BGU is the only foreign university to develop software for US robot.

Ben-Gurion University has been given an American grant to develop control software for a disaster-response military operations robot.

 

 

The US government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is responsible for the development of new technologies for use by the military. The agency at the Department of Defense, which has been responsible for funding the development of many technologies that have had a major effect on the world, also finances a “Robotics Challenge.” Now Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Beersheba has become the only foreign university chosen to lead a team on a track to develop control software for the DARPA robot. Continue Reading »

US ‘shocked’ by Israel’s new homes to be built in E. Jerusalem

NYT wrote: Israel gave U.S. only few hrs notice of their decision to pursue housing development that may actually prevent the creation a contiguous Palestinian state.

Former US Ambassador Kurtzer: ‘This is one of the most sensitive areas of territory,’

By Ynet

 

The Israeli approval of 3,000 new housing units in east Jerusalem and the West Bank came as a shock to the US administration, the New York Times reported Saturday.

US President Barack Obama (Archive photo: AFP/THE WHITE HOUSE / Pete Souza)

US President Barack Obama -Photo: AFP/THE WHITE HOUSE/Pete Souza

The Americans were particularly angry at the decision to pursue “preliminary zoning and planning preparations” for a development on the segment connecting the town of Ma’aleh Adumim to Jerusalem (known as area E1) that would separate Ramallah and Bethlehem from Jerusalem and could prevent the creation of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. Continue Reading »

Israel bids adieu to a very staunch ally in the US Senate

In a farewell interview, retiring U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman calls for American military aid for Assad’s opponents, Palestinian elections & the end to Congress’ partisan feuds.

 

+The Palestinian Authority’s demand that Israel freeze settlements is “an excuse” not to return to the negotiating table, said Senator Joe Lieberman in a wide-ranging interview with Haaretz ahead of his retirement next month.

Joe Lieberman speaking with reporters in Washington last week.

Joe Lieberman speaking with reporters in Washington last week. Photo by AP

Lieberman also called the PA’s move to upgrade its United Nations status a “mistake.” “The real answer here is for them to go back to negotiations without preconditions. Continue Reading »

Hasbara Meets 21st Century: ‘Terror in School’

A newly released animation by the Scratch Group demonstrates the Israel-Gaza situation far better than 100 spokesmen.

By Gil Ronen

 

A new animated video by Israeli animation firm “The Scratch Group” explains the complex situation Israel is in, with regard to Arab terror from Gaza – and it does so, arguably, better than all of the official spokesmen combined.

Po' little Gaza... from "Terror at School"

Po’ little Gaza… from “Terror at School”
The Scratch Group

In under three minutes, the talented team conveys the frustrating dilemmas Israel faces in its asymmetric war against a terror state that has the world on its side.

Commentators are divided with regard to the success of Operation Pillar of Defense, but there is general agreement that Israel’s effort in the field of hasbara – or national public relations and information – was more successful than in previous conflicts. Continue Reading »

Latest Palestinian charge: ‘Israel behind increase in Palestinian AIDS cases’

A PA official now charges that Palestinians who work in Israel are subjected to “political blackmail” by their Jewish authorities – something that exposes them to AIDS infections.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Israel is responsible for the increase in the number of AIDS patients in the Palestinian territories, As’ad Ramlawi, director of Primary Heath Care in the Palestinian Authority, claimed Saturday.

Taking blood for an HIV test [illustrative] - Photo: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Taking blood for an HIV test [illustrative] – Photo: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Ramlawi’s allegation was reported by the PA’s official new agency Wafa.Ramlawi was speaking during an event organized by the PA Ministry of Health in Jenin, marking the United Nation’s World Aids Day.

Continue Reading »

Israelis can now sue the Palestinian Authority on terrorism charges

 

A teacher from east Jerusalem, abducted twice & each time brutally tortured by agents of the PA, paved the way for terror victims to charge the PA in Israeli criminal & civil courts.

A precedent-setting verdict handed down by Judge Moshe Drori, establishes that the authority is not immune to lawsuits for damages.

By Nadav Shragai

 

For years, the Israeli courts have gone back and forth in the case of a man known only as Abdullah, an east Jerusalem teacher who was kidnapped and tortured by the Palestinian Authority’s security apparatus over suspicions that he had collaborated with Israel.

Continue Reading »

UN peacekeepers shot in Syria airlifted & treated in Israeli hospital

Israel treats 2 Austrian soldiers that were hit in a crossfire between gov’t soldiers and rebel forces.

 

Two UN peacekeepers are receiving urgent medical attention in Israel after being shot in Syria.

IDF’s 669 Search & Rescue crew was rushed to rescue injured soldiers in a Sikorsky CH-53 (Yasour) helicopter. – File Photo: Israel Air Force

 

The Austrian soldiers were injured in gunfire during fighting between fighters loyal to the Assad regime and rebel forces.

A spokesman for Rambam hospital in Haifa said that their injuries were not now considered life-threatening. The pair were airlifted to the Golan Heights from within Syria, then transported to Haifa in an Israeli military helicopter. Continue Reading »

2 days after UNGA vote, Merkel reaffirms German support for Israel’s security

2 days after Germany disappointed Jerusalem by abstaining on Palestinians’ status vote at UN, German chancellor says her country “will always stand on the side of Israel” on the issue of Israel’s security.

By REUTERS

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel reassured Israel of her country’s support on Saturday, two days after Berlin disappointed the Jewish state by abstaining in a UN vote on the Palestinians’ status.

Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel – Photo: REUTERS

Germany, which will host Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and many of his ministers next week, abstained in Thursday’s vote in the UN General Assembly which provided de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state.

Continue Reading »

Abbas proclaims Palestine is now an ‘occupied’ state

Palestinian Authority president says UN recognition will now require int’l community to hold Israel accountable for infractions.

Abbas calls for renewed talks with Israel

Elior Levy

 

As the Palestinians celebrated the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s status, President Mahmoud Abbas said that the resolution will require the world hold Israel accountable for the infractions it has committed since 1967.

Abbas at UN Photo: AP

Apartheid proponent Abbas at UN – Photo: AP

The Palestinian leader told reporters in New York on Friday evening that the General Assembly’s decision has turned “Palestine into a state under an occupation, and most of the world’s countries think so as well, voiding the Israeli claim that this is a disputed territory.” Continue Reading »

Hospital report: Palestinian instigator killed by IDF fire on Gaza border

IDF soldiers fired at legs when warnings failed to deter Palestinian inciters attempting to vandalize and possibly breach border fence.

Palestinian succumbs to wound & dies Saturday

By Reuters

One of six Palestinians shot and wounded by Israeli troops on Friday while protesting at the Gaza Strip boundary fence died on Saturday, hospital officials said.

A Hamas police officer prevents Palestinians to approach near the Israeli Gaza border fence.

A Hamas police officer prevents Palestinians to approach near the Israeli Gaza border fence in east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. – Photo by AP

 

The fortified fence and a 300-metre-deep zone on the Palestinian side – on which Israel has fired with the declared aim of keeping gunmen and infiltrators away from the border – have been a testing ground for the November 21 truce that ended the eight days of escalated fighting between the sides. Continue Reading »

Hungary far-right MP attacks Israeli presence in Hungarian parliament

MP Elod Novak demands resignation of MP with (dual) Israeli citizenship, says ‘Israel has more deputies in Hungarian parliament than in the Knesset’

AFP

 

VIDEO – A storm over apparent anti-Semitic remarks in Hungary’s parliament continued unabated Thursday, as a far-right Jobbik deputy called publicly for the resignation of a fellow MP who claimed to have an Israeli citizenship.

תומכי "יוביק" האנטישמית מפגינים בבודפשט, ארכיון (צילום: AP)

Jobbik supporters march in Budapest – Photo: AP

At a press conference, Jobbik deputy Elod Novak said it was unacceptable that Katalin Ertsey, a deputy of the small opposition party LMP, had kept her dual Hungarian-Israeli citizenship secret and called for her resignation. Continue Reading »

Israel fares better than many European countries, to be born in

Israel ranks surprisingly well on list of ‘Best countries to be born in’, ranked 20th, ahead of many European countries 

Switzerland comes in 1st & Nigeria came in last.

 

Switzerland is the best country in which to be born in 2013, but Israel ranks surprisingly highly, coming in above many European countries in 20th place, according to a new study of some 90 countries by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Swiss bliss: Switzerland is ranked as the best country to be born in. – Photo: GettyImages

The study, which aimed to measure the opportunities in each country for citizens born in 2013, took into account 11 statistically significant indicators, including: per capita gross domestic product, life expect­ancy at birth, the state of political freedoms, faith in government, unemployment and crime rates, divorce rates, gender equality and climate. Continue Reading »

Canadian FM: ‘Canada won’t let the Jews or Israel stand alone’

Abbas & the PA should have used the support  received in the UN to reach out to Israel for peace talks, said Canadian foreign minister.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, who delivered a supportive speech of Israel at the UN before its vote Thursday on the Palestinian statehood, said Friday “the bottom line is we will not let the Jewish people and the State of Israel stand alone when the going gets tough.”

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird - Photo: Courtesy of Herzliya Conference

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird – Photo: Courtesy of Herzliya Conference

Baird, in a phone interview from New York, said he had “absolutely no hesitation” about taking the podium and opposing the Palestinian bid, something he knew was not a popular position in the hall.

Continue Reading »

Doctor euthanizes daughter then takes his own life

Police Report: Father in Nir Yisrael a community in Southern Israel, takes own life after rendering euthanasia to daughter suffering from terminal cancer.

 

Tragedy befell the southern Israel moshav of Nir Yisrael on Friday morning, when a local doctor killed his daughter, who was suffering from terminal cancer, before taking his own life, Lachish subdistrict police reported.

MDA

MDA Ambulance – Photo: WIkicommons

Lachish District Spokeswoman Shlomit Zachariya said that the father was a doctor in his 60s, who decided to euthanize his daughter, either with an injection or an overdose of some sort, rather than see her suffer a slow death from cancer. Continue Reading »

Approved! 3,000 more homes beyond Green Line to be built.

Less than 24 hrs after the UN General Assembly recognizes Palestine as non-member state, gov’t’s top 9 ministers respond by approving construction of new housing units in Jerusalem & West Bank.

Canada says they will review its whole relationship with the Palestinian Authority

Itamar Eichner

 

Israel responds to Palestinian move at UN:Israel decided Thursday to approve the construction of an additional 3,000 housing units in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

In addition, the planning procedures of thousands of additional housing units in Jerusalem and the settlement blocs will be furthered, including in the segment connecting Ma’ale Adumim with Jerusalem, known as the E1 project. Continue Reading »