Weekly News Items from the Israeli Press, August 30, 2012

JFNA Partners in the Israeli Press

JAFI gives aid to family of non-Jewish Burgas victim

(Jpost) Jewish group uses funds to show solidarity with Mustafa Kyosov; Ya'alon speaks at memorial ceremony in Sofia synagogue.

Russian speaking teens visit Israel

(Ynet) Some 300 Jews from around the world gather in Israel for two-week summer camp aimed at instilling Jewish identity.

Citibank Israel Donates Backpacks to Ethiopian Students

(Israel National News) The Tel Aviv branch of Citibank made the first day of school easier for Ethiopian-Israeli students by donating 200 backpacks.

Aliyah and Immigration

Let’s do the Time Warp

(Jpost) Jews in the Diaspora claim they are being increasingly isolated. They point to religious fundamentalist laws as reasons to stay in the Diaspora.

Former Mossad official to head efforts against African infiltrators

(Israel Hayom) Former senior Mossad official was appointed to spearhead efforts to find a solution for Israel's African migrant problem.

Religious Pluralism in Israel

Ordered not to discriminate against women in ads on Jerusalem buses, agency cuts out people altogether

(Times of Israel) In a bid to avoid vandalism from ultra-Orthodox extremists, advertising company comes up with a creative solution.

New school year, but old discrimination remain

(Jpost) Shas city council member claims 30 Sephardi girls in Jerusalem kept out of Ashkenazi schools.

Israeli Periphery

Terrorists Begin School Year with Rocket Attack

(Israel National News) Gaza terrorists fired a Kassam rocket on the Sderot area minutes after students arrived at their classes for the first day of school.

ACRI: South losing doctors to private medicine

(Jpost) Southern patients on "periphery" have less healthcare availability than in Center; physicians shift to private institutions.

Jewish World

I care about Israel, even if the feeling isn’t mutual

(Times of Israel) I need to figure out how I feel about Israel, despite how Israel may feel about me.

Israeli national-religious group to field candidates for chief rabbi

(Haaretz) Elections are expected to be held at the end of March 2013, since both Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar end their ten-year terms next April.

Education

The gender revolution hits Israeli schools

(Haaretz) Kfar Sava's cutting-edge gender-studies program, brought on by a teenager, is the exception that confirms the rule: The subject gets very little attention in Israeli schools.

J'lem: Students stuck in sweltering tents

(Ynet) Some 90 girls from Jerusalem's Bait Ve'Gan Beit Yaakov School forced to study in tents in unbearable heat due to overcrowded classrooms. Parents blame city officials, who claim in turn: Ministry's jurisdiction.

Israeli Economy

Report: Israelis pay sixth highest gas tax in West

(Haaretz) Study, led by Prof. Dan Ben-David reveals that most of the increases in gas prices are not due to global petroleum prices but rather to taxes on refining and distribution of price-controlled fuel.

Science, Technology and Development

The greenest house in the world?

(Times of Israel) Students at Ariel University marshal all sorts of techniques to build an environmentally sound abode.

Op-Eds and Opinion Pieces from the Israel Press

Ma'ariv refers to yesterday's Haifa District Court verdict in the matter of Rachel Corrie and cites Judge Oded Gershon's opinion regarding the International Solidarity Movement with which the late Miss Corrie was affiliated: "In fact, the Organization exploits the dialogue regarding human rights and morality to blur the severity of its actions, which are, in fact, expressed through violence." The author laments the tragedy of Corrie's death but suggests, "Corrie became the victim of propaganda and incitement, which led her to profound hatred. Let there be no mistake here. Rachel Corrie was not only obsessively anti-Israeli, she was also anti-American.  She completely adopted the principles of the red-green (radical left and jihadist) coalition." The paper notes, "Minutes after the verdict was delivered, her father claimed that his daughter was trying to prevent a home demolition. He will not let the facts confuse him," and reminds its readers that the object of the IDF work during which Miss Corrie was killed was, as Judge Gershon put it, "solely to clear the ground," which had been used as cover by terrorists to attack IDF forces. The author believes that, "This was an important verdict because the principal claim in the framework of the war of demonization is that Israel intentionally harms the innocent. This was the story in the Muhammad Al-Dura affair and it continues to reverberate even after he recanted; and it was the claim of the Rachel Corrie campaign.

Yisrael Hayom relates that, "The High Court of Justice decision, which ordered the prompt eviction of the Migron settlement outpost, is long overdue. It almost screams from the direction of every wall following six years of legal battle. The residents of Migron well know that not only people from Peace Now and Palestinian land owners are demanding the eviction, but rather the staunchest supporters of settlements as well."  The author believes that, "The rule which emerges from the decision of the High Court of Justice is that in order to settle the Land, the support of the Government is essential. One cannot simply purchase, on the sly, a parcel of land from its dying owner. On this point the settlers of Migron employed an approach which says that if the Government approves the settlement – terrific, and if not – the strong will dominate and they will take possession of the land without a permit. That is bad for everyone, as well as for the settlement movement."