Tel Aviv to be home to one of two Australian high-tech hubs
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Australia has decided to create two high-tech incubators abroad, one in Tel Aviv and the other in California’s Silicon Valley. The country’s $1.1 billion “Ideas Boom” project was announced by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
The project is aimed at making Australia a leader in the field of new technologies, while the money allocated to the project will be distributed by the Australian government over the next four years.
“Landing Pads will be created in key global innovation hotspots including Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv to give Australian entrepreneurs and start-ups a short-term operational base,” said Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb.
“This is a valuable new resource for Australian companies and will help foster the innovation and entrepreneurialism we need to create new jobs and build the industries of the future,” Robb said.
According to Turnbull, “Our innovation agenda is going to help create the modern, dynamic 21st-century economy Australia needs. Unlike a mining boom, it is a boom that can continue forever, it is limited only by our imagination, and I know that Australians believe in themselves, I know that we are a creative and imaginative nation.”
Australian Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma said, “The decision to set up a first Australian start-up incubator in Israel is huge, and reflects the importance that Australia ascribes to Tel Aviv as the world’s start-up capital alongside Silicon Valley.”
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Netanyahu: multiple offshore gas rigs vital to Israel’s security
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared Tuesday before the Knesset’s Economics Committee, which discussed a proposed natural gas industry framework deal, and explained the importance and contribution multiple production sites would have to Israel’s energy and national security.
The proposed outline seeks to regulate the development, harvesting, and royalties pertaining to the Leviathan, Tamar, Tanin, and Karish offshore fields, as well as any future natural gas finds.
Netanyahu, who is also the acting economy and trade minister, appeared before the committee to answer its questions on whether the government should be allowed to exercise a controversial article in Israel’s Antitrust Law that would allow it to circumvent the Antitrust Authority’s concerns on the matter.
“Suppose Israel had only one power plant, like the Rabin Power Plant in Hadera, for example,” Netanyahu said. “We have 15 power plants, but suppose there was only one. I promise you we would guard it with everything we have, because if it’s crippled, the entire country shuts down.”
The Hadera power plant, one of the biggest in central Israel, “was the target of direct rocket fire, as were others [power plants], and as we all know, this rocket fire will only become more sophisticated,” said the prime minister.
“We know how to defend these sites, but just imagine we pool everything at one site, one power plant. That’s irresponsible and very dangerous….None of us thinks concentrating all of our power plants in one place is wise. The same goes for the offshore gas rigs. If the gas supply is compromised the entire country could be crippled. The gas rigs are very vulnerable, much more vulnerable that having a pipeline running over a gas field—they’re a prime target,” he added.
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Germany supports EU labeling of Israeli products from beyond 1967 lines
(JNS.org) German Chancellor Angela Merkel will support the European Union’s guidelines to remove “Made in Israel” labels on all Israeli products from Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights, a spokesman said Monday.
Specifically, Merkel is backing a recent German Foreign Ministry statement that the new EU labeling initiative “does not deal with a stigmatized warning decal, as many have presented… What Brussels wants is, however, only a clear designation of the origin of the products.”
Merkel arrived at this stance regarding Israeli products made beyond the 1967 lines despite her public opposition to boycotts of Israel and her past comments that Israel will “continue to receive preferential market access” from Germany.
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Swedish PM says Palestinian stabbings not terror, then revises remarks
(JNS.org) Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said the ongoing wave of Palestinian stabbing attacks in Israel does not constitute terrorism, then attempted to walk back his comments.
“No, it is not classified as such. There is an international classification regarding what constitutes or does not constitute [terrorism]. As far as I know, the [stabbing attacks in Israel] are not defined as terror,” Lofven told the Swedish TT news agency.
Lofven quickly tried to clarify his comments a few hours later.
“I meant that it was unclear if the knife attacks are organized by a group classified as a terrorist organization,” he said. “Nonetheless, the attacks themselves do constitute terror.”
Relations between Israel and Sweden have been strained over the last year, starting with Sweden’s recognition of the Palestinian Authority as the “State of Palestine.” Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom this week sparked controversy by accusing Israel of “extrajudicial executions” of Palestinians without trials. Wallstrom also recently blamed the Paris terror attacks on “Palestinian frustration” with Israel.
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Customs officials intercept 4,000 dolls promoting anti-Israel incitement
(JNS.org) A shipment of 4,000 dolls with anti-Israel clothing and messaging were intercepted by Haifa customs officials on their way to Palestinian Authority territory on Tuesday.
Each plush doll, intended to incite Palestinians against Israel, had a keffiyeh covering its face, one arm raised with a rock in its hand, and a banner in Palestinian colors with the text “Jerusalem is ours” and “Jerusalem we are coming!”
“The customs department continues its daily work in preventing smuggling into Israel with an emphasis on smuggling weapons and preventing the infiltration of inciting material—especially in this climate,” Haifa customs director Coby Yahav said.
The seized containers were imported to Israel from the United Arab Emirates and were labeled as clothing, rugs, and plastic products. In addition to the dolls, inspectors found light bulbs and military boots.
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Israel arrests 5 Islamic State followers from Nazareth
(JNS.org) Israeli security forces arrested five Arab youths from Nazareth on suspicion of planning terror attacks on behalf of Islamic State, the Shin Bet security agency said Tuesday.
The men—ages 18, 18, 22, 23, and 27—went through a radicalization process in which they trained with weapons and held secret meetings expressing allegiance to Islamic State. The Shin Bet said, “It emerged that in the past year, the youths obtained firearms and trained with them, while becoming more devout during meetings they held. They expressed support for ISIS, and praised the jihad against infidels.”
Both the Shin Bet and the Israel Police Northern District carried out the arrests during October and November. The Arab men, who came from the Suleiman clan in the northern part of Nazareth, were charged with illegal possession of weapons, participating in illegal meetings, and supporting an illegal organization.
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