Israel News

Israel Electric Corporation Recommends: Cut Off Power to PA

Israel’s Electric company has put together a list of sanctions for the gov’t to impose on the PA, which owes it 820 million shekels.

By Elad Benari

The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) has put together a list of sanctions that it could impose on the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it does not pay its debt to the IEC, which currently stands at 820 million shekels.

Electricity on the way to the Palestinians – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The PA acquires 95% of its electricity in Judea and Samaria and 75% of its electricity in Gaza from Israel.

According to a document published on Channel 10 News on Thursday, the IEC is suggesting four possible measures against the PA in order to get it to pay the money it owes. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: electricity, Palestinian Authority

Netanyahu: ‘Iran is not seeking 1 or 2 nuclear bombs but 200 bombs’

In ‘Washington Post’ interview, Israel’s PM rejects importance of Rohani win, his doctrine is ‘talk and enrich.’

Netanyahu says he’s ready to engage in peace talks with the Palestinians.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Iran seeks to build an arsenal of 200 atomic bombs, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu warned in an interview with The Washington Post Thursday.

Prime Minister Netanyahu at the President’s Conference in Jerusalem, June 20, 2013. – Photo: GPO

Netanyahu told the prestigious American daily that the election of Hassan Rohani had no impact on the country’s nuclear program since it was Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s intention to continue efforts to amass atomic weapons.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Binyamin Netanyahu

Scotsman crafts boutique brewery in Gush Etzion

“We didn’t necessarily drink a lot of beer growing up, but we knew what good beer is supposed to taste like,” said the Scottish brewmaster.

By Anav Silverman, Tazpit

The Israeli beer industry includes a wide range of brewmasters from native Israelis to North American immigrants whose microbreweries can be found across the country from the Golan, Western Galilee and Jezreel Valley, to Ein Hod, Emek Hefer and the Negev.

Shire with his beers – Photo: Uriel Margaliot, Tazpit News Agency

In the hills of Judea, Gush Etzion also has its very own brewery known as the Lone Tree Brewery. Established four years ago by David Shire, originally from Glasgow, Scotland and his wife, Myriam from Tunisia, along with an American couple, Yochanan and Susan Levin, the brewery offers a wide array of flavors to the Israeli market. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: beer

Boeing’s new 747-8 lands in Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport

Lufthansa’s 747-8 flight to Israel was an exhibition flight to promote the new plane, not a regular commercial flight.

By NATHAN WISE

Boeing’s new 747-8, the longest commercial passenger airplane in the world, landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday for the first time. The Lufthansa airliner was greeted by a festive champagne and hors d’oevres reception attended by Ben-Gurion Airport officials, Lufthansa senior staff, travel industry professionals, the media and airplane enthusiasts.

The Boeing 747-8 airliner after it landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on Tuesday. – Photo: Yochai Mossi- Courtesy Lufthansa

Lufthansa is the launch customer of the new Boeing “Queen of the Skies,” which is a new generation of the landmark 747-400 that has enhanced features such as improved fuel efficiency, reduced noise and a higher number of business-class seats.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Ben Gurion Airport, Lufthansa

Lapid calls for ‘honest divorce’ from Palestinians but Bennett urges ‘coexistence’

Economy and Trade Minister Bennett suggests gov’t give Area C Palestinians Israeli citizenship.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Finance Minister Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) came out in support of a two-state solution, while his coalition partner Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) rejected it completely and urged for “coexistence” between Israelis and Palestinians, in interviews they gave separately to the Washington Post this week.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Bayit Yehudi head Naftali Bennett at Knesset swear in, Feb 5, 2013. – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post

Dubbing the two-state solution an “honest divorce” between Israel and the Palestinians, Lapid vowed to “push for this as hard as [he] can.”

Category: Israel News | Tags: Israeli politics, Naftali Bennett, Palestinians, Yair Lapid

Israeli Youth overcomes Tourette’s to become IAF fighter pilot

R.’s parents beam with pride after son overcame disability to successfully complete the IAF’s most prestigious course.

By Goel Beno

As a child R. suffered from Tourette syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movements and vocalizations; yet next week he is set to become a fighter pilot after having passed one of the most excruciatingly demanding preparatory courses the IDF has on offer.

Graduation ceremony of IAF fighter pilots – Photo: Herzl Yoseph

R., 22 today, has suffered from behavioral and health problems in primary school, including hyperactivity, aggressive behavior, angry outbursts and various allergic reactions. His parents say they tried various alternative medicines until they stumbled on a support group for parents of Tourette sufferers, where they were given various advices regarding nutrition, which changed R’s health dramatically. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: IAF, IDF soldier

Carter Seeks Weakened Sanctions on Terror Groups

Ex-Peanut Farmer Jimmy Carter is spearheading an effort to convince the US gov’t to weaken sanctions on terrorist groups.

By Rina Tzvi

Former President Jimmy Carter is spearheading an effort to convince the United States to weaken sanctions on terrorist groups, The Hill reported.

Former President Jimmy Carter – Photo: by AP

Carter and other foreign policy experts sent a petition to Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday, asking him to exempt peace groups from policies that make it a crime to offer negotiation training and humanitarian law classes to terror groups.

“The Secretary of State can, and should, exempt peacebuilding activities from this counterproductive application of the law,” says the petition, initiated by The Charity and Security Network, which, according to its website claims “to protect civil society’s ability to carry out peacebuilding projects, humanitarian aid, and development work effectively and in a manner consistent with human rights principles and democratic values.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: terrorist

Knesset passes bill disallowing Rabbis from taking fee for weddings

Local rabbis have been allowed to charge extra fees even though marriages are listed among their existing duties as regional rabbis.

Bill still pending 3 additional Knesset readings before final approval, with 61 MKs voting in favor in the preliminary reading.

By Israel Hayom Staff

A current bill, approved in its preliminary reading on Wednesday, is aiming to prevent local rabbis from accepting payment or any other compensation for officiating the marriage ceremonies of couples who live within their area of jurisdiction.

A Jewish wedding [illustrative] – Photo: AP

The bill was submitted by Habayit Hayehudi MKs Shuli Mualem and Moti Yogev and was approved in the Knesset by a majority of 61 MKs. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Knesset, Rabbis

Jew who Yelled Allahu Akbar Shot & killed at Western Wall

A Jewish man has been killed this morning at the Western Wall complex in a shooting after yelling ‘Allahu Akbar’ and then making suspicious movement.

By Maayana Miskin & Ernie Singer

A civilian guard shot a Jewish man at the Kotel (Western Wall) on Friday morning.

Paramedics attempted to revive the man for 20 minutes, but were ultimately forced to declare his death.

The incident took place in the public bathrooms at the site. No others were injured in the incident.

The guard reported that the man shouted, “Allahu Akbar,” and pulled an unidentified object from his pocket. “Allahu Akbar,” literally “G-d is great,” in Arabic, is often shouted by terrorists immediately before an attack. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Kotel, Western Wall

Netanyahu: Natural Gas exports to yield $60 billion in revenue over 20 years

Israel stands to become one of the world’s top-25 gas exporters. PM Netanyahu says Israel will export 40% of its natural gas, keeping 60% for domestic use.

Opposition Leader Yachimovich: Bill is a shameful capitulation to the tycoons, a major blow to Israel’s economy.

By Zeev Klein, Hezi Sternlicht, Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that Israel will keep 60 percent of the natural gas it harvests from its offshore gas fields for domestic use, setting export levels at 40%. The cabinet will vote on a bill to that effect next week.

Tamar offshore gas field – Photo: Albatross

The Tamar and Leviathan fields, discovered in 2009 and 2010 west of the Haifa coast, are two of the world’s largest offshore natural gas fields.

Category: Israel News | Tags: energy, Israeli politics, natural gas, Shelly Yachimovich

Start-Up Nation Institute to connect Israel with innovators worldwide

The message from Israel is it can be done.

The other message is do it with Israel.

By NIV ELIS

Saul Singer, who famously coauthored the book that branded Israel as the “Startup Nation,” is working on a nonprofit organization to connect the country with innovation centers around the world.

SAUL SINGER – Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

“Countries, just like people, are good at different things,” Singer told The Jerusalem Post.

“We’re not good at everything. We have certain strengths. It so happens that the strengths we have tend to match nicely with the weaknesses of other countries, and the strengths of those countries are things that we’re lacking.”

Category: Israel News | Tags: innovations, Israel start-up

UN: Israel tortures Palestinian children & uses them as shields

UNICEF accuses IDF of torturing Palestinian children in custody, using them as informants & human shields.

By Reuters

A United Nations human rights body accused Israeli forces on Thursday of mistreating Palestinian children, including by torturing those in custody and using others as human shields.

Palestinian boy in Hebron – Photo: AFP

Palestinian children in the Gaza and the West Bank, captured by Israel in the 1967 war, are routinely denied registration of their birth and access to health care, decent schools and clean water, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said.

“Palestinian children arrested by (Israeli) military and police are systematically subject to degrading treatment, and often to acts of torture, are interrogated in Hebrew, a language they did not understand, and sign confessions in Hebrew in order to be released,” it said in a report. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Children, UN, UNICEF

PM Netanyahu: The Arabs Want it All, All of ‘Palestine’

PM Netanyahu tells Presidential Conference that peace will never be possible until the Arabs agree to recognize the Jewish State.

By Elad Benari

Israel wants peace, but it is not willing to sacrifice its security for it, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Thursday evening at the closing session of the Presidential Conference.

“For peace to be maintained, we must be strong in the present and in the future. Because a peace accord that compromises our security will not endure, and I will never compromise the security of the State of Israel and its citizens,” said Netanyahu.

“Therefore, when we talk about ‘tomorrow’ I talk about a tomorrow of peace, security and also prosperity.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Binyamin Netanyahu, PA Arabs, Peace Process, peace talks

israelandstuffcom | June 20, 2013

Chinese kids study Israel’s history in great detail in school

With battle diagrams & detailed maps, students in Beijing’s schools are learning about the Israeli wars that shaped the face of history.

By Matan Tzuri

Students in Israel are already prepared for the summer break – but on the other side of the world, another group of students is studying the battles of Israel and the changes that came about because of them.

Iluz (third from left, in background)) with the Netanyahus on Great Wall of China

Chinese, the Netanyahus, at Great Wall during May state visit

Eighth grade students in Beijing schools are preparing for their world history exam, and Israeli history plays a large role in what they are being taught, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Israel China

israelandstuffcom | June 20, 2013