5.3 Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Israel

5.3 earthquake felt in areas from northern Israel to central Israel. No injuries. Epicenter believed to be in Cyprus.

An earthquake rocked Israel on Friday evening, shortly before 10:00 p.m. local time, and was felt in areas from northern Israel to central Israel.

According to a Channel 10 News report, the police in the Northern, Central and Tel Aviv Districts said they received hundreds of phone calls from citizens who felt the earthquake. Local residents reported feeling objects and buildings move for about 15 to 20 seconds. There were no reports of injuries or damages.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake measured 5.3 on the Richter scale and its epicenter was in Cyprus. Continue Reading »

Medical Breakthrough: Israel is Developing a Cancer Vaccine

Vaxil’s groundbreaking therapeutic vaccine, developed in Israel, could keep about 90% of cancers from coming back.

As the world’s population lives longer than ever, if we don’t succumb to heart disease, strokes or accidents, it is more likely that cancer will get us one way or another. Cancer is tough to fight, as the body learns how to outsmart medical approaches that often kill normal cells while targeting the malignant ones.

Hadassah HospitalIn a breakthrough development, the Israeli company Vaxil BioTherapeutics has formulated a therapeutic cancer vaccine, now in clinical trials at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem. If all goes well, the vaccine could be available about six years down the road, to administer on a regular basis not only to help treat cancer but in order to keep the disease from recurring. Continue Reading »

Going Beyond the Medical Norm

For many American students who want to study medicine, the option to study abroad is an attractive one. And for Jewish students, studying in Israel is becoming an increasingly popular option. One program to which many American Jewish students are applying is TEAMS (The Technion American Medical School Program).

 

For many American students who want to study medicine, the option to study abroad is an attractive one. And for Jewish students, studying in Israel is becoming an increasingly popular option. One program to which many American Jewish students are applying is TEAMS (The Technion American Medical School Program).
Continue Reading »

UK campuses celebrate ‘Tel Aviv week’

Tour organized by UJS, Tel Aviv municipality and Israeli embassy promotes Tel Aviv as holiday destination; hailed as rousing success

 

Visitors to various campuses across the UK may have been slightly surprised by the beach-side atmosphere last week. It was all due to Tel Aviv week an event organized by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) together with the Tel Aviv municipality and the Israeli embassy in London.

Tel Aviv beach - from FB's I Love Tel Aviv-Jaffa page

Tel Aviv beach - from FB's I Love Tel Aviv-Jaffa page

The tour visited five British campuses, Leeds, Hull, Nottingham, Aston (Birmingham) and Roehampton (London). During the day the Tel Aviv trailer was parked in prime locations on these campuses and gave away promotional free items that reflected Israel and Tel Aviv, including Israeli snacks and information about the city. Continue Reading »

In Jerusalem, possible site of ancient church’s ‘miracle’ is revealed

Rehavia site may be place where ‘God revealed’ stone supply to church builders.

 

In “The Buildings of Justinian,” the Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea wrote at length about the churches the emperor built in the 6th century. He related a miracle that occurred during the construction of the Nea Church, in what is now the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City:

“God revealed a natural supply of stone perfectly suited to this purpose in the nearby hills, one which had either lain there in concealment previously, or was created at that moment,” he wrote, adding, “So the church is supported on all sides by a number of huge columns from that place, which in color resemble flames of fire … exceptionally large and probably second to no columns in the whole world.”

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Church of Nativity Deportees Complain about Fate

Ten years after the end of the 39 day IDF siege, exiled terrorists say they have been forgotten.

Ten years have passed since the end of the 39-day IDF siege of the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, where 39 terrorists had holed up. The siege was ended through an agreement that involved exiling the terrorists to other countries.

Bethlehem-based news agency Ma’an says the terrorists now feel “abandoned by the Palestinian Authority and all political factions.”

They have not been allowed to return to their families in Judea and Samaria, the agency notes.

Deportees had planned to demonstrate on Thursday but canceled the protest to support the terrorists on hunger strike in Israeli jails, a spokesman for the group – Fahmi Kanan – said at a press conference on Monday. Continue Reading »

Revealed: The scandalous history of Judaism’s most precious book

Theft, espionage, corruption and a cover-up lasting decades — a new book by a Times of Israel reporter exposes the extraordinary saga of the uniquely revered, 1,100-year-old Aleppo Codex

The Aleppo Codex, the manuscript at the heart of a new investigation by a Times of Israel reporter, is arguably Judaism's most important book
The Aleppo Codex, the manuscript at the heart of a new investigation by a Times of Israel reporter, is arguably Judaism’s most important book
Anew book by a Times of Israel reporter reveals dramatic new information about the fate of a manuscript many consider Judaism’s most important book — the 1,100-year-old Aleppo Codex.

The manuscript — or the part of it that did not go mysteriously missing in the mid-20th century — is currently held alongside the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.  Continue Reading »

Israel discusses Pirate Party Holocaust denial

Reports of Holocaust denial in German Pirate Party’s ranks lead to meeting with Israeli embassy.

 

KIEL, Germany – The German Pirate Party shook up the political establishment in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein by winning 8.2 percent of the vote on Sunday and securing seats in the state legislature. In a Saarland state election in March, the party received 7.4% of the vote.

Before the election, Israel’s Embassy in Berlin contacted the Pirate Party to discuss its concerns about reports of Holocaust denial within the party’s ranks.

Pirate Party activist
Pirate Party activist – Photo REUTERS/Thomas Peter

The growing success of the Pirates – who advocate unrestricted Internet access and sharing – across Germany’s political landscape prompted Israel’s Embassy to schedule a meeting with its top candidate, Torge Schmidt, in the German state of Schleswig- Holstein in April.

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Arab swimmer to represent Israel in EU championship

Jowan Qupty, who holds best Israeli result in 100m breaststroke, wins Swimming Association appeal demanding he be allowed to compete in EU Swimming Championship

 

Arab-Israeli swimmer Jowan Qupty will represent Israel in the European Swimming Championship. Qupty, 22, was originally denied a spot on the national team. He won a Swimmer’s Association appeal over the decision on Thursday.

According to the Swimming Association, Qupty’s participation in the competition depends on his achieving a better result in the 100m breaststroke than that of Imri Ganiel, who was chosen to compete in the event.

Qupty was excluded from the 100×4 mixed relay set to take place at the swimming championship in Debrecen, Hungary, in June, despite the fact that his result in the 100m breaststroke was better than Ganiel’s. Continue Reading »

Egypt presidential rivals pledge to review Israel peace treaty in historic TV debate

In the Arab World’s first ever TV presidential debate, Amr Moussa says Israel is an adversary, Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh calls Israel an enemy.

 

Egyptian presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa and Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh said in a televised debate on Thursday that Israel is an adversary and enemy, and pledged to review Egypt’s peace treaty with the country.

The two election front-runners, a former foreign minister and a moderate Islamist, squared off in the Arab world’s first ever presidential debate, watched by millions across the Arab world. The two sought to trip each other up on questions ranging from their perspective on Islamic sharia law to their views on Israel during the four hour debate, which was broadcast on two privately owned television channels.

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Govt. Cover-Up over Fate of Secret Libya Mission, Historian Says

The fate of 23 operatives on a secret mission in Libya remains unknown, government says. Historian: it’s a cover up.

Two weeks ago the Defense Ministry submitted a report in the decades-old case of the “23 on the boat” that said the fate of 23 Palmach fighters sent on a mission to Libya remains unknown. However, historian Aryeh Yitzchaki tells Arutz Sheva that the fighters’ fate was known from the beginning – but was covered up by those in power.

The mission, in May 1941, involved sneaking Palmach fighters to Tripoli on the British ship Sea Lion. Once in the Libyan capital, the young soldiers were meant to blow up explosives factories and attack Nazi troops, in an attempt to hurt the Nazi war machine. Continue Reading »

Best Buy Link to Hamas? Boycott Petition Breaks 10,000

An online petition to boycott the US-based Best Buy chain alleging the electronics store has ties to Hamas has passed the 10,000 mark.

A call to boycott the US-based Best Buy chain alleging the electronics store has ties to the Hamas terrorist organization is continuing its campaign to raise awareness about the issue. More than 10,000 people have signed the online petition set up on April 23 by Islamist Watch.org.

Hamas forces prevent Palestinian protesters from reaching southern Israel

Hamas forces prevent Palestinian protesters from reaching southern Israel - Reuters

The group alleged that Best Buy donated money to an event run by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).  Continue Reading »

Egypt forces seize missiles, grenade aunchers in Sinai raid

Raid comes a month after rockets believed to have been smuggled from Libya were fired from Sinai toward the Israeli resort town of Eilat.

 

Egyptian security forces seized near the Libyan border on Thursday dozens of heavy weapons allegedly bound for the Sinai Peninsula to stir up trouble ahead of upcoming presidential elections, a police official said.

Sinai - Reuters - May 10, 2012

An Egyptian watch tower is seen close to the construction site of a fence on the border between Israel and Egypt along Israel's Highway 12 near Eilat - Photo by Reuters

Authorities uncovered the munitions – including 40 surface-to-surface missiles, 17 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar rounds, automatic rifles and around 10,000 artillery shells – in three vehicles near the Mediterranean resort city of Marsa Matrouh, some 430 kilometers (270 miles) northwest of Cairo, the official said.

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Hamas Beats Protesters Demanding Freedom

Masked Hamas policemen wielding batons and rifle butts forcibly ‘dissolved’ a rally demanding freedom of expression in Gaza.

Hamas security forces wearing masks and wielding batons and rifle butts forcibly “dissolved” a protest against the “suppression of freedom” in Gaza.

Thursday’s rally was staged by Gaza residents and supporters from Egypt decrying the Hamas administration’s systemic repression of free speech and imposition of Islamic law in the coastal enclave.

Hamas Security personel

Hamas security personnel

Witnesses say Hamas policemen broke into the hall where the event was being held, cut off electricity, detained journalists, confiscated cameras and mobile phones, and forcibly ejected the protesters. Continue Reading »

How Dangerous Are Tehran’s Subs?

Iran has a flotilla of 20 submarines, most of them domestically built in the last fifteen years; untested in war, do they pose a threat?

Iran’s fleet of twenty submarines poses a dangerous and unpredictable force in the Persian Gulf region.

The United States – with its Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain and carrier groups frequently deployed in the region – has not revealed what it knows about Iran’s capabilities.

Iranian Kilo class submarine.

Iranian Kilo class submarine. Wikimedia Commons / US Federal Government photo

Military analysts believe the U.S. has been using aircraft, satellites, subs, and underwater sensors to monitor the activities of Iranian subs at sea. Continue Reading »