VFI News July 28, 2020

The Campaign Against Antisemitism has reported that several Twitter users have contacted them in recent days to report that their accounts had been locked by the social media platform.

According to messages they received from Twitter, the images “violated our rules against posting hateful imagery.”

The images in question ranged from a white Star of David in a graffiti style to a superimposition of the modern blue star on the flag of Israel spliced with the yellow star Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis, to a montage of yellow stars.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, said: “So often social media companies claim that they lack the resources to tackle hate on their platforms, but Twitter… chooses to target the benign symbol of a victimized minority instead of the countless racists who use its platform with impunity”. (JPost / VFI News)

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” —John 15:18

“God, we ask that you expose the evils of antisemitism, and all forms of hatred throughout the world—that they might be dealt with before they’re allowed to fester and spread.”

Dutch civil servants took a picture with one of the terrorists charged with killing 17-year-old Rina Schnerb, The Jerusalem Post has learned, despite their government’s denial of any known connection between organizations they fund and terrorist groups.

The photograph from 2017, which can be found on the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah’s Facebook page, features Dutch officials, including Head of Cooperation in Ramallah Henny de Vries, and leaders of the Palestinian-run organization Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), to which the Dutch representative in Ramallah pledged nearly $20 million in 2013-2021.

Palestinian terrorists killed Shnerb on August 23, 2019, in a bombing attack at a spring near Dolev, injuring her father Rabbi Eitan Shnerb as well as her brother Dvir.

The commander of the PFLP terror cell that prepared and detonated the bomb was Samer Arbid, an accountant for UAWC at the time of his 2019 arrest. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you open the eyes of the international community—that they would know exactly who they’re dealing with, and divest themselves from those who do evil in the world.”

Politicians in Germany have expressed their misgivings over the appointment of a Foreign Ministry adviser whose role with the country’s Central Council of Muslims links her to a far-right Turkish group.

Figures from the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Germany and the left-wing group in the Bundestag have raised concerns over the appointment of Nurhan Soykan, a deputy chairwoman of the central council.

Their warnings relate to the council’s failure to dissociate itself from the Turkish nationalist group, the Grey Wolves.

The far-right extremist organization has been identified by Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as having members within the Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations in Europe (Atib), the largest member association in Ms. Soykan’s Muslim council.

"An organization that tolerates anti-constitutional forces in its ranks cannot be a partner of our state, and its top officials cannot be in the service of our state," Christoph de Vries, the CDU rapporteur for religious communities, said according to Die Welt.

"This carelessness in dealing with Islamism and nationalism worries me," he added. (TN / VFI News)

Israel signed the first part of an agreement with California-based Arcturus to have first access to its novel coronavirus vaccine.

“The health minister and the staff of his office, in cooperation with the National Security Council, are continually striving to ensure there will be vaccinations available for the residents of Israel,” the Health Ministry said in a statement Friday morning.

The deal signed with Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc. – one of America’s leading clinical-stage messenger RNA medicines companies – is to receive some four million doses of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate, LUNAR-COV-19.

For now, the ministry has signed a binding term sheet. The parties intend to finalize a comprehensive supply agreement within 30 days.

Israel media reported that Israel is meant to receive 4 million doses.

“We are very pleased to support Israel’s vaccination strategy,” said Arcturus president and CEO Joseph Payne. (JPost / VFI News)

Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. —Jeremiah 33:6

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi toured northern Israel on Saturday, less than a day after the military upped its alert in the northern command out of concern of an attack by Hezbollah following threats by the terrorist group over the death of one of its fighters.

Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, who also took part in the situation assessment, instructed the IDF to continue to increase readiness in the north and to use the necessary measures in order to prevent any violation of Israeli sovereignty.

According to a statement released by his office, Gantz warned that Lebanon and Syria would “bear direct responsibility for any action taken from their territory.”

The military also moved some troops deeper into Israel out of their positions directly along the border, so that they would not be a target for Hezbollah. (JPost / VFI News)

A senior delegation from Israel’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDRD) is set to depart for India on Sunday to develop new and rapid coronavirus tests in cooperation with their Indian counterparts while treating Indian patients with coronavirus.

The Israeli team plans to bring new technologies, on which they had recently worked and tested to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, in order to complete their research and to help India fight the novel coronavirus. Israeli and Indian scientific cooperation in this matter has been going on over several months.

The Foreign Ministry also plans to send aid packages to India on the flight, including sanitizing and disinfection equipment to protect medical staff, along with ventilators, which received special authorization to be sent out of Israel.

The delegation plans to test four different technologies for detecting coronavirus: sound waves, breathalyzers based on terahertz waves, isothermic identification, and checking polyamino acids. The sound wave testing is based on findings that coronavirus patients’ voices change in the early stages of the illness. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you continue to bless those who have devoted themselves to ridding the world of this deadly virus—that you would strengthen their resolve, and open their minds to innovations that will save lives.”

Representatives of the Airports Authority, the National Security Council, and the Health and Transportation ministries met on Thursday to begin the preliminary work on a tender to hire a private company to establish fast coronavirus testing labs on behalf of Ben-Gurion Airport.

An initial notice about the meeting was published in a Beit Shemesh bulletin, which The Jerusalem Post independently confirmed with the Airports Authority.

“The only way to open the skies for Israel is to establish coronavirus testing labs at the airport,” a spokesperson for the Airports Authority stated.

For foreigners looking to enter Israel, the spokesperson told the Post that visitors would arrive at the airport and be immediately screened. They would then enter isolation for around 24 hours while awaiting their results. If the test results are negative they will be able to continue with their vacation. If the test is positive, the visitor would have to remain in quarantine. (JPost / VFI News)

The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. —Psalm 41:3

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri announced in a statement on Wednesday that his ministry will approve the entry into Israel of foreign students who were planning to begin their studies in Israel this coming October.

Following professional discussions led by Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog, which were held between experts in the Population and Immigration Authority, the Health Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, it was determined that the entry of foreign students would be approved in accordance with those students meeting the isolation requirements as determined by the Health Ministry.

The approval applies to foreign students in academic institutions, yeshiva students, Masa students, seminary students, Naale students, high school students, and pre-army program (mechina) students. (JPost / VFI News)

“God, we ask that you bless, heal, and protect all students—particularly those who will begin their studies this upcoming fall.”