Signs of the Times

Jerusalem Arabs Prefer Israel

WASHINGTON—The future of Jerusalem is considered one of the core issues in Israeli–Palestinian negotiations and one of the most significant obstacles to a permanent agreement between the two sides. However, it appears that on the Palestinian side, those who live in Jerusalem have already made their decision on the matter—and the Palestinian Authority leadership in Ramallah may not like it.

Missiles Expected to Hit Tel Aviv

{image_1}Tel Aviv has managed to escape the missile threat in the last two wars with Lebanon and Gaza, but with terrorists in both regions having acquired more advanced missiles, the second-largest city in Israel could be hit by dozens of missiles in the next war, according to Haaretz newspaper. The commander of the Dan region in the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command, Col. Adam Zussman, told Haaretz in an interview regarding Tel Aviv, “Under any war scenario, it will be hit by a large number of missiles, missiles that are precise and lethal. However, our preparedness to deal with such missiles has also improved.”

Map of “Palestine” Erases Israel

{image_1}During a visit to Bethlehem, Palestinian Authority [PA] Chairman Mahmoud Abbas held up a stone model of the map of “Palestine” that erases Israel (Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Oct. 26, 2010). US President Barack Obama has condemned the existence of maps like the one Abbas displayed as a “security” threat to Israel: “I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security…Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East that don't even acknowledge Israel's existence” (Obama at AIPAC Conference, June 4, 2008).

Threatened Christians Flee Middle Eastern Countries

{image_1}In the last ten years, the Christian population in the Middle East has decreased by 1.5 million people (from 15 million in 2000 to 13.5 million today). In Egypt, the Copts suffer from violence and persecution by Muslim extremists. In the Palestinian Authority, the Christian population of Bethlehem, which only three decades ago was in the majority, is now a fraction of the population, as Christians flee from persecution and marginalization in the predominantly Muslim area. In Iraq, barely a half a million Christians remain from a population of 1.3 million a few years ago. When encountering persecution, many Christians prefer to leave and look for other countries willing to accept them.

123,500 Join Israel’s Poor

{image_1}SOME 123,500 PEOPLE joined the circle of poverty in Israel in 2009, according to the National Insurance Institute's Poverty and Social Gaps report. A total of 850,300 children live under the poverty line, the report said, and almost two in five children are disadvantaged. In total, Israel has 435,000 poor families.

Law Passes Requiring Vote for Withdrawal

{image_1}The Israeli Knesset [parliament] passed a new law that will require a public referendum vote or the approval of 80 of the 120 Knesset members for any attempts to withdraw from East Jerusalem or the Golan Heights. According to The Jerusalem Post, the National Referendum Law passed in the Knesset 65–33. Though the law applies to East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim for their capital, and the Golan Heights, which is claimed by Syria, it does not apply to the West Bank [Judea and Samaria]. This is because the West Bank was never fully annexed by Israel as civilian territory, whereas the other two areas were.

Soldier-free Checkpoint Control

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The Israel Defense Forces [IDF] has found a way to minimize friction between soldiers and the Palestinians. After years in which residents of the territories [e.g. the West Bank or Judea and Samaria] had to present entry permits and IDs on the way to work in Israel, the IDF has prepared a “soldier-free” entry procedure. Soldiers will soon be replaced by electronic terminals checking the Palestinians by handprints.

Israel to Face Russian Missiles

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Israeli defense officials have little doubt that their armed forces will come up against the sophisticated Russian missiles Moscow has agreed to sell to Syria. In September, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced that shipment of P-800 Yakhont supersonic cruise missiles pursuant to a deal signed in 2007 will go forward in defiance of American and Israeli requests to the contrary.

Abbas Willing to Renounce Future Claims

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Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas told an Israeli television station on October 17 that he is willing to renounce future claims on Israel after a Palestinian state has been established. The pronouncement relates significantly to Israeli concerns that the Palestinians want refugees who left what became Israel in 1948 to reclaim properties vacated at that time as part of a “right of return.” The Israelis argue that the proper address for such returnees is the new Palestinian state. The statement by Abbas is being seen by some as an indication that what has been a red-line issue in negotiations is “solvable.”

Spike in Anti-Jewish Facebook Sites

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Simon Wiesenthal Center researchers have uncovered over two dozen Facebook sites with titles like “Kill a Jew Year” and “Kill a Jew Day” during one week alone. “Some have been posted from the United States, others from the United Kingdom,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center who directs the Jewish Human Rights NGO’s Digital Terrorism and Hate project.