August 5, 2015

Israeli Startups Set New All-Time Record, Raising $1.12B In Last Three Months

The Israeli high-tech industry has broken yet another record: In the second quarter of 2015, Israeli startups raised a striking $1.12 billion from investors, the largest quarterly investment in the history of the Startup Nation. The total, raised by 179 Israeli startup and high-tech companies, slightly exceeded the former record, $1.11 billion, set in the fourth quarter of 2014.

http://nocamels.com/2015/07/record-1-2b-capital-raising-israeli-startups/

July 28, 2015

Palestinian girl whom Merkel caused to cry wants to abolish Israel

Palestinian girl living in north-east Germany, who garnered world media attention because Chancellor Angela Merkel made her cry, called for the destruction of the Jewish State on Sunday.

In an interview with the Die Welt am Sonntag paper, Reem said, “My hope is that at some time [Israel] is no longer there, rather only Palestine.” Her answer was in a response to the reporter’s question: What is Palestine?

Reem said that “the land should no longer be called Israel, rather Palestine.”

The reporter said the interview became difficult and asked Reem, “ Do you know in Germany that Israel and Germany have a special history? That we stand up for the country, that we do not allow Jew-hatred?”

Reem answered, “Yes, there is freedom of speech. Here I am allowed to say that. I am prepared to discuss everything.“

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Palestinian-girl-whom-Merkel-caused-to-cry-wants-to-abolish-Israel-410383?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork

July 9, 2015

Hamas rally spotlights mock ID of slain soldier, two others

At a rally Wednesday marking one year since last summer’s war in Gaza, Hamas displayed a mock-up of a dog tag belonging to slain IDF soldier Oron Shaul, alongside two other ID cards emblazoned with question marks.

In an elaborate display at the late-night march in the Gaza Strip, a massive copper fist extending out of a tank holds up the three identity badges.



Shaul was killed during last summer’s operation, but his body was never recovered and is believed to be held by Hamas.

Earlier Wednesday, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said that, through a European intermediary, Israel has requested the return of the remains of Shaul, as well as the body of Hadar Goldin. Speaking to the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper, Mashaal claimed that while European officials had appealed to the group with the Israeli request, Hamas had refrained from issuing an official response.

Both soldiers were pronounced dead by the IDF based on forensic evidence. Israeli leaders have repeatedly vowed to work to retrieve their remains.



http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-rally-spotlights-mock-id-of-slain-soldier-two-others/[link:http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-rally-spotlights-mock-id-of-slain-soldier-two-others/|

July 3, 2015

Two rockets fired from Sinai land in open areas in Negev

Projectiles found between two communities in Eshkol Regional Council after sirens sounded in Gaza border communities; no injuries or damage caused.

Two rockets fired from the Sinai Peninsula landed in open areas in Israel's Negev region on Friday. No damage or injuries were reported.

A short time beforehand, rocket sirens sounded in Israeli communities near the Gaza border, after which security forces began a search for the projectiles.

In response, Eshkol Regional Council head Gadi Yarkoni said: "I trust the army and am certain that it will take all necessary measures to protect communities in the South, and I expect the political leadership to act decisively at all levels in order to ensure a quiet summer in Israel."

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.664310

Edited to add the source. I'm so sorry, I thought I added it.

July 2, 2015

For Egypt, avenging Sinai attack may include striking Gaza

Cairo has already begun to punish the Islamic State for Wednesday’s massive assault; Hamas, which may have supplied anti-aircraft weapons to the militants, may not be immune either.

<snip>

It began Wednesday when the Egyptian army assassinated nine Muslim Brotherhood officials, including a former parliament member who, Egypt claims, was involved in attacks.

And it will continue with the executions of mid-level members of the organization who have received death sentences. And of course, heavy airstrikes on populated areas in Sinai. It can be said definitively that some of the Bedouin tribes and residents of north Sinai are collaborating with terrorists, and the army will retaliate.

Hamas will also pay a price. Only a few days ago, Egypt opened the Rafah crossing, in part due to the improvement of the security situation in Sinai. This will soon end. The army knows that some senior officials of the Hamas military wing, who operate without the approval of its political wing, are collaborating with the Islamic State in Sinai, mostly for financial renumeration.

According to an Egyptian source, some 200 militants took part in the attack, utilizing a large number of anti-aircraft weapons in the first hours, which necessitated the use of F-16 fighter jets instead of Apache helicopters as the Egyptians responded.
Those weapons, according to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, came in through the Gaza Strip.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/for-egypt-avenging-sinai-attack-may-include-striking-gaza/

June 25, 2015

Bad Joke? College Planned to Hire Anti-Zionist to Teach Zionism

In what appears to have “the makings of a Saturday Night Live skit,” Paul Miller, executive director of the Salomon Center for American Jewish Thought, reported in the New York Observer this week that the University of Missouri had hired a professor named George Smith - who “despises Israel” - to teach a course called “Perspectives on Zionism.”

The class was cancelled, however, due to the fact that no students had enrolled in it. However, anti-Israel student groups are said to be trying to recruit students so that the course can be revived.

Smith, said Miller, “has called the creation of the Jewish State a shameful chapter in Jewish history.

Smith also finds humor in Hamas rocket attacks against Israeli citizens,” writes Miller. “When Sderot resident Noam Bedein came to [the university ]to discuss the nearly 13,000 rockets Hamas has fired, killing and injuring the people of Sderot, Smith showed up and distributed fliers that mocked the attacks – justifying terrorism because the average Palestinian has to 'go through a checkpoint'” just to go to the bathroom.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/197257#.VYvw4vnF_kJ



What's next? Geert Wilders hired to teach a class on Mohammed and the history of Islam?

June 21, 2015

Border policeman seriously hurt in stabbing outside Jerusalem’s Old City

Suspected Palestinian assailant shot and seriously hurt; officer reportedly on life support


Palestinian man stabbed and seriously injured an Israeli Border Police officer Sunday outside Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate, police said. An officer on the scene shot the suspected assailant.

The suspect was identified as an 18-year-old Palestinian man from the West Bank, who was named by Arabic media as Yasser Yassin Tarwa of Hebron. He was seriously injured and sent to Hadassah Hospital.

The officer suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest and was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Hospital after receiving treatment on site. The man was on life support in serious condition.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/border-policeman-stabbed-outside-jerusalems-damascus-gate/

June 10, 2015

Int'l Legal Experts Slam IDF - For Over-Warning Gazans.

Experts from US, Germany warn IDF 'legal zeal' sets dangerous precedent tying hands of democracies fighting terror.

The IDF went to extraordinary lengths last summer to prevent civilian casualties while fighting Hamas terrorists in Gaza, achieving a remarkable 1:1 civilian to combatant ratio, but according to international legal experts it went too far in avoiding casualties among the enemy population.

Willy Stern of Vanderbilt Law School, in an article to be published next Monday in the Weekly Standard, details what he found while spending two weeks with attorneys in the IDF's international law department dubbed "Dabla" as well as front-line commanders, and documents the IDF's "legal zeal" which as he notes has not stemmed the deluge of international criticism against it.

Stern listed how the IDF bombarded Gaza residents with thousands of telephone calls, leaflet drops, TV and radio messages, as well as calls to influential citizens urging them to evacuate residents, and in doing so gave the terrorist enemy detailed information about its troop movements.

"It was abundantly clear that IDF commanders had gone beyond any mandates that international law requires to avoid civilian casualties," writes Stern. He reported how Dabla attorneys have to sign off on a "target card" for each airstrike on terror targets, with the cards enumerating all of the relevant data about the planned strike.

In contrast, the Hamas "doctrine manual" captured by the IDF in the Shejaiya neighborhood early last August documents how the terror group urges its fighters to embed themselves among civilians in hopes that the IDF will kill civilians.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/196506#.VXgbY_nF_kI

January 4, 2015

Despite Gaza war, visitor numbers to Israel fell only 1% in 2014

"The number of foreign visitors who spent at least one night in Israel declined by just 1% last year despite the downturn following the summer war against Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip.

The year began with tourist traffic well higher than in 2013, and despite the meltdown when the 50-day war commenced on July 8, the number of foreign visitors was off only 7% compared to 2013 when day visitors are included, the Tourism Ministry said.

A 30% drop that followed the outbreak of the fighting later shrank to about 20%.

Either way, it was a banner year for Ben-Gurion International Airport, with a record 14.2 million passengers passing through on arriving or departing flights, the Israel Airports Authority said. The figure was 6% higher than for 2013. Many of the passengers were Israelis, not just foreign visitors."

A record 14.2 million passengers passed through Ben-Gurion International Airport, buoyed by a strong first half of the year.

[link:http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.635176?|

December 3, 2014

Poll: Number of Israelis who see Obama as ‘positive’ or ‘neutral’ drops sharply

The percentage of Israelis who believe US President Barack Obama has either a “positive” or a “neutral” view of Israel has fallen steeply in the two years since his visit to Israel in the spring of 2012, according to a Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies survey released on Tuesday.

Of the respondents, 37 percent said Obama has a “positive” position toward Israel, and an equal number said he had a “negative” attitude toward the country. Another 24% said he was “neutral.”

In 2012, some 51% of the respondents of a similar BESA poll said Obama had “positive” attitudes toward Israel and another 32% believed he was “neutral.”

According to the survey, 52% of the respondents believe Obama’s policy regarding the Israel-Palestinian conflict has been “bad,” while 50% disapproved of his policies toward Iran and 47% said the same about his policies regarding Islamic State.

Some 65% of the respondents said America’s position in the Middle East has been weakened or seriously weakened since Obama took office in 2009, while 24% believe America’s position has remained unchanged and 11% think it has gotten stronger.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Poll-Number-of-Israelis-who-see-Obama-as-positive-or-neutral-drops-sharply-383495