Trump moving embassy to Jerusalem, reactions

Posted on December 6, 2017 by petrel41

This video from the USA today is called President Donald Trump To Announce That The U.S. Will Recognize Jerusalem As Capital Of Israel | MSNBC.

From daily The Independent in Britain today:

Jerusalem – live updates: Donald Trump expected to recognise city as Israel’s capital in hours as Palestinians burn images of US President

Live Blog

Despite warnings from Arab, Muslim and Western allies, President will upend decades of US policy and risk stirring unrest

Key Points

8.17am: Palestinian representative to Britain says decision would be ‘kiss of death’ for peace process

8.43am: US intention to move embassy to Jerusalem is sign of ‘incompetence and failure’, Iran’s Supreme Leader says

8.55am: Boris Johnson says UK has no plans to move embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

9.16am: Pope Francis calls for city’s ‘status quo’ to be respected

According to Dutch NOS TV today, the Christian Union, a religious fundamentalist party, the smallest partner in the new Dutch four party coalition government, wants the Dutch government to follow Trump (translated):

and [Dutch] embassy back to Jerusalem!

The Dutch embassy had moved from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv in 1980.

The Dutch Centrum Informatie en Documentatie Israël, a Zionist Jewish organisation, opposes Trump’s move, saying it may cause violence.

Haaretz Editorial: West Jerusalem must be the capital of Israel and East Jerusalem the capital of the Palestinian state: here.

120 Jewish Studies Scholars Condemn Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration. Trump’s declaration “adds insult to ongoing injury and is practically guaranteed to fan the flames of violence,” argue scholars: here.

Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israeli capital sparks anger, protests: here.

PROTESTS ABOUND, BUT TRUMP’S BASE LOVES THE JERUSALEM MOVE Despite protests in Gaza and calls by Hamas for a new Palestinian uprising, Trump’s move of the embassy to Jerusalem is a hit with evangelical Christians. [HuffPost]

The best soccer team in Jerusalem announced Sunday that it was renaming itself to honor President Trump’s recognition of the city as Israel’s capital. Beitar Jerusalem praised the president on Facebook. … Beitar, currently in second place in the Israeli Premier League, is known for its support among right-wing Jews. Unlike other teams in the Israeli league, Beitar has long refused to sign Arab players. When the club signed two Chechen athletes in 2013 as their first Muslim players in recent memory, two fans lit the team’s office on fire in protest: here.

U.S. SHUTTERS ‘EMBASSY’ TO PALESTINE The United States has officially shuttered its consulate in Jerusalem, downgrading the status of its main diplomatic mission to the Palestinians by folding it into the U.S. embassy to Israel. [AP]

The Trump administration left major liberal Jewish organizations off its invitation list for a mysterious White House meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but invited three officials from the hawkish Zionist Organization of America, the Forward has learned: here.

Jewish women sing, pray for peace in Jerusalem

Posted on July 26, 2017 by petrel41

This 25 July 2017 video from Women of the Wall in Israel is called Maker of Peace, Osse Shalom. It is about Jewish women singing and praying the Rosh Chodesh Av prayer at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem.

In the background, ultra orthodox fanatical men try to disrupt the women.

There was an Israel government compromise plan for women to have praying rights at the Kotel. However, Prime Minister Netanyahu flip-flopped on that.

A spiritual visit by the US vice-president, Mike Pence, to Jerusalem’s Western Wall has been overshadowed after female journalists were forced to stand behind their male counterparts in a fenced-off area: here.

Jewish women harassed for praying in Jerusalem

Posted on July 24, 2017 by petrel41

This 24 July 2017 video by Women of the Wall in Israel is about incitement and harassment against Jewish women praying at the Kotel (Western Wall in Jerusalem) by fanatical ultra orthodox men.

Equal prayers for Jewish women in Israel?

Posted on July 21, 2017 by petrel41

This 20 July 2017 video is a satiric animated cartoon from the Women of the Wall movement in Israel.

It says about itself:

Bibi froze The Wall

Give us a couple of minutes, and we’ll tell you everything you need to know about the Kotel Agreement, and make you laugh in the process.

It is about Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu reneging on an earlier plan to give women more praying rights at the Kotel (Western wall) in Jerusalem.

Emperor Nero gold coin discovered in Jerusalem

Posted on September 21, 2016 by petrel41

Emperor Nero gold coin from Jerusalem

Translated from Dutch NOS TV:

Gold coin, 2000 years old, has been found in Jerusalem

Today, 21:48

In Jerusalem, archaeologists have made a remarkable discovery. They found a rare gold coin, which is about 2000 years old.

The coin was probably made in the year 56 or 57 AD, CNN reports. The Romans had conquered Jerusalem more than a century earlier . “The coin is noteworthy because it is the first time that such a coin has been found at an excavation,” says archaeologist Shimon Gibson. “Coins like this are usually found in private collections and it is unclear then where the money originated.”

One side of the coin features a portrait of the Roman emperor Nero. Around the portrait it says “Nero Caesar AVG Imp.” At that time, Roman rulers called themselves Caesar in order to indicate that they were emperors. On the side of the coin is ‘EX S C’ and ‘Pontif Max TR P III’. Based on these letters archaeologists were able to determine how old the coin is.

24K

“Because it is a gold coin, there is no rust. Therefore, you can still see everything very well,” said a professor of archeology. “The gold is also of very good quality. We are talking about 24 carats. 99 percent of that coin is gold.”

The location of the find, south of the old town of Jerusalem, suggests that rich people lived in that place at the time of the Roman occupation.

Gay Pride and homophobia in Israel

Posted on July 21, 2016 by petrel41

This video says about itself:

Murdered Shira Banki, 16, Plays Piano During Concert

3 August 2015

Israeli girl Shira Banki dies of stabbing at Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade

Girl, 16, who was stabbed at Jerusalem Gay Pride march dies from her wounds

High school student Shira Banki, 16, was one of six people wounded in the assault on Thursday. Lost her fight for life at Hadassah hospital, spokesman Hadar Elboim said. Hadar Elboim of Hadassah hospital said she succumbed to her wounds on Sunday and that her organs will be donated.

Suspect Yishai Shlissel, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, was arrested at the scene. Stabbed three people at the same event in 2005 and was recently released from jail.

Police have come under fire for not keeping him under surveillance as he had been released from prison only weeks earlier.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

In Jerusalem, an estimated 25,000 people from the gay community and their supporters march for the annual Gay Pride. Because of the attack last year in which a 16-year-old girl was murdered, the security measures are enormous. Thus, 2000 cops have been deployed and all participants, journalists and even security guards were checked.

Gay Pride is partly dedicated to Shira Banki, who was stabbed to death last year by an ultra-orthodox homophobe. He also injured then seven other persons. Banki’s parents have encouraged people to come to the march, and to lay flowers in memory of their daughter.

The LGBT parade also wants people to reflect on the diminishing tolerance for non-heterosexuals in Israel. Especially in Jerusalem homosexuals have difficult lives because the Orthodox Jewish community grows there. Mayor Nir Barkat is therefore not present at the parade; he says that would be too much against “sensitivities” in orthodox and right-wing groups in his city. …

A number of rabbis from Jerusalem do support the protesters, though the bulk of the clergy turned against the Gay Pride in a livid way.

Two gay men demonstratively exchanged marriage vows at the start of the Gay Pride. Hundreds of people cheered and photographed the men.

Another attack prevented?

Police in Jerusalem yesterday and today arrested twelve people who may have violent plans against the Gay Pride. Two detainees had knives on them, Israeli media report.

The homophobe of last year’s attack is said to have planned another attack. He will be questioned about that at the prison where he is serving a life sentence. The man’s brother was arrested; possibly the plan was that he would carry out the attack.

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Knesset passed a surrogacy law that expands those eligible to include single women, but excludes single men and gay couples: here.

Israelis and Palestinians march for peace in Jerusalem

Posted on October 18, 2015 by petrel41

This video says about itself:

17 October 2015

Jews and Arabs marched together through the streets of Jerusalem calling for an end to violent attacks. CNN’s Oren Liebermann reports.

Jewish Rapper Says Music Can Unite Israelis And Palestinians: here.

Eritrean bystander beaten to death after being mistaken for ‘terrorist’ in Israeli bus station attack: here.

Israeli, Palestinian anti-violence demonstration tomorrow

Posted on October 16, 2015 by petrel41

This 19 March 2014 Israeli TV video shows an interview with Adam Keller.

Adam Keller (born 1955 in Tel Aviv-Yafo) is an Israeli peace activist who was among the founders of Gush Shalom, of which he is a spokesperson.

From the peace movement Gush Shalom in Israel:

We will not surrender to despair – We will stand together!

Jews and Arabs march together in Jerusalem – Saturday night, Oct. 17.

Starting point – at 8.30 at Gan HaSus, Jerusalem.

Arabs and Jews want to live in security. Real security, without occupation and without killing. We know that only with a just solution to the conflict will be able to stop the killing and the hatred, to build a different reality. A reality of security.

Neither the terrible violence in the streets nor the fear was created in a vacuum. We must struggle against the root of this bloody cycle: A regime of control and separation that denies millions of Palestinians their right to freedom and equality. The Jerusalem Municipality distances itself from responsibility, and the government of Israel ignores the urgent need to address the root of the conflict. Instead, the authorities simply continue to pour gasoline onto the fire of incitement and violence.

We, Jews and Arabs, will not surrender to despair or to fear. On Saturday evening, we will stand together, in Jerusalem, the heart of the cycle of bloodshed which is also the place from which any solution must begin. We will demand freedom for both peoples, equal rights and equality before the law – this is the only possible solution to to violence, killing and hatred.

Facebook event here.

Register for transportation from Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Haifa: here.

Contact: +972-(0)52-5830724

For years
The “experts” said:
“Not having peace
Is not terrible.
It is possible
To manage
The conflict.”

They were wrong.
It IS terrible.

HUNDREDS of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages with petrol bombs on Saturday night as the Israeli crackdown escalated: here.

Homophobic knife attack on Jerusalem Pride marchers

Posted on July 30, 2015 by petrel41

This video from Israel says about itself:

30 July 2015

Six people stabbed at Jerusalem gay pride march ‘by ultra-Orthodox Jew released from jail three weeks ago for identical attack in 2005′.

Translated from NOS TV in the Netherlands:

Participants at Gay Pride Jerusalem stabbed

Today, 18:38

At the Gay Pride march in Jerusalem six participants have been stabbed. Two of them are seriously injured, Israeli emergency services say.

On pictures one can see that the alleged offender, an ultra-orthodox Jew, is arrested. He is the man who ten years ago at the Gay Pride in the Israeli capital conducted a similar attack. Then, four people were injured. The man was convicted to twelve years in prison and was released three weeks ago.

Struggle

“We heard people screaming, everyone tried to get themselves to safety. Bloodied people lying on the ground,” says a witness.

Despite the stabbing, the march continued. “Our struggle for equality will only get stronger because of this,” said the organization.

Ultra-Orthodox man stabs six people at gay pride march in Jerusalem. Yishai Schlissel had recently been released from prison after serving 10 years for stabbing three people at a gay pride parade in 2005, police said: here.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat acknowledged Thursday that “something went wrong” in the failure of police to monitor Schlissel, who while in prison had repeatedly used ultra-Orthodox social media to promote attacks on gays and describe his knifing spree as a “mission from God”. … “The writing was on the wall,” commented Israel’s Channel 2 reporter Moshe Nussbaum. “Everybody knew, except the police…about Schlissel’s intentions”: here.

Israeli extremist violence against praying women

Posted on May 10, 2013 by petrel41

Israeli Women of the Wall, photo: Tovah Lazaroff

From the (Rightist) Jerusalem Post in Israel:

Haredim heckle and harass Women of the Wall during prayer

By JEREMY SHARON, JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 05/10/2013 10:21

Protestors throw garbage, spit, shout insults at female worshipers as they legally pray for first time at the Western Wall; Three haredi men arrested for disturbing peace; two police officers lightly wounded.

Protests at the Western Wall in Jerusalem opposing the Women of the Wall prayer group ended on Friday morning with the arrest of three haredi men suspected of disturbing the peace, as well as two police officers who suffered light injuries and were treated at the scene. A large number of security forces were at the holy site, attempting to create a human barrier between the men and women‘s sections.

Haredi protesters threw water bottles and other objects and shouted insults at the Women of the Wall activists, according to Israel Radio.

Rabbi Susan Silverman, comedian Sarah Silverman‘s sister who prays with the Women of the Wall, was at the protest where she said that haredi men spit globs of spit on her three daughters. she told The Jerusalem Post. Silverman also said that the haredim threw coffee at the Women of the Wall activists and that a little girl next to her was hit in the head with something hard.

Silverman told the Post that the haredi protesters represent “A fundamentalism and a belief in a single and very narrow view of god that I believe is idolatrous.”

Women of the Wall Spokesperson, Oshrat Ben Shimshon told Israel Radio, “Orthodox rabbis have determined that there is no halachik barrier to women praying with prayer shawls and tefillin and reading from the Torah.” …

Several thousand yeshiva students and haredi school girls convened at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem to protest the monthly prayer service of the Women of the Wall.

The protesters shouted at the Women of the Wall activists as they were conducting their first monthly service without restrictions after a court ruling two weeks ago reinterpreted existing laws and allowed them to be able to perform their own customs, such as wearing prayer shawls and tefillin, without fear of being arrested.

The idea to send haredi school girls to protest the Women of the Wall was devised by MKs from the United Torah Judaism party earlier this week in consultation with principals of haredi girls schools, on condition the initiative received approval from the leading haredi rabbis.

According to a report on haredi website Kikar Hashabbat, spiritual leader of the haredi world Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman gave his blessing to the proposal on Thursday.

Many participants in the Women of the Wall services don prayer shawls and perform other customs usually performed by men in Orthodox practice, that has until now been prohibited by state law, and as of late, women have been arrested on a frequent basis for wearing prayer shawls during the WoW services.

A court ruling two weeks ago reinterpreted existing laws and the Women of the Wall will on Friday be able to perform their own customs.

At a hearing of the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women earlier this week, a representative of the Jerusalem Police confirmed that the police would not act against the recent Jerusalem District Court ruling which decided that WoW’s customs did not contravene “local custom,” that has been the basis for outlawing the group’s non-Orthodox customs.

United Torah Judaism MK Yisrael Eichler expressed outrage during the committee hearing at what he referred to as the Women of the Wall’s “provocations.” He asked if the police would allow the right of protest and demonstration against the group’s prayer service.

The Women of the Wall issued a statement on Thursday celebrating their new found freedoms.

“We have the great merit that Israeli women will arrive in their masses tomorrow for the prayer service for the New Month of Sivan. We call on the public which supports us, women and men, to come and pray with us, to liberate the Western Wall and to turn it into to the home of everyone,” the group said.

Israel: The heads of the Reform and Conservative movements will demand that Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein investigate the involvement of rabbis on the government payroll in Friday’s violent demonstrations at the Western Wall: here.

An Israeli Jew has been shot dead near Jerusalem’s Western Wall after a guard mistook him for a Palestinian militant, police say: here.