Israeli Activists Put Up Rainbow Flags In Front Of Rabbi's Office After He Calls For The Deaths Of LGBT

Story out of Jerusalem, Israel:

Activists hoisted the LGBT movement’s rainbow flag outside the Jerusalem Sephardi chief rabbi’s office Saturday night after the rabbi’s derogatory comments on gay people over the weekend.

Meretz posted a photograph Sunday morning of its activists at the scene, which also included a chalk drawing of the LGBT colors on the sidewalk outside of Rabbi Shlomo Amar’s office.

In an interview with Israel Hayom published Friday, Amar called men and women from the LGBT community “a cult of abomination” and said they are liable to the death penalty according to Jewish law.

Amar’s comments created a fierce political backlash from members of the Knesset and the Jerusalem City Council who helped get the rabbi, who was Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel from 2003 to 2013, elected to his current post.

As Amar’s comments circulated Thursday in a preview of the article, at least two complaints of incitement were filed against him to police.

In the interview, Amar said he related to Reform Jews through the prism of the biblical injunction against Korah and his followers in Numbers 16 to “turn away from the tents of evil people.”

Asked about his attitude toward the LGBT community, the rabbi said: “This is a cult of abomination, this is clear. This is an abomination. The Torah requires a death sentence for this. This is in the first row of the most severe transgressions.” Cont.

Story from - The Jerusalem Post
Photo from - @meretzparty - Twitter

Watch Barack Obama Tell Bill Clinton To Hurry Up And Get On The Plane

                  

After attending the funeral of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, President Barack Obama can be seen telling former President Bill Clinton to hustle his butt and get on the plane.

Video from - Storyful News - YouTube

Egyptian Athlete Sent Home From Olympics After Refusing To Shake Israeli Opponent's Hand

Moron. Story out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

An Egyptian athlete who refused to shake his Israeli opponent's hand after their judo bout has been reprimanded and sent home from the Rio Olympics, officials said Monday.

The International Olympic Committee said Islam El Shehaby received a "severe reprimand'' for his behaviour following his first-round heavyweight bout loss to Or Sasson on Friday.

When Sasson extended his hand, El Shehaby backed away and shook his head, injecting Middle Eastern politics into the Rio Olympics. The referee called the 34-year-old El Shehaby back to the mat and obliged to him to bow; he gave a quick nod and was loudly booed as he exited.

Judo opponents typically bow or shake hands at the beginning and end of a match as a sign of respect. Cont.

Story from - Huffington Post/CP

Israeli Military Bans Soldiers From Playing Pokemon GO

Now who's going to find the Golem? Story out of Jerusalem, Israel:

The Israeli military is warning its soldiers about a new threat: the widely popular mobile phone game "Pokemon Go."

The army said Monday it has banned its forces from playing the game on Israeli military bases due to security concerns. In a directive to soldiers and officers, the army warned the game activates cellphone cameras and location services, and could leak sensitive information like army base locations and photographs of the bases.

The military is also concerned that soldiers could download a fake application that impersonates "Pokemon Go" but could leak information from soldiers' phones. Cont.

Story from - CTV News/AP

Israeli Police Officer Flips Over Man In Wheelchair

Israel says it has launched an investigation into a border police officer who was filmed tipping over a Palestinian in a wheelchair in the West Bank.

The incident happened Sunday after Israeli forces shot and wounded a Palestinian woman who police said had pulled out a knife and tried to attack an officer.

Footage shot by a local resident shows the woman on the ground bleeding and officers ordering Palestinians to keep away. One officer flips over a Palestinian’s wheelchair, dumping him on the ground. Cont. (Video)

Story from - Global News
Image from - Wikimedia Commons
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Ultra-Orthodox Lawmakers In Israel Boycott Swearing In Of Gay Member Of Parliament

Members of the Israeli Knesset's Ultra-Orthodox parties boycotted the swearing-in ceremony on Monday of new Likud MK Amir Ohana, the party's first openly gay lawmaker.

Amir Ohana takes the place of Interior Minister Silvan Shalom, who stepped down from public office last week following sexual assault allegations.

“I am here with all of who I am and what I am, what I’ve chosen and what I haven’t, and am proud of this: Jewish, Israeli, Mizrahi, gay, Likudnik, security-minded, liberal and a free-market-economy man,” Ohana said.

When people cry “Death to the Jews,” Ohana said, using the Arabic phrase, “I am a Jew first.
“When they shoot, boycott, label, and expel — I am a settler. When they try to blur cultures, to minimize and ignore — I am Mizrahi. When they defame IDF soldiers and security forces — I am a soldier,” said Ohana.


“When they stab to death a young woman in the parade of love and tolerance – I’m gay, a gay person who does not hope the day will come but gets up and supplies it," he said. "A gay person who understands that the flag we carry, lesbians and gay men, trans and bi, is the rainbow flag.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the ceremony and welcomed Ohana to the Knesset. Cont.

Story from i- 24 News
Image from - Pxabay

Israel Is Now Numbering Palestinians

On October 30, the Israeli military announced a closed military zone over the area of Hebron under full Israeli security control.

To enforce the closure, the Israeli army introduced a new system of identification numbers for the 30,000 Palestinian residents of the cordoned-off H2 district which encompasses about 20 percent of Hebron and includes Shuhada Street and a number of Israeli settlements.The remaining 80 percent of the city is under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority.

In addition to presenting their identification cards at 17 internal checkpoints and undergoing security checks, Palestinians must now orally give soldiers their new ID number when entering and leaving the blockades that enclose Shuhada Street.

The army did not distribute paper documents with the new identification number. Once a soldier is told the number, he then cross-references it with a printed list.

"Anyone who does not have a number is removed or arrested. The Israeli army detained at least 20 international volunteers who monitor H2 area," said Sohaib Zahda, of the Hebron-based activist group Youth Against Settlements.

"Even the little kids have numbers," said Anas Murakatan, 27, who lives in an apartment near a checkpoint at the entrance to Shuhada Street. "I am 58; she is 59," Anas said, pointing to his pregnant wife, Fadwa Murakatan. His children are 60 and 61.

"When the baby is born, she will get one too." Cont.

Story from - Al Jazeera
Image from - Pixabay