Archive for February 23, 2017

Israel Missile Defense Organization upgrades Iron Dome for maximum efficiency (VIDEO)

 

Watch: Seeking to augment the Iron Dome’s capabilities, since its last upgrade was in 2015, Israel’s Ministry of Defense succeeded in improving the technology behind the country’s anti-missile system.

BY

 

An upgraded version of the Iron Dome missile defense system has passed a series of complex tests in recent days, improving the system’s capabilities.

According to a statement released by the Defense Ministry, the Israel Missile Defense Organization, which is responsible for the development of Israel’s multilayered defense system, in conjunction with Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the main contractor of the Iron Dome system, carried out a number of experiments using American-made components in the course of the missile interception tests for the first time. Continue Reading »

ISIS affiliate groups gaining ground in Syrian Golan offensive

 

The latest offensive by an ISIS-allied group in the tri-border region of southwest Syria, Israel and Jordan has quickly captured 4 villages and is currently endangering the Syrian city of Daraa, whose southwest suburb is already under ISIS control.

BY Roi Kais

 

ISIS-affiliated groups opened a major offensive in the tri-nation border of Israel, Syria and Jordan, attacking various rebel factions and have managed to take control of four villages—Adwan, Saham al-Jawlan, Jalin and Tasil—in addition to the strategic southwestern suburb of Daraa, which is the capital of Hauran.

Israel-Syria-Jordan triborders – Google Maps

Areas change hands somewhat frequently, but a rapid victory on this scale has not been seen in some time. Continue Reading »

Turns out ‘anti-Israel poster-child’ doesn’t hate IDF soldiers

 

16 year-old Palestinian ‘hero’ of anti-Israel propaganda film unexpectedly replied he doesn’t hate IDF soldiers, when asked to answer on-stage questions following its screening.

By Israel Today Staff

 

The above video is an excerpt from the leftist propaganda film “The Boy From H2” that seeks to portray Israeli soldiers as heartless and abusive toward the Palestinian Arabs.

The film was such a hit among liberals in Israel that the left-wing NGO B’Tselem entered it in the International Film Festival that concluded yesterday in Berlin.

But “The Boy From H2” was a flop on the international stage, and suffered even more disappointment when the “hero” of the documentary, Mohammed Burkan, who was 12 when it was filmed in 2011, came out and said he isn’t angry at the Israeli soldiers. Continue Reading »

First Christian Arab qualifies for IAF elite pilots course

 

Unlike the Bedouin who have been volunteering for the IDF since the state was founded, Christian Arab enlistment is still relatively new.
• IDF: All roles are open to all recruits provided they meet the stringent IDF requirements as any other soldier.

By Lilach Shoval

 

An Israeli Christian Arab was among the cadets who began the Israeli Air Force 179th pilots course three months ago, Israel Hayom has learned. The young man, whose name cannot be revealed, is the first Christian Arab to make it into the prestigious course.

The cadet is currently in the initial flight stage of the course, after which the IAF makes a round of cuts. Continue Reading »

In Australia Netanyahu applauds Trump for taking strong stand against antisemitism (VIDEO)

 

WATCH Prime Minister Netanyahu, who started his 5-day official visit to Australia on Wednesday, among other things tells a packed synagogue in Sydney that the Golan Heights “will never go back to Syria, it will always remain a part of Israel.”

BY

 

SYDNEY — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday commended US President Donald Trump for taking “a strong stand against antisemitism.”

Netanyahu, who started a five day-visit to Australia on Wednesday, made the remarks to loud applause in a packed synagogue in Sydney regarding comments Trump made the day before about a resurgence of antisemitism in the US. Continue Reading »

Report: IAF jets destroy Hezbollah ordnance at Syrian army outposts in Damascus suburb

 

Again an aerial attack is attributed to Israel, this one on the Syrian army’s 3rd Division in al-Katif, with Lebanese press quoting officials reporting Hezbollah military buses were destroyed.

By Roi Kais

 

According to the reports, Israeli warplanes were circling Lebanese airspace in the Baalbek area at around 3am Wednesday, carrying out the attack from over Lebanon.Officials cited by Lebanese media estimated the attack was targeting Hezbollah military buses.

In a counter statement issued by Hezbollah, they claimed that the reports stating that the Israeli attacks targeted Hezbollah’s outposts in Lebanon or Syria are incorrect.

File photo: A past attack in Damascus attributed to Israel

A rebel spokesman from the city of Yabroud in the Damascus suburbs told a Syrian media outlets identified with the rebels that the Israeli Air Force fighter jets attacked at 4am after circling the Lebanese airspace for half an hour. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu responds to demands of Australia’s past PMs to recognize Palestinian state

WATCH: At a press conference in Sydney were Israel’s PM was welcomed by PM Malcolm Turnball, Netanyahu asked a basic question, slamming down demands by former Australian PMs to recognize Palestinian statehood, ‘What kind of Palestinian state do you want exactly?’ “A state whose territory will be used immediately for radical Islam?”

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu slammed the demand by two former Australian Prime Ministers that their nation recognize the Palestinian Authority as a sovereign state.

Former Labor premiers Kevin Rudd and Bob Hawke issued statements ahead of Netanyahu’s state visit to Australia, calling for the recognition of Palestinian statehood. Continue Reading »

The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community host Menorah exhibition

 

The artifacts depicting Judaism’s sacred seven branched candelabra used in the Temple in Jerusalem, are being loaned by nearly 20 museums around the world, including Paris’ Louvre & London’s National Gallery.

By AFP

 

The Vatican and Rome’s Jewish community on Monday presented an ambitious exhibition on the menorah which will bring together 130 works featuring the iconic Jewish candelabrum, an ancient symbol of the faith.

The show on the seven-candle Hebrew lamp will run simultaneously from May 15 to July 23 at the Vatican museums and the synagogue complex in a city which once housed one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. Continue Reading »

Jerusalem expands by 250 acres, 2000 new homes in new residential neighborhood

 

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat. “Establishment of the new neighborhood will allow us to attract young families to the city, to better respond to the housing demand in the city, and of course to strengthen Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”

By Reut Hadar

 

For the first time since the Six-Day War, 250 new acres were recently attached to the territory of the city of Jerusalem completing a multi-year process enabling the municipality to build a new residential neighborhood in Jerusalem with 2,000 housing units.

In 2009 the Interior Ministry’s Border Committee held its first meeting to discuss the possibility of transferring a 250 acre area adjacent to the Arnona neighborhood from the Yehuda Regional Council and Kibbutz Ramat Rachel’s jurisdiction to that of the Jerusalem municipality. Continue Reading »

Israel’s PM thanks U.S. Amb. to the UN Nikki Haley’s “unequivocal support for Israel”

 

WATCH U.S. Amb. to the UN Nikki Haley’s adamantly pro-Israeli speech regarding the UN’s outrageously built-in double standard against Israel, that even had Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharing the video with a personal ‘thank you’ on his Facebook page.

By Itamar Eichner

 

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s pro-Israeli words spoken against the UN have swept over the web. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared the video and posted on Facebook: “US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, thank you for your unequivocal support for Israel! It’s time to put an end to the absurdity in the United Nations.” Continue Reading »

Apple acquires 4th start-up from Israel: RealFace, biometric facial recognition

Aimed at making passwords redundant, Apple makes its fourth Israeli acquisition, a Tel Aviv-based company that offers its users secure biometric logins, bought for an estimated $2 million.

News Agencies & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Multinational technology company Apple Inc. has bought Israeli startup RealFace Technology for an estimated $2 million, Israeli media reported Sunday.

Founded in 2014 by Adi Eckhouse Barzilai and Aviv Mader, the Tel Aviv-based startup is a leading developer of facial recognition technology. Its software offers users a smart biometric login, with the aim of making passwords redundant when accessing mobile devices or personal computers.

According to the Jewish Business News, RealFace has 10 employees, and it had raised $1 million prior to Apple’s acquisition. Continue Reading »

Israel’s first female Druse news presenter makes history on ITV Channel 1

 

Earning praise from the public and her peers, Ghadir Kamal Meriach became Israel’s first female Druse TV news presenter this past weekend, especially considering how the Druse community still takes a conservative attitude regarding women working outside their villages.

BY 

 

There have been a lot of new faces on Channel 1 over the past 18 months, despite the fact that the Israel Broadcasting Authority is set to cease operations on April 30, to be replaced by the Israel Broadcasting Corporation.

While in the process of becoming history, IBA is making history. On Saturday evening, for the first time, its Channel 1 featured a female Druse presenter on the weekend news. Continue Reading »

Escalation in the Sinai: ISIS fires 2 more rockets into Israel

 

IDF confirms 2 rockets fired from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula landed in the Eshkol Regional Council of southern Israel, with no injuries or damages reported.
– Latest round of launches come after ISIS reported five of its fighters were killed by an IDF drone on Saturday.

By Yoav Zitun

 

Two rockets were fired from the Sinai Peninsula and landed in open space in Israel on Monday morning, the IDF reported.

Part of an exploded rocket found – Photo: Israel Police Spokesperson’s Unit

The rockets landed in the Eshkol Regional Council, according to an initial statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. Continue Reading »

Tunnel Boring Machine, ‘Golda’ begins digging Tel Aviv’s light rail train

 

The first tunnel boring machine, ‘Golda’, named after Israel’s first female Prime Minister, begins working on Tel Aviv’s light rail train route.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

The first excavation machine for the light rail route in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area has been named ‘Golda,’ after the late Prime Minister Golda Meir.

The excavation machine ‘Golda’ began work today (Sunday) to clear land for the laying of the tracks, which will serve Tel Aviv and surrounding parts of the Gush Dan region in the center of the country.

Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) digging planed underground electric light rail train route – [illustration] YouTube

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud) said: “Golda Meir was the first [woman] to serve as Prime Minister, and was one of the six who laid the cornerstone here. Continue Reading »

Report: ISIS Claims Israel Air Force Killed 5 Terrorists in Sinai Drone Arrack

 

According to Arabic media report, an Israeli drone dealt with ISIS terrorist that 2 weeks ago fired 4 missiles from the Sinai Desert into Israel’s southern city of Eilat.

By YASSER OKBI & MAARIV HASHAVUA

 

An unmanned Israeli drone has allegedly bombed and killed five ISIS members in Egypt’s northern Sinai region, according to Arabic media reports Sunday.

According to outlets affiliated with “Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis,” the Egyptian branch of the terror group, the four died when they “fell as martyrs to the Jewish enemy.”

The Egyptian Army said it was opening an investigation into two large explosions in the area, however an army spokesman denied that it was Israel who was responsible. Continue Reading »