Saturday, November 28, 2015
Douglas Murray: It’s all over for the ‘decent left’, and they have only themselves to blame
Two weeks after Paris we finally have some clarity from the political left. The current stance of their leadership (as expressed in the Parliamentary Labour party) is that while there is no justification for bombing ISIS, there are many reasons to bomb London. On the same evening that Jeremy Corbyn told his party that he could not support airstrikes on ISIS his old comrade (and head of the Labour party’s new ‘defence review’) Ken Livingstone shared his view on Question Time that the 7/7 bombers ‘gave their lives’ in an act of supremely selfless objection to the 2nd Iraq War.Ken Livingstone 7 7 bombers were protesting Iraq invasion
Now I know that there are a few people still on the left who object to this line of thought or try to resist it. They like to call themselves the ‘decent left’ among other things. But they should recognise that they have lost. Their party is headed by a Marxist who is supported by a Stalinist and seconded by someone who while spending this week denying he is a Maoist was once again shown to be a supporter of IRA violence. Knowing when you have lost is important. It means you can begin the mourning process.
One minor point of interest to me over recent days has been watching some survivors of the left who have spent the last decade attacking anyone who has written on terrorism and Islamism now beginning to talk like old pros about Islamism and terrorism. You’d almost think they’d spent the last decade addressing these issues, rather than trying to shut down anyone who did address them. I suppose they’ll make some running of it and bluff along for a while, but these people seem to me little use to anyone. We don’t need them to talk about how ‘pathetic’ ISIS are or otherwise describe them as offensively as possible (‘death-cult’ etc) as though they might offend ISIS into submission. These people remain part of the problem because even though they have woken up to an element of Islamism they still display that lack of honesty which is one reason why they have lost even on their own political side.
Because currently the ‘decent left’ is trying to hold the following line. It is no longer ‘racist’ to be rude about ISIS or ISIS-like groups. Nor is it any longer ‘bigoted’ or ‘Islamophobic’ to identify an ideological component to their actions. There is even a recognition that ‘non-progressive’ ideological views are held by a certain portion of the Muslim communities of Europe. However, it remains deeply bigoted, racist and ‘Islamophobic’ to express any concern about bringing millions more Muslims into Britain and Europe.
Guy Bechor: Israel remains the Middle East's only anchor
For years, 'experts' have been dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, without realizing just how marginal it is and without understanding that it is being used as a tool for diverting the attention from the region's real problems.Israelis Celebrate Modern Hanukkah Miracle as Mahmoud Abbas Begins 11th Year of His 4 Year Presidential Term (satire)
What is there today on the other side, opposite Israel? A big void. There is a group of elderly people in Ramallah, with no power or legitimacy, and no agreement they could have reached would have been accepted by the Arab public in Judea and Samaria on in Gaza, and in any event, they had no intention of reaching any agreement. Their only goal was to gain the territories and use them for the next attack aimed at minimizing and weakening Israel.
Apart from that, there is nothing: No democracy, no economy, no law and no future. And there were those who wanted to give this void land from which they would attack central Israel with missiles.
The Arab regimes have accepted Israel's existence and are, secretly and openly, seeking its assistance. The conflict with the Palestinians exists, but it's tiny compared to the Sunni-Shi'ite demon, the huge battle with radical Islam and the world powers' infiltration of the Middle East in a military drive.
In the huge storm, the likes of which the area has not known since the Mongol invasion a little less than 800 years ago, Israel has remained the only island of stability. In the Middle East, which is desperately searching for a balance, we remain the only anchor.
With only days left until the Festival of Lights, Israelis from all walks of life are celebrating a 21st Century miracle, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas prepares to begin the 11th Year of a Four Year term of office that began in January 2005. The Daily Freier spoke with Tel Aviv residents as they made preparations to celebrate this momentous occasion.
“So the legend is that there was only enough corruption, incitement and farce to last four years…” explained local historian Yoni K. as he looked for sufganyot and potatoes in the Shuk Ha Carmel. “But through a little luck and maybe even a miracle, his four year term has lasted ten years and counting! Nes Gadol Haya Po!”
Nearby, local homemaker Rachel T. searched for Hanukkah gifts to send Mr. Abbas. “Abbas is always complaining about the Jews’ dirty feet, so I thought, why not get him a doormat…you know, just in case he has Jews over for company!”
While most people will celebrate Hanukkah as they always do, Florentin resident Danny G. wants to try something new this year. “Well first, I think we will hang out at my apartment and take turns reading President Abbas’ Doctoral Thesis. And then, I was thinking of hitting some clubs in Dubai with President Abbas’ son Yassar!”
Gerald Steinberg: Liberals, Israel and the lessons of history
Israel and the chaos of the Middle East are unlikely to be high on the agenda of the [Canadian] Liberal government, which is good, since this is a region where they should tread slowly and carefully. Although Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his team will be pressed to take positions, make pronouncements and allocate taxpayer money under the labels peace, human rights and humanitarian aid, there are important lessons from the failures of 10 years ago that should be considered first.Phyllis Chesler: What it’s like to talk to a Jewish anti-Zionist troll
In contrast to former prime minister Stephen Harper’s very independent stance, the Liberal “old guard” clings to an intense faith in discredited international institutions such as the United Nations and the International Criminal Court. This is also the legacy of former Liberal prime minister Lester Pearson and the model (or myth, according to critics) of Canada as a “third power” and “honest broker” on issues of war and peace. Such misplaced faith is reinforced by European policies, although their initiatives, particularly regarding Israel, have never proven wise or successful.
Indeed, within days of the Liberal victory, advocates of this failed approach began to lobby Trudeau and his new foreign minister, Stéphane Dion – who brings gravitas and experience to this position. On Israel, Dion is indeed a friend – I had a number of discussions with him in Jerusalem about 15 years ago. But he and others in cabinet and Foreign Affairs will be pressed by less friendly voices, pitching grand plans based on good intentions that are easily manipulated.
The disastrous 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa, remains a case in point. The Liberal government at the time was a major sponsor of this ostensibly moral initiative, but the reality was an anti-Israel hate-fest that led the United States and Israeli diplomatic delegations to walk out in protest.
It was at the Durban NGO Forum that groups claiming to promote human rights launched their boycott and demonization campaigns against Israel. And under the Liberals of the 1990s, millions of dollars in Canadian aid funds were given to radical non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that promoted the Durban warfare strategy without due diligence or adult supervision. Harper put an immediate end to this.
Many Jews, like many people, want to lead safe and happy lives without having to defend an increasingly pariah nation state. Most Jews conform to what is popular in the hope that they will then be popular, obtain tenure, get published, work in the media, and so on.Palestinian woman arrested for attempted West Bank knife attack
Perhaps Jews who parrot the pro-Palestinian and moral equivalence narratives believe that, like battered women, that they will be safer if they change their own behavior which they can control. Perhaps such Jews are answering only Rabbi Hillel’s second question, not his first, and are engaged in helping the stranger, the Other, not their own people. This is an ethical imperative but so is helping other Jews to survive.
He asked me, again and again, about whether I thought Jews who criticized Israel were “self-hating” Jews. I finally said: “Really, I’ve had it with Jews who obsessively criticize Israel only—never ISIS, never barbarism, never Palestinian terrorists, but who always do so by first saying ‘As a Jew, I…”. I always know what’s coming next. Why can’t Jews say: ‘As a Jew, I must support my people first?’
His badgering increased but by now I understood that I was talking to an amateur nudnik.
More, I was talking to someone who needed to “win,” who needed his view to trump my view, who needed me to change my view, he needed me to agree with him. I was talking to someone who had no capacity to accept a different point of view, to understand that I had access to other facts and different ways of looking at those facts.
He certainly did not treat me as an expert. From a psychological point of view, he was trying to exert totalitarian thought control
IDF troops arrested a Palestinian woman at a West Bank checkpoint on Saturday morning after she ran at them with a knife.Report: PLO considering voiding its recognition of Israel
The woman got out of a car at the approach to the Beka’ot checkpoint in the Jordan Valley, and began to run toward the soldiers with the knife in her hand, the Walla news website reported.
The man who was accompanying the woman in the car got out and began to run after her. Neither managed to reach the troops, and both were detained for questioning.
Attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli civilians and troops by Palestinians have become a near-daily occurrence in recent months, in a wave of terrorism and violence that has claimed more than 20 Israeli lives.
On Friday, eight soldiers were wounded in two separate car-ramming attacks in the West Bank, while a Border Police officer was wounded in a stabbing attack in the northern city of Nahariya on Friday night.
As part of its ongoing diplomatic attack on Israel, Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the senior leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) are looking into the possibility of canceling the recognition of Israel by the PLO institutions, the Hebrew-language Walla! news website reported Friday.‘Paris terror ringleader planned to attack Jewish targets’
According to the report, the move would be an expression of the PA’s frustration over the lack of progress in the peace process with Israel. The possibility is set to be discussed at a meeting of the PLO National Council to take place in the coming weeks.
According to the plan, formulated by some senior members of the organization, the National Council will announce that due to the non-establishment of a Palestinian state and Israel's actions in Jerusalem, the PLO's recognition of Israel is null and void.
Among other things, reported Walla!, senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials are expected to be invited to the meeting, despite the fact that these organizations are not members of the PLO.
But senior Palestinian sources told Walla! that the move is not supported by all top PA officials and that quite a few oppose it. The reasons for the opposition are the negative consequences such a decision would have on the economic situation of the Palestinians and on the security cooperation with Israel.
The leader of the group of terrorists who carried out the attacks that killed 130 people in Paris two weeks ago also planned to strike at the French Jewish community, Reuters reported Friday, quoting a witness statement related to the investigation into the November 13 terror attacks. The report did not specify which Jewish targets were intended to be hit.Ashraf Fayadh: Saudi Arabia to 'sue' Twitter user describing Palestinian poet's death sentence as 'Isis-like'
The terrorists were also planning to disrupt the education and transportation systems in the French capital, Reuters said.
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, aged 27, was killed on November 18 in a police raid on an apartment building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.
The Reuters report quoted the witness statement saying that Belgian national Abaaoud “also boasted of the ease with which he had re-entered Europe from Syria via Greece two months earlier, exploiting the confusion of the migrant crisis and the continent’s passport-free Schengen system.”
Saudi Arabia will sue any Twitter user who compares the Kingdom’s recent decision to execute a poet to punishments handed down by Isis.‘Syria is dead, Israel must prepare,’ top defense official warns
Ashraf Fayadh, a 35-year-old Palestinian poet, was sentenced to death for apostasy – renouncing one’s faith – by a court in Abha on 17 November, according to documents seen by Human Rights Watch.
The sentence has provoked widespread condemnation, not only from international human rights organisations but also from legions of Twitter and other social media users.
"The justice ministry will sue the person who described ... the sentencing of a man to death for apostasy as being `Isis-like'," a justice ministry source told newspaper Al-Riyadh.
The Kingdom is yet to identify the potential Twitter user, or specify a possible penalty.
The nation state of Syria has collapsed, a fact that Israel must internalize about its northern neighbor, a senior Israeli defense official said Saturday.Russia sometimes breaches Israeli air space, top defense official reveals
“Syria is a dead state, and Israel must understand this and prepare accordingly,” Amos Gilad, the director of the political-security division in the Defense Ministry and a former senior Military Intelligence official, told a cultural event in Beersheba.
“[Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s grip on the country is faltering, it is a land without rule,” Gilad said, according to Army Radio.
With swathes of Syria falling into the hands of opposition forces, including jihadist groups, Assad has increasingly relied on support from allies Iran and the Lebanon-based terror group Hezbollah, both sworn enemies of Israel.
During a September meeting in Moscow, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin in “no uncertain terms” that Israel would not tolerate Tehran’s efforts to arm its enemies in the region, and that Jerusalem has taken and will continue to take action against any such attempts.
Netanyahu told Putin that Iran and Syria have been providing Hezbollah with advanced weapons, thousands of which are directed at Israeli cities. “At the same time, Iran, under the auspices of the Syrian army, is attempting to build a second terrorist front against us from the Golan Heights.”
Russia has breached Israeli airspace more than once since it began intervening in Syria, a top Israeli defense official revealed Saturday. Because Jerusalem and Moscow maintain close security coordination, however, Amos Gilad added, these violations do not lead to crises such as the one now flaring between Moscow and Ankara after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet that entered its air space last week.EXCLUSIVE - Lebanese Official Claims To Breitbart: NATO ‘Okayed’ Turkey’s Downing Of Russian Jet
“Russian air force pilots at times cross into Israeli air space. [But] thanks to the excellent security coordination [between Israel and Russia], which started right after the meeting between [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin [two months ago], and in which defined areas of operation were set, the Israel Defense Forces and the Russian military agreed on security agreements,” Gilad, who is the director of the political-security division in the Defense Ministry, said at a public event in Beersheba.
“If there is a violation [of Israeli airspace], we know what to do and how to prevent an escalation,” Gilad noted.
Turkey could only have shot down a Russian Su-24 military jet after securing permission from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), charged Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in an exclusive interview with Breitbart.Putin 'fully mobilized' to tackle threat from Turkey, says Kremlin
“The Turks cannot afford to shoot down a Russian plane, being a member of NATO, without asking the permission of NATO. They have to ask NATO. It’s NATO,” said Jumblatt, a member of parliament and leader of Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party.
Jumblatt is considered the leader of Lebanon’s historic Druze community.
“I know that this jet was shot down by the Turks and directly [by] the Cold War between NATO and Russia,” Jumblatt added.
Asked to confirm whether he was accusing NATO of approving Turkey’s downing of the Russian jet, Jumblatt replied:
“I think so, because such a major action cannot be taken on a local level. A Turkish level. Because so many times the Turkish airspace was violated. Now this is something else. It’s a new dimension in international politics.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing economic sanctions against Turkey on Saturday, four days after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border.Yes, there are 70,000 moderate opposition fighters in Syria. Here’s what we know about them
The Kremlin website said the measures would affect imports of some Turkish products, operations of Turkish companies in Russia, and employment of Turkish staff by Russian firms.
The Kremlin added that President Vladimir Putin is fully mobilized to tackle what Moscow regards as an unprecedented threat from Turkey following the shooting down of one of its warplanes by a Turkish F-16, the Russian leader's spokesman said on earlier Saturday.
In comments which underscore how angry the Kremlin still is over the incident, Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, called the behavior of the Turkish air force "absolute madness" and said Ankara's subsequent handling of the crisis had reminded him of the "theater of the absurd."
"Nobody has the right to traitorously shoot down a Russian plane from behind," Peskov told Russia's "News on Saturday" TV program, calling Turkish evidence purporting to show the Russian SU-24 jet had violated Turkish air space "cartoons".
Peskov said the crisis had prompted Putin, whose ministers are preparing retaliatory economic measures against Turkey, to "mobilize" in the way an army does in tense times.
Yesterday David Cameron told Parliament that there are ‘about 70,000 Syrian opposition fighters on the ground who do not belong to extremist groups’ who could help fight Islamic State.The internet has united to photoshop Isis fighters as rubber ducks
The Prime Minister’s number was the result of an internal assessment made by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), backed up by serving British diplomats overseas whose jobs focus on the Syrian opposition. Such a large number struck many as political exaggeration. The chairman of the Defence Committee, Julian Lewis, said he was ‘extremely surprised’. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn may issue a formal demand for clarification. So do these fighters exist and who are they?
Of course, the debate primarily centres around the issue of what it means to be a ‘moderate armed opposition group’ in Syria. Notwithstanding the storm surrounding this morning’s statement, this question has become particularly pertinent in recent days, as international diplomats discuss who should – and should not – be involved in a future Syrian peace process.
As diplomatic efforts for Syria gain pace and as Saudi Arabia prepares to host a major conference bringing together 60-80 representatives of a broad spectrum opposition, the definition of “moderate” has been shifting. The most effective definition now must be based upon a combined assessment of (a) what groups are acknowledged as being opposed to ISIL and (b) what groups our governments want, or need to be involved in a political process.
4Chan is far from the safest or friendliest corner of the internet - but sometimes it comes up with the goods.Kenya arrests two nationals over Iran-linked plot
On a private board on the site this week someone posted the message, "how about castrating the image of IS by replacing the faces on ALL the propaganda photos with bath ducks" - and 4Chan users rose to the occasion gloriously.
The submissions have been collected on Imgur as an album called 'create the duck state', the fruits of which can be seen below.
Kenyan police have arrested two men who were allegedly recruited by an Iranian group accused of plotting attacks in the east African nation, the police chief said Saturday.The Face of #BDSfail: Anti-Semitism
Police chief Joseph Boinett said they believed the two Kenyan men had traveled to Iran several times, identifying them as Abubakar Sadiq Louw, 69, and Yassin Sambai Juma. Kenyan media gave the latter’s age as 25.
“We have irrefutable evidence they were recruited into an Iranian spying ring,” Boinett told reporters in the capital Nairobi, indicating that other unidentified security agencies had helped “uproot this network”.
“The mission of that ring was to mount terror attacks in this city, not only targeting Western interests but targeting our people as well.”
Louw was recruited “a number of years ago” and had been instructed to “recruit other Kenyans into the network”, including Juma, with the pair making “a number of trips to Iran in which they met their handlers” and where they had been “given targets and given money.”
Police gave no further details about the alleged Iranian group the men were linked to.
Can there be anything more ludicrous than a movement that is dedicated to isolating the state of Israel than for its website to be built using a platform created by and operated from that same Jewish state? Not really. But that’s the situation the BDS — boycott, divest, sanction — movement finds itself in today as news spreads that once again one of its main organs is using the Israeli company Wix’s services to operate its website. That leaves Students for Justice in Palestine, which got caught doing this two years ago left trying to explain why its okay for them to make use of an Israeli product while trying to compel others to boycott them. But the contretemps over the decision of the SJP chapter at the University of Denver to repeat the actions of its Cornell University group two years ago once again gives us insight not only into the absurdity of Israel boycotts but the psychology of hate at its core. Their embarrassment, along with the growing number of incidents of hate speech associated with BDS and humiliating failures, should inform the decisions of those asked to join this movement as well as members of Congress as they ponder whether to include language prohibiting such boycotts in trade legislation.Legal Insurrection: “there is a true fascism rising in academia and its target is Israel”
The only word in the colloquial dictionary that adequately describes SJP’s excuses for using Wix is lame. BDS’ers work hard to convince the world that Israel should be treated as a pariah state and to refrain from all economic intercourse with it. Their purpose is to wage war on it and, by gradually tightening the economic noose, force its collapse. Yet SJP thinks its perfectly okay for them to avail themselves of the brilliant achievements of the “Start-Up Nation.” Like all those who wish to see Israel eliminated, but are not prepared to give up the benefits that come from employing the products it creates, including medical advances that save lives, BDS groups are forced into the humiliating position of saying that they can decide which kinds of economic interaction with Israelis is acceptable.
This foolish yet nevertheless sinister attempt to pick and choose which Israelis to boycott while seeking the state’s destruction should also inform legislators that they have an ethical obligation to ensure that our nation’s trade laws should be consistent in their opposition to such discriminatory practices. While the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank has been controversial for reasons having nothing to do with Israel, there is now bipartisan support for including language that would cause it to consider BDS participation when deciding on loans. As Politico reports:
Specifically, the Ex-Im Bank would have to consider whether applicants for loans oppose “policies and actions that are politically motivated” and meant to inhibit “commercial relations specifically with citizens or residents of Israel.” In the past, Ex-Im has taken into account applicants’ stance on human rights and terrorism, prompting advocates of the new language to propose the new qualification.
Whatever your views about the advisability of having a financial institution that would assist companies trading abroad much as other countries do, it is vital that its funds not be used to assist companies or institutions that are supporting an economic war on the Jewish state. If Democrats are as sincere in their support for Israel as they claim to be, they will join with Republicans to ignore President Obama’s opposition to the new language.
AS the SJP demonstrates, BDS is a vile virus of hate that is as illogical as it is absurd. It must be opposed at every level. Those who fail to understand its malignant nature or treat its activities as acceptable conduct are granting it a legitimacy it doesn’t deserve.
I was a guest earlier today on The Craig Silverman Show on 710 KNUS in Denver.Students Supporting Israel: Israel Deserves Representation at UCLA
For almost 20 minutes we talked about the use or refusal to use the term “radical Islam,” Obama’s world view and foreign policy, Jesse Watters’ visit to Cornell, and the vote at the American Anthropological Association last night to send an anti-Israel academic boycott resolution to a vote by the full membership in the spring.
I previously wrote about how over the course of several years anti-Israel professors and graduate students put together misleading and dishonest seminars and publications which presented a completely one-sided view of the conflict. That was compounded by a study commissioned by the AAA in which the authors adopted a settler colonial approach to predetermine the outcome of the study by framing it as Israel being illegitimate, then finding facts to support the narrative while ignoring or diminishing contrary facts.
This series of maps, displayed outside the voting session purporting to show Palestinian loss of land, reflects the type of propaganda used to pass the boycott on to the membership. It’s the false and misleading series of maps that MSNBC apologized for using because it is wrong. Yet it was on full display at AAA.
This past week, the office of General Representative 2 in the Undergraduate Students Association Committee at UCLA held its first ever Night Market. The event’s goal was to celebrate culture. The cosponsors of the event included many groups: Nikkei Student Union, Bangali Student Association, Pakistani Student Association, Sikh Student Association, INDUS, MeCha de UCLA, Iranian Student Group, Muslim Student Association, Samahang Pilipino, American Indian Student Association, Armenian Students Association, Hillel, and of course Students for Justice in Palestine.CST releases 2014 report on antisemitic discourse in Britain
As a proud Jew and Zionist I found the sponsorship alarming. I felt that Israeli culture was unrightfully excluded. If Israel is one of the most politicized and talked about issues on campus, then why is it that when an event like this arises Israel is excluded from the conversation? Although Hillel was represented, I did not find this justifiable. Therefore, to say Hillel is included is just a façade. It is meant to show that the event is not anti-Semitic and avert from appearing Zionophobic.
Indeed, this is not excusable, so I went ahead and called out the program on its mistake. First, I reached out privately to the General Representative 2 Office, but seeing no response I proceeded to post my message directly on the public event page.
Today, CST published its 2014 Antisemitic Incidents Report. The report “examines the use of antisemitic language and images in…politics and media, including social media” and “covers public discussion and debate about antisemitism, including condemnations of antisemitism by mainstream figures”.BBC programme flagged up in CST report on Antisemitic Discourse
See the full report here.
The Community Security Trust (CST) recently published its annual report on the topic of Antisemitic Discourse in Britain for the year 2014.BBC Papers on websiteHow Israeli tech makes science fiction into fact, on display
Readers of the report – which can be found in pdf format here – will note a reference to a BBC programme from November 2014 on page 35 under the heading “BBC DISCUSSION – JEWISH DONORS, JEWISH LOBBY, MANSION TAX”.
A link to the broadcast concerned is available here. Discussion of that programme can be found in the BBC Watch article titled “More BBC promotion of the ‘Jewish lobby’ trope” and information regarding the BBC’s response to criticism of the broadcast is available in the subsequent article “BBC doubles down on presenter’s ‘mansion tax’ comment“.
The science fiction of yesterday is the science fact of today – and some of those made-in-Israel science fiction-to-fact was on display last week at the Israeli headquarters of EMC, at a special event celebrating the company’s Global Innovation Day. “There’s been so much innovation in health care in recent years, much of it developed in Israel,” said Roni Frumkes, Innovation and Business Development leader for the EMC Herzliya Center of Excellence. “It’s a big inspiration to our people to get all these innovations together in one room.”Pebble-like device goes up against Internet of Things hackers
One of those fiction-to-fact stories is SCIO, the world’s first device that can scan products and provide a list of ingredients, components, materials, and other important information about food, pharmaceuticals, plants, and much more. Like the tricorder on TV’s Star Trek, which could scan items and provide information about their physical makeup, the SCIO device provides information about the materials, and the product – vitamins, calories, product recalls, active ingredients in over-the-counter pills, and more.
Then there was Steve Austin the Six Million Dollar Man (a lot of money back in the 1970s, when the series premiered). Like in that show, artificial replacements for human organs are used to prolong life and well-being – like the LVAD (left ventricular assist devices), which essentially function as artificial hearts, considering that most heart failures are left ventricular failures. Although not invented in Israel, an Israeli doctor – Dr. Jacob Lavee, the chief of cardiovascular surgery at the Sheba Hospital – was the first surgeon in the world to implant the device in a patient.
“We’ve implanted over 150 patients with these devices, and we’ve been working on ways to improve their efficiency and battery life,” said Lavee. “An individual could function with one of these until a suitable heart is found for a transplant, or indefinitely, if the patient wanted to avoid a transplant.”
More connected devices are connecting with more databases and sharing more information than ever – and we’re just at the beginning of the data-gathering revolution that the Internet of Things will bring us. Unfortunately, according to security experts, Kaspersky Lab, that provides hackers with more opportunities to steal more data, especially from IoT devices that are essentially unprotected.Green cure for ‘empty truck syndrome’
“The bond of trust between users and their devices can lead them to forget about security,” said Victor Yablokov, head of mobile product line at Kaspersky Lab.
“It’s hard to imagine that something we carry close to us at all times and turn to for everything could ever become a threat. But it can, and does happen. A digital friend can become a digital frenemy,” doing good for us while doing harm at the same time, he said.
“A failure to appreciate the potential risks and to protect our devices and information accordingly could mean the loss of confidential information, money and even our identities. Security is simply not an optional extra.”
To the rescue comes an Israeli start-up called Dojo Labs, which, with a stylish stone-like device, will monitor all data sent by anything connected to the Internet – smart TVs, smartphones, smart tablets, smart refrigerators, even smart water faucets – to determine whether they are sending out data in amounts or in ways that do not fit their profile.
Trucking fresh-picked produce from his family’s RT Fresh farm in the western Negev to other parts of Israel was no problem for Avishai Trabelsi. The problem was the return runs. Empty trucks on the road add up to a huge waste of fuel and manpower, as well as unnecessary air pollution and traffic.Israel Strengthens Economic Ties With Japan, Opens Trade Office In Osaka
So last February, Trabelsi resigned as CEO of the transportation arm of the business and recruited two partners to found Quicargo Technologies, offering an online marketplace for shippers and carriers to benefit from unutilized truck space.
Following a successful trial of the service in Israel, Trabelsi is seeking investors and strategic partners to introduce Quicargo in Europe as a high-tech solution for a widespread profit-sucking, gas-guzzling phenomenon in ground cargo transport.
“I saw that more than half the time my trucks were running empty,” he tells ISRAEL21c. “I’m paying salary and gas but not gaining any profit from the return trip. It made no sense. I saw it as a huge opportunity. If I could find a solution for the empty space, it would result in a net profit.”
The Israeli Ministry of Economy recently inaugurated a new Osaka branch in a sign of strengthening economic relations between Israel and Japan.King of Morocco Honored for Preserving, Restoring Jewish Cemeteries
The office will serve as an executive branch of the Israeli trade mission in Tokyo for meetings and for creating opportunities with local companies in the Kansai region and western Japan, including Panasonic, Sharp, Omaron, Murata, Suntory, Kyocera and others.
“Over the past year, there has been a noted increase in the interest of Japanese companies in Israel in a variety of fields, evidenced by the arrival of Japanese companies to Israel and their willingness to host Israeli companies in Japan,” said , Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Economy.
“Establishing a trade office in Osaka together with the backing the Israeli Ministry of Economy gives companies active in Japan bolsters their ability to break into the Japanese market and their chances of success.”
Lang also headed a business delegation of Israeli automotive supply companies in Japan.
Denso and Toyota hosted Israeli innovation days at their respective offices.
In an enlightened experience on Nov. 19 at the New York Museum of Modern Art, distinguished members of different faiths convened to honor King of Morocco Mohammed VI for his effort to preserve Jewish burial places in the overwhelmingly Muslim nation. Standing together in brotherhood were His Eminence Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York; His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation; and Imam Mohamed Hamagid, President of the Islamic Society of North America.Yad Vashem conference reveals Philippine efforts to save Jews during Holocaust
At a time of tension and anxiety in the world, the Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco worked with religious leaders and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to bring these people together to honor of King Mohammed VI for his work rehabilitating the Jewish cemeteries of Morocco.
The completed projected, poignantly called “The House of Life,” is chronicled in a photo journal that the King and the Conference of Presidents hope to soon see exhibited in a museum. When religious historic sites are seen being destroyed in parts of the world, a rarer find is when such efforts are undertaken to restore and preserve history, no matter the religion that produced them.
Recognition of the Righteous Among the Nations is one of the missions of Yad Vashem whereby it recognizes non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.Israel issues entry permit for exiled Iranian poet
Unfortunately, if they only risked their careers and personal fortunes, but not their lives, it doesn’t count. This may explain why it has taken so long for Yad Vashem and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, to give any recognition to the wartime president of the Philippines Manuel L. Quezon or to the Philippines as a nation.
All that is changing. The wheels are grinding very slowly, but the remarkable story of the far-flung country that was one of the few that opened its doors to Jews fleeing from the Nazis is gaining attention both in the US and Israel, Philippines Ambassador Nathaniel G. Imperial said at a commemorative event at Yad Vashem on Tuesday.
Perhaps because of the enormity of the brutality of the Japanese conquest of the Philippines, the noble story of the rescue of German and Austrian Jewish refugees was lost in the dust of history and vividly revived by two granddaughters of men in the extraordinary team that devised the rescue operation, which might never have come about were it not for the fact that all the key people involved were avid poker players.
Interior Minister Silvan Shalom has approved entry into Israel for exiled Iranian poet Payam Feili, Israel Radio reported Tuesday.Trailer for Biblical Horror Movie 'JeruZalem'
Feili’s visit coincides with the Tel Aviv premier of the play “Three Reasons”, which is based in part on his poetry.
The openly gay 30-year-old has been living in Turkey for over a year, having been forced into exile from Iran after numerous arrests, threats, censorship and run-ins with the Iran’s conservative Revolutionary Guards.
Feili’s final arrest before his departure from Iran consisted of him being forced to sit in a shipping container for 44 days, according to the PEN American Center, a group working to advance free expression and defend writers.
The poet has been known for his support of Israel’s people and society, including the country’s relative openness to homosexuality in a region where gays are frequently persecuted.
The Biblical horror film JeruZalem got its first trailer and a U.S. release date this week.JERUZALEM red band trailer [HD] - coming out January 22nd, 2016!
JeruZalem follows two American students who travel to the holy city to party for vacation. Once there, however, the girls are caught inside the gates of the Old City when a fateful prophecy comes true and the Apocalypse begins on Yom Kippur.
The film, from first-time Israeli writer-directors Doron and Yoav Paz, utilizes the found-footage technique popularized in recent films like Cloverfield and Chronicle.
The trailer begins innocently enough, with the young students looking forward to their first trip to Israel. But things quickly take a scary turn when the guns and winged demons come out.
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