Evidence of World War I battle found in Israel

Chris Ciacci

Some of the bullets, cartridges and shell fragments found at the site. (Credit: Clara Amit, Israel Antiquities Authority)

Students of the Melach Ha-Aretz preparatory program who were part of an archaeological dig found rifle cartridges and shell fragments from World War I in an Israeli city.

The discoveries, made between Rosh Ha-ʽAyin and the Afek Industrial Park, were from the British and Ottoman armies. The first discovery came from a member of the Melach Ha-Aretz pre-military preparatory program, who was part of the dig.

“Yitzhak Kalontarov approached me curiously with an artifact in his hand,” Yossi Elisha, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, said in a press release. “I was surprised to discover that it was a rifle cartridge, and I was even more surprised when it turned out to be a World War I cartridge. As archaeologists, we expect to discover ancient finds from hundreds and thousands of years ago, whereas here we have a relatively ‘young’ one hundred year old artifact, but we were all drawn to the fascinating story of the battle.”

In addition, the dig uncovered a variety of military items, as well as two military outposts used by the Ottoman army. Part of a British army cap insignia was discovered at one of the outposts, along with bullets and cartridges from the Ottoman army.

Elisha added that the findings provide “evidence of one of the major battles that was fought in Palestine between the British forces and the Turkish forces during the First World War.”

Historians have noted the Battle of Megiddo took place near the site, which occured on Sept. 19, 1918.

The Ottoman Empire was part of the Central Powers in World War I, along with Germany, Bulgaria and Austria-Hungary. It is responsible for attacking Russia’s Black Sea in late October 1914, with Russia declaring war on the Empire just a few days later. It was defeated in 1918 and the Ottoman Empire was ultimately dissolved in 1921.

Izrael będzie się domagał zwrotu żydowskiej własności zagrabionej w czasie wojny

ADMIN

Polska, Rumunia, Węgry, Chorwacja i Litwa – te europejskie kraje znalazły się w centrum nowego planu przywrócenia własności skradzionej europejskim Żydom w czasie II wojny światowej i w okresie komunizmu. Plan został opracowany przez Ministerstwo Równości Społecznej, MSZ oraz Światową Organizację Restytucji Żydowskiej (WJRO).

Szczegóły nowego projektu podano w czwartek w Jerozolimie. Obejmuje on lokalizowanie, dokumentowanie i oznaczanie na mapach przejętego mienia. Celem jest ustanowienie wspólnych grup roboczych między reprezentantami Izraela, WJRO i krajami europejskimi. Mają one doprowadzić do zmiany prawa w poszczególnych krajach, tak, aby umożliwić odzyskiwanie zagrabionego mienia.

Prezydent Reuwen Riwlin, w którego rezydencji odbyło się spotkanie dotyczące planu, powiedział, że „jest w zwyczaju mówić, że zbrodnia nie popłaca. Dla wielu ludzi zbrodnia Holokaustu okazała się opłacalna. Nie możemy na to pozwolić”.

Five EU States at Center of New Israeli Effort to Restore Jewish Property Stolen in Holocaust
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Ofer Aderet

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Egyptian president: Gaza buffer zone not enough

Roi Kais

Abdel Fattah al-Sisi tells a conference of Egyptian youth that despite the army’s efforts, tunnels and terrorism from Gaza in the Sinai present an ongoing problem; ‘We found tunnels that are three kilometers long and 35 meters deep. These are tunnels that can transport vehicles and not just people.’

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday that the one-kilometer buffer zone defense project on the Gaza border is not enough to prevent smuggling.
“We found tunnels that are three kilometers long and 35 meters deep. These are tunnels that can transport vehicles and not just people,” al-Sisi said at a youth conference in Ismailia.

Smuggling tunnel uncovered in Rafah (Photo: AP)

The Egyptian president arrived at the conference for the third time in his attempt to talk to the younger generation and shed light on Egypt’s struggle against smuggling tunnels from Gaza to Sinai.

Al-Sisi also pointed out that despite the Egyptian army’s efforts, the problem is still ongoing and authorities “require more cooperation” from residents.

The Egyptian president further promised to pay compensation to Egyptian Rafah residents who were evacuated as a result construction on the security buffer zone, which resulted in many losing their homes.

El-Sisi

Another interesting issue to which al-Sisi was asked during the conference was his candidacy for the Egyptian presidential elections scheduled for 2018.
In recent months, there have been reports of initiatives to extend his term without elections, but the president attempted to squash rumors, saying, “I call upon the citizens of Egypt to participate en masse in the next presidential elections. If Egyptians don’t want me, I will not remain in office for one second. In this situation, may God give Egyptians the best and most appropriate (leader).”

Melanie Phillips shut-down Israel’s leftist media in this bombshell interview

Top Jewish Human Rights Group Slams Russian FM’s Spokesperson Over Reported Holocaust Reference

Barney Breen-Portnoy

President Donald Trump meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the White House on Wednesday. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry’s Twitter account.

A reference made by a Russian official to the Holocaust on Thursday has been condemned by a leading US-based Jewish human rights group.

In response to a Washington Post report about concerns over the presence of a photographer from the Russian state-owned Tass news agency at Wednesday’s White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a spokesperson for Lavrov reportedly said the paper was “making our correspondents feel like Jews in 1933.”

Rabbi Abraham Cooper — associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles — told The Algemeiner on Friday that the Russian official’s words left him “almost speechless.”

“Of course it is disgusting and outrageous,” Cooper said.

Cooper continued, “To put it in context, I offer the famous Russian joke told furtively during the Communist dictatorship in Soviet Union. The two official newspapers were the Communist party’s Pravda (truth) and the Soviet government’s Isvestia (news). The joke was this — there is no pravda (truth) in Isvestia (news) and no isvestia (news) in Pravda!”

“Despite the demise of the Soviet Union, Lavrov’s antics confirm that some things in Russia never change,” Cooper concluded.