Archive for March 17, 2012

| March 17, 2012
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Israel helps transform China’s dairy industry

As demand for dairy products in China increases rapidly, Chinese dairies turn to Israel for farm management technology and training.

 

A Chinese dairy farm worker using AfiMilk equipment.
A Chinese dairy farm worker using AfiMilk equipment.

Cow milk is a fairly recent addition to the Chinese diet. But demand for milk products has grown so quickly that existing farms can barely meet it. So Chinese dairy companies are turning to the acknowledged authority on the milking business: Israel.

Eight Chinese dairy farm manager trainees recently completed an 11-week course in Israel organized by AfiMilk, a world leader in computerized systems for dairy farm and herd management.

The six men and two women were sent by their employer to get acquainted with AfiMilk’s software, visit productive Israeli farms and milking parlors, and learn about advanced animal welfare and operating procedures.

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| March 16, 2012
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Vatican’s twisted priorities

Op-ed: instead of focusing on decline of Arab Christianity, Catholic Church chooses to demonize Israel

In a special interview with Die Tagespost last week, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal, named by Pope Benedict to represent the Vatican in the Jewish State, declared that “Israel’s existence as such has nothing to do with the Bible.” He then compared Christians’ condition in today’s Jerusalem with Jesus’ Passion: “We Christians never forget that even our Lord himself suffered and was mocked in Jerusalem.”

Twal’s position on Israel and the Bible has been embraced at the highest levels in the Catholic Church. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags:
| March 16, 2012
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Saudi Grand Mufti: ‘Destroy All Churches’

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah declared that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region.

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah declared, last Monday, that it is “necessary to destroy all the churches of the region,” Raymond Ibrahim of Jihad Watch reported in an article published in the Middle East Forum, on March 14th.

“The Sheikh based his proclamation on the famous tradition, or hadith, wherein the prophet of Islam declared on his deathbed that ‘There are not to be two religions in the [Arabian] Peninsula,’ which has always been interpreted to mean that only Islam can be practiced in the region,” Ibrahim explained. Continue Reading »

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| March 16, 2012
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Israel concerned UNIFIL heading toward collapse

Concern follows France, Italy decide to withdraw significant number of troops from the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.

 

Israel is growing concerned that UNIFIL, the multi-national peacekeeping force in Lebanon, is headed toward collapse with a French decision this week to withdraw a significant number of its troops.

Following the Second Lebanon War in 2006, Israel succeeded in getting a number of European countries to contribute soldiers to the peacekeeping force, whose mandate was also beefed up as part of an international effort to prevent Hezbollah’s rearmament. The force was bolstered to include 12,000 soldiers in comparison to the few thousand it consisted of before the war. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 16, 2012
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Egypt plans oil, gas exploration near border with Israel

Cairo says will explore oil, gas sites near maritime border with Israel in effort to ‘stake its hold on the area’

A source at the Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources said Wednesday that Egypt plans to auction exploration sites for oil and gas near its maritime border with Israel.

Fisherman protesting over Gaza sea blockade Photo: AFP

Fisherman protesting over Gaza sea blockade - Photo: AFP

The source noted that this will be the first time Egypt has auctioned exploration sites in the area.

The source further said that the oil and gas exploration will be held in accordance with the maritime borders set by the Egyptian government which are based on the international Maritime Law adopted by the UN in 1983. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 16, 2012
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Islamic Jihad remains committed to ceasefire with Israel, leader says

Ahmad al-Mudallal, head of organization’s political wing, says it agreed to ceasefire after Egyptian mediators promised Israel would cease assassinations of its militants.

The Islamic Jihad will continue to respect the ceasefire with Israel, but will retaliate if Israel strikes first, a senior figure in the organization’s political wing told Palestinian news agency Ma’an on Thursday.

Gaza extinguisher - AP - 16.3.12

A Palestinian tries to extinguish a fire after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, March 10, 2012. - Photo by: AP

The official, Ahmad al-Mudallal, was referring to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza which has been in effect since early Tuesday morning.

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 16, 2012
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Israel: Fire UN Worker who Libeled IDF

Israel’s ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor, calls to fire a UN worker who wrongly claimed Israeli airstrikes killed a young girl in Gaza.

 

Israel has called on the United Nations to fire an employee who falsely accused the IDF of killing a young child in Gaza.

The employee, Kuhlood Badawi, posted a picture on Twitter of a young child in Gaza covered in blood, and wrote, “Palestine is bleeding. Another child killed by #Israel… Another father carrying his child to a Grave in #Gaza.”

In fact, the young girl had died years earlier, and was the victim of a home accident and not an Israeli airstrike. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 16, 2012
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Israel to sell $300M in water-tech to China

Jerusalem, Beijing ink multi-million dollar deal which will see Israel provide innovative water technology to china’s agriculture sector

Israel has recently signed a deal to sell China water technology valued at $300 million for use in the agriculture sector, the Israeli Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The deal was signed by both countries’ finance ministers in Beijing during a visit to China by Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz.

(Illustration) Photo: Shutterstock

(Illustration) Photo: Shutterstock

Israel is a world leader in water technology products and has pioneered drip irrigation that was developed for arid Middle Eastern conditions. No details of the companies or technology involved in the deal were in the statement. Continue Reading »

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| March 16, 2012
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Strained ties with Turkey hurt Israeli defense contract with U.S. firm

Boeing apparently weighing other suppliers after Israel’s Elta ordered by Defense Ministry to hold components to be fitted in AWACS planes purchased by Turkey.

 

An Israeli refusal to supply components to be fitted in an airborne early warning and control (AWACS) craft purchased by the Turkish military is straining ties between Israeli defense suppliers and American giant aerospace Boeing, Defense News reported on Thursday.

Boeing AEW&C

A Turkish Air Force Boeing AEW&C Peace Eagle. Photo by: Boeing

According to the report, the Defense Ministry ordered Elta, the firm contracted to supply the components, to hold two shipments over Israel’s reluctance to see Israeli-made security equipment being used by Turkey.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 16, 2012
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Iran Banks Cut Off from SWIFT System

SWIFT, which enables most cross-border financial transfers, severs ties with 30 Iranian banks.

 

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, announced Thursday that it is cutting off some 30 Iranian banks and subsidiaries from its network, as part of global efforts to punish Iran for its nuclear weapons program. The banks punished are the ones that have already been hit by European Union sanctions.

Some other Iranian banks remain unaffected by the move, which will go into effect about 48 hours after the announcement.

Noor Islamic Bank -- targeted by sanctions

Noor Islamic Bank -- targeted by sanctions - Photo: Reuters

A statement on the SWIFT website said: “Disconnecting banks is an extraordinary and unprecedented step for SWIFT. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 15, 2012
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IDF thwarts attempt to infiltrate Israel from Egypt

1 killed in exchange of fire after group of suspected smugglers seen trying to enter Israel; IDF, Egyptian forces open fire on group.

IDF soldier - Illustrative

IDF soldier - Illustrative

 

The IDF thwarted an attempt to infiltrate Israel from Egypt on Thursday night. One Bedouin was killed and three others were injured in the exchange of fire.

 

 

IDF soldiers in desert exercise - Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

IDF soldiers in desert exercise - Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

The IDF observed a group of suspects trying to enter Israel and ordered them to stop. When the group refused to do so, the IDF opened fire in their direction, in line with standard procedure.

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| March 15, 2012
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A new anti-Israel tactic

New tactic aims to silence pro-Israel professors at US colleges through claims of intimidation

The pro-Palestinian mantra revolves around the belief that the Palestinians are the Arab world’s underdog; Israel is the Goliath and the Palestinians are the David. This message has been exported to the West and has engendered global sympathy for the Palestinian cause, as the quintessence of an injustice at the hands of the brutal, colonialist West.

Liberal and leftists groups ranging from women’s rights, LGBT groups and human rights activists have all championed the Palestinian cause as a common denominator that unites or even embodies their respective causes. Continue Reading »

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| March 15, 2012
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Speaking during tour of southern Lebanon, Ahmadinejad’s press adviser says possible Iranian counterstrike would reach beyond ‘Zionist regime,’ include U.S. bases.

 

Israel is too weak to fulfill its threats against Iran, an adviser to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during a visit to southern Lebanon on Wednesday, adding that Iran’s counter attack in case of an assault against it would include U.S. targets.

iran missile - AP - April 18 2011

A Yasser missile is displayed during Iranian army parade, marking national Army Day, in front of the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khamenei near Tehran, Iran, April 18, 2011. Photo by AP

The Iranian official’s remarks came after, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent reference to the possibility of an attack of Iran’s nuclear facilities, said that Israel didn’t always heed to U.S.

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| March 15, 2012
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Yaalon: We Will Retaliate Until They Beg Us to Stop

Deputy PM Moshe Yaalon vowed no mercy for Gaza terror gangs who continue to fire rockets at Israel’s south.

Minister of Strategic Affairs Minister and deputy premier Moshe Yaalon on Thursday said Israel would make terrorists “beg us to stop.”

“As long as they fire, it isn’t over,” Yaalon said as rocket fire on Israel’s south enters seventh straight day despite a theoretical cease-fire brokered late Monday evening.

“Anyone threatening us is risking his life. We will retaliate until they beg us to stop,” Yaalon said. “They have to realize that the consequences of the rocket fire are not worth it.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 15, 2012
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Israel passes US, Europe in bottle recycling

In total, Israel collected about 77% of all beverage containers in 2011, exceeding the government’s target of 73%.

New bottle collection bin features blossoming tree - Photo by Yael Kaplan

New bottle collection bin features blossoming tree - Photo by Yael Kaplan

 

Israelis recycled 50 percent of the country’s plastic bottles in 2011, overtaking Europe and the United States, with figures of 48% and 29%, respectively, the ELA recycling company reported.

While the country only recycled about 16,000 tons of plastic PET bottles in 2010, the 2011 figures reached about 20,000 tons, according to ELA.

In total, Israel collected about 77% of all beverage containers – plastic and glass – requiring deposit in 2011, exceeding the government’s target of 73% and amounting to about 600 million beverage containers, ELA said.

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