Friday, February 13, 2015
Bassem Eid: We Palestinians hold the key to a better future
I am a proud Palestinian who grew up in a refugee camp and raised a large family. I want peace and prosperity for my people. I want an end to the misery and the destruction.Right-Wing Satire Latma Regains Its Magic in Week 2 on TV
After 66 years of mistakes and missed opportunities, it is time for us Palestinians to create the conditions for peace and to work for a better future. It is time that we stopped pretending that we can destroy Israel or drive the Jews into the sea. It is time that we stopped listening to Muslim radicals or Arab regimes that use us to continue a pointless, destructive, and immoral war with Israel.
Our sad state of affairs
Let’s be realistic. We Palestinians are not doing well.
In Gaza, our schools are controlled by Muslim fanatics who indoctrinate our children, and Hamas uses our civilians as human shields in a losing battle against Israel. Hamas maintains power through violence, and it ensures that money is spent on its arsenal rather than on making the Palestinians’ lives better. While President Abbas is quick to denounce Israel whenever it attacks Hamas, he has absolutely no ability to stop Hamas from provoking Israel.
In the West Bank, while Abbas has been incapable of stopping the construction of Israeli settlements, the only good jobs are with Israeli companies, and the BDS (Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment) movement is doing its best to take those jobs away from us. Abbas runs a corrupt dictatorship that uses international funds to consolidate its own administration rather than to develop the Palestinian economy.
Hakol Shafit, the Channel 1 TV show of right-wing satire Latma, was greeted with mixed reviews last Thursday when it debuted and broke the leftist monopoly on television satire - while it still is getting some skeptical criticism over some weaker skits, the show's second airing seems to have recaptured the magic that originally gained Latma a devoted following.
The show begins with a poke at US President Barack Obama's anti-Israel stance and his entrenched opposition to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's planned Congress speech next month.
Obama can be seen, in a take-off on Martin Luther's famous "I have a dream" speech about freedom, saying "I have a dream that the Israelis will withdraw and return to the '67 borders - 1567. I have a dream that in Palestine a binational state will arise, comprised of the two nations, the Palestinians and the Bedouins. I have a dream that Jews of Israel will finally be able to live in peace in their homes in the Slovakian hills, in Polish valleys and villages in Libya."
Addressing Iran, which Netanyahu plans to warn about in his speech, Obama continues "I have a dream that Iran will stop developing nuclear weapons and start producing them already. Come on, how much time can you give to development?"
'Half of names of Gaza journalist casualties are terror operatives, or members of Hamas media'
Almost half the names that appear on a Palestinian list of journalists killed during last summer’s conflict with Israel actually belong to Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives and members of Hamas media outlets who were involved in Gazan terrorist organizations, a new report has found.
The Tel Aviv-based Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center said it conducted an in-depth study of the list of names, which was published by the Hamas-run Gaza Information Office in Gaza a week after hostilities ended in August 2014. The list also was circulated by the Palestinian Journalists’ Union, which, according to the center, is controlled by Hamas in Gaza.
“The study, not yet complete, found that eight out of the 17 names were operatives who belonged to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, or who worked in Hamas media outlets,” the report, published Thursday, stated.
“The Palestinian Journalists Union and the Gazan branch of the Information Office tried to hide the military-terrorist identity of the terror operatives, and present them as journalists in every way,” it added.
It went on to categorize three levels of ties between some of the “journalists” and Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Two terrorists, who were active in the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, belonged to the “highest level,” the report said. This means that they were armed and uniformed, and carried out public relations missions in Hamas and Islamic Jihad combat units.
Between Dresden and Gaza
All of the IDF's efforts to protect civilians are virtually unheard of in the history of wars of other nations.Heartbreaking Video: Mother of Rasmea Odeh victim leaves dying message
It is the appropriate time to acquaint some readers with, and remind others of, events that took place 70 years ago. On February 13 and 14, 1945, three months short of the end of World War II in Europe, British and American air forces carried out a massive bombing of Dresden, a German city known as a major center of art and culture, famous museums and beautiful architecture, but lacking nearly any military significance.
The enormity of this operation can be appreciated by the sheer quantity of bomber airplanes deployed, a total of 1,250 British and American planes, as well as by the approximately 4,000 tons of explosives and incendiaries (an estimated 700,000 phosphorus bombs) dropped onto the city. There was no air defense for even minimal protection.
Unlike the conduct of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the recent operation in Gaza, the British and American forces did not provide advance warnings of any kind, nor did they aim the bombs at military or potential military targets. To the contrary, all effort and planning of the attack on Dresden was aimed to maximize death and destruction, not sparing hospitals or schools. Numerous incendiary bombs were planted around the city center as part of a carefully designed plan to create a huge firestorm, that literally engulfed Dresden, with temperatures rising to almost 1,000 degrees Celsius.
The effect was so strong that according to reports, melting road surfaces burned people’s feet as they were fleeing. As planned, as the fire grew, more oxygen was sucked in from all around, further increasing the storm and creating updrafts of intensity described as “hurricane-like speed” that blew super-heated, poisonous air. According to various sources, the upward draft created such a strong vacuum in the city center that it not only depleted oxygen but literally sucked people, cars, and other heavy objects into the fire. Those hiding in over-crowded cellars could barely breathe; many suffocated to death.
To inflict maximum casualties, the air raids were executed in three waves, a few hours apart, so as to “catch” in the open people who had escaped the first raid and arriving rescue teams attempting to pull out survivors.
Rasmea Odeh was convicted in Israel of the 1969 bombing of the Super Sol supermarket in Jerusalem, in which Hebrew University students Edward Joffe and Leon Kanner were killed, in addition to the attempted bombing of the British Consulate.
Rasmea served 10 years of a life sentence before being released in a prisoner exchange in 1979 for an Israeli soldier captured in Lebanon. Rasmea later immigrated to the United States, where she has made Chicago her home since the mid-1990s.
I recently obtained a video that Roslyn Joffe, Edward’s mother, left shortly before her death at age 89 in 2009. We used the untouched video as part of telling about the real victims, Edward and Leon (emphasis added):
“Hello, my darling children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
This is a farewell message to all of you. I love you and I’ll miss you all. Unfortunately I’ve got to go.
Anyway, I’ve outlived lots of people and I’ve been blessed with wonderful children, grandchildren and fantastic great-grandchildren. Not everyone has that blessing in life. So, it’s my final farewell, with love and kisses.
What’s overshadowed all my pleasure has been the loss of Edward. I could never get over that and it overshadowed all my joy.
Otherwise, I wish my children, my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren lots of health, happiness, success in life and to achieve all their ambitions.
Goodbye and I love you all.”
Argentine president formally accused of Iran cover-up
Argentine President Cristina Kirchner was formally accused Friday of shielding Iranian officials from prosecution over a 1994 bombing at a Buenos Aires Jewish center, prosecutors said.Argentine Prosecutor's Ex-Wife Criticizes Probe into His Death
The prosecution move advances the case against Kirchner that was being pursued by late prosecutor Alberto Nisman before he died mysteriously on the eve of congressional hearings on his accusations.
The accusation now goes to the judge in the case, Daniel Rafecas, to decide whether to call Kirchner to make a statement.
Kirchner has been under fire since Nisman turned up dead after accusing her of covering up the involvement of high-ranking Iranian officials in the deadly bombing, in exchange for oil.
The ex-wife of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who died mysteriously after accusing President Cristina Kirchner of a cover-up in a 1994 Jewish center bombing, on Thursday criticized the probe into his death.Award Established to Honor Argentine Prosecutor Alberto Nisman
Speaking at a congressional session called by opposition lawmakers, Sandra Arroyo Salgado condemned the prosecutor and judge investigating Nisman’s death for going public with too many details on the case, reported AFP.
"Let's let justice take its course," said Arroyo Salgado, who is herself a well-known judge.
She called for "prudence, ethics and responsibility" from all involved, and told lawmakers she had asked for the case to be referred to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies announced on Thursday the creation of the Alberto Nisman Award for Courage in honor of the Argentine special prosecutor who was found dead the day before he was set to testify on Iranian connections to a massive terrorist attack in Argentina.Israel's BDS: Bounce, develop, surge
The annual award will honor those who “relentlessly pursue justice for the victims of terrorism” without regard for the risk that they are putting their own lives in danger.
“This award is intended to recognize men and women who—like Alberto Nisman—relentlessly pursue justice for the victims of terrorism, and who risk their own lives protecting the innocent from the forces of hatred and intolerance,” said FDD president Clifford May in a press release. “It is our honor and privilege to help preserve Alberto’s legacy and keep his memory alive.”
In defiance of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, diplomatic pressure, regional and global geopolitical instability, continued global economic uncertainties and the overall anti-Israel talk brouhaha, Israel demonstrates a robust walk, as evidenced (and impacted) by an expanding net-immigration and a faster-than-expected economic recovery from the 2014 war on Hamas terrorists in Gaza. UCLA student gov’t candidate challenged for being Jewish
Israel is highlighted as the second most innovative country in the world following the USA, attracting an increasing number of global companies and investors. For instance, the most authoritative source on Israel's high-tech industries, IVC-KPMG, reported that in 2014, Israeli startups raised an all-time record of $3.4 billion, compared with $2.3 billion in 2013. Israeli startups raised $1.1 billion during the last quarter of 2014 -- a 58 percent rise over the third quarter of 2014, the most raised in one quarter since 1999. Moreover, in 2014, 10 Israeli biomedical companies went public on NASDAQ. According to The Economist, Israel has the highest density of startups in the world, ranking second to the Silicon Valley in terms of absolute number of startups.
At UCLA, there were attempts last spring to keep students off the student council based upon trips to Israel conducted through well-known Jewish charities and pro-Israel organizations.Roseanne Barr Says UC Davis Should Be 'Nuked,' for Anti-Israel Vote
Those exclusionary tactics — though rejected by the UCLA student judicial board — have had success in scaring pro-Israel students away from running for student office, because they will be attacked not only on campus but on anti-Israel websites. This tactic helps explain the turnover in membership that allowed a divestment resolution to pass this fall even though it was voted down last spring.
Now it’s gone even further, with questioning challenging a student judicial board candidate based on her being Jewish.
In an Editorial, The UCLA Daily Bruin newspaper called this unacceptable discrimination, Objections to USAC Judicial Board appointment discriminatory:
Comedienne, radical, and staunch Israel supporter Roseanne Barr took to Twitter this week in response to a vote by UC Davis to divest from a slew of American companies doing business in Israel.Hillel President Vows to Stop Hatred Against Jewish Students After Call to Expel Jews From South African University
Barr had tweeted, “I hope all the jews leave UC Davis & it then it gets nuked,” on Tuesday, before deleting her tweet, according to the Sacramento Bee.
This past Sunday, UC students passed a similar resolution in addition to another resolution calling for divestment from America and much of the world.
UC Davis spokesman Andy Fell reportedly declined to respond to Barr’s tweets by telling the Bee “I think the tweets speak for themselves.”
However, Barr issued a tweet directed at journalists, intending to clarify her intention behind her “nuking UC Davis” tweet, saying it was a critique of the school’s “racist structure”:
Hillel International President and CEO Eric Fingerhut vowed on Thursday that his organization will not allow hatred against Jewish students to escalate, following a demand to expel Jews at a South African university.No BDS supporters for New York Celebrate Israel Parade
“We will not permit such hatred to take root on any campus in the world where Hillel can extend its reach and offer support,” he said in a statement. “Hillel International stands in solidarity with Jewish students everywhere in their right to experience a safe and welcoming higher education.”
Fingerhut issued the statement in response to reports of the student council at Durban University of Technology (DUT) in South Africa calling on the school to expel Jewish students who do not support the Palestinian agenda. DUT Vice Chancellor, Professor Ahmed Bawa, rejected the demand calling it “totally unacceptable.”
Fingerhut said he found the suggestion by DUT student leaders to expel Jews “positively chilling.” He connected the incident to the current environment Jewish university students are facing in the US.
In light of a public outcry leading up to the 2014 parade over its more controversial participants, the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York recently refined the event’s 2015 acceptance guidelines. The JCRC organizes the massive annual march, which has taken place since 1964 and last year saw an estimated 35,000 marchers.Sinai Today: Honoring terrorists is dangerous
With right-wing, pro-Israel organizations claiming victory and their left-wing counterparts sounding unfazed, who the new guidelines retain and who they exclude is still up for debate — and may need Talmudic interpretation.
“For security reasons” the JCRC will not confirm groups’ participation — hypothetical or otherwise — until a week prior to the parade. Director of the Celebrate Israel Initiative Mike Mittelman told The Times of Israel Thursday that the JCRC “does its best to make sure the parade is as apolitical as possible,” and categorically rejects participation of clear political lobbying organizations such as J Street and AIPAC.
Additionally, according to the guidelines, “All groups must identify with Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.”
Leila Khaled, a convicted plane-hijacker and senior leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, was an honored guest of the South African Parliament at this year’s State of the Nation address delivered by President Jacob Zuma.South African Jews to protest against visiting Palestinian terrorist
Her supporters claim that she is a freedom fighter and not a terrorist, and they point to a time when many people condemned Nelson Mandela as a terrorist. This issue has immediate importance for the future of the civilized world, which faces a crisis of violent terrorism across the globe.
Powers of intellectual analysis and moral integrity must be deployed in defining the principal and principled difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.
There is one crisp point which goes to the heart of the matter, and that is that terrorists can be defined as people who willfully target civilians. When the ANC embarked upon the armed struggle, it made it clear all along that its policy was to target security forces and state installations, never innocent civilians. Nelson Mandela and his co-defendants at the infamous Rivonia treason trial were arrested for planning attacks on South African government apartheid installations, not for attempting to murder civilians in shopping malls, places of worship, and their homes.
In his speech from the dock in 1964, Mandela said: “Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality.”
In an email to supporters announcing her tour, the South African BDS movement termed Khaled an icon of the Palestinian struggle, showing an image of her clutching an automatic weapon and comparing her to late South African president Nelson Mandela.Anti-Zionist British Parliamentarian George Galloway Launches Legal Action Against Journalist’s ‘Antisemite’ Tweet
“It is outrage against the glorification of terrorism by BDS as well as our commitment to peace that will see us take to the streets tomorrow,” the SAJBD’s Charisse Zeifert explained Thursday.
“The South African Jewish community is committed to the ethos of tolerance, diversity and respect that is enshrined in our Constitution. This is the climate that we have experienced until recently, and we believe is being eroded by the BDS’ continual intimidation and maligning of the South African Jewish community and use of threats of violence against those who reject their radical agenda,” she added.
The Jewish umbrella group also expressed its shock at calls for Jewish students to be deregistered issued following Khaled’s speech at the Durban University of Technology on Wednesday.
George Galloway, the violently anti-Israel British parliamentarian who was accused on a BBC panel show last week of fueling antisemitism in the UK, has launched legal proceedings against a Jewish journalist with The Guardian newspaper for a tweet in which she claimed that the MP had “said and done plenty of things that cross the line from anti-Israel to anti-Semitic.”CAMERA Prompts New York Times Correction on Palestinian Cartoonist
During the broadcast of the BBC’s weekly Question Time program, an audience member asked, “Why is antisemitism rising in the UK, and do you think a certain member of the panel” – a reference to Galloway – “may bear some responsibility for this?”
In response, Jonathan Freedland, a columnist for The Guardian who also appeared on the show, charged that Galloway had traded in antisemitic conspiracy theories, for example by accusing Israel of being behind the conflict in Ukraine. Freedland argued that Galloway was doing so at a time of deep insecurity for British Jews, with the publication of a Community Security Trust (CST) report that revealed a record number of antisemitic attacks in the UK in 2014.
Following the broadcast, Freedland’s Guardian colleague, Hadley Freeman, tweeted “Galloway has said and done things that cross the line from anti-Israel to antisemitic.” Shortly after, Galloway, who has often resorted to legal action to silence his critics, announced: “I have begun legal proceedings against Hadley Freeman of the Guardian on her defamatory comments about me. No-one should repeat them.”
CAMERA's Israel office prompted a correction of a recent New York Times article, which had claimed Israel imprisoned a Palestinian cartoonist for five months because he had published his work in a publication in a book written by his brother, a Hamas member ("Palestinian Newspaper Accused of Having Run Muhammad Cartoon," Feb. 3, 2005).BBC’s Lyse Doucet reports from Rawabi: inaccuracies and omissions
In fact, the cartoonist, Mohammed Sabaaneh, had been charged with having transported money for Hamas.
Correction: February 10, 2015
An earlier version of this article referred incompletely to Muhammad Sabaaneh's legal trouble with the Israeli authorities. He received a five-month prison sentence after a conviction for handling funds from an illegal organization on behalf of his brother, a member of Hamas. Because of an editing error, the article also overstated what is known about the genesis of the charges. Although Mr. Sabaaneh has said he was charged because some of his cartoons had been published in a book by his brother, the Israeli authorities have not cited that as a reason.
In other words, the bottom line impression given to BBC audiences is that Rawabi’s lack of water is Israel’s fault.CAMERA director interviewed on Voice of Israel
At no point does Doucet clarify to her audiences on various platforms that the Joint Water Committee (JWC) is a product of the Oslo Accords – signed by the representatives of the Palestinian people. Those same accords stipulate that the Palestinian Authority is responsible for the water supply in Areas A (where Rawabi is located) and B.
Whilst she does tell audiences that the JWC “hasn’t met for years”, Doucet refrains from informing audiences why that is the case, avoiding any mention of the fact that the Palestinian Water Authority suspended cooperation in 2008 as part of a political strategy and with no interview or comment from that body appearing in any of her reports. Hence, audiences remain ignorant of the fact that the committee which must convene in order to approve the water pipeline to the new Palestinian city is hobbled by the Palestinian Water Authority and Doucet makes herself party to the Palestinian politicisation of water issues.
Readers can listen to a recent interview on the Voice of Israel radio station with the executive director of CAMERA Andrea Levin here.VoIManifestations of persistent anti-Semitism shock British MPs
“Listen to Andrea Levin, executive director of the renowned media watchdog CAMERA (the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), talk to VOI’s Daniel Seaman and Daniela Traub in-studio about her organization’s activities across America, and how the public can be mobilized to ensure fair and professional coverage of the Middle East.”
In a world where too often Jews feel left to their own devices to deal with anti-Semitism, the 2015 All Party Parliamentary Report on Antisemitism comes as a welcome breath of fresh air. It was commissioned by a non-Jewish parliamentarian, John Mann, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw — a constituency where it is unlikely that there are many Jews.Sharansky: UK Anti-Semitism Report 'An Important Step'
The cross-party panel – including members both of the House of Commons and the House of Lords – had only one Jewish parliamentarian, the Labour peer, Lord Mendelsohn. It was the second such report commissioned by Mann, the first being in 2006.
One of the best-known names on the panel is that of the Democratic Unionist MP for North Antrim, Ian Paisley. Son of the rabble-rousing Northern Irish minister of the same name who died last year, Paisley Jr told The Times of Israel that he had wanted to work on the panel because he has a particular interest in Israel and anti-Semitic attacks.
“Our synagogue in Belfast was attacked and there has even been a boycott of Israeli goods by IRA [Irish Republican Army] supporters. I felt I had to speak out and say something,” said Paisley.
Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky welcomed recent efforts by a group of British MPs to bolster the fight against anti-Semitism in the UK, he stated Tuesday, one day after the report proposed a multi-step front to combat hate.Why is Japan Warming to the Jewish State?
"I welcome the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Antisemitism's publication of its new report on anti-Jewish hatred, as well as the report's important conclusions," Sharansky stated.
"For many years, The Jewish Agency published its own reports on European anti-Semitism, but the data in these reports was disputed and, at times, rejected in disbelief," he added. "Recently, however, surveys and reports in France and the UK have started confirming information we released years ago. National governments and civil society now recognize the gravity of the situation.
Catching pneumonia before it kills
That said, Netanyahu knows he cannot win a favorable solution to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians from the international community, even if Japan takes his side; and he is not particularly interested in seeing the conflict play out in that sphere in any case. What matters to Netanyahu are the many issues on which there is confluence with Japan. If Israel can maximize this opportunity, it can offer help on some of the challenges outlined above, leverage the lessons Japan has to offer, and pursue the opportunities offered by a better relationship with Japan. Due to Japan’s diplomatic standing, this would help earn recognition of Israel’s legitimacy and an endorsement of its positive aspects, something Israel currently enjoys from precious few countries.
A better relationship between the two countries means Israel can ask Japan for help and advice on how to better integrate itself into the international system and make the system work for Israel, or at least mitigate the damage it can do. It means that as America withdraws from the Middle East, Israel picks up support from another major player that does not carry the often negative reputation America has among Israel’s detractors. It means that Israel has a strong ally against Chinese and Russian-led efforts to undermine the international system and norms of sovereignty, national legitimacy, and human rights; something that places Israel in increasing danger. It means that if Europe does move toward some form of BDS or continues to shrink economically, Israel has the option of turning to another major international market in an increasingly important and wealthy Asia. These are all positives, and they do not come at the cost of other relationships. In today’s swiftly changing and, in many ways, unraveling world, Japan and Israel are natural allies.
UNICEF calls pneumonia “the forgotten killer of children.”TAU team discovers genetic link between autism and Alzheimer’s
This severe infection in the lungs causes more deaths in kids under five years old than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Treatment is simple and effective, but in developing countries the problem is diagnosing it in the first place.
Two Israeli startups with promising products to meet the acute need for diagnosing pneumonia recently won seed grants from Grand Challenges Israel, a program launched last year by MASHAV-Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation with the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office.
“In Israel, there is a large community of developers and entrepreneurs whose innovations are focused primarily on Western European and North American markets,” said Israeli Chief Scientist Avi Hasson at the grant award ceremony on January 18.
“The goal of this program is to steer Israeli entrepreneurs towards finding solutions for developing nations — those markets in which there’s a real need for urgent solutions — as well as opening up a huge, untapped business potential for Israeli entrepreneurs and industrialists.”
A Tel Aviv University team may have discovered the key to solving two seemingly different medical issues, which affect two very different populations.Albanian author wins Israeli award, unruffled by Nobel
A gene called ADNP could be responsible for causing higher levels of autism in boys — who suffer from the condition far more than girls do — as well as the increased levels of Alzheimer’s disease in elderly women.
According to Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Illana Gozes, “If we understand how ADNP, an activity-related neuroprotective protein, which is a major regulatory gene, acts differently in males and females, we can try to optimize drugs for potential future therapeutics to treat both autism and Alzheimer’s disease.”
He has been tipped many times as a winner of the Nobel literature prize but has never won it — and Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare isn’t bothered if he never does.Ancient Grape Seeds in Negev May Help Re-Create 1,500-Year-Old Wine
So often has his name been mentioned as a potential Nobel laureate that “many people think I’ve already won it”, the 79-year-old told AFP in an interview conducted in French in Jerusalem.
Kadare, Albania’s best-known novelist and poet, was in the city to receive the Jerusalem Prize for work which best expresses and promotes the idea of the freedom of the individual in society — an award previously won by authors such as Arthur Miller, Haruki Murakami and Ian McEwan.
The award is presented at the opening of the biennial Jerusalem International Book Fair, Israel’s largest literary event, which this year has attracted more than 200 publishers from 20 countries.
Archaeologists have discovered 1,500-year-old grape seeds in the Negev Desert for the first time and which were used to produce “the Wine of the Negev” — one of the finest and most renowned wines in the whole of the Byzantine Empire.Ancient sexual ‘cult sites’ discovered near Eilat
A joint study by University of Haifa and the Israel Antiquities Authority at the Byzantine city of Halutza (found the seeds that were of a variety that did not survive to present days.
“Our next task is to recreate the ancient wine and perhaps we will then be able to reproduce its taste and understand what made the wine of the Negev so fine,” said the excavation director, Prof. Guy Bar-Oz of the University of Haifa.
“The vines growing in the Negev today are European varieties, whereas the Negev vine was lost to the world. Our next job is to recreate the ancient wine, and perhaps in that way we will be able to reproduce its taste and understand what made the Negev wine so fine,” he added,
Over 100 neolithic “cult sites” containing sexual carvings, graves and human-like figures, and dating back roughly 8,000 years, have been found in the Eilat Mountains in southern Israel.Storm uncovers massive Byzantine pot on beach
The findings, which include a variety of phallic stone structures and artifacts, were found 12 kilometers from the resort city of Eilat, in an area previously thought to contain few prehistoric sites, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.
Uzi Avner, a desert archaeology expert at the Arava-Dead Sea Science Center who led the team that discovered the sites, said a preliminary interpretation of the objects suggests two symbolic aspects of the objects: fertility and death.
An emergency excavation was underway Thursday to save a giant earthenware pot dating back to Byzantine times uncovered on a beach, after a rainstorm that walloped Israel Wednesday revealed several historic artifacts at a dig site.‘Fouda’ brings the chaos of the West Bank to television
The pot was spotted by park rangers in the Gan Yavne archaeological site, located within the Palmahim Beach national park, 15 kilometers south of Tel Aviv, as high winds and crashing waves lashed the site Wednesday, stripping away layers of dirt and uncovering ancient vessels.
The Israel Antiquities Authority excavation continued Thursday morning after diggers were forced to cease activity the day before due to high tides.
Additional pots and various other artifacts were expected to be uncovered during the day.
"Fouda,” a new drama about undercover Israeli agents searching for a Hamas terrorist, brings the simmering, real-life tensions of the West Bank to the TV screen.After Losing His Legs, US Veteran Brian Mast Gets ‘Hands Dirty’ to Support Israel
Written by Times of Israel correspondent Avi Issacharoff and the series’ lead actor, Lior Raz for the YES satellite TV company, the series focuses on a team of mistaarvim, the term used for Israeli soldiers dressed like Arabs in order to carry out a military operation. The word is based on the historical term used for Jews who lived in Arab lands, speaking the native Arabic and adopting the customs of the land in order to fit in.
“Fouda” offers a different kind of undercover operation.
The show’s agents live in a constant state of fouda, or chaos, an Arabic word frequently used by the agents to describe moments when their cover is blown and they have to get out, fast.
Never in the 23 years of Natan Glassman’s volunteering at an Israel Defense Forces army base has he seen anything like the outpouring of love and respect garnered by American veteran Brian Mast.Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Visit to Israel ‘Will Not Make BDS Supporters Happy’
“Brian was a celebrity here, and everyone wanted to be with him, from the old ladies who volunteer at the base to the generals,” says Glassman. “He’s a hero but as we saw, a very humble one.”
The “hero” Glassman describes is a 34-year-old Christian, a full-time Harvard University student, and a father of three who, when he was disturbed by the rash of anti-Israel demonstrations both on and around his campus, decided it was time to come to Israel and lend a hand in whatever way he could. And there’s one more key detail about Mast: he lost his legs while serving for the US Army in Afghanistan.
“Those demonstrations seemed so wrong to me on so many levels,” Mast tells JNS.org the day after he returned home to Boston from his volunteer stint in Israel. “As a soldier, I know that if Canada or Mexico or Cuba started shooting rockets into the US, we would react swiftly so they could never do it again and everyone would thank us for it. But Israel is crucified for trying to defend herself from attack and keep her citizens safe.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook’s upcoming visit to Israel will not be seen positively by supporters of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Jeffrey Goldberg, national correspondent for The Atlantic, said on Thursday.
“This news will not create happiness among supporters of the BDS movement,” he tweeted.
Cook is scheduled to visit the Jewish state next week and participate in the inauguration of Apple’s new headquarters in Herzliya, according to Israeli financial daily Globes. The new 2,500 square meter office will house 800 Apple Israel employees as well as the company’s development center, and marketing and sales representatives. Apple Israel recently hired 150 employees laid off in Israel last year by Texas Instruments.
While in Israel, Cook will meet former President Shimon Peres and senior executives in Israel’s high-tech industry, sources told Globes. He met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters.
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