Comments (1)Ethiopian Jews Mark Sigd Holiday with Peres
November 7, 2009Jerusalem
JTA Wire Service
Ethiopian Jews celebrated the Sigd holiday with Shimon Peres at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
It was the first time an Israeli president has marked the Jewish-Ethiopian holiday.
More than 250 people—including ministers, Knesset members, religious leaders, community and youth leaders, soldiers and visitors from across Israel—participated in Monday’s celebration.
A panel of young Ethiopian-Israelis shared their personal stories and were interviewed by Peres, who asked them to talk about when they first felt Israeli.
The Sigd holiday is a special day for Ethiopian Jews that marks their yearning to return to Jerusalem and Zion.
Lebanon Alleges Israeli Hostility
The Lebanese ambassador to the United Nations said Israel is taking hostile action against his country.
According to the Lebanese newspaper Al-Hayyat, Ambasador Noaf Salaam has sent letters to the U.N. secretary-general and Security Council saying Israel’s recent artillery fire on the village of Houla—where a Katyusha rocket was fired at Israel last week—was a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the U.N. resolution governing the truce between Israel and Lebanon after their 2006 war.
Salaam also claimed in the letter that Israel had made threats against the Lebanese government and citizens, which he called a signal of an Israeli plan to attack, according to Ha’aretz.
He said Israel’s bombing of Lebanon after Katyusha attacks prevented his country from investigating. The Lebanese army dismantled four launch-ready rockets near the border the day after the Katyusha attack on Oct. 28.
Palestinians to File Lawsuits over Gaza War
Some 1,500 notices of future civil lawsuits against the Israel Defense Forces over damages caused during the Gaza war have been filed in Israel.
The claims by Palestinians in Gaza come to tens of millions of dollars and deal with property and physical damage, as well as loss of earning capacity, Ynet reported Wednesday.
The Israeli and overseas lawyers filing the notices say they will file the lawsuits in Israeli courts.
Israel paid compensation to Palestinians in the West Bank in the wake of the first and second intifadas.
Israel could argue that it is no longer responsible for Gaza in light of the disengagement in 2005 and therefore should not have to pay compensation, a legal source told Ynet.
This story reprinted courtesy of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.