Archive for month: February, 2019

Syria Strikes
PM Netanyahu confirmed on Tuesday that Israel had carried out a military strike in the Syrian Golan Heights the night before. Syrian state media reported that Israel shelled targets in the deserted town of Quneitra, just over the border from the Israeli Golan.

According to another Syrian news outlet, two officers in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Quneitra area.

Israeli military reporters were told that the strike targeted Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen trying to set up a base of operations near the Israeli border. The tank shelling was also meant to serve as a warning to Syria and other Iranian proxies that Israel would not tolerate Tehran’s efforts to establish a permanent military presence in the Syrian Golan.

The PM, on his way to an international conference in Warsaw to discuss Iranian activity in the Middle East, said, “We are working all the time to block Iran. We operate every day, including yesterday, against Iran and its efforts to entrench itself in the region.”

The Syrian army has reportedly sent reinforcements to the border area.

For further reading click here.

Terror Support
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri indicate that his government would allow Hezbollah to keep its weapons. Under UN Resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon committed to disarming the Iran-backed terror group.

But as Hezbollah is a major force in the government and has the most powerful armed force in the country, it doesn’t seem like the Lebanese PM has much of a choice. Does that make Lebanon a terrorist state that should be condemned, or dealt with militarily by the free world?

For further reading click here.

Cyprus and Israel
On a recent visit to Cyprus where he met with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, President Rivlin said, “Security ties between our two countries have never been better. Our navies and commando units share space, knowledge and experience.”

Israeli-Cypriot relations have blossomed in the last decade following gas discoveries in waters off both countries. Israeli company Delek has a stake in Cyprus’ Aphrodite gas field, which lies close to Israel’s massive Leviathan deposit. Greece is also a partner with Israel and Cyprus to build an underwater pipeline to carry natural gas from deposits in the eastern Mediterranean to Europe via Greece and Italy. Turkey, however, claims that exploration off the shores of Cyprus infringes on its rights and the rights of breakaway Turkish Cypriots.

Rivlin said that he and Anastasiades discussed expanding the Israel-Cyprus-Greece partnership to include other countries.

For further reading click here.

UN Ban
The United Nations Human Rights Council has reportedly warned a number of companies in Israel and abroad that they face inclusion in a UN blacklist over their operations in Israeli towns and industrial zones in Judea and Samaria, as well as eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

According to Yediot Ahronot, the UNHRC is preparing an expanded blacklist, set to be published at the 40th UNHRC session in Geneva next month, over the objections of the US and Israeli missions to the UN. The list is thought to include some major international companies including Coca Cola as well as the major Israeli banks, pharmaceutical giant Teva and military contractor Elbit Systems.

The new blacklist could cause some foreign businesses to leave Israel and could make it more difficult for Israeli firms on the list to secure investment capital from abroad.

For further reading click here.

Startup Nation
Prognose 220 Mil, an Israeli startup located in the Negev, is using specially trained dogs to sniff saliva samples to determine if that person has cancer. The test costs NIS 400. If the dog sits still after sniffing the sample, it indicates that cancer is present.

Researchers in the United States discovered back in 2011 that dogs can accurately detect advanced stages of colon cancer using breath and stool samples of patients. The study showed that the dogs were able to successfully identify even early stages of cancer in 33 out of 36 (92%) breath samples and in 37 out of 38 (98%) stool samples.

For further reading click here.

To view the company website (in Hebrew) click here.

US cybersecurity company Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) yesterday announced the acquisition of Israeli SaaS security platform developer Luminate Security. No financial details were disclosed but sources close to the deal estimate that it was for about $200 million.

For further reading click here.

New Podcast
I’ve launched a new podcast called Jewish Wisdom, as part of a larger project that will include a website and some books. The goal of the project is to share authentic Jewish teachings, insights and advice based on the Bible, Talmud and Kabbalah. To kick things off I’ll be publishing a weekly podcast on the Parshah (weekly Torah portion). You can find the podcast on iTunes or Google Play. Please subscribe and share!

To listen to the podcast in iTunes click here.

US Blocks UN
The US blocked a proposed UN Security Council statement expressing regret over Israel’s decision to end the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). Kuwait and Indonesia had circulated the draft statement, which warned Israel “to protect the Palestinian civilian population in Hebron” and the rest of the West Bank and stressed “the importance of the mandate of the TIPH and its efforts to foster calm in a highly sensitive area and fragile situation on the ground, which risks further deteriorating, as reflected in the escalating cycle of violence.”

The US made it clear that Israel has the right not to renew the temporary mission.

For further reading click here.

Syrian Missiles
Satellite images taken by Israeli ImageSat International company and published by the IDF reveal that the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system recently deployed in Syria has become operational and a potentially dangerous challenge to Israeli air strikes against Iranian related targets.

Although the missile batteries have reportedly been operational for almost 4 months, this is the first time the system has been photographed in an upright position. The batteries are still believed to be in the hands of the Russian troops who will continue training Syrian military personnel on their use in the coming months.

The PM’s office announced that the PM will be meeting with Russian President Putin in Moscow in 2 weeks to discuss the Iranian presence in Syria. Netanyahu said, “We will continue to try and prevent Iran from arming itself. This is the main issue I intend to discuss with President Putin.”

For further reading click here.

Senate with Israel
The US Senate passed the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act by a vote of 77-23 on Tuesday. The bill allows states to penalize businesses that take part in boycotts of Israel — a clear blow to the BDS movement. The bill also calls on the Trump administration to certify conditions had been met for the groups’ “enduring defeat” before any significant withdrawal from Syria or Afghanistan. It also includes provisions supported by both Republicans and Democrats to impose new sanctions on Syria and guarantee security assistance to Israel and Jordan.

The bill is not expected to pass, as is, by the Democratic controlled House of Representatives because some argue that the right of American’s to participate in boycotts (like BDS) is protected by the constitutional right to free speech. [ But Anti-Semitism is not protected by the constitution ]

For further reading click here.

Rabbi Passes
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, President of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews passed away of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 67. He founded the fellowship in 1983 which raises $140 million annually for Israeli and Jewish causes. Eckstein dedicated his life to building interfaith bridges and cooperation between the Christian world, the Jewish people and the State of Israel.

The U.S. Congress honored Rabbi Eckstein for his interfaith bridge-building. He has been given numerous awards from organizations around the globe, including the prestigious Raoul Wallenberg Award presented to him by the JDC in the Israel Knesset by Prime Minister Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, the government of Israel’s award for Special Contribution to the Welfare of the People of Israel, the Man of the Year award from the Federation of Jewish Communities presented to him at the Kremlin in Moscow, the Jerusalem Prize by the Economic Forum, and over 100 additional honors and awards from various other groups, including Chamah, Colel Chabad, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, Hadassah, and more.

Eckstein was eulogized by Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, Jewish Agency Director Isaac Herzog and many other prominent Jews and Israelis.

For further reading click here.

New Podcast
I’m launching a new podcast called, “Jewish Wisdom: Authentic Jewish Teachings, Insights and Advice from the Bible, Talmud and Kabbalah”. I’ll also be including episodes on the weekly Torah portion. The podcast will be available for download in iTunes and the Google Play Store next week. Until then, you can listen to the podcast episode on this week’s Torah portion of Terumah here.

Terrorists Killed
Last night 2 terrorists threw explosive devices at an Israeli army unit near the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Jenin in northern Samaria. The soldiers shot and killed both terrorists. No Israelis were hurt.

For further reading click here.

Infrastructure Plans
Just 2 months ahead of the April elections, the Prime Minister’s Office has released a report titled “Infrastructure for Growth for 2019” that outlines NIS 196 billion (approx. $54 billion) in investment in infrastructure for the coming years. The report includes 207 projects, either in progress or in the budgeting or ministerial approval stages.

The report includes every infrastructure project estimated to cost more than NIS 100 million that has undergone economic feasibility testing, or that appears in a government decision or in a budget summary. About half of the infrastructure budget – NIS 98 billion – will be financed by PPPs (public-private partnerships).

Included in the approximately NIS 100 billion of investments in public transport are:

• A light rail to connect the central areas of Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Ramat Gan, Tel Aviv and Bat Yam at a cost of NIS 16 billion (to be completed in 7 years).

• A light rail line in Jerusalem from the Ramot neighborhood in the north to the Gilo neighborhood in the south that extends to Emek Refaim in the heart of the city. The construction will cost NIS 10 billion and is also expected to take 7 years.
 
• A new entrance road to Jerusalem from the west, connecting Highway 1 in the Givat Shaul area to the Givat Mordechai interchange on Menachem Begin Boulevard. The road will include two tunnels: one under the Har Nof neighborhood and the other under the Yefe Nof neighborhood. The project will be completed within 4 years and cost NIS 1.1 billion.
 
• Expansion of the highways leading into Tel Aviv (an addition of three highways to the north, east and south) at a cost of NIS 4.7 billion.

Other projects include:

•  The construction of two combined gas and water turbine power stations totaling NIS 4.8 billion, as a massive overhaul of the electricity market.

• The establishment of a new hospital in Be’er Sheva within five years and improvements to psychiatric hospitals (unknown cost).
 
• Construction of 70,000 sqm of Ministry of Finance offices at a cost of NIS 700 million, which is expected to be completed within four years.
 
•  The establishment of Ministry of Defense intelligence complex at Shoket Junction, near Be’er Sheva and the transfer of most intelligence units to that location.
 
•  Establishment of a facility to recycle energy from waste. The facility will handle 1,500 tons of waste per day and be built within three years.
 
• The construction of 2,550 classrooms and kindergartens annually by the Ministry of Education; reinforcing 80 structures and making 127-132 schools accessible annually.

Of course, if the elections result in a new government, some (or all) of the projects may not be approved.

For further reading click here.

Population Surge
Dozens of Knesset members and candidates have signed a proposal called the Shamir Plan, created by the Nahalah movement, that calls for a government initiative to increase the Jewish population of Judea and Samaria from roughly 450,000 to two million, which would make it equal to the Arab population.

The signatories include Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud), ministers Yisrael Katz (Likud), Yariv Levin (Likud), Zeev Elkin (Likud), Gilad Erdan (Likud), Naftali Bennett (New Right), Ayelet Shaked (New Right), Miri Regev (Likud), Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud), Ayoub Kara (Likud), Yoav Galant (Likud), Gila Gamliel (Likud), and Ofir Akunis (Likud).

In addition, dozens of MKs and candidates in the Likud primaries (being held today), as well as Knesset hopefuls on the Jewish Home and New Right lists, have also signed the pledge.

For further reading click here.

Embassy Drill
Hundreds of Argentinian security forces and and emergency responders held a large-scale drill Sunday simulating a hostage-taking scenario inside the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires. Israeli officials did not take part in the exercise, although several embassy employees played the parts of the hostages.

Around 400 special forces troops, with the support of helicopters, armored personnel carriers and first responders, were involved in the drill.

For further reading click here.