M E N O R A H

John Kerry Met With Father of ‘Martyr’ Killed During Mavi Marmara Ambush on Israeli Troops

“This morning I had breakfast with my American colleague John Kerry. Ahmet Doğan, the father of Furkan Doğan, one of the Mavi Marmara martyrs, also attended,” the first tweet says.

“We shared the events on the Mavi Marmara and Furkan’s pain,” says the second.

And finally: “Ahmet gave the letter addressed to Mr. Obama to Mr. Kerry. Mr. Kerry said that he would pass the letter on to President Obama.” More

Congressman Brad Sherman Named New Co-Chair of Congressional Israel Allies Caucus

Representative Brad Sherman (CA-30) has been named the fourth co-Chair of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus.

A legislator with a decade-and-a-half-long record of support for the State of Israel, Sherman joins the bi-partisan pro-Israel body which is jointly headed by Democratic and Republican Congressmen alike, and includes dozens of Congressmen across the political spectrum.

Sherman, who was unanimously selected by Caucus Co-chairs Doug Lamborn (CO-05) Eliot Engel (NY-16) and Trent Franks (AZ-08) said he was honored by the appointment, and pledged to work with his colleagues to strengthen the relationship between the US and Israel. More

US lawmakers blast critics of visa waivers for Israelis

Pro-Palestinian groups campaign against granting Israelis unfettered access to the US, citing ‘discriminatory’ security procedures at Ben Gurion Airport.

NEW YORK – Two US lawmakers hit back on Monday at criticism of their proposal to waive the visa requirement for Israelis who wish to visit the United States.

The criticism, leveled by pro-Palestinian and left-wing groups in recent weeks, argues that Israeli security procedures discriminate against Arab Americans who wish to visit Israel or Palestinian areas, and calls on Congress not to ease entry for Israelis into the US while Israel makes entry difficult for certain Americans. More

Report: U.S. Talks Peace, But Aids Incitement

American leaders speak of the importance of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, but American money is being used by terrorist groups that undermine the chance for peace, according to a report by NGO Monitor that was presented Monday to the United States Congress.

The problem is with the funding dispersed by U.S.-funded NGOs, explained NGO Monitor head Professor Gerald Steinberg. He named USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as two organizations funded by the U.S. government that in turn fund local Arabs groups, some of which work against the U.S. government’s stated goals.

One example given in the report is the case of MIFTAH, a Palestinian Authority-based NGO. The NED give MIFTAH over $178,000 from 2007 to 2012.

MIFTAH is “centrally involved in anti-Israel campaigns and antisemitism, including repetition of the infamous blood libel and allegations of ‘the slaughter of Palestinian children,’ ‘massacre,’ ‘cultural genocide,’ ‘war crimes,’ and ‘apartheid,’” the report stated. More

Lapid: J'lem shouldn't be capital of Palestinian state

Finance Minister Yair Lapid said Jerusalem should not be the capital of any future Palestinian state in an interview with The New York Times published on Sunday, his first interview to the foreign media since being elected.

“Jerusalem is not a place, Jerusalem is an idea,” Lapid told the Times, adding that “Jerusalem is the capital of the Israeli state.”

The finance minister told the Times that land in east Jerusalem should remain in Israeli control, according to the 1967 lines, stating “we didn’t come here for nothing.”

In regard to Israeli settlements, Lapid said he would make no move to obstruct their "natural expansion" in the West Bank. More

Hezbollah preparing to attack Israel, commander says

Hezbollah is in the final stage of preparation to attack Israel with sophisticated weapons, according to a high-level commander of the terrorist group.

Tabnak, an outlet of Iran’s Islamic regime, said an unidentified Hezbollah commander, in an interview with the Kuwaiti paper Alrai, thanked Syrian President Bashar Assad for keeping his promise to provide those weapons to Hezbollah.

“We have in recent days done extensive operations for reconnaissance on Israel’s central and sensitive military and infrastructural installations in different areas and also on Israel’s commando posts and peacekeeping forces in the Golan Heights,” he said, “to prepare for the coming battle with the occupying regime.” More

Despite Cuts, Govt. to Build Homes for Gush Katif Evictees

Housing Minister Uri Ariel said Sunday that he had allocated NIS 80 million to build permanent housing for refugees from Gush Katif, who nearly a decade after the forced abandonment of their homes, are still living in temporary quarters.

Besides being Housing Minister, Ariel is officially responsible for the fate of the Jews who were dispossessed from their homes in Gush Katif and northern Samaria in the 2005 Disengagement. The unilateral move resulted in hundreds of missile barrages aimed at southern Israel and two IDF operations that attempted to stop them. More

Blessings Poured Out at Messianic Festival

This year the Messianic Jewish Shavuot Ingathering experienced a welcome and unexpected blessing. As the dawn broke on the early morning hours of the day of festival the heavens opened up and poured down abundant “latter rains” over the entire country. Accompanied by roaring thunder and hair-raising lighting, Israel experienced one of the best spring storms in her modern history, adding even more waters to the rising Sea of Galilee.

Groups from Beersheva in the Negev and the northern Galilee called organizers earlier to find out if the annual Messianic Festival in the Judean Mountains had been cancelled. “No way,” they were told. “If ever there was a joyful time to go up to Jerusalem it is right now.” Over 2,000 believers made their way up to the yearly festival and the blessings of abundant rains over the nation added an extra portion of joy to all.

With perfectly choreographed timing, as worshippers began the ascent into the Judean steppes, the ever present Middle East sun broke through and presented one of the most brilliant and refreshing days of the year for all to enjoy. More

Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing takes over the oilfields once belonging to Assad

Al-Qaeda's Syrian wing is helping to finance its activities by selling the product of oilfields that once helped to prop up the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Up to 380,000 barrels of crude oil were previously produced by wells around the city of Raqqa and in the desert region to its east that are now in rebel hands - in particular Jabhat al-Nusra, the al-Qaeda off-shoot which is the strongest faction in this part of the country.

Now the violently anti-Western jihadist group, which has been steadily extending its control in the region, is selling the crude oil to local entrepreneurs, who use home-made refineries to produce low-grade petrol and other fuels for Syrians facing acute shortages.

The ability of Jabhat al-Nusra to profit from the oil locally, despite international sanctions which have hindered its sale abroad, will be particularly worrying to the European Union, which has voted to ease the embargo but at the same time wants to marginalise the extremist group within the opposition. More

“The Palestinians [are] Jesus' descendants" and "Jesus' story is his [Palestinian] people's story"

Having no ancient Palestinian history, the Palestinian Authority has tried for many years to convince its people that they have a history going back many thousands of years, that there was an ancient Palestinian nation, and that one of the great figures of history, Jesus, was their “forefather” and they are “Jesus' descendants.”

The fact that in Christian tradition Jesus is a Jew from the nation of Judea and that the historical record has no record of a Palestinian Arab people, is not taught by the PA. The PA also ignores the fact that Rome only changed the name of Judea to "Palestine" after the Judean Bar Kochba Rebellion in the year 136, long after the death of Jesus. Furthermore, according to Christian tradition, Jesus did not marry, had no children, and therefore Palestinians could not be "Jesus' descendants." More