GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas marked the 30th anniversary of its founding with a mass rally of many thousands of supporters Thursday, staging a show of strength at a low point in the Islamic militant group’s history.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said in a combative speech that the U.S. and Israel have found themselves isolated following President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Hamas has called for a new Palestinian uprising against Israel in response to that recognition.

“We salute the beginning of rage, intifada and revolution,” Haniyeh told the large crowd that filled a sprawling lot known as al-Katiba Square.

Trump’s decision last week has triggered Palestinian protests in the West Bank and Gaza, including some that escalated into deadly clashes with Israeli troops, but it remains unclear whether widespread Palestinian anger at the U.S. will lead to a full-fledged uprising.

Read more.

Public menorah lightings for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah are planned around the world in locations ranging from ski towns and Caribbean islands to famous landmarks and sports arenas.

Hanukkah begins Tuesday night and lasts for eight days.

If you’re traveling or vacationing during the holiday, there may be a menorah lighting near you. The Jewish outreach organization Chabad-Lubavitch plans Hanukkah events in hundreds of cities, from the 50 U.S. states to 100 countries.

Celebrations in Vail, Colorado, will include menorahs made from skis. In New Mexico, organizers hope to create a one-of-a-kind menorah made from hot-air balloons on Dec. 17 in Albuquerque’s Balloon Fiesta Park, which hosts the International Balloon Fiesta each October. Vacationers in destinations like Cancun, Mexico, and Aruba will also have menorah lightings to attend, along with one in Curacao, home to the oldest synagogue in the Western Hemisphere dating to 1732.

Read more.

Rabbi Goldstein retelling the story of Hanukkah

After a couple of days of (rare) poor weather, the heavens cleared and it turned into a bright sunny afternoon for the Chabad Hanukkah in the Park event at Hagley Park, Christchurch on December 14, 2017.

There was a slight hiccup from the Park Ranger who said that a structure couldn’t be erected in Hagley Park without prior approvals, but after a short conversation with the Rabbi, he let it go.

Assembling the Hanukkiah

Various members of the shul were there together with a few others, some Christians.

The children enjoyed the treasure hunt and Rabbi Mendel Goldstein retold the story of Hanukkah with gusto.

For those who don’t know, the festival of Hanukkah commemorates the restoration of the Jerusalem temple to Judaic worship after Hellenistic Jews attempted to replace it with the pantheistic religion of Zeus and the other idols of Greek mythology.

With Judaic worship restored, there was only sufficient oil to light the Menorah for one day but it would take several days to prepare a new supply.  Miraculously one day’s supply lasted eight days, hence the eight branches of a menorah intended for Hanukkah, a Hannukiah.

Children gathering under the Hanukkiah

My children learned new Hebrew phrases, like “Hanukkah sameach!” and “Nes Gadol!”  Their 9 year old friends who had had no prior exposure to Jewish culture were bemused.

Yosef lighting the Hanukkiah

The children engaged in the games Mendel ran and all were pleased to receive dreidels, Hanukkah candles and craft projects to do.

Rabbi Mendie honoured NZ Friends of Israel by granting us the privilege of lighting the Shamash.  Then other members of the Jewish community braved the tall ladder to light the three candles for the third night of Hanukkah.

All in all a fun and light experience and an opportunity for both Jewish and non-Jewish peoples to engage and learn more about each other.  Hope you can catch the other Hanukkah events in Auckland and Wellington.

Rabbi Goldstein was great with the children

Thousands of Hizbollah supporters joined a fiery rally in Beirut today as the movement’s leader urged Palestinians to rise up after US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Demonstrators packed the streets of Beirut’s southern suburbs in a carefully managed march. Crowds chanted, “Death to America, death to Israel!” and waved Palestinian and Hizbollah flags.

Trump’s announcement last week that his Administration would break with decades of US foreign policy to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has sparked protests across the Arab world.

Hundreds of protesters clashed with Lebanese security forces near the US Embassy in Beirut yesterday, hurling rocks and bottles towards the compound as the army beat back the crowd using tear gas and water cannons.

But so far, more serious violence has not materialised, and Palestinian concerns about Jerusalem have failed to energise most Arab governments. For the most part, many leaders here seem more focused on conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere that are now afflicting the region.

Read more.

Two wounded after stones thrown at buses traveling in northern Israel in two separate incidents in fourth day of rage following Trump’s Jerusalem announcement.

An armored bus traveling in the West Bank near the settlement of Ofra was fired upon on Sunday. Israeli forces searching for suspects found 11 rounds of bullets in the area. No casualties were reported.

In the northern Israeli town of Shfaram a woman was slightly injured when stones were thrown at a city bus. A stone was also thrown at a bus belonging to ‘Nativ Express’ on its way to Haifa, injuring an 18-year-old with shrapnel as the stone shattered a window. Police were called to the scene and searched for suspects.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported Sunday that it treated some 60 wounded people in the West Bank and Gaza in what is now the fourth day of clashes between Palestinian protesters and security forces.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 10 of the casualties were wounded by live fire, while another 40 suffered from tear gas inhalation. The Palestinian Health Ministry report one person who suffered moderate wounds from sponge-tipped bullets in the Al-Arroub refugee camp north of Hebron. He was evacuated to the Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron. In Tul Karm, a person was reported lightly wounded in the knee by live fire; he was taken to a local hospital.

Southeast of Bethlehem, in Teqoa, there was a march whose participants included schoolchildren which ended in a clash with Israeli soldiers. Dozens of youths burned tires and blocked the road, and the IDF responded with tear-gas and sponge-tipped bullet fire.

In Hebron, a five-year-old Palestinian girl suffered from light to moderate injuries after she was hit by an IDF jeep in the Old City of Hebron. A Palestinian Health Ministry statement said that the girl was evacuated to a hospital in the city and that she suffered from injuries to lower body. The military commented that at the time of the incident the jeep drivers tried to refrain from hitting the girl, who had probably jumped into the road with a group of other children who were playing. The IDF also said that army medics treated the girl, who according to them was only injured very lightly, before the Red Crescent arrived at the scene.

The Fatah movement has called for demonstrations and marches on Monday afternoon that are to begin in downtown areas and make their way toward IDF checkpoints.

Clashes with security forces also occurred in the Gaza Strip, during a march by pupils that came close to the buffer zone along the border, east of Khan Yunis.

Hamas’ military wing on Sunday morning called to continue the intifada. “The blood of our heroes is not being spilled in vain, and the enemy will pay a heavy price for its crimes,” announced the Iz al-Din al-Qassam brigades. “Israeli leaders and decision makers must understand and internalize the extent of the stupidity with which they are trying to deal with the resistance forces. They will come to regret it.”

Following U.S. President’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Wednesday, there have been violent clashes at dozens of locations in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Two Palestinians were shot to death Friday by the IDF near the Gaza fence and hundreds were wounded, some by sponge-tipped bullets and some by live fire.

On Saturday the protests crossed into Israel, with demonstrations in the north and in the Wadi Ara area. Several protesters threw stones at buses and police cars, injuring three Israelis. Saturday night was relatively calm, the army said.

On Friday night three rockets were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip, one of which exploded in the city of Sderot and damaged several cars. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that one person suffering from shock was taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon. The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted one rocket, while the third was not located until Saturday, when it emerged that it had also landed in Sderot and damaged a preschool.

Source.