Tag Archive for Israel US

Israel & US: 3 successful Israeli missile intercepter tests above Alaska skies

WATCH: Israel’s Prime Minister calls jointly manufactured Arrow 3 ballistic interceptor system an unprecedented success, “beyond any imagination,” and issues a thinly-veiled warning to Iran, saying ‘Our enemies should know that we will overcome them.’

By News Agencies

 

Israel and the United States say they have successfully tested a jointly developed missile defense system in Alaska.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a weekly cabinet meeting Sunday that the Arrow 3 test was a success “beyond any imagination,” and warned the country’s enemies from the testing Israel’s military capabilities.

Arrow 3 test in Alaska – Photo: The Defense Ministry

Israel’s Arrow 3 – Photo: The Defense Ministry

Washington said last week that Iran appeared to have tested a medium-range ballistic missile that flew about 1,000 km (620 miles). Continue Reading »

US Envoy: Netanyahu will allow Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib enter Israel

“Out of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel,” declared Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States.

By i24NEWS

 

This is a developing story.

US Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) will not be denied entry into Israel “out of respect for congress,” Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer told Haaretz on Friday.

“[Out] of respect for the U.S. Congress and the great alliance between Israel and America, we would not deny entry to any member of Congress into Israel,” Dermer told the Israeli daily. Continue Reading »

Israeli Startups Added $33.8 Billion to New York’s 2018 Economy

The skills Israelis have learned in the IDF have contributed to creating young risk-taking entrepreneurs, leading some of the world’s largest companies, developing many of the technological advances that improve the lives of people around the world.

By David Lazarus

 

Israeli chutzpah (audacity or sassiness) is leaving its mark on the Big Apple. That is the conclusion of a new report published by the New York – Israel Business Alliance.

According to the report, Israeli-founded companies generated more than $18.6 billion in direct revenue in 2018 alone, and $33.8 billion in benefits to the New York economy. These remarkable numbers are due in most part to the 5 Israeli-founded “unicorns,” or startups valued at over $1 billion. Continue Reading »

Arizona opens trade office in Israel after doubling trade since 2010

Arizona, the ‘Startup State’ signed a memorandum of understanding in 2018 to work closer with the Jewish ‘Startup Nation,’ planning to focus on startups, water-technologies, fintech, hi-tech and the defense & aerospace industries.

By i24NEWS

 

Arizona has approved the establishment of a new trade office in Israel, which is currently listed as the state’s ninth largest trading partner, totaling some $400 million in 2017.

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey approved a $275,000 budget for the new office, with $100,000 of it for initial setup funding, to be allocated in the fiscal year of 2019-2020, which begins in July 1, according to the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry said in a statement. Continue Reading »

Mossad intel on Iran attack supported US deployment of carrier strike group

A senior Israeli official noted on Israel’s TV13 News that the info obtained by the Mossad was transferred to the Trump administration, and may have formed basis for the decision to bolster US forces, including the deployment of a carrier strike force.

By Elad Benari, Mordechai Sones

 

The United States is deploying a carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Middle East to send a clear message to Iran that any attack on US interests or its allies will be met with “unrelenting force,” US national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday, according to Reuters. Continue Reading »

REPORT: Trump administration bringing trade war to Israel

Trump’s decision to upgrade the existing agricultural trade agreement should reduce protectionism, opening Israeli markets to more competition & lower prices. That will have great support in Israel, where high consumer costs are a frequent source of frustration that have facilitated numerous state-wide protests.

By Omri Milman, Bloomberg

 

US President Donald Trump’s ambition to change the rules of global trade is not skipping over Israel, according to a report by Bloomberg news. US trade negotiators will be visiting Israel this week for discussions on upgrading the existing agricultural trade agreements and reduce tariffs for American farm exports to Israel.

Under the existing agreement, “virtually any product produced in Israel that can be competitive in the U.S. Continue Reading »

A look at how US military aid to Israel will boost IDF ground forces

With the bulk of the $38 billion in US military aid to Israel over the next 10 years earmarked for the acquisition of aircraft, IDF ground-forces can look forward to some new, state-of-the-art materiel and bases.

By Yoav Zitun

 

The US is providing Israel with $38 billion in military aid over a decade, in one the final acts of international diplomacy by former US president Barack Obama. And as with most American military aid to Israel, the lion’s share is earmarked for further strengthening the Air Force — supplying the driving force of Israel’s military might with new jets and precision armaments. Continue Reading »

US Security Adviser & Shin Bet chief uneasy over Chinese investment in Israel

US National Security Adviser John Bolton expressed security concerns to PM Netanyahu about Chinese technology and investments in Israel, particularly with Chinese companies building a new port in Haifa, where the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet would be using as a major berth for 25 years, beginning in 2021.

By Tal Polon

 

US National Security Adviser John Bolton raised concerns to Prime Minister Netanyahu about the use of Chinese telecommunications equipment in sensitive sectors in Israel, a US official told Reuters on Wednesday.

The senior administration official, who was briefed on talks between Bolton and Netanyahu over the weekend, said that talks addressed US concerns that Chinese involvement in certain sectors in Israel could enable intellectual property theft and intelligence gathering by China. Continue Reading »

Secretary of State Pompeo assured Netanyahu, the U.S. will protect Israel

In a Brasilia meeting with the Israeli leader, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured PM Netanyahu that the Trump administration is working on plans to make the American troop pull-out from Syria as non-disruptive for Israeli security as possible.

By Itamar Eichner

 

Israel got “almost everything it asked for” when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo granted “seven out of eight” requests made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Brasília on Tuesday, according to a senior source in Jerusalem.

The prime minister told the press ahead of the meeting—held in Brazil’s capital after the inauguration of the country’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro—the main topics of discussion, the withdrawal of U.S. Continue Reading »

US Navy informs officials Haifa docking may end when Chinese take over port

Retired American and Israeli defense & intelligence officials have raised security concerns over the upcoming Chinese management of the Port of Haifa beginning in 2021, as it might jeopardize U.S. Naval operations there.

By MICHAEL WILNER

 

WASHINGTON – The US Navy has acknowledged that its longstanding operations in Haifa may change once a Chinese firm takes over the civilian port in 2021, prompting Israel’s national security cabinet to revisit the arrangement, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Haifa, the nation’s largest port city, regularly hosts joint US-Israeli naval drills and visits from American vessels. But a 2015 agreement between Israel’s Transportation Ministry and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) – a company in which the Chinese government has a majority stake – has raised intelligence and security concerns that are only now prompting an interagency review. Continue Reading »

Amb. Nikki Haley: U.S. to vote ‘no’ on annual anti-Israel UN resolution

Ambassador Haley reported that this year the US will vote “no” on the annual UN resolution that condemns the Israeli “occupation” of the Golan Heights, because “the atrocities the Syrian regime continues to commit prove its lack of fitness to govern anyone,”  while endangering Israel’s security. 

By Elad Benari

 

The US announced on Thursday that it plans to vote “no” on an annual resolution at the UN condemning Israel’s alleged “occupation” of the Golan Heights.

The annual resolution, entitled “The Occupied Syrian Golan”, is scheduled for a vote on Friday, November 16.

In the past, the US had abstained in the vote, but in a statement, the US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, explained why this year the American delegation would vote against the resolution. Continue Reading »

Louisiana Gov. brings economic development delegation to Israel

At the invitation of Gilad Katz, Israel’s consul general to the Southwest United States, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards will  lead a delegation of 2 dozen statewide business leaders to Israel this month to discuss trade prospects in water technologies & management, energy conservation, cybersecurity and more.

By The Associated Press & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that he will travel to Israel later this month on an economic development trip that includes a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Democratic governor said the 24-person delegation will include business leaders and researchers in water management, logistics, higher education and cybersecurity. Continue Reading »

The end of an era: Trump White House ends, ‘The Palestinian Exception’

The ‘Palestinian Exception’, practiced by the previous three US Presidents,  involved allowing the PLO, PA and their supporters a ‘free-pass’ for behavior that would have otherwise been acknowledged as illegal, but ignored simply because the perpetrators were Palestinians or activists in their stead.

By CAROLINE B. GLICK

 

When Rosh Hashanah ended on Tuesday evening, Jews discovered that over the holiday, the Trump administration had enacted two policies – one foreign and one domestic – that on their face, don’t appear to be connected. But actually, they stem from the same rationale. And both together and separately, these two policies give Jews much to be thankful for. Continue Reading »

Israel’s President Welcomes US National Security Advisor John Bolton

Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin warmly welcomed John Bolton to Jerusalem, saying how much he personally appreciated all that he’s done for Israel over the years, “and we know that you’re going to do more.”

By GREER FAY CASHMAN

 

United States National Security Advisor John Bolton received an especially warm welcome when he called on President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday.

Rivlin is always happy to welcome visitors to “Jerusalem the capital of Israel, the eternal capital of the Jewish People,” but in Bolton’s case, it was also with the knowledge that Bolton is “a great friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish People.” Continue Reading »

Trump White House: Obama WH “virtually” saw Israel as enemy of United States

A White House spokesman: With Obama no longer framing Netanyahu (Israel) as a threat that’s undermining Obama-Kerry foreign policies, better ties have blossomed with Israel, so now the U.S. is ‘beloved’ around the world.

By JTA

 

Improved ties with Israel proves that the United States is more “beloved” around the world than under the previous administration, a White House spokesman said.

He also said that Israel was “virtually” thought of as an enemy of the United States under the Obama administration.

Obama on the phone with PM Netanyahu. – White House photo

Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that President Donald Trump is not concerned about seeing protesters during his scheduled trip to Europe next week. Continue Reading »