Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “torpedoing” plans for recognising a Palestinian state, causing “enduring frustration” for diplomats attempting to bring peace to the region.The comment comes after a press conference in Sydney on Wednesday, where Mr Netanyahu – who is in Australia until Sunday – was asked about recent criticism of Israel by Mr Rudd and another former Labor prime minister, Bob Hawke.

Source: ‘I beg to differ’: Kevin Rudd scolds Benjamin Netanyahu amid Australia visit

A suburban St. Louis Jewish cemetery badly damaged by vandals is getting a show of support from cleanup volunteers, well-wishers and financial contributors from across many faiths.

Muslim groups have launched a crowdfunding campaign for the Chesed Shel Emeth Society cemetery in University City, Missouri, with a goal of $20,000. It has raised nearly $75,000.

The cemetery posted on Facebook that 154 headstones were vandalized in the damage discovered Monday. Many were tipped over. Gov. Eric Greitens, who is Jewish, organized a volunteer effort to help in the cleanup Wednesday, and an interfaith service was planned for the afternoon. A large crowd attended a candlelight vigil at the cemetery Tuesday night.Investigators have been reviewing surveillance video to determine who was responsible. The Anti-Defamation League offered a $10,000 reward for the vandals’ arrest and conviction. Police say there is no evidence of a hate crime, but haven’t ruled out the possibility.

Read more: Support pours in for damaged Jewish cemetery near St. Louis – Chicago Tribune

Our friendship is as old as the state of Israel itself.

Australia was the first country to vote in favour of the 1947 UN partition resolution adopted by the General Assembly, which led to the establishment of Israel in 1948. Following the vote, Israeli representative Abba Eban acknowledged Australia’s contribution: “The manner in which you steered to a vote this second historic resolution … the warmth and eloquence with which you welcomed Israel into the family of nations, have earned for you the undying gratitude of our people.”

The key role Australia played in ensuring the security and prosperity of the Jewish people should be a source of pride for us all.

This week our friendship will take a historic step forward. For the first time, a serving Israeli prime minister will visit Australia. The government is honoured to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Our peoples are bound together first and foremost by the values we share — a mutual commitment to freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

And as a majority Christian nation, we share the rich cultural inheritance of the Bible, its stories and values a foundation and a context for our history, our literature, our imagination.

And we could not imagine modern Australia, the most successful multicultural society in the world, without the brilliance and the enterprise of our almost 120,000-strong Jewish-Australian community.

To paraphrase the great Shimon Peres, Australia and Israel understand the value of creativity and innovation. Together our scientists and businesspeople are partners in every field of technology. Australia is vast, Israel is tiny. But both are short of water and we lead the world in making every drop count so that deserts can bloom.

I’m particularly keen to discuss with Prime Minister Netanyahu the progress of our “landing pad” in Tel Aviv — the second of five innovation hubs to be established globally — which is helping Australian entrepreneurs make the connections they need to link into Israel’s world-class start-up and innovation ecosystem.

While in Australia, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I will oversee the signing of an air services agreement to enhance air links; explore opportunities for greater collaboration in cyberspace; commit to negotiations on an agreement on science and technology co-operation; and announce a declaration of intent to create a fully operational and commercial farm around Wagga Wagga. The new facilities will provide Australian farmers with an opportunity to benefit from world-leading Israeli dairy and agricultural technology.

Israel is a miraculous nation. It has flourished despite invasion, conflict and an almost complete lack of natural resources, other than the determination and genius of its people.

And yet in a region racked by war, it succeeds as the sole liberal democracy, a world leader in every field of science and technology, its culture of innovation the envy of the world.

Despite these achievements and the breadth of our relationship, many view Israel exclusively through the lens of its conflict with the Palestinians. They demand that the government take the side of those in the international community who seek to chastise Israel — and it alone — for the continuing failure of the peace process. In a speech to the UN General Assembly in 2015, Prime Minister Netanyahu pointed out that in the preceding 12 months, the General Assembly had adopted 20 resolutions critical of Israel, compared to just one in response to the war in Syria, which has resulted in more than 250,000 killed and millions driven from their homes.

My government will not support one-sided resolutions criticising Israel of the kind recently adopted by the UN Security Council and we deplore the boycott campaigns designed to delegitimise the Jewish state.

At the same time, we recognise that Israel and the Palestinians need to come to a settlement and we support a directly negotiated two-state solution so that Palestinians will have their own state and the people of Israel can be secure within agreed borders.

We believe that with so many other larger, more destructive and intractable disputes in the Middle East, this is a time when Israeli and Palestinian leaders, supported by the global community, should return to the negotiating table and work towards a solution that upholds the rights of both peoples to live side by side in peace and security.

Malcolm Turnbull is the Prime Minister of Australia.

Source: Welcome, Mr Netanyahu: the first Israeli PM to visit Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) ” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Australia on Wednesday for being “courageously willing to puncture U.N. hypocrisy” on anti-Israel resolutions.Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull marked the first visit to Australia by a serving Israeli leader by writing an opinion piece in Wednesday’s The Australian newspaper that backed Netanyahu’s criticism in 2015 that the United Nations General Assembly had adopted 20 resolutions critical of Israel in the preceding year and only one in response to the Syrian war.

Source: Netanyahu is first Israeli prime minister to visit Australia – World – NZ Herald News

President Trump, under pressure to speak out against rising anti-Semitic vandalism in the country, said Tuesday that such acts are “horrible and painful.” Trump used a morning visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture to offer his condemnation, saying his tour “was a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms.” “The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community at community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil,” Trump said.

Read more: Trump calls rising violence aimed at Jews ‘horrible and painful’ – The Washington Post

The relationship between Israel and China is mostly business-related, quite a few Jewish communities found their place in the Asian country over the years. A new Chinese-sponsored exhibition at Bar-Ilan University documents these historical ties.

Yaniv Pohoryles

20.02.17 , 22:59

When Israeli footballer Eran Zahavi received a proposal to play in the Chinese league, he wasn’t very keen on moving there, despite the large sums of money he was offered. He deliberated for a long time, looked into other options, and even an astronomic salary was unable to make him rush into signing the contract.

Only when he traveled to the city of Guangzhou and received a promise from the Chabad emissary there, Rabbi Rosenberg, that they would make sure that he and his family had kosher food and would perform a proper Shabbat meal and Kiddush for the family every Friday evening, the footballer was persuaded to sign the multi-million-dollar contract.

The Chabad representation in China and the Zahavi example are the essence of the ties between the Far East country and Israel and the Jewish world—financial ties of businesspeople or representatives of Israeli companies, who travel there for a relocation or for short periods for business purposes. In fact, there is no real Jewish community in China today, and the needs of Jewish businesspeople are catered by Chabad houses located in strategic places near the work and business centers.

While the connection today is basically a business relationship, a review of history reveals that there were quite a few Jewish communities that found their place in China throughout the years. In recent years, the Chinese government has actually been trying to shed light on China’s Jewish past, and it even sponsored a unique exhibition at Bar-Ilan University featuring the Jewish communities that used to live in China in the past.

Read more: Ynetnews News – The Jews and the Chinese: A connection between ‘the world’s most ancient peo…

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) ” Croatia’s Jewish community on Friday boycotted the official Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, saying the conservative government is not doing enough to curb pro-Nazi sentiments in the European Union’s newest member.

Read more: Croatia’s Jews boycott Holocaust Remembrance in protest – World – NZ Herald News