Israel is more focused on ‘hasbara’ than it is on policy

‘Hasbara,’ the act or profession of explaining, has become an excuse for not seriously addressing Israel’s real problems, and a substitute for policymaking.

 

Hasbara is one of those wacky Israeli words that defy translation. I say Israeli, because the Hebrew term can be translated – hasbara is simply the act or profession of explaining. But in the world of Israeli politics and diplomacy, hasbara has acquired a much more complex meaning.

Hasbara campaign showing a foreign reporter with a camel

A hasbara campaign depicting foreign reporters as propagating myths about Israel. Photo by: Haaretz

Some would say that hasbara is a “laundered word,” the term used by David Grossman in his book “The Yellow Wind” to describe innocuous words used by Israelis to cover up inconvenient truths, and that hasbara’s true meaning is propaganda.

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Syrian rebel connects with IDF spokesman on Facebook

 

Opposition element writes on Yoav Mordechai’s Facebook page rebels don’t want war with Israel, not interested in Golan Heights

A surprising connection was formed this week between a Syrian opposition element and IDF Spokesman Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai on the latter’s Facebook page, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

IDF Spokesman Yoav Mordechai

IDF Spokesman Yoav Mordechai Photo: Alex Kolomoisky

A Syrian citizen named Abdul Khader wrote the following on Mordechai’s Facebook wall: “We want to get rid of Assad and his regime and modernize Syria by promoting freedom of religion and freedom of thought. We do not want war with you and are definitely not interested in the Golan Heights.” Continue Reading »

Suicide Attempts Cause Facebook Controversy

Activists call to allow teachers greater Facebook freedom as two students attempt suicide over comments on site.

 

 

Two young students attempted suicide this week over bullying, some of which took place on the social networking site Facebook. Now some activists say the tragic case may have been preventable, and are calling on the Education Ministry to change its rules regarding Facebook use.

Rabbi Shai Piron of the Hakol Chinuch movement called Thursday for the Education Ministry to allow teachers to “friend” their students on Facebook. Currently, teachers are forbidden to have any contact with students on social networking sites. Continue Reading »

Judge Rubinstein: Arabs Need Not Sing Hatikva

Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein came to the defense of his colleague Salim Jubran, who declined to sing Hatikva earlier this week.

 

Supreme Court justice Elyakim Rubinstein on Thursday weighed in on the controversy surrounding his colleague Salim Jubran’s refusal to sing the national anthem saying it was “a tempest in a teapot.”

The controversy over Jubran’s refusal to sing  , Israel’s national anthem,occurred during the swearing in ceremony of the Israeli Supreme Court’s new president, Judge Asher Grunis on Tuesday.  At the end of the ceremony those present stood up and sang Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem. Arab judge Salim Jubran, however, chose not to sing. Continue Reading »

Teenage girl donates tresses for cancer wig

13-year-old says donating hair a great way to ease suffering of women with cancer

LIRON POLLACK donates hair

LIRON POLLACK donates hair By Courtesy, Kaplan Medical Center

Thirteen-year-old Liron Pollack decided this week that getting her long hair cut short would not only complete a “perfect Purim costume” as a funky teenager with a spiky hairdo, but also ease the suffering of women with cancer.The girl from the Pelech modern Orthodox girls’ school in Kiryat Ekron, who is involved in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, went to Kaplan Medical Center to donate her tresses. For the past two years, the Rehovot hospital has had hairdresser Eli Ben Zikri (a former cancer patient) and Yigal Gott give free haircuts to women and girls (and even long-haired boys) who wanted to donate so that wigs could be made.
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Labor party rejects Shabbat buses

Bus debate Photo: Motti Kimchi

Bus debate Photo: Motti Kimchi

Several key Labor members abstain from vote on bill calling of public transportation on Shabbat

 

Several Laborparty members, including Chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich, chose to abstain from a Knesset vote Wednesday on a bill calling for public transportation on Shabbat.

While Labor is seen as a traditional supporter of secular causes, several key party members stayed away from the vote, where the bill calling for Shabbat buses was defeated.

Yachimovich already declared her objection to such bill in the past, arguing that it would cause “deep social harm.”

Meanwhile, Labor member Isaac Herzog said that the party faces deep disagreements on the issue and has not yet formulated its stance on it. Continue Reading »

U.S. has military plan should Iran conflict erupt, says air force chief

According to Bloomberg, Pentagon officials say U.S. prepared options to provide aerial refueling for IDF planes, as well as plans to attack Iranian military bases.

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said Wednesday that Washington has prepared military options to strike Iran’s nuclear sites should conflict erupt, Bloomberg reported.

  Just four days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scheduled meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington, Schwartz told reporters that military options are being prepared in the event of a conflict.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Photo by: Reuters

“What we can do, you wouldn’t want to be in the area,” Bloomberg quoted Schwartz as telling reporters in Washington on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

Israeli doctors remove implant in rare procedure, after patient’s heart restarts

Patient’s heart makes miraculous recovery from rare heart disease, allowing doctors to completely remove device that had been keeping him alive for two years.

For the first time in Israel, doctors at the Carmel Hospital in Haifa conducted a rare procedure to remove an artificial heart from a patient. The operation was conducted after Haim Abuhazira’s heart began beating, two years after failing due to disease.

Abuhazira (31), a resident of Netanya, who has been recovering for the surgery that took place two weeks ago, was rushed to the hospital in 2010 after complaining of chest pain. He was operated on and put on a waiting list for a heart transplant.

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WikiLeaks: Russia Gave Israel Codes for Iran’s Missiles

Russia gave Israel codes for breaking Iran’s missile defense system in return for codes of UAVs Israel sold to Georgia, WikiLeaks claims.

 

 

 

Russia gave Israel codes for breaking Iran’s missile defense system in return for codes of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Israel sold to Georgia, WikiLeaks claims.

The information was among 5 million emails released this week by WikiLeaks, which said it worked in cooperation with the Anonymous hacker group. The leaked information focused on the U.S.-based Stratfor global intelligence company.

A source identified as “A” was quoted in an e-mail from a Stratfor employee as having heard from a “former Mexican cop” and military analysts that “the Georgians are frantically looking for a replacement for the Israeli UAVs that were compromised.” Continue Reading »

Hezbollah is in trouble

OPINION: With Iran and Assad sinking, Lebanese terror group faces existential concerns

 

With Iran plummeting and Assad sinking, Hezbollah is also going down. The days of its intoxication with power are gone. The Shiite axis is fighting for its life and Hezbollah has become the most hated organization in the Arab world. Those betting on the Syrian president, who butchers with no mercy, are crushing along with him.

One need not get excited about the speeches delivered by Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah; these are almost comic speeches, portraying the organization as stable and aggressive. Yet does he really think that Israel’s public opinion buys into his statements as it did in the past? Continue Reading »

Muslim Brotherhood lawmaker: Arab Spring headed to Iran

Head of the Foreign Affairs committee in the Egyptian parliament repels criticism over okay given to Iranian ship to pass through Suez, saying Egypt was bound by international treaties.

A senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood and newly anointed Egyptian lawmaker warned Monday that the revolutions that have recently been sweeping the Middle East will also reach Iran.

Essam al-Arian, the head of the Foreign Affairs committee in the new Egyptian parliament, said that Egypt must examine how it could lead the changes in the Middle East, known as the Arab Spring, which he said would also reach Iran.

Al-Arian’s comment marked the first time an official representative of the Muslim Brotherhood spoke openly about a possible uprising in Iran.

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Have Israeli scientists discovered the fountain of youth?

Israeli university researchers unveil their discovery of a gene that increases the lifespan of lab animals, and perhaps of humans too.

 

All the anti-aging potions, lotions and notions on the market and in development add up to a very pretty penny. Maybe some of them actually work. Yet the biology behind aging, and how to slow its effects, has never been well understood.

Now, seven years of Israeli research have revealed that it may all come down to a specific gene called Sirtuin 6, or SIRT6 for short. They described their study in the February 22 online issue of the popular science journal Nature.

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‘Naked Archaeologist’ finds signs Jerusalem cave was used to bury Jesus’ disciples

Simcha Jacobovici, an Emmy-winning documentary director and producer, hopes findings of current explorations will substantiate his earlier theory that Jesus was buried in a nearby cave.

Under an ordinary residential building in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood, a robotic arm with a camera inserted into a Second Temple-era burial cave has revealed mysterious inscriptions and drawings on ossuaries.

Simcha Jacobovici, an Emmy-winning documentary director and producer who is best known for his documentary TV series “The Naked Archaeologist,” argues that the cave served as a burial cave for at least some of Jesus’ disciples.

Jacobovici is exploring the cave for his latest documentary project, backed by the Discovery Channel, and hopes his findings substantiate his earlier theory that a nearby cave is the one where Jesus was buried. Continue Reading »

IDF Kills Terrorist in Sinai Border Shootout

The IDF killed one of several terrorists in a shootout at the Sinai border overnight, a day after foiling another bomb smuggling attempt.

 

The IDF wounded one of several terrorists in a shootout at the Sinai border Monday night, one day after foiling another bomb smuggling attempt.

The soldiers were on routine patrol when they spotted suspects who had infiltrated across the border and did not respond to orders to halt. The patrol acted according to protocol and shot towards their feet, but the terrorists opened fire and engaged the soldiers in a firefight,

One of the terrorists was wounded, and the others fled back into Egypt. Continue Reading »

‘Murdering Assad more important than killing an Israeli’

Saudi cleric Dr. Awad al-Qarni is claiming that killing Syrian President Bashar Assad would be a more noble deed than killing an Israeli person.

 

Saudi newspaper Sabah quoted al-Qarni as saying that Assad deserves to die for heresy, referring to him as “Basharon,” in a jab alluding to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The Muslim cleric claimed that the Golan Heights will not be freed until Assad’s “treacherous” regime falls.

“Whoever kills a Muslim faces death,” he said. Al-Qarni also proposed holding a Syrian referendum, instead of that on the constitution, on the best way to kill Assad. The options he proposed included death by hanging and slaughter. Continue Reading »