Archive for Israel News

| May 26, 2012
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U.S. Senate unanimously approves E-2 visas for Israeli investors

Backers say passage of bill will spur job creation and economic growth.

The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill allowing Israeli investors to reside there to oversee their businesses in the country, which backers say will spur job creation and economic growth.

The bill had unanimously passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 19 and now heads to U.S. President Barack Obama for his signature.

U.S. Senate, 111th Congress.

U.S. Senate, 111th Congress. - Photo by Senate Photo Studio

 

The measure added Israel to the list of countries eligible for E-2 investor visas. Once signed into law by Obama, as expected, the bill will put Israel on a list with more than 79 other countries whose citizens are eligible for the visas. Continue Reading »

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| May 25, 2012
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IDF Rehearses Crossing River under Fire

Engineering reconnaissance unit to use new infantry bridge to ford stream rapidly while under enemy fire.

The Yael reconnaissance unit of Yahalom, the elite Engineering Corps Unit for Special Assignments, rehearsed crossing of a small waterway while under fire from a highly trained enemy, in a unique drill performed this month. The IDF Website‘s Florit Shoichet reported that the drill took place on the Jordan River, near Machanayim.

Crossing the Jordan

Crossing the Jordan - IDF Spokesman's Unit

Several bridges were displayed for top commanders, including a new infantry bridge. Yael forces also demonstrated the use of rubber dinghies and ropes for transferring ground troops acros the water. Continue Reading »

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| May 25, 2012
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Madonna fans revel in her arrival in Israel

Facebook overflows with Israeli fan pages for the queen of pop as she arrives in Israel

After dialing Avihay Asseraf’s cell phone number, a “funtone” version of Madonna’s “Give Me All Your Love” greets the waiting caller.

“People don’t appreciate the meaning that someone like Madonna is doing her opening night here. It’s the premiere of a tour,” he told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday over the phone. “It’s a piece of history.”

Madonna 521 – Photo: Reuters

Earlier that day, American pop icon Madonna landed in Israel, where she is launching her 2012 world MDNA Tour in Israel, kicking off at Ramat Aviv Stadium on Thursday, May 31 – rescheduled from May 29.

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| May 25, 2012
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Poll: Majority of Germans think Israel is ‘aggressive’

Poll in weekly Stern magazine finds that Germans have become more critical of Israel over past three years.

Germans have become markedly more critical of Israel over the past three years, with 59 percent describing it as aggressive, according to a survey for the weekly magazine Stern released on Wednesday.

German flag in Berlin May 23, 2012 (Reuters)

German flag flies in front of the Reichstag in Berlin - Photo by Reuters

The survey was conducted shortly before President Joachim Gauck visits Israel and the Palestinian territories May 28-31.

A similar Stern survey in 2009 found 49 percent considered Israel aggressive.

The survey, conducted by Forsa pollsters, found 70 percent of Germans agree with the statement that Israel pursues its interests without consideration for other nations. Continue Reading »

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| May 25, 2012
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Intel Opens Computational Intelligence Center in Israel

Collaborative project brings together experts from Haifa Technion and Hebrew University, with initial $15M 5-year budget.

 

Citing Israel’s “tremendous intellectual talent,” Intel has opened a center for Computational Intelligence (CI) research in Israel, with the collaboration of the Haifa Technion and Hebrew University. “It was only natural that when we started to think about where we’d might locate a new research institute that we’d want to look at Israel,” Justin Rattner, Intel’s Chief Technology Officer, told Arutz Sheva.

The purpose of the Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Computational Intelligence is broadly described as the study of future interaction between people and computers. Continue Reading »

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| May 24, 2012
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‘Ticking bomb’ land to be cleared for agriculture

INMAA launches first de-mining project in a multi-year plan to clear minefields for agricultural use.

About one percent of Israel’s land contains live minefields, and in a country as small and crowded as Israel, that one percent is important; especially if the land poses an unnecessary threat to its citizens.

A minefield on the Golan Heights - Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

A minefield on the Golan Heights - Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski

The Israeli National Mine Action Authority (INMAA) was established in 2011 after the Knesset passed the Land-Mine Clearance Law. Today in Israel, there are more than 130,000 dunam of minefield and/or mine affected territories that are no longer considered essential to national security.

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| May 24, 2012
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UK Press Commission Rules: Tel Aviv is Capital of Israel

The British Press Complaints Commission ruled that UK media has the right to refer to Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital.

The British Press Complaints Commission ruled that UK media has the right to refer to Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital.

The highly controversial ruling comes in response to a photo posted by The Guardian nearly a month ago portraying passengers on Jerusalem’s light rail observing a minute of silence in commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day.

Soldiers at Memorial Day ceremony in Jerusalem

Soldiers at Memorial Day ceremony in Jerusalem - Reuters

The caption, which originally referred to Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompted a correction that read, “The caption on a photograph featuring passengers on a tram in Jerusalem observing a two-minute silence for Yom HaShoah, a day of remembrance for the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust, wrongly referred to the city as the Israeli capital. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 24, 2012
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Shin Bet exposes Hebron terror cells

Internal security service says recent arrest of several Palestinian terrorists thwarted attack on Kiryat Arba; indictments filed

The Shin Bet internal security service cleared for publication on Wednesday that over the past few weeks it has exposed, in cooperation with the IDF, a number of terror cells in the Hebron area, Ynet reported.

One of the cells, which is affiliated with Hamas, was involved in a bombing attack, while another planned to kidnap Israelis in Kiryat Arba.

Explosive device used by terrorists

Explosive device used by terrorists

According to the Shin Bet’s announcement, as art of its preparation to kidnap Israelis the Hamas terror cell examined the IDF’s alertness by hurling explosive devices at the fence surrounding Kiryat Arba. Continue Reading »

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| May 23, 2012
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Israeli archaeologists find earliest evidence of Bethlehem’s existence in Jerusalem dig

Ancient clay seal, dating to the First Temple period, bears the name Bethlehem in ancient Hebrew script; artifact located by researchers sifting soil removed from Jerusalem’s City of David.

A piece of clay was found during archaeological excavations at the City of David, in Jerusalem, bearing the name of the city of Bethlehem in ancient Hebrew script. The piece of clay dates back to the First Temple period (1006 – 586 BCE), making it the first tangible evidence of existence of the city of Bethlehem in ancient times.

The artifact, called a “bulla,” is a piece of clay typically used as an official seal on a document or object. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 22, 2012
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Khartoum points to Israel after car blast in E. Sudan

Foreign Ministry declines to comment on “generic allegations” that Israel behind explosion in Sudan’s east, in area used as an arms smuggling route to Gaza Strip via neighboring Egypt.

KHARTOUM – One person was killed when a car exploded in the eastern Sudanese city of Port Sudan on Tuesday in what the government said resembled a blast last year that it blamed on an Israeli missile strike.

An Israeli government spokesman declined to comment on the explosion in Sudan’s east, which analysts say is used as an arms smuggling route to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip via neighboring Egypt.

Yigal Palmor, spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, told Reuters: “I’m not going to respond to generic allegations.”

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Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| May 22, 2012
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Red Hot Chili Peppers urged to boycott Israel

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been targeted by anti-Israel campaigners who want the band to cancel a planned gig in Tel Aviv.

 

The band is due to perform in the country in September, a decade after they cancelled a gig because of concerns about terrorist attacks.

Red Hot Chili Peppers live

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The group Boycott From Within is calling for the rock band to pull out of the gig, which is part of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ world tour, because of the political situation.

“High profile performances, such as your scheduled gig, have served the government’s agenda of whitewashing its war crimes and creating an image of Israel as a “modern state”, where celebrities come to perform and see the sights,” wrote the BDS campaigners in a letter to the California-based band. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags:
| May 22, 2012
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US Congress promoting visa exemption for Israelis

Californian Democrat Sherman introduces bill allowing Israelis to enter US as temporary visitors for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa. ‘Israel is our closest friend and democratic ally in the Middle East,’ he says

 

US Congressman Brad Sherman (Democrat, California), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the Visa Waiver for Israel Act, a bill allowing Israel’s entrance into the US Visa Waiver Program.

תור לקבלת אשרת כניסה בשגרירות ארה"ב בתל אביב (צילום: מיכאל קרמר)

Line of visa at US Embassy in Tel Aviv - Photo: Michael Kremer

The Visa Waiver Program allows nationals from certain countries to enter the US as temporary visitors for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa from a US consulate abroad. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags:
| May 22, 2012
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Ultra-Orthodox, Arabs refuse to join equal draft law committee

The new law will replace the interim Tal Law, which grants draft deferrals to the ultra-Orthodox.

There were no official ultra-Orthodox or Arab representatives present on Monday at the first meeting of the committee tasked with crafting a law governing the draft.

The new law will replace the interim Tal Law, which grants draft deferrals to the ultra-Orthodox. The High Court of Justice has found that law to be unconstitutional and ruled that it cannot be extended once it expires July 31.

Monday’s meeting was a “historic moment as well as an opportunity to change the agenda in the State of Israel,” said Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| May 22, 2012
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Landau: Natural gas for cars can free us from oil

Energy and water minister says Israeli natural gas discoveries open window to fight “addiction to black gold.”

Rather than continuing to heavily pollute the air and fund Arab governments by using fuel oil, more Israelis will soon be able to turn to natural gas to power their automobiles, the Energy and Water Ministry said on Monday.

Tamar holds 240 billion cu.m. of gas - Photo: Courtesy

Tamar holds 240 billion cu.m. of gas - Photo: Courtesy

“Citizens of the Western world, and we among them, suffer from an addiction to black gold, which pollutes the environments, and some of whose revenues stimulate Islamic terrorism,” Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau said.

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Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: ,
| May 22, 2012
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Google Donates NY Office Space to Israel’s Technion Institute

Google is planning to provide office space to the new applied science program of Cornell University and Technion Institute of Technology.

Google is planning to provide 22,000 square feet of its New York City headquarters to the new applied science graduate school of Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.

Mayor Bloomberg at Google press conference

Mayor Bloomberg at Google press conference - Reuters

Google CEO Larry Page and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the partnership at a news conference on Monday at the company’s headquarters in the heart of Manhattan’s high-tech zone.

Officials at Google estimated the market value of the space, which will be provided to the joint venture between Cornell and Technion, at between $10 million and $12 million. Continue Reading »

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