RSS
Following Purim Request, Jerusalem Cancels Fireworks for Independence Day
People watch a fireworks display kicking off celebrations for Israel’s Independence Day, marking the 73rd anniversary of the creation of the state, in Tel Aviv, Israel April 14, 2021. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
Following calls to forgo toy explosives for the Jewish holiday of Purim last week, the Jerusalem municipality announced that this year’s Israeli Independence Day events will be held without them as well.
“The city of Jerusalem is preparing for Independence Day events and to mark the establishment of the State of Israel, and in the spirit of the times, the events will take place this year in the shadow of the ongoing war [against Hamas in Gaza] and the many people for whom the sounds of explosives evoke uncomfortable feelings,” read a statement from the municipality.
“Independence Day events will begin at the end of Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism (Yom HaZikaron in Hebrew) who fell in the wars and whose death commanded us life,” the statement continued. “This year, Independence Day will be celebrated in Jerusalem with a salute to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and the security forces, to the martyrs and their families, to the wounded and abductees. We will all offer a prayer for their speedy return from captivity, for their health, and for strengthening the strength and glory of the State of Israel.”
The decision to cancel fireworks and other loud noises that normally accompany celebrations such as Independence Day came amid the war in Gaza to Israel’s south and the daily rocket attacks by Hezbollah terrorists in the north, both of which have contributed to fear of sparking trauma among soldiers returning from the front.
According to mental health officials, the psyche of soldiers and civilians since the outbreak of war on Oct. 7 has become a huge issue facing the country. Professionals have estimated that every Israeli — civilian and soldier — is undergoing some sort of trauma since the mass terror attack of Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, killed more than 1,200 people, and took 253 others as hostages. Mounting evidence has documented Hamas’ systematic use of torture and sexual violence, including mass rape, against the Israeli people during the onslaught.
Against such a backdrop, the IDF called on the public to refrain from using toy explosives on Purim out of respect for soldiers, with the army releasing a moving video of a group of soldiers pleading with the public to avoid using the toys so as not to bring them mentally and emotionally back to Gaza.
Independence Day, called Yom Haatzmaut in Hebrew, marks the day when David Ben-Gurion, who became Israel’s first prime minister, declared in 1948 the establishment of the new Jewish state. The festival is celebrated on the 5th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar — this year on May 14, which happens to correspond with the same Gregorian date from 1948 — and features celebrations throughout the country, including the largest of which in the capital of Jerusalem.
This year’s celebration is the 76th anniversary of the establishment of the modern State of Israel.
The post Following Purim Request, Jerusalem Cancels Fireworks for Independence Day first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Scandinavian country said on Friday.
The decision comes on the heels of multiple revelations regarding the agency’s employees’ involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Sweden’s decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid via the agency more difficult, the country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.
“Large parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible,” Dousa said. “For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through.”
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: “We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden’s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.
“There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,” she said.
The post Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login