BRIEFS

Church leaders question U.S. aid for Israel

(JNS.org) Leaders from the Lutheran, Methodist, and UCC (United Church of Christ) churches signed a letter to Congress requesting that U.S. military aid to Israel be contingent on “compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies.” The letter’s 15 signatories noted that they have “witnessed widespread Israeli human rights violations committed against Palestinians, including killing of civilians, home demolitions and forced displacement, and restrictions on Palestinian movement, among others.” They expressed their “grave concern about the deteriorating conditions in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories which threaten to lead the region further away from the realization of a just peace.” Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) Chair Larry Gold noted that while the letter does acknowledge that Palestinians share responsibility for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it includes “no call for investigation of Palestinian intransigence.”

Blank bullets fired at French shul

(JNS.org) France is boosting security at Jewish religious sites after blank bullets were fired on a synagogue west of Paris, Israel Hayom reported. French President Francois Hollande said that authorities will increase security at Jewish religious sites so they won’t be subject to the kind of attack that targeted a synagogue in the Paris suburb of Argenteuil on Oct. 6. The building was hit with about eight blank bullets and services were cancelled. The attack on the synagogue came hours after police carried out raids across France against suspected Islamist cells.

Israeli startup profits from Apple’s ‘Maps’ debacle

(JNS.org) With millions of Apple users frustrated over bugs and errors associated with the release of the “Maps” feature, Apple CEO Tim Cook is encouraging them to turn to competing software such as the Israeli mapping application Waze while Apple fixes the issues. Waze is an Israeli start up that collects map data from all its users. The users can report traffic incidents and delays that help other users find new routes or directions. It is an open source platform that is similar to Wikipedia, thereby improving as more people use the software. The recommendation from Apple’s CEO has given a huge boost to Waze. “We saw about a 20 percent bump in downloads when [Apple’s] iOS 6 came out,” Waze CEO Noam Bardin recently told the Wall Street Journal.

Muslims attack policemen at Temple Mount

(JNS.org) The Temple Mount was closed off to Jewish visitors on Oct. 4 after policemen were attacked with rocks by Muslim worshippers, Israel Hayom reported. The incident occurred when a group of Jews came to the Temple Mount as part of an organized visit. The group drew the attention of the Muslims praying at the site who began chanting “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) at the visitors. A group of Muslims later attempted to approach the group but were distanced by police. Organized visits to the Temple Mount continued after the incident, but in the afternoon police were notified of a plan by a Muslim group to accost the next group of Jewish visitors and to throw rocks at them. Police conducted searches throughout the Temple Mount, and had rocks thrown at them by angry Muslims. They then closed the site to Jewish visitors. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City is holy both to Jews and Muslims. It is managed by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, with Israeli police in charge of security. According to Israeli rules, Jews are permitted to visit but not to pray there.

U.S man kills one in Eilat hotel

(JNS.org) Israeli anti-terrorism police shot and killed an American Jewish man Oct. 5 after he stole a gun from a security guard at an Eilat hotel and shot dead another hotel employee, Israel Hayom reported. The gunman, 23, was originally from New York and arrived in Israel two months ago. He was reportedly a chef employed by the hotel. According to press reports, the gunman killed the man who had fired him the day before. The gunman’s full identity was not initially revealed. According to eyewitness accounts, the gunman got into a heated argument with another employee in the kitchen of the Leonardo Club Hotel in Eilat, after which he stormed into the lobby and managed to disarm the hotel’s security guard.

Gaza Flotilla sponsor blames Jews for Holocaust

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