Tuesday, February 28, 2017
David Collier: Apartheid Week watch – day one. The Jew hating fetish opens at UCL
It is Apartheid ‘Week’ again. Last night, 27 Feb 2017 I was at UCL (University College London) for the opening night of UCL’s very own ‘Apartheid Fortnight’ (we were informed that their ‘classy’ week has been ‘doubled’). This event was titled ‘Apartheid: Stories from the Ground‘Caroline Glick: Perez, Ellison and the meaning of antisemitism
The evening was put together by the UCLU Friends of Palestine Society. Which means that the welcoming committee was led by Yahya Abu Seido. A few months ago, Yahya was one of the ringleaders when the protestors tried to ‘no platform’ an Israeli speaker on this campus. In fact, Yahya was caught on camera celebrating what he had believed was the successful closing down of the event. He was part of the group that left the Jewish students locked in a room. Those that left Jewish students needing a police escort to remove them safely. Just a few months later he is happily leading a Jew hating festival on the UCL campus. Another bitter pill that the Jewish UCL students are forced to swallow.
At this event, there were two speakers and a Chair. The Chair was Dr Saladin Meckled-Garcia, the ‘co Director of the UCL institute of Human Rights’. Just in case anyone is foolish enough to believe that a Chair should at least maintain the veneer of impartiality, we can see that Meckled-Garcia has signed petitions against Israel, here, here, here and here. Just for good measure he signed one titled ‘Israel must lose’ in 2009. This ‘impartiality’ was visible throughout the evening, especially in the way the Q&A was handled.
The evening opened with the Chair announcing he wanted to make a political statement. Meckled-Garcia then proceeded to object to the use of the adopted definition of antisemitism for what he suggested was a way of silencing ‘free speech’. How anybody can address the thugs of the UCLU Friends of Palestine Society about free speech and keep a straight face is beyond me. At least we were left in no doubt as to which side the Chair was on from the very beginning.
This sad state of affairs has been on prominent display in the wake of the recent spate of antisemitic attacks against Jewish cemeteries in the US. Muslim Americans with records of antisemitism have been quick to condemn the attacks.Douglas Murray: Europe: Laughing at the Messenger
On the face of it, statements by Ellison, Hamas supporter Linda Sarsour and others condemning the attacks on Jewish cemeteries are welcome. Sarsour’s support for Palestinian mass murderers of Jews and open calls for Israel’s destruction have been ongoing for more than a decade. It’s nice that she is suddenly raising money to repair broken Jewish graves in St. Louis.
The problem is if Sarsour and her Jew hating comrades are viewed as legitimate partners in fighting antisemitism, when they themselves are abetting and popularizing antisemitism, then the notion of fighting antisemitism is destroyed.
If Sarsour, who wrote in 2012 that “nothing is creepier than Zionism,” is a legitimate voice in the fight against anti-Jewish discrimination and violence, then the fight against anti-Jewish discrimination and violence is reduced to farce.
Sarsour, like Ellison, is no fringe figure on the Left. She has become a major mover and shaker in the second party in America. Sarsour was one of the organizers of the anti-Trump women’s protests the day after the president was inaugurated.
Sarsour’s rising prominence in progressive and Democratic circles despite her open support for Hamas shows why it is important today to draw a line in the sand and reject the notion that antisemites can suddenly become defenders of Jews.
How can one excavate the minds of so many European officials and the extraordinary mental gymnastics of denial to which they have become prone?Swedish Ambulance Union ‘We need military equipment to protect medics from hand grenades’
One of the finest demonstrations of this trend occurred in January 2015, after France was assailed by Islamist gunmen in the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and then in a Jewish supermarket. In the days after those attacks, Fox News in the U.S. ran an interview with a guest who said that Paris, and France, as a whole, had "no-go zones" where the authorities -- including emergency services -- did not dare to go. In the wake of these comments, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, chose to make a stand. She announced that she was suing Fox News because the "honour of Paris" was at stake.
It appeared that Mayor Hidalgo was rightly concerned about the image of her city around the world, presumably worrying in particular about the potential effects on tourism.
Of course, Mayor Hidalgo's priorities were all wrong. The reason Paris's public relations suffered a dent was not because of what a pundit said on Fox News one evening, but because of the mass murder of journalists and Jews on the streets of the "City of Light." Any potential tourist would be much more concerned about getting caught up in a terrorist firefight than a war of words. Mayor Hidalgo's manoeuvre, however, turned out not to be a rarity, but a symptom of a wider problem.
Det Goda Samhället (the good society) is a Swedish initiative that discusses the necessities of a good society, and is dedicated to reporting on issues in Sweden that they feel need to be addressed. To this end, it has also started up a series of interviews on YouTube and podcasts. This interview is by Paulina Neuding, with Gordon Grattidge, the President of the Swedish Ambulance Drivers Union, who makes it absolutely clear that Swedish no-go-zones are a fact of life that his personnel is faced with every day.
Some of the highlights:
“Let me ask you Gordon, I know that your union has called for military equipment in order to protect paramedics on emergency calls. What kind of equipment?”
-“That’s correct. (…) We work with lighter protection in the form of body armour and helmets.”
“In what situations does a paramedic need body armour and helmets?”
-“It’s when we enter hazardous areas and there’s a risk of putting our paramedics in danger. It’s often about these risk areas we have in Sweden. So-called ‘no-go zones’.”
A Test for the Anti-Trump Movement
The political stupidity of embracing Odeh is plain. What better ammunition could there possibly be for a White House all too keen to dismiss a genuine grassroots movement as paid professional protestors and anti-American anarchists than the public participation of a bona fide terrorist? If the anti-Trump movement is going to stand for tolerance, genuine liberalism, civility, and decency—everything we disdain Trump for disdaining—Odeh and her ilk can have no place in it.Terrorist Behind March - Organizer Convicted In Deadly Israel Bombing - Fox & Friends
But there is a deeper, darker point here beyond strategy: It concerns the alarming cheapness of Jewish blood. A movement that has so much to say about the value of black lives, of transgender lives, of women’s lives, of Latino lives, of Muslim lives, of the lives of the disabled and the poor and the weak, but becomes mealy-mouthed and contingent about the lives of Jews when those Jews happen to live in the land of Israel should make any person of conscience question the sincerity of that movement.
Indeed, what’s perhaps even more disturbing is the increasing tendency on the part of Jews to silence themselves on these fundamental moral matters to fit in or to avoid accusations of being soft on Trump. On this, our leaders must do better, even though it will surely mean fewer likes and retweets from popular progressives. It’s incumbent upon those who assert themselves as representatives of the Jewish community not to paper over this disturbing hypocrisy—especially if what they are trying to do is convince amcha that it’s still in their best interest to be at the anti-Trump table.
Somehow it seems that Jews are always the ones being asked to check their identity at the door in movements driven by identity politics. We may assiduously follow the “two-thirds and 51 percent” rule, but our partners often do not. If asking for something so minimal—to disassociate and condemn a woman who murdered innocent Jews—seems impolite or greedy, then perhaps the compromise we have made is rotten.
Anti- Semitism is masquerading as anti-Zionism: Marmur
What enemies used to say about Jews, they now say about Israel. Anti-Semites of old refused to regard Jews as human: they were either superhuman creatures bent on ruling the world — as the notorious forgery “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” would have it — or they were subhuman: vermin in the vocabulary of the Nazis.Israel must stand up against anti-Semitism in US, Rivlin says
In our time, the version of the old canard often has it that Israel is ruling the United States and the rest of the world through its intelligence agencies and by other unspecified means, or that its actions against hapless Palestinians are beastly.
Under such circumstances, it has become difficult for a Jew to voice legitimate criticism of Israel without being labelled either as a religious fanatic echoing the Messianic fantasies of extremists or a traitor to his or her people mouthing the vilifications of foes.
Of course, Israel isn’t beyond criticism. Which country and which government is? But critical or not, I remain committed to the Jewish state and convinced that, after the Holocaust, Jews would have become a quaint sect on the margins of society, and Judaism a museum item, had there been no Israel that enabled many Jews to find a home and all Jews to gain dignity and self-confidence. Those who seek the destruction of Israel are, alas, bent on disenfranchising all Jews.
Israel must speak up against rising anti-Semitism in America, President Reuven Rivlin said Tuesday, while calling on the US administration to continue denouncing the phenomenon.Big lies from the BDS movement: Oscar contenders and Israel
“I think the issue of anti-Semitism is an issue that the State of Israel and its representatives must stand unequivocally against, shoulder to shoulder,” Rivlin told the heads of Israeli diplomatic missions to North America in his Jerusalem residence.
“I also want to express my appreciation to President [Donald] Trump for his clear words last week, and for his clear position. These things need to be repeated and reiterated without hesitation,” he added.
Since the beginning of 2017, 90 bomb threats have been called into Jewish community centers, in many cases forcing the total evacuation of the buildings. Dozens of tombstones have also recently been toppled in Jewish cemeteries in Missouri and Pennsylvania.
The BDS movement is run on a Big Lie technique pioneered by Goebbels during Hitler’s regime. The technique holds that if you tell a big enough lie long enough and keep repeating it, people will believe it’s true. This is the foundation of the BDS movement against Israel in America and around the world.Bernie Sanders is 100% WRONG!
The BDS campaign has recently changed its name to the “U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.”
Anna Baltzer, the campaign head of the U.S. BDS Campaign, now the campaign for “Palestinian rights,” has been accused of using multiple aliases. She did a You Tube video in which she promoted BDS at San Diego State proclaiming she did this “as a proud Jewish woman.” She also ran an article on the ISM’s Electronic Intifada website where she met with an Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade terrorist and explained to him she was born to a Jewish mother but wasn’t raised Jewish, knew nothing about the religion and was opposed to Israel’s existence. From there she did a radio interview in Canada where she exclaimed, “Inshallah! One day we will bring down Zionism [the Jews}.”
After doing some research, I found that BDS claimed that since Oscar winner Leonardo DI Caprio hadn’t taken the free trip to Israel, he must be a BDS supporter. I was happy to see the article at this link. DiCaprio has visited Israel many times and even hopes to work with an Israeli director. Di Caprio is only one of the movie stars BDS wants people to think supports the Boycott. They run photos with others, but most have no intent to boycott Israel - they are in no rush, as the trip offers are good for one year. This is not mentioned on the BDS sites.
The idea that Oscar contenders not redeeming their trips just prior to the Oscars means they are anti-Israel is deceptive. Most wouldn’t want to be out of town during the Oscars and will, in all probability, visit Israel in the coming year.
Readers can take action themselves against BDS by researching the actors’ managements as I did and get the truth out about the misuse of their names. This is one way for individuals who love Israel to stop the Big Lie that is the BDS movement.
The State of Israel envisioned by Leftists both here and abroad is one that wouldn't survive in the real world. It encourages, strengthens and plays in the hands of our unabashed enemies. Bernie Sanders, J-Street and all those others are horrendously and tragically wrong!Another deeply flawed report about IDF from “Breaking the Silence”
Sanders: One can be pro-Israel and rap its government
It doesn't matter one single iota that they claim to love Israel and be pro-Israel. It just makes their stand more dangerous and more tragic.
Israel is a tiny country surrounded by dangerous enemies which unabashedly proclaim their aim to destroy and replace the only Jewish country in the world. It is impossible, totally unrealistic, illogical to make peace with enemies like that.
Speaking before a conference held by J Street, a liberal Jewish American organization that primarily lobbies for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, Sanders said that "those of us who support Israel have got to tell the truth about policies that hurt the chances of a peaceful resolution."
Neither Israel nor the so-called "occupation," sic, is the cause for the tension and terrorism between Israel and her neighbors. Blaming Israel is a totally facetious antisemitic lie, even when said by Jews.
Breaking the Silence (BtS)—Shovrim Shtika in Hebrew—is a group of Israeli veterans who collect and disseminate ‘testimonies’ of alleged breaches of military ethics which they claim were witnessed and perpetrated by soldiers while they were serving in the West Bank and Gaza.Palestinian student, 25, tweets 'I am so proud to be called a terrorist' sparking anti-Semitism investigation at the University of Exeter
BtS activists present themselves as patriotic Zionists who love their country. They also defend their organization as a whistleblower that works to keep the state moral by speaking out against IDF atrocities committed against Palestinians.
But the reality is that BtS has long been discredited as a fringe group that acts to “fuel BDS.”
The group once garnered a fair share of admirers during its formative years. Today it’s rejected by most of the Israeli mainstream public.
That’s because BtS chooses to ignore the official systems in place for lodging complaints, preferring instead to make its case directly to foreigners.
Basically, the group’s spokespeople and activists spend much of their time slandering Israeli soldiers abroad, falsely painting Israel as an “inept and cruel occupier” to foreign audiences eager to hear about the Jewish state’s malevolence.
A Palestinian student is being investigated after she allegedly tweeted she was 'proud to be a terrorist' amid claims she made anti-Semitic comments online.Columbia University Hosts ‘Zionists Are Racists’ Forum
The Students' Guild at the University of Exeter has launched a probe into allegations of anti-Semitism by its vice president for postgraduate students Malaka Shwaikh, 25.
Charity Campaign Against Antisemitism claimed the student wrote provocative tweets and produced an image of one allegedly from her account that said: 'If terrorism means protecting and defending my land, I am so proud to be called terrorist. What an honour for the Palestinians!'
CAA also alleged she wrote the 'ideology of Zionism is no different to that of Hitler's' and 'Hitler did his deed and the Palestinians had to pay for it'.
Miss Shwaikh's Twitter account appears to have since been taken down.
Columbia University is facing criticism from pro-Israel groups for hosting an on-campus forum entitled, "Zionists are Racists."B’Tselem Caught In Malicious (And Dumb) Lie
The event, set to be held Monday evening in a university building, is being organized by Columbia University's "Apartheid Divest" groups, which is comprised of several anti-Israel organizations committed to boycotting Jewish goods and individuals.
The event will feature speeches by individuals critical of the Jewish state, according to information publicly posted on Facebook.
The event is just another salvo in the campus war over Israel, which has become bound up in accusations of anti-Semitism against Jewish students and, in some cases, violence.
Much of this is being spearheaded by virulently anti-Israel campus organizations, including Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP, and Jewish Voice for Peace, both of which advocate boycotts of Israel. SJP has been banned on some college campuses for promoting anti-Semitic materials. Both organizations are backing the forum at Columbia.
Monday evening's event is being billed as an opportunity to "learn about Israel's racist and imperialist policies," according to event information.
“Human rights” organization B’Tselem has disseminated the following sob story on social media.What American Universities Can Learn From the UK
Yara ‘Ashur, 18, a medical student in Gaza, studies by the light of a battery-powered lamp:
“We’ve been suffering from problems with the power for years. We get power for eight hours and then get cut off for eight. I get back from school at around 3:00 P.M., tired. I rest for two hours and then get up to study.
Let’s look at that photograph again.
So much for using a battery-powered LED lamp due to there being no electricity (hat tip: Yoel).
Yesterday, I wrote about the outrageous decision by students at the University of London to deny Jewish students the right to define what constitutes hatred against their group — something that all other minority groups are allowed to do.WATCH: Israeli Arab Student Who Attends University Across “Green Line”
Last week, in a long overdue blow to the antisemitic BDS movement, the University of Central Lancashire cancelled an event for violating the government’s definition of antisemitism.
In December 2016, the British government adopted the definition of antisemitism advanced during a conference of the Berlin-based International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The definition states:
Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.
Meet Amal Medlij, Coordinator for Minority Students at Ariel University.
She speaks openly and honestly about her experience attending Ariel University, which is over the “Green Line”, so-called occupied territories.
Imagine that. An Arab learning in a university among people we are being told are “racist, violent extremists.” And being accepted.
Because the truth has a way of finding its way out.
Fourth missile attack against Israel in three weeks ignored by BBC News
There was no coverage of the missile attack whatsoever on the BBC News English language website but – in line with the pattern of reporting seen regularly over the last two years – later on the afternoon of February 27th, Israel’s response was reported in an article titled “Israeli fighter jets bombed positions of the militants in the Gaza Strip” on the BBC Arabic website.The Washington Post Omits the Anti-Israel Record of Human Rights Watch
Since the beginning of the year – and this month – four missile attacks against Israel have taken place – two from Gaza and two from Sinai – none of which have been reported by the BBC’s English language services. Throughout 2016 just one of ten attacks received BBC coverage in English.
It is of course difficult to believe that had four separate missile attacks on British territory taken place in a three-week period, the BBC would have ignored the story.
A Feb. 24, 2017 Washington Post report on the decision by Israeli authorities to block the entry of an anti-Israel Human Rights Watch (HRW) employee omitted key information (“Human Rights Watch worker barred by Israel”). The dispatch, by The Post’s Jerusalem bureau chief William Booth, failed to fully inform readers about HRW’s history of singling out the Jewish state for opprobrium and mischaracterized the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.Character Assassination: Israel Is Not North Korea
The Post reported that Omar Shakir, HRW’s recently announced Israel and Palestine country, was denied entry into Israel. Booth briefly quoted Israeli concerns that HRW is “systemically anti-Israel,” but failed to elaborate.
In fact, Human Rights Watch, a self-appointed arbiter of human rights abuses around, has a long history of anti-Israeli bias.
HRW, as CAMERA has highlighted, has raised funds on the basis of its singling out Israel. HRW has even used the criticism that it receives from “pro-Israel pressure groups” to get funds from wealthy Saudi donors (“Minority Report,” New Republic, April 27, 2010). HRW’s own founder, Robert Bernstein, repudiated the group in a Oct. 19, 2009 New York Times Op-Ed that noted the non-profit organization was guilty of “helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state.”
Paul McGeogh [a former flotidiot], writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, uses last week’s assassination of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as a way of comparing North Korea to… Israel.Store sells 'Yellow Star' necklaces
In the article, “The poisoner’s handbook: What Israel and North Korea have in common”, he says that both Israeli PM Netanyahu and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un are members of “an oddball global fraternity… the messy assassins – either they botch the kill or they can’t make a clean getaway.”
Kim Jong-nam was supposedly killed by a poison being sprayed into his face. According to McGeogh, this
recalled Netanyahu’s humiliation in 1997 when, during his first stint as Israel’s prime minister, he approved a plan by the intelligence agency Mossad to assassinate Hamas leader Khalid Mishal – which was then spectacularly botched.
That assassination attempt involved spraying a poison into Meshaal’s ear, although the agents were caught and Israel forced to provide the antidote before it managed to kill Mashal.
The glaring difference between the two cases, that McGeogh doesn’t take into consideration, are the targets.
Internet store YNJEWELRY has begun selling necklaces whose yellow gold pendants are shaped like yellow stars - the same yellow stars Jews were forced to wear during the Holocaust.Somali hate preacher on European tour “Israel steals little girls and sells them as sex slaves”
"It's not a yellow star," store director Yechiel Piron insisted. "The yellow star is a piece of fabric, and we're selling a chain which comes in other colors such as silver and pink gold."
The stars are engraved with "Jude" or "Never again."
"We could be talking about Pharaoh and the exodus from Egypt," the site said. "We could have written pages about Kristallnacht, Hitler, and the Holocaust - but we didn't!! We live in Israel, and today there is no place in our country for enemies and anti-Semitism. We are the only ones who can right the wrongs and erase what has been done against us.
In a somewhat tiresome case of projection, a video has emerged of the Somali-born, Saudi-educated Canadian Muslim preacher sheikh Said Rageah, once again revealing his true colours:PreOccupiedTerritory: Chicago Cubs Hope Zionist Conspiracy Lets Them Win Again (satire)
“Sex slaves. What do they do? They steal little girls. And you know who’s the number one in the world who does that? The number one country in the world? Israel. They are number 1 in sex slavery. Which means, they’re gonna steal little girls, and they’re gonna sell them.”
But, it’s not as if this is the first time some of his unsavoury quotes became public. See below for more of his infamous quotes.
The most honourable sheikh has been touring through Europe to further enlighten European Muslim minds, from 10 February onwards. He has been invited to speak on March 3 and 4 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he was barred from speaking last year. Below is an overview of the (known) locations that he visited last month, and the parties you missed out on:
Spring training for Major League Baseball kicked off two weeks ago, and the world champion Chicago Cubs are looking forward to another successful season, tempered by uncertainty over whether the International Zionist Conspiracy will allow them to repeat their achievement.Investors bet on windfall gains for Israeli tech, defense under Trump
The Cubs won the World Series last year for the first time in more than a century. Players and managers expressed hope that the attainment proves lasting, and that the Zionist Conspiracy that controls world affairs has plans that do not involve another 108 years of futility for the storied franchise.
Either way, noted Manager Joe Maddon, the team is approaching Spring Training with the same vigor and enthusiasm. “We know we can do it – some things are just beyond our control,” he explained. “Our responsibility is to play our hearts out and use our heads. Whether the Conspiracy plans to rain out potential victories, engineer all sorts of injuries, or foment unrest in the clubhouse isn’t really up to us. We have a job to do.”
Former Cubs players, as well, have voiced optimism tempered with wistfulness. “I’m happy for these guys – they deserved to win, and I’ve no doubt they’ll earn another title this year,” acknowledged Ryne Sandberg, once an all-star second-baseman with the team. “But earning it and receiving it are two different things. My teammates in the eighties and nineties played as well as could be, but the Zionists decided it wasn’t our time. I have to admit I’m jealous, and a little bitter, that it had to wait until long after I retired. Would have been incredible.”
Investors are betting heavily that Israeli defense and cyber-security firms will reap a windfall from President Donald Trump's big US spending plans, although likely benefits for the wider economy remain like the man himself - hard to predict.Chinese Auto Giant to Open Development Center in Israel
Israeli technology companies are likewise well placed to pick up contracts on other planned presidential projects, such as a hugely expensive wall along the US border with Mexico.
Economists, however, have yet to factor any positive "Trump effect" into their Israeli growth forecasts and analysts say some of his ideas, such as moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, could backfire with negative security and economic consequences.
After a month in office, some of Trump's Twitter commentary has caused bewilderment in a number of foreign capitals. But in Israel, hopes are high for stronger commercial and strategic ties with the United States, and that warmer political relations will encourage foreign investors.
Companies tipped to gain include defense contractor Elbit Systems, Magal Security Systems and Check Point Software Technologies. All have seen their share prices soar since Trump's election victory on Nov. 8.
A top Chinese automobile manufacturer is slated to open a research and development center in Israel, Globes reported Sunday.Israeli tech helps ‘Jungle Book’ snatch Oscar
Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) said that it will establish an R&D center in Israel focusing on “electrical propulsion, data networks, car sharing, and smart automated propulsion.”
The company, which already has an advance team in Israel, is set to increase its presence to 50 employees. The R&D center is expected to be located at the new headquarters for the Lubinski Group in Rishon LeZion, just south of Tel Aviv. Lubinski has been the official importer SAIC vehicles to Israel, where it has sold several thousand units to date.
SAIC is one of China’s top four automotive manufacturers and sells an estimated 5 million vehicles annually. In a statement announcing the R&D center, SAIC praised Israeli culture and acknowledged the country’s tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship. It also lauded Israel for having one of the highest per capita concentrations of engineers and scientists.
The live action remake of “The Jungle Book,” a 1967 Disney classic, won the Oscar for best visual effects at the 89th Annual Academy Awards Sunday night in Los Angeles.18 Israeli firms rocking financial technology
The film, a huge success at the box office, relied on computer generated imagery, known as CGI, to recreate the tale of Mowgli, the orphaned human boy who is raised by animals.
It also used Mellanox Technologies, an Israeli supplier of data center server and storage system solutions, which offers the bandwidth necessary to stream and distribute films like “The Jungle Book” and previous blockbusters, such as “The Martian,” “Gone Girl,” “X-Men,” “Godzilla” and other films that grow in complexity and pixel density each year.
“Resolution and effects are getting more complicated,” said Eyal Waldman, founder, CEO and president of the NASDAQ-traded Yokne’am Illit company. “You need telecommunication that is faster; you need more bandwidth to watch movies.”
If it has been a long time since you’ve waited for a bank teller, called your stockbroker or mailed a check, you can thank financial technology (fintech). And much of that innovation in how we move and protect our money is coming from Israel.Record $1.1 billion in Israel Bonds sold in US in 2016
According to The Floor fintech startup hub in Tel Aviv, at least 430 Israeli fintech companies are developing products for needs ranging from digital banking to fundraising.
Israel’s reputation in deep data science has lured some $650 million in venture capital for the fintech sector. Financial institutions including Citibank to Barclays have established innovation labs and accelerators in the startup nation.
US & Canada
A record $1.127 billion in State of Israel Bonds was sold in the United States in 2016.Israelis satisfied with their lives, new survey shows
The Development Corporation for Israel, also known as Israel Bonds, issues debt securities by the government of Israel. Israel Bonds also are sold to investors in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Belgium.
Israel Bonds also announced this week that it has sold more than $40 billion globally since the corporation was launched in 1951.
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said in a statement that Israel Bonds are “a cornerstone of Israel’s economy.”
“Crossing the $40 billion mark exemplifies the organization’s dedication to Israel, and the way in which its message of economic support has resonated on a global scale,” Kahlon said.
Some 89% of Israelis are satisfied with their lives, a new Central Bureau of Statistics survey shows. According to the survey, titled "The Wellbeing, Sustainability and National Resilience Indicators -- 2015," 91% of Jewish respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with their lives, as well as 82% of Arab respondents (non-Jews who are not Arab were surveyed together with Jews). The respondents for this survey were aged 20 and up.Over 200 Israelis attend funeral of Holocaust survivor they did not know
The categories used to gauge the various indicators were: employment quality; personal security; health care; housing; education and skills; personal and social welfare; the environment; civic involvement; and material wealth.
The number of people who were satisfied with their employment rose from 81.5% in 2002 to 88.4% in 2015. Life expectancy increased between 2000 and 2015 by 3.4 years (from 76.7 to 80.1) among men and by 3.2 years (80.9 to 84.1) among women.
The survey found that 71% were satisfied with the health care they got, with 15% saying it was "very good" and 56% saying it was "good." Some 60% said the Israeli health care system would provide them with the best possible treatment in case of a severe illness: 18% said they believed this "strongly" and the rest (42%) said "somewhat."
More than 200 Israelis attended the funeral of a complete stranger — a Holocaust survivor from the Canary Islands who fulfilled a final wish, to be buried in Israel alongside her mother.
Hilde Nathan, who did not have a husband or children, died alone two weeks ago in the Canary Islands at 90. Knowing of her wishes, the Canary Island Jewish community in Spain, which numbers about 20, raised the money to fly her body to Israel for burial.
The community put out a call through the Israeli media for mourners at her funeral, which was held Monday morning.
“Nathan always lived alone, but today it seems that the entire People of Israel has come to say goodbye,” an Israeli Holocaust survivor, the only person at the funeral who knew her, told the United with Israel website. “She lived alone, but did not leave alone.”
Nathan, a native of Germany, was one of the few to survive the Theresienstadt concentration camp. She managed to avoid being sent to the Treblinka and Auschwitz extermination camps like many of the other Jews imprisoned at Theresienstadt by the Nazis.
She was freed from the camp after it was liberated by the Soviet army on May 8, 1945.
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