Israel’s Lee Korzits wins 4th world windsurfing title

Lee Korzits is the 1st female Israeli world champion in any sport, & the youngest World Title surfer.

By JTA

 

Israeli windsurfer Lee Korzits won the RS-X windsurfing World Championships for the fourth time.

Lee Korzits in London Olympics – Photo: AP

The gold medal Tuesday in Buzios, Brazil, was the third consecutive world title for Korzits, who won her first gold medal in the 2003 World Mistral Championships.

Korzits failed to medal at last summer’s London Olympics, finishing sixth after starting the final heat in second place.

In 2009, Korzits suffered a near-fatal surfing accident while working on the Professional Windsurfers Association’s tour in Hawaii. Continue Reading »

Mere Feet From IDF, Syrian Jihadis with Antiaircraft Gun Watch & Film

Apparently Assad has lost control of the area as rebel Syrian gunmen’s video, on Golan border, shows IDF patrol passing by just a few dozen feet away.

By Gil Ronen

 

Syrian jihadist rebels from the Al Furkan Regiments have posted an Internet video that shows them just a few dozen feet away from an IDF patrol, on the Israel-Syria border.

IDF patrol seen from rebel positionAccording to Yoni Alper of Terror Watch, the video was shot next to a UN position and a man seen may be a UN soldier.

The location of the video is Kakhtania, which is a part of Kuneitra, on the Golan Heights. Continue Reading »

Britain invites Israeli innovators to UK water summit

British Embassy in TA will be taking 14 Israeli water technology companies to an upcoming UK water summit

 

 

In an attempt to strengthen future water innovation partnerships between Israel and the United Kingdom, the British Embassy will be bringing 14 water technology companies to an upcoming UK water summit.
UK Ambassador Matthew Gould

UK Ambassador Matthew Gould – Photo: UK Embassy in Israel (YouTube)

Leading the companies to London for the World Water-Tech Investment Summit will be the embassy’s UK-Israel Tech Hub, whose mission is to encourage technological partnerships between the two countries as a mechanism for economic growth, according to the embassy.

Continue Reading »

Israeli singer Rita, rocked the UN with songs in Hebrew, Farsi & English

Persian-born Israeli singer rocks the United Nations General Assembly hall in the presence of UN secretary-general, ambassadors & even an Iranian television crew.

Yitzhak Benhorin

 

WASHINGTON – The State of Israel on Tuesday night presented its Persian weapon at the United Nations General Assembly building: Iranian-born singer Rita.

מסר לעולם. ריטה  (צילום: AP)

Message to the world. Rita – Photo: AP

Under the banner, “Tunes for peace,” the Israeli singer performed at the UN headquarters in New York in the presence of the UN secretary-general, the General Assembly president, ambassadors, diplomats and Jewish community leaders.

An Iranian television crew was also spotted in the auditorium. Continue Reading »

WATCH: Stephen Colbert asks Amb. Oren: When are you guys going to bomb Iran?

Satirical news host Stephen Colbert, pokes fun at Israeli ambassador Oren over  Obama’s upcoming trip to Israel.

 

 Two weeks ahead of Obama’s planned trip to Israel, a week after Chuck Hagel was confirmed as U.S. secretary of defense, and just days after speaking at AIPAC’s annual conference, Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren was a guest on Tuesday’s The Colbert Report.

Israeli ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren on The Colbert Report. – Screenshot
Click photo to view episode

Stephen Colbert, who is well-known for his feigned conservative, right-wing political leanings, introduced the topic of Israel by saying that he was “certainly a better friend than Barack Obama, who has repeatedly snubbed our ally ‘Yisrael’ by refusing to visit the country,” a reference to the fact that Obama’s upcoming trip will be his first since assuming office in 2008. Continue Reading »

Gaza fishermen massacre endangered Giant Devil Rays

Arab media clearly showed Gaza fishermen hauling the devil rays ashore, where they were then slaughtered, but British, French & Italian media labeled the presence of hundreds of dead devil rays on Gaza shores a great mystery, claiming that they had simply washed up there.

By Israel Today Staff

 

A series of photos showing hundreds of dead giant devil rays (a smaller cousin to the manta ray) laid out on the beaches of the Gaza Strip caused something of a media phenomenon last week.

Endangered Giant Devil Rays massacred in Gaza

Endangered Giant Devil Rays massacred in Gaza – Photo: Israel Today

Palestinian media initially reported that local Gaza fishermen were overjoyed that the endangered species had made a comeback in their waters, and that huge numbers of the creatures were being hauled in to market. Continue Reading »

Sometimes necessary to ignore UN’s position on illegal African migrants

The Sofer Committee, established by Interior Minister Eli Yishai, says Israeli laws prohibiting the hiring of illegal African migrants should be enforced & recommends economic incentives, that could be offered to facilitate their return to their countries of origin or even go to a 3rd country.

By Yori Yalon & Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Sofer Committee, which was established by Interior Minister Eli Yishai on the issue of African migrants illegally living in Israel, presented its recommendations at a press conference in Jerusalem on Tuesday. The committee said Israel should monitor the situations in the home countries of the migrants and not always abide by the United Nations’ positions on economic migrants and asylum seekers.

Continue Reading »

The US’s sequester cuts to Israel’s MilitaryAid expected to be $155 million

Israeli officials said they’re worried about the cuts, but added that they don’t expect to be exempt from them.

By JTA

 

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The sequester is expected to cost Israel $155 million in defense assistance.

US Vice President addresses AIPAC – Photo: AP

US Vice President addresses AIPAC – Photo: AP

A senior staffer on the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee told JTA that defense assistance to Israel would likely be cut by 5 percent, or between $150 million and $160 million of the $3.1 billion Israel was to have been allocated this year, under the sequester, the across-the-board cuts mandated by 2011 legislation.

A pro-Israel official confirmed the number as $155 million. Continue Reading »

Tel Aviv to stop prostitutes’ business cards from cluttering streets

Ahead of Int’l Women’s Day, inspectors & city workers will take part in lecturers on women trafficking and the sex trade.

 

The Tel Aviv Municipality’s enforcement branch will team up with the Task Force on Human Trafficking, to clean up the business cards for sex workers scattered across the city, the municipality stated on Tuesday.
Prostitute [illustrative]

Prostitute [illustrative] – Photo: Edgard Garrido / Reuters


Ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday, the municipality said city enforcement workers will take part in lectures on the trafficking of women and the sex trade in the city, “in order to gain a deep understanding of the problems and importance of this phenomenon.”
Continue Reading »

Australian FM Carr asserts Zygier did work for Israel

Australia’s Bob Carr confirms Zygier’s dual citizenship & that he worked for Israeli gov’t, though not specifying Mossad spy agency.

Carr says Australia will strongly protest if its passports were misused.

By the Associated Press

 

Australia’s foreign minister has confirmed for the first time that an Australian-Israeli man who mysteriously died in a maximum-security Israeli prison had been working for Israel’s government.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr – Screenshot

But Foreign Minister Bob Carr did not say if Ben Zygier was working for the Mossad spy agency as has been reported.

Carr stressed however, that Zygier was not connected to the 2010 assassination of Hamas henchman Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Continue Reading »

UNICEF reports that Israel mistreats Palestinian children in custody

UNICEF (The United Nations Children Fund)  estimated that about 700 Palestinian children aged 12-17, most boys, are arrested, interrogated and then detained by the Israeli Police, IDF and/or security agents in the West Bank each year.

By Reuters

 

Palestinian children detained by the Israel Defense Forces are subject to widespread, systematic ill-treatment that violates international law, a UNICEF report said on Wednesday.

Palestinian protest UN - AP - 22.9.2011

Palestinians school children participating in a demonstration in support of the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition in the UN in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sept. 22, 2011. – Photo by AP

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) estimated that 700 Palestinian children aged 12-17, most of them boys, are arrested, interrogated and detained by the Israeli military, police and security agents every year in the West Bank. Continue Reading »

Israel Security at Tapuach Checkpoint prevent Terror Attack

IDF Soldiers at a Samaria checkpoint nab Arab terrorist with a knife & what appears to be a possible bomb.

By Maayana Miskin

 

Soldiers at the Tapuach checkpoint in Samaria have arrested a Palestinian Authority resident who had planned to commit an attack.

The would-be attacker approached the checkpoint late Wednesday morning. When he was around 40 meters away, he began to show signs of stress. Soldiers noticed that he was carrying a bag, which caused them to suspect he may have a bomb.

The man was ordered to stop and remove some items of clothing, a process which revealed a knife. Continue Reading »

Top US Mid-East General: Sanctions on Iran arn’t working

Head of the US Army’s central command reports that even though the sanctions are not working, it’s not too late to bring Iran ‘to its senses’.

World powers meet in Kazakhstan, for nuclear talks aimed to restore ‘int’l confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program’

News agencies

 

Top US commander in the Middle East, General James Mattis, said the current sanctions and diplomatic efforts to stop Iran from gaining nuclear capabilities are not working. He said Tehran has a history of denial and deceit and is enriching uranium beyond any plausible peaceful purpose.

General James Mattis – Photo: AFP

General Mattis, head of US Central Command, spoke to the Senate Armed Services Committee and said that it may still be possible to use sanctions and other pressure to bring Tehran to its senses, however, he says Iran is using the negotiations to buy time. Continue Reading »

Hebrew language Playboy now in Israel

Will the Israeli Playboy do better than the Hebrew edition of Penthouse, that flopped shortly after it debuted in 1989?

Israelis can now read Playboy ‘for the articles’ as a Hebrew language edition came to the Holyland on Tuesday.

Playboy has been widely available in Israel for years but this marks the first local edition of the magazine. It features Israeli models and articles by Israeli writers.

Playboy bunny poses with the first Hebrew language edition in Tel Aviv

Playboy bunny poses with the first Hebrew language edition in Tel Aviv, March 5, 2013 – Photo by AP

Owner and publisher Daniel Pomerantz launched Playboy Israel in Tel Aviv on Tuesday at a press conference, standing next to a tall model wearing the trademark ears and tail of a Playboy bunny. Continue Reading »

Hagel’s Meeting with Barak is Described as ‘Warm’

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Defense Minister Ehud Barak that the U.S. will continue to provide Israel with military aid.

By David Lev

 

Despite the tight fiscal situation in Washington, the U.S. will continue to provide Israel with military aid, newly installed U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday. The two met in Washington, where Barak is visiting, after attending the annual AIPAC meeting this week.

HagelBarak met Hagel at the Pentagon, and was received by an honor guard, and a warm embrace from the Defense Secretary. During his opening public remarks, Hagel said that the U.S. Continue Reading »