Over the past three days, two op-eds have appeared in two of America’s largest and most respected newspapers calling for Obama to speak with the Israelis and to show even-handedness when dealing with the Middle East.

On 7/30/09, the Washington Post published an op-ed, “Tough on Israel” which calls on Preseident Barak Obama to “to show both sides that they can trust him — and he must be tough on more than one country.” continue reading…

Like

Unlike

We would like to clarify a statement made in Ethan Bronner’s July 16^th New York Times article, “Signs of Hope Emerge in the West Bank.”

Statement:

“Israel has promised to free a second frequency so that a competitor to Paltel can provide cell phone service, but it has not yet done so.”

Clarification:

Israel supplied a second cell phone frequency earlier this year, in accordance with its July 28, 2008 agreement with the Palestinian Authority to supply the necessary frequencies for a second cellular company.

The agreement is founded upon Israel’s commitment to assist in improving economic conditions in the West Bank. Unfortunately, competition between Palestinian cellular companies has resulted in this frequency going unused to date.

Furthermore, Israel’s Minister of Defense Ehud Barak wrote a letter this week to Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad reiterating the fact that the second frequency has been supplied and is available for use.

Like

Unlike

Israeli Jews, Muslims, and Christians live side-by-side throughout Israel; whether in Tel Aviv, the Negev, or Jerusalem.  According the the High Court of Israel, one shall not be denied a construction permit based on race, creed, gender, religion, or national identity.   As such, Jews, Muslims, and Christian alike can purchase land in all parts of the city of Jerusalem.  Just as Arab residents live in Western Jerusalem, Jews are allowed to live in Eastern Jerusalem.

To learn more about the Shepherd Hotel and it’s current renovation and construction, read “Behind the Headlines: Background Information from the Municipality of Jerusalem Regarding the Shepherd Hotel Building“

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman addressed the issue of the Shepherd Hotel building at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting:

PM Netanyahu: “…united Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people and of the State of Israel.  Our sovereignty over it is cannot be challenged; this means that residents of Jerusalem may purchase apartments in all parts of the city…hundreds of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods and in the western part of the city have been purchased by – or rented to – Arab residents, and we did not interfere.  This says that there is no ban on Arabs buying apartments in the western part of the city and there is no ban on Jews buying or building apartments in the eastern part of the city.”

FM Lieberman: “Thousands of Arab families buy homes in Jerusalem in the Neve Yaakov and French Hill neighborhoods…It would be very strange– and I am trying to be subtle – if the State of Israel decides to discriminate against Jews, especially in Jerusalem, and does not allow them to buy and to build throughout Jerusalem.”

1 person likes this post.

Unlike

Fifteen years ago today, on July 18, 1994, terrorists bombed the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association building in Buenos Aires.  Eighty-five people were killed.  More than 300 people were wounded.   Since then, details of the attack have emerged, revealing that the bombing was carried out at the behest of key leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The leaders that perpetrated this attack have yet to be brought to justice.

Read more about the Argentinian bombing and its aftermath, 15 years later, in the Forward‘s “As Iran Extends Its Reach, a Lesson From Argentina.”

Like

Unlike

According to a recent blog post on Transracial, with reports from Haaretz, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced its plans to embrace social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. The government will focus less on Palestinian issues, and more on the Iranian threat.

The blog also discusses the different initiatives that the @IsraelConsulate and @DavidSaranga have taken in the field of new media.

Like

Unlike

Created by Markus Angermeier

Lately, we have read some erroneous reports regarding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ efforts in getting our message across Web 2.0.  First and foremost, we are proud of our efforts in getting our message across the web-o-sphere.   We were one of the first governments in the world to have an official blog (we now that two!), have a Facebook and MySpace page, and a Twitter account and we were the first government to ever hold a Twitter Citizen Press Conference!  Our venture into the web-o-sphere has been so successful that the Ministry has decided to invest more effort in this direction worldwide and to allocate a budget for building and designing more Web 2.0 sites.

At the same time, every year Israel receives thousands of calls, letters, and emails asking us how they can help Israel.  Therefore, due to the success that Israel has had in reaching the masses through Web 2.0, we have decided to encourage those that want to help Israel’s PR effort to respond to articles/letters/postings in talkbacks and write blog posts regarding Israel.  These two initiatives are not the same thing and anyone combining these two decisions are incorrect in doing so.

Like

Unlike

Shortly after 15:00, an Israeli Navy force intercepted, boarded, and took control of the cargo boat ‘Arion,’ which was bearing the flag of Greece and was illegally attempting to enter the Gaza Strip.

The boat departed from Cyprus yesterday. Yesterday evening, the Israeli Navy contacted the boat while at sea, clarifying that it would not be permitted to enter Gazan coastal waters because of security risks in the area.

Disregarding all warnings made, the cargo boat entered Gazan coastal waters. As a result of the actions taken by the boat crew, an Israeli Navy force intercepted, boarded, and took control of the boat, directing it towards Ashdod, Israel.

No shots were fired during the boarding of the boat. The boat crew will be handed over to the appropriate authorities.

Humanitarian goods found on board the boat will be transferred to the Gaza Strip, subject to authorization.

The IDF Spokesperson Unit would like to emphasize that any organization or country that wishes to transfer humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, can legally do so via the established crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip with prior coordination.

Like

Unlike