01/16 Links: Palestinian Acts of "Peace"; A wakeup call for the left; Iran frees 4 US prisoners ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Because terrorist acts against Israelis are almost never described as terrorist acts, Israel is the only country that is found guilty of defending itself against terrorism. Israel is the only country living next to a terrorist entity, and asked not to treat it as a terrorist entity.
The illusion of the Oslo Accords was that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) could become a respectable, law-abiding government, renounce violence, and abide by an agreement. The lies of the Oslo Accords were that the PLO, representing the "Palestinian people," was ready to exchange "land for peace" and actually desired to create a state living in peace side by side with Israel.
Many Europeans are falling for Joseph Goebbels's formula, that "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." Israel is now -- solely from propaganda and the falsification of history -- possibly the most unjustly demonized nation in history.
Israel is the only country that is always supposed to make "more concessions" to enemies who do not even hide their destructive intentions.

Ben-Dror Yemini: A wakeup call for the left

To my friends on the left-wing, this is a wakeup call. Ezra Nawi's story was supposed to set off the warning bells. It didn't. If you keep on with the regular chorus of "this is an attack on left-wing organizations," you will be doing a great service for the extreme right-wing.
When did anyone level relevant criticism against you? If your automatic reaction has been for many years to cry out "fascism" or "a danger to democracy," and never really address the issue at hand, then something has gone completely wrong with you, because this is the way to close yourselves off, it's not the way to deal with it. After all, most of the automatic reactions to the "Uvda" investigative report focused on the program itself and not the things it exposed. You've been praising exposés for years, and all of a sudden you're against them? What happened?
Zehava Galon, the political leader of the left, paid lip service by condemning Nawi, but claimed that "Uvda on Thursday joined the orchestrated and institutionalized campaign against the left and against left-wing organizations." Nawi, let us assume, does not represent you. Galon does. From here on out, every uncovering of price tag activities will, according to Galon's logic, turn into a "campaign against the right and right-wing organizations." That's a shame. Such logic does not distance Nawi from the left, it brings them together.

Fred Maroun: Next year in Jerusalem: The history of the people of Israel

In the late 1800’s, Herzl started a movement to reclaim sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
It was the home where many had been killed and from which many had been banished.
A few decades later, the world acquiesced, and they started their journey back home.
They started rebuilding their nation on arid land, getting ready for independence again.
However before they could complete their task, Europe decided that they had to die.
The world ignored their pleas and refused them sanctuary, so they died by the millions.
In 1948 they reclaimed the beloved land that some had never left for 3000 years.
But soon after tolerating the killing of six millions, the world betrayed them yet again.
The world allowed their neighbors to abuse them, expel them, and isolate them.
The world permitted their neighbors to wage an endless string of wars of annihilation.
These wars continue today with limitless supplies of hate and of willing collaborators.
The 4000-year-old hate burns still, with shameless demands for more massacres.
But the descendants of Jacob are now on their own land, resilient, sovereign, and free.
They will not let hate, lies, or violence deter them because they are home in Israel.

Liberman: B’Tselem, Breaking the Silence are ‘traitors’

Liberman, a former foreign minister, said in a Channel 1 interview that “As far as I’m concerned these entities are not [exercising] freedom of expression, it’s greed. They aren’t any different from Ehud Adiv or Mordechai Vanunu — they’re complete traitors.”
Adiv was found guilty of treason in the 1970s for traveling to Damascus to meet with members of the PLO and Vanunu was found guilty of the same charge for disclosing nuclear secrets to the British press.
The right-wing party leader’s remarks came amid a growing debate over a bill requiring certain Israeli non-governmental organizations to publicly declare their foreign government funding. It was moving toward passage after it was approved by a cabinet committee late last month. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, who proposed the bill, said it addresses foreign meddling in Israeli affairs.
The so-called NGO Law or Transparency Law would require all Israeli groups that receive half or more of their budget from foreign governments — which is true for many left-wing but few right-wing groups — to disclose their foreign benefactors.
“With all our desire to stay politically correct and be polite, there are things that need to be told as it is,” Liberman said.
“There’s [cash] flow from the institutions most hostile to Israel. Not just the European Union, not just states. Also those same foundations that fund Hamas, they also fund B’Tselem and Breaking the Silence,” he added.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Misunderstands International Law

One of Europe’s most liberal countries has joined the likes of Iran and Turkey in drawing the ire of Israel. Israel has officially let it be known that Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström isn’t welcome in the country because of comments she made in December warning that Israel might be committing “extrajudicial executions” in connection with stabbing attempts by Palestinians against Israeli citizens.
Wallström defended herself in Sweden’s parliament this week, insisting that she “was making an argument based on principles of international law.” Her critics say she’s apologizing for terrorism and hiding behind the law.
This is more than the usual international diplomatic incident. Wallström’s response poses core questions about the nature and uses of international law itself: to what extent can it be applied to instantaneous events that take place in the course of policing? As a teacher of international law, I find Wallström’s interpretation at best confused, and at worst outright mistaken.

Danny Ayalon: Time for Israel to close its embassy in Sweden, former deputy FM says

The deceitful and contemptible remarks by Sweden’s foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, were not made by her own volition. She received – and still receives – backing from the Swedish prime minister, and her words represent the thoughts and opinions of the people of Sweden.
Wallstrom is turning the victims into perpetrators. Instead of talking about the Palestinians who are committing stabbing attacks, she blames their victims. Her latest comment regarding Israel’s supposed excessive use of force is also a lie.
She singles Israel out while refusing to talk about the bloodletting in Afghanistan, Paris, and other places. She mentions nothing about terrorists who were killed by the security forces in those areas. Wallstrom is undermining the unity of the Western world, which is defending itself from threats. This is something that she should’ve understood.
Wallstrom’s specialty is exercising political and populist skills, and this is her intent here as well. Sweden’s demographics are changing. Malmo has become almost entirely a Muslim city. The foreign minister knows that the Muslim community in Sweden is a source of support for her.

BBC’s Newest Detective Drama Stars Hanin Zoabi & Margot Wallstrom (satire)

The BBC unveiled its newest show for the Spring lineup with the coming premier of “Wallstrom and Zoabi: Root Causes“ a riveting drama starring Hanin Zoabi and Margot Wallstrom as two no-nonsense detectives who solve crimes while trying to find the perfect work-life balance in a male-dominated world. In addition to Swedish Foreign Minister Wallstrom and Member of Knesset Zoabi (Balad Party), the series also features George Galloway as their gruff but lovable boss at the Police Precinct, as well as MP Jeremy Corbyn as a comically inept Crown Prosecutor who inexplicably receives a big promotion in the season premier. (It is also rumored that he may develop into a possible love interest in future episodes)
Produced by Roger Waters, the series has a unique twist in that no matter what the crime or the suspects, the final result is that Israel is the culprit. Mr. Waters explained his early concerns for the show. “At first I was afraid that the fact that Israel is always wrong might be a turn-off to the Network Execs, but then I was like, ‘Hey! It’s BBC!’ Am I right?” For their part, BBC is feeling confident that they have a bonafide hit on their hands with “Root Causes”. “We felt that despite the slight predictability of their approach, it would have a strong appeal to its core target audience.” BBC Spokesperson Stewart P. noted. “Besides, with Al Jazeera America going out of business, we see a real opening to capture more of our target demographic.”
In the pilot episode (Spoiler Alert!!!), Hanin and Margot are assigned to find the “underlying reasons” for a series of killings in Paris. After an hour of grueling detective work and a car chase, the duo determined that the guilty party was Israel all along!

New footage emerges of Tel Aviv gunman dancing at wedding

New footage has emerged showing Nashat Milhem, the gunman who shot dead three people in Tel Aviv two weeks ago, dancing and chatting at a wedding not long before he carried out his deadly shooting spree.
Channel 2 television reported Saturday that the footage, which it said has been widely circulated online, is of two separate occasions. In the first, Milhem can be seen participating in some form of street quiz during the Muslim fast month of Ramadan. He correctly answers a question about Islam, for which he is awarded a crate of soft drinks.
In the second part of the video, Milhem can be seen laughing and dancing at a wedding several months ago, reportedly alongside some of the relatives arrested as suspected accomplices in the week between his disappearance from Tel Aviv after the shooting and his discovery in his hometown of Arara in northern Israel.

US says Iran freeing 4 prisoners including Washington Post reporter

Iran said Saturday that four Iranian dual nationals had been freed as part of a prisoner exchange in line with national interests at the order of the country’s top security committee.
US officials confirmed the report, saying the four Americans, including Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former Marine Amir Hekmati and pastor Saeed Abidini, were to be flown from Iran to Switzerland on a Swiss plane and then brought to a US military base in Landstuhl, Germany, for medical treatment.
It was unclear who the fourth was, with competing media reports in Iran identifying the person as Siamak Namazi, the son of a politician from the era of the shah, or Nosratollah Khosravi. The different accounts could not be reconciled immediately.
No names were immediately released in a statement from the judiciary outlining the decision, but a person close to Iran’s judiciary confirmed to The Associated Press that Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian was one of them.
He added that the four were freed Saturday in exchange for the release of seven Iranians held in US prisons.
The seven Iranians to be freed by the US are Nader Modanlou, Baharam Mekanik, Khosrow Afghahi, Arash Ghahraman, Touraj Faridi, Nima Golestaneh, and Ali Sabounchi, according Iran’s judiciary and the state broadcaster.

White House: We're not yet ready to lift sanctions on Iran

The White House is not quite ready to suspend economic sanctions against Iran, its spokesman said Friday, adding that Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal it signed with world powers in July hasn't been verified.
According to The Associated Press (AP), White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Iran is making important progress toward curbing its nuclear program.
He added that it's possible the Islamic Republic has already completed all the necessary steps, but stressed Iran won't get any sanctions relief until the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has independently verified that all steps have been completed.
The U.S. wants to make sure Iran doesn't "cut any corners," Earnest said, according to AP.
An updated IAEA report on Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal is expected shortly, possibly later Friday or over the weekend.
Earnest’s comments came days after American officials said that "implementation day" for the Iran nuclear deal could occur within days.

In Vienna, Kerry and Zarif won’t say if sanctions will lift Saturday

US Secretary of State John Kerry was meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna Saturday, with the end of Western sanctions against Tehran on the table.
Despite Zarif’s optimistic comments earlier on Iranian state TV that “All oppressive sanctions imposed against Iran will be annulled today,” both he and Kerry deflected a question about whether their deal would be implemented later in the day.
“We’re trying,” said Zarif.
“We’re working on it,” added Kerry, seated across the table from Zarif in an ornate room at a luxury Vienna hotel.

Zarif: Iran nuclear sanctions to end today — it’s a ‘good day’

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said nuclear-related sanctions on his country would be lifted Saturday, telling reporters in Vienna it “was a good day for the world.”
“It’s a good day for the people of Iran… and also a good day for the region. The sanctions will be lifted today,” he said after arriving in Austria’s capital on Saturday morning, according to the ISNA news agency.
His comments came after diplomatic sources said the UN nuclear watchdog would likely say Iran had complied with last July’s landmark agreement with world powers on Tehran’s atomic program.
Zarif, who led Iran in nuclear talks with the United States, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, said the deal had removed from the Middle East “the shadow of a baseless confrontation.”

White House Does Not Think Pictures of Sailors on Their Knees are Embarrassing

Earnest said that the White House was not and that the primary concern was that the sailors were unharmed.
“I don’t think that there is any reason for anybody to be embarrassed. I think there is reason for us to be certainly relieved that our service men and women who are protecting America in a very dangerous part of the world were released pretty shortly after they were taken into custody,” Earnest said.
Earnest said that the series of events that led those 10 sailors to drift into Iranian waters and to be taken into custody was under investigation with the Department of Defense. The sailors are being interviewed by senior officials to be able to piece together the events that transpired.
McKelway said a senior Pentagon official told him that the Obama administration is blocking the facts from getting out.
“That’s not true. I think we have been pretty transparent about the fact that if we followed the advice of some Republican critics of the administration that we would probably be in a bloody war with Iran right now over our sailors,” Earnest said.

Iran: ‘American Sailors Started Crying After Arrest’

A senior Iranian military commander in charge of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the 10 U.S. sailors who were recently captured and subsequently released by the Islamic Republic “started crying after [their] arrest,” according to Persian language comments made during military celebrations this weekend.
Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the IRGC, which is responsible for boarding the U.S. ships and arresting the sailors, claimed in recent remarks, the “American sailors started crying after arrest, but the kindness of our Guard made them feel calm.”
Hossein went on to brag that the incident provides definitive evidence of the Iranian military’s supremacy in the region.
“Since the end of the Second World War, no country has been able to arrest American military personnel,” the commander said, according to an independent translation of his Persian-language remarks made Friday during a “martyrs’ commemoration ceremony” in Isfahan.

‘Hamas rejects Iran offer of funding in return for backing in Saudi row’

Hamas has rejected a proposal by Tehran to restore ties in return for its support in Iran’s current battle with Saudi Arabia, a source in the Palestinian terror group told pan-Arab paper Asharq al-Awsat on Friday.
According to the report, Khaled Qaddumi, Hamas’ representative in Tehran, met two weeks ago with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javed Zarif, who offered to renew Iranian financial support for the group on a regular basis and according to its needs, if Hamas were to officially declare its allegiance to Iran in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr earlier this month.
According to the sources, the proposal triggered a dispute within Hamas. The heads of the organization in the Gaza Strip supported normalization of ties with Tehran, while Qatar-based politburo chief Khaled Mashaal was reluctant to commit, fearing that Hamas would lose its support among Sunni Arab states. Ultimately, the report said, Mashaal officially rejected the offer from Iran.
“The equation is clear: as a liberation movement, we need the support of everyone,” a Hamas official in the West Bank told the newspaper. He stressed the group “will never join an alliance against the Sunni world.”

New AMIA investigator eyeing trial in absentia

A trial in absentia could revitalize the AMIA case, the new head of the investigative unit looking into the 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish center said.
Mario Cimadevilla, a lawyer and former senator, has been tasked with reactivating the investigation and seeking new ways to bring the case to trial and get justice.
The announcement of his appointment was published Wednesday in the official government gazette.
“All my efforts will be addressed to clarifying the most abominable terrorist attack that our country has ever suffered,” Cimadevilla said. “There will be cooperation and ongoing support for justice; the Argentinian society as a whole needs inexorably to know the truth.”
In speaking to journalists about his task, he said a trial in absentia could revitalize the case. As a senator for the left-wing UCR party, Cimadevilla had undertaken a project dealing with trials in absentia.

Antisemitic Student Becomes First Expelled From Major French University Since 1872

A student who posted rabidly antisemitic remarks on Facebook became the first to be expelled from the prestigious Science Po university in Paris since the institution was founded in 1872, the UK’s Jewish Chronicle reported on Friday.
During an online debate with an Israeli student, Amira Jumaa, 20, wrote: “You don’t belong anywhere in this world — that’s why you guys are scum and rats and discriminated against wherever you are. Do not blame it on the poor Palestinians.”
In response to being accused of racism, Jumaa, a Kuwaiti, called the Israeli student a “dispersed rat,” and added, “I am not an immigrant from France. I am from Kuwait so my country can buy you and your parents and put you in ovens.”
After the antisemitism watchdog blog TheInglouriousBasterds first published her comments in October, Jumaa was suspended from Science Po, officially known as The Paris Institute of Political Studies. She was also fired from an internship at the French embassy in New York.

In 15th year, Wikipedia is a battleground for observers of Israeli-Arab conflict

Wikipedia, the online nonprofit and user-edited encyclopedia, will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its founding on Saturday.
An indispensable resource for anyone who spends a considerable amount of time on the Internet, Wikipedia is unique in that it allows the audience to edit content while subsisting entirely on donations from users.
For observers of the Middle East, Wikipedia is apparently a go-to site for anyone trying to keep up with current events.
According to the ESPN-affiliated statistical site FiveThirtyEight, Wikipedia entries about the Middle East are some of the most edited pages.
The web site cited figures provided to it by the Wikimedia Foundation, which tracked the number of times its pages were edited during the course of a year.

Diaa Hadid, Recycling Old Stories about the Old City

Diaa Hadid, who was hired about a year ago by the New York Times to supposedly improve coverage of Palestinian affairs, instead seems to view her job as escalating the Times' traditionally hostile and inaccurate coverage of Israel, and her editors seem to agree with her.
Perhaps her biased and inaccurate reporting should not be a surprise – after all, before she became a journalist, Hadid was an anti-Israel activist who expressed "hate" for Israel, which she termed a "country founded on hate."
Judging by the string of inaccurate and misleading reports she has filed since joining the Times, her hatred has not abated.
Hadid's latest episode of bad journalism, Evictions in Walled Old City Stir Up a ‘Hornet's Nest,' concerns alleged efforts by Israel or private Jewish organizations to remove Arab residents from the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem.
Before getting to the stories of the Arab families Hadid cites, it's revealing to look at how she frames the story, specifically her characterization of relevant Israeli law and her recounting of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Obfuscating Hamas’ Role, UK Paper Calls Gaza Blockade ‘Evil’

When British Jews claim in overwhelming numbers that media coverage of Israel incites antisemitism in the UK, they typically refer to hyperbolic and grossly misleading headlines, demonizing rhetoric, and context-free imagery used by major British news outlets to characterize the Jewish state’s actions regarding the Palestinians.
Such coverage sometimes evokes classic antisemitic tropes. However, far more typical is coverage that focuses entirely on the Israeli response to Palestinian violence, while erasing the context of incitement, antisemitism, and terror. This can incite attacks by Islamist extremists against Jewish Britons, insofar as antisemites view Jews and their communal institutions as “legitimate” targets in light of their identification with a “cruel,” “brutal,” “illegitimate” Jewish state that is “oppressing Muslims.”
Indeed, the connection between the dramatic rise in antisemitic incidents in Britain in 2014, and the media’s sensationalist, inflammatory and, at times, extraordinarily misleading coverage of the summer war between Hamas and Israel is quite intuitive for most Jewish Britons.
A small but effective illustration of the media’s use of vilifying and extremely misleading characterizations of Israeli policy to impute maximum malice can be found in an official editorial published on Jan. 11 at The Independent titled
“The bishops visit to the isolated community of Gaza is welcome.”

The Independent’s Green Line “Between Israel and Palestine”

Despite Palestinian terrorism and rejectionism, global jihad and the severe violence engulfing the wider Middle East, there’s nothing like the issue of Israeli settlements to grab the attention of the media.
The latest target of the Palestinian campaign to isolate Israel is the international online accommodation community website Airbnb, whose “crime” is to allow accommodation postings for Israeli communities over the Green Line. And even worse, these settlements are listed as Israeli!
One of the media outlets that jumped on what is in reality a non-story, is The Independent. Referring to the town of Efrat in the Gush Etzion bloc, the newspaper concludes its article with the following:
The settlement is 12 km south of Jerusalem and 7 km east of the green line, the line between Israel and Palestine, agreed in the 1949 armistice.

UK media bury the shocking extremism of Israeli ‘human rights activists’ (Video)

As we noted earlier in the week, a video was broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2 which revealed that two Israeli “human rights activists” – including a Palestinian from the NGO B’Tselem and an Israeli Jew named Ezra Nawi – bragged that they “entrapped” Palestinians interested in selling land to Jews and turned them in to the PA.
Remarkably, the two ‘progressive’ activists allegedly turned these Palestinians in even though they acknowledged in the video that they likely faced torture or murder by the Palestinian secret police.
Though a fire earlier in the week at B’Tselem’s Jerusalem offices – which turned out not to be an arson, as many assumed – was covered by multiple UK news sites, only the Telegraph even noted the Channel 2 video showing the shocking behavior by the B’Tselem worker and Ezra Nawi.
Since the UK media continues to bury the story, likely because it undermines their decision to uncritically cite the work of such “human rights” groups when they criticize Israeli policy, we’re posting a video of the entire show (with English subtitles) released by Im Tirtsu.

BBC News avoids reporting Fatah Day rallies for third year running

Fatah is of course the controlling party in the Palestinian Authority as well as the largest faction in the PLO. The BBC’s most recently published profile of that party describes it as follows:
“Under Arafat’s leadership, the group originally promoted an armed struggle against Israel to create a Palestinian state. But it later recognised Israel’s right to exist, and its leaders have led Palestinian peace talks aimed at reaching a two-state solution.”
Readers of that profile are also told that Fatah “signed a declaration rejecting attacks on civilians in Israel and committing themselves to peace and co-existence.”
The BBC’s Palestinian Territories Profile has the following to say about the head of the Fatah movement:
“Many analysts regard Mahmoud Abbas as a moderate. He has condemned the armed Palestinian uprising and favours the resumption of negotiations with Israel.”
One might therefore have expected the media organization which describes itself as the “standard-setter for international journalism” to have reported that – as has so often been the case in the past – this year’s Fatah Day celebrations did not reflect that supposed rejection of terrorism and commitment to “peace and co-existence”.
The pictures below come from the Fatah Day rally in Bethlehem – courtesy of Israeli journalist Gal Berger, along with those that follow.

Promoted and quoted: the BBC’s preferred NGO contributors in 2015

The BBC’s most quoted and promoted local NGO in 2015 was – for the second year running – B’Tselem, followed by ‘Youth Against Settlements’ and ‘Breaking the Silence’.
The most promoted foreign NGO in Israel-related coverage was Amnesty International, followed by Human Rights Watch, Save the Children and ‘Forensic Architecture’.
All of those NGOs come from one side of the spectrum as far as their political approach to Israel is concerned and some of them are even involved in lawfare campaigns against Israel. Yet the BBC serially fails to meet its own editorial guidelines by clarifying their “particular viewpoint” and audiences hence remain unaware of the fact that the homogeneous information they are receiving about Israel is consistently unbalanced.

Qatar provides 1,000 new homes in Gaza

Qatari-funded construction projects have provided 1,000 new dwellings for Palestinians left homeless by the 2014 Gaza war with Israel, and a similar number for low-income families in the territory, officials said on Saturday.
The Qatari donations have buoyed Gaza's de facto Islamist Hamas rulers, irking Israel and the US-backed Palestinian administration based in the occupied West Bank. Past efforts by Qatar to mediate between Hamas and Israel yielded little.
After the 2014 war, Qatar pledged $1 billion for building projects in Gaza, of which $50 million was paid to owners of destroyed houses to fund the rebuilding of shelters. Qatar envoy Mohammed Al-Amadi said 1,000 new homes had been completed since.
"Qatar exerts every effort to help the people of Gaza in the fields of electricity, agriculture, infrastructure and housing, including the rebuilding of completely destroyed houses," Amadi told Reuters.
Gaza economist Maher Al-Tabbaa said reconstruction efforts were being hampered by difficulties in bringing raw materials to Gaza.
Israel bars the import of products it suspects Hamas might use to rearm or build fortifications, although it began easing restrictions in October under a mechanism overseen by the United Nations.

Top Turkish official: Ties with Israel to be normalized soon

According to an official in the Prime Minister’s Office, the agreement worked on in December provides for both countries to return their ambassadors; a cancellation of pending lawsuits against IDF soldiers; the establishment by Israel of a fund for the welfare of victims of the 2010 Mavi Marmara raid; a Turkish commitment not to tolerate any “terrorist activities” on its sovereign territory; Turkey barring from its soil Salah Arouri, a Hamas operative who allegedly orchestrated the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teens in the West Bank in June 2014; Turkey allowing Israel to lay down a gas pipeline on its soil; and the opening of immediate negotiations on the sale of natural gas from Israel to Turkey.
According to Hurriyet, the Turkish official says that Arouri has not been in Turkey “for a long time,” and even suggested that the Hamas operative had moved to the country with the knowledge and approval of Israel. “He stayed in Turkey because Israel said he could,” the paper quoted the official as saying.
The source said that the agreement between the two countries will be signed “very soon,” as “only one or two nuances remain that need to be fixed.”
The exchange of the ambassadors will take place “immediately… after the agreement is signed,” he official said.

Survey: Russia bypasses Israel as biggest threat to Turkey

Israel is no longer perceived as the greatest threat to Turkey according to Global's Turkey Social Trend survey published this week.
Conducted in 26 cities with 1,000 participants over the age of 18, the survey aimed to reflect the changes in Turkish public perception over the course of 2015. Participants were interviewed face to face on topics including politics, social issues and economics.
The survey, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet, which was conducted from December 9-17,2015 by Kadir Has University in Istanbul, found that according to public opinion Russia has ended Israel's four year reign as the country perceived to be the greatest threat to Turkey.
“Although Israel had been at the top of the list of countries thought to ‘pose the biggest threat to Turkey’ since 2011, this year the Russian Federation replaced Israel on this list. The percentages of those who consider the Unites States, Syria and Israel to pose a threat to Turkey have fallen in 2015,” said the university in a statement upon the release of the survey results on Tuesday.

America’s TV execs want to make Israeli tech a star

The electronics industry has the Consumer Electronics Show, the mobile business has the Mobile World Congress – and the television business has the NABShow, the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters.
“If you have technology, services or products that the TV, online video, cable/satellite, production and other affiliated industries, it’s the place to be,” according to Ben Kozuch, who is organizing an Israeli contingent to attend the NABShow in April. “While it’s true that everyone is online today and all the information about services and technologies are available to anyone looking for it, there’s no substitute for meeting people face to face.”
One would think that in today’s hyper-connected world – and especially in a hyper-connected industry like television and broadcasting, both traditional and web – it would for those seeking tech to find it, and for firms to locate and target the customers for their high-level technology. But that’s not the case, said Kozuch, who insists that there is no substitute for in-person meetings.
Kozuch wants to recruit Israeli tech firms in the video business to sign up for space at the NABShow – not a cheap venture, but one that he is quite sure will pay off. “Everyone who is anyone in broadcasting is at that show, and they are especially looking for innovative Israeli technologies,” said Kozuch. “It was their idea to recruit Israeli firms for the show, not mine.”

Cartilage regeneration on the way for knees, osteoarthritis

Agili-C, a revolutionary cartilage regenerating technology from Israeli startup CartiHeal that could revolutionize treatment for cartilage damage and osteoarthritis, is preparing for a 2017 launch in the European market.
In addition to its original indication for patients with knee cartilage damaged by traumatic injury, the biological scaffold is now being tested for effectiveness in certain cases of osteoarthritis. This would widen its potential market significantly.
ISRAEL21c’s first report on CartiHeal’s revolutionary technology two years ago generated much interest from around the world – not surprising, considering that patients suffering from cartilage degeneration have few options.
Cartilage, the flexible soft tissue that cushions joints – especially in the knee – cannot self-heal once damaged, because it lacks blood vessels.
The Agili-C surgical implant is a biological scaffold onto which the body’s own stem cells grow and regenerate the damaged bone and cartilage naturally. Gradually, over six to 12 months, the scaffold is replaced with a top layer of hyaline cartilage and a bottom layer of bone identical to the body’s own tissues in a normal joint.

What Pope Francis synagogue visit says about Catholic-Jewish relations

When Pope Francis crosses the Tiber River to visit Rome’s Great Synagogue on Sunday, he’ll become the third pontiff in history to do so. But his 1.5-mile journey to the towering Tempio Maggiore shows that what was once unthinkable is now the norm.
“Our meeting,” Rome Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni told the Catholic newspaper L’Avvenire, “aims to convey a very topical, important and urgent message — that belonging to a faith, a religion, should not be a cause of hostility, hatred and violence, but that it is possible to build a peaceful coexistence, based on respect and cooperation.”
John Paul II’s visit 30 years ago marked a dramatic watershed in Catholic-Jewish relations. By crossing the threshold of the Tempio Maggiore, warmly embracing Rome’s then-chief rabbi, Elio Toaff, and famously referring to Jews as Christianity’s “older brothers,” the Polish-born pontiff broke down barriers that stretched back nearly 2000 years.
The visual impact alone of the pontiff and the chief rabbi embracing sent out a powerful message of reconciliation.

While welcoming pope’s gestures, some Jews question Israel stance

Pope Francis on Sunday becomes the third pope to visit Rome’s main synagogue in a sign of continued Catholic-Jewish friendship that was highlighted by a recent Vatican declaration that it doesn’t support official efforts to convert the Jews.
But the visit also follows a series of developments that have upset some in the Jewish community, including a new Vatican treaty signed with the “state of Palestine” and Francis’s own words and deeds that have been interpreted by some as favoring the Palestinian political cause.
The chief rabbi of Rome, Riccardo Di Segni, said in an interview Friday that the papal visit is aimed at showing five decades of improving Christian-Jewish relations and interfaith harmony, at a time of Islamic extremist violence around the globe.
But he said some recent Vatican developments “cannot be so appreciated by the Jewish community.”

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