Iron Dome, meet Drone Dome: Israel’s Rafael unveils new defense system
(JNS.org) Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems this week unveiled its newest development, the Drone Dome defense system, design to intercept enemy unmanned aerial vehicles. Rafael is also the developer of the Israeli military’s highly successful Iron Dome missile defense system.
The Drone Dome was unveiled during the 2016 LAAD Public and Corporate Security International Exhibition in Brazil. According to Rafael, Drone Dome is an innovative end-to-end defense system designed to provide effective airspace defense against hostile drones, including micro and nano drones used by terrorist groups to gather intelligence and carry out aerial attacks.
Drone Dome is designed to detect, track, and neutralize drones classified as threats. According to Rafael, the system is equipped with a state of the art RPS-42 radar, MEOS electro-optical observation mechanism, and advanced C-Guard RD wide spectrum signal jammer. The interceptor offers its handlers 360-degree coverage of an area under all weather conditions, 24 hours a day.
Drone Dome detects a potential threat using its radar, electro-optical, and infrared components. The data is then processed, and should a threat be identified, the system alerts operators of the hostile drone in the monitored airspace. The system’s signal jammer is then put into action, either automatically or manually, and finally, the hostile drone is neutralized either by the interceptor’s satellite navigation or radio frequency jamming systems.
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Ancient kilns prove Israel was leader in Roman-era glass making
(JNS.org) An archaeological excavation in northern Israel has unearthed glass-making kilns that date back 1,600 years, proving that ancient Israel was one of the most important centers of glass making in the world during the late Roman period.
Yael Gorin-Rosen, head curator of the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Glass Department, said, “This is a very important discovery with implications regarding the history of the glass industry both in Israel and in the entire ancient world. We know from historical sources dating to the Roman period that the Valley of Acre was renowned for the excellent quality sand located there, which was highly suitable for the manufacture of glass.”
Gorin-Rosen said that chemical analyses conducted on glass vessels from this period discovered at sites in Europe and at shipwrecks in the Mediterranean basin have shown that glass came from the region of Israel.
“Now, for the first time, the kilns have been found where the raw material was manufactured that was used to produce this glassware,” said Gorin-Rosen.
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Poll: British Muslims more likely to support anti-Semitic conspiracy theories
(JNS.org) A new poll in the United Kingdom has found that British Muslims are much more likely to support a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories than the wider British public.
According to a poll conducted by ICM for the U.K.’s Channel 4, the British Muslim community is “more likely to believe that Jewish people have too much power in Britain and too much power over government, media, the business world, international financial markets, and global affairs.”
The poll, conducted among 1,081 British Muslims, found that 35 percent “agreed” with the suggestion that Jews have too much power in the U.K., compared to only 9 percent in the national average. Additionally, 39 percent of Muslims believe that Jews have too much power over the media and 44 percent said Jews have too much power over business, compared to only 10 and 18 percent respectively nationwide.
Forty percent of the British Muslims surveyed believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than the U.K., and 34 percent believe Jews talk “too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.”
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Red Sea islands deal between Egypt, Saudi Arabia may require Israeli approval
(JNS.org) A recent deal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia over the transfer of sovereignty of two islands in the Red Sea may require changes to the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty, reports indicate.
According to a report in Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper, the islands agreement may require changes to the treaty including ones dealing with maritime borders, which would require Israeli Knesset approval. Additionally, the report said Egyptian officials had told their Israeli counterparts that the signed agreement would include a commitment by Saudi Arabia to respect Egypt’s peace obligations with Israel. The report said Israel has so far not expressed any opposition to the islands coming under Saudi control.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman recently made a five-day visit to Egypt, where it was announced that Egypt would hand over sovereignty of the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia.
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Netanyahu: Israel prevents Hezbollah from acquiring ‘game-changing’ weapons
(JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel has prevented the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah from acquiring “game-changing” weaponry as a result of numerous attacks by Israel in Syria.
“We are proud that in the stormy and volatile Middle East, we were able to maintain relative calm and relative safety in Israel. We act when we should act, including here, across the border, in dozens of attacks, to prevent Hezbollah from getting game-changing weaponry,” Netanyahu said during a visit with soldiers in the Israeli Golan Heights.
Netanyahu’s statements are the latest in a war of words between the Jewish state and the Lebanese terror group. Over the past few months, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has threatened to strike chemical and nuclear sites inside of Israel.
But Germany’s Bild newspaper reported Saturday that Hezbollah has acquired the Russian-made Buk SA-17 missile battery that had been previously given to the Syrian government. The medium-range surface-to-air missile system is designed to target aircraft, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles that could potentially be used by Israel in an attack on the terror group.
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Turkey: no normalization with Israel until Gaza blockade is lifted
(JNS.org) A spokesperson for the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said Turkey will not normalize relations with Israel until the Jewish state lifts the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The spokesperson was responding to earlier claims by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, on Friday, that Turkish and Israeli negotiating teams have been finalizing a rapprochement deal.
“Meetings with Israel have been taking place for a while and they are continuing today,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Ankara on Thursday, Reuters reported. “If our demands are received favorably, then the next steps will be clear and the necessary announcements will be made to the public.”
Israel and Turkey have been mired in a longstanding feud that originated with the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident, in which nine Turks were killed in clashes after Turkish militants attacked Israeli commandos who had boarded the flotilla.
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Israel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet U.N. climate change goals
(JNS.org) The Israeli government has unanimously approved a plan to reduce the country’s emission of greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency, in a plan to help the Jewish state meets the goals of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Under the plan, Israel will allocate $133 million for government guarantees to loans given out to energy efficiency programs, and another $80 million to grants for energy efficiency projects, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses working in the field. The Israeli government estimates that this will save the Israeli economy about $8 billion, bringing Israel closer to meeting the goals set at last December’s U.N. conference in Paris.
“We hope that the plan we are approving today will first of all lead to a reduction in sickness caused by pollution, and in addition will lead to greater efficiency and savings in the economy,” said Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Globes reported.
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