Friday Links Part 2

From Ian:

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LATMA: The media's greatest detective, and Europe remains focused on what is truly important



AIPAC conference highlights Canada-Israel ties
Analysis: Canadian FM Baird earned accolades from experts on Israel, leading to a crystallization of Canadian-Israeli ties into a non-formal special relationship.

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird electrified the massive pro-Israel crowd at this week’s AIPAC’s policy conference with his straight-talking affirmation of Israeli-Canadian shared values.
Known for his no-nonsense anti-terror policies toward Iranian- sponsored terrorism and its main proxy – the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah – Baird earned accolades from experts on Israel, leading to a crystallization of Canadian-Israeli ties into a non-formal special relationship.

Daphne Anson At UNSW, Will The Chocolatier Conquer Campus?

An article in University of New South Wales student newspaper Tharunka, with the heading "Hot Chocolate and War Crimes," reports that a Max Brenner franchise will in all likelihood soon be opening on campus:
"[T]he move to allow a Max Brenner store on campus comes after the chocolate shop was identified in the top three food and beverage outlet suggestions by students and staff in the 2011 Retail Survey conducted by UNSW.
The survey was completed by nearly 7000 students and staff, the most successful participation rate of any survey conducted by UNSW," the report notes.
However, the usual suspects are predictably unhappy:

Leviticus, the Video Game
A new iPhone game turns the Bible’s most detailed book into fast-paced, educational entertainment

Titled Leviticus!, the game, as its title suggests, is both irreverent and deeply faithful to the source text—all that business about doves and cows and purity is right there in the book. But whereas Leviticus is too thick with rules to make for a very compelling read, it’s perfect when played.

How do you say ‘Fire’ in Hebrew?
Some 500 immigrants serving in the IDF graduate a crash course in the national language

Almost 500 new immigrants enlisted in the IDF graduated from a special Hebrew course on Wednesday. Many of the soldiers who finished the course are set to join combat units, while the remainder will serve in various posts throughout the army.
Some 40 percent of the graduates, 190, are “lone soldiers” — a term applied to those in Israel without their families — who moved to Israel from 25 countries around the world. About 100 of those lone soldiers, who hail from locales as diverse as Cuba, Denmark and Azerbaijan, will head on to serve in combat units.

IDF Blog: Newly-Revealed Letter from David Ben-Gurion: Women Must Play Equal Part in the IDF

"The army is the supreme symbol of duty and as long as women are not equal to men in performing this duty, they have not yet obtained true equality. If the daughters of Israel are absent from the army, then the character of the Yishuv will be distorted.”
—David Ben-Gurion, first Israeli Prime Minister

IDF Most Female-Friendly Army on Earth

The IDF is the world’s most female-friendly army according to new numbers compiled by the Manpower Directorate.
34 percent of IDF soldiers are women – a figure unparalleled among other militaries. 57% of all officers are women, 28% of career officers are women, and 92% of all army positions are open to women.

Mixed-Gender Caracal Battalion Beret March



Watch the young men and women of the Caracal combat battalion march towards their coveted beret. This is their last step before joining the battalion as full-fledged combat soldiers.