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Three days after Israel's ambassador to Spain protested anti-Israeli propaganda in a Spanish teachers' manual, the Foreign Ministry Monday protested the inclusion of an anti-Israeli poem in a Norwegian matriculation exam. Norwegian Ambassador Jakken Biorn Lian was called to a meeting with Deputy Director-General Rafi Shutz, who protested the inclusion of what the Foreign Ministry described as a one-sided poem about a Palestinian girl killed in Bethlehem in 2002. The poem was presented as an example of a text dealing with a conflict, and the students were asked to analyze it using the literary techniques they had studied. This was...

Teachers’ training manual in Barcelona compares Holocaust to Israel’s security barrier in West Bank; Israel demands manual be removed from shelves JERUSALEM - Officials expressed outrage over the weekend that the City of Barcelona would publish a teachers’ training manual comparing “the wall of shame Israel is building in Palestine” to concentration camps. The manual was published last week and serves as a guide for high school teachers talking about the Holocaust. The specific comparison is found in the chapter dealing the imprisonment of Spanish Republicans. “The concentration camps can be compared to two other historical events: The wall of...

Arabs resumed using arson as a weapon against Israel Friday morning and destroyed more than 10,000 pine trees in Israel's largest planted forest. Shortly after noon, firefighters overcame the fire at the Yatir Forest but still were trying to prevent it from rekindling the trees as afternoon winds become stronger. The forest is on the edge of the Negev and Judean deserts, about seven miles (12 kilometers) northwest of Arad and 15 miles (25 kilometers) northeast of Be'er Sheva. "This is the largest and worst arson in the forest," said Abu Abukyan, Yatir Forest superintendent. He said there were no...

Israel Independence Day is celebrated annually, according to the Hebrew calendar, on 5 Iyar, the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. As this date falls this year on the Sabbath, Independence Day will be celebrated two days early, on Thursday, May 12. The day preceding this celebration is devoted to the memory of those who gave their lives for the achievement of the country's independence and its continued existence. On Yom Hazikaron, Remembrance Day, which will begin on Tuesday evening, May 10, the entire nation remembers its debt and expresses eternal gratitude to its sons and daughters...

Emanuel A. Winston, a Middle East analyst & commentator Some Jews of Israel continually seek martyrdom as a ‘ gesture’ to their dedicated enemies and the world but, no one cares. The Jews buy nothing with their groveling. Oslo had the Jews rolling in the dirt, begging the Muslim Arabs to forgive them for living and for being there - in their own Holy Land. When the Arab Muslims continue to kill the Jews - despite the whining and pleading for forgiveness, the Jews’ next step is to NOT be there. The Prime Minister of Israel Ariel (Arik) Sharon has...

Jerusalem - April 27 Israel is a land which lack heros, but yet every Israeli is a hero. For all who live, sweat and work in this Middle-Eastern democratic state, facing sand storms, overdraft and terrorism, one must be a hero. But some cast shadows larger than others. Ezer Weizman was the very definition of a hero. A man distinguished by exceptional courage and nobility and strength. A native of Israel, a Sabra, who enjoyed the challenge of flight and dared to speak when others remained silent. Thousands of mourners from Israel and abroad gathered Tuesday to bid farewell to...

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Wednesday for a Mideast peace conference in Moscow in the autumn, and he and President Hosni Mubarak also ended their landmark meeting by urging the United Nations to play a larger role in Iraq. The Russian president, leader of one of the four powers backing the "road map" plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, said he would discuss the peace conference proposal with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon during his visit to Israel, which was to begin late Wednesday. "I am suggesting that we should convene a conference for all these countries concerned (with...

World media reports suggest that Israel or America, or both, might be preparing a preemptive strike against Iran to stop it from developing weapons of mass destruction. If that happens, what will be the fate of Iran's 30,000 Jews? Iran's malevolent intentions toward Israel are not in dispute. But an Israeli attack on Iran could set the Muslim world afire, and Jews living in Muslim countries could become the targets of angry Muslim mobs. Jews in Turkey, for instance, are in a generally good situation. Their government is not openly hostile toward them and there is no state-sponsored call to...

LONDON The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has received a flood of protests, accompanied by an increasing number of resignations, following its decision to adopt boycotts against Israeli universities last Friday. The backlash, which may take the form of mass resignations from the union, has seen an outpouring of protests by Jewish and non-Jewish academics across Britain. John Vail, lecturer in political economy at Newcastle University, wrote in an e-mail to fellow academics: "The boycott is blatantly discriminatory and reeks of double standards." He added: "Although I have no current research links with Israeli academics, this has made me want...

The Pentagon has informed the US congress that Israel has requested to purchase 100 laser-guided smart bombs, which could potentially be used to target and destroy underground bunkers, Israel Radio reported. The cost of the deal would reach $30 million. Pentagon officials said that the deal would not effect the balance of power in the Middle East, although American military experts suggested that Israel could use the bombs to attack Iranian nuclear facilities. The laser-guided bombs, manufactured by the Lockheed Martin Corporation, can be carried by F-15 fighter jets. Congress has a 30-day deadline to decide on whether or not...

Official Palestinian Authority (PA) sponsored television broadcast a sermon this past Friday that accused Israel and the United States of seeking to conquer the Arab world. "Our enemies want to occupy Arab and Islamic lands, under their leadership," Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris declared in his weekly sermon. The imam (Islamic preacher) is on the payroll of the PA, according to Hebrew University Professor and Arab Affairs expert Dr. Michael Widlanski, who translated the sermon. Therefore, the speech was essentially broadcast and financed by the PA, whose chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has repeatedly stated his committment to eliminate incitement against Israel...

By 2009, Israel will be ranked last among developed countries in terms of government allowances, National Insurance Institute report says; poverty growing, gap between rich and poor deepening. TEL AVIV - As a result of sharp cuts in government allowances, Israel will be ranked last among developed countries when it comes to government assistance per capita, a National Insurance Institute report says. The average allowance per child, once the cuts are completed, would stand at 2 percent of GDP, compared to 4.7 percent today. National Insurance Director General Yigal Ben Shalom submitted the new report, which refers to 2004 figures,...

American President George W. Bush Tuesday night demanded that Syria not only withdraw from Lebanon but also shut down Hezbollah terrorist operations. Hezbollah "is a dangerous organization," the President said on a Lebanese broadcast. "Syria has got to do its part about making sure that Hezbollah doesn't receive support from Syria," Bush added. Hezbollah has been increasing its strength the past several years, and its attacks on Israeli soldiers succeeded in forcing former Prime Minister Ehud Barak to suddenly withdrew IDF troops from the southern Lebanon "security zone" that helped protect the Galilee. Since the withdrawal, many of the Hezbollah...

PARIS - Around 10,000 French Jews expressed their support for the Israeli government on Sunday in Paris during a rally attended by two senior Israeli ministers and several French politicians. The goal of the rally was to show French Jewish support for the “courageous, brave and determined step” of the Israeli government toward peace, namely the disengagement plan. French politicians from both sides of the political spectrum took part in the event. Francois Holland, head of the French socialist party, said he came to support the Israeli government, and especially Shimon Peres, chairman of Israel’s Labor party and deputy prime...

A 12-part series on the life of the “father of suicide bombings,” Hamas bomb-maker Yihye Ayyash is set to be aired on the Lebanese-based Hizbullah satellite television station al-Manar. Ayyash was born in 1966, near Shechem. He studied electrical engineering at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah and joined Hamas shortly afterward. His bombs killed at least 76 Israelis and injured more than 400 before Israeli intelligence succeeded in killing him, using a bomb installed in his cellular phone. Ayyash is lauded as a hero in the Palestinian Authority and posters featuring his face, with the honorific nickname ‘al-Muhandas’ [the engineer],...

Jerusalem, April 15 The Jewish Agency for Israel announced today that on Wednesday and Thursday, April 20 and 21 massive demonstrations will take place in major capital cities throughout the world as part of the "Born to Freedom" campaign which seeks information on the whereabouts of the missing Israel Defense Forces Airforce navigator Ron Arad and other Israel MIAs and Jews held hostage in Iran. These demonstrations will take place simultaneously in front of Iran Embassies in: London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm and at the UN Headquarters in New York City, as well as at the UN Human Rights...

Israeli Foreign Minister complained to visiting American official that young Israelis' visa applications are almost automatically rejected; official promised to better treatment. In his meeting with Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Maura Harty Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom complained about the growth in the number of Israelis who are refused a visa to the U.S. “The problem is mainly with newly-released soldiers, who wish to go travel in the U.S after the military but are almost automatically refused one since they don’t work or study,” Shalom said. “There is no reason such young folks will not get a...

Hello FReepers and welcome to my weekly IDF and Israel topic. As part of my IDF and Israel ping list, I am publishing a series of fascinating stories and facts about the IDF and Israel. I will include topics about Israeli-Arab wars, IDF's famous missions, war diaries written by IDF warriors, special IDF units, Middle East's strategic balance, Israel beyond politics, and much more. Feel free to ask questions about the IDF and Israel- from any kind, and to give suggestions for future topics as the publications are for you. Today's topic will focus on the Sinai War (also known...

After months of rumors and question marks about whether Israel should withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border - the Philadelphi Route - it now appears that the idea may not even have a Knesset majority. Government representatives have reached a preliminary agreement with Egypt stipulating that 750 Egyptian soldiers will guard the Philadelphi Route. Their job will be mainly to ensure that no weapons are smuggled from Egypt into Gaza. Over the past months, thousands of rifles and even some rocket launchers have been smuggled into Judea and Samaria via that route - leading many IDF sources to believe that the...

Three Apache Longbow helicopters arrive in Israel as part of USD 640 million defense-upgrade project; equipped with advanced night-vision system; remaining choppers to arrive by the end of 2006. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) received three Apache Longbow helicopters Sunday as part of a newly-established 20-helicopter squadron. The highly advanced chopper can fly in all weather conditions and at nighttime, as it comes equipped with a night-vision system that transfers images directly to the pilot's eyes, a senior IAF officer said. Another major advantage of the chopper pertains to its radar, which permits the detection of more than one target...