RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://www.algemeiner.com/2019/11/13/amnesty-international-called-out-for-falsely-accusing-israel-of-attacking-gaza-building-which-was-actually-hit-by-misfired-palestinian-rocket/

Amnesty International falsely accused Israel of bombing a Palestinian human rights organization’s office on Tuesday, when the incident actually involved a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket.

The projectile struck an office building on Tuesday morning in Gaza City where the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights is headquartered.

Amnesty quickly issued a tweet saying, “We strongly condemn attack on the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights whose office in Gaza was struck by an Israeli missile earlier this morning. Strikes targeting civilian buildings is a violation of international law. We are sending our solidarity to @ICHR_Pal.”

Quickly, however, Amnesty’s version of events proved false. Trey Yingst, a foreign correspondent for Fox News, witnessed the incident and tweeted, “Israel did not strike this building. A rocket misfired from Gaza. I was across the street when it happened.”

Amnesty’s claim was conclusively disproven by a report in Israeli daily Haaretz written by Amira Hass, a famously pro-Palestinian journalist.

The rocket that struck the building, Hass wrote, was “a missile that went astray on its launchers.”

http://thejewishvoice.com/2019/11/13/j-street-responds-to-jv-editorial-blurs-lines/

Jeremy Ben-Ami, is described in the bio that accompanies his latest article on The Times of Israel website as “the executive director of J Street.” The J Street website describes him as the “president.” Just as it is unclear what exactly Ben-Ami’s true title is there are many other things about this Jewish organization created to advocate for the creation of a Palestinian Arab state in Judea-Samaria (which it calls the West Bank) that seem to be just as deliberately blurred.

In his Nov. 10 column Ben-Ami responds to The Jewish Voice’s Nov. 8 editorial (“The J Street Danger to Israel”). Ben-Ami argues “Those attacking J Street and presidential candidates for even examining the concept of restricting the use of US aid are in many cases people who have loudly called for restrictions on aid to the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations.” Elsewhere in the article he claims that J Street “supports the provision of security assistance.” Which is it? J Street can’t have it both ways.

The views of J Street’s critics on issues related to the PA or the UN have nothing to do with J Street’s new pledge to lobby to reduce U.S. aid to Israel unless the Israelis agree to Palestinian Authority demands.

The Jewish Voice is proud to be the only Jewish newspaper we see that challenged J Street on this with an editorial and we will continue to speak out against J Street when they side with Israel’s enemies.

http://thejewishvoice.com/2019/11/13/the-legality-of-israels-settlements/

Next month will mark the third anniversary of the Obama Administration’s parting shot at Israel in the U.N. This was when Obama and company first failed to vote against the U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement-building and followed up that slap in the face against Israel by sending Secretary of State John Kerry to give an anti-settlements tirade of a speech at the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the State Department headquarters in Foggy Bottom on December 28, 2016.

The Trump Administration has the opportunity to neutralize the nonsense that was at the foundation of Kerry’s attack on Israeli settlements just as it did the question of Israel’s rights to Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The Administration seems unaware of the ease with which it can remove the stick that was used to hit Israel.

While the December 28 Obama Administration attack came from Secretary of State John Kerry, the ammunition came from Jimmy Carter’s State Department.

Here is what Kerry said “virtually every country in the world other than Israel opposes settlements. (…) In fact, this resolution simply reaffirms statements made by the Security Council on the legality of settlements over several decades. It does not break new ground. In 1978, the State Department Legal Adviser advised the Congress on his conclusion that Israel’s government, the Israeli Government’s program of establishing civilian settlements in the occupied territory is inconsistent with international law, and we see no change since then to affect that fundamental conclusion.”

https://worldisraelnews.com/rocket-barrage-targets-southern-city-as-sirens-shatter-morning-calm/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=vwo_notification_1573616227&vwo_powered=1

Israelis woke to terrorist rockets and red alert sirens on Wednesday morning.

A rocket barrage rained down on the city of Netivot in Israel’s south on  Wednesday morning after a relatively quiet night following a bombardment of some 200 rockets on Tuesday.

No injuries are reported.

Also on Wednesday morning, red Alert sirens woke Israelis in Ashkelon, Kibbutz Nahal Oz, the Shefela area and the Gaza envelope. They were the first sirens heard since the last siren sounded at 10:48 p.m. Tuesday.

Israel’s Home Front Command say schools will remain closed on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Home Front had ordered all schools closed and warned people working as far north as Tel Aviv to stay near shelter.

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15150/palestinian-christmas-show

“The Palestinian Authority has been offering us money to remain silent. They are trying to bribe us so we would remain silent about the crimes of the police.” — Marian al-Hajal, video on Facebook, October 2019.

“We want a civil and humane state based on the rule of law and justice.” — Palestinian Professor Jamal Harfoush, who currently lives in Latin America.

As far as Marian is concerned, the PA police version is nothing but an attempt to cover up for their criminal behavior. She and many Christians want the world to know, particularly on the eve of Christmas, that Christians have become easy prey under the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

As far as PA President Mahmoud Abbas is concerned, it is business as usual. The cries of the Christian family in Bet Jala seem entirely lost on him…. Abbas may be worried about the future of the hefty funding he gets from Christian countries and organizations, if they find out what his police did…. What he seeks is to continue ensuring the success of the Palestinian lie that Christians are fleeing because of Israel.

Will the international community and press continue to swallow — as they have done year after year — the diet of lies that the PA leaders and spokesmen feed them?

In a few weeks’ time, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will perform its annual Christmas deception show. As is its custom, the PA will invite foreign journalists and diplomats to Bethlehem, where its spin doctors will wax poetic about good relations and harmony between Christians and Muslims in the city on the eve of Christmas. PA officials often seize this opportunity to blame Israel for the “plight” of Palestinian Christians, who make up only one percent of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

There is one incident, however, that the PA officials will do their utmost to keep under wraps. It is the story of 63-year-old Terez Ta’amneh, a Christian woman from the town of Bet Jala, near Bethlehem, who died when PA police officers raided her home to arrest her son, Yusef, for unpaid debts.

The story of Ta’amneh is one of those that cause serious damage to the PA’s propaganda machine, which is, instead, preoccupied with blaming Israel for the fact that a large number of Christians have left the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the past few decades.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-new-jewish-settlers-israelis-chasing-a-suburban-dream-in-the-west-bank-11573409035

ARIEL, West Bank—When the Jewish settlers who founded this town scouted the land in 1978, they chose a rocky outcrop where Palestinian villagers warned nothing would grow. It was called the Mountain of Death.

“They thought we were crazy,” said Dorith Nachman, 70 years old, recalling the reaction when she, her husband and other Jewish Israelis erected tents on the hillside.

Ariel’s founders used to administer a psychological questionnaire to incoming families to ensure they could tough it out. It wasn’t just the natural environment that was harsh. By establishing Jewish communities on land Palestinians claim as their own, the settlers opened Israel to both domestic and international criticism.

Things have gotten a whole lot easier for Jews living in many of the 132 settlements built on territory Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. A highway now connects Tel Aviv to Ariel, without the military checkpoints dotting much of the West Bank. Real-estate agents pitch it as a Tel Aviv bedroom community for young families. There are parks, malls, a university with 15,000 students and rows of townhouses and apartment blocs priced as much as 30% lower than in Tel Aviv, some 30 miles away.

Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, one of the most emotional issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, have gone mainstream among Israelis. Places once viewed with skepticism, if not downright hostility, by other Israelis are now home to 450,000 Israelis, up from 116,300 in 1993. They account for 15% of the total population of the West Bank, which also includes an estimated 2.6 million Palestinians, and 5% of the Israeli population. An August poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 48% of Israelis support a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

http://verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com/

This is a dazzling compilation of the contribution of Israel, a small country with  outsize technical, scientific, medical, cultural, and social institutions that make the lives of billions throughout the globe better and longer and more productive. And, in spite of being the target of hardened enemies who pose existential threats, the citizens of this marvelous democracy have a haven that respects their religion and their desire for good times. Tel-Aviv is considered one of the prime culinary and entertainment hubs in the world.  rsk

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

US approval for H. pylori treatment. The US FDA has given approval for Israel’s Redhill Biopharma to market its RHB-105 (Talicia) treatment for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). It follows successful Phase 3 trials, as reported (here) previously. H. pylori affects some 2 million US patients.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/redhill-gets-fda-nod-for-drug-to-eradicate-gut-infection/

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3773092,00.html

Turning mosquitos against themselves. As reported previously (see here) there are several Israeli innovations developed to help reduce numbers of disease infecting mosquitos. Now Ben Gurion University scientists have discovered and activated bacteria in the male mosquito that is poisonous only to mosquito larvae.

https://in.bgu.ac.il/en/Pages/news/igem_2019.aspx

Genetic cause of atrial fibrillation. Scientists at Ben Gurion University have found that common (mostly night-time) atrial fibrillation (heart rhythm problems) is caused by a mutation in a gene (KCND2). They are now developing an anti-arrhythmia medication, based on their findings. It could save 200,000 lives each year.

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/israel/on-way-to-cure-israeli-researchers-discover-gene-causing-afib/2019/11/05/  https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCGEN.118.002293

Detecting and treating prostate cancer. For Men’s Health Awareness Month, here are 7 Israeli startups focused on detection and treatment of prostate cancer. Two have not been reported here previously. They are Keren Medical’s anastomosis device for bladder operations; and UC-Care’s ultrasound tumor tracking tools.

https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3772959,00.html

http://www.kerenmedical.com/index.html   https://www.uc-care.com/

Relieving pain for pancreatic cancer patients. (TY WIN &I24 News) Doctors at Israel’s Sheba Medical Center have managed to substantially reduce the pain suffered by cancer patients. Radiation is targeted at a nerve behind the pancreas. After 3 weeks, the patient is strong enough to embark on further cancer treatment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSU2bexpwNY

The first medical school in Samaria is open. Seventy students were accepted into the first class of the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School of Medicine at Ariel University. It is the sixth medical school in Israel and the first in Samaria. US Ambassador David Friedman gave the traditional Hebrew ‘Shecheyanu’ blessing. 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/270643 

Sheba hospital – the Cyprus connection. Several newsletter articles (see here) highlight the humanitarian work done at Israel’s Sheba medical center in Tel Hashomer on behalf of citizens of Cyprus. Another example here is when a Cypriot police officer was shot in the spine and airlifted to Sheba for successful treatment.

https://www.jewishpress.com/news/health-and-medicine/sheba-medical-center/sheba-a-template-for-peace-international-cooperation/2019/10/14/

NATO recognizes Israel as key medical assistance partner. NATO has recognized the Israeli Navy as a key medical-assistance partner in the Mediterranean following a drill held last month practicing emergency evacuations of personnel. “Crystal Sea 2020” involved the United Kingdom, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria.

https://www.jns.org/nato-recognizes-israel-as-key-medical-assistance-partner-as-it-seeks-to-expand-cooperation/

https://www.dailywire.com/news/bryen-u-s-israel-security-cooperation-is-a-win-win

One of the few points of unbounded bipartisan agreement in Washington has for decades been that U.S.-Israel security cooperation is right, good, mutually beneficial, and worth every nickel spent on it. It is well–grounded in facts and has acknowledged benefits to both sides.

However, at the J Street Conference last week, left-of-center political candidates and hostile-to-Israel speakers questioned the utility of American aid to Israel except, perhaps, as “leverage” to force Israel to meet their left-of-center and hostile-to-Israel demands. Candidates were willing to “explore” the issue. But it was left to J Street president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, to get to the heart of the conversation – Ben Ami isn’t interested in “leverage,” but in de-legitimizing the aid. “American aid is not intended to be a blank check. As Israel receives that $3.8 billion in aid, what is it being used for?”

Actually, it’s not, a secret. The United States is Israel’s ally of first choice. And Israel remains the one country the United States can rely upon to defend itself by itself and in coordination with American interests. And most of the money is then spent by Israel in the U.S.

https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Defending-Israels-justice-min

Justice Minister Amir Ohana must have known his address to the Knesset on Wednesday was going to unleash the rabid dogs that have been hounding him for the past six months. After all, ever since he was appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu to the coveted – albeit interim – cabinet post, Ohana’s criticism of the Israeli judiciary in general, and controversial comments about the courts in particular, have aroused the wrath of the self-righteous.

Rather than recoil, however – as a lawyer with blossoming political ambitions might be expected to do – Ohana has remained firm in and vocal about his convictions. This is in spite of the fact that in the immediate aftermath of each of his ostensibly scandalous statements, his detractors have attempted to discredit him in a host of ways, particularly by insinuating that he has no special skills beyond being Bibi’s pet and sycophant.

It’s a ridiculous claim, of course. But it’s a handy one for those who virulently oppose the Nation-State Law that Ohana was instrumental in drafting, for example, (not to mention his support for a bill that would grant a sitting prime minister – in this case, Netanyahu, who is under threat of indictment – immunity from prosecution).

Though it’s true that Ohana is a Netanyahu loyalist, he has been one since long before he entered the Knesset. Furthermore, his continued backing of the PM in the face of the investigations against him has to do with his professional assessment that the cases are legally flimsy, at best, which they are.