramovich.

Earlier this year, Mourinho said none of his players were concerned about coming to Israel for a European Champions League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, despite British Home Office warnings about a surge in Palestinian terror attacks. Everybody "just wanted to come" and nobody had any fears, Mourinho told a pre-match press conference at the time.

"I had even a player who maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow, his wife is having a baby. And he's here to play, because he knows how important it is for us."
- AP and Times of Israel staff

US lawmakers slam European call to label West Bank products

A group of US congresspeople introduced a resolution expressing opposition to European Commission guidelines which call for labeling imported Israeli products made in the West Bank.

"New European Commission guidelines to single out Israeli products manufactured in the West Bank and other areas only encourage and prompt consumers to boycott all Israeli goods," reads the resolution by Nita Lowey (D-NY), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Ed Royce (R-CA).

"This is counterproductive to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, harmful to US national security interests, and contributes to the deeply misguided anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement."

"Boycotts chip away at economic integration, which negatively affects Israelis and Palestinians alike. The establishment of the European Economic Community was predicated on the notion that peace and security are achieved through trade, economic cooperation, and job creation - not boycotts and isolation. The same is true for Israelis and Palestinians."

Ben Carson cancels trip to Israel

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson cancels a trip to Israel and 3 African countries scheduled for the end of this month, a spokesman tells reporters.

"The trip has been canceled due to significant security concerns," spokesman Doug Watts says.

Carson was scheduled to depart for Israel on December 27, and from there to travel to Kenya, Zambia and Nigeria.

IDF investigating rocket alert sirens in south

The army is investigating the rocket alert sirens heard in southern Israel, an IDF spokeswoman tells The Times of Israel.

Hezbollah slams Saudi-led anti-terror alliance

Lebanon's Hezbollah denounces the new Saudi-led "Islamic military alliance" and the Lebanese prime minister's decision to join the coalition.

The Shiite terrorist group says the coalition was a "US project," and accused Saudi Arabia of supporting "terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen." Hezbollah also says the kingdom is "responsible for spreading extreme terrorist ideology all over the world."

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced the 34-member coalition, saying it will have a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam welcomed the Saudi move and said it is only "natural" for Lebanon to be part of such an alliance against terror.

Hezbollah says Salam's remarks "represent his personal opinion."
- AP

US poised to lift sanctions on Iran under nuclear deal

The US appears poised to lift at least some sanctions against Iran - possibly as early as January.

Secretary of State John Kerry says in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the agreement in what Kerry calls a "transparent" and "verifiable" way, and that "suspension of sanctions ... is appropriate."

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.

The letter also says Iran hasn't engaged in covert activities that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program.

The committee's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, says at a hearing that it appears that sanctions relief could start as early as January, not in the spring as first expected.
- AP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Israel and Turkey outline plan to renormalize diplomatic ties

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Netanyahu passes controversial gas deal, says move is 'essential' for Israel's security; 7 women claim interior minister sexually harassed them Related Topics Bar Refaeli named as supermodel being investigated for tax fraud Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is named as the celebrity who is being investigated for potential tax offenses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Netanyahu passes controversial gas deal, says move is 'essential' for Israel's security; 7 women claim interior minister sexually harassed them

Related Topics

Bar Refaeli named as supermodel being investigated for tax fraud

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is named as the celebrity who is being investigated for potential tax offenses.

Refaeli, whose name was initially kept under wraps by a gag order, reportedly spent 12 hours being questioned at the Tax Authority offices in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, during which time the entrance to the floor she was on was blocked to the general public.

Putin backs joint fight against terror

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia doesn't see a new anti-terror coalition led by Saudi Arabia as hostile to its interests, but he called for pooling global efforts to fight against terrorism.

Speaking at a news conference, Putin said that he doesn't quite understand the purpose of creating the new coalition, because many of its members are part of the US-led coalition.

At the same time, he adds that Russia has cooperated with Saudi Arabia despite their differences on the Syrian crisis.
- AP

Austrian Nobel's doctorate revoked for Nazi past

Austria's prestigious Salzburg University posthumously revokes the honorary doctorate of Nobel-winning ethnologist and zoologist Konrad Lorenz (1903-1989) because of his Nazi past.

The university cites the Austrian's 1938 application to join the Nazi party in which he says that he had "of course always been a National Socialist as a scientist" and that "my life's work... has been in the service of National Socialist thinking."

Lorenz won the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1973 together with German Karl von Frisch and the British Nikolaas Tinbergen. Salzburg's honorary doctorate came in 1983 but his Nazi past was kept quiet at the time, the university says.

He became well known for his research into the process of imprinting in birds, whereby chicks bond with the first moving thing they see after leaving the nest - even, as he showed, goslings with Lorenz himself.

Salzburg University, which last year began looking into the past awarding of degrees, also strips German jurist and former SS member Wolfgang Hefermehl (1906-2001) of his honorary doctorate.
- AFP

Iran registers candidates for powerful clerical body

Iran begins registering candidates for an influential clerical body that has the power to choose or dismiss the country's supreme leader.

Elections for the 88-seat Experts Assembly will be held simultaneously with parliamentary elections on February 26, with both open to all eligible voters.

The assembly monitors Iran's supreme leader and picks a successor after his death, making it potentially one of the most powerful institutions in Iran, although it does not involve itself in daily affairs of state.

Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said this week that an assembly committee has already begun compiling a list of potential candidates to succeed current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, breaking a taboo on speaking openly about the top leader's successor.
- AP

Putin calls Trump an 'outstanding, talented' man

Russian President Vladimir Putin describes US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump as a talented and outstanding man, welcoming his stance on Russia.

"He is a very outstanding man, unquestionably talented," Putin tells journalists after his annual press conference in Moscow.

"It's not up to us to judge his virtue, that is up to US voters, but he is the absolute leader of the presidential race," Putin adds.

Putin says Russia is ready to work with the United States no matter who is elected president next year. "We are ready to work with any president chosen by the American people."
- AFP

Meretz files petition over PM gas deal signing

The Meretz party files a petition with the High Court against Netanyahu over his use of Clause 52 of the Restrictive Trade Practices (antitrust) Law to pass a controversial deal which paves the way for a consortium of Noble Energy and the Delek Group to begin work on extracting gas from the massive Leviathan gas field off Israel's coast.

"One can argue about the deal itself, the environmental and economic implications and the protections it guarantees or does not guarantee the public in face of the huge monopoly of [Yitzhak] Tshuva [the owner of Delek Group], and Noble Energy," a post on the party's Facebook page reads. "But you cannot argue about the bizarre and despicable behavior, anti-democratic and doubtfully legal actions of the prime minister, who promoted this deal as if he were possessed."

During a ceremony at the Ne'ot Hovav industrial zone near Beersheba, Netanyahu called the gas "a gift from God" and said the deal would pave the way to energy independence.

"Unfortunately, this issue has become a political and populist discussion," he said. "This plan is vital to our security, because we don't want to be left with one power plant that's under fire; we need multiple gas fields."

13-year-old critically injured in stabbing celebrates bar mitzvah

Naor Ben-Ezra, who was critically injured when two Palestinian teenagers stabbed him as he rode his bike in Jerusalem's Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in October, celebrates his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall.

The celebration is attended by members of the medical team who treated him at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital's pediatric wing.

Naor tells Ynet that he had been "preparing for this moment for a long time," and that "from a health perspective, I feel 90-95 percent [healthy]."

Jose Mourinho leaves Chelsea for 2nd time

Only seven months after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is leaves the club, which is languishing only one point above the relegation zone.

Chelsea says "both Jose and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways."

Chelsea has lost nine of its 16 league games, with Mourinho's last match a 2-1 loss to Leicester on Monday. After easing to the league title in May, Mourinho was awarded a new four-year contract.

First hired by Chelsea in 2004, Mourinho won the league twice before a fallout led to his firing three years later. He was brought back in 2013 by owner Roman Abramovich.

Earlier this year, Mourinho said none of his players were concerned about coming to Israel for a European Champions League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv, despite British Home Office warnings about a surge in Palestinian terror attacks. Everybody "just wanted to come" and nobody had any fears, Mourinho told a pre-match press conference at the time.

"I had even a player who maybe tomorrow or after tomorrow, his wife is having a baby. And he's here to play, because he knows how important it is for us."
- AP and Times of Israel staff

US lawmakers slam European call to label West Bank products

A group of US congresspeople introduced a resolution expressing opposition to European Commission guidelines which call for labeling imported Israeli products made in the West Bank.

"New European Commission guidelines to single out Israeli products manufactured in the West Bank and other areas only encourage and prompt consumers to boycott all Israeli goods," reads the resolution by Nita Lowey (D-NY), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Ed Royce (R-CA).

"This is counterproductive to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, harmful to US national security interests, and contributes to the deeply misguided anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement."

"Boycotts chip away at economic integration, which negatively affects Israelis and Palestinians alike. The establishment of the European Economic Community was predicated on the notion that peace and security are achieved through trade, economic cooperation, and job creation - not boycotts and isolation. The same is true for Israelis and Palestinians."

Ben Carson cancels trip to Israel

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson cancels a trip to Israel and 3 African countries scheduled for the end of this month, a spokesman tells reporters.

"The trip has been canceled due to significant security concerns," spokesman Doug Watts says.

Carson was scheduled to depart for Israel on December 27, and from there to travel to Kenya, Zambia and Nigeria.

IDF investigating rocket alert sirens in south

The army is investigating the rocket alert sirens heard in southern Israel, an IDF spokeswoman tells The Times of Israel.

Hezbollah slams Saudi-led anti-terror alliance

Lebanon's Hezbollah denounces the new Saudi-led "Islamic military alliance" and the Lebanese prime minister's decision to join the coalition.

The Shiite terrorist group says the coalition was a "US project," and accused Saudi Arabia of supporting "terrorist groups in Syria, Iraq and Yemen." Hezbollah also says the kingdom is "responsible for spreading extreme terrorist ideology all over the world."

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia announced the 34-member coalition, saying it will have a joint operations center based in the kingdom's capital, Riyadh.

Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam welcomed the Saudi move and said it is only "natural" for Lebanon to be part of such an alliance against terror.

Hezbollah says Salam's remarks "represent his personal opinion."
- AP

US poised to lift sanctions on Iran under nuclear deal

The US appears poised to lift at least some sanctions against Iran - possibly as early as January.

Secretary of State John Kerry says in a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Iran is fulfilling its obligations under the agreement in what Kerry calls a "transparent" and "verifiable" way, and that "suspension of sanctions ... is appropriate."

The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter.

The letter also says Iran hasn't engaged in covert activities that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program.

The committee's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, says at a hearing that it appears that sanctions relief could start as early as January, not in the spring as first expected.
- AP

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Israel and Turkey outline plan to renormalize diplomatic ties

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Netanyahu passes controversial gas deal, says move is 'essential' for Israel's security; 7 women claim interior minister sexually harassed them Related Topics Bar Refaeli named as supermodel being investigated for tax fraud Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli is named as the celebrity who is being investigated for potential tax offenses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
West Bank Israel Videos at ABC News Video Archive at abcnews.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Browse, search and watch West Bank Israel videos and more at abcnews.com

# data[].attributes.headline
HAMAS LEADER: PEACE PROCESS IS FUTILE. THERE IS ONLY JIHAD, SACRIFICE, AND BLOOD.

# data[].attributes.subject
HAMAS LEADER: PEACE PROCESS IS FUTILE. THERE IS ONLY JIHAD, SACRIFICE, AND BLOOD.

# data[].attributes.body
Tablet Magazine 12/16/15 Jewish perspective article

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Martyrs, said Khaled Meshal, 'are the most exalted and the noblest of people'

Thou Shalt Read

Khaled Meshal believes that neither negotiations with Israel nor working with the UN can lift the Palestinians from their situation-that "2,000 verbal "rockets" do not compare to a single rocket made of iron." This was the message of from Meshal, who lives in exile in Qatar, to the Palestinian youth in the West Bank who have "absorbed" this concept: violence works, like "knives and cars with which to run over over the enemies." Of course, this is exactly what has been happening in Israel during a recent fever of violence. From afar, Meshal and other Palestinian leaders are calling for an "intifada."

"The so-called peace process is futile," said Meshal. "There is no peace. Only the path of Jihad, sacrifice, and blood (will bear fruit)."

"The children and youth of the West Bank have absorbed the message: Weapons like Kalashnikovs or missiles are not at hand, but there are knives and cars with which to run over the enemies. By God, after the knives used by the people of the West Bank and Jerusalem-can anyone possibly have an excuse to abandon the path of Jihad? Nobody can have such an excuse. Our Lord says: "Allah does not impose upon anyone a duty but to the extent of his ability." He also said: "Prepare for them what you can." Therefore, the young man who puts his life on the line and the heroic sister, with nothing but a knife at hand, are justified, and Allah accepts them. This is up to Allah, but He accepts their Jihad and their martyrdom. By God, they are the most exalted and the noblest of people."

An edited clip of Meshal's speech in Malaysia last Thursday was recently published on the website of MEMRI, a Washington, D.C.-based Middle East research group, and can seen here.

Previous: Talking Turkey With Mahmoud Abbas
'I Want to Stab a Jew'
Jonathan Zalman, a staff editor, runs The Scroll, Tablet's news blog.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hamas Leader: Peace Process Is Futile. There Is Only Jihad, Sacrifice, and Blood.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Martyrs, said Khaled Meshal, 'are the most exalted and the noblest of people' Thou Shalt Read Khaled Meshal believes that neither negotiations with Israel nor working with the UN can lift the Palestinians from their situation-that "2,000 verbal "rockets" do not compare to a single rocket made of iron."

# data[].attributes.headline
Israel Hits Hamas Targets in Gaza After Rocket Fired at South

# data[].attributes.subject
Israel Hits Hamas Targets in Gaza After Rocket Fired at South

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Conflict in Israel and Palestine through 2015: Crash Course World History #223

# data[].attributes.headline
Israeli warplanes target area in southern Gaza Strip

# data[].attributes.subject
Israeli warplanes target area in southern Gaza Strip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Israeli warplanes target area in southern Gaza Strip

Islam Times - Israeli fighter jets have carried out an aerial attack against the Gaza Strip in yet another act of aggression against the blockaded coastal territory.

Palestinian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the airstrike struck a site belonging to Ezzedine Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, in the eastern Zeitoun neighborhood of the Gaza City in the early hours of Monday, Arabic-language Safa news agency reported.

There were no immediate reports about possible casualties from the Israeli attack.

Israeli military aircraft hit areas in the northern and central parts of the besieged Gaza Strip late on November 17. There were no reports about casualties and the extent of damage from those airstrikes.

Israeli sources claimed that the air raids were conducted in response to a rocket attack that had struck the southern part of the Israeli-occupied territories a few hours earlier, blaming the attack on Hamas.

The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

The Israeli regime denies about 1.8 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages and adequate healthcare and education.

Israel's 50-day military aggression against the Gaza Strip started in early July and ended on August 26 last year with a truce that took effect after indirect negotiations in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. It left nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children, dead. Over 11,100 others - including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people - were also wounded.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Islam Times - Israeli warplanes target area in southern Gaza Strip

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Israeli warplanes target area in southern Gaza Strip Islam Times - Israeli fighter jets have carried out an aerial attack against the Gaza Strip in yet another act of aggression against the blockaded coastal territory.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Breaking Israel News | Latest News. Biblical Perspective.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do, that you may live and multiply, and come and possess the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers." (Deuteronomy 8:1)

The spirit of the Chanukah holiday is noticeably palpable throughout Israel this week. Schoolchildren are on vacation, "Happy Chanukah Holiday!" messages are displayed on public buses as well as office buildings, and Chanukah menorahs adorn city light posts. One of the city's notable sites where the Chanukah holiday has particular significance is Jerusalem's Western Wall.

"Many people come to the Kotel to participate and also to remember that here is the location that is closest to where the Chanukah miracle of the oil flask occurred," Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). "The miracle of the oil flask happened in the Temple, and the Western Wall's Chanukah menorah is the closest menorah to that place."

The miracle of the oil flask occurred during the Temple's rededication after the Jewish Maccabee forces defeated the Seleucid Greeks who had profaned the Temple. A small amount of pure oil was discovered that bore the seal of the High Priest and was to light the Temple's menorah. Instead of the oil lasting for one day, it lasted for eight.

"As it is said in one of our Chanukah prayers, 'they shall light the candles in your holy courtyards,' and here is where our 'holy courtyards' are actually located," Rabbi Rabinovitch noted.

Prominent Israeli figures customarily take part in the lighting of the Western Wall's Chanukah Menorah on each night of the holiday.

"The candles are lit at the Western Wall on every night of Chanukah, and Rabbinical figures are coming here, along with public leaders, the Chief of Police, the State Comptroller, various Ministers, the Head of the Knesset Opposition, and the Chief Rabbis of Jerusalem," Rabinovitch told TPS. Prime Minister Netanyahu performed the candle lighting ceremony on the first night of the holiday.

The Western Wall rabbi also commented that it was just as important to light candles at home. "While it's of course very nice to light candles at the Western Wall, every Jew is obligated to light Chanukah candles at home," Rabinovitch said.

At the same time, there is also an obligation to light Chanukah candles at the Western Wall.

"The Sages instituted that synagogues should light Chanukah candles as well, and the Western Wall itself is a synagogue so we light the Chanukah candles here with all of the blessings," explained Rabinovitch. "Since 1967, we have been lighting Chanukah candles here every year just like we would be doing in any other synagogue." During the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel took control of Jerusalem's Old City and only then were Jews able to light the Chanukah Menorah at the Western Wall.

"Even though the Chanukah miracle happened 200 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, the holiday still has significance and is one that will remain forever," Rabinovitch said to TPS.

"In the merit of that group who struggled for our faith and for the spirit of the Jewish people, we are here today. When we celebrate the Chanukah holiday, we should not forget them."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Keeping the Light of the Chanukah Tradition Alive at the Western Wall

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do, that you may live and multiply, and come and possess the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers." (Deuteronomy 8:1) The spirit of the Chanukah holiday is noticeably palpable throughout Israel this week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Online videos from Israel, Middle East & Jewish World