Category: Uncategorized

Unprecedented security in Baku as the Israeli president lands in country neighboring Iran.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

President Isaac Herzog and his wife Michal landed in Baku, Azerbaijan, Tuesday morning for an official two-day visit with Iran at the top of his agenda.

“I am going on an important official state visit to Azerbaijan, hosted by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev,” Herzog said before takeoff.

“A friendly, close, important country, a key country. We have to remember that beyond the trade relations, and beyond the historical ties, including the historical Jewish community, Azerbaijan is a neighbor of Iran. Iran is an unstable factor in the region that constantly pursues actions against the State of Israel and against the developing alliance of peace and security in the region, and I will certainly discuss this.”

Tensions have recently risen between Tehran and Baku, especially over Iran’s support for Armenia, Azerbaijan’s historic foe, regarding the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region that lies between them.  In 2020, Azerbaijan took a large chunk of the area in a brief war that saw it also gain control of a route that links Iran and Armenia, which is reportedly a major conduit for oil and drug smuggling that helps Iran evade crippling economic sanctions.

In October, Iran held two large military exercises near its border with Azerbaijan. When Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel for the first time in March after 22 years of diplomatic relations, Iranian officials blasted the move. Its foreign ministry accused Baku of aiding “the criminal Zionist regime” in “creat[ing] differences and divisions in the Islamic Ummah [nation].”

The excellent economic and military relationship Azerbaijan has with the Jewish state worries Iran, which shares a 428-mile (765-kilometer) border with its majority-Shiite Muslim neighbor.

Israel imports a whopping 40% of its oil from the Azeris, while according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Israel is Azerbaijan’s main arms supplier, with 69% of its military imports coming from Israel between 2016-2020.

This is the first visit by an Israeli head of state in 14 years to Azerbaijan. It is being undertaken amidst unprecedented security precautions due to concern over a possible Iranian threat. Large sections of the capital have been closed off, thousands of Azeri policemen and soldiers are patrolling the city, and the Israeli delegation is not permitted to use their cellphones or wander away from the group during their stay.

Herzog told the press that another important purpose of his trip is to expand the relations into other spheres. Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, who is accompanying the president, plans to sign a health cooperation agreement with his Azeri counterpart.

This follows Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s trip to Baku last month, when he signed cooperation agreements in the fields of investments, education and the environment, while also discussing security matters and the development of ties in cyber, technology and agriculture.

Aside from his meetings with President Aliyev and other government officials, Herzog will attend an event in honor of Israel’s 75th birthday and meet with the local Jewish community.

Upon landing in Baku, the Herzogs were greeted by an Azeri honor guard and some 30 young children from the capital’s Chabad-run Jewish school, who waved Israeli flags, sang the welcome song Heyvenu Shalom Aleichem (We have brought peace), and presented flowers to the First Lady.

The post Herzog lands in Azerbaijan amid unprecedented security, neighboring Iran on top of agenda appeared first on World Israel News.

The funeral of the 100-year-old rabbi in Bnei Brak, respected by people from all walks of life, is expected to draw tens of thousands of mourners.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, leader of ultra-Orthodox Lithuanian Jewry in Israel, passed away Tuesday morning at the age age 100.

The venerable rabbi had been hospitalized since Friday, when he fell ill during the Shavuot holiday.

A rabbinic leader for many years and head of the famed Ponovezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak for the last two decades, Rabbi Edelstein took charge of the political decisions made by the Council of Torah Sages after his esteemed colleague, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, died just over a year ago.

The Council guides the Degel HaTorah faction of the United Torah Judaism party in the Knesset

Although Rabbi Edelstein ruled that the Belzer Rebbe should withdraw from a plan whereby the Hasidic network of schools would incorporate basic secular studies in exchange for more government funding, he was more accepting of non-religious people than many other ultra-Orthodox leaders.

In his rulings, he related their non-observance to ignorance of Torah rather than any inherent evil.  Statements included, for example, “If they give their souls to save others out of love for others, they have a place in the afterlife,” just like those who have given up their lives to sanctify God’s name. Some saw this as cracking the door open for haredi enlistment in the IDF.

Israeli political and religious leaders mourned his death.

“Today the world of Torah along with the entire Jewish People has lost a wise and renowned leader…whose entire life was holiness,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “I mourn his passing and send my most heartfelt condolences to the members of his family.”

Netanyahu added that he had met the rabbi several months ago, “and the light that shone in his eyes was full of understanding.”

He also noted that the rabbi had begun his Torah path under very trying conditions. “Rabbi Edelstein always remembered the days of his youth in Soviet Russia in which he was obliged to study Torah in secret,” which led to his “never tak[ing] anything for granted. On the contrary, the responsibility for shaping the spiritual image of masses of Jews guided him day and night.”

Edelstein immigrated to Israel with his family in 1934. He and his brother studied Torah intensively with their father before becoming members in 1943 of the first class of the Ponevezh Yeshiva that he would one day lead.

Israel’s chief Ashkenazi rabbi, David Lau, said that Edelstein “strongly and decidedly led the Jewish People even at his ripe age,” and that the rabbi had given him “guidance and wise advice in all religious matters until very recently.”

On behalf of the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria, Gush Etzion Mayor and Yesha Council chairman Shlomo Ne’eman mourned the loss of “a righteous giant” who was “a Torah genius, minister, and true leader of Israel.”

“The world of Torah is the important foundation for our lives, and for our existence in this country,” he said. “We will continue to learn, build, and teach with all our might, even at this difficult moment. May his memory be a blessing.”

Noted Orthodox women’s educator and public speaker Rabbanit Yemima Mizrachi wrote of the particular cost of losing a leader who exemplified warmth to everyone, no matter their background.

“It’s never a good time for such a righteous man to be taken, but if there was ever a time when we needed a figure like Rabbi Edelstein, if there were ever a time when we could not afford such a loss, then that time is now,” she wrote.

“During a time of terrible divisions, when many view people who are merely different to them as evil, Rabbi Edelstein shone with his love of fellow man, his attention to every student, every issue presented to him and everyone he saw.”

The rabbi’s funeral Tuesday afternoon in his hometown of Bnei Brak is expected to draw tens of thousands of mourners; police have shut down the major roads within the city and routes leading to it to accommodate the crowds. Many more buses and trains have been added to their Bnei Brak routes to encourage people to use public transportation, as private vehicles will not be allowed to enter or exit the city.

The post ‘His entire life was holiness’: Rabbi Gershon Edelstein, leader of ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi Jewry, dies appeared first on World Israel News.

Republic politician denies responsibility but does not clarify the situation appropriately, thus justifying Russia’s legal measures against him.

Post Content

Magen David Adom EMTS treated the victim before evacuating him to hospital.

By JNS

A 30-year-old Israeli man wounded on Tuesday in a terror attack near the Jewish community of Hermès in northwestern Samaria.

The victim is in serious condition, Magen David Adom medics said. He sustained a bullet wound to the upper body and was treated at the scene before being evacuated by helicopter to hospital.

Israeli forces launched a manhunt for the shooter, who fled the scene.

The post Terrorist shoots Israeli in Samaria, victim in serious condition appeared first on World Israel News.

Rather than dispute the content or the facts presented in Abigail Shrier’s book, the radical trans activists instead frame the author as being a hateful bigot.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

American author Abigail Shrier was targeted by transgender activists during her recent trip to Israel, causing her Hebrew-language publisher to cancel a reading of her book at a Tel Aviv venue and move the event to a secret location – which was later swarmed by demonstrators.

Shrier, a longtime writer for the Wall Street Journal, penned the bombshell book Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing our Daughters in 2020.

The best-selling book outlines a number of concerns regarding gender transition among American children and teenagers, specifically focusing on the explosion in the number of biological girls now identifying as boys.

The Israeli publishing house Sella Meir translated Shrier’s book for an Israeli audience and invited the author, who is Jewish, to Tel Aviv to speak at an event celebrating the publication of the text in Hebrew.

However, transgender activists immediately attempted to prevent Shrier from speaking, launching a social media campaign that presented the author as “dangerous” to trans teens and declaring that her “goal” is “controlling the public discourse in Israel and importing messianic American conservatism.”

The event, which was originally scheduled to take place at the ZOA House in Tel Aviv, was canceled for security reasons and moved to a secret location.

The day of the event, organizers told those who had purchased tickets that the talk had been moved to a smaller location in the neighboring city of Ramat Gan.

Within hours, demonstrators discovered the venue and loudly protested on the sidewalk and street nearby, chanting “Shame!” at Shrier as she was hustled into the venue under heavy security.

לאחר כמה דקות של אלימות ועלבונות הוצאנו מהאירוע, אז הצטרפנו לחברינו וחברותינו בהפגנה הקווירית למטה.
לפגוש פנים מול פנים אנשים שפועליםות בתשוקה לרעתי, לרעת חבריי והקהילה שלי היה מפחיד, אבל אסור להסיט מזה מבט. כל עוד אנשים כאלה קיימיםות, נמשיך להילחם בכל כוחנו. pic.twitter.com/1NDUz5DzaH

— m (@mbedarshlol) May 29, 2023

But rather than dispute the content or the facts presented in Shrier’s book, the trans activists instead framed the author as being a hateful bigot.

Notably, one protester who identified as a transgender man told Haaretz that “they” had not read Shrier’s book. Rather, “they” vehemently disagrees with the message that teens who transition may regret doing so later in life.

But the intense pushback against the reading may have backfired for the activists, as their protests sparked interest and support from some who otherwise may not have purchased the book or attended the event.

“I saw that they tried to silence [Shrier] so I even bought the book online from Sella Meir,” Robert, an immigrant to Israel from Germany, told Haaretz.

“Now I’m even happier because the protest outside shows that they don’t accept freedom of speech, so it’s even more important to listen to her.”

Dina, an Israeli-born attendee, told Haaretz that she was worried about “the ideological wave coming here from Western countries – mainly from North America, mostly from academia – which tells teachers to spread identity politics in the education system.”

In a series of tweets, Shrier disputed the Haaretz report regarding the event, which downplayed the number of attendees.

She also noted that the two largest booksellers in Israel have refused to carry hers, caving to pressure.

“One protester rushed the stage and had to be wrestled to the ground by audience members – something anyone who bought a ticket knew might happen. And *still* it was standing room only.

“Leftist media declares: ‘only a few’ attended,” Shrier wrote. “It’s a technique totalitarians have always used to make their opponents appear small and marginal. It’s an optical illusion. It’s shameless, it’s false, and a situation the Left worked to create – which they now report on as if it were an organic result. Don’t fall for it.”

One protester rushed the stage and had to be wrestled to the ground by audience members – something anyone who bought a ticket knew might happen.

And *still* it was standing room only.

Leftist media declares: “only a few” attended.

/6

— Abigail Shrier (@AbigailShrier) May 30, 2023

HOW LEFTIST MEDIA LIES:

My book was published this week in Israel, a country 1/50th the population of the US, where Amazon has little presence. Bowing to LGBTQ+ activist pressure, the two largest book chains refused to carry the book, which made it hard to buy in Israel.

1/ pic.twitter.com/GtHdufBgHh

— Abigail Shrier (@AbigailShrier) May 30, 2023

The post Cancel culture in Israel: Trans activists disturb US author’s speaking event, limit book sales appeared first on World Israel News.

On Memorial Day, a mass shooting incident took place on the boardwalk of Hollywood Beach, Florida, where nine people were injured. Eyewitnesses reported that before the sound of gunshots, they saw people who were partaking in the festivities. Deanna Bettineschi, a spokesperson for the Hollywood Police Department, claimed that the shooting was believed to be caused by a disagreement between two groups.

When the police arrived at the beach, they found nine people with gunshot wounds. These individuals were sent to nearby hospitals for medical attention, including Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, although the ages of the wounded have not been made public.

One person of interest has been detained while the authorities are in search of another person, described as a black man with dreadlocks, who is still at large. Videos taken by bystanders and shared on social media showed first responders tending to the victims.

Jamie Ward, a 46-year-old witness, said that he witnessed someone with a compression tourniquet on their leg and another person with a compression bandage on their chest being taken away by an ambulance. Bettineschi asked those with footage or photos of the incident to come forward and assist the police in their investigation. Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy thanked those who provided first aid to the victims. Hollywood Beach is a popular tourist destination situated approximately 20 miles north of Miami.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories did not answer an inquiry from Channel 12 regarding the decision.

By World Israel News Staff

After years of refusing to allow the importation of spare parts for motorcycles to the Gaza Strip out of fear that the materials could be used for terror purposes, Palestinian officials announced that Israel had permitted a massive shipment of the parts.

“The Ministry of Transportation in Ramallah is announcing that the Israeli side is allowing the importation of motorcycle spare parts into the Strip, for the first time” in years, said the chairman of the Gaza merchants’ Union in a media statement quoted by Channel 12.

The chair added that the decision came after “many efforts to permit their entry, after Israel repeatedly rejected the import in the past.”

Anis Arafat, a spokesman from the Gaza Ministry of Transportation, told Arabic-language media outlets that the importation of the parts would “have a positive effect on the high prices and prevent monopolies in the [local] markets.”

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) body, which is a unit of the Defense Ministry that coordinates on civilian issues between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority, did not answer an inquiry from Channel 12 regarding the decision.

But while the importation of the parts is likely good news for Gazan consumers and its transport authorities, there are major security concerns that come along with the move.

The reason why Israel would not permit the transfer of the materials for many years is because many elements within those imports could be used for anything from bomb-making to helping terrorists flee targeted IDF assassinations.

Hamas often leverages motorcycles in order to transfer weapons and even rockets throughout the Strip and transport terrorists to rocket launch sites in remote areas closer to Israeli communities.

The post Ignoring security concerns? Israeli OKs import of motorcycle parts to Gaza appeared first on World Israel News.

All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name.

To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here.

Click the share button above to email/forward this article …

The post Meta and Privacy: The Economy of Data Transgressions appeared first on Global Research.

Seeing Through the Eyes of “Our Enemies” and Paving a Path Toward Peace.

By Michael Welch, Dimitri Lascaras, Radhika Desai, and Ivan Katchanovski, May 26, 2023

On this week’s Global Research News Hour, like the rest …

The post Selected Articles: Seeing Through the Eyes of “Our Enemies” and Paving a Path Toward Peace appeared first on Global Research.