Tag Archives: Israel

New Guidelines Could Force Israeli Paramedics to Treat Terrorists Before Victims

The former Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister has criticized controversial new health guidelines that could, in theory, lead to Israeli paramedics treating wounded terrorists before their victims.

Avigdor Liberman called the Israeli Medical Association’s reported decision “shameful” in a translated posting on his Facebook page and said those behind it “just don’t live in reality.”

He was reacting to an article in the Israel Hayom newspaper that said the Israeli Medical Association’s Ethics Committee issued a new directive that revised the guidelines for triage.

The new rules, the newspaper reported, instruct paramedics to treat patients solely based on the severity of their injuries. Previously, there was a provision called “charity begins at home” that allowed paramedics to delay treating perpetrators even if their victims were less seriously hurt.

But the watchdog group Physicians for Human Rights filed a petition that sought to abandon that policy, Israel Hayom reported. The major argument for the change is that it’s not up to the health professionals to levy guilt in an emergency situation; that duty lies with the legal system.

“Doctors are not judges. Leaving the directive as it is means doctors have to determine guilt and penalize the guilty party by withholding medical care,” the association’s ethics director, Tammy Karni, told Israel Hayom, noting it would be easy for someone to mistake a victim as an attacker.

Some critics, though, believe that the new rule — if followed by the letter — may create situations where severely injured terrorists will receive treatment before their less-severely injured victims. In extreme cases, a terrorist’s life may be saved and a victim may die because of treatment order.

Rav Yuval Cherlow, who heads the Ethics Committee of Israel’s Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, told the Jewish news agency JNS.org that victims should always be treated before terrorists, unless there are some circumstances where it’s not easy to determine who was the assailant. In those cases, Cherlow said emergency personnel should treat victims based on wound severity.

But Israel Hayom reported that all Israeli emergency personnel are now required to follow the rules set by the Israeli Medical Association, which governs medical ethics throughout the nation.

Three Israelis Killed in Latest Attacks in Tel Aviv and West Bank

Israel police told BBC News that at least three Israelis were killed Thursday morning in attacks by Palestinians that took place in Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank.

Two of the victims were stabbed to death by a Palestinian man at the entrance of a shop in Tel Aviv. The shop also functions as a synagogue. Hours later, a second attack killed another Israeli in a drive by shooting incident.

So far, an official death toll has not been released as multiple news agencies including Haaretz and Fox News are reporting 5 deaths while other agencies are reporting only 2 or 3.

Police officials told Reuters that the first attacker was apprehended.

Dozens of Palestinians and 15 Israelis have been killed since the new wave of violence began in two months ago. Most of the Palestinian deaths were from attackers that were shot by police or were killed in clashes with troops in the West Bank.

Morningside Announces William Koenig’s Return to the Jim Bakker Show!

William Koenig will be at Morningside once again on Thursday, December 3rd!  It has been a long time since we have had this influential teacher on the Jim Bakker Show and we are thrilled he is returning!

With 13 years of experience as a White House news correspondent and author of Eye to Eye – Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel, and  Israel: The Blessing or the Curse, William Koenig knows how to give a unique perspective on the historical events surrounding Israel.  He is a student of the Bible as well as the Middle East and intimately acquainted with our nation’s history in the region and our most serious outside threat – Islam.

His biblical worldview helps address the unique complexities in Israel, the Middle East, with Russia, China and Europe and provides an understanding of how events will unfold in the days ahead.

Mr. Koenig’s book Eye to Eye – Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel is a must read for our ministry!  We know he will continue to provide extraordinary behind the scenes insight on what is currently happening in our world.

Please join Jim and Lori Bakker as they welcome back William Koenig to Grace Street!  Taping begins at 11:30am CT.  Or watch us via live feed on Jimbakkershow.com/watch-us-live.

ISIS Branch in Sinai Peninsula Threatens to Attack Israel in Latest Video

One of the Islamic State’s branches located on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula released a video on Wednesday, threatening to attack Israel.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the 14-minute video was titled “And Then They Will Be Vanquished.” It features one masked member of ISIS, demanding that Egyptian soldiers repent or be killed for attacking the Sinai jihadis.

“Indeed, this apostate army has failed to carry out the mission it was tasked with, and was embarrassed in front of the public and in front of its masters,” the speaker declares.

The terrorist continued by saying that ISIS would raise its flag over a famous Cairo landmark, the Cairo Tower.

Director of Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor of the Middle East Media Research Institute, Rafael Green, told Fox News that the video focuses on the fighting going on in Egypt, but the threat against Israel comes at the end of the video.

The gunman quoted the well-known hadith: “Judgment Day will not come until you fight the Jews and kill them. The Jews will hide behind stones and trees, and the stones and trees will call, ‘O Muslim, o servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him – except for the gharqad tree, which is the tree of the Jews.’”

“The video is focused on the war against the Egyptian military. The threat to Israel comes at the end, where he says that they will reach the Jews,” Green said.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the speaker could be heard delivering his message while footage showed the Egyptian military allegedly killing civilians and blowing up tanks. Then, images of dead Egyptian soldiers were shown.

And while this same branch of ISIS claimed they brought down the Russian plane that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula recently, the new video made no reference to the crash.

Despite Past Differences, Meeting of Obama and Netanyahu was Productive

In their first sit-down summit after a year of rocky relations, President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a public show of praising their countries’s’ unique political, cultural and military ties.

The leaders emphasized areas of shared interest, including negotiations on a new security arrangement and the goal of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, even as the two sides grapple with fresh outbreaks of violence.

According to news reports, each said to the other what he most wanted to hear: Netanyahu declared that he still believes in a two-state road to peace, and Obama declared that he remains devoted to Israel’s security and nailing down a new military aid package.

Obama and Netanyahu looked to move past their differences and focus instead on areas of common ground, including the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and the fight against Islamic State and other extremist groups.

“I think this is a tremendously important opportunity for us to work together to see how we can defend ourselves against this aggression and this terror; how we can roll back. It’s a daunting task,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu and Obama to Meet for the First Time Since the Iran Deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama will meet today at the White House. It will be their first meeting since their public disagreements over the Iran nuclear deal.

CBS News reports that the two world leaders will discuss Israel-Palestine relations, Middle East security issues, and the nuclear deal with Iran. They will also discuss an extension to a 10-year agreement that expires in 2017 where the U.S. will continue to provide military aid to Israel.

And while the Obama administration did recently admit that Palestine-Israel peace will not be achieved during Obama’s term in office, administration officials did tell CBS News that Obama will discuss with Netanyahu the possibility of peace talks with the future administration.

However, the ultimate goal for both countries is to reopen channels of communication and to ease past tensions, according to Ilan Goldenberg, a former State Department official who now directs the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will also be speaking at the Center for American Progress (CAP), a liberal organization, during his visit to the U.S. Political analysts believe it is a move to mend bridges with U.S. Democrats after his speech in March where he condemned the nuclear deal with Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister to Visit U.S. to Discuss Various Political Matters with President Obama

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit President Obama on Monday to discuss various issues including the nuclear deal with Iran, peace between Israel and Palestine, and a new 10-year security cooperation agreement.

While the two world leaders have had disagreements in the past, Monday’s meeting will focus on making progress on security issues regarding Syria, Iran, and the Palestinian conflict, according to USA Today. Voice of America News states that they will also be discussing the fight against the Islamic State.

“The president looks forward to discussing with the prime minister regional security issues, including implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to peacefully and verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and countering Tehran’s destabilizing activities in the region, “ White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu has previously described the level of security cooperation that’s been offered by the Obama administration as ‘unprecedented.’ That, I think, is an indication of the president’s personal commitment to the security of Israel and to the unshakeable bond between our two countries,” he noted in September when announcing the visit.

President Obama will also likely encourage Prime Minister Netanyahu to take steps in order to find a peaceful two-state solution between Israel and Palestine as administration officials stated on Thursday that a peace deal between the two countries would not happen during President Obama’s term, according to the Washington Post. U.S. officials told the Washington Post that Obama would like to hear Netanyahu’s ideas of what can be done to achieve peace “in the absence of negotiations.”

Bloomberg reports that while in the United States, Netanyahu will also speak at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. He will also speak at the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based institution with strong ties to liberal Democratic groups. Analysts say that this may be his way of rebuilding a relationship with American Democrats.

“He understands the need to reach out,” said Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and a member of the Knesset from the Kulanu party, part of Netanyahu’s coalition government. “It’s Israel’s duty to reach out to progressives and liberals, and I don’t think we’ve done a very good job.”

Monday’s meeting comes after Netanyahu’s newly appointed spokesman, Ran Baratz, insulted President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry. In one of Baratz’s Facebook posts, he called Obama anti-semitic and insulted the intelligence of Kerry. Since then, Baratz has issued an official apology. Prime Minister Netanyahu had this to say on the matter:

“I have just read Dr. Ran Baratz’s posts on the Internet, including those relating to the president of the state of Israel, the president of the United States and other public figures in Israel and the United States,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Those posts are totally unacceptable and in no way reflect my positions or the policies of the government of Israel. Dr. Baratz has apologized and has asked to meet me to clarify the matter following my return to Israel.”

Ancient Greek Fortress Found in Jerusalem; Could Solve Archaeological Mystery

Archaeologists told Reuters that they believe they have found the remains of an ancient Greek fortress after a century of searching. The fortress was once a center of power in Jerusalem and a stronghold that held off a Jewish rebellion celebrated in the Book of the Maccabees.

The fortress was built more than 2,000 years ago by Antiochus Epiphanes, king of the Hellenised Seleucid empire. The location of the Acra has been long debated by researchers and archaeologists and has been one of Jerusalem’s greatest archaeological mysteries.

“It has been an open question in the archaeology of Jerusalem,” Excavation Director Doron Ben-Ami told FoxNews.com. “For hundreds of years scholars, archaeologists and historians have been looking for the location of this Acra and many, many different locations have been suggested.”

Many believed it was located behind now Jerusalem’s walled Old City or by the hilltop where two Jewish temples once stood but is now the Al Aqsa mosque compound. However, the Israel Antiquities Authority unearthed the fortress under an old parking lot located outside the walls overlooking a valley to the south. Archaeologists say the area was a place of construction for Jerusalem under King David from the Bible. Ben-Ami told Reuters that the spot was chosen for Acra in order to monitor the Jewish temple and control the city.

One area of the fortress held artifacts like coins and handles for wine jugs that suggest the fortress was present in the period of Antiochus. Bronze arrowheads and lead sling stones were also found at the dig site and were possibly used when Jewish rebels tried to take over the fortress from pro-Greek forces.

“This is a rare example of how rocks, coins and dirt can come together in a single archaeological story that addresses specific historical realities from the city of Jerusalem,” Ben-Ami said.

ISIS Declares War Against “All the Jews” and Israel in Latest Video

On Sunday, the Islamic State released a new video across social media titled “A Message to Israel.” The 40 second video shows an ISIS jihadi speaking Hebrew and stating that ISIS was declaring war on Israel and the entire Jewish people.

“My message to the [Israel Defense Force] officers and soldiers and all the Jews – we will fight you with God’s help, we will come for you from across the world and we will slaughter you like sheep, prepare for the big war, the war of stone and wood. This is be soon and not long,” the terrorist said, according to a translation by the Jerusalem Post.

The terrorist’s face was pixelated and he was shown wielding a knife while two other men stood on either side of him. He continued:

“To all the Jews, grandsons of apes and pigs, we are coming at you from all over the world. … [The war] is soon; it won’t be long, God willing, God willing,” he said in the video according to the International Business Times.

This is the second video that ISIS has recently released that has called for the annihilation of Jews. Last month, they released a similar video with a masked member of ISIS talking to a camera in Hebrew, announcing war against Israel.

“This is an important message to all Jews — the first enemy of the Muslims. The real war has not yet begun. Whatever you had previously is child’s play [in comparison]. … Do whatever you want in the meantime, until we reach you, and then we will make you pay for the crimes you have committed. … Soon, there will not be even a single Jew left in Jerusalem or the rest of the country. We will keep going until we eradicate this disease worldwide.”

Sunday’s video was released after ISIS declared they were responsible for bringing down the Russian jet that crashed into the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people. At this time, it is still unclear as to what brought down the plane.

The Israel Defense Force has stated that they are closely monitoring ISIS, especially along Israel’s southern border with Egypt.

On Saturday, the Democratic Forces of Syria joined forces with U.S.-backed Kurdish militia and Syrian Arab rebel groups in order to start a new offensive against ISIS. Kurdish forces will be leading airstrikes and land offensives to interrupt the Islamic State’s supply lines across the Syria-Iraq border. CNN also reports that 5,000 Yazidi fighters are gearing up for an offensive that will take back the town of Sinjar from ISIS. If they can reclaim Sinjar then ISIS would have a more difficult time resupplying their people in Mosul.

Over 300 British Academics Pledge to Boycott Israeli Academic Institutions

As an act of protest over Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people, over 300 professors and lecturers from several academic institutions in England and Wales, including Oxford and Cambridge, have pledged to boycott Israeli academic institutions.

“As scholars associated with British universities, we are deeply disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian people and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement,” the academics write in the letter.

While they say they will still work with individual Israeli academics, the pledge states that the academics will not take parts in events organized or funded by them, act as referees for them, or accept invitations to visit their institutions, according the Guardian newspaper.

The letter continues saying that the participants in the pledge are “deeply disturbed by Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, the intolerable human rights violations that it inflicts on all sections of the Palestinian people, and its apparent determination to resist any feasible settlement.”

The Higher Education Statistics Agency reports that there are 194,245 academic staff employed by higher education in the U.K. That would mean that the amount of protestors is less than a quarter of 1% of the overall number of academic staff in the U.K. This is a “statistically insignificant minority” according to director of the Academic Friends of Israel organization, Ronnie Fraser.

Despite the small numbers of protestors, the British and Israeli governments responded to the boycott. The British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, stated that the British government would not allow the boycott to affect the relationship between Israel and Britain as the 60 year partnership makes both countries stronger.

The Israeli embassy in London replied with a published response: “The only path to advancing peace between Israelis and Palestinians passes through the negotiation room. Israel has called time and again for the renewal of talks immediately, without any preconditions. Those who call for a boycott against Israel during a month which saw 45 stabbing attacks – in which more than 100 Israelis were wounded, and 10 were murdered – blatantly ignore the lives of Israelis, and the conditions necessary for peace.”