Israel News for 4-11-18
Moscow Call
The Arabic-language Sputnik news website reported yesterday that the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Israel’s Ambassador to Moscow Gary Koren for a consultation in the wake of the attack against a Syrian air base that was allegedly carried out by Israel.
The Israeli Embassy in Moscow declined comment, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem said “We have ongoing conversations with the Russians all the time, and the ambassador will indeed meet with Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov today.”
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Iranian Casualties
According to a report by the private Tasnim news agency, 7 Iranian military personnel were killed in Sunday’s attack on a Syrian airbase that Syria and Iran accuse Israel of launching. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitor, said at least 14 people were killed in the raid, some with foreign nationalities.
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s most powerful military force, have been fighting in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad for several years. More than 1,000 Iranians have been killed in Syria’s civil war, including senior members of the Guards.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Syrian army chemical attack saying, “The Syrian regime continues to perpetrate crimes against humanity in using these outlawed weapons. The latest attack joins a long series of similar attacks using chemical weapons perpetrated by the regime since Assad undertook to disarm from such weapons. The attack shows clearly that Syria continues to possess lethal chemical weapons capabilities and even to manufacture new ones. In so doing Syria is grossly violating its obligations and the decisions of the international community in this matter,”
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Irish Mayor Rejected
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced Tuesday evening that he had instructed authorities to stop the mayor of Dublin, who was scheduled to land in Ben Gurion Airport during the night, from entering Israel. The mayor was scheduled to pass through Israel on his way to Ramallah to be hosted by the Palestinian Authority.
Deri justified his decision saying, “He [the mayor] acts in any way possible against Israel. He initiated condemnations against us and yesterday he led a resolution to expel our ambassador in Ireland. Now, he wants to enter PA territory in order to continue to incite and harm Israel. I instructed that he be prevented from entering so that he cannot harm the state. I will continued to use my authority against anyone who tries to harm the State of Israel, including senior public officials.”
Unfortunately, soon after the announcement by Deri the mayor tweeted that he was already in Ramallah. An Interior Ministry spokesman revealed that border control officials had failed to stop him, because the order had apparently spelled his name wrong.
A day before the mayor’s departure for Israel, the Dublin City Council adopted a resolution to expel the Israeli ambassador for the deaths of Palestinians during the March of Return violent demonstrations near the border with Gaza. The resolution has has no practical consequence, but is purely declarative. The Dublin City Council, with the mayor leading the way, has been an outspoken advocate for the Palestinians against Israel. Last year it flew the Palestinian flag over its building for a month.
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Holocaust Day
Holocaust Memorial Day will begin tonight at 8pm at the Warsaw Ghetto Square in Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum. The day’s events will be collectively titled, “Holocaust survivors shape memory and build a state”, interweaving with Israel’s upcoming 70th Independence Day. President Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak at the ceremony and six Holocaust survivors will light torches to remember the 6 million Jews murdered.
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Jewish Numbers
According to figures released by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, there are currently 14,511,000 Jews living in the world, compared to 16,600,000 on the eve of World War II. The current number is the same as the Jewish population number in 1922.
The data indicate that there are currently 6,446,000 Jews in Israel, 5,700,000 in the US, 456,000 in France, 390,000 in Canada, 290,000 in Britain, 181,000 in Argentina, 176,000 in Russia, 117,000 in Germany, and 113,000 in Australia.
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