Four Israelis killed by Hamas terrorists in West Bank

Four Israelis were murdered in a terrorist drive-by shooting attack on Route 60 near Kiryat Arba, east of Hebron, on Tuesday evening.

On the eve of the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians in Washington, four Israeli civilians were murdered in their vehicle in a terrorist drive-by shooting attack on Route 60 near Kiryat Arba, east of Hebron, on Tuesday evening, August 31, 2010.

The four victims were driving on Route 60 near the entrance to Kiryat Arba when their vehicle came under fire. The victims were named as Yitzhak Imes, 47, and his wife Talya Imes, 45, Kochava Even Chaim, 37, and Avishai Shindler, 24, all from Beit Hagai.

In Gaza, Hamas celebrated the attack for which it claimed responsibility.

Only two months ago, on June 14, 2010, an Israeli police officer was murdered by Palestinian gunmen in a similar attack near Al Fawar, south of Hebron, on the same Route 60.

Yitzhak and Talya Imes were the parents of six children. Talya Imes was nine months pregnant when she was killed by the terrorists.

Kochava Even Chaim was a teacher in Efrat. She left behind her husband and an 8 year-old daughter. Her husband,one of the first Zaka first aid volunteers to arrive at the scene, discovered that his wife was among the victims.

Avishai Shindler had only recently moved to Beit Haggai with his wife.

Defense Minister Barak: "This was a grave and difficult event. The IDF and the security forces will do everything in order to apprehend the murderers. Israel will not allow terrorists to lift their heads and will exact a price from both the murderers and those who dispatched them. Apparently, this was an attempt by reprehensible terrorists to strike at the attempt to jump-start the diplomatic process and hurt the chances of the talks being opened in Washington."

(Courtesy of the MFA Newsletter)

_______________________

August 31, 2010

Prominent American Latino Leaders in Israel on Project Interchange Program to Learn Best Practices for Integrating Immigrants, Fostering High Tech

(Jerusalem, Israel) - A delegation of influential American Latino leaders from across the United States is currently in Israel with Project Interchange, a non-profit institute of the American Jewish Committee, which regularly brings prominent figures to Israel for week-long educational visits. The group will gain exposure to various dimensions of Israeli society, and in particular, to Israel’s highly diverse and technologically savvy citizenry, which has helped fuel and sustain the country’s rapid economic growth.

Participants have expressed special interest in discussions on integration of immigrants – a fundamental issue in both the United States and Israel. Several sessions dealing with diversity issues are on the agenda, including Israeli high-tech initiatives that foster effective co-existence between Jews and Arabs.         

Additionally, the delegation will meet with top government officials for discussions on human and women's rights, as well as models for educating dispersed populations about their cultural and religious heritage – a challenge similarly faced by the Latino and Jewish communities.

Sam Witkin, Executive Director of Project Interchange, said, “We are tremendously pleased to host this delegation of prominent Latino leaders.” “The fields these leaders represent are highly varied, but the delegation shares an interest in several issues impacting Latin American communities, generally, including immigration, diversity, and maintaining heritage over generations. As many such issues also shape Israeli society, we hope participants will leave Israel with a stronger understanding of the similarities between their communities and those in Israel.” 

The group will also be briefed on ongoing Israeli humanitarian efforts in Latin America -mainly in Haiti- and will meet with various Latin American and United States diplomats stationed in Israel.

These and other topics, including the status of the peace process, Palestinian politics and society, and Israel’s strategic position with regard to Iran and other regional players, are intended to expose the group to a wide range of complex issues facing Israel.

The program will run through September 6, and is Project Interchange’s second this year for influential American Latinos. The first, in March 2010, was designed specifically for women.          

#  #  #

About Project Interchange:

Project Interchange, a non-profit institute of the American Jewish Committee, develops and conducts educational seminars in Israel for current and emerging United States and international leaders. Founded in 1982, Project Interchange has brought over 5,000 influential figures to Israel from more than 60 countries, offering them broad exposure to the complex issues facing Israel and the region. Project Interchange is headquartered in Washington DC, with an office in Jerusalem, Israel.

(Courtesy of Project Interchange and the GPO)

__________________________

Deputy FM Ayalon meets with State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan Takemasa

Preconditions are not conducive to successful negotiations and placing the blame on Israel before the negotiations have even started is extremely unhelpful and damaging for peace.

On Monday, 30 August, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon met with Mr. Koichi Takemasa, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan in Jerusalem. They discussed the peace process, regional issues and bilateral cooperation. Mr. Takemasa had earlier met with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister, Uzi Arad.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon spoke about the closeness in relations and friendship between the two countries. "We value Japan's contribution to peace in our region," Ayalon said. "We hope the direct negotiations restating this week will be successful. If there is a will on both sides then there will be progress."

Ayalon referred to the call by the Palestinians for an extension to the settlement moratorium. "Whoever places the settlements as a precondition is not serious," Ayalon continued. "Preconditions are not conducive to successful negotiations and placing the blame on Israel before the negotiations have even started is extremely unhelpful and damaging for peace. All sides should arrive at the negotiations with good will."

The Deputy Foreign Ministers also discussed sanctions and the Iranian nuclear threat. "The threat your region faces from North Korean nuclear weapons is the same threat that we will face in our region from Iranian nuclear weapons," Ayalon said to his counterpart. "It is important that Japan follow the example of the U.S. and the European Union to apply tougher sanctions on the Iranian regime."

Mr. Ayalon and Mr. Takemasa also discussed bilateral issues like cooperation and international development. "We would like an exchange of knowledge," Ayalon said. "We would also like to couple Japanese know-how with Israeli expertise, perhaps for the good of third party developing nations."

"If we invest more in cleantech and renewable energy it will not only make the world cleaner, but safer."

(Courtesy of the Deputy Foreign Minister's Bureau)

__________________________

August 30, 2010

Dep. FM Ayalon addresses forum of international jurists hosted by the MFA

"There is a war of interpretation of international law."

Last night, (Sunday, 29th August), Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon welcomed and addressed a large gathering of jurists and lawyers from around the world. The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ayalon told the 150 jurists that Israel and the international community are facing new challenges. "The law has become a battlefield," the Deputy Foreign Minister told the audience. "There is a war of interpretation of international law."

"Israel's enemies have embarked on the most wide-ranging delegitimization campaign in history; a campaign designed to undermine Israel's right to exist, let alone its right to defend itself. This threat has many dimensions, and among the most important is the legal one. This new arena has cleverly been termed 'lawfare' – a strategy of using or misusing the law as a means to achieve military or political objectives."

Ayalon gave a few examples, including the Goldstone Report, but also talked about an even more glaring example. "The war of 1948, imposed by the Arab states on Israel, resulted in two refugee problems, one Jewish and one Arab," Ayalon said. "Yet the world acknowledges only the Palestinian refugee problem, while denying justice to Jewish refugees from Arab countries."

"This despite the established record of UN resolutions and statements by world leaders calling for the resolution of the refugee issue, with no distinction made between Arab and Jewish, including United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 and the President Clinton parameters. Over the decades, the Arab propaganda machine virtually wiped out any notion of a Jewish refugee problem, undermining the rights of Jewish refugees from Arab countries, who today, together with their descendants, are the majority of Israel's Jewish population."

The Deputy Foreign Minister explained what is needed to fight back. "In combating the delegitimization campaign, we find ourselves confronting a formidable alliance of extremist groups, terrorist organizations, and cynical activists prepared to undermine the intent and credibility of international law and human rights principles for political goals," Ayalon said. "Against this alliance, we need to build an alliance of our own. We need a coalition of people of good will, who care about law, truth, human rights and the future of democracy."

(Courtesy of the Deputy Foreign Minister's Bureau)