Israel headlines

 Israel headlines tell a story. They tell you the news. But sometimes, they reveal some underlying truths.  

Return to this blog every Tuesday and Friday after Noon. You’ll see a sampling of headlines from Israel’s press—and some comments about those headlines.

Today’s headlines come from November 1-November 4, 2013.

 

The Arab view of Israel

- Morsi: Israel is Satan

-Fire bomb hurled at IDF soldiers near Bethlehem, no casualties

-New Hamas textbooks: Torah and Talmud are 'fabricated'

-Arab MK: Thank Me for Allowing Jews to Live in Israel

 

America’s World Reputation

-Egypt: We'll Find Other Partners Than U.S.

-Report: American doctors tortured terror suspects under CIA orders

-NYT: Snowden documents show NSA tracked military targets in Israel

- Americans selling our secrets

- Israel ‘furious’ with White House for leak on Syria strike

-Under Obama, US no longer on top

- ADL chief: US seen as ‘weak and retreating’ on world stage

-Venezuela's government seizes U.S.-owned oil rigs

 

Iran

-Iranian Revolutionary Guards: We will continue to call for 'Death to America'

-PM: 'Real' Iran can be seen in Tehran today where thousands chant 'Death to America'

- Khamenei: Israel, Zionists 'Illegitimate and Bastard Regime'

-Axis of Evil Nuke: N.Korea, Iran 'Pledge Continued Cooperation'

-Report: West to Offer Iran a Cash Incentive

 

Life in Israel

- 'We have found the fountain of youth,' Weizmann molecular biologist says

-Merrill Lynch: No real estate bubble in Israel

-Israeli start-ups set to make a splash in UK, again

- Lockheed-Martin to open major subsidiary in Israel

 

Israel politics

-Chief Rabbinate: Coordinating Religion and State

-Livni Pushes for Civil Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage Legislation

- Jewish Youth Arrested On Temple Mount for Bowing

-Discrimination Against Jews Continues at the Temple Mount

- Heightened Jewish activism on Temple Mount may spark widespread conflict

- Habayit Hayehudi pushing law to allow Jews to pray on Temple Mount

-Temple Mount Confrontation in Interior Committee

- Bnei Akiva Girls Cleared to Join Hareidim Against Women of the Wall

- Loud protests as Women of the Wall mark 25th anniversary

 

Jews around the world

 - South African minister: ‘The Palestinian struggle is our struggle’

- On 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, German Chancellor warns of anti-Semitism

-Polish synagogue defiled by swastikas

- 26% of Americans believe Jews killed Jesus

- “Make no mistake about it. If what we are seeing now is the beginning of a deep change in American foreign policy, it will be bad for the Jews”.

-Report: EU Diplomats Participating in PA Incitement Activities

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The story-line for this news cycle seems to focus on four issues: America’s declining reputation, Iran, the Temple Mount and Jewish ‘life’ issues in Israel.

America’s reputation took another hit this news cycle as Israeli officials, speaking with a bluntness we have rarely seen, revealed they were ‘furious’ that the US has  leaked to the world’s press sensitive military information that could harm Israel. Then, American Jews spoke openly about President Obama’s international weakness; and Iran, under pressure to yield on its nuclear ambitions, reacted to this pressure by gathering thousands in Teheran’s streets to shout, ‘Death to America.’

It wasn’t a good news cycle for America.

In this cycle, we learned that European diplomats may participate in Arab anti-Israel incitement.  We also learned that Europe wants to use cash to ‘incentivize’ Iran to stop its nuclear program.

Really? 

Sanctions have been used to squeeze Iran economically, to force them to comply with a no-nuke policy. Iran’s GDP has been slashed. Now Europe wants to give Iran cash?

That won’t get Iran to comply with anything. Instead, it will help them ‘retrieve’ some of the income sanctions have taken from them. Cash: it’s the best way to help Iran continue with its intransigence.

What is Europe’s goal here?

As Iran grabbed headlines in Israel, Members of Knesset grabbed each other--in a screaming match with a viciously anti-Jewish Arab MK who denies Jewish rights to pray on the Temple Mount.

It was Arab theatre-of-hate. It made the news. So did Knesset attempts to manipulate Jewish life issues.

Jewish life issues focus on the religious nature of marriage, worship, adoption, divorce and death. The Jewish religious nature of these issues is under attack by Reform Judaism. Reform Jews do not comply with—or accept--traditional Jewish law. They want things done their way instead.

The group called, Women of the Wall, looks like the vanguard of this Reform assault. These women want freedom and equality-- at the Kotel, the Western Wall. They want to pray the Reform way.  They have their own place at the Wall. But it’s off to the side. They don‘t like that. They want to pray where the men worship.

There were other headlines on these life issues. If you look at them closely, you might see something more than simple headlines. You might see how Reform Judaism works to make Israel law conform to Reform ideology.

There’s one question no one seems to have asked: Reform Judaism has an intermarriage rate that exceeds 70 per cent. Why would Israel want to introduce such an ideology into its legal code?

Find out what happens next. Come back Friday.