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ISRAEL

Rashida Tlaib and That ‘Safe Haven’ for Jews Created by the Palestinians Real and unreal history. Hugh Fitzgerald

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273909/rashida-tlaib-and-safe-haven-jews-created-hugh-fitzgerald

Appearing as a guest on the Yahoo News podcast “Skullduggery” in early May, Rashida Tlaib offered her own fantastical version of Israeli, and “Palestinian” history: 
“There’s always kind of a calming feeling, I tell folks, when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors — Palestinians — who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some people’s [sic] passports,” Tlaib said on the podcast’s most recent episode, published Friday [May 11]. “And, just all of it was in the name of trying to create a safe haven for Jews, post-the Holocaust, post-the tragedy and the horrific persecution of Jews across the world at that time. And, I love the fact that it was my ancestors that provided that, right,[sic] in many ways, but they did it in a way that took their human dignity away and it  was forced on them.”
What kind of person, what kind of moral idiot, says that when she “thinks of the Holocaust” there “is always kind of a calming feeling”? We could stop right there, for that ought to be enough to permanently earn her universal scorn.  But let’s continue.
 
What she claims, in her confused and tortured English, is this:
Israel came into being to provide a “safe haven for Jews” after the Holocaust; it was the local population, the “Palestinians,” who “provided that safe haven” but in so doing, they lost “their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways.” You see, they were made to suffer for the crimes against the Jews committed by others, while being themselves guiltless.

In wake of Golan attack, Israel makes it clear Iran cannot hide in Syria by Yaakov Lappin

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/04/after-golan-attack-israel-makes-it-clear-that-iran-cannot-hide-in-syria/

The Israeli strike on Iranian assets in Syria sends the message that the Islamic republic cannot hide behind its regional proxies, and that its activities remain highly exposed to Israeli intelligence and firepower.

At this time, no group has claimed responsibility for the firing of two rockets at Israel’s Mount Hermon on Saturday night from Syria, but it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to view Iran, or one of its proxies, as the prime suspects.

The Iranian radical axis possesses both the ability and the motivation to conduct such an attack.

Israel’s responses included a significant air strike on Iranian assets within the T-4 airbase, in central Syria, and deadly strikes on President Bashar Assad regime’s military.

Israel sent the message that Iran cannot hide behind its regional proxies and that its activities remain highly exposed to Israeli intelligence and firepower. It also reiterated that Assad will continue to pay a price for Iran’s aggression.

The Islamic republic has spent years creating proxy terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East, including in Syria. This gives it an ability to attack and pressure its enemies on their own doorstep, far from Iran’s own borders, while maintaining a facade of deniability. The “anonymous” firing of two rockets on Saturday appears to fit this pattern well.

Israel – a global innovation powerhouse. Amb. (RET.) Yoram Ettinger

https://bit.ly/2HOfaFJ

1. Arab integration in Israel. During 2017-2018, 18.3% of Israeli students studied engineering, compared to 17.9% studying social sciences.  25% of Israel’s undergraduates study engineering and computer sciences. During 2012-2018, the number of Israeli students studying tech subjects (electronics, engineering, software, optical, math, computers) grew 30%, compared to a 100% surge in the number of Arab students. In 2018, the number of Arab students in the hightech subjects accounted to 12% of the total, compared to 8% in 2012 (Israel Council for Higher Education).

2. Economist Intelligence Unit, May 15, 2019: Israel’s GDP of $356BN and $40,230 per capita in 2018 is expected to surge to $667BN and $62,070 in 2030, reflecting Israel’s advantage – over developed and developing countries – in the areas of technology and demography.  Israel spends the highest GDP proportion, in the world, on civilian research & development. Its high investment in military research & development has had positive impact on civilian technology. For example, Israel has overcome low rainfall through desalination and water/sewage recycling, evolving into a major exporter of water technologies. More than 50% of Israel’s workforce has gone through tertiary education, and is expected to grow due to a relatively high fertility rate and positive net-immigration. Population growth is faster than any high-income country. Israel’s dynamic hightech sector will continue driving export growth, together with a strong contribution by business services. Exports of natural gas will make an increasing contribution in the 2020s. Israel’s isolation in the region will diminish gradually, as relations with Egypt and Persian Gulf Arab countries are improved. Israel will maintain the free-trade agreements with the US and EU and will expand trade ties with Japan, China and India and mid-size Asian economies. Israeli exports will rise from $111BN in 2018 to $283BN in 2030, as imports rise from $108BN to $233BN.

For 2nd straight day, Israel strikes military targets in Syria

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/06/03/for-second-straight-day-israel-strikes-military-targets-in-syria/

Israel fired missiles at a Syrian military air base in the country’s center late Sunday, killing at least one soldier and wounding two others, hours after another Israeli strike in southern Syria, which came in response to a rocket attack on the Israeli Golan Heights. Sunday’s strike killed three soldiers and wounded seven, Syria’s state-run media said.

Unconfirmed reports said Monday that five soldiers were killed in the strike, three of them Syrian.

According to Syrian media, the Israeli strike targeted the T4 air base in the central province of Homs – long used by Iranian forces in Syria – just before midnight Sunday. There was no immediate comment from Israel about striking the air base.

Syrian state TV quoted an unidentified military official as saying that one soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the strike and that an arms depot was hit as well. Israel has attacked the T4 base in the past.

Earlier Sunday, the IDF confirmed it targeted several military positions in southern Syria, including two artillery batteries, several observation and intelligence posts and an SA2 air defense unit, in response to two rockets launched from Syria late on Saturday, which caused no casualties.

Israel Heads Again to Elections as One Politician Gambles It All : David Isaac

https://freebeacon.com/blog/israel-heads-again-to-elections-as-one-politician-gambles-it-all/

Five weeks after being sworn in, the 21st Knesset voted to dissolve itself. It’s a first for Israeli politics; the country has never held back-to-back elections. Two freshman legislators even burst into tears. One man, Avigdor Liberman, is responsible for both the most recent April 9 elections and the new elections to be held Sept. 17. The question is why? Consensus is building that Liberman brought down the previous government (when he resigned as defense minister) and refused to join a new one in a bid to put himself back on the political map as his influence fades.

Liberman refused to join the government over a proposed military conscription bill for ultra-Orthodox Jews, or haredim (literally “ones who tremble” before God). Liberman’s position—that not one clause of the bill be touched—was first viewed as merely an opening position that would soften as the weeks went by. Up to last week’s Wednesday midnight deadline, there was a lingering belief that a last-minute deal would be struck.

But Liberman refused to budge, leaving Netanyahu one seat short of the 61 Knesset seats he needed to form a government.

Netanyahu, visibly furious, in a kind of verbal excommunication, announced to the press on Wednesday that Liberman was “on the left now,” calling him “a serial destroyer of right-wing governments.”

The Gaza Conundrum The sooner Israel rids itself of the Hamas menace, the better. Ari Lieberman

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/273889/gaza-conundrum-ari-lieberman

Like an open sore that refuses to heel, Gaza continues to be a thorn in Israel’s side. Though things remain on simmer for now, a full scale conflagration against Hamas and its junior affiliate, Islamic Jihad, is inevitable. As if to underscore this point, on Thursday, Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, announced that his group’s rocket capabilities have improved, and threatened that Hamas would not hesitate to launch rockets at Tel Aviv if attacked. He also stated that Hamas-orchestrated protests along the Gaza border would continue and intensify. Tellingly, Sinwar noted that Hamas receives financial and military support from Iran and that but for Iranian assistance, Hamas would not have been able to improve its military capabilities to the level where it’s at today.

Israel is accustomed to such belligerent talk from its enemies, which is often more bark than bite. Nonetheless, Israel’s leaders have every reason to take these types of threats seriously. A miscalculation by Hamas can instantly trigger a wider conflict.

Hamas has two immediate goals. The first is to hold on to the reins of power at all costs. Hamas does this by controlling Gaza with an iron fist, brutally suppressing all forms of dissent. But the terror group also needs to pay the salaries of those who ensure the regime’s survival. To this end, it relies on cash handouts from entities like Qatar and Iran, as well as taxes on goods smuggled in tunnels between Gaza and northern Sinai, and other extortion schemes.

Hamas’s second goal is to maintain relevancy. Wider issues affecting the Mideast, such as the Shia-Sunni divide, Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons, the Islamic State, and proxy wars in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Libya have regulated Gaza and the Palestinian issue at large to third tier. Hamas addresses this problem by causing disruption and mischief. To this end, Hamas employs various schemes to keep itself in the news cycle. But the terror group recognizes that it cannot push the envelope too far lest it incur the full brunt of the Israel Defense Forces and invite disaster upon itself.

Israel attacked a number of Syrian targets overnight on Sunday. By David Isaac, World Israel News 

https://worldisraelnews.com/israel-retaliates-for-syrian-missile-strike-blasting-targets-near-damascus/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=PushCrew_notification_1559455948&pushcrew_powered=1

Israel hit a number of military targets in Syria overnight on Sunday in retaliation for two rockets fired at Israel’s Mt. Hermon on Saturday.

“Fighter planes and helicopters of the IDF attacked a number of military targets belonging to the Syrian army, among them two artillery batteries, a number of observation and intelligence posts on the Golan Heights front and an air-defense system of the SA-2 type,” the IDF reported.

Ten people were killed in the Israeli airstrikes, three Syrian soldiers and seven Hezbollah and Iranian forces, reports the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, an independent watchdog group based in London.

Syrian state media reports only three killed and seven wounded.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has no information about casualties on the other side. It released a video on Twitter showing one of its missiles striking a target.

GOOD NEWS FROM ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com 

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS
 
Regenerating bones. (TY Hazel) Israeli startup Bone Sci Bio is developing a peptide product PeptOss that promotes the formation and repair of bone tissue. It also delivers treatments (antibiotics, chemotherapy, etc.) directly to the bone.  PeptOss’s first application is to treat peri-implantitis that affects 30% of dental implants.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-startup-seeks-to-boost-bone-renewal-and-allow-targeted-drug-delivery/
 
Treatment for resistant Myeloma. Israel’s Pi Therapeutics (PiTx) is developing a treatment for PI-resistant Multiple Myeloma (MM) and solid tumors. Its small molecule non-catalytic UPS inhibitors have worked in lab tests. MM is an incurable blood cancer. PiTx has just raised $19.7 million for a formal clinical proof of concept.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3763205,00.html
https://www.futurx.co.il/portfolio/pi-therapeutics/  
 
Monitor breathing at home. (TY Hazel) Israeli startup Resmetrix Medical has developed a device that allows respiratory patients to monitor their condition at home. It could give an early warning of problems and reduce unnecessary hospitalizations for millions of asthmatics and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sufferers.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-chest-strap-keeps-tabs-on-pulmonary-patients-breathing/
http://www.resmetrix-medical.com/
 
After the heart. Now that Tel Aviv University scientists can 3D-print a heart using human tissue (see here),  they are working to engineer tissue for marrow, brain, eyes and intestine. They are regenerating spinal cord tissue and cells to fight Parkinson’s disease. And they are working to make a 3D-printed heart grow and pump.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/what-do-you-do-after-you-3d-print-a-heart-go-straight-back-to-work-apparently/
 
Health matters most to Israelis. (TY Jacques) A survey conducted by the Haredi Institute of Public Affairs identified the top priorities of Israelis (Jews & Arabs) were health, personal well-being and family life.
http://israelbetweenthelines.com/2019/05/23/health-matters-most-in-israel-study-shows/
 
EU approval for soft Exo-suit. I reported previously (see here) about the ReStore Exo-Suit from Israel’s ReWalk Robotics that helps stroke victim recover their mobility. ReStore has just received the CE mark, allowing ReWalk to market the device to rehabilitation clinics in the European Union.
https://rewalk.com/rewalk-robotics-receives-ce-mark-restoretm-exo-suit-stroke/
 
To heal, to teach, to discover. Israel’s Technion Institute is partnering with Cleveland Ohio’s University Hospitals (UH) to advance medical training, as part of UH’s mission, “To Heal. To Teach. To Discover”. The strategic affiliation includes joint R&D projects, plus 4th-year Technion medical students can train at UH.
https://www.prnewswire.com/il/news-releases/university-hospitals-and-technion—israel-institute-of-technology-announce-new-education-affiliation-300850983.html
 
SACH’s 5,000th patient. (TY UWI) 1-year-old Fatima from Zanzibar is the 5,000th child (from 60 countries) to be treated (for free) by Israeli charity Save A Child’s Heart. Ironically, 19 years ago, SACH surgeons gave Fatima’s 26-year-old mother, Balkis, life-saving treatment at the same Israeli hospital for the same condition.
https://www.israel21c.org/israeli-medical-ngo-treats-its-5000th-child-from-abroad/
 
Doctors save toddler choking on popcorn. Specialists at Schneider Children’s Hospital managed to successfully extract popcorn from the airways of 2-year-old Ori Adler. Doctors and nurses extracted the small and sharp popcorn pieces that were stuck in the child’s airways using delicate bronchoscopy.
https://www.schneider.org.il/?CategoryID=1011&ArticleID=4039

Divisions Over Israel Shadow Calif. Democrats’ Convention . By Susan Crabtree

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/05/31/divisions_over_israel_shadow_calif_democrats_convention_140467.html

Democratic activists in California have sparked another divisive intra-party debate over inflammatory accusations leveled against the Israeli government at the state party gathering this weekend – an event where several Democratic presidential contenders plan to showcase their campaigns.

On Friday, the eve of the California Democratic Party convention in San Francisco, officials were set to consider at least five draft resolutions that would denounce the Israeli government’s influence on U.S. politics.

One particularly controversial resolution accuses Israel of willfully “aligning with the virulent Islamophobia” of white supremacist groups, including “Christian fundamentalist and ultra-right groups” in the U.S., and it indirectly links that alliance to the 2018 massacre of 11 congregants at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

The party’s Resolutions Committee on Friday evening will consider the five draft resolutions, among roughly 200 in total authored by convention delegates. The panel could try to table the ones dealing with Israel to avoid a dramatic public floor debate over the weekend.

Drew Hammill, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, declined to comment on the resolutions while they remain pending. State party spokesman Roger Salazar was equally reticent.

‘Quds Day’ rallies across Mideast highlight unbridled hatred for Israel, US

https://www.israelhayom.com/2019/05/31/quds-day-rallies-across-mideast-highlight-unbridled-hatred-for-israel-us/

Demonstrators at the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day protests, being held in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and other countries in the region, burn Israeli and American flags while decrying the Trump administration’s peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians.

Thousands of Iranians marched on Friday to mark Quds Day, which will see demonstrations across the Mideast as the Trump administration tries to offer an Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

Al-Quds is the Arabic name for Jerusalem, and Iran says the day is an occasion to express support for the Palestinians.

The annual protests, also being held in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere, come on the last Friday of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Iran has marked Quds Day since the start of its 1979 Islamic Revolution by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Iran does not recognize Israel and supports the terrorist groups Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah.