Science minister eyes sending first Israeli female astronaut to space
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Science, Technology and Space Minister Danny Danon has asked the Israel Space Agency (ISA) to begin searching for the first female Israeli astronaut to be sent to space.
Danon’s quest comes 12 years after the first Israeli astronaut of any gender in space, Ilan Ramon, tragically died along with the rest of the crew aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia when it burned up upon re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Danon spoke with America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) earlier this week about the possibility of working together with Israel on future manned space flights. He said that although finding an astronaut is a long process that requires both funding and coordination within Israel and with the U.S., he has asked the ISA to begin the current search right away.
NASA’s Space Shuttle Program wound down in 2011, putting the brakes on American human spaceflight for the immediate future. But NASA still sends astronauts to the International Space Station via Russian spacecraft. The ISA and NASA are in talks about the possibility of including an Israeli astronaut in a future mission to space. Danon stressed the importance of having a strong female presence in the sciences.
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Heads of 100 major German companies to visit Israel
(JNS.org) While many in Europe are calling for a boycott of Israel, a delegation of 100 German industry leaders is preparing for a trip to Israel to meet with top businesspeople in a show of support for the Jewish state, as part of the ongoing marking of 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Some of the companies to be represented in the group that arrives June 28 are SAP SE, BMW, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Merck & Co., Inc., Mercedes-Benz, and Lufthansa.
The German visitors will spend two days in Tel Aviv for events organized by economy ministers from Germany and Israel. On the first day, they will attend an investors’ conference, where they will meet industry leaders, CEOs, and owners of large Israeli companies. The second day will focus on innovation, and guests will speak with cutting-edge Israeli researchers.
Israel’s commercial attaché in Berlin, Hemdat Sagi, told Israel Hayom that “in recent years, Germany is becoming more and more open to innovation and more interested in what’s going on in Israel. This is true both on a governmental level and a business level.”
Sagi added, “Large companies like Deutsche Telekom, Merck, and SAP SE are already conducting R&D activities in Israel. The job of the commercial office in Berlin is to bring new partners to cooperate with Israeli companies and to enjoy the interesting synergies being formed with the Israeli market.”
Five years ago, Israel and Germany signed an agreement to fund joint projects in the fields of biotechnology, water, environmental technology, and security and defense technology. Now, efforts are being made to connect mid-sized and smaller-sized companies from the two nations.
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Palestinian Authority to broadcast new TV channel in Israel via satellite
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Palestinian Authority (PA) on Thursday launched a television channel called Palestine 48, which will broadcast in Israel via satellite. The target audience for the channel is Israel’s Arab minority, which makes up approximately 20 percent of the Jewish state’s population.
Upon learning of the launch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israeli Communications Ministry, which he currently heads, to look into possible criminal and administrative measures to prevent the channel from broadcasting.
The order came hours after the channel held a press conference in Nazareth for the official launch. Palestinian Communications Minister Riad Hassan said that “neither Netanyahu nor his extreme right-wing government will succeed in shutting down the station.”
The Israeli Communications Ministry plans to investigate the legality of the channel’s PA funding, among other things.
“We will provide a platform for the other side as well, to right-wingers and ministers in the government,” Hassan said. “The objective is to provide a platform for the Arabs of 1948 so that they can reveal to the entire Arab world everything that they go through in terms of cultural, social, and financial challenges. … We have no intention of undermining the rule of law in the State of Israel.”
The PA’s official broadcaster in the disputed territories, PA TV, has been known for anti-Israel and anti-Semitic programming, a trend that is regularly documented by Palestinian Media Watch.
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In Israel, Michael Douglas voices concern on Iran nukes and BDS movement
(JNS.org) American actor Michael Douglas expressed concern about the growing danger of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and the threat of boycotts targeting Israel during an address to hundreds of young Jewish leaders in Israel on Wednesday.
“I am a U.N. ambassador for peace and I would like to say that from my experience the biggest problem in the world are nuclear weapons,” Douglas told the young leaders during an event held at the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv.
Douglas said he is “very concerned about the attempts of boycotting Israel” and urged Israeli lawmakers to put differences aside and “work together” to address the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Former Israeli president Shimon Peres also condemned the BDS movement during Wednesday’s event at the center bearing his name, calling it an “anti-peace movement.”
Douglas is in Israel this week to accept Israel’s Genesis Prize on June 18 from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The actor is being honored for his professional achievements as well as his passion for Jewish heritage and Israel. Douglas, who was not raised with any religious affiliation, is the son of Jewish Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas. In recent years, the younger Douglas has identified as a Reform Jew, and his son with actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (Dylan) celebrated a bar mitzvah in Jerusalem last year.
“I am always amazed at how many Jews are not in Israel. The most important thing is to come here and feel Israel. Everyone has his own narrative, and I encourage all of you to find your Jewish narrative and keep it in the future,” Douglas said.
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U.S. lawmakers launch resolution condemning boycott of Israeli universities
(JNS.org) A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a new measure in the U.S. House of Representatives condemning resolutions or policies promoting boycotts of Israeli academic institutions and scholars by American universities or scholarly associations.
The resolution was introduced by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla) and was co-sponsored by Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Kevin Boyle (D-Pa.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), and Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.).
“The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement on college campuses has unfairly singled out Israel, our closest friend and ally in the extremely volatile Middle East,” Curbelo said in a statement.
Rep. Curbelo added that “academic boycotts eliminate the possibility of open exchanges of ideas” and that “American institutions must be able to engage in academic exchange with Israeli institution.”
In addition to condemning restrictions on academic links between American and Israeli universities, the resolution also praises “university presidents and institutions that have opposed academic boycott and have shown dedication to the free and open exchange of ideas.”
“It’s time we take a stand and say we will not sit quietly and condone our higher education system boycotting our trusted friend and ally, Israel,” said Rep. Boyle.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) praised the bipartisan legislation and called on the House of Representatives to quickly adopt it.
“Efforts to uniquely isolate Israeli institutions and scholars undermine academic freedom and, moreover, does not advance the cause of peace,” said Richard Foltin, AJC’s director of national and legislative affairs.
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Palestinian unity government between Fatah and Hamas purportedly ends
(JNS.org) The Palestinian unity government that was formed last year between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party and the Hamas terror group has purportedly ended.
“[Palestinian unity government Prime Minister Rami] Hamdallah handed his resignation to Abbas, and Abbas ordered him to form a new government,” said Nimr Hammad, an adviser to Abbas, AFP reported.
But some Fatah officials, including Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh, have denied the reports of the resignation.
Hamas said it was not informed of the dissolution of the government and rejected any unilateral moves.
“No one told us anything about any decision to change and no one consulted with us about any change in the unity government. Fatah acted on its own in all regards,” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP on Wednesday.
Despite forging a deal a year ago to form a unity government made up of technocrats, little progress has been seen in reconciling the deep split between the two Palestinian factions, a rift that has divided the Palestinians since Hamas violently took control of Gaza in 2007.
The purported ending of the unity government comes amid recent reports of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas regarding a long-term cease-fire and an easing of the blockade on Hamas-ruled Gaza, including the construction of a seaport in Gaza. At the same time, reports also indicate a softening stance between Hamas and the Egyptian government, as both continue to face threats from Islamic State-aligned terror groups in Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula.
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Netanyahu says he will ‘do what is necessary’ to help Syria’s Druze
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he will “do what is necessary” to help Syria’s embattled Druze community as rebel forces, including Islamists, surround a Druze village in the Syrian Golan Heights.
Netanyahu told a special session in the Knesset on Wednesday that he is closely following “what is happening on our borders,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
“I suggest that everyone who is dealing with the issue, who finds it important, make due with this statement for now,” he said.
Netanyahu added that he ordered “to do what is necessary” to aid Syria’s Druze.
On Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of State Lt. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot said that the IDF would provide humanitarian relief to refugees fleeing the violence.
Israel is home to significant and influential Druze minority, many of whom serve in the Israeli military, police, and government. Many leaders in that community have called on Israel’s government to do more to aid their brethren in Syria. Around 110,000 Druze live in northern Israel while an additional 20,000 live in the Golan Heights.
The statement by Netanyahu comes as Syrian rebels, some of which are comprised of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra terror group, are closing in on the Syrian town of Hader, which is home to around 25,000 Druze.
According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian rebels surrounded Hader on Wednesday, with Druze villagers continuing to stand with the Syrian government.
The Druze comprise around 3 percent of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million, where they are mainly concentrated in the southern province of Sweida, with other Druze villages in Idlib province and in the Golan Heights.
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