Danon’s argument over Israel

Danny Danon, deputy speaker of the Knesset, is a rapidly rising political star in Israel and abroad; he has just released a book and is available for interview from Israel, or he will be in New York City from September 11th – 13th (directly following the DNC and ahead of the UN Generally Assembly). As a leader of Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, Danon is a fearless supporter of a new brand of Israeli nationalism that often puts him at the center of fierce political debate. His efforts to prioritize Israel’s own viability with or without the support of its allies are sparking heated debates. Danon is available to go on air to discuss a range of issues, including the upcoming American presidential elections and why Israel should be prepared to stand on its own.In his book, ISRAEL: The Will to Prevail (Palgrave Macmillan; 2012), he delivers his hard-hitting assessment of the nation’s present moment, and the bold stance that he argues his fellow leaders must take in order to assure a permanent and secure Israel. Danon makes an unflinching case for an autonomous Israel that acts on its own terms, despite world or U.S. opinion. His book calls for a new way of dealing with the Palestinian conflict that eschews the familiar two-state proposal and allows Israelis to take their fate into their own hands. Danon discusses his views on:
• How the Obama administration ushered in a thawing of U.S./Israel relations, and why this puts both countries in peril
• Why Israel and the U.S. must continue to ally themselves, with the acceptance that the political needs of both don’t always align
• Why talk about the creation of a Palestinian state should cease
• Danon’s argument that Israel should annex the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, with the goal of extending Israeli jurisdiction to the Jewish communities and uninhabited lands of the West Bank
• A three-state solution entailing an agreement between Jordan, Egypt and Israel, giving Palestinians land and rights across these three areas.
• Why Israel’s PR war with the Palestinians is so crucial, and how the nation’s message and reputation can be protected against inaccurate news reports

EL AL Launches Economy Class Plus

EL AL (Photo credit: caribb)

New York EL AL, the national airline of Israel, today announced the launch of Economy Class Plus, a new class of service offering passengers more legroom, more seat recline and preferred seating in the economy cabin.Economy Class Plus also offers an improved atmosphere, a comfort kit (with eyeshades, socks, earplugs, toothpaste and a toothbrush), a business class pillow and blanket, a wider seat cushion, plus additional relaxing amenities such as a foot rest and a curtain for privacy. Installation of laptop and cell phone electrical outlets at every seat will be completed by year end.
EL AL passengers can now reserve Economy Class Plus seating for travel as of July 1 on all state-of-the-art 747-400 jumbo aircraft flying between New York (JFK and Newark) and Israel. The fare for this preferred seat is an additional $150 per person above the economy class fare, each way. In the future, Economy Class Plus will be offered to passengers travelling on state-of-the-art 777 aircraft.EL AL Matmid frequent flyers who travel the most (Top Platinum, Platinum and Gold members) receive a complimentary Economy Class Plus seat when purchasing an economy class ticket. A travel companion of a Top Platinum member in economy class also receives a free Economy Class Plus seat. In addition, EL AL passengers purchasing select economy class tickets are entitled to receive a free Economy Class Plus seat. Every other Matmid frequent flyer has the option of exchanging points for one of these seats.
For more information and to book an Economy Class Plus seat, visit http://www.elal.com, or call EL AL at (800) 223-6700 or any travel agent. You can also learn more about Economy Class Plus, special promotions, as well as special events in Israel and useful travel tips by joining the airline’s Facebook (EL AL Israel Airlines USA) and Twitter (@ELALUSA).EL AL USA Facebook fans can have free membership to the EL AL Matmid Frequent Flyer Club to earn bonus tickets and upgrades to premium classes, priority seat selection, and other exclusive member-only offers. Matmid Members have the opportunity to enroll for free in the EL AL GlobaLY program, whereby EL AL is donating the equivalent of 5% of earned points to charitable organizations: Taglit/Birthright, The Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers and the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Israel, helping to bring deserving individuals from around the world to Israel.
Celebrating more than 60 years of service, EL AL, Israel’s national airline, offers the most nonstop flights between New York (JFK/Newark) and Israel as well as the only nonstop service from Los Angeles. Worldwide, EL AL flies to 35 destinations from Israel and serves dozens of other destinations throughout the world (including the USA) via partnerships with many other leading carriers. Only EL AL has first class service on nonstop flights between the U.S.A. and Israel. The airline has annual revenues of about $2 billion and carries 3.6 million passengers every year. EL AL embodies Israel’s values of innovation and the promise of a genuine Israeli welcome.

To define strategies to counter rise in anti-semitism in Europe

The Palazzo Montecitorio which hosts the Italian Chamber of Deputies in Rome (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rome May 14th at 15:00 at the Press Room of the Italian Chamber of Deputies via della Missione 4, The ICJP delegates present in Rome will meet the press to present the initiatives To define strategies to counter rise in anti-semitism in Europe. WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, and Secretary General, Dan Diker, together with the ICJP delegates from several European countries (Belgium, France, Hungary, Serbia, Sweden) and from Israel, will hold a working session at the Italian Parliament in Rome that will define common goals and strategies to face the alarm of the overall rise in anti-Semitism and extremism in Europe. Additionally, the delegation will meet with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Gianfranco Fini and Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata, to discuss the core issues on the agenda of Jewish parliamentarians in Europe and around the world.
Statement by Hon. Fiamma Nirenstein, Chairperson of the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians and Vice-president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Italian Chamber of Deputies “In these days of unrest, while Europe is overwrought with socio-economic woes and its Jewish population is falling victim to the rapid rise of anti-Semitism and brutal violence, the International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians (ICJP) and the World Jewish Congress (WJC) are gathering in Rome for a conference to discuss the influence of the Arab Spring and Iran on Europe and the West (see attached program).
On the evening of May 14th, WJC President Lauder and I, as ICJP Chairperson, will present the first “Friendship Award” to Pierluigi Battista, leading columnist of Il Corriere della Sera daily, for his commitment to the fight against anti-Semitism and the de-legitimization of the State of Israel. The ceremony will be hosted by Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata at historical Villa Madama, in the presence of Israel’s Ambassador to Italy Naor Gilon, Italian members of parliament and dignitaries.

Vadim Segal Family Foundation Announces Tender Web Platform

Holocaust memorial (Photo credit: NH53)

Moscow, (PRNewswire)The Vadim Segal Family foundation recently announced the creation of a virtual Holocaust museum. The online museum will accept user-submitted content such as letters, photographs and documents to honor the victims of the Holocaust.For organisations interested in participating in this pre-qualifying tender, the documents will be available at http://www.vadimsegal.com/museum.Written proposals can be submitted via our website until the 21st of April.The Vadim Segal Family Foundation http://www.vadimsegal.com is a non-profit organisation based in New York, USA under leadership of Vadim Segal. It focuses on giving to the Jewish Community to further such programs as Education, Art, Healthcare and Technology in Russia, Ukraine, Israel and USA.Strategic Media Group is an online public relations management company focused on helping organisations, governments non profit organisations and individuals optimise exposure of their new projects and initiatives worldwide.

SDE Energy Ltd Named World Leader in Sea Wave Energy Technologies

Tel Aviv, Israel (PRNewswire) SDE Energy Ltd, the owner of a new and unique invention that produces electricity from sea waves, was selected by a team of international scientists as number one in the world in Sea Wave Energy Technologies, number six in Tidal Energy and River Energy, and was ranked as one of the Top 100 Clean Energy Technologies. Due to the high oil prices and the rising costs of electricity, the sea-wave energy production has emerged to become today a proper viable alternative for renewable energy production. SDE Energy created an economic model which is based on its technology for producing electricity through harvesting the energy of the sea wave’s motion. Mr. Shmuel Ovadia, the company’s CEO is hoping that this model will lead to significant reductions in electricity costs in areas it will be operated. SDE has many advantages over its competitors, due to the innovative, fully automated hydro-pneumatic method, which utilizes the wave’s ascent and descent, the entering and retreating wave, the upper and lower wave, all with optimal efficiency while most of SDE’s competitors’ technologies utilize only the upper wave Furthermore, SDE has several safety factors for stormy weather conditions and high system utilization. Due to the lack of shore areas available for commercial use, SDE developed a system that requires minimal use of the land. SDE’s method also helps reduce the erosion of the breakwaters significantly. The profits and savings that can be derived from SDE’s project in Israel (for exp), which include electricity production and breakwater maintenance are as follows: 32 km of breakwaters in Israel
S.D.E. is a world leader in the planning, building and marketing of power stations, producing power from sea waves . SDE’s method involves the use of sea wave motion to generate hydraulic pressure, which is then transformed into electricity. The system takes advantage of the wave’s speed, height, depth, rise and fall, and the flow beneath the approaching wave, thus producing energy. A full-scale model was operated in Israel and produced 40ekW for almost a year. The model has been checked and approved by experienced engineers.

The Vaccine Proves Safe and Activates Immunity to Flu

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Nes Ziona, Israel (PRNewswire)BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (TASE: BNDX) today announced positive results from its second Phase II clinical trial (BVX-005) of the Universal Influenza Vaccine (Multimeric-001) developed by Biondvax for improving existing flu vaccines in elderly. The vaccine was found to be safe and well tolerated, and induced robust cellular and humoral immune responses in elderly patients (65+), successfully meeting the primary safety and secondary immunogenicity endpoints. In addition, when given as a primer before boosting with a commercially available seasonal influenza vaccine (trivalent inactivated vaccine, or TIV), Multimeric-001 vaccine enhanced the performance of the TIV by increasing immunity to influenza strains contained in the TIV (“prime-boost” regimen). The Multimeric-001 vaccine improved immunity to influenza in the elderly without the need for any adjuvant. The effectiveness of priming with Multimeric-001 was determined by means of hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) assays. HAI-based immune measures are utilized by US and European regulatory authorities to approve and license existing influenza vaccines.
The elderly are a growing population at high risk for influenza and currently under protected. For example in the US, elderly adults constitute 15% of the population but account for 65% of hospitalizations and 90% of deaths attributable to influenza and its complications. This reflects weakening immune systems and the limited immunity provided to the elderly by TIVs. Indeed, of the approximately 350 million elderly worldwide vaccinated with a seasonal TIV each year (about 70% of the total seasonal flu vaccine market), up to 210 million do not respond sufficiently and are not protected against the strains contained in the TIV. Innovative approaches are urgently required to improve protection against influenza among the elderly and hence, to reduce influenza-related morbidity and mortality and associated high economic burden.
This Phase II trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 120 elderly (65+) volunteers conducted at two clinical research centers in Israel – the Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. In light of the successful conclusion of this second Phase II clinical trial in the elderly in Israel, BiondVax is preparing to conduct a third Phase II trial in the elderly in Europe. This trial is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2012 and to be concluded in the first quarter of 2013.
Biondvax`s estimates regarding the future development of the vaccine and expected trials with respect to the vaccine are forward looking information based on the information that Biondvax has in its possession today pertaining to the potential of the vaccine`s development. These estimates may not be realized, in whole or in part, and/or may be realized differently than estimated, as a result of different factors, including the failure to reach the objectives of the trials and/or schedules and/or to obtain the necessary funding for the continuation of development of the vaccine as well as other factors which are not within Biondvax’s control and the materialization of any of the risk factors detailed in Section 5.27 of Biondvax`s shelf prospectus published on January 17, 2012.
BiondVax Pharmaceuticals (“Biondvax”), a publicly-traded company (TASE: BNDX) based in Nes Ziona, Israel, is developing a proprietary, innovative Universal Influenza (“flu”) Vaccine, the Multimeric-001 vaccine, designed to provide multi-season and multi-strain protection against many human influenza virus strains, including both seasonal and pandemic influenza strains.

Top Israeli Importers Complete Comprehensive U.S. Tour

Image by Sean MacEntee via Flickr

The U.S. Grains Council hosted a high-level delegation of Israel’s leading feed grain importers for a top-to-bottom review of U.S. grain production, marketing and delivery systems. “This was an important chance to showcase the opportunities U.S. grains offer,” explained Joe O’Brien, USGC regional director in the Middle East. “Israel has a sophisticated feed milling industry and will shift its sourcing, frequently based on prices and availability.”“Over the past few years we’ve seen a lot of competition for this market from the Black Sea region, which has the advantage of lower freight costs. This was a chance to emphasize the benefits of buying U.S. grains, in particular the reliability and efficiency of our production systems.”The delegation was led by the CEO of Shovre-Bar, a company which imported two-thirds of Israel’s coarse grains last year, and also included principals from the four largest feed milling operations in Israel. The team visited USDA/GIPSA in New Orleans to review testing and reporting procedures for grain exports before traveling to Kansas State University for informational sessions on feed formulation and grain storage. The United Sorghum Checkoff Program later conducted an instructional program featuring a demonstration of sorghum uses.
Israel currently imports 3.2 million metric tons of coarse grains annually, and last year Shovre-Bar sourced 700,000 tons from the United States.

Rights of the Palestinian People

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The Bureau of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People is deeply alarmed by the upsurge in illegal Israeli settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including occupied East Jerusalem, since the beginning of August.
The Bureau strongly condemns these illegal and provocative acts by the occupying Power, undertaken with the aim to encircle and separate East Jerusalem from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory behind a wall of settlements. They also cement Israeli control over the West Bank by fragmenting it in ways which would render a viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State impossible to achieve in accordance with the two-State solution on the basis of the pre 1967 borders. The Bureau calls on Israel to immediately cease and reverse these unilateral actions, freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including the so-called “natural growth”, and dismantle outposts erected since 2001, obligations Israel undertook in accordance with the Road Map.
While welcoming the recent expressions of concern by the Quartet and other members of the international community, the Bureau calls for credible and decisive action to compel Israel to abide by its legal obligations and to protect Palestinian civilians under prolonged military occupation from the damaging effects of settlements and settlers. The Security Council and the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions bear a special responsibility in this regard.

Vice President of EL AL Israel Airlines

New York, NY Danny Saadon has been named Vice President of EL AL Israel Airlines for North and Central America, the largest and most important operation for the airline (outside of Israel) that generates the most tourism to the country. In this new position, Saadon will oversee all operations for EL AL throughout the region and will be based at EL AL’s North American Headquarters in New York City. This new appointment follows more than four decades with EL AL in several managerial positions, including Airport Operations Manager in a variety of countries when history was made for the State of Israel and EL AL. The most significant events include the 1976 Israeli Raid on Entebbe while Saadon was based in Nairobi, Kenya and the rescue of Israelis and Iranians during the 1978 Iranian revolution while he was in Tehran, Iran. As the EL AL Ben Gurion Airport Manager in 1991, Saadon was also involved in Operation Solomon when EL AL assisted in the covert Israeli military operation that rescued 15,000 Ethiopians via airlift to Israel.Most recently, Saadon spent the past five years as Vice President and General Manager of the EL AL branch in Tel Aviv.  This office brings in the largest volume of business for the airline with sales of $1 billion annually. Previously, Saadon held a steady string of upper management positions with EL AL including General Manager in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as Ground Operations Manager in the United States. Saadon received a degree from Hebrew University. He is fluent in Hebrew, English, and Italian.  Celebrating more than 60 years of service, EL AL, Israel’s national airline, offers the most nonstop flights between New York (JFK/Newark) and Israel as well as the only nonstop service from Los Angeles.  Worldwide, EL AL flies to more than 40 destinations from Israel and serves dozens of other destinations throughout the world (including the USA) via partnerships with many other leading carriers. Only EL AL has first class service on nonstop flights between the U.S.A. and Israel. The airline has annual revenues of about $2 billion and carries 3.6 million passengers every year. EL AL embodies Israel’s values of innovation and the promise of a genuine Israeli welcome.   EL AL. It’s not just an airline. It’s Israel.

African migrants brutalized en route to Israel

Jerusalem (Israel) Testimonies given to Hotline for Migrant Workers describe horrific ordeals, systematic rape, torture at hands of Beduin smugglers.  The report also cites a study previously compiled by Every-One Group, a collection of Italian human rights groups, which found that migrants were threatened with having their organs cut out and sold. The testimony of A.I.S, a 21-year-old Eritrean woman, is part of a report released by the Hotline for Migrant Workers on Wednesday detailing horrifying ordeals reportedly suffered by African migrants to Israel at the hands of their Beduin smugglers in the Sinai Peninsula. The report, titled “The Dead of the Wilderness,” is full of tales of rape, torture, murder, extortion and near-starvation compiled during interviews with 60 African migrants. The 24 women and 36 men, mainly from Eritrea, reported suffering severe brutality on their way to Israel. Most of the interviews were conducted by the Hotline at the Saharonim Prison, where the migrants were held after arriving in the country.In 2010, 11,763 people were smuggled into Israel across the Egyptian border, according to a report by the Knesset Research and Information Center. Most, if not all, of these people paid exorbitant sums in the thousands of dollars to Beduin smugglers, and many reportedly found themselves held hostage later by the smugglers until their families could pay a ransom. Many of those held for ransom were reportedly subjected to repeated torture and rape – used against both women and men – to force their families to send more money to end their ordeal.However, the suffering doesn’t always end with the payment of ransom, according to the report, which cites the case of some 18 men who were forced into slave labor to build sprawling Sinai mansions for two of the traffickers. The report also cites a study previously compiled by Every- One Group, a collection of Italian human rights groups, which found that migrants were threatened with having their organs cut out and sold. The Hotline report portrays the Beduin smugglers as tending to rape their captives, and states that according to the testimonies collected, it appears that the majority of the approximately 5,000 women held by smugglers in the Sinai last year were raped during their time there, many of them repeatedly. Of the 24 women interviewed for the report, 17 stated that they had been raped – an especially high number, the report says, considering that rape victims are typically very reluctant to come forward, particularly those from conservative African societies, where victims of sexual assault are often ostracized from their communities.

Danovaro protagonista a Gerusalemme

È stato il protagonista anche a Gerusalemme, il professor Roberto Danovaro, direttore del Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare della Università Politecnica delle Marche, al workshop che ha riunito 2700 scienziati di 80 paesi: l’Israel Academy of Science and the Humanities. Il simposio è servito a illustrare i risultati delle ricerche del progetto internazionale finalizzato al censimento degli organismi viventi nei mari, costato 650 milioni di dollari. Sono 250.000 le specie individuate a tutte le profondità. E pare che siano 750.000 le specie ancora da scoprire.  “Abbiamo ora un punto di riferimento da cui partire per verificare i prossimi cambiamenti nel mondo marino, e mettere riparo ai danni dell’uomo”, ha detto il professor Danovaro al Jerusalem Post, che gli ha dedicato un titolo di apertura, anche per la sua scoperta del microrganismo pluricellulare capace di vivere a 3 chilometri e mezzo di profondità, in assenza di luce e di ossigeno.

The Catholic Church in the Middle East

Following the work undertaken at the Special Assembly for the Middle East (10-24 October 2010), the annual visit to the Holy Land (Israel and Palestinian Territories) of a delegation of about thirty bishops and representatives from European and North American Bishops’ Conferences and church organisations will take place from 9-13 January 2011. The meeting is organised by the Co-ordination of Episcopal Conferences in Support of the Church of the Holy Land and the Assembly of Catholic Bishops in the Holy Land (known by the abbreviation Holy Land Co-ordination: HLC 2011). This year, too, the Council of European Episcopal Conferences (CCEE) is supporting the initiative and will be represented by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Tiranë-Durrës, Mgr Rrok Mirdita, President of the Albanian Bishops’ Conference. The delegation will begin its meeting with a pilgrimage to the banks of the Jordan on Sunday 9 January, and a visit to the city of Jericho. Subsequently, in the course of their work, various themes will be tackled: daily ecumenism in Jerusalem; religious freedom in Israel and the Palestinian Territories; the works of the Bilateral Permanent Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel; inter-religious dialogue with Islam and Judaism; education towards dialogue in Israeli and Palestinian schools; charity: way of dialogue and witness; religious life in the Holy Land and pilgrims: instruments of peace and reconciliation. Each of the topics will be introduced by expert speakers. The days will be marked by numerous moments of prayer and meetings with local communities. The visit will end on Thursday 13 January in Jerusalem with a celebration at the Holy Sepulchre presided over by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Mgr Fouad Twal, and a News Conference. Participants include His Grace Mgr Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio to Israel and Cyprus and Apostolic Delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine; and Fr Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M., Custodian of the Holy Land.

Report: Hamas torturing 250 Eritreans in Egypt

Tel Aviv. Approximately 250 Eritrean refugees have been held captive and tortured for the past month by Hamas in northern Sinai, human rights organization EveryOne reported. The Italian-based organization sent an urgent plea to the Egyptian government last Thursday, claiming that the refugees, who were making their way to Israel to seek asylum, were captured by human traffickers. The issue of illegal refugees infiltrating through the Egyptian border has been dominating the news in Israel in recent months, but it appears that many meet a dreadful fate even before reaching the Jewish state. The humanitarian aid group reported that the refugees in question encountered Hamas operatives along the route, who promised to smuggle them into Israel for a payment of $2,000. Instead, they were placed in a detention facility on the outskirts of Rafah, an Egyptian town on the Gaza border, demanding their families in Eritrea pay a $10,000 ransom for their release.
According to Roberto Malini, who heads EveryOne, the NGO is able to communicate with the Eritreans, some of whom arrived in Italy a few months ago but were sent back to Libya, where they were held for three months. During their stay in Italy they were given cell phones so that they can keep the humanitarian aid group updated along the journey. The captors let the prisoners use the phones to request money from their families. The refugees were thus able to relate the poor conditions in which they were being held, and describe their location – a house located near a government building, surrounded by a fruit orchard – and even send photographs of the detention facility.
According to refugees who survived similar journeys and reached Israel, once the ransom is paid, the traffickers escort the prisoners to certain points along the border. Those who are unable to gather the funds will meet a bitter end.EveryOne officials claim that despite their repeated efforts to inform the Egyptian authorities of the dire situation, no action has been taken to remedy it, primarily because terrorist groups are behind the atrocities.

Mapping Peace Between Israel and Syria

March 12, 2009 10:00 AM – 11:30 PM U.S. Institute of Peace 2nd Floor Conference Room 1200 17th St, NW Washington, DC roundtable discussion on:”Mapping Peace Between Israel and Syria” A new Special Report authored by Frederic C. Hof Using the report as a starting point, the roundtable will engage leading experts on Syria and the Arab-Israeli conflict to address the broader question of what a peace deal between Israel and Syria could look like, and what paths might lead to it. The report explores how a Jordan Valley-Golan Heights Environmental Preserve could facilitate a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. The report argues that this mechanism could accommodate the essential interests of both parties–namely, full Israeli withdrawal from lands acquired in 1967 as Syria demands, while safeguarding water resources vital to Israel’s economy and providing some access by Israeli citizens to parts of the Golan to meet Israeli concerns. Moreover, the Preserve could create an environment where Syrians and Israelis might interact informally and peacefully, and give the parties a good platform for practical bilateral cooperation even as the ink on a peace treaty is drying.Featuring: Frederic C. Hof Frederic C. Hof is the CEO of AALC, Ltd., an Arlington, Virginia, international business consulting firm. He directed the field operations of the Sharm El-Sheikh (Mitchell) Fact- Finding Committee in 2001. Mona Yacoubian, Moderator U.S. Institute of Peace