Yom Kippur Riots Against Paramedics in Israel

Magen David paramedics stoned in Acre, Haifa

By Yuval Azoulay and Fadi Eyadat, Haaretz Correspondents

Magen David Adom stations and ambulances were pelted with stones in Acre and Haifa over Yom Kippur to protest their operating vehicles on the holiday.

In Acre, youths hurled stones at the local MDA station, damaging windows. Last night, riots around the station continued, leading MDA director general Eli Been to instruct staff in the city to perform their work in helmets and bulletproof vests.

Been urged rioters to allow paramedics to complete their work unimpeded so they could save lives.

He also pleaded with police to deal with the protesters: "These events are unacceptable, and I call on law enforcement authorities to handle rioters with an iron fist."

On Tuesday night, a 76-year-old Haifa man suffering from a serious illness became the target of stone-throwers while being transported to the city's Rambam Medical Center for treatment.

As Reuven Sadnai approached the hospital, "a barrage of stones was hurled at us. Some 50 yeshiva students standing on the bridge above the road pelted us with stones," he said.

"It was Kristallnacht in Haifa, and I want you to quote me. This was planned, and not just an act of mischief," Sadnai said.

MDA staff handled 1,786 cases of illness, injuries and childbirth over the Yom Kippur holiday. Sources at the organization say it treated dozens of people who fainted during the holiday fast, and dozens of children injured in cycling accidents.

Some 120 pregnant women who went into labor were also transported for medical care, and a Ramat Hasharon woman gave birth at home with the assistance of MDA staff.

Last update - 04:20 10/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027741.html

Yom Kippur Riot Over "Noisy" Car

Jewish youth allegedly beat Arab man in Acre, igniting riots

By Jack Khoury, Nadav Shragai and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents

Tensions are simmering in Acre on Thursday after a group of Jewish youths allegedly assaulted an Arab man who drove into the eastern part of the city on the Jewish high holiday of Yom Kippur. The incident touched off large-scale rioting between Jews and Arabs, resulting in extensive damage of dozens of cars and shops.

The unrest erupted around midnight on Wednesday, hours after Jews began observing the high holiday of Yom Kippur. An Arab resident of the old city of Acre drove his car to a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city, claiming that he owned a residence there and was simply on his way home. Jewish youths at the scene claimed the Arab man was deliberately making excessive noise.

While allegedly shouting epithets, the youths proceeded to attack the Arab man. Shortly afterwards, a group of Arab youths arrived at the scene, igniting a riot.

News of the incident spread to the surrounding Arab neighborhoods of the town, including the old city, prompting hundreds to take to the streets. A significant crowd began coalescing along Ben Ami Street, which is considered the key commercial avenue in the city. Dozens of cars and shops along the street were vandalized.

The head of the Acre police station, Chief Superintendent Avi Edri, told Haaretz that the altercation was initially an isolated one that broadened and escalated due to the involvement of Jewish and Arab gangs. Police used force to disperse the crowds and restore order in the city.

So far, a number of suspected rioters have been arrested and police say they plan on detaining more individuals throughout Thursday and Friday. "This is a very serious incident that the city of Acre has not seen the likes of in recent years and we will deal with all the rioters and those who take the law into their own hands with an iron fist," Edri said.

Arab MKs seek beefed-up security for Yom Kippur

Police should be deployed around Jewish towns on Yom Kippur to prevent Jews from stoning cars driven by Arabs, MK Abbas Zkoor (Ra'am-Ta'al) urged Public Security Minister Avi Dichter on Tuesday.

Zkoor charged that for years, young Jews have gathered at city entrances on Yom Kippur and stoned passing Arab cars, endangering the lives of the passengers. "Despite numerous complaints filed in police stations, officers were not sent to disperse the racist gatherings," Zkoor said. He also asked Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar to condemn such behavior, which "surely contravenes the basic principles of the Jewish religion."

Last update - 09:16 09/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027633.html

Yom Kippur? Israel Denies Medical Help to Palestinians

Medical delegation denied entry to Gaza

Physicians for Human Rights team forced to turn back after IDF refuses to let them cross into Strip citing security considerations. 'We have no intention of violating Yom Kippur, we only want to care for the sick,' says delegation's leader

Meital Yasur-Beit Or

A Physicians for Human Rights delegation, made up of Israeli Arab doctors who were planning to enter the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, was denied entry due to security considerations.

The delegation, which included surgeons, orthopedists, an oncologist, a psychologist and a social worker, was scheduled to enter Gaza carrying advanced medical equipment, in order to care for Palestinians hospitalized in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis and Gaza's Shifa Hospital.

A PHR statement released following the military's decision, claimed that the IDF revoked its original consent to the trip while the doctors were already on their way to the area.

"We have 350 patients waiting for us in Khan Younis," said Salah Haj Yehia, who headed the delegation. "Some of the patients are in serious condition and some were refused entry to Israel for treatment.

"We were given the necessary authorization on Monday, but this morning I got a call that it was revoked... We have no intention of violating the sanctity of Yom Kippur," he added. "We only wanted to use this time off to care for the sick."

The statement further noted that the IDF prohibits the participation of any Jewish doctors in medical delegations to the Strip, which is a discriminatory action.

The IDF Spokesperson's Office said that it was familiar with the case and that its details were being reviewed.

Published: 10.08.08, 15:33 / Israel News

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FOOD FIGHT ! ! !

Lebanese union to sue Israel for 'claiming ownership' of falafel

By DPA

A new war between Israel and Lebanon has erupted, but this time the war is not geopolitical, but rather an issue of cuisine-who has sovereignty over traditional Arab dishes and sandwiches.

The president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association Fadi Abboud, said he is preparing to file an international lawsuit against Israel for allegedly "taking the identity of some Lebanese foods" and thus violating a food copyright.

"In a way the Jewish state is trying to claim ownership of traditional Lebanese delicacies like falafel, tabouleh and hummus" Abboud said.

According to Abboud, the Lebanese are losing "tens of millions of dollars annually" because Israel is selling and marketing traditional Lebanese dishes.

"The Israelis are marketing our main food dishes as if they were Israeli dishes," he charged.

"We are working on registering all the foods and ingredients which will be submitted to the Lebanese government so it can appeal to the international courts against Israel," Abboud said.

"The Israelis are marketing such Lebanese delicacies under the same names and ingredients around the world," he added. "This is harming and causing great losses to Lebanon."

Abboud said he prepared his memo on the subject, based on the case of the Greek "feta cheese precedent" that occurred six years ago.

At the time, Greece managed to prove in international institutions that it was the "originator" of feta cheese and won the case.

According to Abboud, while Lebanon never registered the names and ingredients of its own delicacies, "it can refer to the Greece precedent since these foods are historically known as traditional Lebanese foods.

"By doing so, we are preventing Israel from stealing our main food trademarks and selling them around the world," Abboud added

Last update - 20:39 06/10/2008

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1027016.html

Bush Selling Stealth Fighters to Israel

A number of times Israel has been accused of passing US military technology to other countries in the arms sales which are a large part of its economy. Is selling this stealth technology to Israel really a good idea? SCENARIO: Israel "reverse engineers" US stealth, makes modifications, and sells the result to its arms customers (this has happened before, as with Cobra helicopters).

Lockheed official: Saudis not in talks for stealth fighter jet

By YAAKOV KATZ

Despite Israeli fears that Saudi Arabia is on its way to acquiring the stealth Joint Strike Fighter, Israel is the only Middle East country Lockheed Martin is currently in talks with regarding the sale of the fifth-generation jet, a top company executive said Sunday.

Israeli defense officials have recently raised concerns that the US will sell the new jet, also known as the F-35 Lightning II, to Saudi Arabia or even to Egypt - two countries with strong strategic ties with Washington. Due to these concerns, The Defense Ministry is pressing the Pentagon to allow the air force to install Israeli-made systems in the aircraft, which the IAF will likely begin receiving in 2014.

"No other countries in this part of the world are in discussions," Tom Burbage, general manager of the F-35 program for Lockheed Martin, told reporters in Tel Aviv on Sunday. Asked about Saudi Arabia, Burbage said there were no talks between Lockheed Martin and Riyadh regarding the plane.

Burbage also revealed that $200 million worth of contracts had been signed with Israeli defense companies involved in the development of systems related to the Joint Strike Fighter. He said this would likely increase to half a billion dollars by the end of the program.

Last week, the Pentagon announced plans to sell Israel up to 75 JSFs in a $15 billion deal. Nine countries - including Britain, Turkey and Australia - are members of the JSF program. Israel is a Security Cooperation Participant after paying $20m. in 2003 to obtain access to information accumulated during the development of the aircraft, which will be priced at approximately $80m. each.

Burbage said Israel would begin receiving the JSF in 2014. To meet that date, the air force will need to sign a contract with the Pentagon by October 2009.

The jet is still under development and is not yet in service, but the US plans to eventually acquire 2,458 planes for its army, Marines and air force at a cost of $300b. The F-35 was designed as a replacement for a range of warplanes, including the F-16, which is a large component of many air forces worldwide.

Oct 5, 2008 23:49 | Updated Oct 6, 2008 3:40

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US drops plan to put diplomats in Iran

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON

The Bush administration has shelved plans to set up a diplomatic outpost in Iran in part over fears it could affect the US presidential race or be interpreted as political meddling, The Associated Press has learned.

The proposal to send US diplomats to Teheran for the first time in three decades attracted great attention when it was floated seriously midyear, but has been placed on indefinite hold as November's election nears and Iran continues to defy demands to halt suspect nuclear activities, officials told the AP.

Two administration officials familiar with the matter spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations on the sensitive subject.

The officials said it had been decided to leave the decision to the next US president because it could be seen as a reward for Iran's nuclear intransigence especially when Iranian policy has become a major part of the heated campaign between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

Obama has called for unconditional direct talks with the leaders of potential US foes like Iran and North Korea, assuming that groundwork laid by lower-level officials indicated that the top-level talks would be fruitful.

McCain has ridiculed the suggestion as naive.

Thus, opening an "interest section," or de-facto embassy, in Teheran could be interpreted as a Republican president helping a Republican nominee by neutralizing a distinction that might make the Democrat appealing. Or, it could be seen as hurting McCain by leaving him to defend a more hard-line position than the current Republican president.

Either way, the administration concluded that now was not the time.

"There is no desire to inject this into the campaign," the second official said.

The idea's demise represents the end of any marquee efforts to remake the US relationship with its most formidable Middle Eastern adversary before US President George W. Bush leaves office. Although Bush once called Iran part of an "axis of evil" and says Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is dangerous, he also had allowed a variety of tentative overtures toward Tehran.

The best-known effort would have had US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice sit down for negotiations over Iran's disputed nuclear program, with the tantalizing prospect of expanded talks on other subjects. She said she would go anywhere to have those conversations, including Teheran, if Iran met its side of the bargain.

That offer went nowhere, in part because Iran refused to meet the US terms to begin talks.

A diplomatic office in Teheran would have served several purposes. It would provide a public face for the US government in a country where suspicion of the United States runs deep and perhaps increase US influence. It also might have made it easier for Iranian citizens to apply for visas to visit the United States.

The idea of creating an interest section in Iran similar to the one the United States runs in communist-run Cuba has been around for some years. It gained new traction in June when veteran diplomats began to look again at the plan with Rice's blessing.

Rice never publicly endorsed the concept but allowed it was one of several things the administration was considering to improve contact between the Iranian and American people. At one point, there was speculation that an announcement on the matter might be made in late August, which came and went with no action.

Although Iran has a small interest section in Washington, the two countries do not have diplomatic relations and the United States has had no official presence in Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution and subsequent takeover of the US Embassy and hostage crisis. US interests in Iran currently are handled by the Swiss Embassy.

While the Bush administration has given up on opening the interest section in its waning months in office, it has gone ahead with promoting unofficial contacts with Iran.

Late last month, the Treasury Department gave special permission to the private American-Iranian Council to open an office in Teheran. The office plans to promote educational and cultural exchanges by hosting round-table discussions and conferences.

The Princeton, New Jersey-based council will join a handful of other think tanks and policy institutes that have similar licenses from the Office of Foreign Assets Control to work in Iran, which is under heavy US sanctions over its nuclear program and support for groups the United States labels as terror organizations.

The executive director of the council, Brent Lollis, expressed hope that the opening of the office would improve ties between Iranian and American academics and eventually lawmakers. He also said he hoped it could help pave the way for the opening of a US interest section in Tehran.

"We are in full support of an interest section, and we hope that it will come about," he said. "This is a good beginning for that."

Oct 4, 2008 7:25 | Updated Oct 4, 2008 16:31

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Pentagon Computer Hacker in Trouble Again

Canada: Israeli mastermind of global hacking scheme

Ehud Tenenbaum, who 10 years ago hacked Pentagon computers, detained on fraud charges

Court remands 'analyzer' Ehud Tenenbaum, suspected of hacking financial institution in Calgary, stealing CDN$1.8 million. Tenenbaum denies allegations; may face extradition to US for involvement in hacking scheme spanning hundreds of companies worldwide

Yael Levy

A Canadian court ruled over the weekend that 29-year-old Ehud Tenenbaum, an Israeli suspected of hacking a Canadian company's computer system and embezzling CDN$1.8 million, will remain in custody.

Tenenbaum, who was dubbed "the analyzer" after it was discovered that he was the mastermind behind the hacking of the Pentagon computer systems in the late 1990s, was arrested in September along with three other alleged accomplices, which were placed under house arrest Friday.

He may also face possible extradition to the United States, where there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

According to a Sunday report in Canada's Calgary Herald, Tenenbaum in suspected of hacking the systems of one of the city's leading financial institutes.

Tenenbaum was scheduled to be released on CDN$30,000 bail, which the court denied after the prosecution entered into evidence documentation suggesting he is the leading suspect in a US case investigating the hackings of hundreds of companies around the world, including some in the US, Russia, Turkey, Holland, Sweden and Belgium.

According to the report, Federal Crown Prosecutor David Gates told the court that "Mr. Tenenbaum is alleged, by the government of the US, to be one of the principal hackers, if not the mastermind, of their entire global operation.

"As of this day, over 100 financial institutions worldwide have been identified as targets of various (Internet) chats involving Mr. Tenenbaum," he said.

Attorney John James, representing Tenenbaum, denied his client's involvement in the acts, saying any actions he might have taken were all portrayed as part of his job for a systems' security company based in Montreal.

The US Federal Prosecution now has 60 days to file an official motion to have Tenenbaum extradited to the US.

Published: 10.05.08, 12:26 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3605401,00.html

John McCain's Granddaughters?

Religious girls refuse Shabbat rescue

Israeli backpackers trapped by snowstorm in remote Indian village treated to rescue mission by consulate, local air force, but two girls refuse to desecrate Shabbat by boarding helicopter

Itamar Eichner

Eleven Israeli backpackers were stranded in a snowstorm in northwestern India during the weekend, and rescued in a complex mission launched by the country's air force. But two other Israeli backpackers were left behind - refusing to be rescued as it would constitute desecration of Shabbat.

The remote village of Kaza, located in the Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh, became shelter for around 150 tourists, 13 of them Israelis, who were trapped there during the raging storm.

Upon discovering that all access roads to the village had been closed off, including the one leading to Manali, the nearest city, the Israeli tourists contacted the embassy.

The backpackers asked Consul Irit Shneor in New Delhi to help them, telling her that earlier Belgium had sent a rescue helicopter to extricate the Belgian citizens trapped in the village. After conversing with Jerusalem the Israeli Embassy decided it, too, would send help.

IDF attache in New Delhi Colonel Yossi Turgeman contacted the Indian air force, which sent out a helicopter funded by the backpackers' insurance.

But the rescue mission left Saturday morning, which prompted two religious girls who were among those trapped to announce that they would refuse to board the helicopters, as this constituted desecration of the Sabbath. Their friends pleaded with them, citing the life-saving extenuation of the law, but they were adamant.

The 11 backpackers arrived safely at Buntar Airport in Kullu, India and called the consul to thank her. "When they all called from Kullu and yelled thanks into the phone they sounded euphoric," Shneor said happily.

The two religious girls remained trapped in the village along with 100 other European tourists. The consulate in New Delhi is currently in touch with them and attempting to assist them with the help of other foreign embassies.

Published: 09.28.08, 13:12 / Israel News

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3603183,00.html

Olmert: 'Jewish underground' behind attack on leftist prof.

[COMMENT: reminiscent of Jewish terrorism against the British in the 1930s and 1940s in Palestine.]

By Reuters

A new ultranationalist underground is apparently active in Israel and responsible for a bombing that wounded an outspoken critic of Jewish settlement in the West Bank, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday.

"The security agencies have been ordered to deal with this case, investigate it and act with the utmost speed to bring to justice what appears to be another underground," Olmert told his cabinet in broadcast remarks.

Professor Zeev Sternhell, a political scientist at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and a leading opponent of settlement building in the Palestinian territories, was lightly wounded on Thursday when a pipe bomb exploded outside his home.

Police found posters in his Jerusalem neighborhood offering a NIS 1.1 million reward for the killing of a member of Israel's left-wing Peace Now movement.

Olmert compared the bombing with the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish ultranationalist and a hand grenade attack that killed a Peace Now activist in 1983.

"A bad wind of extremism, hate, evil, violence and contempt for state authorities is blowing through certain sectors of the Israeli public and threatening Israeli democracy," said Olmert, who is engaged in land-for-peace talks with the Palestinians.

In the 1980s, a Jewish underground group, acting after six Jewish seminary students were killed in a Palestinian attack, carried out bombings that maimed several West Bank mayors and a shooting in an Islamic college that killed three students.

Last update - 20:20 28/09/2008

Members of the group were jailed but the sentences were later commuted by then-President Chaim Herzog.

Nine Israelis arrested for US lottery scam

QUOTE: American officials said it was the largest number of Israelis ever held on a single extradition request.

By ALLISON HOFFMAN, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK

US federal agents and Israeli police arrested nine Israelis in Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan on Friday on charges that they bilked New Yorkers out of more than $2 million through a lottery telemarketing scam.

They are accused of cold-calling people in New York from a "boiler-room" operation in Ramat Gan and asking them to wire as much as $40,000 to Israel to claim nonexistent international sweepstakes prizes.

The ring targeted senior citizens, who were told that the calls were coming from a New York law firm and that the wire transfers were taxes and fees that needed to be paid before the winnings could be released, according to an indictment filed in Manhattan federal court.

More than 10 victims were given a US toll-free number to call and told not to tell anyone about the prize drawing, prosecutors said. The money was allegedly wired via Western Union to accounts at Bank Leumi, Bank Hapoalim and Union Bank between September 2007 and this month.

American officials said it was the largest number of Israelis ever held on a single extradition request.

"Cooperation between law enforcement and prosecutors' offices here and in Israel has made clear that borders provide no safe haven for such fraudulent schemes," Michael Garcia, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement.

The Tel Aviv Fraud Division of the Israel Police, the Justice Ministry and the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office all participated in the investigation. The suspects were initially detained by Israeli authorities on September 9 and 11.

If they are sent to the US, each defendant will face two counts of committing wire fraud through telemarketing and one of conspiracy to commit fraud. They could be sentenced up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

The nine who were arrested are due in Jerusalem District Court on Sunday for hearings on the US extradition request, according to prosecutors in New York.

A 10th suspect, Shai Kadosh, remains at large, officials said.

Sep 27, 2008 23:21 | Updated Sep 28, 2008 1:14

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