Page 1239 – The Jewish Link

Salomon Family Killer Sentenced to Four Life Sentences

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February 15, 2018

Salomon Family Killer Sentenced to Four Life Sentences

Written by Yona Schnitzer/TPS on February 14, 2018

Omar al-Abed, the Palestinian terrorist who murdered three members of the Salomon family last July, was sentenced Thursday to four life sentences for the triple murder.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who had previously called for the death penalty for al-Abed, said “no amount of life sentences is enough to punish that animal, who still has a smile smeared on his face. My heart goes out to the Salomon family.”

Chen Salomon, whose husband’s father and two brothers were murdered in the incident said “There is no punishment in the world which will bring back our loved ones. In order for incidents like this not to occur in the future, the state needs to implement the death penalty, which is what this vile murderer deserves.”

Al-Abed infiltrated the Salomon home in the community of Neve Tzuf in Samaria last July and stabbed the residents, who were in the middle of a Friday night Shabbat meal. Yosef Salomon (70), and his children Chaya (46) and Elad (36) were killed in the attack, and Yosef’s wife Tovah was wounded. Al-Abed was convicted of three counts of murder, as well as two additional counts of attempted murder.

Shortly after the murder, Michal Salomon, who lost her husband, sister-in-law and father-in-law in the incident, called for the implementation of the death penalty. Responding to reports of the demolition of part of al-Abed’s family home, Salomon said “they can rebuild their house, but my home has been destroyed forever. We need capital punishment – or at least radically more difficult prison conditions and prevent them from receiving anything above the bare minimum – so these terrorists can not rebuild their homes.”

In addition to calling for the death penalty, the Salomon family also petitioned Israel’s High Court for Justice earlier in February, demanding that the state demolish the entirety of the el-Abed family home, and not settle for only the part of the house in which Omar resided.

Ordinarily, both Israeli and international law prevent collective punishment against the families of terrorists. However, the Salomon family asserted that since Omar’s family knew of his intention to carry out an attack, a fact that was proven in court last August, the entire family home should suffer the same fate as the section in which Omar resided.

“We came to court today to ask to destroy the house of the terrorist,” Michal Salomon, the widow of Elad who was murdered in the attack told Tazpit Press Service (TPS) on February 4th, “It is an important step against terror,” she added.

“Michal came to show the judges that behind the debate there are faces, there’s a tragedy, and they have to help us prevent the next murder,” Dan Landau, Michal’s father also told TPS. “We came here to prevent the next family from [experiencing] the misery and the agony that my daughter has,” he added.

A Family Reunited By Technology

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February 14, 2018

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A Family Reunited By Technology

Written by Mara Vigevani/TPS on February 14, 2018

Some 80 years ago, Shabtai Baskin left his two brothers in Slutsk, Belarus and never saw them again. He fled his home town to avoid persecution by the Stalinist regime for his Zionist ideology, arriving in the town of Nikopol in the Ukraine, and then, in July 1941, just a few days before the Germans invaded, he continued eastward, to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

In Tashkent, as a radio amateur he received reports of the systematic killing of Jews in Nazi-occupied areas, but after the war ended he was unable to discover what happened to his family and whether they survived the horrors of the Holocaust.

After a spell in a displaced persons camp in Germany, Baskin immigrated to British Mandate Palestine. When the Soviet Union fell in the early 1990s he made another, failed, attempt to discover his family’s fate and passed away a few years later, never knowing what happened to them.

Baskin’s grandson Rani Markovich, who grew up in Kfar Saba and had many conversations with his grandfather about his adventures, decided after his death to look for his lost relatives.

After a disappointing trip to Belarus where he flew to search for documents related to his family, Markovich turned to the Israeli hi-tech company MyHeritage, run by his friend Gilad Japhet, which has 93 million global users and has created 39 million family trees.

The company hired a Belarusian genealogist who dived into the archives and found an old KGB document regarding the Zionist activities of Baskin and other members of his family.

The genealogist then found out that the wife and daughter of one of Baskin’s brothers survived the Holocaust and after the fall of the Soviet Union left for the United States.

After the discovery last November, Markovich’s mother Pnina went to the US for a historic reunion, after they previously met in an emotional Skype call.

“A Few months after MyHeritage told us they found our family, my mom flew to Indiana in the United States to meet her lost cousin Galina, “ Markovich told Tazpit Press Service (TPS).

Just before the trip to USA, Markovich and his family made another surprising discovery.

“ We always knew my grandfather had a fourth brother who disappeared in 1941 when he was sent to the war with the Russian army. What he didn’t know is that he had a girl who grew up with the family of the other brother and now lives in New York,” Markovich said.

According to Roi Mendel, a researcher at MyHeritage usually users just type their names in My Heritage site and check if there is any relevant information.

“The story of Rani was particularly interesting, and we decided to help more than usual “ Mendel told TPS, adding that the company had decided to make the “particularly touching story” public ahead of Family Day, marked Thursday.

Last week, the family held a birthday party for Galina, albeit through a video conference call. It was their first joint family celebration.

“We speak through skype almost every week, it’s incredible that we could find a piece of our family that we lost so many years ago,” Markovich said.

Salomon Family Killer to be Sentenced Tomorrow

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February 14, 2018

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Salomon Family Killer to be Sentenced Tomorrow

Written by Yona Schnitzer/TPS on February 14, 2018

Omar al-Abed, a Palestinian terrorist who murdered three members of the Salomon family last July is to be sentenced Thursday. In July, al-Abed infiltrated the Salomon home in the community of Neve Tzuf in Samaria and stabbed the residents, who were in the middle of a Friday night Shabbat meal. Yosef Salomon (70), and his children Chaya (46) and Elad (36) were killed in the attack, and Yosef’s wife Tovah was wounded. Al-Abed was convicted of three counts of murder, as well as two additional counts of attempted murder.

Shortly after the murder, Michal Salomon, who lost her husband, sister-in-law and father-in-law in the incident, called for the implementation of the death penalty. Responding to reports of the demolition of part of al-Abed’s family home, Salomon said “they can rebuild their house, but my home has been destroyed forever. We need capital punishment – or at least radically more difficult prison conditions and prevent them from receiving anything above the bare minimum – so these terrorists can not rebuild their homes.”

In addition to calling for the death penalty, the Salomon family also petitioned Israel’s High Court for Justice earlier in February, demanding that the state demolish the entirety of the el-Abed family home, and not settle for only the part of the house in which Omar resided.

Ordinarily, both Israeli and international law prevent collective punishment against the families of terrorists. However, the Salomon family asserted that since Omar’s family knew of his intention to carry out an attack, a fact that was proven in court last August, the entire family home should suffer the same fate as the section in which Omar resided.

“We came to court today to ask to destroy the house of the terrorist,” Michal Salomon, the widow of Elad who was murdered in the attack told Tazpit Press Service (TPS) on February 4th, “It is an important step against terror,” she added.

“Michal came to show the judges that behind the debate there are faces, there’s a tragedy, and they have to help us prevent the next murder,” Dan Landau, Michal’s father also told TPS. “We came here to prevent the next family from [experiencing] the misery and the agony that my daughter has,” he added.

Yoni Z Releases Emotional Ballad

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February 13, 2018

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Yoni Z Releases Emotional Ballad

Singer Yoni Z has released the power ballad “Ma Naaseh,” inspired by trial, tribulations and hope.

Following the success of the second single “DA MA” off of Yoni Z’s upcoming debut album which is now ranked number #1 on Jewish music charts both in the US and Israel, Yoni releases his third single titled “Ma Naaseh,” a power ballad inspired by the trial, tribulations and hope that each individual comes in contact with daily.

In the young star’s words, “This may just be the most personal song that I recorded for this album. Between all the wonderful experiences that I’ve had the honor to take part in, there is also so much I’ve learned about peoples’ lives through music and that every one of us has our own story and journey in this world. Ultimately, we always turn to our Father in heaven for salvation.”

“Ma Naaseh” will also feature a music video in the near future and is now available everywhere music is sold.

Defiant Netanyahu Says He Is Innocent; Predicts Re-Election in 2019

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February 13, 2018

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Defiant Netanyahu Says He Is Innocent; Predicts Re-Election in 2019

Written by TPS on February 13, 2018

Prime Minister Netanyahu came out swinging in the aftermath of police recommendations to indict him on two counts of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, defiantly saying he would not resign and predicting that he would be re-elected for a fifth term as prime minister towards the end of 2019.

In a televised speech to the nation, Netanyahu repeated his long-standing insistence that “nothing is going to come of this, because nothing happened,” and said he would continue to work to secure the country’s future.

“I believe this government will go the distance,” he said. “I and our terrific ministers will continue to work to make Israel into a global military, economic and technological superpower.

Netanyahu also repeated the accusation that a “heavy cloud” hangs over the investigation as a result of accusations by Police Chief Roni Alsheich in recent weeks that unnamed individuals tried to intimidate police investigators, and stressed that he has often been the subject of corruption allegations since first becoming prime minister in 1996 – and has been exonerated every time.

“That’s why you – the people of this country – have elected me, again and again,” Netanyahu said.

Addressing the charges at hand, the prime minister said the facts of each case illustrated the opposite of the allegations against him because he acted against the interests of the individuals – Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and Yedioth Aharonoth publisher Noni Moses – that he is accused of colluding with.

“All of those times began -like tonight – with huge media headlines. And like those times, I am telling you: This time, too, nothing will come out of all this,” he said.

Lieberman : Israel Will Continue to Protect Interests

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February 13, 2018

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Lieberman : Israel Will Continue to Protect Interests

Written by TPS on February 13, 2018

In his first statement since an IAF F-16 was downed over northern Israel over the weekend, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tuesday that Israel will respond to “any provocation” and continue to defend its vital security interests.

“This is not the time for talk, it’s time for action,” Liberman said during a tour of security positions and home front security in the northern city of Kiryat Shemona, about 10 kilometers south of the border with Lebanon. “We will respond to any provocation…Now is not the time to bark, but to bite. And we will bite hard,” Lieberman added.

During the visit, Lieberman also spoke about Israels’ ties with Russia, given the latter’s military presence in Syria. He said that Moscow has not asked Israel to hold back on attacking Iranian installations in Syria, and that Israel would not agree if a request was made.

“There are no restrictions (on our operations) and we would not accept any restrictions,” he said, adding that Israel and Russia maintain an “open dialogue” on Syria in order to prevent misunderstandings and unnecessary friction.

“Each side has its own interests,” he said.

Asked if he is satisfied about the US behavior in Syria and Lebanon the defense minister called the question “naiive” and repeated a long-standing assertion that the United States is Israel’s most important strategically.

That said, Liberman also noted that US and Israeli interests do not always match up.

“The US has its own interests… (but) we saw that after the operation three days ago, they stood up openly and backed the State of Israel. We thank them for that,” he said.

Lieberman also addressed the near-lynching of an IDF crew on Monday in Jenin, praising the Palestinian police officers who rescued the soldiers who had mistakenly entered the city.

“The Palestinians understand that security coordination is a mutual interest, “he said.

IAF Commander Visits Hospitalized Pilot; Says Decision to Eject Saved Both Lives

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February 12, 2018

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IAF Commander Visits Hospitalized Pilot; Says Decision to Eject Saved Both Lives

Written by TPS on February 12, 2018

Israel Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin praised Maj. A for deciding to eject from his F-16 after being hit by anti-aircraft fire on Shabbat, and said the spur-of-the-moment decision likely saved his life and that of his navigator.

“As soon as you realized you had to abandon the plane, you made the right decision, thereby saving the navigator’s life and your own life,” Norkin told the pilot during a visit to the pilot, who is recovering from the crash at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.

The hospital said in a statement that the pilot’s condition has improved. The navigator, who was lightly wounded, has already been discharged.

“There was an explosion, and we realized that we had been hit by a Syrian missile,” the navigator told Hebrew-language media. “It’s a very uncomfortable feeling, a feeling of loss control.”

The navigator also said the decision to abandon the plane was “immediate. You realize that you have to hurry up and eject, both because of the damage to the plane and the physical injuries (that we both sustained)… (the pilot) was conscious and we coordinated the ejection between us, from the preparation, examining the seating position and pressing our arms together so we wouldn’t get hurt. We repeated the orders over the intercom and then activated the ejector seat.

“Such a strong blast near the plane could have killed us. Nevertheless, the missile exploded at a certain distance from the plane, and the shrapnel caused enough damage,” he said.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Amnon Ein Dar said on Sunday that Israel has carried thousands of operations in Syria over the past year, adding that while the air force is not “happy” to have lost a fighter jet, the military would study the incident in order to learn from it.

Israeli Research Creates ‘Superfood’ Out of Blemished Apples

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February 12, 2018

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Israeli Research Creates ‘Superfood’ Out of Blemished Apples

Written by Mara Vigevani/TPS on February 11, 2018

Blemished apples that used to be thrown away or sold to the juice industry for rock-bottom prices can now be used to create a “superfood” powder thanks to research conducted at Tel-Hai Academic College and the Galilee Development Authority. Researchers found that is possible to make high-quality apple powder with surprising nutritional benefits from second- and third-rate apples that otherwise would be wasted.

Dr. Ofir Binjamin from Tel Hai Academic College and Prof. Raffi Stern from MIGAL – Galilee Research Institute of the Galilee Development Authority, wanted to find a solution to the 15,000 tons of apples, some 10% of the annual yield, discarded each year in Israel due to appearance, size or falling to the ground before ripening. The discarded apples have traditionally been sold to the juice industry for a fraction of their value or even just thrown, away leading to some NIS 25 million in lost income each year.

Binjamin and Stern came up with a powder that is first grated and then freeze dried with the addition of a very small amount of milk powder to prevent crystallization. The powder is intended as a healthy alternative to sugar to sweeten soft drinks and as a natural nutritional supplement. With 600 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams, it contains three times more vitamin C than guava, the fruit that has the highest amount of the vitamin per 100 grams, and ten times more vitamin C than orange juice. It also has a high percentage of antioxidants and nutritional fibers, the researchers say, making it a ‘superfood.’

“We began our research last September with the aim of looking at what we could do with the enormous quantities of apples that the industry discards every year,” Dr. Binjamin told Tazpit Press Service (TPS). “We went to Bereshit, one of the major apple producers in the country, and took samples of different kind of apples: second and third grade as well as apples designated for grocery shops and we found there is no difference between the powder produced with first choice apples and second and third grade apples”.

According to Binjamin, the powder has many advantages such as no preservatives, no food coloring, and 100% natural ingredients, but more importantly, he says, it is a major breakthrough for farmers.

“Now apple growers will be able to take advantage of fruit that otherwise would have gone to waste,” he says. “The powder can be integrated into many food products and enrich their nutritional values, give them a refreshing apple flavor and turning them into a superfood, ” he adds.

The research will be presented for the first time next week at the ‘Agricultural Innovation’ conference of the Galilee Development Authority.

Largest Air Strike Since First Lebanon War

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February 10, 2018

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‘Largest Air Strike Since First Lebanon War’

Written by TPS on February 10, 2018

Israeli fighter planes conducted the largest strike on Syria since the first Lebanon War on Saturday morning hitting a mobile Iranian control center that sent a drone into Israeli airspace and then striking 12 targets in the country after Syrian Army air-defenses shot down an Israeli F-16i jet as it returned to Israel following the initial strike.

The incident began in the early hours of Saturday morning when an Iranian UAV was spotted on its way into Israeli airspace and was shot down by an Apache attack helicopter once it traversed over Israeli territory on the Golan Heights. In response to the Iranian violation of Israeli sovereignty, Israeli Air Force jets flew deep into Syria to hit the drone’s launch and control center near Palmyra some 160 kilometers north of Damascus.

As the jets flew home a barrage of Syrian anti-aircraft missiles was fired at the planes as they were over Israeli territory. The pilot of one of the planes decided to eject. It is unclear whether as a result of Syrian missiles locking on the plane or of direct damage. The two pilots parachuted to safety landing near Kibbutz Harduf in the Lower Galilee. One of the pilots suffered severe injuries as the result of what doctors described as penetration wounds, suggesting that he may have been hit by shrapnel from an anti-aircraft missile.

In response to the launch of a barrage of anti-aircraft missiles over Israeli territory, the IAF launched a second wave of strikes hitting Syrian anti-aircraft batteries, President Bashar Assad’s personal guard and Iranian targets

In an extensive briefing to military reporters following the incident, IAF Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar said the Israeli attack was the largest since the First Lebanon War in 1982.

We attacked advanced long-range surface-to-air missiles, components of the [Syrian] air-defense system and various Iranian targets,” Bar said. “We will not allow Iran to become entrenched in Syria and we will do everything necessary to prevent that,” he added.

Bar said the incident was the first time that an Iranian drone, operated by Iranians, had crossed into Israeli territory. Bar described the drone as having a “low imprint” and said it was challenging to detect. He revealed that the IAF had destroyed the mobile control center as it was on the move inside the T4 airbase and while under fire from surface to air missiles. “The drone is in our hands and we will study it,” Bar added.

The IAF is prepared for any scenario and any eventuality while continuing to guard Israel’s skies and maintain its freedom of operation,” he continued. “The IAF’s aerial superiority has not been affected. We have scored an operational success vis-a-vis the Iranian challenge and those who operated the mission.”

Shots Fired At Israeli Drone on Golan Heights, Hit Druze Town

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February 9, 2018

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Shots Fired At Israeli Drone on Golan Heights, Hit Druze Town

Written by TPS on February 08, 2018

A house in the Druze village of Majdal Shamas was hit by gunfire from Syria, the IDF said Thursday at around 7 p.m. Damage to the house was reported but there were no injuries. According to the IDF statement, the house was hit when shots were fired at an Israeli drone.

Bajat Abu Jabal, a resident of Majdal Shams, said her daughter’s home was hit by shrapnel.

“The gunfire hit my daughter’s house,” Abu Jabal said. “She was alone with her two children, aged three and four. Of course, the children were very frightened cried a lot after the strike – their house is 20 meters from the border. There are always hits there. There where no damages. We hope for peace to come soon.”

Reports suggested the UAV was a Skyrider military drone on an inteligence gathering mission.

The Syrian civil war has placed residents of Israel’s northern-most town, located on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon along the international border with Syria, in a complicated situation. Many people say they consider themselves “Syrian,” rather than Israeli, and nearly everybody in town has close family across the border. The fighting is easily, and often, audible from the center of town, so much so that one mother told this reporter in 2013 that her children could distinguish different types of weapons by the screeches of the bullets they heard.

However, Druze Israelis in other areas of the country have told this reporter that Golan Heights residents find themselves in a complicated position because they fear that international pressure could one day force Israel to withdraw from the area, leaving them at the mercy of the notoriously brutal Assad regime.