Early this morning, IDF Naval Forces boarded six ships attempting to break the maritime closure of the Gaza Strip. This happened after numerous warnings from Israel and the Israeli Navy that were issued prior to the action. The Israel Navy requested the ships to redirect toward Ashdod where they would be able to unload their aid supplies which would then be transferred over land after undergoing security inspections.

During the boarding of the ships, the demonstrators onboard attacked the IDF Naval personnel with live fire and light weaponry including knives and clubs. Additionally one of the weapons used was grabbed from an IDF soldier. The demonstrators had clearly prepared their weapons in advance for this specific purpose.

As a result of this life-threatening and violent activity, naval forces employed riot dispersal means, including live fire.

According to initial reports, these events resulted in over ten deaths among the demonstrators and numerous injured, in addition, more than four naval personnel were injured, some from gunfire and some from various other weapons. Two of the soldiers are moderately wounded and the remainder sustained light injuries. All of the injured, Israelis and foreigners are currently being evacuated by helicopter to hospitals in Israel.

Reports from IDF forces on the scene are that it seems as if part of the participants onboard the ships were planning to lynch the forces.

The events are ongoing, and information will be updated as soon as possible. Israeli Naval commander, Vice Admiral Eliezer Marom is overseeing the events.

In the coming hours, the ships will be directed to the Ashdod port, while IDF naval forces will perform security checks in order to identify the people on board the ships and their equipment. The IDF Spokesman conveys that this event is currently unfolding and further details will be provided as soon as possible.

This IDF naval operation was carried out under orders from the political leadership to halt the flotilla from reaching the Gaza Strip and breaching the maritime closure.

The interception of the flotilla followed numerous warnings given to the organizers of the flotilla before leaving their ports as well as while sailing towards the Gaza Strip. In these warnings, it was made clear to the organizers that they could dock in the Ashdod sea port and unload the equipment they are carrying in order to deliver it to the Gaza Strip in an orderly manner, following the appropriate security checks. Upon expressing their unwillingness to cooperate and arrive at the port, it was decided to board the ships and lead them to Ashdod.

IDF naval personnel encountered severe violence, including use of weaponry prepared in advance in order to attack and to harm them. The forces operated in adherence with operational commands and took all necessary actions in order to avoid violence, but to no avail.

The Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado is proud to announce it has received Charity Navigator’s coveted four-star rating for its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances.  This is the highest rating awarded by Charity Navigator, America’s premier charity evaluator, and indicates that Federation not only executes its mission in a fiscally-responsible way, but also out-performs most other charities across the country.

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KUSA - It is the information and awareness that many believe can save lives in the future and could have possibly prevented Sept. 11. Terrorism - we have become keenly aware of potential threats. But do people really know what to look for?

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI put together a list of eight signs of terrorism.

Denver-based Center for Empowered Living and Learning (The CELL) is working on a video that will educate citizens and police on what those eight signs are.

"As people become more educated on the subject matter, they understand what suspicious versus what is everyday, normal activity and that is something in which we strive," said Melanie Pearlman, The CELL's Executive Director. "We want to empower individuals to become active and engaged to ultimately mitigate the threat but not so much that they're afraid to go about their everyday lives and it's a fine balance."

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Although visitors to Israel’s big cities see what appears to be a prosperous lifestyle, 40% of Israel’s children live below the poverty level, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel. Many of these underprivileged children live in the Negev region, where opportunities for a proper English education are sparse.

While native English-speaking language teachers flock to large cities like Tel Aviv and Haifa, poorer communities find themselves underserved.

A new program set to launch in September will send young Jewish Americans to teach English for 10-month sessions in schools in these areas.

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Judaism is the world’s oldest and strangest book club. Essentially we Jews have one book, and when we finish reading it, we turn back to the beginning and read it again, and again and again. We do this throughout our book club’s thousands and thousands of chapters, and we’ve been doing so for over 2,000 years.
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Before 1865, the entire population of Jerusalem lived behind the Old City walls (what today would be considered part of the eastern part of the city).

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SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) – A New Zealand judge has allowed the kosher slaughter of animals to resume until the lawsuit filed by the Jewish community against the government comes to trial.

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