Israeli Mossad ad blends clear and cryptic techniques to recruit cyber workers
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Mossad wants you—if you can figure out what this says. That is the message of the Israeli spy agency’s latest campaign to recruit cyber workers, launched on the eve of the country’s Independence Day.
The ad, which includes coded text, aims to seek out potential employees for the Mossad’s cyber division and for other special jobs. The ad debuted in Israel Hayom and other Israeli publications on Wednesday and features two parts: one hidden, the other exposed. The exposed section features the Mossad symbol, the menorah, and the verse from Proverbs 11:14 that the agency uses as its motto: “Where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory.” The ad also features computer code comprising English letters and numbers, along with the English text, “Are you ready for a challenge?”
The part that remains hidden is aimed at programmers and hackers, and tells the story of an agent in trouble who is trying to open the door. The idea behind the ad is that anyone who can read the hidden text should contact the Mossad, thus undergoing an original entrance and selection exercise even before the initial screening process.
The Mossad is constantly looking for appropriate candidates for its missions, and cyberspace is considered the hottest war zone. Ads such as this one are a less widely accepted recruitment method, but are used by other spy agencies. Other than the Mossad, cyber units operate as part of the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security agency, and the Israel Police.
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Direct Israeli-Palestinian talks are only way to achieve peace, Netanyahu says
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Direct negotiations between the parties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are the only way to achieve peace, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday at an Independence Day event for diplomats at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.
Referring to the French government’s initiative to hold an international peace conference later this month, which Israel has rejected, Netanyahu said, “Direct talks are not only the most logical and best way to get to peace, they are ultimately the only way to achieve a lasting peace. Israelis and Palestinians deserve nothing less.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Sunday, and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls will follow that up with a visit of his own to the Jewish state later in the week.
Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold criticized the French initiative on Thursday, pointing out that it includes no reference to Israel as a Jewish state. Gold told the Jerusalem Post, “When French diplomats vote for a resolution at UNESCO that rejects the historic Jewish connection to Jerusalem, it should not come as a surprise that Israel rejects the French initiative and the political horizon it aspires to ultimately expose.”
On Wednesday, Valls criticized his own country’s support for the UNESCO resolution, saying the resolution contained “unfortunate, clumsy wording that offends and unquestionably should have been avoided, as should the vote.”
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Al-Qaeda operative says high-level terrorist al-Awlaki wanted to target Israelis
(JNS.org) An al-Qaeda terrorist operative facing sentencing in a New York court next week has revealed that late Islamist bomb-making instructor Anwar al-Awlaki—the first U.S. citizen whose death by drone strike without a trial was authorized by President Barack Obama—had encouraged the operative to target both Americans and Israelis at London’s Heathrow Airport.
The American-born al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen in 2011. Before his death, he became a major jihadi preacher in the West.
Minh Quang Pham, a Vietnamese-British man who had converted to Islam and joined al-Qaeda, said al-Awlaki told him to use bombs to kill Americans and Israelis, according to court documents cited by the New York Times. In particular, Pham revealed that al-Awlaki gave him $10,000 to carry out an attack at Heathrow Airport.
Pham, who never went through with those attacks, has pleaded guilty to three terror-related charges for his involvement with al-Qaeda. He will be sentenced on Monday.
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Tomato is the ‘most Israeli vegetable,’ poll shows
(JNS.org) A poll by the Volcan Agricultural Research Center conducted for Israel’s 68th Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) and the 95th anniversary of the center’s founding shows that that the tomato is considered the “most Israeli vegetable,” Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
Among the 500 men and women over the age of 18 who participated in the survey, about 44 percent chose the tomato as their favorite “vegetable.” (It should be noted, however, that there is an ongoing and age-old debate about whether the tomato is a vegetable or a fruit.)
Fifty-four percent of respondents expressed the preference to eat tomatoes in salads, and the tomato appears to be most popular with people over the age of 50. Fifty-six percent of those in that age group said the tomato is the only vegetable for which they can find no suitable replacement. The survey also showed that Israelis don’t like to peel tomatoes.
“Tomatoes contain essential anti-oxidants and are vital for good nutrition. They contain alpha and beta-carotene, lutein, and lycopene. Together, these anti-oxidants strengthen the immune system and protect the body against illness. In addition, tomato juice is a really healthy drink, as it helps with lung function and protects against damage to DNA,” said Dr. Ilan Levin of the Department of Vegetables and Crops at the Volcan center.
“The Israeli public consumes a large amount of fruits and vegetables. The poll strengthens the theory of the tomato being the ‘most Israeli vegetable.’ Tomatoes are high in nutritional value, and their consumption also provides the public with other wide-ranging health benefits,” said the lead researcher of the poll, Prof. Yoram Kapulnik.
On the fruit side, respondents chose citrus fruit as the most popular choice in the Jewish state.
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Jewish humanitarian group JDC names incoming CEO
(JNS.org) The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a humanitarian group working in more than 70 countries, on Thursday announced that its new CEO will be David Schizer, the dean emeritus of Columbia Law School and a noted Jewish community leader. Schizer will assume the role in January 2017, pending the approval of the JDC board of directors.
Schizer will replace current JDC CEO Alan H. Gill, who is retiring.
“We are extremely proud of David Schizer’s appointment as JDC’s next CEO, confident that his vast professional accomplishments and boundless passion for the Jewish people and Israel will be critical components of his leadership of an organization at the vanguard of Jewish life for more than a century,” JDC President Stanley Rabin said in a statement. “In a world facing many challenges, JDC remains steadfast in its protection of the most vulnerable Jews and its efforts to foster strong, resilient Jewish communities and leaders. David will surely take up that historic mantle and deploy his wide-ranging talents and innovative vantage to bring a new energy and vision to JDC’s timeless mission and to building the Jewish future.”
Schizer was the youngest dean in the history of Columbia Law School, and has been a leader in the Jewish community for many years, including by serving as a board member of the 92nd Street Y and Ramaz School (both in New York City), president of America’s Voices in Israel, and co-director of Columbia University’s Center for Israeli Legal Studies.
“Although I am part of an incredibly fortunate generation of American Jews, I am named for a grandfather who fled pogroms and political upheaval in Ukraine. Every Jewish family has a history of poverty, religious persecution, or violence—the only difference is how long ago it was. So for me personally, it is profoundly meaningful to be appointed CEO of an extraordinary organization that has been a lifeline to Jews in their hour of need, and that renews Jewish life throughout the world, including in places where my own family once lived,” said Schizer. “In these difficult times, JDC’s work has never been more important, and I am proud to be a part of it.”
“[Schizer] represents the enormous accomplishment and talent among rising Jewish leadership in action today—bright, passionate, and committed to innovating and strengthening the Jewish world and Israel,” said Gill.
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White House approves new liaison to Jewish community
(JNS.org) The White House on Thursday approved a new liaison to the American Jewish community, Chanan Weissman, who will be the first Orthodox Jew to fill the position for a Democratic presidential administration.
Two other Orthodox Jews have held the same position in Republican administrations. One of them, Tevi Troy, who served in the role under president George W. Bush, told Jewish Insider that he sees an “advantage but also a challenge” to being Orthodox in the White House post.
“The advantage is that you have instant credibility within the community as knowledgeable and credible representing the community. The challenge is that the bulk of American Jews are not Orthodox and you have to show you can reach out to all,” Troy said.
Weissman will serve through the end of President Barack Obama’s presidency as the administration’s associate director of public engagement. He is the former spokesperson for the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. Weismman replaces Matt Nosanchuk, who held the Jewish liaison position for almost three years and is now working as a senior advisor in the State Department’s Office of Religion and Global Affairs.
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#AskNetanyahu Twitter campaign for Independence Day elicits harsh response
(JNS.org) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s live chat on Twitter for Thursday’s Independence Day (Yom Ha’atzmaut) elicited a barrage of criticism of the Israeli leader.
Most accusations hurled at the prime minister under the #AskNetanyahuhashtag called Israel an “apartheid” or “terrorist” state, with questions such as “When will Israel stop murdering children?” and “When are you going to end illegal settlement on West Bank & end the occupation of Palestinian land?” Other questions and comments focused on the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and the Iranian nuclear threat.
On a lighter but still critical note, one Twitter user asked Netanyahu, “Who do you identify with the most: Voldemort, Darth Vader or Hannibal Lecter?” Another user featured Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in his criticism of Netanyahu, Tweeting, “Is it public executions of children that makes Israel a beacon of democracy? #AskNetanyahu #AskClinton.”
Some supporters of Netanyahu participated in the Twitter chat, but most of the tweeters took the opportunity to lambast the prime minister through words and images.
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American intelligence chief says U.S. ‘can’t fix’ the Middle East
(JNS.org) The United States “can’t fix” the Middle East region, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said in an interview with the Washington Post.
Referring to widespread terrorism in the Middle East, Clapper said he doesn’t “have an answer” to the problem and that the “fundamental issues they have—the large population bulge of disaffected young males, ungoverned spaces, economic challenges, and the availability of weapons—won’t go away for a long time.”
Clapper admitted that the Middle East’s predicament is complex, and that the expectation of America finding a solution is unrealistic.
“Somehow the expectation is that we can find the silver needle, and we’ll create ‘the city on a hill,’” said Clapper.
At the same time, Clapper still believes the U.S needs to maintain a presence in the Middle East.
“Things happen around the world when U.S. leadership is absent. We have to be present—to facilitate, broker, and sometimes provide the force,” he said.
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