We welcome your comments to this and any other CIJR publication. Please address your response to: Ber Lazarus, Publications Chairman, Canadian Institute for Jewish Research, PO Box 175, Station H, Montreal QC H3G 2K7 – Tel: (514) 486-5544 – Fax:(514) 486-8284; E-mail: ber@isranet.wpsitie.com
Download a pdf version of today's Daily Briefing
Contents: Weekly Quotes | Short Takes | On Topic Links
Advantix Air-Conditioning Empire Built on Ice and Salt: Karin Kloosterman, Israel 21c, July 31, 2013
Israeli Bionic Contact Lens Will Help Blind People ‘See’: ISRAEL21c, July 31, 2013
The Israeli Company that Wants to Put a 3D Printer in Every Home: Avner Meyrav, NoCamels, July 16, 2013
“The very notion of Palestinian preconditions before even reaching the negotiating table, to enter a process in which they would be the potential beneficiaries – is utterly absurd. But when it involves the release of some of the most vicious terrorists of our time, it becomes obscene. And that obscenity has been made possible by none other then the U.S. Secretary of State.” —Dani Dayan, a businessman and chief foreign envoy of the pro-settler Yesha Council, commenting in a blog for the Times of Israel. (Times of Israel, July 28, 2013)
“This is an indescribably difficult decision to make – it is painful for the bereaved families, it is painful for the entire nation and it is also painful for me, “I believe it is of the utmost importance for the state of Israel to enter a diplomatic process. This is important both to exhaust the possibilities of ending the conflict with the Palestinians and to establish Israel’s position in the complex international reality around us.” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an open letter to the Israeli public justifying the Israeli government’s decision to release 104 Palestinian Arab prisoners with “blood on their hands”. This is being done as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority in an effort to restart peace talks, despite opinion polls showing that over 84% of Israelis oppose releasing terrorists as a precondition to talks. (National Post, July 29, 2013)
"If there is no majority for the proposal [in the cabinet], it doesn't only mean that we refuse to release the prisoners. It means that we refuse to renew negotiations and that Israel will be blamed…. Not only does it let the Palestinians get to work at the UN immediately, it could also absolve our relatively few friends in the international community who are still standing alongside us and casting a veto at the UN or blocking boycotts. That doesn't mean I think there's a great chance to achieve a final-status agreement with the Palestinians…but we want to preserve Israeli's international status and prevent it from suffering a diplomatic and economic blow.” — Gideon Sa'ar, Israel’s Interior Minister, commenting on the decision by the Israeli government to release 104 Palestinian Arab terrorists with “blood on their hands” as a gesture to the Palestinian authority in an effort to restart peace talks. (Ha'aretz, July 31, 2013)
"In a final resolution, we would not see the presence of a single Israeli – civilian or soldier – on our lands." — Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, in a briefing to mostly Egyptian journalists, upon the announcement of the resumption of peace talks with Israel. (Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2013)
"The President of the Palestinian Authority said he doesn't want to see any Israelis on his land. Bad things happen when good people are silent. Good people need to act." — Naftali Bennett, Jerusalem and Diaspora Minister, who is responsible for the government's efforts to battle anti-Semitism, attending a conference of a Knesset caucus on anti-Semitism.
"To this day, people ask me if I think anti-Semitism is a good thing, because it brings people to Israel. What ignorance and lies! For every one person who makes aliya because of anti-Semitism, 10 assimilate. Anti-Semitism and delegitimation of Israel lead Jews to distance themselves from Judaism and Israel. Anti-Semitism is enemy number one of Zionism.” — Natan Sharansky, director of the Jewish Agency for Israel, while attending a conference of a Knesset caucus on anti-Semitism. (Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2013)
“Releasing prisoners came as a result of choosing a bad option over a worse option… We reached the decision to avoid the worse [option]. Many strategic considerations, which may be revealed in the future, stood behind this, and hence we must go forward with a release of pre-Oslo prisoners. These are murderers. This is a challenge to justice, to law and to bereaved families, and I hear their voices. We are embarking on this maneuver responsibly, with good judgment, and we’ll be able to provide an answer to security aspects… I know who these prisoners are, how many they are, what they did, [and] when they did it.” — Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, speaking at the IDF’s absorption base for new draftees at Tel Hashomer. (Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2013)
"We were always ready to enter into negotiations with the Palestinians without pre-conditions….We support a solution based on two states for two peoples, a Jewish state of Israel living side-by-side in peace and security and mutual recognition with the Palestinian state. It was not the Palestinian position. The Palestinians had a number of pre-conditions. They were not willing to live in a situation of mutual recognition. We recognize the Palestinians as a people endowed with the right of self-determination. They don't recognize the Jews as a people yet with the right of self-determination. When we say 'Jewish state,' what does it mean? It means that the Jewish state is permanent and legitimate. We're not interlopers. We're not trespassers. We're not a transient state. And it also means there'll be an end of claims and end of conflict. There are about 193 states in the world. Most of them are nation states; the Bulgarians, the Hungarians, the Germans….It's very common, certainly in Europe. And there's nothing anomalous, nothing unusual about the arrangement which we're seeking." — Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Sunday. (CNN, July 28, 2013) —
"The parties have agreed to remain engaged in sustained, continuous, and substantive negotiations on the core issues, and they will meet within the next two weeks in either Israel or the Palestinian territories in order to begin the process of formal negotiation….Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months." — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry after two meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Washington on Tuesday [July 30] (State Department, July 30, 2013)
''We did not agree to that [basing negotiations on the 1949 armistice lines]. Israel rejected the Palestinian demand for this as a precondition for talks." — a senior Israeli official.
"Endless negotiation is good for the Americans. They can point to success in bringing the sides to the table and keeping them there. Netanyahu can avoid U.S. pressure and shows he's engaged in the peace process. Abbas can continue to be fed with money, prisoner releases and other things and maintain the survival of the PA.'' — Ghassan Khatib, a former PA minister, saying that the negotiations will in practice continue for some time, albeit without a peace deal.
"They have zero chances of reaching an end of conflict, end of claims agreement. 'The positions are too far apart on narrative issues like the future of holy places and the right of return'." — Yossi Alpher, former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. for Palestinians. (Christian Science Monitor, July 29, 2013)
"The Palestinians throughout the course of this year have been making clear that if they couldn't see progress on the peace front, that their intention would be to seek other elevations of their status, whether at the UN or other international organizations. So it's no secret that one of the motivating factors, I think for everybody, was to avoid that sort of train wreck….With this process moving forward, the risk of a clash at the UN or elsewhere is reduced or eliminated….It would be fair to say that you are likely to see Israeli settlement continue." — a senior White House official said Wednesday [July 30]. (Ha'aretz, July 30, 2013)
"I'm not particularly optimistic because I think that the heart of the matter is that the maximum concessions that this government of Israel would be prepared to make fall far short of the minimum requirements that Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] will insist on….So it may be possible to keep the talks going, which is a good thing, but I find it very hard to believe that they will reach an agreement." — Martin Indyk, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and the new special U.S, envoy to the negotiations recently announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, in an interview with Israel Radio last year. (Weekly Standard, July 31, 2013)
“The law does not require us to make a formal determination as to whether a coup took place, and it is not in our national interest to make such a determination. We will not say it was a coup, we will not say it was not a coup, we will just not say." — a "senior official" from the White House to The New York Times, clarifying the U.S. response to the military takeover in Egypt. (Israel Hayom, July 29, 2013)
“Yes, we do indeed want to break the [Muslim] Brotherhood’s neck because that is good for Egypt, the region, and (not least) ourselves. Islamists can do more damage within the political process than outside it….Islamists have a history of using the political process for their own ends, and not of being tamed by it. No tolerance for the intolerant. Just as fascists and Communists are not legitimate players in a democracy, neither are Islamists. No matter how smooth-talking, they remain autocrats who disregard the popular will. Better that they be excluded entirely from participatory politics.” — Daniel Pipes, Director of the Mid East Forum. (Mid East Forum, July 29, 2013)
“Jordan is like a soft mould, it’s not like Egypt where Islamists had influence before Mubarak fell. Jordan is easy to direct anywhere its next leader will take it – if he is secular, Jordan will turn secular, if he is an Islamist, Jordan will turn into another Afghanistan, so it’s basically what the outside world wants to make out of it, and its future will depend on which country will invest more money or send its media reporters to cover the events to come.” — Samer Libdeh, an Amman based Palestinian-Jordanian writer and former Washington Institute Fellow, in conversation with Mudar Zaharan, a Palestinian-Jordanian columnist residing in the UK. (Jerusalem Post, July 24, 2013)
“It’s bleak. The military is only willing to talk about the future, not about yesterday or the day before. They turned the page on Morsi.” — an Egyptian mediator involved in talks between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood aimed at resolving the political crisis crippling Egypt. (International Herald Tribune, July 21, 2013)
“The way they interpret it, everyone in the Wehrmacht was just like in the American Army or the Canadian Army or the British Army. They forget the most important point. People in this army were thugs and murderers who almost brought down Western civilization.” — Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Wiesenthal Center, commenting on the a recent issue of Der Landser, a weekly German pulp magazine, that recently portrayed the feared Waffen-SS as just a bunch of good natured soldiers doing their jobs. (International Herald Tribune, July 29, 2013)
POLL: MAJORITY OF ISRAELI JEWS OPPOSE PRISONER RELEASE AS GESTURE TO PALESTINIANS— (Jerusalem) The majority of Israeli Jews are against releasing Palestinian prisoners with blood on their hands as a gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of the resumption of peace talks, according to a Smith Research poll conducted on Wednesday for terror victims organization Almagor. The poll of 500 Israelis representing a sample of the adult population found that 80 percent of secular Jews said they were against releasing these Palestinian prisoners, while over 95% of conservative and orthodox Jews objected to such a gesture. (Jerusalem Post, July 25, 2013)
'YA'ALON ORDERS FREEZE IN PERMITS FOR EU PROJECTS IN WEST BANK' — (Jerusalem) Israel has severed cooperation with the European Union in Area C of the West Bank in response to new measures the EU has taken against settlements. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon ordered the IDF’s civil administration to cease cooperation in joint projects with the EU, The Jerusalem Post has learned. This means that the IDF will refuse to grant new permits or renew existing permits for EU construction projects in Area C, which is territory under Israeli civil and military control. It also will not issue or renew any documents that EU personnel might need for travel in the West Bank or into Gaza from Israel. In addition, IDF offices in the West Bank, such as the civil administration and the office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, will no longer hold working meetings with EU officials or personnel. Some of the EU-led projects in the West Bank include a program to train Palestinian Authority police officers in basic and advanced policing skills, and a waste removal program. Neither will receive Israel’s cooperation any longer. (Jerusalem Post, July 25, 2013)
ISRAEL RELEASES IMPROVED DEFENCE EXPORT FIGURE OF USD7.5 BILLION FOR 2012 — (Jerusalem) Israel exported military materiel and services valued at USD7.5 billion in 2012, a sharp increase over 2011's output of USD5.8 billion, according to figures from the Israeli Ministry of Defense's (MoD's) Defense Export and Defense Co-operation Agency (SIBAT). The figures confirm Israel's position as a top-10 global exporter based on output over the last five years. National military exports have more than doubled over the last decade from USD3.5 billion in 2005. The fall in 2011 was something of an anomaly, given that the 2012 total was broadly comparable with exports of USD7.4 billion in 2010. The Asia-Pacific region accounted for the bulk of output in 2012 (USD4.5 billion). (IHS Jane's Defence Weekly, July 23, 2013)
TURNOUT LOW FOR ISLAMISTS' MARCH IN EGYPT — (Cairo) The Muslim Brotherhood had called for a million people to rally on Tuesday to restore Mohamed Morsi as president, but the turnout in Cairo was perhaps tens of thousands and no large demonstrations were reported elsewhere. (The National-UAE, July 31, 2013)
AL QAEDA IN IRAQ SCORES BIG —(Bagdad) Jailbreaks are common in Iraq, but the brazen assaults on the prisons at Abu Ghraib and Taji last week are in a class by themselves. The attacks freed perhaps as many as 800 militants, who are now sought by Interpol as a “major threat” to global security. The attacks showed the fearsome and growing strength of Al Qaeda in Iraq, seemingly on the decline only a few years ago. Al Qaeda in Iraq, an affiliate of Al Qaeda, waged a virulent insurgency that brought the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007, then suffered major defeats at the hands of Iraqi tribal groups and American troops. It has since rebounded and is believed largely responsible for a surge in daily bombings that have killed an estimated 700 people this month alone. (New York Times, July 29, 2013)
TALIBAN MILITANTS ATTACK PAK PRISON; FREE 250 ULTRAS —(Peshawar, Pakistan)
Heavily-armed Taliban militants disguised as policemen attacked a high-security prison in northwest Pakistan, freeing nearly 250 militants and killing 14 people after a fierce gunfight with security forces. During the attack on Central Prison in Dera Ismail Khan of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering the restive South Waziristan area, the militants killed six policemen, six Shia prisoners and two private security guards, he said. "Five more policemen and two civilian were injured in the attack," said deputy commissioner Amir Khattak. Officials said that at least 247 prisoners were missing after the attack and a search for the fugitives continued who were suspected to be taken away by the militants. Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that over 100 militants, including several suicide bombers, participated in the massive jail break. (MSN News, July 30, 2013)
IN SYRIA, SIGNS OF CIVILIAN MASSACRE —(Bayda, Syria) The chain of events that led to one of the Syrian war's worst mass killings started when government forces came to this village and arrested Hassan Othman on charges of instigating rebellion. Mr. Othman, a 31-year-old with a wife and two children, was severely tortured, according to a cousin's account. He confessed to Syrian authorities that rebels secretly operating in Bayda had hidden arms there, say residents, local security officials and opposition activists. Within days, Syrian forces had shelled and swept this village and a nearby area in an offensive that left some 300 people dead, most of them civilians, according to residents, activists and rights groups. The campaign, many of these people said, exemplified the scorched-earth counterinsurgency strategy employed by the embattled Damascus government. (The Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2013)
LIBERAL WEBSITE FOUNDER GIVEN 7 YEARS AND 600 LASHES IN SAUDI ARABIA — (Jedda) Raif Badawi, founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website in Saudi Arabia, has been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes after angering Islamic authorities by urging Saudis to share opinions about the role of religion in the country. According to Saudi newspaper Al Wattan, a judge in the Red Sea port of Jedda imposed the sentences but dropped charges of apostasy, which would have brought the death penalty. (AP-The Age-Australia, July 31, 2013)
KENYAN LAWYER TAKES STATE OF ISRAEL, JEWS TO HAGUE OVER JESUS' DEATH — (Nairobi) A Kenyan lawyer has filed a petition with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, suggesting that the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was unlawful, and The State of Israel among others should be held responsible, Kenyan News outlet the Nairobian reported on Friday. Dola Indidis, a lawyer and former spokesman of the Kenyan Judiciary is reportedly attempting to sue Tiberius (Emperor of Rome 42 BC-37AD), Pontius Pilate, a selection of Jewish elders, King Herod, the Republic of Italy and the State of Israel. "Evidence today is on record in the bible, and you cannot discredit the bible," Indidis told Kenyan Citizen News. (Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2013)
REPORT: HIZBULLAH BURYING HUNDREDS OF ITS FIGHTERS IN SYRIA — (Beirut) Moayyed Ghazlan, a member of the Syrian National Council general secretariat, told CNN Arabic on Wednesday [July 24] that his organization has discovered a number of mass graves in which Hizbullah buried its fighters following each battle with the rebels in order not to return the bodies for official burial in Lebanon. Their purpose "is to hide the true extent of casualties from the fighters and rebels in Syria." An EU decision this week to include Hizbullah's military wing in the European list of terror organizations is widely viewed as a direct consequence of the group's decision to to send troops to Syria. (Times of Israel, July 25, 2013)
BULGARIA NAMES TWO SUSPECTS IN BURGAS BUS BOMBING— (Sofia) The Bulgarian authorities have released the names of two people believed to be involved in the Burgas bus bomb terrorist attack last year that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian bus driver, according to the Bulgarian news agency Focus. The two were identified as 32-year-old Australian citizen Meliad Farah, also known as Hussein Hussein, and 25-year old Canadian Citizen Hassan El Hajj Hassan. In the days around the attack, the suspects had been noticed in Ruse, Varna and Nesebar, the Sunny Beach resort, and in the village of Ravda, according to the report. (Jerusalem Post, July 25, 2013)
MK REGEV: PLASTIC GUNS THREATEN PUBLIC SECURITY— (Jerusalem) Plastic guns made a comeback in the Knesset, with Knesset Interior Committee chairwoman Miri Regev (Likud Beytenu) saying Wednesday that they threaten public security. Earlier this month, Uri Even, a Channel 10 reporter, snuck a plastic gun made with a 3D printer into the Knesset earlier this month and sat a short distance from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu with the gun in his hands. Experts on 3D printing brought a printer to the Knesset to show Regev how it works, and explained that there is very little supervision of how the technology works, because the materials used can easily be found online. It takes about 20 hours to print the pieces of a plastic gun. (Jerusalem Post, July 31, 2013)
IDF LEADS THE WAY IN GENDER INTEGRATION — (Tel Aviv) Representatives of foreign militaries are increasingly seeking guidance from the IDF in facilitating gender equality and preventing sexual harassment, as Israel's military is recognized as one of the world's most advanced in this regard. The office of the IDF Women's Affairs Advisor explained: "Service for women is required, and therefore we strive to expand equal opportunities for recruitment and placement, and to empower women's [military] service through a variety of roles." The IDF stands out among the world's militaries for the high representation of women in its ranks. 34% of those serving are women, including 23% of all officers and non-commissioned officers. 92% of the IDF's jobs are open to women. (Israel Defense Forces, July 25, 2013)
Advantix Air-Conditioning Empire Built on Ice and Salt: Karin Kloosterman, Israel 21c, July 31, 2013—The Israeli inventors took their ice-skating rink technology and put it into efficient air-conditioning systems used by businesses across the world. The Advantix approach is new. Instead of drip coolers that create wastewater, a salt solution absorbs water from the air. When the solution gets too dilute, heat from the machine’s engine gets pumped back in to evaporate the excess water. Therefore, the process is constantly renewed inside the system.
Israeli Bionic Contact Lens Will Help Blind People ‘See’: ISRAEL21c, July 31, 2013—Much in the way Braille allows people who are blind to “see” the written word, a bionic contact lens invented by Israeli researcher Prof. Zeev Zalevsky “presses” images onto the surface of the eye to help the brain decipher through touch what the wearer is looking at.
The Israeli Company that Wants to Put a 3D Printer in Every Home: Avner Meyrav, NoCamels, July 16, 2013—Dotan Koskas and Yariv Nachshon’s tiny factory is located in a shed of a backyard in Giv’at Shmuel, Israel. Next to the cluttered assembly station, the owners relentlessly operate two 3D printers, which are also the factory’s only “workers.” It is more a workshop than an actual factory, an old-school garage startup, but from this little shed Koskas and Nachshon hope to deliver Israel with a new prophecy: a 3D printer in every home.
Ber Lazarus , Publications Editor Canadian Institute for Jewish Research /L'institut Canadien de recherches sur le Judaïsme www.isranet.org Tel: (514) 486-5544 Fax: (514) 486-82843
Visit CIJR’s Bi-Weekly Webzine (current issue: “Israel’s Levy Report”: ISRAZINE.
CIJR’s ISRANET Daily Briefing is available by fax and e-mail. Please urge colleagues, friends and family to visit our website for more information on our Briefing series. To join our distribution list, or to unsubscribe, contact us at https://isranet.org/.
The ISRANET Daily Briefing is a service of CIJR. We hope that you find it useful and that you will support it and our pro-Israel educational work by forwarding a minimum $90.00 tax-deductible membership contribution [please send a cheque or VISA/MasterCard information to CIJR (see cover page for address or “Donate” button on Website)]. All donations include a membership-subscription to our respected quarterly ISRAFAX print magazine, which will be mailed to your home.
CIJR’s Briefing series attempts to convey a wide variety of opinions on Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world for its readers’ educational and research purposes. Reprinted articles and documents express the opinion of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the Institute.
