Israeli Love Demonstration for Egypt, near the Egyptian Embassy in Tel Aviv
Palestinian Arab "refugees" wouldn't be citizens of "Palestine" - even if they live there!
Did you think that 63 years of Arabs using the "refugees" as political pawns would end if there was a Palestinian Arab state?
If you want to know the depths of cynicism of the Palestinian Arab leadership towards their people, you must read this article in The Daily Star Lebanon:
"Even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens."
Read more at The Elder of Ziyon »
If you want to know the depths of cynicism of the Palestinian Arab leadership towards their people, you must read this article in The Daily Star Lebanon:Palestinian refugees will not become citizens of a new Palestinian state,according to Palestine’s ambassador to Lebanon.Let's read that again, shall we?
From behind a desk topped by a miniature model of Palestine’s hoped-for blue United Nations chair, Ambassador Abdullah Abdullah spoke to The Daily Star Wednesday about Palestine’s upcoming bid for U.N. statehood.
The ambassador unequivocally says that Palestinian refugees would not become citizens of the sought for U.N.-recognized Palestinian state, an issue that has been much discussed. “They are Palestinians, that’s their identity,” he says. “But … they are not automatically citizens.”
This would not only apply to refugees in countries such as Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan or the other 132 countries where Abdullah says Palestinians reside. Abdullah said that “even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens.”
"Even Palestinian refugees who are living in [refugee camps] inside the [Palestinian] state, they are still refugees. They will not be considered citizens."
Read more at The Elder of Ziyon »
Tunick's Dead Sea shoot to be thwarted?
by Danny Adeno Abebe
After the Alps, the Sydney Opera House, the Vienna soccer stadium and other famous landmarks, the lowest place on earth will be hosting its first mass nude photo shoot this Saturday – if all goes as planned.
More than 3,000 Israelis have asked to take part in Spencer Tunick's Dead Sea shoot. But the 1,000 who have been selected may be in for a disappointment.
Read more at Ynet »
Palestinian ambassador to US wants Jew-free state
When asked by Jamie Weinstein, senior editor and columnist for The Daily Caller, whether a Jew could be elected Mayor of Ramallah in an independent Palestinian state, Areikat said: “But after the experience of 44 years of military occupation and all the conflict and friction, I think it will be in the best interests of the two peoples to be separated first.”
Areikat added that “Well, I personally still believe that as a first step we need to be totally separated, and we can contemplate these issues in the future.”
Read more at JPost »
Making every drop count in Africa
By Rivka Borochov
Since its founding in 1948, Israel has had a thirst to grow crops in the desert. It wasn't just a technological challenge, but a matter of survival. Today, Israel offers some of the world's hottest technologies in desalination, water reclamation and crop irrigation.
But the Jewish nation hasn't forgotten those early days, when Israel hadn't enough to drink, let alone to water fields. To help Africans in a similar situation, the Israeli Foreign Ministry's MASHAV (Agency for International Development Cooperation) has developed Tipa ("drop") to transfer Israeli drip-irrigation water technology to remote areas in Senegal, where basic amenities, even electricity, are lacking.
Modern drip irrigation, the most efficient method of watering crops, evolved from an ancient method where clay pots were filled with water and buried underground so that the water would gradually seep out of the pots and into the crops. Later the same effect was achieved by using perforated pipes or hoses, applying water slowly and directly to plants' roots and allowing it to soak into the soil before it can evaporate or run off. In the 1960s, farmers in many countries began using an Israeli-pioneered plastic emitter that revolutionized and perfected the method for maximum growth with minimum water.
The Tipa system puts this technology into an easy-to-use kit. The hardware consists of a concrete reservoir, a plastic drip irrigation kit and a water pump. Using gravity, water can be pumped from a river or aquifer by hand, solar energy or diesel fuel, under the assumption that most farms are run by women who cannot operate heavy equipment.
It's been a boon for Senegal, situated in the drought-prone Sahelian region, where rainfall is irregular and the soil poor in nutrients. About 75 percent of the working population is engaged in farming, and a majority of these farms are dependant on rain.
The Israeli solution, based on easy-to-install drip irrigation systems and an economic model, is becoming so wildly successful that towns and villages beyond the perimeters of the Israeli projects are copying them, says Ilan Fluss, Director of MASHAV'S Planning and External Relations Department. "Irrigation is one of the main pillars of the activities of MASHAV," says Fluss. The Senegal model was implemented seven years ago, introduced first by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev at a sustainable development summit in Johannesburg in 2002. Two years later, the project was up and running.
Increasing crop value and village income
Tipa is intended for sustainable development in rural areas in the South Sahara, where farmers rely on traditional methods that are inefficient and unreliable sources of livelihood for communities.
Drip irrigation gives the Senegalese food security in regions of Ngoe, M'bassis, Daptior, Keur Yaba and Mbisau. "Instead of one crop per year, they can have three, and higher yields from each small plot of land," says Fluss.
"Today a lot of them are growing maize and vegetables but we have introduced to them high-value crops, and what can happen when the [small farms] are organized into communities so they are working together. They plant together and try to work in a coordinated way to solve issues of [food] security, and obviously they can sell into the markets what they are producing."
The Israeli solution is complete, scalable and replicable, even without direct Israeli input - and that's the beauty of it. Once the idea is fully understood, the Senegalese can develop it themselves. "We are bringing a solution to small farmers without the abilities to invest in modern agriculture," says Fluss. "But our solutions are loaded with technology. We bring them simple solutions that are sustainable and which can be applied in a rural setting."
The seeds they use also can be improved, says Fluss, and they can cut down on the abundance of chemicals and pesticides now damaging their natural resources.
The highest form of aid
This is no handout, Fluss stresses. In the 12 regions Israel is aiding in Senegal, the technologies are financed through low-interest micro-loans granted by NGOs working in the region. Israel provides the technological know-how, and equipment is supplied via competitive tenders. Some farmers already have been able to triple their income, and have found the system reduces the amount of time needed in the fields for weeding.
Israel also gives the Senegalese capacity-building support, Fluss says. "We are working with them to make sure they produce [their crops] in the right way, overseeing their production efforts to help make sure that the farmers will be productive and independent after a couple of years."
According to Judaic values, giving a person the ability to earn a living is the highest level of charity, so this project in Senegal fulfills a very basic tenet for the Jewish state.
And the success? "We can already see that around those communities where we are working, people are copying this model independently," reports Fluss, who estimates that the Israeli intervention has directly impacted about 700 Senegalese families.
The Senegalese government has turned the Israeli model into a national program. A new trilateral partnership established between the governments of Israel, Italy and Senegal will install some 500 hectares of Tipa to directly benefit 10,000 people in rural Senegal. "These are the direct ones," Fluss says of the system that is being used in Kenya, South Africa, Benin and Niger. "It's like a satellite which influences the area around it."
Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Egypt’s Arab Spring Blossoms Into War With Israel
by Robert Spencer
Speaking about the Libyan revolution in March, Barack Obama hailed “the rights of peaceful assembly, free speech, and the ability of the Libyan people to determine their own destiny,” and also praised “the peaceful transition to democracy in both Tunisia and in Egypt.” Now, as Egypt rushes headlong toward becoming a Sharia state and going to war with Israel, Obama is scrambling to hold at bay the forces he is largely responsible for unleashing.
After prayers in the mosques on Friday, jihad-minded Egyptians destroyed a protective wall around Israel’s embassy in Cairo and stormed the building, casting Israel’s national flag out the window, along with embassy documents. The police stood by nonchalantly as the wall was destroyed, doing nothing to stop the thugs. An Egyptian security official even admitted openly that “police will not do anything to the protesters, and they will be left unharmed to continue demolishing the wall." The thugs repaid this passive support by burning a police car near the Israeli embassy. Egyptian military also stood by and did nothing to protect the embassy.
Read more »
"Cyprus and Israel should join forces"
Globes | by Amiram Barkat
From the interview with Cypriot Energy Service director Solon Kassinis:
"In my last meeting in Israel, I raised five proposals: to build a pipeline from Leviathan and Block 12 to Cyprus; to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility; to build a methanol plant; to build power stations to supply electricity from Cyprus to Israel and vice-versa; and to build an oil and gas storage terminals that could be used for the strategic reserves of both countries.Read more »
"It is not within my professional authority, but I think it is possible to expand cooperation to the military sphere. For example, you will secure Leviathan with your ships and submarines; why shouldn’t you also secure Block 12, which is only 33 kilometers away?"
Doomsday weapon: Israel’s submarines
by Alex Fishman
The day the Twin Towers collapsed in Manhattan, September 11, 2001, Israeli submarine “Leviathan” of the advanced Dolphin model was on a training sail somewhere at sea – the exact location of Israel’s submarines will always remain classified, even dozens of years after the fact. At one point, the submarine rose to the surface to take a break. The sub’s commander, then-Lt. Colonel Oded, looked through the periscope and saw a calm, blue sea. However, one crew member soon informed him that he just saw the New York towers collapsing on television. Oded’s first reaction was laughter: What kind of movie are you watching there? How could the Twin Towers collapse? Yet soon after, the official announcement arrived from Israel.
Read more »
U.S. to veto Palestinian state
The Obama administration has announced for the first time publicly that it will veto any bid by the Palestinians to seek statehood recognition later this month at the United Nations, a move Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called “too late” to stop them.
For some time, President Barack Obama’s policy has been to oppose a unilateral attempt by the Palestinians to seek statehood, but Thursday was the first time that the administration explicitly said it would use its veto power on the U.N. Security Council.
Read more »
The Turkish dumbbell and the sorrows of the evicted
Weekly update from LatmaTV - Israel's most trusted news source
S&P raises Israel's credit rating from A to A+
JPOST - Finance Minsiter Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Stanley Fischer praise move as "badge of honor" and reward for Israel's responsible actions during global economic crisis.
International credit rating agency Standard & Poor's announced on Friday that it has raised Israel's credit rating from A to A+. The company said that the decision reflects the government's responsible economic policy. Company officials said they do not believe the national budget will explode despite the mass social justice protests demanding reformed economic policies.
Read more »
Orphaned Land: Heavy metal envoys to Muslim world
JPost
by Ben Hartman
Israel’s sole remaining “ambassadors” to the Turkish Republic have long hair, tattoos and legions of fans across the Muslim world.
While heavy metal music probably can’t repair shattered Turkish-Israeli ties, Israeli metal band Orphaned Land is confident leaders in Ankara and Jerusalem can learn a lot from their fan base, which includes Israelis, Iranians, Syrians and other metal fans from across the Arab and Muslim world.
Read more »
Abandoned Dogs Help Human Sufferers Overcome Abuse, Grief
JPost
by HANNA SZEKERES
Where the cat purrs, the dog frisks his tail, and the patients come to heal. This is the idea behind Israeli organization HAMA, engaged in animal assisted therapy (AAT,) and their success proves their philosophy – that humans and animals are meant to help and heal each other.
HAMA is short for Humans and Animals in Mutual Assistance, and it is a Government Registered Non-Profit Organization committed to the healing and rehabilitation of people and animals alike through Animal-Assisted Intervention. HAMA does animal-assisted therapy as a complementary therapy to conventional psychological and medical treatments. HAMA is currently working with 30 dogs and 15 cats, most of which are themselves survivors of abuse, neglect, injury or abandonment.
Read more »
World forgot Israel’s 9/11
Ynetnews
by Giulio Meotti
What can be worse than 9/11? What Israelis have experienced in the months immediately before and after the destruction of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. If 3,000 Americans have been killed in a single horrible morning commemorated by the world, Israel has a very different Ground Zero, day after day, a suicide bomber after another.
In some ways the terrorism suffered by Israel has been worse than 9/11, especially because in a small nation like Israel terrorism produces a ripple effect through society. If 9/11 is now an emblem of evil remembered worldwide, Israel’s suffering has been deliberately forgotten.
Read more »
Girls at War
Tablet Magazine
By Elizabeth Rubin
I.
“Ulpana High school, Where settler girls go to become ‘real men’ ”
That was the headline I read. You think of settler girls and you think “Little House on the Prairie” or the Jewish equivalent of the Girls Madrassas I’ve been to in Pakistan: Learn your religion, learn how to be a good wife, then have 10 children. But the girls in this story were getting all that and a little extra. Instead of afterschool sports they did afterschool fight-the-state. When civil administrators showed up to enforce a settlement building freeze, the girls blocked the road, whipped mud at them, sat on their jeeps. When 100 riot police showed up, the girls lay down on the wet road, climbed into garbage bins, and hurled trash. Only after a 5-hour battle were the administrators able to deliver their pieces of official paper—building-freeze orders.
Read more »
Israel boycotted by Nivea ? Simon Wiesenthal Center expresses outrage in letter to German cosmetics company
 |
| NIVEA - THE SMELL OF ANTI-SEMITISM |
Read more »
Related:
COSMETIC GIANT NIVEA EXPLAINS WHY IT DIDN’T LIST ISRAEL ON ITS WEBSITE
TheBlaze | by Dave Urbanski
- The Nivea international website failed to mention Israel, but did list “Palestine Territories.”
- Outraged customers accused the company of lying after it posted a screen shot on its Facebook page that included Israel.
- After Glenn Beck talked about it on radio, Nivea added the link.
- In a statement to The Blaze, the company said the link was originally not there because the Israel site was under construction.
Read more »
Should we boycott Turkey?
Ynetnews
by Hanoch Daum and Raz Shechnik
Raz Shechnik – Yes
Actually, why not travel to Turkey? I heard they are offering excellent deals at this time, on the house, all inclusive: Abuse at the airport, strip-searches – for security reasons, of course – hatred on the streets, anti-Semitism in the press and an especially hostile regime.
But have no fear, if you encounter any problems, you can always approach the Israeli ambassador in your vicinity. Wait, what is that? The ambassador is no longer there?
Read more »
Obama 'star' of Palestinian ad
POLITICO.com | by Mackenzie Weinger
Part of a speech Obama gave in 2010 to the United Nations General Assembly is featured in an ad aimed to rally support for the Palestinians upcoming bid for statehood at the United Nations on Sept. 20, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Read more »
More than just bricks in a wall: What the entire Kotel looked like
Israel Hayom | by Nadav Shragai
These past few months have witnessed the completion of a historic work undertaken in the City of David: the uncovering of the lowest point of the Western Wall’s foundational structure. The discovery, which has been hidden deep underground for thousands of years, was made possible by the uncovering of a Herodian-era drainage canal by archaeologists. Now the Western Wall’s entire architectonic picture is nearly complete, and it will be unveiled publicly in the next few weeks.
The tens of thousands of Jews who streamed toward the Western Wall two nights ago to ask for divine forgiveness could not have known that just south of them, deep underground, a real archaeological drama was unfolding. Two thousand years after King Herod’s builders laid the foundations for the Western Wall on the Temple Mount, Israeli archaeologists have managed to reach these foundations and expose them anew.
Read more »
Leak Offers Look at Efforts by U.S. to Spy on Israel
 |
| Shamai K. Leibowitz in 2002 |
NYTimes.com | by Scott Shane
“All I know is that it’s a serious case,” Judge Alexander Williams Jr., of United States District Court in Maryland, said at the sentencing in May 2010. “I don’t know what was divulged other than some documents, and how it compromised things, I have no idea.”
Read more »
Robert Gates Says Israel Is an Ungrateful Ally: Jeffrey Goldberg - Bloomberg
It was an extraordinary scene: President Barack Obama, sitting impassively in the Oval Office in May as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lectured him, at considerable length and at times condescendingly, on Jewish history, Arab perfidy and the existential challenges facing his country.
What was extraordinary wasn’t the message -- it was not an untypical Netanyahu sermon. What was notable was that Netanyahu was lecturing the president live on television, during a photo opportunity staged so that the two leaders could issue platitudes about the enduring bonds between their nations.
Read more »
Israel and France form new partnership to assist developing countries
 |
| MASHAV Dep.Dir-Gen Danny Carmon (right) and HE Christophe Bigot sign aid cooperation agreement (Photo: MFA) |
Israel and France signed (September 5) a declaration of intent for cooperation in extending aid to Haiti and to emerging countries in Africa. The agreement includes joint actions in the fields of agriculture and irrigation, public health and gender. Implementation of the agreement will be through MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, at the Foreign Ministry.
Development is an important subject on the international agenda, especially against the backdrop of recent global crises (food, climate change, energy, etc.), which mainly hurt developing countries, many of which suffer from extreme poverty and hunger. Both Israel and France view this joint activity as adding a new phase to their relationship.
The Israeli-French cooperation will focus on sending experts, counseling, professional training and the like, appropriate to the needs and desires of the country receiving the aid. In the first stage, the countries designated to receive aid are Cameroon, Senegal, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Haiti.
A steering committee composed of representatives from Israel and France, charged with monitoring implementation of the agreement and approving the work plans, will meet once a year.
Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
PM Netanyahu meets with Belgian PM Leterme
 |
| PMs Netanyahu and Leterme after joint statement in Jerusalem (Photo: Reuters) |
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Monday), 5 September 2011, at his official residence, met with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme and welcomed him on his first visit to Jerusalem, noting that this was a good opportunity to improve bilateral relations.
In his statement, Prime Minister Netanyahu called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to enter into direct negotiations immediately. "He can come to Jerusalem, I could go to Ramallah or we could both go to Brussels," the Prime Minister suggested. He noted that since taking up office he has ascribed supreme importance to the holding of direct negotiations with the Palestinians and added that to his regret, the Palestinian leadership has chosen to refrain from direct dialogue, preferring instead to appeal to the UN, a move which will lead to deadlock.
The two leaders discussed economic development and bio-technology and agreed to increase bilateral cooperation in these areas.
Statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme
PM Netanyahu: Prime Minister, it's a pleasure to welcome you to Jerusalem.
We've had the opportunity to discuss our relations. They're good and getting better. Part of the objective here is to try to cement our economic relations, and specifically in the areas of double taxation, technology and the other areas where Belgium and Israel could benefit one another, and I look forward to continuing these discussions. This is also the first time you visit Jerusalem, so welcome to Jerusalem, you and all your delegation.
We are well on our way to expanding the cooperation between us and we also just had the opportunity to discuss developments in the region and Israel's desire to advance peace. Belgium, I think, is a very important voice in Europe. It is, in many ways, the capital of Europe. So many things happen in Brussels. So it's very important for us to have an opportunity to speak to you, the Prime Minister of Belgium, about the role that Europe could play - a constructive role - in advancing peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
I explained to the Prime Minister that Israel seeks a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. In fact, there's an axiom built in what I just said because the only peace that will be achieved, will be a peace through direct negotiations. Peace cannot be imposed from the outside and it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties, direct negotiations without preconditions. I'm prepared to begin those negotiations immediately. In fact, I've been prepared to begin such negotiations for the last two and a half years. Unfortunately, for over two and a half years, the Palestinians have done pretty much everything in their power to avoid such direct negotiations, and I think this is a mistake, because I think they need peace as much as we need it, and I think that advancing economic peace has shown the benefits to the Palestinians. You can see the towers sprouting from Palestinian cities very close to here in the Palestinian Authority - not rockets - and that paves the way to peace.
But ultimately, the economic peace can only be a prelude to a politically negotiated peace. And that will require not only Israel, but also the Palestinians, to make painful steps to cut with the past and embrace the future. The Palestinians now want to avoid these direct negotiations by taking another detour - that is by going to the United Nations. None of these efforts will advance peace. I think that, in a peculiar way, they will set back peace, and might set it back for years. This is why I call on President Abbas to resume direct peace negotiations right now, without any preconditions.
I can invite him here. I can make a security nightmare for my security people, but I’ll go to Ramallah or to Brussels, but I think this is the place where we should go right now, and ultimately this is the only way that peace will be achieved. I think they’re not going to be easy, as I said, but I think they’re a great deal better than the dead-end trips that we’ll all go through by going to the UN. And I hope that Europe can advance peace by advancing the call for direct negotiations. I’m sure we’ll take up these and other matters, Prime Minister, in our discussion over lunch. I want to tell you that I’ve enjoyed immensely the opportunity to have this brief conversation with you, and I look forward to continuing it. So, welcome to Jerusalem.
PM Leterme: Thank you very much, dear colleague. Let me say that I’m also very pleased to be here. It’s my first visit to Israel. It is, in fact, the first visit of a Belgian Prime Minister to Israel since 2005.
As you mentioned, we discussed our already quite good bilateral relations, and we discussed the conclusion of bilateral agreements in the field of double taxation avoiding, the field of social security and in the field of protection of classified information. Yesterday, Colleague, I inaugurated the new premises of our embassy in Tel Aviv.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we agreed, Prime Minister Netanyahu and myself, that there is room for improvement of our economic relations in fields like pharmaceuticals, information technology, biotechnology - and that we should invest a little bit more than until today in trying to strengthen the economic relations between our two countries, two medium-sized countries. I don’t like very much to talk about small countries, but we can maybe…
PM Netanyahu: Well, gigantic in spirit and talent.
PM Leterme: …small in geographical size, but I think we are, economically spoken, medium-sized countries, and we are investing a lot in research and development, new technologies and these are fields for strengthening cooperation, which should be enhanced.
Yesterday already I met some captains of industry and Israeli investors. There are lots of people in Belgium interested in what you achieved as economic growth, as development of the Israeli economy. I would like to pay tribute to that, to commend you for that, and so we are looking forward to cooperating in those fields.
Of course, it is very interesting to exchange views also about the Arab Spring and about what is happening in this region of the globe - the wider region. The various revolutions carry the promise of more democracy here in this part of the globe. Let’s hope that this can turn into a reality and I think that Israel also has everything to gain from more democratic and tolerant neighbors.
To conclude, like colleague Netanyahu already said, and we’ll continue the discussion during lunch. We already discussed a little bit about the Middle East peace process. We are living once again, very important hours, days and weeks in the framework of this Middle East peace process. We all know the process is bending and I can only plead on behalf of the Belgian government and as one of the leaders of the European Union, I can only plead for understanding, mutual respect while encouraging further negotiations, and I fully agree that it is through negotiations that there will be a sustainable and lasting peace here in this region and even in this country.
Thank you very much.
Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Israel: Turkey wants confrontation
Ynetnews | by Attila Somfalvi
Officials in Jerusalem say they were not surprised by reports that Israeli passengers were held up at the Istanbul airport Monday, charging that Ankara is seeking to provoke an open confrontation with Israel.
Read more »
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)