Israel Newsbriefs from JNS.org

Egypt’s Coptic Christian leaders rip Western media

In the face of unprecedented violence against Coptic Christians in Egypt that has left hundreds dead, the church’s leadership has condemned the Western media’s biased coverage of events in Egypt.

“We strongly denounce the fallacies broadcasted by the Western media and invite them to review the facts objectively regarding these bloody radical organizations and their affiliates instead of legitimizing them with global support and political protection while they attempt to spread devastation and destruction in our dear land,” reads the statement, according to a Google translation.

“We request that the international and western media adhere to providing a comprehensive account of all events with truth, accuracy, and honesty,” the statement added.

The Coptic Church also reaffirmed its support for the military-backed government, calling on the army and security forces to continue their fight against the “armed violent groups and black terrorism.”

One of the oldest communities in Christianity, Coptic Christians have survived numerous persecutions in the past. But the recent violence is unprecedented. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), an independent human rights organization, has documented 39 attacks against Coptic Christian churches, schools, monasteries and businesses since late last week, NPR reported.

Coptic Christians constituted a majority of Egypt’s population until the Middle Ages, when Islam, introduced by Arab invasions in the 7th century, eclipsed them. Coptic Christianity are 10 percent of Egypt’s 85 million people, making it the largest single Christian community remaining in the Middle East.

Latin America on tap

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working to improve economic ties with politically friendly Latin American countries to compensate for the crippled economy of Israel’s main trading continent, Europe.

The new effort to increase Latin American trading, particularly with Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico, will complement Netanyahu’s simultaneous effort to increase economic ties with China and other East Asian countries. These four Latin American countries formed the free-trade Pacific Alliance last year and account for about 36 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Brazil is Israel’s main trading partner in Latin America, taking in Israeli exports at about $1.1 billion per year and importing to Israel at about $400 million per year. In June, Israeli President Shimon Peres signed a free-trade agreement with Colombia.

PA radio sees no Israel

A broadcast on Voice of Palestine, the official Palestinian Authority radio station, looked forward to a future without the state of Israel, Palestinian Media Watch reports.

“Greetings to all our listeners and happy holiday to you, our people in occupied Palestine, 1948 Palestine, the 1948 territories… Greetings to our people in Acre, Nazareth, Tiberias, Haifa and Jaffa… May your Palestinian identity be rooted in your hearts and minds. Allah willing, one day Palestine will be Palestine again,” the radio announcer said in the Aug. 8 broadcast.

Additionally, an Aug. 14 crossword puzzle in the PA daily newspaper, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, identified Jaffa as “a Palestinian city,” according to Palestinian Media Watch.

Avoid Turkey

The Israeli government issued a travel advisory on Monday warning Israelis to avoid visiting Turkey, a popular vacation destination for Israelis over the summer and during the upcoming Jewish holidays, Israel Hayom reported.

The threat issuing from Turkey is defined as an “ongoing potential threat,” a mid-level threat on the bureau’s five-level scale. Turkey is now on the same threat level as countries where jihadi terror cells are known to be operating, including Nigeria, Kenya and Azerbaijan.

Anti-Israel bias at U.N.

In a rare admission, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday that there is U.N. bias against Israel.

Speaking to university students at the U.N. Headquarters in Jerusalem, Ban stated that Israel, as a U.N. member, should get the same treatment as other nations. “Unfortunately, because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel has been weighed down by criticism and suffered from bias and sometimes even discrimination,” he said.

Judea/Samaria housing

Housing prices in Judea and Samaria continue to rise at a rate faster than in the rest of Israel.

High demand and low supply characterize the housing market in various Judea and Samaria communities, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported.

Israel recently announced plans for 1,200 new housing units in eastern Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, a decision that was slammed by the United States due to concern over the fate of Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations. Secretary of State John Kerry, who led the efforts to renew negotiations, said Aug. 12 that the U.S. “views all of the settlements as illegitimate.”

Touro artifacts: No deal

Talks between the historic Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI, and a New York City synagogue that claims ownership over the Touro Synagogue and its artifacts broke down this week after a U.S. District Court judge declared the mediation failed, the Providence Journal reported.

According to the Journal, a dispute between Congregation Jeshuat Israel, which uses the historic Touro Synagogue that was built in 1763, and New York City’s Congregation Shearith Israel, which was given the deed to the synagogue in the early 19th century when the original Jewish community left, arose over plans to sell the synagogue’s 18th-century finial bells to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts for $7.4 million.

Touro Synagogue is the oldest synagogue building that is still standing in the U.S.