Israel buries Jews slain in Paris attack

 JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel held a funeral Tuesday for four Jews killed by a gunman in Paris, with thousands turning out to mourn the victims of an attack that shook the Jewish community.

Shock and sorrow was palpable in the crowd as family members and top Israeli officials stood to pay tribute to the four men who were shot dead on Friday when an Islamic extremist stormed a kosher supermarket.

They were among 17 people gunned down in Paris during three days of bloodshed that began with a grisly attack on the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, in violence that convulsed France and sent shock waves through its Jewish community, the third-largest in the world.

The four bodies were flown to Israel early on Tuesday for a joint funeral, after which they were laid to rest in a more private ceremony at the sprawling Givat Shaul cemetery on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. 

"This is not how we wanted to welcome you to Israel," said President Reuven Rivlin, addressing the victims by name during the ceremony attended by more than 2,500 people including Israeli political leaders.

"We wanted you alive."

Rivlin said that it was unacceptable that Jews were once again living in fear in Europe.

"We cannot allow that in 2015, 70 years since the end of World War II, Jews are afraid to walk in the streets of Europe" wearing a skullcap and prayer shawl, he said. 

On a sunny but freezing winter morning, French flags were flying across the city alongside signs reading: "Jerusalem is with the French people, we are all Charlie."

The attack on the supermarket, which killed Yoav Hattab, 22, Philippe Braham, 45, Yohan Cohen, 23, and Francois-Michel Saada, 64, has left the Jewish community in both France and Israel badly shaken. 

'Crying with me'

Speaking in Hebrew, Valerie Braham paid tribute to her husband Philippe. 

"I am crying but I know that you're all crying with me," she said.

Gary Buchwald, a friend of the Brahams who flew in from Paris with the family, told AFP the impact of the attack was devastating.

"His wife is in pieces. They had to literally carry her to the plane. I am in shock like all of the French community in France," he said.

"She won't get over this. It is not three million people marching in the street who will change this reality: other attacks will happen," he said. 

"We only have two choices: either we fight back or we run."

French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal, who was representing Paris at the funeral, sought to reassure the Jewish community, saying anti-Semitism "has no place in France."

"I want to assure you of the unfailing determination of the French government to fight against all forms and acts of anti-Semitism," she told mourners.

The Jewish community in France numbers 500,000 to 600,000 people.

French migration to Israel hit a record high last year of 6,600 people, and many believe the trend will accelerate, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a personal appeal to the Jews of France, saying Israel is their "home."

Among the crowd there was a clear sense that the threats facing Jews in France were not yet over.

"The grief is profound, the families are broken," top French Jewish official Joel Merghi told AFP. 

"The Jewish community has survived (other attacks) many times in history but it will be very difficult to recover this time," he said.

Man Tries to Cross Chinese Border with 94 iPhones Taped to His Body

BEIJING – A man tried to cross the border between Hong Kong and China with 94 iPhones of models 6 and 5S taped to his body with plastic and duct tape, the local daily South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.

The alleged “i-smuggler,” a Hong Kong citizen, was arrested by the police in Futian when the officers noticed that he was having difficulty walking.

On searching him, they found nearly 100 phones underneath his suit.

The iPhones, fastened with duct tape, were placed like armor plating as can be seen in the photos released by the border police.

Investigators have estimated the phones to be worth around $50,000. However, they have not yet figured out where the smuggler intended to resell them or if he wanted them for some other purpose.

Although Hong Kong has been a part of China since 1997, both have independent economies and trade, and their common border is a major smuggling point, especially for electronic goods.

Apple products, including iPhones and iPads, that tend to be cheaper in Hong Kong than in China are among the most common smuggled goods.

In the past, smugglers have been caught with these Apple products trying to evade border controls using other unorthodox schemes such as tunnels under the police checks or catapults that throw iPhones or iPads from one side of the border to the other

U.S. Central Command’s Twitter Account Reopens after Being Hacked by IS

WASHINGTON – The Twitter account of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for operations in Iraq and Syria, is back in action after being allegedly hacked by the Islamic State jihadist group.

“We’re back,” were the first words of the Central Command late Monday after their accounts on Twitter and YouTube were suspended following the attack by a group of hackers going by the name CyberCaliphate.

However, the YouTube account where the Central Command posted videos of their offensive against IS continues to be out of service.

In the 30 minutes that the accounts of CENTCOM on Twitter and YouTube accounts were compromised, hackers posted extremist messages and the personal data of Pentagon members.

The Central Command said that the attack, which was seen as a case of cyber-vandalism and the leakage of privileged information, did not have any effect on military operations.

The hackers disrupted the entire Central Command’s Twitter account and changed its profile picture to a person with his face covered with a ‘kufiya’, the traditional Arab scarf, and the IS flag.

Threats were issued to U.S. soldiers: “American soldiers, we are coming, watch your backs,” read one of the messages signed ISIS, one of the acronyms used by the IS.

“We know everything about you, your wives and children,” they threatened in one of the messages.

In addition, hackers published a list of addresses, phone numbers and names of generals, Central Command soldiers based in Florida, and retired military personnel with private information.

“ISIS is already here, we are in your PCs, in each military base. With Allah’s permission we are in CENTCOM now,” continued the message.

Before being suspended, the YouTube account showed Islamist videos, including “Flames of War,” a Sunni extremist propaganda video with which they threatened the United States and which showed pictures of executions.

Blogger given first 50 of 1,000 lashes as Saudis deny mercy

A young Saudi blogger has been flogged in public for insulting Islam as the kingdom defied international condemnation and calls from western allies to halt the punishment.

Before a large crowd after Friday prayers, Raif Badawi, 27, was bound and whipped 50 times in front of a mosque in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Convicted of cybercrime and insulting Islam after setting up a liberal online forum that infuriated the Saudi authorities, he was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, ten years in jail and fined one million rials 

Border officials: Douglas man had an M-4 rifle taped to body

DOUGLAS, AZ - Authorities say a Douglas man is accused of trying to cross into Mexico with an M-4 carbine strapped to his body.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers doing routine outbound inspections at the Douglas crossing stopped the man last Saturday.

The officers say they discovered the rifle taped to the sides of the man's body in two sections.

The rifle is commonly used by the U.S. military.

It was seized and the 21-year-old man was turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.

The name of the man hasn't been released.

Paris had asked Netanyahu ‘not to attend’ rally

Monday, 12 January 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was asked not to attend yesterday’s Paris rally as per a message sent by French President Francoise Hollande’s office, the Haaretz newspaperreported on Monday.

Hollande wanted to keep the rally’s focus on solidarity with the victims rather than Jewish-Muslim relations or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a source familiar with the correspondence between the Elysee Palace and the Netanyahu’s office told the Israeli daily.

Jacques Audibert, the French president’s national security adviser said he hoped Netanyahu would understand the difficulties his arrival may impose, adding that he hoped the PM would announce that he would not be attending.

Netanyahu obliged and said he will not be flying to Paris for the rally.

Additionally, the source revealed that the French feared Netanyahu would capitalize on his attendance for political purposes, making speeches about French Jews, which Paris believed would hurt the purpose of the rally.

These concerns were not included in the message sent to the PM’s office.

However, upon realizing that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett would be attending the rally, Netanyahu reversed his statement and announced his intent to be in Paris for the rally.

When the Israelis informed Audibert of Netanyahu’s intentions, the source said the security advisor responded in anger saying that the PM’s decision would leave a negative impact on ties between France and Israel.

Ex-French official blames Iranian regime for extremism that triggered Paris attacks

The Iranian regime has inspired the religious fundamentalism that has contributed to the rise of Islamic State terrorists and lead to the massacre in Paris last week, former advisor to French Foreign Minister has told a conference in France.

Mrs Rama Yade, former advisor to French Foreign Minister on Human Rights, branded the barbaric attacks in Paris as the work of 'psychopaths and extremists' and said the West must not compromise in its dealings with the Iranian regime.

She told the gathering entitled “In 2015, all for tolerance and democracy against religious extremism” held north of Paris on Sunday: "2014 was marked by the emergence of the Islamic state in the heart of the Middle East, which is again burning after the hopes raised by the Arab Spring. The crimes committed by this Caliphate are numerous.

"Extermination of populations, kidnapping and raping women. France is concerned not only because it is engaged militarily in the international coalition, but because in the ranks of the Islamic State there are many young French, the largest European contingent of jihadists.

"The terrorists who struck Paris this week have claimed to belong to Islamic State. This is a major factor in what is now happening in France. Never has the situation in the Middle East so influenced the destiny of the French nation."

Mrs Yade asked why the West made allies of Syria and Iran following the rise of the Islamic State, and said the consequences of that choice were now 'serious, dangerous and already visible."

She said there were now two solutions, adding: "First we must not compromise ourselves with Iran under any circumstances. Iran has inspired religious fundamentalism since 1979. Through its diplomatic alliances, the country has contributed to the current unrest in the Middle East. And that is a profound mistake to think that it can be a voice to eliminate Islamic State.

Then we have to help, support and assist those fighting for a democratic and tolerant Islam. For the present crimes are not the work of Muslim but psychopaths extremists who mess that religion. Faith is not murder, it's not torture, it is not the slaughter, not execution. Faith is tolerance, modesty, piety, peace."

She also praised Iranian Resistance leader Maryam Rajavi as an 'international leader', and said: "The message you bring should be supported by all those who fight for the promotion of human rights."

Ms Yade urged Camp Liberty residents to continue their fight for freedom, adding: "All have suffered the atrocities of the Iranian regime. Especially women who are mothers, who are wives, who are girls, who have proven their courage.

"They refuse medieval laws. They refuse sexist laws established by an Iranian theocracy that uses Islam to establish a theocracy in otherwise tolerant message of Islam.

"Many Muslims do not recognize themselves in these laws. They come from families who cherish Islam, families who taught them that Islam is a religion of peace and should not be equated with fundamentalism, let alone terrorism.

"Unfortunately, the test France is going through is painful. But one certainty is that nothing will be as before. And I hope with all my heart that many French will be there to support you in your battles."

A number of political figures participated in the conference offered speeches in Sundays gathering. Among them: Sid Ahmed Ghozali, former Prime Minister of Algeria; Jean-Pierre Béquet, member of Val d’Oise provincial council; Anissa Boumediene, Islamic scholar, jurist and former First Lady of Algeria; as well as legislators from various European countries, including Dominique Lefebvre from France, Senator Antonio Razzi from Italy, Edidijus Vareikis from Lithuania, Senator Kees De Lange from Netherlands, Stanislav Polcak from the European parliament, Peter Mathews from Ireland, Ardelean Ben Oni from Romania; along with a number of French mayors, including Jean-Pierre Muller and Sylvie Fassier; and personalities such as progressive Bishop Jacques Gaillot from France, Dr. Taissir Al-Tamimi, former Chief Justice of Palestine; Paulo Casaca, former member of European parliament; Gilles Paruelle, former head of bar association in Val d’Oise; and Khalil Meroun, Head of d'Evry Mosque.