The top 12 ways Israel feeds the world

From drip irrigation to natural pesticides, Israeli innovations are helping to fill hungry bellies everywhere, but particularly in the developing world.

Food security is a major concern for our rapidly growing planet. As resources dwindle and the population rises, smart solutions for better agriculture and safer food storage are essential.

No other single country – certainly not one as young and as tiny as Israel – has contributed more breakthroughs in this area than Israel.

Since the 1950s, Israelis have not only been finding miraculous ways to green their own desert but have shared their discoveries far and wide through channels including MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Continue Reading »

US actor relates nude confrontation at TA event

Mandy Patinkin tells leftists he supports boycotting settlements.

 

Once, as American actor and singer Mandy Patinkin stood naked in a locker room shower after a concert, a man verbally attacked him for his support of the left wing group Peace Now.“How can you raise money for them?” the man asked Patinkin.“In my nakedness, I said to him, ‘Look, I support Peace Now, If you want to support peace later that is your privilege,’” Patinkin said.
Mandy Patinkin (L) wth Peace Now director - Photo: Tovah Lazaroff
Mandy Patinkin (L) wth Peace Now director – Photo: Tovah Lazaroff
The actor related this anecdote as he spoke Friday in Tel Aviv at the second annual conference of the Israeli Left-wing camp, sponsored by Peace Now.He
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Essay by Alan M. Dershowitz: Radicals can be defeated

Op-ed: Alan Dershowitz shares his insights on best approach to use against anti-Israel extremists

 

I was gratified to read the article by Kasim Hafeez, a former anti-Semite who had become a Zionist. I was particularly gratified to learn that my book, The Case for Israel, played a role in his conversion from irrational hatred to support based on his own observations of the reality of Israel.

Alan M. Dershowitz

Alan M. Dershowitz

Hafeez’s article came at a time when I was becoming skeptical of my own ability, and that of others who try to make the civil liberties case for Israel, to influence public opinion. Continue Reading »

Lack of shade makes Western Wall visit unbearable for tourists

Judaism’s holiest site is also one of the most unpleasant places to visit.

 

It was a beautiful, partially cloudy spring day in Jerusalem on Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 25 degrees Celsius in the shade. A perfect day for strolling around nearly any part of the city, with one truly glaring exception: the Western Wall Plaza. The glaring whiteness of the plaza pavement reflected the heat, and the complete absence of trees, buildings and pergolas ensured that there was not a speck of shade. The result is an almost unbearable experience for worshipers and tourists who congregate at the Judaism’s holiest site.

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IDF: Mainstream Media Ignoring Terrorist Attacks

The IDF confirms mainstream media ignore significant terrorist attacks, nine of which were virtually unreported except by Arutz Sheva.

Mainstream media’s habit of ignoring terrorist attacks has been confirmed by the IDF, which details nine attacks, most of which were virtually unreported except by Arutz Sheva.

The cover-up is part of a general policy of local and foreign media to generate a positive image of the Palestinian Authority and a negative picture of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. The media agenda encourages international pressure on Israel to meet PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ demand that Israel stop activities in favor of a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and parts of Jerusalem, particularly outside of large centers of Jewish population. Continue Reading »

Ahmadinejad: Cut ties with Zionists

Israel will be destroyed if regional states cut their ties with Jewish state, Iranian president says; Western powers arrogant, bad-tempered, Ahmadinejad says

 

More hostile words from Iran: Regional states can destroy Israel by cutting their ties with the Jewish state, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday.

Archive photo: EPA

No fan of Israel – Ahmadinejad Photo: EPA

Speaking to locals during a tour, the Iranian leader said that regional countries do not need to purchase arms in order to “fight the Zionist regime of Israel.”

“If the rulers are wise enough, they will not sell their petrol to pay 60 billion dollars to others for arms,” Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the IRNA news agency. Continue Reading »

Social Protesters Return, Block Streets in Tel Aviv

The summer “social protest season” opened Saturday night with a demonstration in Tel Aviv, attended by some 3,500 people.

The summer “social protest season” opened Saturday night with a demonstration in Tel Aviv, attended by some 3,500 people. The demonstration in Rabin Square was the largest since last summer, when tens of thousands of protesters gathered in cities around the country demanding a more affordable cost of living.

Protesters blocked streets in Tel Aviv, and demanded that the government act to end social injustice and ensure that the country’s resources are more equitably divided. Police arrested five protesters.

Smaller protests took place in several other cities in Israel, and protests were also held in cities throughout Europe, including Spain, Greece, and Hungary. Continue Reading »

Brave filmmaker shatters silence over sexual assault of Arab women

Abeer Zeibak Haddad’s ‘Duma’ is a groundbreaking, harrowing documentary that skeptics said she’d never be able to make

Actress/educator-turned-filmmaker Abeer Zeibak Haddad is hitting the road with her documentary “Duma” — “dolls” in Arabic — the first film by an Arabic speaker to confront the taboo of sexual violence against Arab women, who are often forced into silence to preserve their family’s honor.
Actress/educator-turned-filmmaker Abeer Zeibak Haddad

The film was screened to a packed room on Saturday at the Arab Hebrew Theater in Jaffa as part of the Hebrew Arab Women’s Festival, and has been brought to cities throughout Israel and to film festivals in Holland, Mumbai and Belgrade. Continue Reading »

Palestinian parliamentarian slams PA over rank corruption

Corruption is now more widespread than ever with ministers receiving high salaries, cars, Palestinian Legislative Council speaker tells ‘Al-Quds Al-Arabi,’ scoffing at PA’s talk of a financial crisis in the West Bank.

Hasan Khreishah, deputy speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Saturday held the Palestinian Authority responsible for rampant corruption and human rights violations.

He also blasted the PA and Hamas governments for human rights abuses, especially against Palestinian journalists.

“Since the signing of the Oslo Accords, we have had 12 Palestinian governments,” Khreishah said in an interview with the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.

PA President Abbas and PM Fayyad [file] - Photo by Fadi Arouri / Reuters

PA President Abbas and PM Fayyad file - Photo by Fadi Arouri/Reuters

“Each government consisted of at least 24 ministers.

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Christians, Jews to unite against Islam?

Op-ed: Will Jews, Christians finally join forces in battle against genocidal Islamic hatred?

 

The Coliseum, where thousands upon thousands of “Judaeis” have been massacred by the Roman emperors, became for one night an arena for alliance between Christians and Jews against “odium fidei,” or religious hatred.

Last Wednesday in Rome, Jewish leaders for the first time rallied alongside Christians in a candlelit vigil to denounce the attacks in the Middle East and Africa. It was “interfaith” or “ecumenical” dialogue at its best. Forget the theological questions, which remain unsolvable. There is an urgent mutual solidarity about the single most defining issue of our time: religious freedom. Continue Reading »

Christchurch mayor looks to Israeli example in wake of massive earthquake

Mayor Parker referred to Israeli ‘entrepreneurship’ and ‘innovation’ critical capabilities he says burgeoning city will require to sustain vast economic recovery.

 

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker radiates a remarkable sense of calm for a man whose city was virtually leveled following a two-year string of earthquakes and aftershocks. The 59-year-old former broadcaster seems undaunted by the Herculean task of rebuilding the New Zealand city in the wake of last February’s tragedy, in which a 6.3-magnitude earthquake took the lives of 185 people – including three Israelis.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker. Photo courtesy of Christchurch Mayor's Office.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker - Photo courtesy of Christchurch Mayor's Office.

This week Parker joined dozens of his peers in Israel at the International Conference of Mayors, co-sponsored by the American Council for World Jewry, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the Union for Local Authorities.

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Terrorists Fire Qassam Rocket at Southern Israel

A Qassam rocket fired by terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza explodes in an open area of the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council.

A Qassam rocket launched by terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza exploded on Friday afternoon in an open area of the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council.

The “Red Alert” siren was sounded in the area before the rocket exploded. There were no reports of physical injuries or damage.

On Wednesday evening, at least one Grad rocket was fired into southern Israel. The rocket landed in an open field in the Shaar HaNegev council region near Saad.

No physical injuries or property damage was reported in the attack, which happened as Israelis began their Lag Ba’Omer celebrations. Continue Reading »

Jews Celebrate Lag B’Omer This Week. – How was it commemorated 90 years ago?

Meron and tomb of Shimon BarYochai  (circa 1930)

Meron and tomb of Shimon BarYochai circa 1930

 Wednesday evening Jews around the world will celebrate Lag B’Omer, the end of a month-long mourning period when traditional Jews refrain from weddings or joyous gatherings.  The mourning remembers the thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva, a reknowned spiritual leader at the time of the Talmud.  They died in a great plague that ended on Lag B’Omer.

 

The tomb on the hill (enlarged)
The tomb on the hill (enlarged)
In Israel, Lag B’Omer is celebrated with bonfires, hikes along nature trails, and gatherings at the tombs of of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in the Galilee town of Meron and of Shimon the Just (Hatzaddik) in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.
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Report: Israel, Egypt to sign prisoner swap

Egyptian paper al Aheam claims Cairo, Jerusalem to sign deal on Saturday that will see Israeli citizen Ouda Tarabin freed in exchange for 63 Egyptian prisoners held in Israel

 

Egyptian newspaper al Ahram quoted security officials as saying that a prisoner swap deal, which will see Israeli citizen Ouda Tarabin freed in exchange for over 63 Egyptian prisoners held in Israel, will be signed on Saturday.

Ouda Tarabin

Ouda Tarabin

Tarabin, a resident of Rahat, was arrested in Egypt in 2000 on suspicion of spying for Israel. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being convicted of collecting intelligence. Continue Reading »

Nasrallah: Hezbollah able to strike anywhere in Israel

Amid rising tensions between Israel and Iran, Hezbollah chief claims Lebanese militant group is capable of striking any target in Israel, including Tel Aviv.


Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Friday that his militant group was capable of striking any target in neighboring Israel, saying “the days when we fled and they did not are over.”

“Today we are not only able to hit Tel Aviv as a city but, God willing, we are able to hit specific targets in Tel Aviv and anywhere in occupied Palestine,” Nasrallah said in a televised address.

“For every building destroyed in Dahiya, a building will be destroyed in Tel Aviv,” he said, referring to Hezbollah’s stronghold in a suburb of southern Beirut.

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