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 ט"ו באלול תשע"ז / Wednesday, Sep. 06 '17 Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report -http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe Headlines
1. Rivlin attends memorial to Munich Massacre - 45 years lateby Gary Willig Israeli President Reuven Rivlin spoke at the inauguration ceremony in Munich for the victims of the Olympic games massacre in 1972. The ceremony marked the 45th anniversary of the terrorist attack in which Arab terrorists from the Black September organization kidnapped and murdered 11 Israeli athletes competing at the Munich Olympic games. President Rivlin attended the ceremony alongside German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Bavarian Minister-President Horst Seehofer, and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. The ceremony was also attended by surviving members of the 1972 Israeli Olympics team and the families of the victims. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the ceremony that the memorial should not have taken 45 years to be built. "It is high time and we owe it firstly to you, the relatives," Steinmeier said. "The Olympic village became a place of Palestinian terrorists, a stage for their boundless hatred for Israel. It should never have happened." Ilana Romano, the widow of weightlifter Joseph Romano, who was murdered during the massacre, said: "We wanted this memorial. In the years after we heard voices that us Israelis brought war to Germany and the terrorists were hailed as freedom fighters," "That hurt so much but we did not give up. We knew our way was the right one ... for the future of our children and the next generations," Romano said. "Then, they said that we Israelis brought terror to German soil and that terrorism was aimed only at Israelis. It is 45 years since everyone realized that terrorism is aimed at the entire world. We thank the Prime Minister of Bavaria, who promised to build the museum, and today it is time to make the shehechiyanu blessing (blessing on new things and times) Romano and Ankie Spitzer, the widow of fencing coach Andre Spitzer, another victim of the Munich Massacre, have campaigned for decades to have the murder of their husbands commemorated at the opening ceremony of the Olympic games. President Rivlin also called the memorial overdue. “For 45 years – almost half a century – the victims’ families, and the State of Israel looked with anticipation for this moment: the inauguration of a center of remembrance and a memorial in the Olympic Village,” the president said. Rivlin slammed Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party for continuing to glorify the massacre. “There are still those who see in the murder of athletes a heroic deed. Just last year, Fatah marked the massacre of the athletes as an ‘act of heroism.’" He called on the international community to unequivocally condemn all acts of terrorism, including those committed against Israelis. “The center we are inaugurating today must be a message to the whole world: There can be no apologizing for terrorism. Terror must be unequivocally condemned everywhere. In Barcelona, in London, in Paris, in Berlin, in Jerusalem, and everywhere else.” The International Olympic Committee refused to allow a minute of silence in memory of the murdered athletes at the opening ceremony of the Olympics for over four decades. The committee commemorated the massacre for the first time only last year, at the 2016 Rio Olympics. [youtube:2032534] According to the committee, holding a minute of silence for the victims of the massacre would "politicize" the games. 2. Netanyahu: Two-state solution not essential for int'l acceptanceby Arutz Sheva Staff Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday participated in the Foreign Ministry's traditional pre-Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) toast in Jerusalem. Speaking to those gathered, Netanyahu said, "We are holding the toast early due to success, since we are going to make an historic visit: It seems that this will be the first time that a sitting Prime Minister of Israel will be traveling to the countries of Central and South America. This is a gigantic bloc that we have not yet visited." "Today we are in a different place. The alliance with the United States – with North America as a whole – is stronger than ever, as are ties with Europe, including developing ties with Eastern Europe. The great breakthrough is to all continents. Regarding our return to Africa, we are expanding the scope of technology assistance and it is leading to great interest across the continent. "This breakthrough is also finding expression in major efforts in Asia. There had not been any real contact with China or significant contact with India and Japan, to say nothing of the Muslim countries, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. This changed...over the past two years. "There is also a great change with Russia, and this is a major change regarding both joining economic and cultural interests and, of course, to achieve – as much as possible – a coordination of expectations and intentions on a strategic level and you understand how critical this is at present. The link is being fostered and strengthened by us and by Russia itself. "These are great changes, a sea change that is happening now, and we will not forget Australia which we visited." According to Netanyahu, there are also changes in Israel's ties with Latin America. "We are currently developing ties with Latin America," he said. "It is a great market in a large bloc of important countries. There is a breakthrough here. The basic assumption was that if we made an agreement with the Palestinians - which we have wanted and still want - it will open the world to us. "There is no doubt that it will help, but the world has opened even without it, and it does not detract from the importance of considering tracks and the diplomatic process and normalization." Pointing out that Israel's relations with the Arab states are also warming, Netanyahu said that "what is actually happening with the Arab states has not happened in our history even when we signed the agreements." "There is cooperation in various ways, on various levels, but is not yet out in the open. But what is not yet out in the open is much greater than in any other period in Israeli history. This is a major change. The entire world is changing. This is not to say that it is changing in international forums – the UN and UNESCO. "What there is here is a great change and it is happening despite the fact that, to our regret, the Palestinians have not changed the conditions for a diplomatic agreement which are unacceptable to a large portion of the public, and it is still happening. "It is happening because we are cultivating two kinds of strength, which together are bringing a third. We are cultivating as policy, economic-technological strength which allows us to cultivate Israel's military-intelligence strength and their combination gives diplomatic strength and this is a different concept." 3. Infant dies, parents cleared of alleged abandonment in carby Mordechai Sones A 7-month-old baby was evacuated to Poriya Hospital in Tiberias on Tuesday evening. Her death was determined at the hospital. Circumstances of the incident were unclear at first, and it was suspected that the baby had been forgotten in a car, but a police investigation clarified that death was not caused by the child's having been forgotten in a vehicle. Poriya Hospital reported that the baby had suffered from existing health problems and was evacuated to the hospital by her parents after they noticed that she was ill. 4. This is how tomorrow's battlefields will lookby Kobi Finkler It is an open secret that the defense establishment is constantly working behind the scenes to develop new technologies for the battlefields of the future. "This is no longer the tank we knew in the past," said Brigadier General (res.) Dr. Danny Gold, Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (MAFAT) at the Defense Ministry. "We work today with many new technologies which are also being developed in the civilian market. If we can have a driverless car, then we can develop an unmanned tank which will meet all of our operational needs virtually without any danger to human life. We can also [develop] an unmanned submarine which can travel farther distances, all without putting anyone in danger," said Dr. Gold, known as the "father of the Iron Dome" missile defense system. MAFAT has 25 departments and employs about 500 IDF officers and civilians. It has been awarded 14 Israeli security awards and 19 creative innovation awards. It has extensive overseas cooperation, as well as 41 national security centers in the defense industries, including 2,000 leading researchers, and 1,000 Talpiot graduates in parallel management of 1,500 projects. 185 foreign delegations visit MAFAT each year. It maintains 27 active program headquarters, and 47 of its officers received the technological commendation from the Chief of Staff. "It can be said that MAFAT is like a large venture capital fund which manages about 1,500 projects at any given time. The only difference is that a venture capital fund works to make money for investors. Our fund is designed to create security for the State of Israel and to develop technologies for the IDF," Dr. Gold said. He provided an example of the extent of the Defense Ministry's activity. "A few days ago, we conducted an evaluation process to learn and draw conclusions [from our research], which we called 'wrapping up the project.' We were approached many years ago with a proposal to invest in a certain module, the likes of which had never been developed in Israel. We were persuaded to invest a small initial amount of about $100,000 at first. "As time went on, development progressed and we invested more into the project. Today, that small technology has become an important radar component of the Iron Dome and David's Sling [missile defense systems]. The radar of the Barak-8 [air defense system], which was marketed globally and sold for billions of dollars, was based on the technology we invested in the project, when no one believed in it. There are countless similar examples." If the new technologies are too expensive to develop, MAFAT can sell it abroad, he said. Dr. Gold could not reveal specific details, but MAFAT enjoys broad cooperation with many friendly countries around the world. MAFAT has extensive cooperation with the US in the areas of missile defense and anti-tunnel technologies. It cooperates with many national projects in the US. Many of the best scientific minds in Israel participate in this cooperation. About 200 workers are employed in industries but work for the Defense Ministry in accordance with the multi-year work plan that MAFAT sets for them. "Any development that interests us and any investment candidate should go through a committee for selecting developers," Gold said. He explained that every issue, from a tiny investment of NIS 100,000 in academic research to the development of the Iron Dome system, is approved by committee. In some cases, the committee decides to approve the tender and in part approves a contract with a single supplier. In addition, Dr. Gold presents facial recognition technology on video, various types of drones, and Israeli satellites which Dr. Gold views with great pride. "The Israeli government will soon be launching a satellite once every few years. The pictures we received from the Ofek-11 satellite are the best we've ever received from a satellite." [youtube:2032497] The APC of the future: the 'Carmel:' One of the current projects is a multi-year plan for developing the technological infrastructure of the armored vehicle, which will constitute a quantum leap in many areas. It will be light, small, agile, lethal, simple to operate, and relatively inexpensive. The first stage of the development plan is proof of the feasibility of only two soldiers operating the radar. Breakthrough technologies are being developed on a global scale as part of the project, including a hybrid engine. The Carmel is being developed by MAFAT together with the Merkava Project Administration and the Tank Program Administration (MANTAK) at the Defense Ministry, as well as leading defense industries. [video:2032476] DUKE light-weight hovercraft: The system is being developed by an Israeli start-up company funded by the Defense Ministry. The project aims to use a drone to shoot snipers, creating a surprise on the battlefield and preventing IDF forces from walking into dangerous situations. The development stage had to overcome complex technological challenges, including the drone's ability to stabilize and stay airborne, remote fire accuracy, and operational safety. The system is in advanced stages of development and will be tested in the coming year. [video:2032477] 'First-generation' SMASH: An electro-optical system applied to an assault rifle which dramatically improves the odds of accurate fire in all shooting situations and scenarios. The soldier holds the trigger but the rifle fires only when the target appears in the center of the sights. In experiments conducted to date, the use of the system significantly increased the percentage of hits on targets and reduced the impact on those who were not involved in hostilities. The system does not fire itself but merely blocks or allows fire, and is subject to the soldier's control. The system is expected to be used extensively by the infantry and ground forces. [video:2032479] 'Green Oceanodroma': An unmanned helicopter designed to carry and transport heavy loads. The Defense Ministry held a competition to design a drone which could carry up to 150 liters (40 gallons) or 60 kilograms (132 pounds) a distance of eight kilometers (five miles) and back. A private company (the same company which developed the DUKE) produced an unmanned helicopter capable of reaching speeds of up to 150 kilometers per hour (93 mph), carrying a weight of up to 180 kg (400 lbs), capable of conducting long logistical missions thanks to its specially designed engine. [video:2032480] Another aircraft introduced in the competition is an Aeronautics drone. The drone, which reaches a top speed of 75 kph (46 mph), uses an engine and batteries based on hybrid propulsion. It can carry up to 90 kg (200 lb), and is suitable for tactical missions involving low-altitude flight with dedicated cargo. MAFAT will consider how to continue developing and using the drone. [video:2032481] A miniature unmanned submarine for reconnaissance and mapping missions, developed in Israel in cooperation with the Ben Gurion University of the Negev: The submarine is characterized by its ability to dive rapidly and almost vertically. It surpasses comparable submarines with its ability to float and move in any direction. [video:2032482] The 'Kirson:' An autonomous submarine for secret missions. It is an unique unmanned vehicle in the world of intelligence operations, and is at the cutting edge of global technology. [video:2032483] Large investments in the civilian vehicle market have brought significant developments in autonomous vehicle technologies. However, there is a fundamental difference between travel on normal roads and the kind of travel military vehicles must perform. Therefore, significant technological developments are necessary to allow military vehicles to maneuver in all conditions. This affects the safety and firepower of armored vehicles. Many technologies are already in development and are being perfected for operational use. [video:2032484] 5. WATCH: 'This is a stick-up'by Refael Levi [video:2032525] Israel Police arrested a man suspected of robbing a kiosk in the central city of Ramat Hasharon. The suspect, a resident of Lod, was caught on camera after he entered the kiosk with a knife in a plastic bag, and insisted the cashier open the cash register. As he spoke, he pressed the bag with the gun against the cashier. The suspect then took the money he wanted and left in a private vehicle, taking thousands of shekels with him. An investigation performed with aid of various technologies brought police officers to the suspect's home. Searching the home, the officers found a gun, together with a note reading, "This is a robbery." Tel Aviv's Magistrates Court is expected to extend the suspect's arrest, and the preliminary announcement of plans to sue is expected to be submitted on Wednesday. 6. Bubbe lives in the path of Hurricane Irma. Now what?by JTA Beatrice Marks’ one-story home might flood this week. But she laughs off the threat. “It doesn’t faze me one bit. Not anymore,” said Marks, 86, whose community of seniors lies in the path of Hurricane Irma, which is set to make landfall in Florida at the end of the week. “As far as the actual fear of the hurricane, we all are afraid. But it’s a thing we know that can come and go.” Marks, who has lived in Florida for more than 70 years, is an outlier among octogenarians — living alone and driving with barely any assistance in everyday activities. But as a Jewish senior in Florida, she is far from alone. Long a mecca for Jewish retirees, South Florida has a disproportionate number of Jewish elderly. With thousands of local seniors in their areas, Jewish communal agencies are gearing up to prepare the elderly for Irma, which officials say could be one of the worst hurricanes in decades. “We’ve already been getting calls from people who are scared,” said Barbara Bailin, director of financial services for Goodman Jewish Family Services of Broward County on Florida’s east coast. “A lot of our seniors are in old condominiums. They might be living near the beach in things that are 40 years old, and a lot of people don’t want to leave.” Irma, which is predicted to hit the Caribbean on Wednesday, has been designated a Category 5 storm and has the highest wind speeds recorded since the 1980s. Its current path has it crossing Puerto Rico and Cuba before reaching southern Florida on Sunday morning — just two weeks after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas coast. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a statewide state of emergency, and Jewish groups already are focusing on the state’s large population of Jewish seniors. In South Florida, more than a quarter of its population is seniors, according to recent population studies. Beatrice Marks has lived in Florida for 70 years and isn’t fazed by the arrival of Hurricane Irma. (Courtesy of Marks) Many of those seniors live independently or, like Marks, in a community where some housekeeping is taken care of, but a fraction are dependent on Jewish organizations for meals on wheels, medicine and transportation. Others turn to the agencies when other support runs out or in emergencies like these. Jewish service agencies hope to assist those clients by connecting them with relevant state agencies, helping them stock up on supplies and persuading them to get out of harm’s way. “Everyone’s taken a little bit aback by the latest turn of events,” said Alec Rosen, vice president of community engagement for Jewish Community Services of South Florida. “We’re calling clients, making sure they have adequate food and water.” Rosen’s organization delivers more than 100,000 kosher meals annually to 665 homebound seniors, and is ensuring that they have three days worth of food, water and medication. And while most local buildings have hurricane protections like shutters and reinforced windows, Bailin’s agency will work to persuade seniors living in insecure areas to leave their homes for government-run special needs centers, which will be safe from damage and able to provide the necessities now being cleared off of South Florida’s supermarket shelves. Local and state governments provide a share of the assistance, from ensuring buildings are safe to transporting seniors to the evacuation centers. On Wednesday, Miami-Dade County will begin evacuating special-needs residents. But Bailin said getting seniors to go to the shelters isn’t easy. “Seniors don’t want to leave their homes when they can’t take care of themselves anymore,” she said. “You hear, ‘I’ve lived here for 40 years and never had a problem.’” Previous storms — like Hurricane Wilma in 2005 — have taught Bailin to prepare as much for the storm’s aftermath as for the lead-up. People often hoard perishable food, she said — a likely power outage will render it useless. Better, she recommended, to buy dry staples that will last. Jewish Family Services also holds off on providing emergency food stipends to clients until the storm passes. “You’ve got to stop to realize the worst hurricane comes and goes within three or four days,” Marks said. “Why would you stock up on food when your lights are going to go out? You’re not going to have refrigeration. You buy crackers, you buy dry food, you’ve got cereal.” What can distant children and grandchildren do to help? Not much, Bailin says, beyond calling service agencies to confirm that their relatives are located and have all the essentials provided. Florida’s Department of Elder Affairs has a hurricane preparedness guide. And it’s important, Bailin said, to make the call now. “Make sure mom and dad have a plan in place,” she said. “Encourage them to evacuate where they have emergency services. If they call us at the last minute, they can’t do anything then.” Marks doesn’t plan to leave her home, but if she does, she will join one of her sons, who both live nearby. But she doubts they’ll be able to do much she can’t do on her own. “As far as preparation is concerned, there isn’t too much we can do about that,” she said. “We all have shutters in our home. The water is a menace and always will be, I think.” 7. MK: Israel should sponsor Arab emigrationby David Rosenberg A Jewish Home MK has unveiled a plan to bolster Arab emigration from Israel, and ultimately end the Palestinian Authority. MK Bezalel Smotrich, a member of the National Union faction within the Jewish Home party, is calling on the State of Israel to provide financial benefits for Arabs who move abroad. “This is not transfer,” said Smotrich, distancing his proposal from the platforms of MK Rabbi Meir Kahane’s Kach party and slain Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi’s Moledet party, which later joined the National Union faction. “Today, some 20,000 Palestinians leave Judea and Samaria every year,” Smotrich told Israel Hayom in an interview published Wednesday. “Polls show that about 30% of [PA Arabs] would like to move out of the country,” Smotrich said, citing a survey published in July by the Palestinian Center for Police and Survey Research. According to the survey, 47% of Gaza Arabs would emigrate from the Strip if they had the means to do so, while 23% of PA residents in Judea and Samaria said they too would live elsewhere if they were furnished with the means. “I want to help them to [leave], on fair terms, with full financial compensation and without any coercion. It will be cheaper than to continue to fight wars and have military operations every few years.” In addition to encouraging Arab emigration from Israel, Smotrich’s proposal calls for the termination of the Palestinian Authority, the formal annexation by Israel of Judea and Samaria, and the doubling of the Jewish population in those areas. The goal, says Smotrich, is to “erase the paradigm of Palestinian statehood both on the ground and as a concept.” In doing so, Smotrich suggested, terrorism against Israel would ultimately be reduced. “It isn’t despair that drives terrorism but hope; the core expression of which is the establishment of a Palestinian state. And that’s what I’m aiming to quash.” Smotrich’s plan also includes a provision offering Israeli residency to Arabs in Judea and Samaria who accept Israeli sovereignty. Full citizenship would also be available to those Arabs who are willing to enlist in the IDF. 8. Agriculture Minister visits Bedouin town: Let there be peaceby Orly Harari Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) on Tuesday visited Bedouin schools in Israel's south, in honor of the new school year. In addition to his position as Agriculture Minister, Ariel is the minister in charge of developing Bedouin communities in the Negev. During his visit, Ariel met with first graders and high school students. Ariel inaugurated the new Bedouin "Ort Abu Talul" high school southeast of Be'er Sheva, on Highway 25. The new school has sixteen classrooms, an elementary school, four preschool classrooms, and a daycare. A sports stadium will soon be completed. Ariel also visited the Alsnabl elementary school in Umm Batin, northeast of Be'er Sheva. In the coming months, an additional elementary school will open, with six out of a planned 18 classrooms. He also met with Settlement Authority for the Bedouin in the Negev Director Yair Maayan, and the principals of both schools. Speaking to the students, Ariel said, "I came to wish you well, and to wish you a good and blessed year. May there be peace." In 2013, a proposal was made to build 5 new Jewish towns between Be'er Sheva and Dimona, along Highway 25. In 2015, the Israeli government approved the plan. However, the plan never moved forward because Bedouin living illegally in the area protested the move. Instead, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri transferred 14,000 dunams (3459.5 acres) from the Bnei Shimon Regional Council to the Bedouin city of Rahat, in order to aid the legal settlement of the Abu Quaidar tribe. Last month, Deri forced Dimona Mayor Benny Biton to agree to gift 101.5 acres (411 dunams) of the city's land to the neighboring illegal Bedouin enclave of Qasr al-Sir. Watch the Hebrew clip here: [video:2032472] Subscribe to this Daily Israel Report - http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Subscribe | |
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