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reading israel news

The 10 Best Online Israel News Sources in English

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There’s no shortage of Israel news in English online these days, but finding the best ones that you can trust is a bit more challenging. At IsraelAM we get the Israel news for our daily email newsletter from a wide variety of reputable Hebrew and English Israeli and American news sources. In this blog post we’re going to let you in on the English Israel news sources we use.

If you have the time and the desire, these Israel news sources in English are definitely worth checking out on a daily basis. Some of them are more to the left and some to the right, so you need to read a bunch of them from all sides to get a balanced view of the Israel news.

We haven’t rated them or listed them in any particular order. But we have tried to give you some insight into their political leanings, writing style and ease of use.

1. Haaretz

Haaretz Israel News

Haaretz.com is the English language site of Israel’s oldest daily newspaper. The Hebrew newspaper was founded in 1918 and is now published in both Hebrew and English in print and online.

Haaretz’s political orientation leans left. You’ll find their articles to be critical of Israeli policies relating to the West Bank (which they consider to be occupied territory) and injustices directed against the Palestinians living there. The paper is also critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right leaning government, especially the right wing parties within it. Charedim and Orthodox Judaism don’t feel the love from Haaretz columnists either.

But even if you can’t stand their politics, Haaretz is worth reading for their thorough and accurate news reporting and interesting feature stories. You’ll just have to filter out their biases.

Most of the articles on Haaretz.com are translations of stories appearing on their Hebrew site www.haaretz.co.il. Those translations aren’t always 100% accurate or don’t fully capture the meaning of the original Hebrew. This most likely happens because the translators are sometimes just trying to translate word for word, which doesn’t always work from language to language.

Some of the stories on the English language site are different than on the Hebrew site, especially if the stories relate to domestic issues which the editors feel non-Israelis will not be interested in. So if you’re interested and are a Hebrew reader, you should click on the link at the top of their homepage to check out the Hebrew site and see what the top stories are for the natives.

The website doesn’t have nearly as many ads or annoying popups as some of the other Israel news sites, so getting the articles to load is relatively painless and won’t crash your computer. You probably will have to close a couple of ads to maintain your sanity, but I guess that’s par for the course.

Warning
While most of the headline news articles are free, many of the features and articles that contain analysis require a premium subscription. It comes out to about $9 per month, but you really have to be a fan of the paper to pay, with so many other free options available.

2. Jpost

jpost israel news website

Jpost.com is the website for The Jerusalem Post, which was founded in 1932 as The Palestine Post. The Jerusalem Post is an English language newspaper with no Hebrew edition. Therefore, the articles don’t have the same problem of mistranslation from Hebrew like some of the other English language Israel news sites.

Jpost’s political leanings are supposed to be centrist, but they tend to pull to the right. The paper/site has interesting features and analysis, some for free and some for paid subscribers only.

The main problem with the website is that it has way too many ads and super annoying popups that significantly impact the site’s loading speed and make it almost unusable. I’ve repeatedly tried to use the site as a news source for our israelAM daily email, but I always find myself waiting ages for pages to load and my browser tends to slow down, which is totally unacceptable to me. So I end up just closing the pages and moving on. Maybe it’s just me or my computer, so you should try it for yourself and see how it goes for you. It’s worth a shot.

3. Ynetnews

ynet israel news

Ynetnews.com is the online English-language Israeli news website of Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s most-read newspaper, and the Hebrew news portal, Ynet. The Hebrew print edition is considered to be the newspaper of record in Israel and its reporting is fairly balanced.

The stories on the English language website are often about half a day behind the Hebrew website, so if you really want to stay current, you better brush up on your Hebrew. Since it’s a translation, the Ynetnews stories are sometimes lacking in grammar and completeness relative to the Hebrew versions, but you’ll still get the basic news from an Israeli perspective.

The site is totally free, but chock full of adds and popups that slow it down. But it’s not nearly as bad as jpost.com.

4. Israel Hayom

Israel Hayom news

Israel HaYom (Hebrew: ישראל היום‎, lit. “Israel Today”) is an Israeli Hebrew-language free daily newspaper, first published in 2007. Israel HaYom has the largest daily circulation in the country.

The newspaper is owned by US casino mogul Sheldon Adelson who is a big supporter of Prime Minister Netanyahu. Therefore, the paper is clearly biased in favor of Netanyahu and chooses to play down events that don’t help to promote a positive image for Netanyahu, while on the other hand, touting and inflating events that help promote him and the Likud.

The English language website is basically a newsletter with the news that appeared in the Hebrew language version the day before. So you’re basically getting day old news. But you’ll still find interesting stories and analysis which you won’t find elsewhere, so it’s worth a look.

The site is totally free. If you want to be brave, you can also read the digital version of the Hebrew print addition online, which is really pretty cool.

5. Al Monitor

Al Monitor Israel News

Al-Monitor (media site) features reporting and analysis by journalists and experts from the Middle East, with special focus sections (that Al-Monitor terms “pulses”) on Egypt, the Persian Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey.

The Israel section of Al Monitor is heavily left leaning and pro-Palestinian. If you want the extreme left version of events, this is a good place to get it.

6. Arutz 7

Arutz Sheva Israel news

Arutz 7 literally means channel seven, which was the call signal for the independent, pro-settlement radio station. The actual station no longer is active, but Arutz 7 has a Hebrew and English news site.

The English one is a www.israelnationalnews.com. It’s right wing, pro-settlement and a bit reactionary, but if that’s your cup of tea, it’s a great site to get your Israel news from. If you’re looking for the Jewish perspective of a recent incident on the Temple Mount or an attack on Jewish settlers, you’ll find it here (and possible nowhere else in English).

The actual website has lots of ads and can get slow. But it’s manageable.

7. JTA

JTA Israel news

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world. It’s not-for-profit, with no political or philosophical leanings.

JTA.org has Jewish news from all over the world, but if you just want Israel news you can get it by clicking on the “Israel” link on the homepage. It’s a great source for unbiased and concise reporting. And there are no ads or popups, so the site loads quickly and painlessly.

8. Globes

Globes.com is the English language version of one of the premier Israeli business news publications. It’s a bit behind its Hebrew language version, but it’s still the best source for everything business and economy related in Israel. There are sections on real estate, technology and startups, just to name a few. Want to know which Israeli company just got purchased by Google or Microsoft? You’ll find the answer in Globes.

The site is fast, for the most part, with few ads.

9. Associated Press

One of the two major world newswire service, you can’t go without heading to the site and searching for Israel news. Many of the Israeli papers get stories from here, so you might as well read it in the original.

10. Reuters

The other major world newswire service. Check out what we just wrote for the Associated Press.

Of course there are other general news sites like CNN, Fox News, NYTimes, The Wall Street Journal and many more that will contain some news about Israel, depending on the day and events. But if you want your daily dose of Israel news in English, on a regular basis, the 10 sites we listed are good bets to check out.

Of course, if you don’t have time to spend reading all of those articles, you can subscribe to our israelAM daily email newsletter and get the Israel news you need to know directly in your inbox every morning.

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stopping terror payments

US says Palestinians stopping terror payments – IsraelAM 6-14-17

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Terror Payments
In a hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson revealed that the Trump administration has demanded that Mahmoud Abbas stop transferring payments to families of suicide bombers. He said that he had received a report that the Palestinians “have changed that policy and their intent is to cease the payments to the families of those who have committed murder or violence against others. We have been very clear with them that this is simply not acceptable to us.”

When the issue was raised by Republican Senator Jim Risch, Tillerson responded by saying that the issue “was discussed directly with President Abbas when he made his visit to Washington.” He added, “The president (Trump) raised it, and I had a bilateral meeting with (Abbas) later and I told him—you absolutely have to stop this.”

But a senior Israeli official said there was no evidence the PA had taken any steps to change its policy of funding terrorists and their families. “In Israel, we don’t see any change whatsoever in the Palestinians’ policies, as they continue to fund terrorists’ families. The Palestinian Authority continues to praise, incite, and support terrorist with payments.”

US lawmakers are considering legislation that would slash funding to the Palestinians as long as the payments continue.

On Sunday, Israeli ministers approved a bill that would cut tax transfers to Palestinians by the amount paid out to the terrorists. The Palestinians have paid out some NIS 4 billion — or $1.12 billion — over the past four years to terrorists and their families,

For further reading click here.

Back to NZ
Israel will return its ambassador to New Zealand after a six month absence that came as a result of New Zealand co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement activity. In a letter to PM Netanyahu, New Zealand’s PM Bill English wrote, “I regret the damage done to Israel-New Zealand relations as a result of New Zealand proposing Resolution 2334 at the Security Council.”

Earlier this month Israel announced that it would return its ambassador to Senegal, which also co-sponsored the resolution. The other two co-sponsors, Venezuela and Malaysia, have no diplomatic relations with Israel. The UN resolution passed as a result of a US abstention (no veto) under the Obama administration.

For further reading click here.

UN Report
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein published a report yesterday accusing both Israel and the Palestinians of failing to bring alleged perpetrators of war crimes to justice. There was no reaction from either party. Maybe this will bring Israel and the Palestinians closer together?

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley gave formal notice last week that the Trump administration was reviewing its participation in the Human Rights Council and called for reforms to put Israel “on equal footing.” Israel is not a member of the council.

For further reading click here.

Army vs National Service
Religious girls in Israel have traditionally chosen two years of National Service (Sherut Leumi) as an alternative to army service. The National Service would usually be performed primarily in special education schools, hospitals and social service roles.

But over the past few years the number of religious girls enlisting in the IDF has risen dramatically. In addition to army service, many girls now have the option of volunteering for their National Service in the Shin Bet, Mossad and government ministries. As a result, many of the traditional National Service positions have been left vacant. That’s a problem.

For further reading click here.

Happy Birthday
Wishing a very happy birthday to my amazing wife and cofounder Natalie. May you enjoy a blessed year filled with health, happiness and success. If you’d like to make a donation to wish Natalie a happy birthday, click here :)

Israel News for February 17, 2017

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US Confusion
On Wednesday President Trump lifted the spirits of PM Netanyahu and the entire right leaning Israeli political spectrum by dismissing the longstanding US two-state solution policy . It seemed to be a huge game changer.

But wait. Yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said, during a press conference, that the United States “absolutely” supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and anyone who thinks it doesn’t is in “error.” In fact, she repeated and stressed several times, “We absolutely support a two-state solution.”

Earlier Thursday, the United Nations and the Arab League issued a joint statement in support of the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, saying the two-state solution is “the only way to achieve comprehensive and just settlement to the Palestinian cause.”

When asked whether the United States would carry out its obligations under a U.N. Security Council resolution that called for the establishment of two states, Haley said, “Understand that the United States supports the two-state resolution. That’s never been wavered.”

She added, “What we’re saying is, ‘OK, let’s not just talk about the old way of doing things.'” She said, “Come to the table with all the fresh atmosphere and perspectives that we now have, and think, ‘OK, what can we do knowing all of the factors, knowing where we sit present day, and how can we move forward.'”

So does the US support a two state solution or not? It seems like it does, if that’s what the Palestinians and Israelis agree upon. But if they don’t, then the US isn’t going to force them to. Everything is on the negotiating table.

In other words, the rest of the world is adamant that the two-state solution is, in the words of the U.N.’s Mideast envoy Nickolay Mladenov, “the only way to achieve the legitimate aspirations of both peoples.” The US feels that there could be other solutions, and that it will support the one that both parties agree upon — including the two state solution…and the one state solution. The art of the deal.

Also in her press conference, Haley blasted the UN’s constant bias against Israel and said, “I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias.”

For further reading click here.

Ambassador Hearing
President Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of his confirmation hearings. In his opening remarks Friedman apologized for a slew of remarks he made in the past against liberal Jewish groups and politicians. For example, he called the liberal Middle East policy group J Street “kapos” and the Anti-Defamation League “morons.” He also likened Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister who appeased Adolf Hitler. Friedman said that there was “no excuse” for the remarks and that they were simply “partisan rhetoric” during the heated presidential election campaign.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the ranking member of the Foreign Relations committee (who happens to be Jewish), which must approve Friedman to advance his nomination to the full Senate, said the terms seemed to go beyond partisan rhetoric.

Cardin said he and Friedman had in common that “our parents were proud Zionists who worked and did everything they could in support for the State of Israel.” But noting his father was the president of a synagogue Cardin added, “My father taught me to respect different views.”

Cardin also said, “I’m having difficulty understanding your use of those descriptions and whether you really can be a diplomat.”

Protesters interrupted the hearings at least three times.

With a republican majority, it’s unlikely that Friedman will not be confirmed.

For further reading click here.

Hamas Rejects
A senior Hamas leader has rejected Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s offer of massive assistance to Gaza in return for Hamas giving up their rockets and attack tunnels, saying that if Gaza wanted to be like Singapore, it would have done so already. He also said that Hamas would release the bodies of Israeli soldiers held in Gaza only if Israel releases all of its Hamas prisoners.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for January 4, 2017

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Soldier Convicted
After a nine month trial in a military court, IDF Sgt. Elor Azaria was convicted of manslaughter this morning for shooting a seriously wounded terrorist in the head last year in Hebron. The terrorist had just committed a stabbing attack and was shot and wounded by soldiers. As he was lying on the ground face down, surrounded by soldiers, Azaria approached and shot the terrorist in the head, allegedly killing him.

On the one hand the defense attempted to claim that the terrorist was already dead before Azaria shot him. On the other hand the claim was made that Azaria saw the terrorist move and thought that he was still a threat. In any case, the judges wrote, “He opened fired in violation of orders, the terrorist did not pose any threat.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman expressed regret at the verdict but urged everyone to respect it. “We are all obligated to show restraint. What is important is that despite the verdict, the security apparatus will assist the soldier and his family in any way possible.”

Hundreds of protesters rioted outside of the courtroom in front of the IDF military headquarters in Tel Aviv directly before and after the verdict.

Education minister Naftali Bennet and Culture Minister Miri Regev both called for the government to grant Azaria immediate amnesty.

Azaria’s legal team said that it will appeal the verdict.

For further reading click here.

Motorbike Attack
Palestinians on four motorbikes attempted to break through a checkpoint near Jenin yesterday. One of the bikes rammed into two Border Police officers, injuring them. The other three motor bikes escaped through the checkpoint.

For further reading click here.

Gaza Casualty
Over two and a half years after Operation Protective Edge (Gaza War), an Israeli soldier critically wounded in the operation has died. Major Hagai Ben Ari, a highly regarded paratroop officer, was shot in the head by a sniper in Gaza on July 21, 2014. Over the next 2 years he remained unconscious. Ben Ari leaves behind a wife and 3 young children. He is the 68th IDF soldier killed in Protective Edge.

For further reading click here.

PA Austerity
The Palestinian Authority is planning to implement some deep spending cuts as a result of a huge budget deficit. The reason for the deficit is a sharp drop in foreign funding, primarily from Saudi Arabia and the US and EU.

Saudi Arabia normally pays about $20 million a month into the budget, but it stopped making regular contributions last April – in part to apply pressure on President Mahmoud Abbas to implement political changes. The EU and the US have also reduced direct budget support, preferring instead to fund specific development programs.

More than half of the PA budget goes for paying salaries of government employees. The PA also pays stipends to families of terrorists.

For further reading click here.

Underwater Lighting
Even though Hanukkah is over, we thought you had to see this video, in which two Chabad emissaries light a huge menorah under the shark infested waters of Playa Del Carmen in Mexico. Chabad really does go everywhere! To watch video click here.

Israel News for November 16, 2016

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Unlikely Opposition
Arab ministers aren’t the only ones opposing the bill just approved by government ministers that would prohibit mosques from using loudspeakers to broadcast their call to prayer. Health Minister Yakov Litzman, of the Haredi UTJ party, filed an appeal yesterday to prevent the Knesset from voting on the Muezzin Bill, thereby sending it back to the government for further review. The move will force PM Netanyahu to take a public stance on the matter.

In his appeal, Litzman referred to the similarities between the muezzin calls and the call announcing the beginning of Shabbat. “For thousands of years, different instruments have been used for this purpose, including the shofar and trumpet. With the advancement of technology, loudspeakers are now used to announce the beginning of Shabbat while respecting the allowed volume and in accordance to the law. The bill in its current phrasing, and following the discussions that it will bring on, may harm the status quo, and so in accordance to governmental protocol, this appeal is hereby submitted for further review.”

In other words, Litzman is afraid that the same reasoning for banning the Moslem prayer calls will be applied to banning the pre-Shabbat sirens [ even though a weekly midday siren is quite different than a daily pre-dawn wakeup call ].

Shas (the sephardic haredi party) leader Aryeh Deri has also said that the new bill is unnecessary because there are already existing regulations to prevent excessive noise, which are simply not being enforced. He also brought up the Shabbat siren issue.

Without the full support of the coalition, it’s unlikely that the new Muezzin noise curbing legislation will pass.

For further reading click here.

Coalition Uncertainty
The bill that would allow the State to expropriate privately owned Palestinian land and, in effect, legalize the Amona settlement is due to come up for a preliminary vote in the Knesset, but it is unclear whether the coalition has enough votes to pass it.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahalon, head of the Kulanu party, has said that he will not support legislation that goes against the ruling of the Supreme Court. Haredi MKs have also indicated that they will only support the bill if they get concessions in other areas. If they don’t vote for the legislation, the opposition could very likely prevail.

The coalition chairman has suggested that the vote be postponed until he has sufficient time to assure that their are sufficient votes to pass the bill, but Naftali Bennet has demanded that the vote take place as scheduled. Bennet is also against any compromises or changes to the legislation. He has also threatened that his Bayit Yehudi party will not support subsequent government legislation if the bill is not fully supported.

PM Netanyahu will not attend the Knesset vote so as not to stir up international reaction. He also did not vote for the bill in the initial Ministerial Committee for Legislation vote. The Attorney General has also said that he will not defend the bill against the Supreme Court’s ruling and which he believes to be against international law.

For further reading click here.

Iran Sanctions
The US House of Representatives, with bipartison support, passed a bill to extend sanctions against Iran for an additional 10 years. The existing sanctions were due to expire on Dec. 31. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee urged the Senate to pass a companion bill. President Obama has said that he will not veto the sanctions extension.

With the sanctions extended, all Trump has to do as President is to stop waiving existing sanctions in order to pull the US out of the Iran deal. Simple.

The only problem is that the five other countries that signed the Iran deal along with the US have are unlikely to stop trading with Iran and impose new sanctions. That would put US companies at a disadvantage, something that doesn’t seem to sit well with Trump. It would also greatly reduce the effect of the US sanctions.

For further reading click here.

Ambassador Exchange
Israel and Turkey have finally exchanged ambassadors, five months after the countries signed their reconciliation agreement. The new Israeli ambassador is 53-year-old Eitan Na’eh, an experienced diplomat who served in Ankara in 1991 as a political affairs officer, as ambassador to Azerbaijan, and was currently serving as deputy ambassador to Great Britain. The new Turkish ambassador, Kemal Okem, is a foreign policy advisor and close confidant of Erdogan.

Israel and Turkey are currently involved in discussions to build a pipeline to transport natural gas from Israel to Turkey and Europe.

For further reading click here.

Israel and France
The Israeli Air Force and the French Air Force recently held two weeks of joint exercises over the skies of Corsica. It is the first time that Israeli pilots have joined their French counterparts in French airspace. The two countries also held joint exercises at the beginning of this year with search and rescue missions as well as a scenario of a naval attack on Israel.

For further reading click here.

Israel News for September 14, 2016

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Peres Condition
Former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres is in serious condition, fighting for his life, after suffering a stroke yesterday. Peres is 93.

In a statement this morning, Prof. Yitzhak Kreiss, Director of Sheba Medical Center, said “Mr. Peres made it through the night safely. His condition is stable. Serious, but stable. We are moving him to the intensive care unit of the neurology department for further treatment and observation. He is still under the supervision of a multidisciplinary team of experts and will undergo another assessment in the afternoon. We are in close contact with the family, which has accompanied him and not left his bedside. We are sharing all decisions with the family.”

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau called on the public to pray for Peres, saying “Mr. Peres has earned many credits in his many years of service to the people of Israel (in working to) strengthen the security of the State of Israel from its day of formation, and it is appropriate for everyone to join the prayer for his recovery at this time.”
 
The Sephardic Chief Rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, also called for prayers for Peres, saying “to his credit is the saving of the world of Torah by establishing the exemption (from IDF service) to yeshiva students and his great appreciation to the Torah.”

For further reading click here.

US Israel Defense Pact
The US and Israel will sign the agreement by which the US will give Israel $38 billion in military aid over the next 10 years. The previous aid package was around $30 billion. PM Netanyahu had reportedly requested $45 billion.

The new agreement will include aid for missile defense, which in the past has been granted by Congress in addition to the regular aid package. The agreement stipulates that Israel will have to spend all the money on purchases from US contractors. In the past Israel has used around 26% of the aid money on purchases from Israeli contractors. Israel will also no longer be able to use the money on fuel purchases. In the past Israel was permitted to spend up to 13% of the aid on fuel.

So the new aid package could hurt Israel’s defense industry and will force Israel to find hundreds of millions of dollars within its budget to pay for fuel, which cause cuts in other government programs. But it is still the largest US aid package to any foreign country and a 20% increase from the previous aid package.

The fact that the new agreement is being signed by a liberal Democratic President is seen as a significant show of bipartisan support for Israel, and it might help Hillary Clinton, who can claim allegiance to Obama’s policies.

David Makovsky, director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said, “I think President Obama sees this as vindication of his belief that there’s an iron-willed distinction between his commitment to Israel’s security and whatever policy differences might exist between the two countries.” He added, “By ensuring that a liberal Democrat has signed this deal, it’s a way of locking in bipartisan support.”

PM Netanyahu will be attending the UN General Assembly in NY next week, where he is expected to meet with President Obama.

For further reading click here. http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/13/politics/us-israel-military-aid-package-mou/

Electricity Deal
Israel has signed an agreement with the Palestinian Authority which gives the PA control over distribution of the electricity provided by the Israel Electric Company (IEC). The PA currently owes the IEC 2 billion shekels, which has caused the EIC to intermittently cut power to the Palestinian territory. Under the terms of this agreement, the PA will give Israel a one-time payment of NIS 570 million and Israel will forgive NIS 500m. of its bill. The remainder will be paid out in 48 payments.

The US has agreed to cover NIS 100 million of the PA bill.

For further reading click here.

Israel Attacks Syria
In response to several mortal shells fired from Syria into Israeli territory, the IDF conducted airstrikes against Syrian government artillery positions. Yesterday the Syrian army reported that it had shot down an Israeli aircraft, but the report was false and all Israeli planes returned safely. But the Syrians did fire surface to air missiles at the Israeli jets, which is the first time they’ve done that.

For further reading click here.

Satellite Launch
Israel Aerospace industries and the Ministry of Defense successfully launched the Ofek 11 satellite into space yesterday from Palmachim Airbase near Rishon LeZion. The Ofek 11 is an observation satellite and will be used primarily by the IDF and security services.

But there might be some problems with the launch. Officials said, “There are indications according to which things aren’t working as we expected, and so we are trying to stabilize (the satellite). There are things that make us worried. The satellite orbits the earth once every hour and a half. It’s possible that some systems are not in the correct condition.”

For further reading click here.

Israel News for August 2, 2016

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Air Force Alef
An Israeli company has been authorized to build the Israeli version of Air Force One, the iconic aircraft that ferries the President of the United States. The plane will cost more than $70 million and will be fitted with the latest security technology. The Prime Minister, President and other important officials will use the plane. Currently the PM leases a plane when he needs to fly overseas. So the new aircraft will save Israel money in the long run, in addition to the obvious security benefits. Specific details about the new aircraft are being kept secret by the military censor.

For further reading click here.

Israeli Gems
According to Australian Prof. William (Bill) Griffin, a world-renowned geologist and expert on the earth’s crust, Israel might not be so resource poor as you thought. Griffin said, “Israel has large deposits containing different types of precious stones, including diamonds. This is really a bonanza.”

He recently visited Israel to study the findings of Shefa Yamim (TASE:SEFA), the only company in Israel dealing with the exploration of diamonds and precious stones. It might, however, be a bit early to load up on the company’s stock. The company hasn’t actually begun mining on a commercial scale, due to the extremely high costs involved and the need for huge capital investments. But the company is currently working on a public offering in London, so you never know.

For further reading click here.

The Wall
Mahal, the Israeli company that built the barrier that separates Gaza from Israel, has indicated that it would be the perfect choice to build a wall between the US and Mexico, in the event that Donald Trump become the next US President.

Sa’ar Koursh, owner of Magal Security Systems Ltd., said in an interview with Bloomberg news, “We would join forces with a major US defense company that has experience with such projects worldwide. We’ve done it in the past and we would definitely want to do it.”

The company has helped construct security barriers along Egypt and Jordan, and has contracts to do the same in Kenya, Somalia and other African countries. 

Regarding the Mexico wall, you already know who’ll be paying for it.

For further reading click here.

Lebanese Blooper
A Lebanese entertainment ticketing company called Ticketing Box Office, which is owned by or related to Virgin, decided to commemorate Lebanese Army week with a special ad containing a photo of a Lebanese officer. Great idea, except for the fact that the photo was of an IDF officer. The mistake was noticed when the company posted the ad on its Facebook page. Then the press picked it up. Needless to say, the company got rid of the ad and apologized for the careless error. Someone probably got fired. Quite a blooper!

To see the image click here.

Israel News for August 1, 2016

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Terror Thwarted
Security forces last night found six homemade pipe bombs in a car driven by an Arab Israeli man from the southern town of Rahat, during a routine stop at a checkpoint in the West Bank. He was traveling towards the city of Kvar Saba.

For further reading click here.

Mosque Fire
A massive fire broke out last night in the largest and most important mosque in the northern city of Acre. The mosque is considered second in importance to the Al Aqsa mosque. Firefighters, assisted by hundreds of residents, battled the fire. The fire was started as a result of an electric failure.

Acre is a city in which Jews and Arabs live in relative harmony. There was no suspicion among the Arab residents that the fire was started by Jews. In the words of one Arab resident, “There is no way that someone set the mosque on fire in the heart of the city. This is a place in which Arabs and Jews live together and have good relations. We never suspected that any person would want to harm a mosque – Not today or any other day.”

For further reading click here.

General Heads to DC
IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot arrived in Washington yesterday for a four day visit to meet with military and defense officials and discuss military cooperation between the two countries.

One of Eisenkot’s main objectives is to attempt to bridge gaps related to the military aid agreement that Israel wants to finalize within the next couple of months (or sooner). The agreement is signed every ten years. The new one will hopefully increase US military aid to Israel from $3.1 billion to $5 billion per year.

The are a couple of conditions to the aid package that Israel has a problem with. According to the new deal, Israel is prohibited from using the money to make purchases in Israel, which could have a significant negative effect on Israel’s defense industry and lead to thousands of layoffs. Israel currently is permitted to spend up to 26% of the US aid in the country.

Another sticking point prohibits Israel from using the money to buy fuel, which would require Israel to find an extra $400 million in it’s own fiscal budget. The US wants as much money as possible to be used for purchases in the US.

For further reading click here.

New Ministers
The government has approved several new ministerial appointments. Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) who is currently Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister, was also given the Environmental Protection portfolio.

Welfare Minister Haim Katz (Likud) will take on all matters relating to employment and to Holocaust survivors, currently under the jurisdiction of the Economy Minister. The rest of the Economy Ministry, currently held by PM Netanyahu, will be given to Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu). Netanyahu still holds the communications, regional cooperations and foreign ministry portfolios.

For further reading click here.

IDF Exemptions Revoked
The IDF provides exemptions for yeshiva students who study at least 45 hours per week at one of the 1,000 institutions recognized by the Education Ministry, according to the Israeli Defense Service Law. But the IDF is now cracking down on men who aren’t exactly acting in a “kosher” way.

According to a senior official in the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, some 4,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 17-24, who received an exemption from military service so they could study Torah, have been found to be living a secular lifestyle. Most have already been drafted.

Hundreds have appealed the decision, with some providing proof they do meet the criteria as yeshiva students and having their exemption reinstated. Many claim that they were undergoing a temporary “crisis of faith” which caused them to drop religious observance, but that they have subsequently repented. While that argument might be a valid theological one, it doesn’t usually work for the army.

The IDF Manpower Directorate has been using private detectives and scouring social media pages to identify the “no longer religious” men.

The senior IDF official explained, “Many in the Haredi sector have a Facebook page. As soon as we realize that the young man does not meet the conditions for exemption, we revoke it after summoning him for a hearing in which we present him with the evidence and allow him to appeal the decision. Going abroad or working instead of studying at the yeshiva are also considered violations of the requirements. We receive the information from different sources.”

He added, ”We give the time to study to whoever needs it. We’ve discovered a lot are registered to a yeshiva, but don’t actually attend. We’ve always enforced—what’s new today is the use of social media in ultra-Orthodox society. We can easily reach them on Facebook and can do a lot of detective work using a smartphone.”

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David's sling missile test

Israeli successfully completes tests of futuristic missile defense system

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The Defense Ministry announced that it has successfully completed the last phase of trials of the David’s Sling air defense system. The system has entered production stage and the Israel Air Force is expected to take possession of the system in the first quarter of 2016.

 

 

David’s sling can intercept short to medium range rockets and ballistic missiles including guided projectiles, cruise missiles, aircraft, and drones, which is the main threat that Israel faces from it’s northern border. Its range means it can destroy incoming threats over enemy territory, away from Israeli skies and high enough to prevent damage from shrapnel. It will play a crucial part in the multi-layered defense system being developed by the Israeli Defense Ministry, complementing the Iron Dome (which defends against short range) and the Arrow 3  defense batteries (which defends against long range missiles).

The trials occurred in recent days in southern Israel, and were led by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which is developing David’s Sling, together with the US defense company Raytheon.

The Defense Ministry described the trials where “the system’s capabilities were tested in a number of scenarios that simulate the threats it was designed to deal with. Target missiles were fired, which were detected by a multi-mission radar. The radar transmitted the coordinates to a fire control center, that calculated defense counter-plans. David’s Sling interceptors were successfully fired, and carried out all of the flight stages, destroying the targets as planned,”

Shlomo S. (full name withheld), head of the David’s Sling program in Rafael explained  “The emphasis is on guided, maneuvering threats carrying dozens of kilograms of warheads, which are highly destructive,” He added “This is first time technology of this kind has been used. It is on the verge of science fiction.”

Israel News for November 4, 2015

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Ethics and Priorities
There’s an ethical debate raging in the aftermath of the recent terror attack in Rishon Letzion in which an 80 year old woman and two other men were stabbed. A widely circulated video taken during the attack shows the woman being stabbed and falling to the ground, followed by at least a dozen Israeli men running right past her in pursuit of the terrorist. Not one stopped to help the wounded grandmother.

The woman’s granddaughter, Sagit Bracha-Eizenkot, told Channel 2 after watching the video of the incident that each of the citizens who ran past her injured grandmother “needs to do some soul searching. You want to stop the terrorist – fine, but someone needs to stop and help the wounded. We have a saying – ‘we do not leave the wounded behind.’ But that is exactly what we did.”

In response to the criticism leveled against the men who ran past without stopping to help, Bayit Yehudi MK Yinon Magal explained on Twitter that the men did the right thing by pursuing the terrorist to neutralize him before helping the wounded lady, which is what soldiers are trained to do in combat. The former commando in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit added, “Respect to the citizens who risk their lives!”

The video indicates that just 30 seconds passed from the moment the woman was stabbed to the moment at which citizens began tending to her.

What would you have done?

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Knesset Rules
Last week, Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi (Joint List), who currently serves as Deputy Knesset Speaker, was verbally attacked by MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) while Elkin was addressing the Knesset. Tibi had Elkin ejected from the Knesset hall by security. After reviewing the event the Knesset’s Ethics Committee has decided that Tibi was out of line and acted wrongly by embarrassing Elkin and ejecting him. As punishment Tibi has been suspended from presiding over Knesset debates for two weeks. Arab Knesset members don’t think he should have punished at all, and that the committee is discriminating against him because he is Arab.

If you want to see tempers gone wild, watch the video here.

Radio Raid
The IDF raided the Al Hurria radio station in Hebron on Monday night and confiscated its broadcasting equipment to stop the station from inciting violence. In a statement the IDF said, “Al Hurria radio station’s agenda encourages stabbing attacks, violent riots and reports false and malicious claims of security forces executing and kidnapping Palestinians in order to provoke violence. The station glorifies attacks against Israelis and congratulates the families of attackers who died while executing attacks.”

For further reading click here.

Jordan Warms Up
A Royal Jordanian airliner was diverted to Ben Gurion Airport due to weather conditions in Amman. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing due to low fuel.

Speaking of Jordanian aircraft, Reuters reported that Israeli fighter pilots flew alongside Jordanian airforce pilots during training exercises in the US. The Jordanian planes also refueled from an Israeli tanker over the Atlantic Ocean.

It looks like Jordan is getting comfortable with Israel, at least in the air. That’s a good sign.

For further reading click here.

Start Up Nation
If you’re an admirer of Israeli high-tech companies and would love to invest in them from the US, you’ll soon get the chance to do so.

BlueStar Indexes and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) are launching the BlueStar TA-BIGITech Israeli Technology exchange traded fund (ETF) that will be traded on Nasdaq under the ticker ITEQ.

It will track the performance of the TASE and BlueStar’s BIGITech Index, which is made up of 65 stocks of Israeli high-tech companies in information technology, computer and network security, renewable and clean energy, biotechnology, sustainable agriculture, and defense technologies. Among the stocks in the ITEQ ETF will be Amdocs Ltd. (Nasdaq: DOX),Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), Mobileye, and Elbit Systems Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESLT; TASE: ESLT).

According to BlueStar founder Steven A. Schoenfeld, “This is a unique opportunity providing investors all over the world access to Israel’s innovative and dynamic technology sector through their portfolios.”

For further reading click here.

Kotel Sheds Tears
Worshippers at the Kotel were shocked by what they saw: water pouring out of the wall’s stones. Some took the unusual event as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies in the biblical books of Zecharia and Yoel which describe waters gushing from the wall as a sign of the coming of the Messiah.

While the excitement of impending redemption grew, the facilities management team came to investigate. They determined that the water was coming from a broken pipe on the Temple Mount. It’s still unclear whether the plumber who gets the job will be Muslim or Jewish. And yes, there are Jewish plumbers in Israel.

By the way, no Jewish leaders are claiming that this is a plot by the Muslims to flood the Kotel. We don’t do that.

For further reading click here.

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