Thursday Links Part 2

From Ian:

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Jewish Leaders Applaud Hezbollah Terror Designation by France

“We welcome the French government’s decision to support the designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization by the European Union. This follows the declaration by the Bulgarian government of Hezbollah’s responsibility for the attack in Burgas in July, 2012 and the conviction of a Hezbollah operative in Cyprus,” Richard Stone, chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman, of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said in a statement.

How Canada should conduct its inquiry into the PA

This week, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird has announced that he will visit areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority to inquire as to how foreign aid funds are being spent, in order to determine whether Canada should renew foreign aid to the PA.
While it would seem natural for the foreign minister of a respected democracy to ask for an accounting of how foreign funds are being spent by a nascent entity, Canada is the first government to officially engage in an accountability process with the PA.

Arab MK Denounces 'Israeli Apartheid' During Toronto Lecture

MK Jamal Zahalka, elected to the Knesset, claimed there is no democracy in Israel and that Arabs are victims of Israel’s “apartheid” policy.
An elected Arab Knesset member who visited Toronto last week claimed that there is no democracy in Israel and that Arabs are victims of Israel’s “apartheid” policy.

BBC again blindly repeats PA accusations regarding dead prisoner

Were the BBC to investigate the background to the claims made in this and other cases, it would know that PA representatives have a history of accusing Israel of (among other things) stealing organs from dead terrorists, conducting experiments on prisoners which cause cancer, deliberately neglecting sick prisoners as part of a “policy of slow death” and intentionally killing sick prisoners.
That history of unfounded allegations should be ample reason for any self-respecting media organisation to thoroughly check any current accusations or claims before blindly repeating them – let alone a media organization committed to accuracy and impartiality in its reporting.

Abbas: Freeing Terrorists is Our Priority

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday that the freeing of terrorists serving time in Israeli prisons was a "priority" for his leadership.
"The Palestinian leadership gives priority to the prisoners issue and ending their suffering," Abbas said in a speech to a meeting of his Fatah party in Ramallah, according to AFP.

Antisemitism at the UCU: David Hirsh responds to Tribunal ruling against Fraser

Astonishingly, not only did the Tribunal rule that these incidents did not represent antisemitism, but, in a close approximation of the Livingstone Formulation, outrageously accused Fraser and his 34 witnesses of trying to ‘intimidate’ and ‘silence’ critics of Israel with an invented accusation of antisemitism.
May the examples cited above, of the undeniable racism suffered by Jewish members of the UCU, serve to shame those who have been critical of Fraser and his supporters – some of whom have even suggested that the UK Jewish community should never have taken on the fight in the first place.

IDF Perfects Selective Hearing with Combat Earplugs

The devices reduce background noise and completely block anything louder than 80 decibels. They are tuned in to communications devices, allowing soldiers to continue to hear orders.

BDS Tries, But Can't Break Dead Sea Product Sales
The Dead Sea products business is alive and well, despite the best efforts of the BDS crowd

Undeterred, loyal fans of Dead Sea products, from America to Singapore and from Italy to South Korea turn to the Internet to find their favorite products. Arik Barel, CEO of Jerusalem-based Judaica Webstore, says that the harder the forces of BDS work, the more business gets sent his way. Whether it’s the publicity the products receive from the BDS movement or the desire to fight against the BDS movement itself, business just isn’t drying up for Dead Sea cosmetics.

BGU, University of Michigan partner to develop renewable energy technologies
Partnership aims to solve major challenges in advanced vehicle fuels, solar energy.

BGU has been at the forefront of the energy research for more than 30 years, BGU Vice President and Dean for Research and Development Moti Herskowitz said. The university previously has hosted a joint workshop with U-M on renewable energy with an emphasis on solar energy, liquid fuels and thermoelectricity.

Go the distance with Israel’s revolutionary MUV-e scooter

Commuters who face the daily grind of getting to work on time will be happy to hear about a new invention from Israel: an all-electric scooter called the MUV-e that helps people go the distance between the commuter bus, car park or train to the office and home again.
It was those last five miles commuting inside cities where he worked –– congested cities like Tel Aviv, Milan, Rome and Torino –– that put a strain on Amir Zaid when he was working for Fiat and Ferrari as an interior and 3D automobile designer.

UK's Stephen Hawking set to visit Israel in June

The British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, 71, will arrive in Israel this coming June to take part in the fifth President’s Conference, which features the tagline “Facing Tomorrow,” it was announced on Wednesday.