Israel News

Missing IAF cadet found alive and well in Eilat

Eshel Zilberstein, who went missing Saturday night, found safe and sound in coffee shop

Eshel Zilberstein, a 19-year-old Air Force cadet who went missing Saturday night, was found alive and well in Eilat, Ynet reported Sunday night.

Police said he was making his way back to his home in Shimshit, located in Israel’s Lower Galilee region. His reasons for travelling to Eilat remain unknown at this point.

Eshel Zilberstein

An investigation found that he had withdrawn a large sum of money prior to his disappearance.

Police officers eventually found him in a coffee shop in one of Eilat’s tourist districts. It is estimated that Zilberstein’s disappearance is related to his army service. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: cadet, IDF

Israel, Cyprus, Greece sign electric cable deal

287-km. underwater electricity line will connect Israel’s energy supply to EU, via Cyprus and Crete.

Israeli, Greek, Cypriot officials - Photo By IEC

For both Israel and Cyprus, connecting the countries through an underwater cable will foster more than just electrical stability for two energy islands – it will further the sense of “duty and friendship” between two allies, Athanasios Ktoridis, chairman of the board of DEH Quantum Energy, said in Jerusalem on Sunday.

“Through this project we shall develop a better understanding of our diverse and bountiful cultures,” Ktoridis said.DEH Quantum Energy is owned by Greece’s DEH Public Power Corporation, Quantum Energy of Cyprus and the Bank of Cyprus.

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: Cyprus, energy, Greece

Hundreds search for missing IAF cadet

Eshel Zilberstein,19, missing since Saturday night, failed to report to IDF base; footage shows him throwing weapon into trash can

Hundreds of military officials, policemen and civilians are conducting a wide search since the early hours of Sunday morning for Eshel Zilberstein a 19-year-old Air Force cadet who has been missing since Saturday night.

The cadet, from northern Israel enlisted in the IDF several months ago and was scheduled to return to the Hatzerim base in southern Israel where he serves on Sunday. He was carrying his personal weapon.

החיפושים אחרי החייל הנעדר, היום (צילום: עידו ארז)

Searching for Eshel (Photo: Ido Erez)

The search began when he failed to report to the base after a weekend pass. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News |

Obama: All options remain on the table to prevent a nuclear Iran

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses AIPAC conference in Washington; staunchly defends his administration’s record on Israel, citing strong security and diplomatic assistance.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the entire world has an interest in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and that all options remain on the table to keep Iran from going nuclear.

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses AIPAC conference in Washington, March 4, 2012. Photo by: AFP

“We all prefer to resolve this issue diplomatically,” Obama said in an address at the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC’s policy conference in Washington. “Having said that, Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States, just as they should not doubt Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs.

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: AIPAC, Barack Obama, Iran, Israel, US

Liberman: World must intervene in Syria

FM decries “killing you only see in Hollywood”; ‘Washington Post’ quotes US officials as saying Iran aiding Assad.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman - By REUTERS/Uriel Sinai

The international community must intervene to end the massacres in Syria, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday in an interview with Army Radio.

“These sights of killing, you only see in Hollywood – we must put and end to this immediately,” Liberman said. “In this case we must leave political calculations aside,” Liberman said. “We are humans first, before we are politicians, leaders, commentators and journalists. What is happening there in the 21st century is intolerable, and we must help.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: Avigdor Liberman, humanitarian aid, Syria

Kinneret rises 20 centimeters after Israel’s stormy weekend

Increase comes after heavy snowfall in northern Israel and Jerusalem, and as rains inundate Tel Aviv.

A weekend of heavy rains and snowstorms throughout the country contributed to a 20 centimeter rise in the level of Lake Kinneret, one of Israel’s primary sources of drinking water.

Kids throwing snowballs in the Golan Heights

Kids throwing snowballs at Ein Zivan in the northern Golan Heights this weekend. Photo by: Gil Eliyahu

The Kinneret’s water level has risen 30 centimeters since the beginning of the current round of storms last week. Since the beginning of the current storm system, Jerusalem has seen 168 millimeters of rain, Ariel 93, and Tel Aviv 58 millimeters.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Golan Heights, Israel weather, rainfall, snow

israelandstuffcom | March 3, 2012

Sbarro terrorist gets TV show

Ahlam Tamimi, Hamas operative freed in Shalit deal, hosts weekly show about Palestinian prisoners

Ahlam Tamimi, the Hamas terrorist who drove a suicide bomber to the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem where 15 people were consequently killed, has gotten her own television show, according to Israel’s Ynet.

Tamimi, who was sentenced to 16 life terms in Israeli prison, was freed in October as part of the swap that bought IDF soldier Gilad Shalit‘s freedom. She was deported to Jordan, where she appears to have launched a television career.

The Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds satellite channel has slotted Tamimi to present a weekly show called “Nassim al-Ahrar,” which deals with Palestinian convicts imprisoned in Israel, and those who have been freed. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Hamas terrorist, restaurant, Sbarro, TV Show

israelandstuffcom | March 3, 2012

Lieberman: Israel ready to provide aid to wounded Syrians

FM says Israel willing to supply Syrians wounded in uprising against Assad ‘all humanitarian aid at any minute it is requested.’

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Friday that Israel is ready to help treat Syrians wounded in the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman - Photo by: Daniel Bar-On

A Friday statement from Lieberman’s office quotes him as saying that Israel is willing to provide wounded Syrians “all humanitarian aid at any minute it is requested.”

Lieberman’s spokesman Tzachi Moshe says Israel would provide the aid through the United Nations or other international organizations. The aid would be purely humanitarian, and Israel would not get involved in Syria’s affairs.

Category: Israel News | Tags: Avigdor Lieberman, Bashar Assad, Syria

Israel named world’s 2nd-best cleantech innovator

Cleantech Group, World Wildlife Fund release first-ever global cleantech innovation ranking. Denmark, Israel and Sweden dominate top-three slots

Israel is among the top-three nations worldwide that provide the best conditions for clean technology startup companies, a recent ranking by the CleanTech Group stated. Topping the list was Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita Illustration

“Coming Clean: The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012,” is a first-of-its-kind ranking, complied by the CleanTech Group and the World Wildlife Fund. It listed the top 38 countries worldwide to offer clean energy projects the most favorable conditions. Continue Reading »

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

Congressmen call on A-G to indict freed terrorists

52 co-signatories tell US A-G Eric Holder say those freed in Schalit deal who harmed Americans should be prosecuted.

Freed Palestinian prisoners wave a Hamas flag By REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A group of 52 congressmen and women called on US Attorney-General Eric Holder on Thursday to prosecute Palestinian terrorists responsible for killing and maiming Americans.

In a bipartisan letter sponsored by congressmen Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) and Howard Berman (D-California), the lawmakers said Israel released more than a dozen such terrorists in October 2011 as part of its deal with Hamas to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.

“Because of the circumstances of this forced release, their prosecution under American law is not precluded by principles of double jeopardy, and they should, if prosecuted, suffer the full consequences of having violated American law,” the letter says of those terrorists.Under

Category: Israel News | Tags: congressmen, Eric Holder

Israel is more focused on ‘hasbara’ than it is on policy

‘Hasbara,’ the act or profession of explaining, has become an excuse for not seriously addressing Israel’s real problems, and a substitute for policymaking.

Hasbara is one of those wacky Israeli words that defy translation. I say Israeli, because the Hebrew term can be translated – hasbara is simply the act or profession of explaining. But in the world of Israeli politics and diplomacy, hasbara has acquired a much more complex meaning.

Hasbara campaign showing a foreign reporter with a camel

A hasbara campaign depicting foreign reporters as propagating myths about Israel. Photo by: Haaretz

Some would say that hasbara is a “laundered word,” the term used by David Grossman in his book “The Yellow Wind” to describe innocuous words used by Israelis to cover up inconvenient truths, and that hasbara’s true meaning is propaganda.

Category: Israel News | Tags: AIPAC, anti-Semitism, Zionism

Syrian rebel connects with IDF spokesman on Facebook

Opposition element writes on Yoav Mordechai’s Facebook page rebels don’t want war with Israel, not interested in Golan Heights

A surprising connection was formed this week between a Syrian opposition element and IDF Spokesman Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai on the latter’s Facebook page, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

IDF Spokesman Yoav Mordechai Photo: Alex Kolomoisky

A Syrian citizen named Abdul Khader wrote the following on Mordechai’s Facebook wall: “We want to get rid of Assad and his regime and modernize Syria by promoting freedom of religion and freedom of thought. We do not want war with you and are definitely not interested in the Golan Heights.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: Assad, Facebook, Syrian rebels

Suicide Attempts Cause Facebook Controversy

Activists call to allow teachers greater Facebook freedom as two students attempt suicide over comments on site.

Two young students attempted suicide this week over bullying, some of which took place on the social networking site Facebook. Now some activists say the tragic case may have been preventable, and are calling on the Education Ministry to change its rules regarding Facebook use.

Rabbi Shai Piron of the Hakol Chinuch movement called Thursday for the Education Ministry to allow teachers to “friend” their students on Facebook. Currently, teachers are forbidden to have any contact with students on social networking sites. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Facebook, Internet, students

israelandstuffcom | March 1, 2012

Judge Rubinstein: Arabs Need Not Sing Hatikva

Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein came to the defense of his colleague Salim Jubran, who declined to sing Hatikva earlier this week.

Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein on Thursday weighed in on the controversy surrounding his colleague Salim Jubran’s refusal to sing the national anthem saying it was “a tempest in a teapot.”

The controversy over Jubran’s refusal to sing , Israel’s national anthem,occurred during the swearing in ceremony of the Israeli Supreme Court’s new president, Judge Asher Grunis on Tuesday. At the end of the ceremony those present stood up and sang Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem. Arab judge Salim Jubran, however, chose not to sing. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Elyakim Rubinstein, Hatikva, Judge Salim Jubran

israelandstuffcom | March 1, 2012