Economy Minister Bennett: The Chinese Don’t Care About the ‘Occupation’

Economy Minister Bennett says there are endless business opportunities in China and the Chinese aren’t interested in any political issues.

By Elad Benari

 

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi), who is on a visit to China to promote trade relations, had some tips for Israelis who wish to do business with the Chinese.

Economy Ministry Bennett in China – Screenshot

In a video message he recorded from Shanghai on Wednesday, Bennett not only said his visit has been very successful, but also noted that the Chinese are not interested in the Israeli-Arab conflict or other goings on in the Middle East. Continue Reading »

Israeli Druze Students studying in Syria return home for summer break

Expressing their ambivalence at the prospect of returning

, dozens of Druze studying in Syria returned to Israel for their summer break, recall experiences & hardship of studying in a country at war.

Hassan Shaalan

Dozens of Druze students returned Thursday from Damascus to their Golan Heights homes to a slew of hugs and tears of joy on the part of their families.

התקבלו בשלום ובברכה (צילום: אביהו שפירא)

Students return from Syria – Photo: Avihu Shapira

A number of them spoke to Ynet and recalled the fear shrouding the country and expressed reservation regarding the prospect of returning to Bashar Assad‘s war-torn Syria for the remainder of their studies. Continue Reading »

Israel’s U.N. Amb, Ron Prosor: UN Holds ‘Guinness World Record’ for Hypocrisy

Israel’s Ambassador to UN balks at Iranian & Syrian requests to join UN Human Rights Commission.

By Gil Ronen & Ari Soffer

 

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador, Ron Prosor, attacked on Thursday the requests by Syria and Iran to join the UN’s Human Rights Commission (UNHRC).

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor

 

“A new Guinness world’s record at the UN? Putting Syria and Iran in the UNHRC is like appointing mob bosses to head the witness protection plan,” Prosor said in a statement.

The move comes as the Syrian regime of Bashar el-Assad continues a bloody campaign to crush a two-year rebellion, which has seen massive human rights violations and accusations of war crimes on both sides, including the use of chemical weapons and the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas by regime forces. Continue Reading »

Computer analysis: 2-state solution best way to reduce Arab-Israel violence

Computer program developed jointly by Israeli & Swiss social scientists finds best way to reduce violence in Jerusalem is by separating the Arabs & Jews as part of a 2-state solution.

By DPA

Separating Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem as part of a two-state solution could offer the best way to reduce violence in the disputed city, according to a computer simulation developed in Switzerland and Israel.

The Old City of Jerusalem

The Old City of Jerusalem. – Photo: Michal Fattal

Social scientists mapped population groups in Jerusalem and analyzed their relationships in order to develop a computer model, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich said Thursday. Continue Reading »

Israel’s young set out for top science competitions in 4 countries

18 of Israel’s brightest high school students left to participate in four prestigious science competitions around the world.

By Yossi Aloni

 

 

Members of Israel’s delegations to various Science Olympiads around the world met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government officials this week prior to departing for their respective competitions.

Israeli youth depart for top science competitions

Israeli youth depart for top science competitions – Israel Today

 

The Israelis are participating in scientific competitions in Colombia, Denmark, Australia and Russia. They will have the opportunity to show off their skills in chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science.

The team consists of 18 high school students from around the country, including a female Arab student from Nazareth. Continue Reading »

Nazi officer’s grandson returns books stolen 70 years ago

After Christoph Schlegel finds books that were stolen from a Jew during the Holocaust at his grandmother’s house, his search to return them leads him to Moshe Hofstadter, in Israel, the surviving son of the books’ owner.

By Yori Yalon

 

Four books stamped with his name, the only tangible keepsake that Moshe Hofstadter has of his father Abraham, who was murdered by the Nazis, were returned to him in a moving ceremony at Yad Vashem on Wednesday.

Continue Reading »

Stem Cell Breakthrough Realized in Jerusalem’s Hadassah

Medical Breakthrough: New Stem Cell Treatment from Hadassah Medical Center Reduces Bone Healing Time By 75%

 

 

Researchers at Hadassah Hospital’s Department of Orthopedics have found conclusive evidence that using stem cells to treat severe fractures can speed up the healing process. The clinical trials that were conducted found that the new treatment shortened the recovery process that normally takes six to 12 months down to two to three months.

xray

Photo: Xray Picture Pelvis by Bigstock

“A process that began 15 years ago eventually led to this clinical trial at Hadassah, the first of its kind in Israel,” said Professor Iri Liebergall, Head of Orthopedics, who led the research. Continue Reading »

A guy named Macabi brought 21 new countries to Israel’s Maccabiah Games

Of the 78 delegations & 9,000 athletes marching into Jerusalem’s Teddy Kollek Stadium to open the Maccabiah next week, 21 nations will be participating for the 1st time!

Maccabiah Cuba

Cuban softball player Alberto Tacher, left, and coach Roberto Saria Popowsky, both living in Israel, welcome archery siblings and fellow Cuba natives Rafael, second from right, and Roxana Gonzalez upon their arrival at Ben Gurion Airport to participate in the Maccabiah Games, July 3, 2013.

Continue Reading »

Defense Minister Ya’alon: IDF restructuring ‘revolutionary’, will produce new IDF

Defense Minister sees upgrades in IDF technology as making “revolutionary” changes to the military that will produce a different kind of army, in spite of controversial budget cuts that will see the elimination of many units.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

Changes to the Israel Defense Forces after controversial budget cuts are “revolutionary,” and, in the end, will produce “a different IDF,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Thursday.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon (R) looks into Syria on tour of Golan Heights

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon (R) looks into Syria on tour of Golan Heights – Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Defense Ministry spokesman

In a statement to the press, Ya’alon stated that the cuts are being made in light of regional threats, and have been pitted against advances in technology.

Continue Reading »

After losing NIS 3B, Better Place sold for NIS 43 million

About 6 years after Shai Agassi founded Better Place, the electric car company sold to Sunrise Ltd. & Association for the Promotion of the Electric Car in Israel

New owners promises to continue operation of battery-swapping stations for at least 2 years.

By Shahar Haselkorn

 

 

Sunrise Ltd. and the Association for the Promotion of the Electric Car in Israel purchased all the operations and assets of the Better Place electric car company in Israel for 18 million shekels (about $5 million) after the Lod District Court confirmed the purchase agreement of the bankrupt company on Wednesday.

הפעילות והנכסים בישראל נמכרו בתמורה ל-18 מיליון שקלים (צילום: AFP)

Better Place electric car – Photo: AFP

The court also approved the sale of Better Place Switzerland’s intellectual property to the same group for NIS 25 million ($6.84 million). Continue Reading »

Egyptian soldiers kills dozens of Hamas terrorists in Sinai

Hamas officials renounce involvement in activities in Sinai yet, scores captured & killed by Egyptian army.

By and Reuters

 

Egyptian security forces have killed dozens of armed men and arrested hundreds more as part of a crackdown on extremist cells operating in the Sinai Peninsula, pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Thursday.

Egyptian army soldiers stand guard on the border with Egypt in Rafah

Egyptian army soldiers stand guard on the border with Egypt in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, July 5, 2013. – Photo:AP

At least 32 Hamas fighters that entered Sinai through underground smuggling tunnels and joined the cells were among those arrested, according to the report.

Tensions flared between the Egyptian army and Hamas about a year ago, when armed men ambushed an Egyptian military base in Sinai, killing 16 officers. Continue Reading »

U.S. Finalizing Delivery of F-16 Fighter Jets to Egypt

The White House decided to expedite transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Egypt despite Morsi’s overthrow.

By Elad Benari

 

The United States plans to go through with the delivery of four F-16 fighter jets to Egypt in the coming weeks, despite the overthrow of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, U.S. officials told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday.

The clarification came as Washington deliberated whether to call the ouster of Egypt’s elected leader a military coup.

A decision to brand Morsi’s ouster a coup would, by law, require the Obama administration to halt aid to the Egyptian army.

One defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the delivery of the four F-16s was likely to take place in August. Continue Reading »

Israel fortifies its Syrian border to answer Hezbollah threat

 

Israel worried Nasrallah is making initial preparations for future confrontation on new Golan front.

 

Source:  Jihadi rebels busy now but once civil war ends they will turn their guns on Jewish State

By Reuters

 

Israel is bolstering its forces on the once-quiet frontier with Syria where it believes Lebanese Hezbollah militants are preparing for the day when they could fight Israel.

פיצוץ מכונית התופת בביירות אתמול. המורדים הסורים חשודים (צילום: EPA)

Car bomb explosion in Beirut, Tuesday – Photo: EPA

Syria’s civil war has brought an end to decades of calm on the Golan Heights, a strip of land which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Continue Reading »

Source inside Israel Prison Service: 2nd ‘Prisoner X’ held in total isolation for years

Unidentified testimony provided to Haaretz describes harsh conditions in which the other ‘Prisoner X’ is being held.

On Tuesday, the Rishon Letzion Magistrate’s Court heard testimony that another Israeli is being held in total solitary confinement in one of the most secure prisons in Israel – the same prison in which the Mossad agent Ben Zygier was held. According to the testimony, the cell is well guarded and without windows. The prisoner has no contact with other prisoners or with his guards, who know nothing of his identity or the details of the indictment against him.

Second Prisoner X

Second Prisoner X

According to prison service officials, except for brief walks in a secluded adjacent yard, the prisoner has not left his cell for a few years now. Continue Reading »

Saudi Ballistic Missiles Aimed at Iran & Israel

Daily Telegraph reports that Satellite photography clearly shows Saudi Arabia has ballistic missiles pointed at both Iran and Israel.

By Elad Benari

 

Saudi Arabia is targeting both Israel and Iran with powerful ballistic missiles, new satellite photography shown by military experts to the British Telegraph suggests.

הצילום שהועבר ל"טלגרף" הבריטי

Image sent to Daily Telegraph – from Ynet

Images analyzed by experts at IHS Jane’s Intelligence Review has revealed a previously undisclosed surface-to-surface missile base deep in the Saudi desert, with capabilities for hitting both countries, the Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

Analysts who examined the photos spotted two launch pads with markings pointing northwest towards Tel Aviv and northeast towards Tehran, according to the report. Continue Reading »