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Israel’s Parliament Celebrates Its 75th Birthday as War Rages
Israeli Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz addresses the Knesset, in Jerusalem, May 17, 2020. Photo: Adina Valman / Knesset spokespersons’ office / Handout via Reuters.
Israel’s Knesset celebrated its 75th year anniversary in a special session at Israel’s parliament building in Jerusalem, with politicians vowing victory while also trading punches.
“We will continue to strive with determination to defeat the enemy that stands before us and in doing so we will fulfill the wishes of our dear sons,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He added that “the image of the IDF destroying the parliament building in Gaza is a strong and important image of victory, and the establishment of the Knesset on this day is also a victory. Every democracy, big or small, is put to the test during the war and even in the current test we will stand together and win. Every day we prove to our enemies that they were very wrong. We suffered a very hard blow on October 7, but we got back on our feet very quickly.”
Israel’s Knesset, meaning “gathering” in English, first convened on February 14, 1949, also the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat, which begins Wednesday evening. As is the case with most holidays in Israel, the dates are marked according to the Hebrew calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar.
President Isaac Herzog spoke, telling those gathered “On the birthday of the Knesset of Israel, the temple of our democracy, it is important for me to emphasize that unity is not uniformity, unity is not gagging, unity is not the cessation of discussion and debate on matters that concern the core of the state’s existence. The legislators are the temple of Israeli debate and discussion, and the space for making the decisions that have the most impact on our lives. That’s how it was, and that’s how it will be.”
Pointing to the political turmoil that preceded the war, the president added ”This house will soon hold the most important and stormy debates there are. On war and peace, on the day before and after, on security, economy and society… it is forbidden to return to the conversation of October 6.”
The Knesset was the first sovereign Jewish governing body in the land of Israel since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. Currently in its 25th governing coalition, Israel’s legislative body is parliamentary, meaning that voters choose parties instead of candidates, and the leaders of those parties are then tasked with forming a coalition government comprising members of their own parties and others. The leader of the Knesset is the prime minister, currently Benjamin Netanyahu.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid took shots at the government, saying “What is there to celebrate? The political system is not the solution, it is the problem… How did we get to a situation where the citizens of Israel feel that we have lost control and no one is taking care of it? Israel will win the war, but the victory is not only in the fact that we kill Sinwar, it is in the fact that we are better to each other, as a nation. We know today that the fact that we did not change led to the greatest disaster in our history.”
The Speaker of the Knesset Amir Ohana added at the event “The Knesset’s 75th birthday is not a happy one. The nation of Israel is in one of its most difficult moments, fighting for its right to life and security, to peace and tranquility.” He asked those in attendance to honor the soldiers’ and civilians who have perished since the war’s outbreak on October 7, when thousands of Hamas terrorists stormed southern Israel, killing over 1,200 and taking hostage more than 240, with a minute of silence.
Concluding, he quoted a fallen soldier: “‘Perhaps I fell in battle,’ wrote Elkanah Wiesel of Bnei Dekalim who fell this week. ‘Don’t be sad when you part with me. Please be optimistic. Keep choosing life all the time. A life of love, hope, purity, and optimism.’ This house was not always characterized by all these. Shall we consider, all of us, to agree to the prayer of a fallen soldier, to strengthen each other?”
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United Nations ‘Condemns’ Israel for Responding to Houthi Attacks, Decries ‘Escalation’ of Violence
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
In its latest salvo against the Jewish state, the United Nations (UN) condemned Israel for executing retaliatory strikes against the Houthi terror group in Yemen.
“The Secretary-General condemns escalation between Yemen and Israel,” Stéphanie Tremblay, a UN spokesperson, said in Thursday statements on behalf of UN Secretary General António Guterres.
“The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about intensified escalation in Yemen and Israel. Israeli airstrikes today on Sana’a International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming. The airstrikes reportedly resulted in numerous casualties including at least three killed and dozens more injured” Tremblay added.
On Thursday, Israel launched a barrage of missile attacks on Houthi bases in Yemen, provoking international outrage. Israel targeted a major airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, and power stations, locations the Jewish state claims were used by the terror group to sneak in both Iranian weapons and high-ranking Iranian officials.
On Friday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an airstrike aimed at Ben Gurion airport, claiming that the attacks were carried out in retaliation against Israel’s targeting of Sana’a International airport.
The Israeli strikes followed days of Houthi missile and drone launches towards the Jewish state’s airspace. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked the Jewish state in the year following the Oct. 7 slaughters in Israel. Officials associated with terrorist organization claims that it will continue to attack Israel until the so-called “genocide” in Gaza ceases.
In reference to the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”
Israeli officials have long accused the UN of having a bias against the Jewish state. Last year, the UN General Assembly condemned Israel twice as often as it did all other countries. Meanwhile, of all the country-specific resolutions passed by the UNHRC, nearly half have condemned Israel, a seemingly disproportionate focus on the lone democracy in the Middle East.
Weeks following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, the UN adopted a resolution calling for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group. The UN failed to pass a measure condemning the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7.
In June, the UN put Israel on its so-called “list of shame” of countries that kill children in armed conflict. Israel is considered to be the only democracy on the list.
The post United Nations ‘Condemns’ Israel for Responding to Houthi Attacks, Decries ‘Escalation’ of Violence first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Amuggling
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike in southern Lebanon village, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, Oct. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhar
Israeli jets struck seven crossing points along the Syria-Lebanon border on Friday, aiming to cut the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.
Israeli troops also seized a truck mounted with a 40-barrel rocket launcher in southern Lebanon, part of a haul from various areas that included explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 automatic rifles, the military said.
The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, said Hezbollah was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to test Israel’s ability to stop them.
“This must not be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Under the terms of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in phases while unauthorised Hezbollah military facilities south of the Litani River are to be dismantled.
However, each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, intended to end more than a year of fighting that began with Hezbollah missile strikes on Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, from Gaza.
On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for Israeli forces to withdraw, citing what it said were repeated violations of the deal.
Israel, which destroyed large parts of Hezbollah’s missile stocks during weeks of operations in southern Lebanon, has said it will not permit weapons to be smuggled to Hezbollah through Syria.
Israel has also conducted attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen in recent days and pledged to continue its campaign against Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.
The post Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Amuggling first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Mila Kunis Says Husband Ashton Kutcher And Their Children Helped Her Embrace Judaism: ‘I Fell in Love With My Religion’
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis at the 9th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, on April 16, 2023. Photo: Cover Media via Reuters Connect
Actress Mila Kunis began embracing and feeling proud of her Jewish heritage when she met her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, and even more so after having children, she told Israeli activist and author Noa Tishby this week.
“For me, it happened when I met my husband,” the “Goodrich” star, 41, said of her former “That ’70s Show” costar, 46, who she has been married to since 2015.
Although Kutcher is not Jewish, he was a follower of Kabbalah and was frequently photographed visiting the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles when he was married to actress Demi Moore from 2005-2013. Their wedding was also reportedly officiated by a Kabbalah Centre teacher. It remains unclear if he continues to follow Kabbalah. Nevertheless, Kunis joked that Kutcher is Jewish “by choice,” not by lineage, and that his interest in Judaism sparked Kunis to reconnect with her Jewish roots.
“I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me,” said Kunis, who voices Meg Griffin on the Fox animated series “Family Guy.”
Kunis made the comments while joining Tishby to light candles on Thursday for the second night of Hanukkah. The two joined forces as part of Tishby’s “#BringOnTheLight campaign,” which is an eight-part video series on YouTube dedicated to spreading the message of Jewish resilience, pride and unity throughout the Jewish holiday.
Kunis and Kutcher together have two children — daughter Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, 8. The actress was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and moved to the United States at the age of eight. She told Tishby that she did not adhere to any Jewish traditions while growing up. “I always knew I was Jewish but I was told to never talk about,” she said. “I think because I was in a country that didn’t allow for religion.” The “Bad Moms” star added that her children also helped her tap into the religious side of Judaism.
“I was raised culturally Jewish. So for me, it’s a culture,” she said. “And as I had kids, and my kids very much identity with the religion aspect of it, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess we’re doing Shabbat and the candles. And there are so many beautiful traditions.”
“I never lit Hanukkah candles until I had kids,” she further noted.
When Kunis lit the menorah with Tishby for the second night of Hanukkah, they called Kutcher for some help. Both women were unsure if they needed to light the candles from left to right or from right to left, and asked Kutcher for guidance.
Kunis also talked about being raised with a lot of Jewish guilt and superstition. Listing another things that are culturally Jewish about her, she shared, “I have a fear of not having enough food and my fear of somebody being hungry. The worst thing my kids can say to me is, ‘I’m hungry.’”
“Food fixes everything. You’re tired, eat some food. You’re cranky, eat some food,” she joked. “A health person would say, ‘This is unhealthy and you’re doing something wrong.’ And I understand. I’m working on it. But it’s just something that is embedded in me.”
The post Mila Kunis Says Husband Ashton Kutcher And Their Children Helped Her Embrace Judaism: ‘I Fell in Love With My Religion’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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