Israel signs security memorandum with Bahrain, its 2nd with an Arab nation

(Photo: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

By Judah Ari Gross - February 3, 2022

MANAMA, Bahrain — Defense Minister Benny Gantz signed a memorandum of understanding with his Bahraini counterpart on Thursday, formalizing the security relationship after the Gulf country normalized ties with Israel a year and a half ago.

Following the signing, the defense minister met with Bahraini Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and then with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

According to Gantz’s office, the memorandum of understanding “will help advance intelligence cooperation, a framework for exercises, and cooperation between the countries’ defense industries.”

It is only Israel’s second memorandum of understanding with an Arab nation, the first being with Morocco, which Gantz signed late last year.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel’s first Winter Paralympics athlete is alpine skier

(Photo of Sheina Vaspi courtesy of International Paralympic Committee)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - January 23, 2022

Twenty-year-old downhill skier Sheina Vaspi will be Israel’s sole competitor at the Winter Paralympics in Beijing, March 4-13.

Although Israel has always sent a team to the Summer Paralympics, this marks the first time Israel will be competing in the Winter Paralympics.

In another first, Vaspi was the first Israeli to compete in the Para World Alpine Skiing Championships, ending January 23 in Lillehammer, Norway. This week she will go to Are, Sweden, for another competition before the Paralympics.

Read More: Israel21c

Haunted by Holocaust, Israeli charity assists Afghans fleeing Taliban rule

(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

By Jonah Mandel - January 28, 2022

AFP — When Israeli lawyer Inbar Nacht saw pictures last year of Afghans desperately trying to escape their homeland, she thought of her relatives who were murdered in the Holocaust and knew she had to act.

She and her husband Marius had founded a charity in 2020 that has worked on a range of initiatives, from assisting the elderly and disabled to supporting out-of-work artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evacuating people from Afghanistan — a war-battered country that has never recognized Israel and which is now ruled by Islamist hardliners — was not within the area of expertise of the group, Nacht Philanthropic Ventures.

In an interview at her Tel Aviv home ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Thursday, she told AFP that she “couldn’t remain indifferent to the images of people trying to escape with their children and babies.”

“It touched my most fundamental Jewish feelings,” she said about the dramatic events of last August.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel launches $70m program to promote tech entrepreneurship in Arab community

By Ricky Ben-David - January 27, 2022

Israel has officially launched a NIS 225 million ($70 million) program to promote entrepreneurship among Arab communities and better integrate members into the country’s booming tech industry, where they are severely underrepresented.

Israel’s Arab community makes up around 20 percent of the country’s population, but accounts for only around 3.5% of workers in the tech sector, according to Tsofen, an organization that promotes tech activity in Arab cities and the integration of Arab-Israeli citizens into tech firms.

The program, led by the ministries of Innovation, Science and Technology, and Social Equality together with the Israel Innovation Authority, is part of a wider government plan to allocate over NIS 32 billion ($10 billion) for Arab communities in fields like education, economic development, health, and crime-fighting.

The tech program will see the funds being rolled out over the next five years toward a number of initiatives such as the establishment of entrepreneurship centers, technological incubators and accelerators, and an investors’ club.

Read More: Times of Israel

Snow falls in Jerusalem, blanketing the city and canceling school

(Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

By TOI Staff - January 26, 2022

Snow began falling in Jerusalem on Wednesday evening, fulfilling forecasts and prompting closure of the main highway into the capital and all schools for the following day.

A severe weather system, dubbed “Elpis,” had dropped snow on the north of the county from early Wednesday morning, with the conditions spreading steadily south throughout the day.

The first flakes began to fall in Jerusalem at around 7:30 p.m. and were predicted to continue for much of the night, piling up snow at least 10 centimeters deep.

Shortly after the snow started, the Municipality announced that all schools would stay shut on Thursday. Schools had already finished classes early during the day in order to give students an opportunity to get home before the storm started.

Read More: Times of Israel

2021 was the worst year in a decade for antisemitism around the world, report finds

(Photo: Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center)

By TOI Staff - January 24, 2022

Last year was the worse year for antisemitic attacks in a decade, seeing an average of ten incidents a day with the likelihood of many more incidents not being reported, according to an annual review published Monday by the World Zionist Organization and the Jewish Agency.

The Antisemitism Report for 2021 was released ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which falls on Thursday.

2021 was “the most antisemitic year in the last decade,” the two organizations said in a joint statement, “but at the same time, this year no Jew in the world has been murdered on antisemitic grounds.”

The average number of antisemitic incidents reported in 2021 was more than ten per day, the report found.

“However, the actual number of incidents was significantly higher, since many are not reported by the victims out of fear, and due to the lack of surveillance and prosecution of local authorities and law enforcement agencies,” the statement said.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel becomes world leader in live donor kidney donations - WHO

(Photo: MCT)

By Jerusalem Post Staff - January 23, 2022

In 2020, Israel was the country with the most living kidney donors worldwide, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report.

Published by the Global Observatory on Donation and Transplantation in December, the report listed Israel's average annual number of living kidney donors as just over 30 people per one million inhabitants.

Read More: Jerusalem Post

Israeli STEM program empowers girls in Ghana

(Photo: World ORT)

By Abigail Klein Leichman - January 19, 2022

Frances Etornam Goba is 10 years old and lives with her father in Elmina, Ghana. Hoping to be a physician when she grows up, Frances is eager to learn all the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) she possibly can.

So when she saw a notice on her school bulletin board about an optional STEM class, and heard more about it from her science teacher, she ran to sign up.

The class was sponsored by Jewish values-driven global education network World ORT through its World ORT Kadima Mada science and technology education program in Israel.

Kadima Mada (loosely translated as “Science Journey”) creates and implements cutting-edge curriculums in formal and informal settings for disadvantaged populations in Israel and in more than 30 other countries.

The Ghana program, first piloted in one school in 2020, teaches young girls coding, game design and animation using Scratch coding software for kids and Arduino hardware kits.

Read More: Israel21c

'Warmer' peace with Israel offers Jordan better economic dividends

(Photo: Getty)

By Hussain Abdul-Hussain and Enia Krivine - January 20, 2022

For the first time in seven years, the Jordanian royal court recently released a photo of King Abdullah II meeting with an Israeli official, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, Jan. 5 in Amman. This gesture is a clear indication that relations between the two neighboring countries are warming up again. After a decade of sluggish growth and falling standards of living, Jordan likely wants to capture a bigger share of the growing pie of Arab economic cooperation with Israel.

U.S. legislators from both parties recently launched a bipartisan House-Senate caucus that would be a “cheerleading squad” for the Abraham Accords, signed last year between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.

In the first year of peace between Israel and the UAE, bilateral trade reached $700 million. In 2020, bilateral trade between Israel and Jordan stood at $250 million, 27 years after they had signed a peace treaty. These numbers suggest that Jordan has much to gain by moving beyond the “cold peace” it has with Israel and embracing the accords.

In December, Israel and Jordan signed an agreement to facilitate Jordanian exports to the West Bank. The deal’s ambitious goal is to increase the total from $150 million to $700 million a year. In July, Israel agreed to increase its annual supply of fresh water to its eastern neighbor by 50 million cubic meters, doubling the previous figure. The UAE brokered a deal in which Jordan produces solar energy for the Israeli market, and Israel reciprocates by desalinating Mediterranean water for supply to Jordan.

Read More: The Hill

‘Aggressive’ security training paid off, saved lives in Texas synagogue attack

(Photo Courtesy of SCN via JTA)

By AFP - January 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — When a Texas rabbi flung a chair at his armed kidnapper, allowing himself and two others to escape, it was not only fast thinking — it was the result of an aggressive campaign in the United States to train synagogues and other Jewish institutions to protect themselves.

Charlie Cytron-Walker, the rabbi at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, credited training by Secure Communities Network (SCN) with helping him escape the British man who invaded the synagogue on Saturday and held four men hostage for 10 hours before being killed by security forces.

“It was terrifying,” he told CBS.

“When I saw an opportunity where he wasn’t in a good position, I made sure that the two gentlemen who were still with me, that they were ready to go” out a nearby exit, he said.

“I told them to go. I threw a chair at the gunman and I headed for the door, and all three of us were able to get out without even a shot being fired.”

Read More: Times of Israel

Afghan refugees saved by Israelis finally meet their rescuers

By TOI Staff - January 18, 2022

A group of Afghan refugees, rescued by Israel-based humanitarian group IsraAID in October, finally got the chance to meet their rescuers on Monday as they prepared to begin the process of resettlement in Canada.

The group were among the 2,221,828 Afghan refugees registered in Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan by the end of 2021 following the Taliban’s violent takeover of Afghanistan in August after US forces withdrew from the country.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, Afghans now make up one of the largest refugee populations in the world.

The 87 refugees currently residing in Albania are part of a larger group that was rescued from Afghanistan in October in an effort led by IsraAID together with a number of activists, leaders, and donors, including Israeli-Canadian philanthropist Sylvan Adams.

Among them are judges, journalists, TV personalities, cyclists, human rights activists, family members of Afghan diplomats, artists, law enforcement officers and scientists.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel working to provide aid to Tonga after volcanic eruption

(Photo National Institute of Information and Communications Technology / Handout via Reuters)

By Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters - January 16, 2022

Israel is exploring options to provide aid to Tonga after the archipelago was hit by a volcanic eruption and a tsunami on Saturday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced on Sunday.

"On behalf of the people of Israel, I send my heartfelt sympathy to the people of Tonga impacted by the recent volcanic eruption & tsunami," tweeted Lapid. "Israel is exploring options to provide assistance, including ensuring access to safe drinking water, through our aid agency, Mashav."

MASHAV was launched in 1957 to provide humanitarian aid and to share Israeli expertise with developing nations regarding a variety of topics to help train professionals in medicine, development, education and agriculture.

Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the Pacific islands as casualty reports had yet to come through.

Read More: Jerusalem Post

UK citizen named as Texas synagogue attacker, two teens arrested

(Photo: Reuters/Shelby Tauber)

By Jerusalem Post Staff - January 16, 2022

Malik Faisal Akram, a 44-year-old British citizen, was named as the hostage-taker in the Saturday incident at the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Colleyville, Texas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on Sunday. Akram died as police stormed the building.

According to the FBI, there is no indication that other individuals are involved in the case. However, in the early hours of Monday morning, two British teens were arrested in relation to the synagogue attack by Greater Manchester Police.

Police officers from Counter Terrorism Policing North West arrested the two teenagers and they remain in custody for questioning.

Akram was from Blackburn, located north of Manchester. The Blackburn Muslim Community published a statement on Facebook, saying that he was the son of Mohammed Malik Akram and had four brothers, including one who passed away in October.

The community shared a statement by Akram's brother, Gulbar, as well.

"We are absolutely devastated as a family," wrote Gulbar. "We can’t say much now as their is an ongoing FBI investigation. We would like to say that we as a family do not condone any of his actions and would like to sincerely apologize wholeheartedly to all the victims involved in the unfortunate incident."

Read More: Jerusalem Post

Visits to Israel’s National Library Arabic website double

(Image © Herzog & de Meuron; Mann-Shinar Architects, Executive Architect)

By Naama Barak - January 12, 2022

In 2021, the National Library of Israel’s Arabic-language website enjoyed more than 2 million visits from 1.5 million users worldwide. This was a 125 percent increase compared to the year before.

Some 650,000 users from across the Arab world visited the NLI’s Arabic and English websites, an increase of 40% compared to 2020. Most regional users were young men from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Saudi Arabia.

The National Library’s trilingual website (Hebrew, Arabic and English) drew some 10 million visits overall last year, the institute noted. Visitors to the site enjoyed world-leading collections of Judaica and “Israeliana,” as well as an extensive Islam and Middle East collection.

Read More: Israel21c

New bomb shelters will be built for Israeli daycares near Gaza

(Photo: Amir Cohen/Reuters)

By Anna Ahronheim - January 11, 2022

For the first time in five years, the Defense Ministry and the IDF will build shelters for about 30 daycare centers in the southern city of Sderot and Gaza border communities.

The recommendation to begin the project was approved by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and the list of localities where the shelters will be built has been approved by ministry Director-General Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amir Eshel and Home Front Command head Maj.-Gen. Uri Gordin.

Troops from the Home Front Command and the Engineering and Construction Division have mapped daycare centers in the communities agreed upon to upgrade. The work will begin “in the near future in cooperation with authorities,” the ministry said in a statement.

Read More: Jerusalem Post

Israel donates $500,000 for Afghan refugees in Tajikistan

(Photo: Qatar Government Communications Office via AP)

By Agencies - January 11, 2022

Israel has donated $500,000 to the United Nations for food, medical aid and other assistance for Afghan refugees in Tajikistan, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

Alon Ushpiz, director general of the ministry, said Israel is proud to be part of the international effort to help Afghans who fled from the Taliban takeover of the country in August.

Ushpiz said the aid was part of Israel’s commitment to the international community.

Read More: Times of Israel

Israeli singer shares Shabbat food, tunes with Mary J. Blige and LL Cool J

By Jessica Steinberg - January 10, 2022

R&B singer Mary J. Blige may be gearing up for the 2022 Superbowl halftime show in Los Angeles, but first, she had to sing Shalom Aleichem.

Blige, along with rapper LL Cool J — who just recovered from COVID — and Israeli singer Itay Levi, who recently performed in Los Angeles, Miami and New York, dined together for Friday night Shabbat dinner at the home of mutual friends in New York.

When the hosts Ronny and Tali Seliktar led a rousing rendition of “Shalom Aleichem,” which traditionally signals the opening of weekly Sabbath, their guests all clapped along, including Blige and LL Cool J.

Read More: Times of Israel

Who can travel to Israel and how, as country reopens to visitors on Sunday

(Photo: Flash90)

By TOI Staff - January 8, 2022

Israel is set to reopen its borders to vaccinated and some recovered foreign tourists starting Sunday, January 9, as coronavirus rates in the country spike to record levels, making the impact of travel bans negligible.

The new rules enter into effect at midnight Saturday-Sunday.

On Friday, Israel shut down its list of “red” countries with high COVID-19 morbidity, ostensibly making travel possible to and from all nations.

Having kept its borders closed for most of the pandemic, Israel began to allow vaccinated tourists in at the start of last November, but by the end of that month had again banned the entry of foreign nationals in an attempt to hold off the Omicron variant, a ban that ends January 9.

Despite the shift in policy, health officials still recommend avoiding any non-essential travel as the virus continues to surge.

Following is a guide to travel to Israel for foreigners as of January 9:

Read More: Times of Israel

Israel Preparing UN Resolution to Combat Holocaust Denial

By Emily Jones - January 6, 2022

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – Israel is advancing a UN resolution to combat Holocaust denial, Ambassador Gilad Erdan announced on Wednesday.

Erdan told reporters during a Zoom briefing that he would bring the resolution to a vote before the UN General Assembly on Jan. 20, the 80th anniversary of when the Nazis held the Wannsee Conference in Berlin to discuss Hitler’s final solution.

The resolution will use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of Holocaust denial and urge countries and social media giants to combat Holocaust distortion on their platforms.

The United States and Germany support the resolution and are backing Israel, according to Erdan’s office.

The ambassador said “the dangerous phenomenon of Holocaust denial” has only increased amid a rise in anti-Semitism during the COVID-19 pandemic and Israel’s war with Gaza last May.

Read More: CBN

Tiny clay seals reveal First Temple royal treasuries in Jerusalem, researchers say

(Photo: Tzachi Dvira/Temple Mount Soil Sifting Project)

By TOI Staff - January 6, 2022

Dozens of inscribed clay seal impressions recovered during excavations near the Temple Mount have been identified as evidence of two treasuries in ancient Jerusalem in the late 8th century BCE, researchers said Thursday.

Archaeologists said the clay impressions, or bullae, were used for the management of storehouses during the First Temple period.

In ancient times, the lumps of clay were pressed over the knot of a cord securing a doorknob or a vessel, and the manager of a treasury would then impress his, or his superior’s, seal upon the clay to prevent others from tampering.

Archaeologists Zachi Dvira and Dr. Gabriel Barkay found that on the reverse side of several bullae in Jerusalem, an impression of woven fabric appeared, which they said indicated some were attached to small bags containing pieces of silver or precious metals, while others were likely attached to fabric that covered ceramic jars used to store agricultural produce.

The bullae were revealed during the sifting of Temple Mount soil and in excavations at the Ophel Park adjacent to the mount. The researchers said the findings constitute concrete evidence of the existence of two central treasuries in Jerusalem, which managed the economy of the Kingdom of Judah.

Read More: Times of Israel