Archive for October 29, 2014

The IDF is officially recognized as ‘Strongest army in the Middle East’

 

Business Insider puts IDF at top of list of 15 strongest regional armies, saying Israel has space assets, drones, advanced jets, nuclear weapons, & “the Israeli Air Force is the best in the world.”

By Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Although the balance of power and geopolitical interests have rapidly shifted in the Middle East in recent years, it appears Israel has managed to maintain — at least for the time being — its military supremacy, according to the news website Business Insider. On Monday the website published its ranking of the 15 strongest armies in the region, and put the Israel Defense Forces at the top.

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Gazan shot in leg after ignoring repeated IDF calls to retreat from border fence

 

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office confirms direct hit on 1 of 2 Gaza men attempting to infiltrate.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Palestinian media reported on Wednesday that a Gazan man in his twenties was injured by IDF fire in the Strip’s Beit Lahiya area.

Netiv Haasara

A view of the northern Gaza Strip as seen from the Israeli farming community of Netiv Haasara. – Photo: REUTERS

The IDF Spokesperson’s Office said it identified two Palestinians approaching the security fence in the northern part of the border. When they did not adhere to warning calls to stop in their tracks, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the legs of the Gaza residents, the army said, confirming a direct hit.

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WATCH: Israel’s anime campaign effort to woo Japanese tourism

Israel launches animated Japanese web series highlighting 2 young sisters visiting Israel in hopes of promoting Japanese tourism.

Israel’s ambassador: the goal is to ‘connect to Japanese pop culture & use anime to reach the youth by displaying Israel beyond the conflict.’

By Itamar Eichner

 

 

Meet Saki and Noriki – Israel’s new animated ambassadors to Japan. Israel’s embassy in Tokyo recently launched いいね!イスラエル or ‘Israel, Like!’, a new web series of the anime genre, in the hopes of enticing Japanese tourists to visit the holy land.

YouTube screenshot

The unprecedented public relations campaign will involve no less than seven episodes in which Saki and her sister Moriki visit different parts of Israel, and of course fall in love. Continue Reading »

Surveillance balloons tracking rioters in East Jerusalem for subsequent arrests

3 surveillance balloons currently operating now with 2 more to come for police to use to bust youngsters throwing ‘Molotov cocktails’ & stones at light rail & passing cars.

 

The Jerusalem municipality said this week that it was deploying three surveillance balloons over East Jerusalem to aid police in stopping Palestinian rioting. Two more balloons will soon be added as part of a new municipal unit for aerial surveillance.

The Israeli Surveillance balloon, Skystar aerostat, includes the advanced thermal camera SPEED-A. – Photo: iHLS

The balloons have been hovering high above hot spots on the capital’s eastside – the Shoafat neighborhood, the light rail route, and Jewish enclaves within Arab neighborhoods. Continue Reading »

Unprecedented Loathing Between US-Israel Leaders Bring Relations to Brink of Collapse

Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia & Turkey are all experiencing historic difficulties in their relations with Washington because Obama abandoned alliances in favor of relations with an enemy by defending Iran.

By Ari Yashar

 

A media storm over a “crisis in US-Israel relations” was generated following a Tuesday report that a senior official in US President Barack Obama’s administration called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu “chickens**t” – and according to former Israeli ambassadors to America, its just the latest in an unprecedented crisis in relations.

Prof. Itamar Rabinovich, who served as ambassador between 1992 and 1996, told Walla! Wednesday relations have never been this bad before, commenting “the two sides haven’t just taken off the gloves – they threw them in the trash.” Continue Reading »

Tel Aviv makes list of world’s top culinary cities as “Outstanding”

 

Tel Aviv is home to over 4,500 eating establishments & 3 vibrant open fresh-food markets that food purveyors are proud of, & tour guides flock to with their groups.

By Yehuda Shlezinger

 

Tel Aviv-Jaffa, the cultural capital of Israel, has now been declared an international culinary capital in Saveur Magazine’s annual rankings of the best food destinations around the world.

Denizens of Tel Aviv were unsurprised to hear their city’s food lauded, but some think there is still room for improvement [Illustrative] – Phoot: Yehoshua Yosef

The prestigious American food and lifestyle magazine rated Tel Aviv “Outstanding” along with Florence, Italy and Lyon, France in the category of Best Culinary Destination, Small International, which refers to cities with a population of under 800,000.

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Israel’s Newest Merkava Mark IV Tanks Rolls Out For Potential Hezbollah Conflict

 

Senior IDF source: The new Merkava Mark IV  platforms will enhance “our ability to both fight in closed areas, & effectively hold & defend areas against the type of organizations we deal with, Hamas and Hezbollah.”

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

 

The IDF’s Seventh Armored Brigade is in the midst of a modernization process that will see all tank battalions equipped with the Merkava Mk. 4 tank by 2016, a senior army source said Tuesday.

Tank crews from the Seventh Brigade’s 75th Battalion train with their new Merkava Mk. 4 tanks. – Photo courtesy: IDF SPOKESMAN’S UNIT

The brigade’s 75th battalion will complete the switch over from the Merkava Mk. Continue Reading »

Knesset Session to Push Bill That Outlaws Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch

The Islamic Movement‘s northern branch needs to be outlawed for openly undermining the sovereignty of the State of Israel, while  cynically exploiting the institutions & basic values of a Jewish and democratic country.

By Yuval Karni

 

 

With the opening of the Knesset’s winter session on Monday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has instructed Yisrael Beiteinu MK Alex Miller to push a bill proposal meant to outlaw the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel.

Raed Salah (R) - REUTERS

Sheikh Raed Salah (right), leader of the Islamic Movement’s northern branch, escorted (03/04/2014) to begin his 8 months in prison for inciting to violence in a 2007 speech – REUTERS

The proposal, submitted on Monday, noted that: “Recently, we’ve witnessed the strengthening of radical Islam in our region, spreading a lot of death and destruction while demolishing the rule of law. Continue Reading »

Jordan to request UN Security Council session over Israel’s housing plans in Jerusalem

The Jordanian request, on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, comes after Israel announced additional housing construction plans, as Arab violence in area escalates.

 

A spokesman for Jordan’s mission to the United Nations said on Monday his country will request an emergency UN Security Council meeting on behalf of the Palestinians, who have written to the council president about “dangerously escalating tensions” in East Jerusalem.

An orthodox Jew visits Temple Mount

An orthodox Jew visits the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City, October 27, 2014.

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Israel to Get Squadron of F-35 Stealth Jets in $2.7 Billion Dollar Deal

Amid high political tensions in US-Israel relations, Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that the $2.7 billion dollar deal encompasses the acquisition of 19 “stealth” aircraft.

By Uzi Baruch and Tova Dvorin

 

US-Israeli relations have suffered tremendously over the past month, with the State Department making multiple condemnations against Israel for both building Jewish homes in Jerusalem and for increasing its fight against Palestinian Arab terror.

However, it has not damaged the military cooperation between them, as the Israel Aerospace Industries, together with representatives of the Israeli Ministry of Defense announced Tuesday that Israel will acquire a new squadron of F-35 jets from the US Army and Lockheed-Martin. Continue Reading »

REPORT: John Kerry’s wife gave $50,000 to support anti-Israel propaganda campaign

 

The Washington Free Beacon reveled an endowment, chaired by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s wife, gave a $50,000 grant to Conflict Kitchen, a restaurant that is spreading anti-Israel propaganda by rapping its food in anti-Israel leaflets.

By Yoni Hirsch

 

A storm in a sandwich wrapper: A Pittsburgh snack bar that sells sandwiches wrapped in paper printed with pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel slogans received a $50,000 grant from a foundation run by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s wife, according to a Washington Free Beacon report.

Conflict Kitchen during its Iranian cuisine period – Photo: AP

Conflict Kitchen is a pop-up restaurant that sells food from the cuisines of countries it says are in conflict with the United States.

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Study: Intel, Google top two employers sought after by graduates in Israel

 

The survey was conducted among 2,200 participating undergraduate students in academic colleges & universities throughout Israel.

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI

 

A majority of students want to work at hi-tech companies upon graduation, according to a BDI-COFACE study released on Monday.

Intel’s offices in Petah Tikva

Intel’s offices in Petah Tikva: Intel Israel accounts for a fifth of the country’s high-tech exports. – Photo: REUTERS

Thirty-one percent of college and university students want to work at hi-tech companies even if they are not studying in the exact sciences. Fifteen percent said they want to work in services, 13% in finance, and 4% in education.

Leading the list of the 50 most sought after firms to work in were Intel, Google and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Continue Reading »

An arrogant US administration questions Israel’s commitment to peace

State Dept spokesperson expressed ‘deep concern’ over Israel’s construction in existing Israeli towns & cities, emphasizes US opposition to Israel’s unilateral steps on building homes in Jerusalem.

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

 

 

WASHINGTON – The US State Department said Monday that recent Israeli actions are not reflective of an administration pursuing peace. During the daily press briefing, spokesperson Jen Psaki stressed that Israel must lower tensions and take the proper steps towards living in peace.

Ma'ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem (Photo: AP)

Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem – Photo: AP

“We view settlement activity as illegitimate and unequivocally oppose unilateral steps that prejudge the future of Jerusalem,” she said. Continue Reading »

Southern Israel communities get boost after Jewish Agency raised $13.3M

Funds will provide support to victims of rocket attacks, low-interest loans for businesses that were hurt by war, rent subsidies for students and to refurbish shelters & security rooms.

 

The Jewish Agency has raised 50 million shekels ($13.3 million) from donors to rebuild southern Israel areas that were damaged by the country’s conflict with Hamas and enable the communities there to attract more residents.

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky

Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky – Photo: Moti Milrod

The Jewish Agency “built southern Israel, helping the early pioneers establish these towns and communities in the country’s early years,” the agency’s chairman of the executive, Natan Sharansky, said in a statement.

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Shlomo Slonim ז”ל, Survivor of 1929 Hebron Massacre, died today at 86.

 

The 18-month-old child of the Hebron massacre was spared only because he was covered by the corpses of his parents.

By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

 

In 1929, after years of relatively peaceful existence, the Arabs of Hebron responded to the call of the Mufti of Jerusalem and slaughtered the Jews in their midst.

1929 Hebron massacre infobox.jpg

From top-left, clockwise: Shlomo, son of Eliezer Dan Slonim, aged 1, survives with wounds to his finger and forehead; The Holy Ark of the Sephardi Synagogue of Abraham is ransacked; A survivor reflecting in the aftermath of the slaughter; Family Kolstein recover from their injuries.
Bottom: Memorials to murdered rabbinical students in the old Jewish cemetery.

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