AFTER THEY OUTLAW GUNS TO MAKE US SAFE, THEY CAN OUTLAW POVERTY AND WAR AND RACISM AND DISEASE AND ...

... AND THEN PASS A LAW MAKING IT ILLEGAL TO BREAK THESE LAWS.

THAT'LL DO IT.

MK ZOABI OPPOSES ARMY SERVICE FOR ARABS

Even Israeli Arabs should share the public burden, but if there's someone who opposes army service for that sector of society, it's the traitorous MK Hanan Zoabi, who's said:

Israel should “prepare the prisons” if a law requiring Arab Israelis to enlist in the army is passed, MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) told Arutz Sheva on Monday.

What has become known as “equal burden” in IDF and national service has become a hot issue in the coalition negotiations currently underway. While most of the attention has been on army enlistment of hareidi-religious yeshiva students, there have also been calls to include Arab Israelis in this as well. These calls have come from Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party but also from United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beytenu, which advocates that everyone be drafted at the age of 18.

According to MK Zoabi, however, Arab youth would rather go to jail or perform some form of civil service than enlist in the IDF. She also said that the entire Arab sector will resort to civil disobedience in the event that such legislation is passed.

[...] Zoabi claimed that the Arab public “does not want to be part of an occupying army. The issue of the military is not just a matter of burden but also of belonging. This is internal Jewish solidarity. You cannot tell me to come in and feel as though I belong in this army.”

Oh, so now she's trying to go for that propaganda angle. Which is disgraceful, of course. And I guess the only kind of workforce job she wants is the Knesset, so she can try to corrupt the country's political systems.

To make things worse, there's a certain movement within Jewish society she sides with too, and one of the few of its kind:

Zoabi identified with the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta Jews, saying, “They are anti-Zionist and I am anti-Zionist. I identify with them.”

They're even worse than the Satmar sect they spun off from. A Haredi movement that's organized participation in gatherings and events that delegitimize Israel, even going so far as to assist Muslim groups and visit Iran's Ahmedinejad. And that's why they're one of the few of their kind whom Zoabi's willing to side with.

CARTOON MOVEMENT HAS A PROBLEM WITH ISRAELI SECURITY

The Cartoon Movement is complaining about the IDF's arrest of an Arabic cartoonist named Mohammed Saba'aneh. The worst part is that CBR's Brigid Alverson appears to be distorting info, because on her posting, it says that the Intl. Council for Human Rights says, “The Israeli security forces refuse to disclose any details on Mohammed Sabaana’s whereabouts and further deny to grant access to his lawyer or his family members. He is also at serious risk of torture and ill-treatment.” But that's not what the press release on Cartoon Movement's page actually says. (If you go there, you'll see just what kind of loathsome cartoons he's drawn up, BTW.)

The Times of Israel says:

Saba’aneh, a Palestinian who was visiting Amman, was arrested while crossing from Jordan into Israel on February 16 for providing information to hostile organizations, according to Ramallah-based Al-Hayat.

On Thursday, his remand in prison was extended for another nine days.

Saba’aneh’s cartoons are seen as critical of Israeli policies in the West Bank. One published last week depicted a Palestinian in Israeli jail ripping his heart out to throw over the prison wall.

This is exactly what CBR, as much as Cartoon Movement and other such sources, have not acknowledged, proving they're more interested in defending anti-Israel propaganda than in the realities involved. If Saba'aneh gave info to potential terrorist outfits, then he's asking for punishment. Those protecting him instead of victims of Islamic honor murders, for example, should be ashamed of themselves.

Update: on a semi-related note, Alverson also recommended/fawned over another of Sarah Glidden's propaganda pieces, that being a cartoon series she drew called State of Palestine, which proves she really doesn't recognize Israel's legitimacy, and only makes me even gladder that I don't waste my hard earned money on losers like Glidden.

ISLAM IS INCREASINGLY IMPOSED UPON EGYPT

Asia News (via Jihad Watch) reports how Egypt is constantly becoming more and more sharia-compliant, and there's a lot of foreign sources who are also approving of it:

Cairo (AsiaNews) - From the continuing attacks against Christians, to the proposed ban on alcohol and belly dancing, Egypt is increasingly being transformed into an Islamic state. The signs of this change are not only within the Constitution, based on sharia, but the imposition of customs until now the preserve of a minority of society. In recent days, a decision of an Administrative Court of Cairo has made headlines. The court is allowing police officers to wear beards the "Islamic way" after a thirty years ban. In February, dozens of police officers were suspended for violating the law. They protested for days in front of the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior arousing the sympathy of several Salafi imams and police officers who lobbied on the Court to remove the ban. Dating back to the regime of Hosni Mubarak, the law was introduced to prevent the entry in the police force of elements of radical Islamism who would not be impartial in administering the law. Anyone who sported an Islamic beard was suspended.

According to the moderate newspaper Al Ahram, the Court's verdict marks an important page in the Egyptian society and confirms the silent Islamization of institutions and has sparked new protests by Christians and the secular opposition, which for months has been denouncing this trend.

However this ruling is not the only sign of this trend taking hold. Radical Islamists begin to emerge even in the army after decades of keeping a low profile. In recent days, the Baladna Bel Masry talk showed a video of a military tank painted with the words: "Not God but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." The video was shown across the country and today Ahmed Mohammed Ali, spokesman of the Higher Council of the Armed Forces announced legal action against those responsible. "One vehicle - however, he stressed - does not mean that the phenomenon concerns the entire army."

Attempts to Islamize Egyptian society also affect education. In recent days Mogheth Kamal, an expert on education, denounced a Muslim Brotherhood plan to impose lessons of Islam and the Koran in schools, even private ones. The Islamist movement reportedly has the support of many institutions, including foreign ones.

And very sadly enough, it also include the Obama administration, which has done nothing to oppose this transformation.

Interestingly enough, notice the part about the scrawl on the tank saying "not God but Allah"? Could that be a clue that God and Allah are not considered the same under Islam?

NY JEWISH DELIS ARE CLOSING

If you've ever enjoyed visiting a Jewish delicatessen, and eating some great corn beef sandwiches, it won't be great to know that a lot of them are closing down, mainly in New York:

Increasing apathy, particularly from younger patrons, has driven traditional Jewish delicatessens from their mid-century pinnacle. The decline seems to be accelerating partly because of health concerns over the schmaltz-spread fare and partly because bagels are now available in every supermarket.

Add sides of restaurant-industry slump and rising lease rates, and even local landmarks aren't immune.

In the last three months, three long-standing emporiums of corned beef and matzo around the country have closed.

Faced with aging clientele and a difficult economy, Ashkenaz Delicatessen in Chicago went dark in November and was replaced by a seafood joint called Da Lobsta. In Manhattan, high rent and the recession led to the closure of 75-year-old Stage Deli.

"People don't open up new delis anymore because it's very, very difficult to do," said Marian Levine, owner of Stage's longtime rival, Carnegie Deli in Manhattan.

In the first half of the 20th century, several thousand Jewish delis were operating in New York. But as Jewish immigration to the East Coast ebbed after World War II and younger generations splintered into the suburbs, the number has shrunk to a few dozen.

Demographic shifts in Los Angeles in the last few decades — along with the arrival of brands such as Langer's in MacArthur Park, Canter's on Fairfax and the Brent's chain — sparked hope of a Jewish deli revival in the Southland.

Lately, however, the region has suffered the same troubles bedeviling delis in the east.

Jerry's Famous Deli closed its Costa Mesa branch this spring and laid off dozens of employees. After years spent dishing up pickle-flanked masses of pastrami to the likes of Bruce Willis and Mel Brooks, Junior's closed following a rental spat with its landlord.

"There's nothing that can bring back the centrality of the deli in either Jewish life or American life," said Ted Merwin, an expert on Jewish culture and a professor at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania. "There's no way they're going to survive in the numbers they once did."

There you go - it's the bad economy situation that's led in part to the decline of these once great choices for resturants, to say nothing of the birthrate declines. As a result, there's not as many of these places where it could be great to go for a corn beef sandwich anymore. Sad.

HAS THERE BEEN A SINGLE BENEFIT FROM OBAMA'S MILITARY OR FOREIGN POLICIES?

In Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama has increased the use of drones and decreased the use of "boots on the ground". What has been the result? More US casualties than under Bush, and increased instability of the governments in those nations and increased casualties to civilians in those nations inflicted by the enemy.

Has there been a political benefit despite these bad military results? NO. Islamism is on the rise from Mali to Libya to Egypt to Syria to Iraq and Afghanistan. Pakistan is less stable, too. And Iran is closer than ever to a nuke. Meanwhile, China and Russia act-out ever more adventurously in the Pacific (and via North Korea and Iran - their clients). And our European allies are economically weaker than ever.

ALL IN ALL, OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY HAS BEEN AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER. For the West that is. Russia, China, Iran, and the islamists have done rather nicely.

It matters not if this was by design or by incompetence or just the inevitable result of appeasement and Pollyanna-ish policies. It's been a disaster. That the overwhelming majority in the West don't see this is sad.

The majority will eventually wake up from their propaganda-induced delusions, but it may very well be too late and because of an overwhelming catastrophe - that's too big to handle.

Sigh...

A NEW PLAY PORTRAYS JESUS AS AN AGNOSTIC/LAPSED JEW TEEN-AGER LOOKING FOR HIMSELF IN INDIA - AND NOBODY IS KILLED FOR BLASPHEMY... ER, UM ...NO ONE EVEN PROTESTS!

READ ABOUT THE PLAY HERE.

THEN ASK YOURSELF THIS:

WHY IS BLASPHEMY AGAINST CHRISTIANITY ACCEPTABLE, BUT BLASPHEMY AGAINST ISLAM - OR BLASPHEMY AGAINST LIBERAL ORTHODOXY, (LIKE GAY MARRIAGE OR ABORTION RIGHTS) -  ALWAYS MET WITH OUTRAGE?

I think it's because Christianity is now a matter of personal conscience (other than ex-communication, the Church can't do much), and not a matter of STATE; whereas both islamism and contemporary liberalism/socialism require a powerful coercive force - almost always the STATE - to maintain their hold on the public. In the West, this is most often enforced by PC. In islamist lands they frequently and fervently employ ghastly kinetic means.

The empowered individual who thinks for herself and acts in her own interest and pursues her own happiness is the enemy of both islamism and socialism.

FREEDOMLAND: THE FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

VIA POWER LINE.

WATERGATE'S HERO-REPORTER - BOB WOODWARD - CALLS OBAMA A LIAR

WASHINGTON POST:

Misunderstanding, misstatements and all the classic contortions of partisan message management surround the sequester, the term for the $85 billion in ugly and largely irrational federal spending cuts set by law to begin Friday. 

What is the non-budget wonk to make of this? Who is responsible? What really happened? 

The sequester and the debt ceiling, explained: President Obama and lawmakers are facing several important fiscal deadlines. One is to avoid the $1.2 trillion in spending cuts included in sequestration and another is raising the country’s debt ceiling. Here is a look at some of the issues involved in these two fiscal challenges. 

The finger-pointing began during the third presidential debate last fall, on Oct. 22, when President Obama blamed Congress. “The sequester is not something that I’ve proposed,” Obama said. “It is something that Congress has proposed.” 

The White House chief of staff at the time, Jack Lew, who had been budget director during the negotiations that set up the sequester in 2011, backed up the president two days later. 

“There was an insistence on the part of Republicans in Congress for there to be some automatic trigger,” Lew said while campaigning in Florida. It “was very much rooted in the Republican congressional insistence that there be an automatic measure.” 

The president and Lew had this wrong. [THIS IS WOODWARD'S "POLITE" WAY TO SAY OBAMA IS LYING.] My extensive reporting for my book “The Price of Politics” shows that the automatic spending cuts were initiated by the White House and were the brainchild of Lew and White House congressional relations chief Rob Nabors — probably the foremost experts on budget issues in the senior ranks of the federal government. 

Obama personally approved of the plan for Lew and Nabors to propose the sequester to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). They did so at 2:30 p.m. July 27, 2011, according to interviews with two senior White House aides who were directly involved.

OBAMA IS A LIAR AND HIS LIES HURT EVERYONE IN THE USA AND THE WORLD - MAKING US ALL POORER AND LESS SAFE.

Sigh...

A NEW GADSDEN GUN FLAG

LARS HEDEGAARD RECOUNTS EXPERIENCES

The Danish free speech advocate who was targeted and narrowly escaped assassination by a jihadist disguised as a delivery man has written about his experiences in the Wall Street Journal (via The American Thinker). And he also notes the peculiar obsession the left has of disowning some of their past traits and smearing the right as the embracers:

When I was a young Marxist during the 1960s and '70s, these opinions used to be described as characteristic of the political left. Nowadays the defenders of such positions are routinely labeled as right-wing or as belonging to the "extreme right." Meanwhile, what used to be the left is cozying up to holy men who want adulterous women to be stoned, homosexuals to be hanged, apostates from Islam to be killed, and 1,200-year-old laws emanating from somewhere in the Arabian desert to replace our free constitutions.

Yes, isn't that odd how they've long "reversed" perception of the roles? But truly, the left is still as it ever was, while the right, while neither perfect nor a saint, is branded the sole scapegoat.

It's good to see that the WSJ has given him a place to speak to the American public. Now, is there any chance he'll appear on FOX as well?

HEZBOLLAH AGENT IN CYPRUS GATHERED INFO ON ISRAELI FLIGHTS

A potential disaster of a terrorist attack in Cyprus was thwarted, and the investigation led to the capture of a Hezbollah agent who'd collected data on Israeli flights to the island:

Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, one of the suspects in a thwarted terrorist attack against Israelis in Cyprus in July, said on Friday that he was sent to record the time of arrival of flights from Israel, Army Radio reported.

According to the report, Yaacoub testified in court on Thursday that he was told by his superiors to document the landing times of flights from Israel.

The New York Times reported the Cyprus bomb-plot suspect was payed "$600 per month since 2010" by Hezbollah.

The Times quoted a written testimony read before the court where Yaacoub described acting as a courier for the group in Turkey, France and the Netherlands.

Providing a rare insight into the operations of the Lebanese militant group, Yaacoub said that if his handler wished to contact him, he would send a message "about the weather," The Times reported.

“I work for my party,” Yaacoub said. “Whenever they asked me to do something, I delivered,” The Times quoted his testimony as stating.

Yaacoub was also given the code name "Wael," The Times reported, quoting the bomb-plot suspect as saying that "in general, the party is based on secrecy between members. We don’t know the real names of our fellow members."

The bomb-plot suspect said that as a member of Hezbollah, he had the right to refuse to participate in terrorist operations, The Times reported. "If I was asked to participate in attacks, I had the right to refuse," he said.

There might be a bit of taqqiya involved in that last statement there: what if he thinks he doesn't "because it is Allah's will" that he does take part in the attacks?

It's very fortunate that the attack was prevented. And if these agents can be exposed, that would help prevent future disasters too.

UK COULD EMBRACE SHARIA DIVORCE PROCEEDINGS

And why? Seems that according to this article in The Australian, it's because of a landmark ruling in a Jewish divorce proceeding. But there's a difference between how a Judaism-based court and an Islamic one operate: the Jewish rabbinical courts usually operate in compliance with state laws, and are much fairer to women, whereas Islamic sharia courts don't and aren't.

Aside from that, the sharia courts have already been operating in Britain for years now, and nothing was done to curb them. So, if the UK is going to approve of sharia-based divorces, it'll only be another act of appeasement for Muslims that changes nothing not already in place.

I think the most angering thing here is that anti-semites could end up using this kind of news to blame the Jews, claiming that a religion they might actually be fine with is getting what it wants all because of us. But it's really because the UK lawmakers who tolerate sharia are trying to resort to moral equivalence to cover for their appeasement tactics.

3 BRITISH JIHADISTS CONVICTED FOR PLOTTING MASS MURDER

In the UK, a terrorist cell was thwarted and now convicted for their plans that would consist of suicide bombing (H/T: Jihad Watch):

Three would-be suicide bombers who plotted to carry out an attack to rival the 7 July and 9/11 atrocities have been found guilty of terrorism charges.

Irfan Naseer, 31, Irfan Khalid, 27, and Ashik Ali, 27, from Birmingham, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court of being "central figures" in the plan.

Jurors were told they planned to set off up to eight bombs in rucksacks, using timers to detonate the charges.

Police described the men as "committed, passionate extremists".

The trio were arrested in 2011 amid fears an attack was imminent.

Detectives believe it is the most significant terror plot to be uncovered since the 2006 conspiracy to blow up transatlantic airliners using bombs disguised as soft drinks.

Khalid even boasted that the attack was "another 9/11" and "revenge for everything".

Absolutely repulsive. It's very lucky they were caught before they could cause any horror. But so long as dhimmitude and appeasement still reign in the British mindset, the danger will still be around.

Update: Tory Diary also makes clear that jihadists have not gone away, and even if a major terror attack hasn't occurred for 5 years in the UK, that doesn't mean the danger isn't still lurking around the corner.

BRITISH EMPLOYEE OF SCHOOL CAFETERIA FIRED FOR ACCIDENTALLY SERVING NON-HALAL MEAT

Another case of ludicrous cultural sensitivity for the sake of ensuring that everybody - no matter their religion or cultural background - is served food prepared under the most unreliable concept of supervision (via Jihad Watch):

A dinner lady has been sacked for accidentally serving non-halal meat to Muslim students at a multi-faith school.

The incident outraged parents at the 'halal-only' Moseley School in Birmingham, and they have forced the headmaster to apologise for 'insulting' their faith.

The member of staff has been dismissed after the 'unintentional error' on December 12 last year recently came to light.

All 1,400 students at Moseley school are served halal meat, regardless of their religion.

It has not been specified what type of meat was served, but the person responsible for serving the food was dismissed following a disciplinary hearing last Monday.

And the people running the school are not even allowed to learn from their mistakes, the biggest one being that they would dhimmify the premises in the first place. At this point, I'm wondering why they should even be keeping cafeterias in the school if this is what it's all going to come down to? When I studied in school here in Israel in my youth, they didn't have any cafeterias in the schools I went to. Students should all learn to pull their own weight by bringing their own food. But if you look at the mess Michael Bloomberg caused in New York, you realize that this is basically where people like him drew their ideas from, and we can't expect the UK to change its socialist system any time soon, one that requires students to eat what they think is best for them.

ISLAM GAINS FOOTHOLDS IN SYRIA

CNN reports that Islamic cells like Jabhat al-Nusra have gained ground in Syria:

"Jabhat al-Nusra continues to make gains," Jouejati said. "They continue to increase in popularity, particularly as they begin to implement social services."

In the last year, the Nusra Front has grown from a shadowy group claiming responsibility for deadly car bombs to what Syrians describe as a highly disciplined fighting force that continues to attract recruits from the more secular Free Syrian Army rebels.

Nusra Front fighters are said to be leading the ongoing siege of the Khweiris military airbase in Aleppo province. They are also credited with helping lead the capture of the Taftanaz helicopter airbase in Idlib province last month.

The high-profile Islamist victories on the battlefield have been accompanied by another trend. Gradually, black Islamist banners have replaced the distinctive green, black, white and red flags of the Syrian rebels at weekly anti-government protests.

"After two years of killings and butchering and the entire world standing by and watching us, now we depend on God only. So we started raising the banner of Shahada, the black banner of war," explained a Syrian activist who has spent much of the last two years organizing anti-government protests in Idlib province.

The Shahada refers to the Islamic creed "There is no god but God, Mohammed is the messenger of God." It is one of the most important pillars of Islam. It is also invoked for martyrdom on the battlefield.

The rapid rise of hard-line Sunni Muslim groups like the Nusra Front -- some of which have seen their ranks swelled by foreign jihadi fighters -- is a trend that makes Jouejati and other more secular revolutionaries deeply uncomfortable.

It is also making Washington uneasy. In December, the U.S. government blacklisted the Nusra Front, labeling it a terrorist organization.

"We blacklisted the Nusra Front because of its intimate links with al Qaeda in Iraq ... which is responsible for the killing of thousands of Iraqis and hundreds of Americans," said Robert Ford, the U.S. ambassador to Syria, in an interview with CNN last month. "We know what al Qaeda in Iraq did and is still doing, and we don't want it to start doing that in Syria."

But some Syrian opposition leaders blame Western inaction for the recent growth of the Islamist groups.

"The U.S. and the European Union didn't help us, and that created an increase in Islamic radicalism here," said Marwan Gayed in an interview in Aleppo last month. Gayed was a judge who defected from the Syrian government and helped launch the United Courts Council, an opposition-run court that is trying to institute law and order in rebel-controlled parts of Aleppo.

Alas, he's right, the foreign governments turned their backs on Syria and didn't show any serious opposition to the Islamist gangs that are now rising in Syria. Now, look what's happened - sharia has been imposed in many parts of the country, including oppression of women's rights to drive.

Update: and in related news, there was a big explosion in Damascus near the Baath HQ that killed dozens of people. We can only guess who caused that.

DID OBAMA JUST ELEVATE A GENERAL TO SUPREME NATO COMMANDER A MAN WHO DID NOTHING TO HELP OUR BENGHAZI DELEGATION?

SEEMS TO TO ME.

GEORGE GALLOWAY WON'T SPEAK WITH ISRAELI

The terrible UK politician considers Israeli debaters unworthy of challenging, and left a conference rather than talk to him (via Jihad Watch):

George Galloway sensationally stormed out of a debate in Christ Church tonight after discovering his opponent was an Israeli.

He was meant to be debating the motion ‘Israel should withdraw immediately from the West Bank’ with Brasenose finalist Eylon Aslan-Levy.

But when his opponent used ‘we’ in reference to Israel, the Respect MP demanded to know whether the undergrad was a citizen of the country.

After the PPEist replied in the affirmative, Galloway, claiming to have been misled by organisers, grabbed his coat and left.

Mr Aslan-Levy told the Tab

“I am appalled that someone would storm out of a debate with me for no other reason than my heritage.

“To refuse to talk to someone just because of their nationality is pure racism, and totally unacceptable for a member of parliament”

Galloway has previously refused to debate with anyone connected to the country.

After this abrupt departure, Aslan-Levy recalled his previous confrontation with Galloway. Six years ago as a pupil at north London’s University College School, he claimed to have confronted him over his supposed ‘no-platform’ stance towards debating Israelis.

But the then MP for Bethnal Green denied taking such a position, allegedly branding the student an “L-I-A-R liar”.

Tonight’s events would seem to prove otherwise.

A second year Christ Church student in the audience told the Tab:

“It was a shocking moment. Galloway’s meant to be a Respect MP, but tonight he respected no-one. He turned up late, and left after his opening speech. Maybe he had run out of things to say”.

Or maybe he knew his opponent had every chance of winning, and couldn't bear losing. The man is a total disgrace.

ADELSON AND TRUMP CAN BUY THESE 3 NEWSPAPERS

TO COMBAT THE LEFT-WING DOMINATED MEDIA-DEMOCRAT COMPLEX:

ADELSON AND TRUMP CAN BUY THE BOSTON GLOBE, THE CHICAGO TRIB AND THE LA TIMES.

AND TURN THEM INTO CENTER-RIGHT PAPERS. AND BUY MAGAZINES TOO.

"... one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate ... had to explain the basics of Jewish persecution to a former colleague as if he was a seven-year-old."

"one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate ... had to explain the basics of Jewish persecution to a former colleague as if he was a seven-year-old."

THAT WOULD BE KAPO SCHUMER TO ANTISEMITE HAGEL.

FRENCH FAMILY KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM IN CAMEROON

A terrible thing has happened to a family of vacationers to Cameroon:

A French family of seven, including four children, has been abducted by the Nigeria-based radical Islamist “Boko Haram” terrorist organization. The kidnappers moved the family yesterday from the far north of Cameroon, where they were abducted, to neighboring Nigeria, where Boko Haram is based.

An Islamist group which strongly opposes man-made laws and modern science, the organization was founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2001 and seeks to establish Shari'a (Islamic law) in the country. The group is also known for attacking Christians and bombing churches, and has been responsible for at least 450 killings.

Among those kidnapped were the two parents, an uncle and four children ages five, eight, 10 and 12. They were abducted Tuesday by six gunmen on three motor bikes while traveling near the Waza nature reserve. Their vehicle was later discovered in a river near the Cameroon border with Nigeria.

The father in the family is an employee in French gas company GDF Suez.

Police in both countries are involved in the investigation.

Pray for the safety of the victims.

Update: French forces have arrived in the area to search for the hostages.

BYZANTINE WINE PRESS FOUND IN JAFFA

Live Science reports that an ancient wine press that's at least 1,500 years old from the Byzantine era has been uncovered in the Tel-Aviv/Jaffa area.

Update: more at Haaretz.