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Google Threatens to Shutter Search Engine in Australia; Lobbies Against Digital News Code

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Tech giant Google, which is the world’s largest and most popular search engine on the internet, is now threatening to prevent Australian users from their services by shutting down.

By: TJVNews.com

Tech giant Google, which is the world’s largest and most popular search engine on the internet, is now threatening to prevent Australian users from their services by shutting down, according to published reports. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the move would mean that Google would forfeit approximately $4 billion in revenue. Google is ramping up its lobbying agenda against draft legislation that is intended to force it to pay news publishers for reuse of their content, according to a recent report on the Tech Crunch web site.

Google, which is worth $1.8 trillion warned in a statement on Friday that “the principle of unrestricted linking between websites is fundamental to Search. Coupled with the unmanageable financial and operational risk if this version of the Code were to become law it would give us no real choice but to stop making Google Search available in Australia.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Google managing director Melanie Silva told a Senate committee hearing on Friday that Google would shut off search in Australia if the government’s proposed media bargaining code becomes law. Experts said the threat is not idle, with Google likely fearful the code could set a global precedent.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, “Australia makes our rules for things you can do in Australia. That’s done in our Parliament. It’s done by our government, and that’s how things work here in Australia. People who want to work with that, in Australia, you’re very welcome. But we don’t respond to threats.”

The SMH reported that the code “aims to force digital platforms to pay media companies for news content, and follows a 12-month review into Google and Facebook by the competition watchdog. The legislation, which was introduced into the House of Representatives in December, comes amid a push by global governments to rein in the power of digital monopolies.

Google’s threats follow similar remarks made by Facebook Australia’s managing director Will Easton in September, who announced plans to remove news articles from the social media’s main app if the media code is passed by Parliament.”

Tech Crunch reported that “Facebook would also be subject to the law. Facebook has previously said it would ban news from being shared on its products owing if the law was brought in, as well as claiming it’s reduced its investment in the country as a result of the legislative threat.”

Google has changed its lobbying tactics since last summer, as they have jettisoned its attempt to derail the law entirely in favor of trying to reshape it to minimize the financial impact, according to the Tech Crunch report.

They are now focused on trying to eject the most harmful elements (as it sees it) of the draft legislation — while also pushing its News Showcase program, which it hastily spun up last year, as an alternative model for payments to publishers that it would prefer becomes the vehicle for remittances under the Code, as was reported by TechCrunch.

The SMH reported that “Australian media companies disputed the claims of the tech giants and urged the government to legislate immediately. Executives from News Corp Australia, Nine Entertainment Co (owner of this masthead) and Guardian Australia, presented a largely united front at the hearing, arguing the code would help ensure the long-term sustainability of local journalism and disputing claims the tech giants did not receive value from content.

The draft legislation for Australia’s digital news Code which is currently before the parliament includes a controversial requirement that tech giants Google and Facebook pay publishers for linking to their content — not merely for displaying snippets of text.”

DeBlasio, Stringer & Trustees Announce Estimated $4B Divestment from Fossil Fuels

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The mayor and the comptroller. (Photo: NYC Mayor’s Office)

New York City’s largest pension funds achieve first in the nation goal of divesting from fossil fuel reserve owners – expected to be one of the largest fossil fuel divestments in the world

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Mayor Bill de Blasio, Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, along with trustees of two of the City’s pension funds, on Monday announced these funds have voted to divest their portfolios of estimated $4 billion from securities related to fossil fuel companies. The divestment, expected to be one of the largest in the world, will address the significant financial and environmental risks that these fossil fuel holdings pose to the funds and to our planet. In 2018, New York City became the first major city in the nation to commit to divesting major public pension funds from fossil fuel reserve companies. Since the initial announcement hundreds of other institutions, governments, and entities have joined this commitment. The City also partnered with C40 and London to engage other cities to pursue fossil fuel divestment.

“Fossil fuels are not only bad for our planet and our frontline communities, they are a bad investment,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Our first-in-the-nation divestment is literally putting money where our mouth is when it comes to climate change. Divestment is a bold investment in our children and grandchildren, and our planet. I applaud the trustees, advocates and experts for their hard work, and I look forward to seeing more cities around the world join this call for change.”

“Climate change is the fight of our lives, and we must face it head on with everything we’ve got – for our planet, for our children, and for our retirees,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Since we announced our first-in-the-nation divestment goal, the urgent environmental and financial risks of climate change have only grown more clear. New York City is leading the way forward because we know the future is on the side of clean energy – not big polluters. I’m proud of the trustees, advocates and investment experts who worked with us to ensure a fiscally prudent and environmentally responsible divestment process and a greener future for generations to come.”

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) voted to approve divestments today and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System (BERS) is expected to move forward on a divestment vote imminently. Securities were identified based on demonstrated risk from fossil fuel reserves and business activity, and the trustees will continue to evaluate risk in their portfolios to determine additional actions as warranted.

The names of companies and the final scope of the divestment will be released following the sale of all targeted securities, which will be completed in a prudent manner to achieve best execution. The divestment is expected to be complete within the original five year timeline. The announcement by the Mayor, Comptroller, and Trustees follows an extensive and thorough fiduciary process to prudently assess the portfolio’s exposure to fossil fuel stranded asset risk and industry decline and other financial risks stemming from climate change.

Alleged Child Sex Abuser Extradited to Australia; Faces 74 Criminal Counts

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Malka Leifer led by prison service officers in Jerusalem court. Photo Credit: Flash 90

Former educator accused of sexually abusing her students extradited back to Australia

By: David Rosenberg

Malka Leifer, the disgraced former Australian educator accused of dozens of counts of child sex abuse, was extradited from Israel back to Australia Monday morning, hours before Israel imposes a near-total travel ban to and from the country.

In December, then-Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn signed off on Leifer’s expulsion order, removing the last barrier to her extradition to Australia.

The Supreme Court repeatedly rejected appeals by Leifer, upholding lower court decisions clearing the way for her extradition to Australia to face 74 charges of child sex abuse.

Allegations first surfaced against Leifer in 2008, while she was serving as principal at a haredi school in Melbourne.

Before authorities could arrest her, however, Leifer fled to Israel, moving to the town of Emmanuel.

Since 2014, Leifer has faced efforts to secure her extradition, but managed to stymie the extradition process with legal challenges, claiming that she was mentally unfit to stand trial.

While the claim was initially accepted by a court in 2016, private investigators later uncovered evidence showing Leifer had deceived the court, and that she was in fact capable of standing trial.

The lengthy delays in securing Leifer’s extradition strained ties between Israel and Australia, which repeatedly demanded Leifer’s immediate return to stand trial.

The Magen organization lauded Leifer’s extradition, while lamenting the lengthy legal process required.

“We are so happy that today, Malka Leifer has finally been extradited to Australia,” the group said in a statement Monday morning.

“It has taken over 70 hearings for Israel to rule on her extradition, but this important milestone in the victims’ quest for justice has finally arrived. We continue to stand by the courageous survivors and support them as they begin the next chapter through the Australian justice system.”

“As an organization and as a community, we must continue to take a stand and fight for victims of sexual abuse, that the state of Israel not be used as a safe haven for sex offenders, and that this gross manipulation of the justice system may never happen again.”

             (Israel National News)

Read more at: www.israelnationalnews.com

Fearless Iranian Cleric Embraces Israel, Dreams of Praying in Jerusalem

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Channel 12 reporter Ohad Hemo interviews former ayatollah Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani. (Channel 12/Screenshot)

Deposed ayatollah risks a Zoom call with an Israeli reporter, saying, ‘Our regime is dictatorial, we have no problem with Israel.”

By: Paul Shindman

An Iranian cleric affiliated with the opposition was interviewed on Israeli television and said he did not fear retribution from the regime in Tehran for talking to Israelis, and that ordinary Iranians do not have a bad opinion of the Jewish State, Channel 12 reported Monday.

Abdol-Hamid Masoumi-Tehrani is a former ayatollah who had the title removed by the Iranian government and spent five years in jail because of his objections to the regime. In a video call from his home in Iran, he told Channel 12 news that Iranians struggled with a dictatorial regime that suppresses its own people and was “inventing non-existent enemies.”

Asked what the Iranians on the street think of Israel, Masoumi-Tehrani replied: “Understand that Iranians and Jews have a long history of friendship. From what I see and hear in conversations with people here, I have not encountered Iranians who have a bad opinion of Israel.”

Masoumi-Tehrani held one of the highest religious titles in Iran – ayatollah – and was admired and respected until he issued a ruling against the appointment of Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“In 1986, when he was elected Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, due to my early acquaintance with him and his behavior, I claimed that he would surely destroy both religion and the country,” Masoumi-Tehrani said. “Because of that and because I opposed it, I spent five years in prison. This controversy continues to this day.”

Masoumi-Tehrani is considered a leading opposition voice within Iran and has been arrested many times for preaching the separation of religion and state and objecting to conservative rule. He is also recognized in Iran as fighting for minority rights of Bahais and Jews, and for the Iranians’ right to demonstrate against the regime.

The rebellious cleric brushed off the question of risking government retribution for speaking publicly with Israeli television.

“I have been speaking in the most transparent way possible for 20 years,” Masoumi-Tehrani said. “I sit in Tehran and do not work for any country, organization or group. If they do not like me talking to you or anyone else – this is their problem. We [Iranians] have no problem neither with Israel nor with any other country in the world.”

“Unfortunately because our regime is dictatorial and limited to the rule of one person who does not care about the minds of most of the public in Iran, the people here cannot protest quietly and the regime suppresses them violently,” he said.

Maoumi-Tehrani is also a scholar of calligraphy and has authored several holy books. His Hebrew copy of the Book of Ezra resulted in him being interrogated more than once by the authorities.

He says Israel has nothing to worry about from Iran’s threats: “I do not think this talk (about the destruction of Israel) is serious. Do not forget that Saddam Hussein also said these slogans, and we know where he is today.”

At the end of the interview, Maoumi-Tehrani said one of his wishes is to visit Israel.

“If one day my health allows me to board a plane, of course I will come to Israel. My request from God has always been to come to Jerusalem and especially to pray at the Western Wall,” Masoumi-Tehrani said.

  (World Israel News)

Read more at: www.worldisraelnews.com

IDF Sending Officials to Speak at Anti-Israel ‘Occupation’ Conference

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Sharon Afek is the current chief military advocate general of the Israel Defense Forces. (Flash90/omer Neuberg)

The IDF is planning on sending officials to speak at a conference in which Israel is portrayed as an occupying power.

By David Isaac

The International Red Cross and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel will hold a conference in a few weeks on the topic of Israel’s “occupation” in Judea and Samaria. What is surprising is that senior Israeli Army officials will speak at the conference.

Channel 20’s Hillel Biton Rosen reports on Tuesday that Israel’s Military Advocate General is sending people to address the conference, which is sure to be anti-Israel, despite the high-sounding names of the groups organizing it.

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, which receives the majority of its funding from abroad (over 19 million shekels between 2012-2020) “publishes reports and organizes public events alleging ‘violations committed by the Israeli authorities,’” according to NGO Monitor.

It also accuses Israel’s government of “implementing ‘racist’ and ‘discriminatory’ policies of ‘collective punishment’ in ‘violation of international law,’” NGO Monitor says.

Channel 20’s Biton notes it’s “one of the flagship organizations of the New Israel Fund. In the past, the association was called the ‘Association for Hamas Rights’ by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, after it petitioned the High Court and prevented the deportation of hundreds of terrorists – as a result the deportation was stopped and the damage to the State of Israel was enormous.”

The Red Cross, an organization well-respected in the West, has unfortunately shown its stripes where Israel is concerned. It has adopted the Palestinian narrative in the Arab-Israel conflict.

So eager is it to find Israeli human rights violations that in December 2020, in a bizarre series of tweets, it noted fictitious human rights violations on an Israeli TV show, the popular Netflix series Fauda.

Ironically, the three violations of humanitarian law the Red Cross called out on Twitter have been committed by the Palestinians many times over in real life.

In spite of this, not only is the IDF sending representatives but Israel’s Justice Department also plans on sending a senior jurist, Biton reports.

Only two years ago, he says, the Association for Civil Rights petitioned against the IDF to prevent them from harming terrorists during the March of Return riots in the Gaza Strip.

“Many bereaved parents who we spoke with today expressed great resentment that the IDF respects the organization that represents terrorists who harmed them,” Biton reports.

(World Israel News)

Read more at: www.worldisraelnews.com

IDF Rescues Israeli Hiker from Arabs Stoning & Beating Him

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Palestinian terrorist throwing stones. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

The IDF arrived as the 25-year-old hiker was attacked by five Arabs who threw rocks and beat him.

By: TPS

An Israeli man was lightly injured on Monday when he was attacked by a group of Arabs while taking a stroll near the community of Har Bracha, in Samaria.

The man, 25, was on a hike when he was attacked by five Arabs who threw rocks and beat him.

He was subsequently rescued by the IDF and an Israeli civilian security team and was treated by an MDA team which evacuated him to a hospital for further treatment or injuries to his face.

The IDF has surrounded the nearby Arab village of Arak Burin and is searching for the attackers.

The attack arrives a little over a month after Muhammad Maruh Kabha brutally murdered Esther Horgan.

He told Shin Bet interrogators that he “decided to carry out a terrorist attack after he was influenced … – by the death of a security prisoner he knew, Kamal Abu Wa’er,” who died in prison from cancer, proving that Palestinian Authority (PA) incitement in the media and its spread of the Abu Wa’er libel prompted the crime.

Horgan was a beloved mother of six from Samaria.

Abu Wa’er, who was serving six life sentences for involvement in the murder of at least four Israelis, recently died of cancer in prison.

During his illness, the PA and Fatah launched an incitement campaign citing top officials who falsely claimed Israel was denying him proper treatment, and once Abu Wa’er had died, they intensified the libel that his death was caused by “deliberate medical neglect.”

Apparently believing this to be true, Kabha decided to kill an Israeli in revenge, and when he “identified a Jewish woman walking alone,” he took a rock and bludgeoned her to death.

The PA “does everything it can to demonize Israel and create hate among Palestinians,” the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) noted in its report.

“One means is the spreading of libels, and one of those libels is that Israel treats imprisoned Palestinian terrorists inhumanely. For years, the PA has purported that Israel ‘tortures”’ terrorist prisoners, gives them experimental drugs rather than try to cure their illnesses, does Nazi-like experiments on them, intentionally infects them with diseases, deliberately neglects them medically, and refrains from treating severe diseases like cancer to cause their ‘slow death,’” PMW explained.

PMW note that the International Red Cross regularly visits the imprisoned terrorists and does not accuse Israel of treating sick terrorist prisoners improperly.

In June 2020 a Red Cross official told PA TV “we visited more than 90% of those who are in these [20 different] prisons.”

(TPS)

Israeli Jets Over Syria Endure Barrage of Hundreds of Anti-Aircraft Missiles

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Israeli F35 in silhouette (Instagram/Israeliairforce/Screenshot)

The Syrians have shot over 200 anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli jets on their missions, according to the report.

By: Batya Jerenberg

Israeli pilots contend with hundreds of anti-aircraft missiles and ground-to-air fire as they strike at Iranian forces in Syria, a Monday report reveals.

Israel’s Kan public broadcasting released rare recordings of pilots hitting targets in Syria during one of the many attacks that Israel has carried out in the last year over its northern border to deter Iran and its proxies from gaining a foothold in the country.

“We’re at Ready. Good speed. No messages…. You have permission to fire at the target,” the commander says in one recording.

“Roger. Firing one. Firing two,” comes the response, as the video shows an explosion on the ground below.

In another recording, the pilot says over his radio, “Execution according to plan. Each one on his own board mission.”

“Good height, everyone’s clean. TV. Last drops to ‘Batman’ … Batman, everyone stay alert.”

The command to stay alert is necessary. The Syrians have shot over 200 anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli jets on their missions, according to the report. Col. Y, commander of the Ramon Airbase told Kan News that the IAF lost an F-16I plane to such missile fire about three years ago.

“We’ve experienced massive ground-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft fire for a long time already,” he said, “so we invest an enormous amount in our preparations. We’re very careful that it will be at the right time, in the right place, with the right flight path, right height. There are a lot of parameters that we take into consideration.”

“Whoever says that [when a missile is fired at him] it doesn’t tense him up and doesn’t scare him is saying something wrong in my humble opinion,” he said.

“When we look outside, when fire is directed at the sky, we give it full respect,” he added. “On the other hand, I can tell you that you plan the mission in such a way that you can carry it out also if missiles are shot in the sky. You’re always ready for surprises… You have to know how to react very quickly.”

According to foreign press reports, Israel has hit Syria five times in the last three weeks alone, with an especially effective one killing dozens of Iran-backed militia and destroying weapons facilities on the Iraqi border. Calling it “the most intense of its kind on Syrian territory,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added in that specific case “no response or attempt to confront the Israeli bombing was monitored by the [Syrian] regime’s air defenses.”

While often staying mum on such attacks, Jerusalem has admitted to thousands of strikes in Syria over the last several years against Iranian or their proxies’ military outposts, ammunition storage and rocket production sites, and the like.

On Monday, a photographer from Hezbollah’s Al Manar television station in Lebanon tweeted pictures of what seemed to be an F-35I stealth fighter, the IAF’s most advanced airplane, high in the sky over his country. Although the photographer misidentified it in his post as one of “six F-15s flying over Lebanon for hours,” Israel uses the fifth-generation F-35I for reconnaissance and combat missions.

(World Israel News)

Read more at: www.worldisraelnews.com

Identity Tags Worn by 4 Jewish Children Murdered at Sobibor Unearthed in Archaeological Excavation

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Identity tags worn by four Jewish children who were deported to the Sobibor death camp in Poland and murdered there have recently been unearthed in an archaeological excavation at the site. Photo by Yoram Haimi/IAA on 26 January, 2021

By: TPS

Identity tags worn by four Jewish children who were deported to the Sobibor death camp in Poland and murdered there have recently been unearthed in an archaeological excavation at the site.

The tags, metal pendants worn around the children’s necks, belonged to four children aged 5–11 from Amsterdam, Holland. The tags bear their names, date of birth and addresses.

The extraordinary archaeological excavation, begun prior to the construction of the new visitors’ center at the camp, is being conducted by Wojciech Mazurek from Poland, Yoram Haimi from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and Ivar Schute from Holland, with the assistance of local residents.

The tags belonged to Lea Judith De La Penha, Deddie Zak, Annie Kapper, and David Juda Van der Velde.

Haimi said that “as far as we know, identity tags with children’s names have only been found at Sobibor, and nowhere else. Since the tags are very different from each other, it is evident that this was probably not some organized effort.”

“The children’s identity tags were prepared by their parents, who were probably desperate to ensure that the children’s relatives could be located in the chaos of the Second World War,” he explained.

“Lea, Annie and Deddie’s tags have enabled us to link faces and stories to the names, which until now had only been anonymous entries in Nazi lists. Archaeological excavation provides us with an opportunity to tell the victims’ stories and to honor their memory,” he added.

Memorial to those murdered at the Sobibor extermination camp. Photo Credit: Britannica.com

To discover the children’s details, the archaeologists contacted the Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, which was used as a transit camp in the Holocaust for Jews being deported from Holland to Eastern Europe and is now a visitors center and memorial site.

“I have been excavating at Sobibor for 10 years,” shared Haimi, “but this is the hardest day I have ever had. As we stood holding the tags in the field, beside the crematoria, we contacted the center and we gave them the names. They responded immediately. By phone, we received photos of smiling young children.”

“The hardest thing was to learn that some of the children whose tags we held in our hands reached Sobibor on a children’s transport – 1,300 little children, aged 4–8, who were sent here to die alone, without their parents. I looked at the photos and asked myself, how could anyone have been so cruel?” he said.

Lea Judith De La Penha, born 11 May 1937, and died aged six. Her tag was found near the camp’s railway platform.

Deddie Zak was born on February 23, 1935. His charred metal tag was found in one of the crematoria. Deddie was deported to the camp on the so-called Kindertransport, named after the large number of children it carried to their death. About a third of the 3,017 Jews deported to Sobibor from the Vught Via Westerbork concentration camp were children aged 4–8, many of them without parents.

Deddie was murdered with his family when they reached Sobibor camp on 11 June 1943. He was only 8 years old.

Annie Kapper was born in January 1931 and died aged 12. Her aluminum identity tag was found near one of the mass graves.

The Kapper family was deported to Sobibor on 30 March 1943, in the fifth transport, which contained 1,255 Jews in 25 wagons. The train reached Sobibor on 2 April 1943 and all those on board were murdered in the camp’s gas chambers.

David Juda Van der Velde was born on 21 November 1932, and died aged 11. His half a broken aluminum identity tag was found to the west of the gas chambers.

David and his family were deported on transport number 5 from Westerbork to Sobibor on 30 March 1943 and reached Sobibor camp on 2 April 1943, where they were immediately taken to the gas chambers.

Sobibor was an extermination camp was located in the forest near the village of Sobibór in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland.

As an extermination camp rather than a concentration camp, Sobibor existed for the sole purpose of killing Jews. The vast majority of prisoners were gassed within a few hours of their arrival.

Those not gassed were forced to assist in the operation of the camp, and few survived more than a few months.

Some 170,000 to 250,000 Jews were murdered at Sobibor.

(TPS)

Facebook Blocks Netanyahu’s Chatbot After He Encourages COVID-19 Vaccines

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Facebook has suspended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chatbot for a week after he allegedly breached their privacy policy when he tried to encourage senior citizens to get the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine. Photo by Hillel Maeir/TPS on 28 December, 2015

By: Aryeh Savir

Facebook has suspended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chatbot for a week after he allegedly breached their privacy policy when he tried to encourage senior citizens to get the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

A post was published on the Prime Minister’s page on Thursday in which he called on the audience to write to him in private if any of them know friends or family members over the age of 60 who are afraid of getting vaccinated and he may contact them.

A chat message was also sent to anyone who interacted with the page.

“If you have friends or family members aged 60 or over who have not yet been vaccinated, you can write me a name and phone number and maybe I will call to convince them!” the post read.

“Under our privacy policy we do not allow content that shares or asks for people’s medical information,” said a Facebook spokeswoman on Monday while announcing the suspension.

“We have removed the offending post and temporarily suspended the messenger bot, which shared this content, for breaking these rules,” she added.

Netanyahu’s Likud party stated in response to Facebook’s claim that “the goal was to encourage Israelis over the age of 60 to get vaccinated to save their lives after Prime Minister Netanyahu brought vaccines to every Israeli citizen – we call on everyone to get vaccinated so we can open up the economy and be the first in the world to exit the Corona.”

Israel is the world leader in vaccinating its population against COVID-19.

Over 2, 663,300 Israelis have received first the Pfizer-developed vaccine, some 29% of the population, and over 1,221,000 have received the second dose.

Some 80% of Israel’s citizens over the age of 60 have received the vaccine.

Our World in Data, a global, aggregated database on COVID-19, presented a comprehensive picture of the state of COVID-19 inoculations around the world.

On a scale of the number of COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people within a given population, Israel came in first with 2.04, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 0.87, and the United Kingdom with 0.53.

    (TPS)

‘Japanese Schindler’ Honored Ahead of Int’l Holocaust Remembrance Day

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A digital online reception was held on Monday to honor the memory, bravery and the legacy of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who defied his government’s orders by issuing travel visas to more than 6,000 Lithuanian Jews, enabling them to escape the oncoming Nazi onslaught. Photo Credit: Yadvashem.org

By: TPS

A digital online reception was held on Monday to honor the memory, bravery and the legacy of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who defied his government’s orders by issuing travel visas to more than 6,000 Lithuanian Jews, enabling them to escape the oncoming Nazi onslaught.

The event, held ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, highlighted Sugihara’s incredible actions as an inspiration for today’s battle against contemporary anti-Semitism.

The event was hosted by the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement in partnership with B’nai B’rith International.

Sugihara was a Japanese career diplomat posted to Lithuania, when all foreign diplomats were asked to leave in the summer of 1940, due to Soviet annexation. Faced with a Jewish delegation desperate for Japanese transit visas to reach the relative safety of Curacao, a Dutch colony, Sugihara defied his government’s orders and issued at least 6,000 such visas.

It is thought that tens of thousands of Jews are alive today due to Sugihara’s actions.

At the reception, Nathan Lewin, who was saved by Sugihara as a child recalled his family’s story, while his daughter Alyza Lewin discussed the relevance of Sugihara’s story to combatting anti-Semitism today.

Nathan Lewin said that Sugihara “opened the door for thousands of refugees to be able to find a free haven in countries across the world.”

He added that “it is both an honor and a blessing for me to be here today to share my admiration and thanks for an individual who embodied the role that our rabbis specified, saying you should not do a good deed with the expectation that you will be rewarded, but for the good deed itself. That is what Chiune Sugihara did.”

Alyza Lewin reflected that “there are many people like me, descendants of the lucky ones, who experienced Sugihara’s humanity. Thanks to his moral compass, we deeply appreciate that living life is a blessing.”

She added that “today, Jews are being targeted on the basis of our ethnicity. The Jewish homeland, the Jewish nation-state of Israel is the only nation state today targeted as illegitimate. This is today’s contemporary form of anti-Semitism and we must unite to combat it.”

A keynote address was delivered by The Honorable Kimihiro Ishikane, Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations, who said that “by the grace of Sugihara’s pen, thousands of lives were saved.”

“We must remember the Holocaust to honor those who perished and to achieve a better society. We know that no country is immune from the forces of racism and fascism. So, we have to do the right thing when necessary. Chiune Sugihara is one of those who did the right thing in the most difficult hour,” he said.

Another Holocaust survivor, Ada Winsten, whose family were also saved by Sugihara, paid tribute to the man she called “the Japanese Schindler.”

Sacha Roytman Dratwa, Executive Director, Combat Anti-Semitism Movement said that “it is estimated that 40,000 people are living today because of Sugihara. I am also a survivor. Another kind of survivor. I am alive today because my grandparents were saved during the Holocaust and I am alive today because of people who stood up to the darkness. What we learned today is that it is possible to stand up. The heroes of the past must teach us how to be better people.”

   (TPS)

Democratic Lawmakers in US Criticize Israel for Not Vaccinating Palestinians

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. (Senate Television via AP)

Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said the government’s obligation first and foremost was to its citizens, but that it would be in Israel’s best interests to make sure that Palestinians got the vaccine.

By: JNS

Several Democratic lawmakers have called on Israel to vaccinate Palestinians even though under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the health care of the Palestinians.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) joined several other Democrats, including Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Marie Newman (D-Ill.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), as well as Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), in expressing concern over Israel’s vaccination policy.

Bowman tweeted on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “must ensure that both Israelis and Palestinians have access to the COVID vaccine. This cruelty is another reminder of why the occupation must end.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) told Haartez, “I commend Israel for leading the world on vaccinating its people, but I’m disappointed and concerned by their government’s exclusion of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation from these vaccination efforts, despite making COVID vaccines available to Israeli settlers in the West Bank.”

“Israel’s government has a responsibility under international law not just to Israeli citizens but also Palestinians in the occupied territories. This is a stark reminder of the importance of achieving a two-state solution that respects the rights of the Palestinian people and the security of Israel,” he said.

“This virus does not see or care about nationality, borders, or religion—its devastating impact is everywhere. The Netanyahu administration has a moral and humanitarian obligation to ensure that both Israelis & Palestinians have access to vaccines,” tweeted Rep. Newman on Jan. 4. “Whether we’re talking about our own communities, the United States, or nations across the globe, we must do everything in our power to ensure vaccines are not only distributed rapidly but also equitably.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) accused Israel last week of being “racist” for not distributing coronavirus vaccines to the Palestinian territories. She told Democracy Now the Jewish state “has no intention” of helping Palestinian Arabs overcome the coronavirus pandemic, and that the United States is “enabling” them to do so.

Under the terms of the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the health care of Palestinians under its control in portions of the West Bank. Israel has been vaccinating Arab citizens within Israel, as well as residents of eastern Jerusalem.

Israeli Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said in an interview on Sunday that the government’s obligation first and foremost was to its citizens, but that it would be in Israel’s best interests to make sure that Palestinians got the vaccine eventually to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

(JNS.org)

Ultra-Orthodox Riot Over COVID-19 Lockdown

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Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox men rioted in several cities in Israel on Sunday night in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions which call for the closure of synagogues and yeshivas. Photo by Eitan Elhadez-Barak/TPS on 24 January, 2021

Edited by: TJVNews.com

Thousands of Ultra-Orthodox men rioted in several cities in Israel on Sunday night in response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions which call for the closure of synagogues and yeshivas, and against the police’s attempts to enforce them.

The rioters in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Beit Shemesh, and Ashdod blocked roads, burned trash cans and violently clashed with police forces.

In Jerusalem, the rioters poured cement on the tracks of the light rail system, vandalism that could have caused the loss of life. They also attacked a train in transit and smashed several of its windows and trashed tram stations.

The police arrested three rioters.

In Bnei Brak, the rioters assaulted a bus in transit, beat the driver, and torched the vehicle. The massive fire burned nearby power lines and caused a power outage in the area. The driver’s bag and possessions were stolen.

The driver, Eyal Tzipori, 41, was evacuated and treated for light injuries.

The police arrested four rioters in connection with the burning of the bus, an attempt to storm a local fire station and an assault on the mayor’s car.

Tzipori said Monday that “right now, I’m not back to driving at all. I want to rest.”

“I went through a trauma and I have no desire to serve the passengers in Bnei Brak. It’s an attack on everything. Like a nationalist attack. I was in utter shock. I do not know why this is happening within our nation,” he said.

The Haredi leadership blamed the police for the violence and accused it of selective enforcement while announcing they would continue to run their communities as they see fit.

Several Israeli politicians denounced their attempts to establish an autonomy within Israel that has a negative effect on the entire population and called on the police to use full force to quell the riots.

Yeshiva World News reported that a statement of condemnation of the violent demonstrations was issued by Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky and Hagaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein, the Rosh Yeshiva of Ponavezh.

Even though it is understood that no one from the congregation of those who are Charedim Lidvar Hashem would participate in violent Hafganos (protests) where it is well know that this is not the manner of Torah,

And certainly, no one would ever dream of befriending the provocatuers from outside of our camp who ignite the flames of violence.

In addition, it must be pointed out that no one should approach or come close to these places [of violence] because it involves a violation of, “Harchaik min hachi’ur – Distance yourself from ugly matters” [See Meseches Derech Eretz 1:12]

It is also proper to temper our sense of curiosity in this matter, for the very act of seeing such [violent] behavior damages the soul

And there should be mercy from Heaven that those who err gain wisdom and walk in the path of Torah.

(TPS & YWN)

 

Israel’s Intelligence MK in Historic Trip to Sudan; Discusses Abraham Accords

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Israel’s Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen on Monday made a historic visit to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, as the head of a joint delegation of the Ministry of Intelligence and the National Security Council. Photo by Hillel Maeir/TPS on 12 February, 2018

By: Aryeh Savir

Israel’s Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen o1n Monday made a historic visit to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, as the head of a joint delegation of the Ministry of Intelligence and the National Security Council, which was dispatched by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, weeks after Sudan joined the Abraham Accords.

Cohen met with Sudanese President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Defense Minister Yassin Ibrahim and other senior members of the Sudanese government.

The delegation, which returned to Israel just before the closure of Ben Gurion Airport, included heads of divisions in the Ministry of Intelligence and the National Security Council and officials from other government ministries who came for working meetings with their Sudanese counterparts.

The talks dealt with a variety of diplomatic, security and economic issues, and for the first time, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed on these issues between the Sudanese Minister of Defense and the Minister of Intelligence.

The parties “discussed the regional security stability that is essential for economic development and the parties will deepen intelligence cooperation,” a statement by the Israeli government said.

The possibility also arose of Israel joining the Red Sea Council, in which Egypt and Saudi Arabia are members.

The Council, established by Saudi Arabia in May 2020, includes eight Arab and African countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The Council if focused on developing cooperation between the countries bordering the Red Sea to bolster the security and stability of the region.

In the economic field, the members of the Israeli delegation raised a number of potential joint economic projects, with an emphasis on water, agriculture, renewable energy, health and aviation.

The collaboration focused on the possibility of Israeli companies establishing infrastructure projects, including desalination facilities and renewable energy, training mainly in the fields of agriculture, and promoting business delegations of Israeli companies to develop these fields.

The Sudanese also discussed their progress on repealing the country’s boycott law against Israel and amending the law imposing imprisonment on Sudanese immigrants, including those in Israel, who return to Sudan.

An agreement was also reached for a delegation from Sudan to visit Israel, as well as business delegations that will promote investment and trade between the two countries.

Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen stated that he is “confident that this visit laid the foundations for many important collaborations, which will help both Israel and Sudan, and security stability in the region, and deepen our ties with Africa and lead to further agreements with countries in the region.”

“The short geographical distance between the countries increases the security importance of the agreement and the economic potential,” he added.

Sudan is the third-largest country in Africa with about 40 million citizens and is strategically located on the shores of the Red Sea. Sudan has previously fought alongside Arab states against Israel and has helped transfer weapons to the Hamas terror organization in the Gaza Strip from Iran.

“Relations with Sudan put an end to 70 years of hostility,” the statement noted.

Sudan signed the Abraham Accords earlier this month after Israel and Sudan announced the normalization of ties in October 2020.

     (TPS)

Half of Incarcerated Criminals in Israel are from Arab Sector, Data Shows

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About half of the criminal prisoners in Israel are from the Arab sector while they constitute only 20% of the population. Photo by TPS on 5 February, 2014

By: Aryeh Savir

About half of the criminal prisoners in Israel are from the Arab sector while they constitute only 20% of the population, according to the Knesset’s Research and Information Center.

The Research and Information Center compiled a report that showed that out of 5,449 criminal prisoners incarcerated in Israel, 2,557 are Arabs and constitute 47% of the prisoners in this category.

The report was presented last month during a discussion by the Knesset’s special committee for the eradication of crime in the Arab society.

Since the beginning of 2021, within 25 days, 11 people have been murdered in Arab localities. Over 100 Arabs were murdered in Israel throughout 2020.

The police have launched several operations in Arab localities to stem the ongoing wave of violence and crimes within the Arab sector.

Approximately 85% of the indictments filed in Israel in 2020 for shooting, illegal possession of weapons, trafficking, and illegal use of weapons have been filed against suspects from the Arab society.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Sunday evening with Arab sector local council heads to discuss his proposal to defeat violence and crime in Arab society.

“It cannot be that in our state people fear to walk the streets. This embitters your lives. I am certain that there are threats against you, against all of you,” Netanyahu told them.

“We will stop gangs of criminals that undermine the communities and afterwards trickle, of course, to the rest of the population. We will stop this,” he vowed.

The plan has been in formulation for several months.

In a related development, the Palestinian Authority (PA) held a ceremony Sunday during which participants planted some 2,000 olive trees on Israeli state land, in IDF Training Ground 203 near Rosh HaAyin, in close proximity to the security barrier in the center of the country.

The event was filmed, photographed, and publicized by the Fatah-affiliated Radio Zeituna and on social media.

Armed PA police officers were among those in attendance and were filmed as they entered the IDF firing zone, despite the fact that they are prohibited from entering Area C, the areas of Judea and Samaria under full Israeli jurisdiction, as per the 1994 Oslo Accords.

The Regavim Movement, which reported on the incident, stated Monday that this event is “one element of a large-scale project that has taken shape over the past several years,” in which the PA has planted millions of trees as a means of illegally seizing control of thousands of dunams in Area C.

Regavim explained that the PA’s “agricultural annexation” focuses on land near roadways, surrounding Israeli communities, as well as state land, particularly in locations that are of high strategic and political importance.

“The Palestinian Authority has joined the Tu B’Shvat celebrations with well-planned ‘agricultural conquest’ projects – and thus far, the State of Israel is fast asleep,” said a spokesperson for Regavim.

(TPS)

Netanyahu Seeks to Extend COVID-19 Lockdown by a Week

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to extend Israel’s countrywide Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown for at least a fourth week as the infection rate in the country remains high. Photo by Eitan Elhadez-Barak/TPS on 6 July, 2020

By: Aryeh Savir

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to extend Israel’s countrywide Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown for at least a fourth week as the infection rate in the country remains high and as there is no significant decrease in the number of hospitalized patients, despite the closure and the operation to vaccinate the population.

Netanyahu convened on Monday a discussion with Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, Deputy Health Minister Yoav Kisch, National Security Council head Meir Ben-Shabbat, Health Ministry Director-General Prof. Chezy Levy, national Coronavirus project manager Prof. Nachman Ash and other senior officials.

The discussion focused on analyzing morbidity trends, the pace of vaccinations, the effect of the mutations on morbidity, target dates for the exit from the lockdown and other issues.

The senior officials expressed concern that even at the end of the current lockdown on Sunday Israel will remain with a high level of infections and very heavy crowding of severe cases in the hospitals.

The officials recommended that the lockdown be extended by at least another week, and Netanyahu reportedly endorsed their recommendation.

However, it appears that several of Netanyahu’s ministers may not agree with his plans.

Minister of Finance Yisrael Katz demanded Monday that the economy be opened immediately and completely at the end of the closure, and clarified that without a full opening of the economy, the grant program he presented earlier this week meant to boost the ailing economy will not operate.

Education Minister Yoav Galant told the mayors to prepare for the partial opening of the education system, as early as next week.

The opening of the kindergartens, grades 1-4 and 11-12 starting on Monday is under discussion, he said.

In the meantime, the lockdown nor the vaccination operation seems to have a significant effect on the infection rate, which has been consistently high for weeks.

The UK variant, the South African variant, and the Los Angeles variant have been discovered in Israel. The UK variant has been blamed for an increased infection rate, dangerous infections in pregnant women, and a spike in illness among children.

The Health Ministry continued with its operation to vaccinate the population. Over 2, 663,300 Israelis have received first the Pfizer-developed vaccine, some 29% of the population, and over 1,221,000 have received the second dose.

The Ministry of Health updated Monday night that it documented over 6,000 new COVID-19 cases over the past day.

Of the small number of 54,109 tests done on Sunday, a very high 10% returned positive.

A high number of 1,154 patients hospitalized with Corona are in serious condition, 332 of them are on life support.

January is emerging to be the worst month Israel has experienced in regards to COVID-19 deaths since the outbreak in the country over a year ago. January is the month with the largest death toll since October, in which 970 patients died.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 4,498 corona patients have died in Israel.

(TPS)

Kudos to Australia for Taking a Stand on Google & FB

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Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing Facebook over its use of an app to spy on users for commercial purposes. Photo Credit: https://www.accc.gov.au/

Kudos to our buddies, large and small in the South Pacific, Australia and the tiny Solomon Islands for tackling the tech giants Facebook and Google, forcing them by legal means to stem their overt abuse of privacy of their millions of customers and their monopolistic control of their print media competitors. We, at the Jewish Voice have been blowing the whistle on these behemoths for years. They may finally have met their match.

Australia’s Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing Facebook over its use of an app to spy on users for commercial purposes. The case accuses FB of false, misleading or deceptive conduct toward thousands of Australian consumers, after it had promoted an app, saying it would keep users personal activity data private, protected and secret and not use it for any other purpose, when it was actually being used to gather data to help FB’s business.

And that business was to sell the personal data collected to merchants and other clients for their use. All the private, personal information FB users tap into their computers is open for the company to read, record and use as they see fit. All members sign away their rights to privacy when they agree to the terms of their membership. It’s all in the fine print. In effect, they’re being sued for lying to their customers about the security of their privacy.

And the Solomon Islands, a speck in the Pacific, is also baring its teeth in anger and fairness, by announcing plans to temporarily ban access to Facebook. That country’s Communications Minister said the government is responding to personal abuse, defamation and lies spread on the social medium platform. “We found that people use it to abuse others….it’s not society friendly and people have been using it to discredit people and all sorts of abuse.” We agree. It’s about time.

Google, the other giant website, is faced by a new law enacted in Australia which forces the company to compensate publishers for news they research and report. The proposed law, intended to compensate publishers for the value their stories generate for Google’s free use, which would cost them millions, has provoked Google to threaten to disable its search engine in that island nation if this law is enacted. It’s no joke if we say, “How can you find out stuff if you can’t go to Google?” We’ll take a guess that at least 94% of online searches in the world go through that site. But realistically, local news agencies, hard-copy news-stand paper publishers have expenses that the web sites do not have, yet their news stories are carried free of charge by Google. In order to play fair, Google may eventually have to pay their news sources.

We at the Jewish Voice support such legislation and call for our government to fall into line with Australia to make a level playing field for all news agencies. Newspapers are quickly losing ground to their competitors on web sites. Although having many pluses, these huge on-line giants, Facebook and Google are also a threat to our freedom and democracy by their monopolistic strangling of our communication and political systems. Their control of our lives by making us dependent on them is quite frightening. They must be challenged. And that will be a problem.