Some ‘Green Cities’ make it on to the good list because of their parks, but the residents’ high standard of living demonstrate they consume a great deal of resources.

As some Israeli cities demonstrate, all that glitters is not always green

Some ‘Green Cities’ make it on to the good list because of their parks, but the residents’ high standard of living demonstrate they consume a great deal of resources.

By Zafrir Rina

Europe did it this summer, and so did Israel.

But just because cities are regularly ranked based on how environmentally friendly they are, that doesn’t mean the chosen cities are always quite as green as they may seem.

Park Hayarkon from above. – Photo by Tal Cohen

Environmental experts say that while some of these cities make it on to the good list because of their parks and public transportation, their residents’ high standard of living means they continue to exploit and consume a great deal of resources and create a lot of waste.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Europe, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

israelandstuffcom | August 3, 2012

Defense Report: America’s Attack Plans for Iran

An Israeli newspaper says American officials shared their country’s military plans for hitting Iran’s nuclear program.

By Maayana Miskin

United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was in Israel this week to talk with Israeli leaders about Iran’s nuclear program. Now the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot is reporting that Panetta shared America’s contingency plan in case talks with Iran fail to halt its nuclear program.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Panetta may have shared the plan to assuage Israeli leaders’ concerns that the United States is putting undue confidence in the efficacy of sanctions.

The plan would reportedly be put into effect only in one and a half years. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Iran Nuclear threat, Israel US

israelandstuffcom | August 3, 2012

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IOC President Rogge faces ridicule at upcoming memorial service for murdered Israelis

Int’l Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge faces being blasted at a memorial service by community leaders & the families of the 11 Israelis butchered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics.

By Marcus Dysch and Anshel Pfeffer

Rogge is due to speak at the Guildhall event in central London on Monday evening, but his refusal to grant a minute’s silence in memory of the murdered athletes at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony has enraged the victims’ widows.

IOC President Jacques Rogge

The Anglo-Jewish co-organizers of the event also admitted they faced a “dilemma”. Mr Rogge was invited to the ceremony earlier this year by the Israeli Olympic Committee, but his stance over the 1972 massacre has since infuriated Jewish communities worldwide. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Olympics

israelandstuffcom | August 2, 2012

‘Missile falling on Tel Aviv will unleash unprecedented Israeli response’

Former intelligence chief Amos Yadlin: When missiles start falling on Tel Aviv Israel’s legitimacy will drastically increase, as will our ability to do things not done before.

The real threat facing Israel is not long-range missiles, but small rockets, former Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, who heads the Institute for National Security Studies, said on Thursday at a conference on “Israel’s Homefront Preparedness.”

Former Military Intelligence chief Maj.-Gen. (res) Amos Yadlin says when missiles fall on the Gush Dan area, “Israel’s legitimacy to take action will drastically increase,” – Photo: Yoav Ari Dudkevitch

“Israel is not threatened by 200,000 missiles, as previously claimed.

Category: Israel News | Tags: IDF, Iranian threat

israelandstuffcom | August 2, 2012

U.S. Congress considers recognizing Jewish refugees

Bill requires Obama to pair Palestinian refugees with plight of 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries.

By JTA

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of six Congress members is sponsoring a bill that would ensure recognition of the plight of 850,000 Jewish refugees displaced from Arab countries since Israel’s War of Independence in 1948.

Jewish refugees arrive in Palestine – Photo: REUTERS

Their bill in the US House of Representatives also would recognize other displaced populations, including Christians from countries in the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf.

The legislation specifically calls on the Obama administration to pair any explicit reference to Palestinian refugees with a similar reference to Jewish or other refugee populations.

Category: Israel News | Tags: US Congress

israelandstuffcom | August 2, 2012

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IDF tank-shield ‘Windbreaker’ intercepts missile

Israel’s Merkava tank escapes missile hit thanks to IDF’s High-Tech Defense System

By Yoav Zitun

The IDF‘s Windbreaker defense system has intercepted an anti-tank missile fired at a tank in the central Gaza Strip, near Kissufim on Wednesday.

Windbreaker Courtesy: Ministry of Defense

An IDF inquiry suggests that the tank shield detected a missile launch during operational activity near the border fence. No injuries were reported.

The IDF considers the firing of the missile a very unusual event. Windbreaker has rarely been called into action since becoming operational two years ago. In March 2011, it successfully intercepted an RPG rocket fired at a tank. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Gaza rockets, IDF

Israeli Hi-Tech Radar Will Protect US-Mexican Border

The U.S. has selected an Israeli company for the placement of a radar system to detect infiltrators at the border with Mexico.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

The United States has selected an Israeli company for the placement of a radar system to detect infiltrators at the border with Mexico.

Mexican Soldiers inspect the entrance of a cross border tunnel running to California and seized some

Mexican Soldiers inspect the entrance of a cross border tunnel running to California and seized contraband and infiltrators. – Reuters

Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), won the tender with its systems that can identify individuals from distances between 300 meters and 20 kilometers (approximately 13 miles), and vehicles from twice that distance. Continue Reading »

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: Israel US, Mexico

IDF Implements Serious Culinary Changes

The IDF’s logistics department revamps military kitchens with a new, fresh nutritional health plan.

By Yaron Kelner

Forget about those fattening IDF breakfasts, from now on the mess will be serving healthier fare. A successful pilot that began in the first months of 2012 has led the highest military echelons to decide: The health food revolution would be coming to the IDF.

Marching on healthier stomachs (archives) – IDF Spokesman

Major Yossi Nidam, head of the Nutrition Department in the Logistics Branch has been examining methods to make the troops healthier. “We took part in the Wingate Institute’s ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ project which attempted to improve the field units’ physical fitness,” Nidam said. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: IDF

Israeli Arabs against mandatory service calls

Mandatory volunteering would increase the socioeconomic gaps, & that Arab communities lacks proper infrastructure, claims student union rep.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK

Israeli Arabs spoke out Tuesday against civilian national service, saying that “compulsory volunteerism” would only exacerbate extensive socioeconomic gaps between Arabs and Jews.

The comments came in response to proposals by Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin on Monday night to encourage Israeli Arabs, who make up 20.6 percent of Israel’s population, to undertake national civilian service.

Israeli-Arab lab tech volunteer at Hadassah – Photo: Sarah Levin

Speaking to Arab council heads in Kafr Kasim at a Ramadan iftar meal, which breaks the daily fast, Rivlin said that Israeli Arabs would benefit from undertaking civilian national service within their local communities, and that their contributions would also bolster the Arab sector, which lacks manpower. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Israeli Arabs

Israeli Soldiers Caught in Crossfire on Egyptian Border

IDF soldiers were caught in a crossfire between drug smugglers & Egyptian soldiers Wednesday morning. No Israeli injuries reported.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Israeli soldiers were caught in apparent crossfire between Egyptian soldiers and drug smugglers Wednesday morning. No Israeli injuries were reported.

Egyptian soldiers spotted and shot at drug smugglers trying to cross into Israel, and several bullets hit an Israeli bus carrying soldiers.

Assuming they were under a terrorist attack, the Israeli soldiers fired back and wounded at least one Egyptian soldier. The IDF still is investigating to determine whether the shots fired at the bus were accidental or not. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Egyptian Bedouin, IDF

No Injuries after IDF Force Attacked by Gaza Mortars

Gaza Terrorists fired 5 mortar shells at an IDF force operating near central Gaza on Monday. No physical injuries or damage.

By Elad Benari

Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists fired five mortar shells on Monday afternoon at an IDF force that was operating near the Kissufim crossing in central Gaza.

The IDF Spokesman said that there were no physical injuries or damage. The soldiers fired shots towards suspicious areas after the attack.

The terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza have upped their attacks in recent days. An Israeli woman suffered light injuries while running for shelter during a Sabbath rocket attack on the city of Sderot. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Gaza, IDF, Palestinian attack

China: Romney’s Pro-Jerusalem Views May Spark War with Regional Arabs

China has refused to challenge Iran & Syria and now goes to bat for the Regional Arabs

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

China, which has refused to buck Iran and Syria, now goes to bat for the Arab world and warns that Mitt Romney’s pro-Jerusalem remarks could even “reignite a war between Palestinians and Israelis.”

The presumptive Republican presidential candidate stated in his visit to Israel Sunday and Monday that Jerusalem is the country’s capital, a designation the international community does not accept because of the Arab world’s opposition.

“The U.S. presidential hopeful’s dangerous words should be carefully watched,” wrote the Chinese news agency Xinhua Tuesday. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Jerusalem, Mitt Romney

Is this a taste of things to come?

Obama is at a disadvantage when it comes to Israel. His famous Cairo address in 2009; calling on Israel to halt construction in east Jerusalem, and of course, the symbolic fact that he did not include Israel on his itinerary every time he visited the region.

By Danny Danon

The U.S. presidential elections are around the corner. We have now entered the final leg – the last 100 days – of the campaign and the candidates are working overtime to win over voters, including U.S. Jews. President Barack Obama, who time and again has turned a cold shoulder toward Israel and adopted a pro-Palestinian posture, is running against the Republicans’ Mitt Romney, who has repeatedly communicated his pro-Israel world view, including on Sunday night, when he vowed to back Israel’s policy on Iran and on other issues.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney