Displaying posts categorized under

ISRAEL

Palestinians: How to Achieve a Better Life by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12559/palestinians-protests-dictatorship

“It’s become safer to demonstrate against Israel than against Abbas or the Palestinian Authority. Israel is at least a country of law and order and they have human rights organizations and a powerful media and judicial system. We can only continue to dream of having something like what the Jews have.” — Palestinian activist.

At the end of the day, Palestinians know that the power struggle between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas is not between good guys and bad guys, but between bad guys and bad guys. These bad guys are no different from other Arab dictatorships that enslave and kill their people. Anyone who thinks that Mahmoud Abbas is eager to go back to the Gaza Strip is living in a dream world.

If the Palestinians ever wish to seek a better life, the first thing they need to do is rid themselves of the “leaders” who have destroyed their lives.

In the past two weeks, Palestinians received yet another reminder that they are living under undemocratic regimes that have less than no respect for public freedoms.

The regimes of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip never miss an opportunity to remind their people of the dire consequences that await anyone who speaks out against the leaders. The two Palestinian regimes have been forcing it down the throats of their people for many years.

Still, some Palestinians seem surprised each time the PA or Hamas send their police officers to break up (or, more precisely, to break bones in) a demonstration in Ramallah or the Gaza Strip.

Amy Schumer, Breaking the Wedding Glass, and Jerusalem by Moshe Phillips

https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/06/13/amy-schumer-breaking-the-wedding-glass-a

With the summer wedding season upon us, Jewish couples are preparing for marriage ceremonies that will conclude with the ancient ritual that many know simply as “the breaking of the glass.” Many a groom’s heel will crush a small glass under a handkerchief.

Unfortunately, for many assimilated Jews, the only Jewish aspect of the traditional wedding ceremony that they retain at all is the breaking of the glass.

What is this strange act? And what drives so many Jews, even those who are seemingly detached from the Jewish community and may even be marrying non-Jews, to nevertheless want to break the glass?

When Chris Fischer and actress Amy Schumer — not exactly a paragon of Jewish religious observance — married in a Malibu beach ceremony earlier this year, they too broke a glass.

Even some non-Jews have appropriated this aspect of Jewish wedding celebrations. At actress Cameron Diaz’s wedding in 2015, her groom stepped on a glass even though, as one newspaper account put it, “neither Diaz nor Madden are Jewish, so the reason for this elaborate traditional Jewish ceremony is best known to them.”

The sad truth is that an extremely high percentage of Jews break the glass because it is “traditional,” yet they have no idea what the deeper meaning really is.

Gaza Strip “Militants” Fire Rockets Into Israel Rockets from Gaza began after Israel first struck three targets in the strip By Felicia Schwartz

https://www.wsj.com/articles/gaza-strip-militants-fire-rockets-into-israel-1529474115

TEL AVIV—Militants early Wednesday fired a volley of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, puncturing a tacit three-week cease-fire, in the latest flare-up in tensions between the two sides.

The rockets from Gaza began after Israel first struck three targets in the strip in what the military said was a response to repeated launches of flaming kites and balloons with explosives, low-tech weapons that have damaged thousands of acres of Israeli farmland.

Over several hours, Gaza militants fired 45 rockets into Israel and the Iron Dome system intercepted seven of them, the Israeli army said. The fresh barrage triggered sirens in several Israeli towns near the border. There were no immediate official reports of deaths or injuries from the attacks.

As of 6 a.m. local time, the Israeli military said it had targeted 25 targets in the Gaza strip overnight in response to what it described as a “severe rocket attack” from the 25-mile-long enclave, which is densely populated.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Wednesday in a statement on Twitter that the large number of rockets was meant to “set the rules of the engagement” after the Israeli airstrikes.

The escalating tensions show how Israel’s high-tech military is grappling to respond to the basic incendiary balloons that have burned thousands of acres of Israeli farmland and damaged nature reserves. Israel said it targeted Hamas military compounds with airstrikes—including an underground training site—to pressure the group to halt the arson attacks.

Egypt has quietly mediated between Israel and Hamas during the surge in violence that stems from clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli military forces at the border fence separating the Gaza Strip and Israel. Since March 30, more than 120 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces at the border. CONTINUE AT SITE

Iran, Syria, and Israel’s Red Line By Jacob Nagel

https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2018/06/18/iran_syria_and_israels_red_line_113543.html

The recent skirmishes between Israel and Iranian forces in Syria raise important questions about the “rules of the game,” interests, and red lines of the primary players. Israel claims there can be no arrangement in Syria that allows Iran and Hezbollah forces to remain on Syrian soil, and that includes Shiite militias. The Israelis also insist Syria cannot be a transshipment point for advanced, game-changing weapons, especially Precision Guided Munitions (PMGs) en route to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Terrorist threats on Israel’s borders will not be tolerated.

Of course, Israel realizes the important role Russia plays in Syria and the country’s significant influence with the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. As such, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has invested considerable time and effort to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin and his advisors that it is in Russia’s national interest to ensure that the Iranian access abides by Israel’s red lines. After the latest meetings between Israelis and Russians (held at military, executive and working levels), Russian statements suggest these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. The Russians are apparently beginning to understand that Iran’s presence in Syria is a liability – particularly if Israel continues to keep its “red lines,” including (according to foreign sources) airstrikes against Iranian assets in the heart of this important Russian sphere of influence.

Gaza Media Coverage: Snipers and Lies by Ruthie Blum

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12516/gaza-media-israel

“We will take down the border [with Israel] and we will tear their hearts from their bodies.” — Yahya Sinwar, Hamas political leader.

“[W]hen we talk about ‘peaceful resistance,’ we are deceiving the public. This is a peaceful resistance bolstered by a military force and by security agencies, and enjoying tremendous popular support.” — Mahmoud Al-Zahar, senior Hamas official, on Al Jazeera.

When a doctor in Gaza announced that a congenital heart defect was likely the cause of her death, the Gaza health ministry removed her name from the list of those killed in clashes with Israel, pending an autopsy.

“Hamas’ goal is to have Israel kill as many Gazans as possible so that the headlines always begin, and often end, with the body count. Hamas deliberately sends women and children to the front line, while their own fighters hide behind these human shields.” — Alan Dershowitz, Esq.

On May 14, as United States officials ceremoniously relocated the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza — many of them members of Hamas and Iran-linked Islamic Jihad, along with other residents paid to participate — engaged in violent demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel border fence. Dubbed the “Great March of Return,” these protests were launched on March 30 and timed to crescendo six weeks later, on the day of the U.S. Embassy move, which coincided with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel.

The UN’s Collusion With Terrorists One-sided condemnations of Israel give ammunition to Hamas. Joseph Klein

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270490/uns-collusion-terrorists-joseph-klein

At an emergency meeting held on June 13th, the United Nation General Assembly adopted another one-sided resolution against Israel. The resolution, proposed by Turkey and Algeria, deplored the use of allegedly excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the Gaza Strip, which the resolution pretends is still “occupied” by Israel. The anti-Israel resolution demanded that Israel refrain from such actions and fully abide by its legal obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949. It also requested the UN Secretary General to submit a report in no later than 60 days, outlining proposals on ways and means for ensuring the safety of Palestinian civilians, including on an international protection mechanism. The General Assembly resolution is virtually identical to Kuwait’s draft UN Security Council resolution that was vetoed by the United States on June 1st.

The General Assembly resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 120 in favor to 8 against with 45 abstentions, ignored Hamas’s acts of terrorism and provocations, including using children as human shields and its attempts to invade Israel during the protests at the Israeli-Gaza border in recent weeks demanding a so-called “right of return.” It ignored the fact that Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, which it uses as a base for its attacks against Israeli civilians, and that there have been no Israeli soldiers “occupying” Gaza since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal in 2005. The closest that the resolution came to acknowledge what Israeli civilians have had to put up with for years was deploring in general terms the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israeli civilian areas.

US interests require Israeli control of the Golan Heights Yoram Ettinger

www.TheEttingerReport.com
US interests in the Middle East and beyond are well-served by a strategically constrained Syria. Historically, Syria has been a tectonic, volatile platform of violent, intolerant and unpredictable Arab/Islamic regional aspirations of grandeur, totally unrelated to Israel’s existence and policies.

During the modern era, Syria has been a major arena of anti-US hate-education and incitement, Islamic and international terrorism (e.g., the blowing up of the US Embassy and Marines Headquarters in Beirut and PanAm-103), narco-terrorism (featuring ties with Latin American drug cartels), a mega-billion dollar counterfeiting of $100 bills and the abuse of human rights.

Syria represents a clear, present and lethal threat to all pro-US Arab regimes. It has been a systematic violator of agreements (with Lebanon, Turkey, the Arab League, the US and Israel), advancing the geo-strategic interests of the Ayatollahs of Iran, Russia and China, benefitting from North Korean conventional and non-conventional military technologies and hardware (chemical, biological and nuclear), while maintaining close ties with anti-US Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Palestinians: Victims of Arab Apartheid by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12521/palestinians-apartheid-victims

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are now living in a Lebanese ghetto called Ain Al-Hilweh, and the world seems to be fine with that.

No one cares when an Arab country mistreats and discriminates and kills Palestinians. But when something happens in the West Bank or Gaza Strip, the international media and community suddenly wake up. Why? Because they do not want to miss an opportunity to condemn Israel. One can only imagine the uproar in the world were Israel to pass a law denying Arabs jobs or the right to inherit property.

There are no protests on the streets of London or Paris. The UN Security Council has not — and will not — hold an emergency session to condemn Lebanon. Of course, the mainstream media in the West is not going to report about Arab apartheid and repressive measures against Palestinians. As for the leaders of the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, they do not have time to address the problems of the camp residents. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are too busy fighting each other, and the last thing they have on their minds are the interests and well-being of their people.

Lebanon is one of several Arab countries where Palestinians are subjected to discriminatory and apartheid laws and measures. The plight of Palestinians in Arab countries, however, is apparently of no interest to the international community, and pro-Palestinian activists and groups around the world.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Developing a blood test for cancer. The Californian healthcare company GRAIL Inc is sponsoring a research program to detect cancer early, led by Hebrew University Professor Yuval Dor. The program will analyze fragmented DNA in the bloodstream that derives from tumors, to identify the type of cancer responsible.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/hebrew-university-researchers-team-up-with-us-firm-to-fight-cancer/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3740107,00.html

Targeting cancer cells in children. Scientists at Israel’s Technion have developed a system for the selective nanoscale transport of the chemotherapeutic Dasatinib in young patients. Polymer micelles enhanced with sugar carry the chemical to cancer cells alone, thus maximizing its efficiency without harming healthy tissues.
https://www.israel21c.org/nano-system-delivers-anticancer-drugs-to-childhood-tumors/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168365918301111

$8.4 million for startups to test health software. Israel has launched an $8.4 million p.a. program that enables startups to try out their technologies with the medical data of the four health services. It is part of the National Digital Health plan (see here) which aims to make Israel a global leader in digital health technologies.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-kicks-off-plan-for-startups-to-try-out-tech-at-health-organizations/
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3740020,00.html

A new view on surgery. Israel’s Beyeonics Surgical (a subsidiary of Elbit) develops Augmented Reality (AR) visualization for surgeons. A head-mounted visor transmits real-time high-resolution imaging of the surgical area, plus patient data, directly before surgeons’ eyes. Beyeonics has just raised $11.5 million of funds.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3740165,00.html

Cells learn to overcome difficult pregnancies. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah Medical Center have discovered that the human body’s “natural killer” cells improve their ability to fight diseases affecting the fetus following the first pregnancy. It could lead to new fertility treatments
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-study-paves-way-for-women-to-skip-difficulties-of-first-pregnancies/
https://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(18)30128-6

Israel’s first female ambucycle driver. Sophie Donio from Eilat is Israel’s first female EMS ambucycle driver. She is a single working mother, a therapist and a diving instructor who gives up her free time to volunteer with United Hatzalah as an EMT first responder and rush out to save the lives of people she has never met.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/R4issLQe0wI?rel=0

A biotech hub at Hadassah. Israel’s LR Group is launching Biohouse – a $14 million network of biotech hubs, initially in Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center and then at two other Israeli hospitals, plus Boston and New York. The Hadassah hub can host 40-50 medical device and digital health startups and is already 40% full.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3740263,00.html

What Justice Demands Elan Journo’s new book clarifies the Arab-Israeli conflict. Mark Tapson

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270434/what-justice-demands-mark-tapson

On Wednesday a United States amendment to a draft resolution that would have condemned the terrorist group Hamas was blocked at the U.N. General Assembly even before getting to a vote. U.S. Ambassador and future POTUS Nikki Haley called the move “shameful” and declared, “It is no wonder that no one takes the U.N. seriously as a force for Middle East peace.” This is just the latest example of the sort of anti-Israel resistance that the tiny Middle East democracy and its ally the United States confront daily in the Arab-Israeli forever war. What will it take to resolve this conflict? What is the solution?

Elan Journo offers one in his new book, What Justice Demands: America and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The book is not a comprehensive history of this complex conflict, but a clarification of its essential nature and moral significance. Its central point is that America must reexamine and change its two-state approach, which Journo argues has not only come to nothing, it has made matters worse. While ostensibly supporting Israel, we actually have sold her out and empowered jihadists in the process.

Born in Israel and raised in the United Kingdom, Journo is a Fellow and Director of Policy Research at the Ayn Rand Institute whose articles have appeared in a such publications as Foreign Policy, Middle East Quarterly, and the Los Angeles Times. He is the co-author of Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism, a contributor to Defending Free Speech, and editor of Winning the Unwinnable War.