Israel Matters!

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Congress Approves Additional Iron Dome FundingDivided on other issues, U.S. lawmakers united in support of Israel with the Senate recently approving $225 million for the Israeli Iron Dome missile defense system. The House followed by voting 395-8 in favor of the measure. Senate approval came as the chamber wrapped up work before going on its five-week summer recess.click Israel Matters! 83 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Israel Condemns Plan in Washington to Work With Palestinian-Hamas AllianceIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quoted recently as saying that he was “deeply troubled” by the Obama administration’s decision to work with the new Palestinian government, signaling new strains in the often rocky relationship between Israel and the United States, two close and critical allies.click Israel Matters! 82 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

lsrael Suspends Peace Talks After Palestinian Authority and Hamas Unity BidIsrael has suspended U.S.- sponsored peace talks with the Palestinian Authority in response to its President, Mahmoud Abbas’ unexpected unity pact with the rival Islamist group, Hamas. “The government of Israel will not hold negotiations with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas, a terror organization that calls for Israel’s destruction,” an official statement said after a six-hour meeting of the security cabinet. click Israel Matters! 81 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

U.N. Human Rights Council Maintains Anti-Israel Bias with Five ResolutionsThe United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) recently voted in favor of five resolutions explicitly singling out Israel — the latest instance in a well-documented history of bias against the Jewish state.Four of the five resolutions approved by the top international human rights body castigated Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, and were approved by a 46-1 vote. The fifth resolution took aim at Israel’s legal administration of the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state has maintained since 1981, as well as the “suffering of the Syrian citizens… due to the systematic and continuous violation of their fundamental and human rights by Israel.” It received a 33-1 vote. The United States was the only voting member to oppose all five resolutions. click Israel Matters! 80 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Netanyahu at AIPAC: Palestinians Must Join Israel on the Side of Peace and HopePeace will begin when PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told AIPAC’s 2014 Policy Conference recently. “Abbas must recognize the Jewish state,” Netanyahu, the last major speaker of the three day, 14,000-person event, said. “In doing so, he’d be telling the Palestinians that, while we have a territorial dispute, the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own is beyond dispute. “Recognize it. No excuses. No delays. It’s time,” he told the audience. “The Palestinians need to stop denying history.” click Israel Matters! 79 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Scarlett Johansson Quits Oxfam International Over Israel-based SodaStream Criticism; To Visit IsraelAmerican actress Scarlett Johansson has released a statement about the controversy surrounding her role as the first-ever brand ambassador of the Israeli company SodaStream, describing the firm as “building a bridge to peace between Israel and Palestine,” and making clear that she would not be stepping away from it. Her public comments were made after she came under fire for the endorsement deal - which included a TV ad screened during the Super Bowl - from the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.click Israel Matters! 78 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

US Secretary of State Kerry Frustrated by Palestinians’ Refusal to Recognize ‘Jewish’ IsraelDemands that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state have become a major stumbling block in Secretary of State John Kerry’s search for a settlement to the Middle East’s most enduring conflict.click Israel Matters! 77 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

IDF Provides Humanitarian Aid to Civilians in Syria and PhilippinesThe Israel Defense Forces has been providing humanitarian aid to Syrians living near the border, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon revealed recently during a tour of the frontier. According to Ya’alon, Israel has sent water and food, including baby food, across the border, and has been helping the Syrians prepare for winter.“Given the fact that these villages are besieged and have no access to anyplace else, we are helping for humanitarian reasons,” the defense minister said. The food is being transferred to the Syrian villages via the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. Sometimes, however, IDF soldiers lay aid packages just across the border and the village residents collect them.click Israel Matters! 76 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Israel, U.S. In Dispute Over Iran DealThe United States has vowed that it would not cave in to Iran in negotiations over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program despite charges from Israel and France that negotiators were proposing to let Iran maintain its nuclear capacity. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro vowed that President Obama would not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and that the United States would not sign on to a “bad deal” at negotiations with Iran.click Israel Matters! 75 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.