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Tag: Israel

  • FIFA strips Indonesia of U-20 hosting right over political turmoil with Israel

    FIFA strips Indonesia of U-20 hosting right over political turmoil with Israel

    The Asian country of Indonesia  has been stripped of the FIFA U-20 World Cup hosting right owing to its political turmoil regarding the qualification of Israel.

     FIFA made it known that Indonesia wasn’t ready to stage the tournament meant to start on the 20th of May 2023.

    FIFA came up with the decision to withdraw the hosting right from Indonesia after a meeting it held in Doha between president Gianni Infantino and Indonesian soccer federation president Erick Thohir.

    Israel qualified for its first Under-20 World Cup in June. The country’s participation in Friday’s scheduled draw in Bali provoked political opposition this month.

    Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation and does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel, while publicly supporting the Palestinian cause.

    Indonesia’s hosting was cast into doubt on Sunday when FIFA postponed the draw.

    It is unclear who could now host the tournament, which was scheduled to be played in six stadiums in Indonesia.

    Indonesian outlet The Jakarta Post reported earlier in March that the governor of Bali Wayan Koster wrote to the Ministry of Youth and Sports urging them to ‘adopt a policy forbidding the Israeli team from competing in Bali’, due to the ongoing conflict with Palestine.

    This letter was also addressed to the Indonesian FA who said in a statement: ‘Previously, Bali governor Wayan Koster rejected the presence of the Israeli national team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup event… This can be a reason for FIFA to cancel the U-20 World Cup draw.

    ‘Because, for FIFA, the governor’s refusal is the same as cancelling the organising guarantee that has been issued by the Bali provincial government.’

    Earlier this month, a significant protest took place in Jakarta – the capital of Indonesia – where protesters marched and waved Indonesian and Palestinian flags and demanded Israel shouldn’t be allowed to participate in the tournament.

    Indonesian FA Executive Committee member Arya Sinulingga insisted he was worried if they lost hosting rights it could ‘isolate Indonesian football from the world’.

    Sinulingga also explained he hoped a solution could be found to keep politics and sport separate and the Indonesian FA is planning to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to find a solution.

    He added: ‘The chairman (Erick Thohir) will also report to Mr President at the first opportunity to find a solution to all this, both diplomacy and foreign policy… to save Indonesian football that we love.’

    The governing body also argued that losing the rights would impact their ability to compete in other FIFA tournaments and explained how the economic losses could reach ‘trillions of rupiah’.

    As hosts, they automatically qualified for the tournament with Indonesia not having featured in an Under-20 World Cup since 1979.

    It is not the first time, the Indonesian FA have faced political turmoil however, with the country suspended by FIFA for nearly a year after government interference, until this was lifted in May 2016.

    Indonesian President Joko Widodo also claimed his administration is doing all they can to save the Under-20 World Cup.

  • Tension as FIFA U-20 world Cup may be cancelled over Indonesia- Israel animosity

    Tension as FIFA U-20 world Cup may be cancelled over Indonesia- Israel animosity

    The Indonesian soccer federation said on Sunday that FIFA postponed the men’s Under-20 World Cup finals draw because of host nation Indonesia’s issues with Israel’s qualification.

    The decision was announced five days before FIFA was due to make the 24-nation draw Friday on the island of Bali for the May 20 – June 11 tournament, which includes debutant Israel.

    The governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, called for a ban on Israel playing there because of Indonesia’s diplomatic support for the Palestinian cause.

    The six stadiums due to be used for the 52-game tournament include one in the Balinese city of Gianyar.

    Protests against Israel’s participation were also held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta last week by conservative Islamic groups.

    Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, with about 277 million people, and it does not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.

    However, Indonesian soccer and public authorities agreed to FIFA’s hosting requirements in 2019 before being selected to host the 2021 edition of the Under-20 World Cup. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the tournament to be postponed for two years.

    Israel qualified last June for its first-ever Under-20 World Cup when it reached the semifinals of the Under-19 European Championship. The team went on to lose the final to England.

    FIFA declined to comment Sunday on the draw being postponed just eight weeks before the opening game.

    If Indonesia fails to resolve its hosting issues over Israel, the national soccer federation risks being suspended by FIFA. That sanction can remove Indonesia from Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup that starts in October.

    The Indonesia soccer federation president is Erick Thohir, a former co-owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. He is also a former president of Inter Milan, the storied Italian soccer club whose fans include FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

    Thohir and Infantino are also both members of the International Olympic Committee.

  • Terrorism: Israel ready to support Nigeria with intelligence

    Terrorism: Israel ready to support Nigeria with intelligence

    Israel says it is ready to support Nigeria in the areas of Intelligence sharing, modern combat equipment and extraction of relevant information to effectively win the ongoing war against terrorism.

    Retired lt.-Col. Jonathan Konricus, who served in the Israel Defence Force (IDF)said this in Jerusalem while answering questions from some Nigerian journalists who are in Israel on a media tour.

    Responding to questions from Journalists, on how Israel is willing to support Nigeria in fighting terrorism and insecurity in Nigeria, Kornicous said “what Israel has is a lot of experience.

    “Therefore, sharing knowledge, strategies and tactics on how to deal with terror organisation is one.

    “Second is training, how to train forces better, the second thing is how to train forces in order to deal with counter terrorism or counter Gorilla operations.

    “Another thing is equipment, equipment is very important, intelligence, and combat equipment, how to collect intelligence on your enemies and how to have the fire power and necessary tools to strike the enemy.

    “Those are three elements that Israel can and is involved in few of the cases.

    “Intelligence is key and Israel spends a quarter of its defence budget on generating intelligence, sensors, analysis, manpower, and that is what really gives us the upper hand against our enemies.

    “However, it is very key especially in fighting terror organisations that are using civilians of making it impossible to distinguish between civilians are combatants.

    “For any nation to effectively combat terror organisations, you need equipment, you need manpower, you need the manpower to be trained adequately in other to deal effectively with counter terror operations,” Kornicous said.

    Kornicous said that Israel knowing how prone it is from attacks have invested in interception which had a 92 per cent success rate of interception when Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired 4,400rockets at Israel in 11 days in May 2021.

    Responding to questions on how Israeli communities in volatile communities have built resilience, Kornicous said that there is a close connection and collaboration between commuters and security agencies.

    ”Israel has at least 75 years of experience and in many cases more communities were subjected to attacks by different organisations, It is not a new thing.

    “It is a reality, part of the DNA of Israeli communities whereby there is always a close connection between the communities and the security organisations, and mostly the IDF which is responsible for an area.

    “We have specific personnel in each and every community, they have their fast response teams in every community, which is equipped by the military and trained by the military.

    ”What we have learned is that you have to have a quick first response on the ground within minutes to respond to an attack by terrorists.

    “The first response made by locals is very important,” Kornicous added.

    Newsmen reports that Israel and Nigeria first established diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties officially in 1960 after Nigerian independence was established.

    Israel contributed significantly to the development of Nigeria as well as other Sub-Saharan African countries in the 1960’s and 1970’s by sending Israeli experts and volunteers to modernize Africa’s agriculture and and teach African farmers sustainable farming techniques.

    Since 1992 Israel and Nigeria have enjoyed a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship, with more than 50 Israeli companies investing in Nigerian construction, infrastructure, technology, communications and information technology, agriculture, and water management industries.
    A Memorandum of Interest (MOU) was signed between the Nigerian and Israeli Ministries of Foreign Affairs in 2006, formalizing bilaterial consultations on political issues.

    This MOU facilitated increased dialogue and cooperation between the two countries on issues of regional and international concern.

    Economic ties between Israel and Nigeria are promoted by the Nigerian-Israeli Chamber of Commerce, and the Israel-Africa Chamber of Commerce.

  • Christmas ceremonies begin in Holy Land

    Christmas ceremonies begin in Holy Land

    Christians from all over the world celebrated Christmas, the festival marking the birth of Jesus Christ, in the Holy Land on Saturday.

    The traditional Christmas procession arrived in Bethlehem in the afternoon.

    The procession to Bethlehem had set off from Jerusalem at noon (1000 GMT), led by the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

    He covered the last part of the way to the site where Jesus is believed to have been born in Bethlehem on foot.

    Once there, he was received by Christian representatives.

    Tens of thousands of visitors are expected over the Christmas holidays, far more than in the past two years when coronavirus restrictions were in place.

    The Israeli Tourism Ministry said it expected at least 120,000 pilgrims from all over the world.

    A huge Christmas tree with a star on top adorns the square in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, now a small town in the West Bank.

    In his Midnight Mass sermon, Pizzaballa warned that violence was increasing in the Holy Land.

    “With our eyes, we see that violence seems to have become our main language, our main way of communicating.

    “Violence is increasing, first of all in the language of politics,” Pizzaballa told worshippers.

    “This year, moreover, we have seen a terrible increase in violence in Palestinian streets, with a death toll that takes us back decades.

    “It is a sign of the worrying increase in political tension and the growing unease, especially among our youth, regarding the increasingly distant resolution of the ongoing conflict,” Pizzaballa added.

    Israel’s army has been conducting more raids in the West Bank, following a wave of terror in Israel in the spring.

    According to the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces this year, many of them minors.

    Israel conquered the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967.

    The Palestinians want the territories for their own state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

    Pizzaballa said that the Palestinian issue no longer seems to be the focus of the world’s attention.

    “This, too, is a form of violence, which hurts the conscience of millions of Palestinians, left increasingly alone and who, for too many generations, have been waiting for an answer to their legitimate desire for dignity and freedom,” he maintained.

    In their Christmas message, the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem also lamented what they said was an increase in attacks on Christians, discrimination, and a declining Christian population.

    “Such a disheartening atmosphere has led to a lack of hope, especially among our Christian youth, who increasingly feel unwelcome” in the land of their ancestors, the message read.

    The percentage of Christians has continued to decline in the Holy Land.

    Out of about 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, fewer than 2 per cent are Christian.

    According to the latest figures from the Israeli Bureau of Statistics, there are about 185,000 Arab Christians living in Israel.

  • NASENI signs MoU with Israel, Japan on manufacturing of electric cars

    NASENI signs MoU with Israel, Japan on manufacturing of electric cars

    The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israeli and Japanese companies to commence assembling and manufacturing environmentally friendly, green, electric and smart automobiles by 2023.

    NASENI entered into partnership with the Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian companies on Thursday, in Abuja.

    Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria,  Michael Freeman, said that the partnership which was a combination of Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian technologies would help address the many challenges affecting the transport and environmental sectors in Nigeria.

    “It is a project that is a partnership with Israeli, Japanese and Nigerian companies taking place in Nigeria.

    “What is special about this project is that it is a timely project that combines Israeli technologies, Japanese technologies, Nigerian entrepreneurship and innovation together to create a project that is going to work fabulously.

    “We are talking about bringing electronic Motorcycles into Nigeria which will be a programme that is green, environmentally friendly.

    “It offers people a cheap way and safe way of transport and even has a technology to ensure that the motorcycles are only used for legal and appropriate purposes.

    “When we look at what the problems are in the world and in also in Africa and in Nigeria, we are talking about issues of fuel scarcity, we are talking about green technology, we are talking about the need to provide cleaner, cheaper, easier transport.

    ‘And here we are, having Israeli and Japanese companies coming together with Nigerian partners to provide cleaner, greener, newer, exciting technology that is expected to move people, population across the country.

    “I believe that a programme that is going to start in Nigeria will be successful and will go across Africa,” Freeman said.

    Prof. Mohammed Haruna, Executive Vice Chairman, NASENI, lauded the collaboration which he said had  come to stay and would be domesticated in the country.

    Haruna said that this project Nigeria would see to the manufacturing of Nigerian made electrical vehicles in the nearest future.

    “The first attempt to domesticate certain technologies in this country, especially in the automobile industry has not worked with continuous importation.

    “NASENI has come into this now with the perfect partners, Japanese and Israeli companies their technologies are proven and known.

    “But most importantly, Nigeria will not just be consuming this technology, we are here to make sure that we domesticate, produce and manufacture in Nigeria.

    ‘We are grateful and we are happy with this collaboration and we assure Nigerians that the automobile industry after this collaboration will not be the same again,” Haruna said.

    Dr Ayal Raz, Representative of Israeli Company, Peramare Enterprise, said that against some perception, Nigeria was safe to invest.

    “With this innovative idea, we believe is going to change so many things in the face of Nigeria.

    “It will bring green energy which means cheaper cost of transport and we all know what that means for our people.

    “It will give work to the people because it is industry, we are going to put a factory here, we will start with assembling then building. It will give us less pollution and greener air.

    “Nigeria is safe to do business and by the special grace of God it is going to come during  the first quarter of 2023, “ Raz said.

    Mr  Sasi Shilo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), SIXAI, and Japanese Partner said that his company beyond production is keen on supporting the African continent, Nigeria build a sustainable nation  with clean and safe technologies.

    “It is very exciting moment. We have been working in the automobile industry for about half a decade, we have certified plants in fourteen different countries.

    “We really want to contribute to African nation with our technology. What we want to bring is not only to produce but what we want to achieve is to support the African nation to be sustainable.

    “Through our products with safety and environmentally friendly features in our technology,” Sasi said.

    Hon. Wadada Aliyu, Chairman, PAN Nigeria Limited, described the initiative as historic and a starting point for technological evolution in Nigeria.

    “This is historic because Nigeria is conforming with the order of the day which is green environment and memorable because NASENI has set the ball rolling.

    “This synergy between Israeli, Japan, NASENI and PAN as a facility where the assembling will be done, I think the sky will be a starting point of technological evolution in Nigeria,” Aliyu said.

    Newsmen reports that the project was facilitated by Nigerian company, LINKSMAN International LTD.

    Mr Madisca Haruna, Managing Director, LINKSMAN International LTD said the project seeks to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, Goal 7 which seeks to enhance international cooperation, facilitate access to clean energy research and technology.

  • Israeli spiritual leader Shalom Cohen dies at 91

    Israeli spiritual leader Shalom Cohen dies at 91

    A renowned leader of the Sephardi Jews in Israel, Rabbi Shalom Cohen has passed away at the age of 91, a spokesperson for the Council of Torah Sages said on Monday.

    Cohen was the spiritual leader of the Shas political party, which mainly represented Jews from northern Africa and the Near East.

    Israel’s President Isaac Herzog extolled Cohen, who was born in Jerusalem in 1930 as a spiritual leader of great humility.

    Shas party chairman Aryeh Deri described the rabbi as “our father, our teacher and our leader.’’

    The Shas party is currently in opposition but has often played a kingmaker role in Israeli politics.

    Cohen had become the party’s spiritual leader after the death of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef following the latter’s death in 2013.

    Yosef’s burial was the largest in Israeli history, with a crowd numbering hundreds of thousands.

    Cohen’s burial is planned for Monday afternoon in Jerusalem.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Get moving

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Get moving

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Exodus 14:1-31 

    Meditation verse: 

    “Then the Lord said to Moses, “why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to  get moving!” (Exodus 14:15).

    God had told the children of Israel through Moses, that He would deliver them  from the oppression of the Egyptians and take them to the promised land. He repeatedly told them how beautiful and rich the land was; a land flowing with  milk and honey. But He did not give them the details of how they would get  there or what obstacles they would encounter. As they began the journey, it was  one issue after the other. Every time they encountered a hurdle, they completely forgot God’s promise to get them to the promised land. They murmured against God and complained to their leader Moses. 

    The final straw was when the red sea was before them, whilst the Egyptians chased behind with all the forces in Pharoah’s army. This time around, they  completely lost it. “They cried out to the Lord and said to Moses, “Because there  were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why  have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that  we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For  it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die  in the wilderness” (Exodus 14:11-12). And God spoke to Moses, “why are you  crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!”. In order words, God was asking  them “have I not promised you that I would get you to the promised land? Why  do you still doubt my ability? Since God had given them His word, why did they  not simply enquire from Him how they would get across the red sea? 

    What has God promised you? And what are the hurdles you are currently faced  with that is instilling some doubt in you? God in His wisdom does not give us the details, but if He has spoken it is guaranteed. “God is not a man, that He should  lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or  has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19). And Romans  11:29 says, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable”. So, instead of  murmuring or doubting, simply ask “What next God?”, then get moving with the light He gives you, no matter how dim it may seem. He always gives just enough  light for the step we are on.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • War of Words: Israel attack Russia over Adolf Hitler ‘Jewish’ comment

    War of Words: Israel attack Russia over Adolf Hitler ‘Jewish’ comment

    Israel has taken a swipe at Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for claiming Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins.

    Israel describes the comments by Russia as “unforgivable” falsehood that debased the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.

    Leaders from several Western nations denounced the foreign minister’s comments and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of having forgotten the lessons of World War II.

    Israel foreign ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador in Israel to come with and tender an apology on behalf of his country.

    Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said via a statement. ”Such lies are intended to accuse the Jews themselves of the most horrific crimes in history that were committed against them,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement.

    “The use of the Holocaust of the Jewish people for political purposes must stop immediately,” he added.

    Lavrov made the assertion on Italian television on Sunday when he was asked why Russia said it needed to “denazify” Ukraine if the country’s own president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, was himself Jewish.

    “When they say ‘What sort of nazification is this if we are Jews’, well I think that Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it means nothing,” Lavrov told Rete 4 channel, speaking through an Italian interpreter.

    “For a long time now we’ve been hearing the wise Jewish people say that the biggest anti-Semites are the Jews themselves,” he added.

    Zelenskiy, in his nightly video message, noted Moscow has been silent since Lavrov’s comments.

    “This means that the Russian leadership has forgotten all the lessons of World War II” he said. “Or perhaps they have never learned those lessons.”

    U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken weighed in later on the comments by his Russian counterpart saying it was “incumbent on the world to speak out against such vile, dangerous rhetoric.”

    The German government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, said Lavrov’s remarks mocked the victims of Nazism and “shamelessly confront not only Jews but the entire international public with open anti-Semitism.”

    Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called the top Russian diplomat’s comments obscene, while Canada’s Justin Trudeau expressed disbelief.

    Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, said the Russian minister was spreading “an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory with no basis in fact”.

     

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: You have not passed through this way before

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: You have not passed through this way before

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Joshua 3: 1-17

    Meditation verse:

    “…that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before” (Joshua 3:4b).

    The children of Israel were about to cross over the Jordan to the promised land after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The officers went through the camp and instructed the people to move only when they see the priests and Levites bearing the ark of the covenant of God. They were to set out from their places only after they had seen the ark, so that they would know the way to go.

    It’s the beginning of a new month today: the first day of a new month. What lies ahead in the month is unknown to you as you have not passed through this month before. The ark of the covenant was a symbol of God’s presence: Yahweh’s presence: His strength and Almightiness. Today, you do not have the ark with you or the Levites who bear it. But you carry the presence of God inside you, in the person of The Holy Spirit. You are the bearer of the ark.

    Do not move ahead in this new month before you see the ark. Begin the month by setting yourself apart to wait on God and seek guidance from the Holy Spirit who is inside you. When you do this, “your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it’. (Isaiah 30:21a).

    “And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: ‘give me a light that I might tread safely into the unknown’. And he replied: ‘go out into the darkness and put thine hand into the hand of God. That shall be better than light and safer than a known way. So, I went forth and finding the hand of God, trod gladly into the night”. -ML HASKINS

    May you find the hand of God leading you in this new month.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Dcns Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • Israel missiles hit South Damascus

    Israel missiles hit South Damascus

    Israel has fired several surface-to-surface missiles targeting sites south of Syrian capital Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

    The shelling struck a town south of Damascus on Wednesday evening, causing material damage.

    This is the second Israeli aerial strike on Syria this month, after it targeted anti-aircraft batteries on February 9 in response to what it said was a missile fired from Syria.

    A Syrian soldier was killed and five wounded in the attack near Damascus earlier this month.

    “The Israeli enemy carried out a strike with several surface-to-surface missiles” from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, targeting Zakiya town at about 11:35pm (21:35 GMT), SANA reported, citing a military source.

    A war monitor said the target of Wednesday’s shelling was a Syrian army post.

    “The shelling targeted a regime military post,” Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP news agency.

    The UK-based monitor relies on a wide network of sources inside Syria.

    Israel has launched hundreds of attacks on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria over the past decade of Syria’s war, but its government rarely acknowledges or discusses such operations.

    Israel, whose attacks have targeted government positions as well as Iran-backed forces and fighters of the armed Shia movement Hezbollah, has said it seeks to prevent its arch foe Iran from extending a footprint in Syria.