Archive for January 15, 2013

Technion Embryonic Stem Cell Discovery Could Be Breakthrough in Fertility Treatment

Researchers from the Technion & the Emek Medical Center in Afula discover a potentially new way to grow human eggs.

 

An end to egg donation? Israeli researchers from the Technion‘s Rappaport Faculty of Medicine have discovered that the amnion membrane, a part of the amniotic sac, may contain embryonic stem cells that could be developed into human eggs. The discovery was made by doctoral student Ayelet Evron mentored by the Dean of the Faculty, Professor Eliezer Shalev.

The human egg – Photo Wellcome ImagesAmnion membranes constitute a part of the inner layer of the amniotic sac, which protects the fetus throughout the pregnancy period. Continue Reading »

Report: Jewish births increasing, Muslim births decreasing

In Israel, the fertility rate among Jewish women is rising while birthrate in the Muslim sector drops, according to latest demographics report.

Yaron Druckman

 

According to a demographics report released by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on Monday, the State of Israel has a population of 7,836,600, of which 75.4% is Jewish.

Population growth – Photo: Shiran Granot

The data, which was compiled for 2011, also indicates that Jewish births are on the rise, while Arab and Druze births are decreasing.

According to forecasts, by the end of 2035 the number of Jews is expected to be somewhere between 7.7-9.9 million and the Arab population is to total between 2.3-2.9 million. Continue Reading »

US judge: Palestinians allowed to cover up link to 2002 terror attack

Citing “privileged & protected” information, U.S. Judge orders memo proving the connection of the PA to a suicide bombing, returned to the Palestinian Authority or destroyed.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

A US judge ruled that the Palestinian Authority has the right to cover up evidence of its connection to a 2002 suicide bombing in Karnei Shomron which killed three teenagers, The New York Post reported Monday.

Abu Mazan & Arafat

According to the report, a two-page memo directly linking the PA to the terror attack was inadvertently handed over to lawyers suing the Palestinian government for $300 million on behalf of the parents of two American teens killed in the bombing.

Continue Reading »

Sea of Galilee adds 2m hitting highest water-level since 2007

Week-long torrential rains gave Israel’s freshwater reservoir much needed boost.

Israel Water Authority expects additional half-meter rise from upcoming melting snow

By Ynet

 

Lake Kinneret enjoyed a robust six-day period resulting in a massive rise of nearly a meter, the Water Authority said.

Lake Kinneret Photp: AFP

Lake Kinneret – Photo: AFP

The weather system which brought a week-long rain storm to Israel has caused increased outflow in the rivers flowing to the lake, which is Israel’s only freshwater reservoir, resulting in an 80cm rise in water levels in the span of five days.

The Sea of Galilee has added 2 meters since the winter began and is now at 211.20 meters below sea level. Continue Reading »

Egyptian Historian: Muslim Brotherhood Responsible for Jews Expelled from Egypt

An Egyptian history professor has fingered the Muslim Brotherhood as being the cause for the Jews fleeing Egypt.

By Elad Benari

 

An Egyptian historian has fingered the Muslim Brotherhood as being responsible for the country’s Jews fleeing Egypt.

Khaled Fahmi,The history professor, Khaled Fahmi, made the remarks during an interview which aired on Al-Nahar TV on January 3, 2013. They were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“The Muslim Brotherhood bears much of the responsibility for the fleeing of the Jews from Egypt,” Fahmi said. “All the writings of the Muslim Brotherhood… If you grab a copy of their Al-Nazir newspaper [from the late 1930s], the editor-in-chief of which was Salah Al-Ashmawi, you will see that there were many anti-Jewish articles – articles that did not distinguish between Zionism and the Jews. Continue Reading »

Syrian Generals ordered to attack Israel & Egypt should Assad fall

Assad’s reason for attacking Israel is obvious. Syria is officially in a state of war with Israel & hosts numerous terror groups dedicated to the Jewish state’s annihilation.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Embattled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has ordered his military chiefs to launch ballistic missiles at Israel if he is killed by rebel forces, according to sources in Damascus cited by Israeli media this week.

Syrian threat aimed at Israel & Egypt

The online newspaper Inyan Merkazi reported that Assad met with his top generals recently to express concerns that he could be taken out by advanced American missiles recently provided to rebel forces, or by a violent mob similar to the one that violently murdered former Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi. Continue Reading »

Israel plans to wean off gasoline for natural gas to fuel transportation

The gov’t is advancing projects to wean Israel off its oil dependence and oil imports.

Energy & Water Minister, Uzi Landau: Natural gas is the greatest engine for growth in the Israeli market.

By Hezi Sternlicht and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

The day is approaching when buses will be fueled by natural gas and private vehicles will run on various types of greener fuel.

Israel is gearing towards using natural gas instead of gasoline – Photo: Reuters

The government decided on Monday to advance an initiative put forth by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau, to study the use of alternative fuel sources for private and public consumption from now until the year 2025. Continue Reading »

Here’s Yair Shamir, a political scion & Avigdor Liberman’s likely replacement

Yair Shamir says “When you look at who Israeli politicians are, there isn’t enough representation of industry and agriculture, the people that are really doing anything.”

By Ben Sales ,JTA

 

For the Israeli Air Force commander turned technocrat turned politician, these topics include how to respond to settlement evacuations or achieve Palestinian statehood, a fracture in the U.S.-Israel relationship or Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman’s departure from politics.

Yair Shamir

Shamir, the 67-year-old scion of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, is the hard-line Yisrael Beiteinu’s No. 2. With Liberman, the former foreign minister, under indictment for fraud and breach of trust, he is the de facto heir apparent to one of Israel’s largest political parties. Continue Reading »

Jordan forming int’l bloc to adavnce peace talks

Jordan’s King Abdullah says he is working with European leaders to rejuvenate long-stalled Peace-talks between Israel & the Palestinians.

 

Jordan is in the process of consolidating an international coalition to kick-start the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the country’s King Abdullah said Sunday in an interview with French publication Le Nouvel Observateur.

Abdullah, Abbas

“We are working closely with several parties in Europe, including France, to put some effective and workable ideas on the table that would enable the US to engage and play a leading role in the peace process soon after the start of the second term of President [Barack] Obama,” Abdullah said in his interview, translated into English by The Jordan Times.

Continue Reading »

Palestinian PM pleads with Arab leaders to give PA more cash

PM Fayyad meets with Arab League leaders to find ways to receive the $100 million they promised the Palestinian Authority.

 

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned Sunday that his government could fail to meet its obligations to its people because of a cash crunch, and urged Arab countries to deliver on promised aid.

Salam Fayyad.

Salam Fayyad. – Photo by AP

 

Fayyad met with Arab League members to discuss ways to raise the $100 million they pledged earlier to his Palestinian Authority. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said seven countries have responded favorably, but he did not name them. Continue Reading »

Remaining Ethiopian Jews plan Return to the ‘Promised Land’

Members of Falah Mura say they’re suffering from long separation from family members who have already left Ethiopia & feel eager to become Israeli.

By AFP

 

It was one of the most daring operations in Ethiopian history: Israel’s 1991 airlift of Ethiopian Jews, when nearly 15,000 people were crammed into a series of non-stop flights lasting 36 hours.

Ethiopian Jews

Clutching only a few belongings, in planes with seats removed to make more space, they left a nation their ancestors had called home for two millennia for a land they knew only from scripture.

More than two decades later, some 2,000 descendants and relatives of those Israel had identified as original Jews are set to join them in the Holy Land. Continue Reading »

Iran Spying on Israel from Golan Heights

A recent U.S. report indicates Iran has established intelligence stations in several areas in the Middle East, including Syria’s Golan Heights.

By Elad Benari

 

Iran has been establishing signals intelligence stations in several parts of the Middle East, including the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S.-based World Tribune reports.

The Defense Department has indicated that one of the intelligence stations was established in the Golan Heights, close to Syria’s border with Israel, the report said.

The Pentagon’s counter-terrorist support office said the stations were established by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps together with Tehran’s leading ally, Syria, according to the World Tribune. Continue Reading »

King Abdullah: Palestinians & Israel to Talk Next Month

In an interview, Jordan’s King Abdullah plans to host talks between Israel & the Palestinian Authority as soon as next month

By David Lev

 

Jordan’s King Abdullah expects to host talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as soon as next month, he said in an interview Sunday. Abdullah said that a “window of opportunity” would soon open, and it was necessary to take advantage of it.

Jordan's King Abdullah II

Jordan’s King Abdullah II – AFP/File

That “window” would commence after the inauguration of Barack H. Obama as President of the U.S. for a second term. Abdullah said that Jordan was coordinating with France and other European countries to come up with fresh ideas to implement an agreement between Israel and the PA. Continue Reading »

Gaza Media Reports: Hamas test-fires improved long-range rockets

Palestinian sources report that Hamas’ military wing recently conducted test launches of 2 rockets made in Gaza with Iranian know-how, with range 10′s of kilometers

Palestinians say IDF shoots & kills 1 Palestinian in West Bank and 1 in Gaza.

By Daniel Siryoti and Lilach Shoval

 

 

Operation Pillar of Defense ended only two months ago, but Hamas is already preparing for the next clash with Israel. Palestinian media sources have reported that the military wing of the Gaza-based organization recently test fired improved long-range missiles.

Hamas fires a rocket from Gaza at southern Israeli communities during Operation Pillar of Defense in November.

Continue Reading »

Sen. McConnell: Israeli & U.S. Mideast agendas are ‘the same’

The PM’s office reports Sen. McConnell as saying, “…There’s broad bi-partisan support for Israel, & our agenda in this part of the world is the same as your agenda,”

By JTA

 

Sen. Mitch McConnell said in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. and Israeli agendas in the Middle East were identical.

Sen. McMonnellNetanyahu met Friday with McConnell, the minority leader in the U.S. Senate, who was leading a group of senators on an Israel tour.

“As everybody in Israel knows, there are a lot of things we disagree on in America, we’ve had big battles over deficit and debt, but there’s broad bi-partisan support for Israel, and our agenda in this part of the world is the same as your agenda,” McConnell said, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office. Continue Reading »