300 Israeli elementary schools to introduce robotics program
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Some 300 elementary schools in Israel will be adding robotics to their curricula for the 2016-2017 school year under a new initiative by the Education Ministry.
Students will learn how to code and will receive hands-on experience in operating robots of various types. Administrators say the goal of the program is to enhance problem-solving skills by focusing on algorithms, analysis and creativity. The program is already part of the curriculum in some Israeli high schools, and 30 elementary schools have tested a pilot version for younger students.
“The schools will have work stations that will include laptops and mobile robots that can be moved between classrooms,” Dayan told Israel Hayom. “While one group of students studies coding, another one learns how to operate the robot, and then they swap. The program will comprise two hours in the weekly curriculum and teachers will receive continuous assistance from professionals.”
Education Minister Naftali Bennett praised the decision to expand the program.
“Robotics is a key part of who we are as humans, and coding helps develop our minds,” he said. “After the stellar success of the Israeli Cyber Championship [the ‘Cyber Olympics’], we are now adding elementary schools to our technology education program.”
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New Jersey becomes latest state to pass anti-BDS bill
(JNS.org) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a law an prohibiting the state’s public worker pension fund from investing in companies that engaged in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
The $71 billion pension fund provides coverage for about 800,000 current and retired state workers.
The resolution stated, “It is important to the economic well-being of New Jersey that persons or entities conducting commercial trade and doing business in the State do not engage in boycotts of a legitimate and viable partner with whom New Jersey can enjoy open trade contracting,” the Jerusalem Post reported.
Christie said it’s in New Jersey’s best interest to enact a statutory prohibition stopping the investment of public employee retirement funds in companies boycotting Israel.
New Jersey now joins nearly a dozen U.S. states who have passed anti-BDS legislation over the past year.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon welcomed the latest move by New Jersey, saying “state after state, we see our most important ally, the United States, continuing to stand by Israel in the fight against BDS. Legislative measures like the one signed today brings us closer to victory.”
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IDF Chief: Over 50,000 Palestinians cross illegally into Israel every day
(JNS.org) Tens of thousands of illegal Palestinians enter into Israel every day and that more effective policies and penalties are needed to stem the flow, said Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot.
According to Eizenkot, over 50,000 Palestinians enter Israel illegally every day though gaps in the security barrier. In total only 4,300 are arrested every year, but only 1,500 are indicted.
“The front in Judea and Samaria is a challenge to the IDF in recent months…the Palestinians see terror as a political and religious tool,” Eizenkot told Israeli lawmakers at a special hearing, Haaretz reported.
Israel needs to invest in improvements in procedures for granting work permits to Palestinians as well as harsher penalties for employers who provide sleeping quarters and transportation for illegal workers, he said.
“A balance must be created between the needs of the Palestinian economy and security requirements,” Eizenkot said. “Permit holders were not terrorists in the latest wave and it seems to me not even over the past decade. We are making great effort to close the gaps but there are still about 100 kilometers without a security fence.”
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Shin Bet uncovers Hezbollah attempts to recruit Palestinians on Facebook
(JNS.org) Several Palestinian terror cells in the Judea and Samaria region were recruited through Facebook by the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah to carry out attacks against Israelis, Israel’s security agency (Shin Bet) announced on Tuesday.
One of the groups in the Palestinian city, Qalqilya, was specifically instructed to carry out an attack on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Shin Bet discovered in cooperation with the IDF and Israeli police.
The leader of that terror cell, Mustafa Kamel Hindi, was recruited by Hezbollah via Facebook. He recruited four other men from Qalqilya and trained them in shooting and using explosives.
Additionally, other Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were also recruited by Hezbollah through Facebook to carry out suicide attacks. These cell members were arrested in June and indicted at the Military Court in Judea before the planned terror attack could be carried out.
Hezbollah also tried to recruit Arab Israelis through pro-Palestinian Facebook profiles, according to the Shin Bet.
Following Shin Bet’s announcement, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to officially designate Hezbollah a terrorist organization, Arutz Sheva reported.
“Hezbollah terrorists are working as representatives of the Iranian regime, threatening not only Israel, but stability in Syria, Lebanon and the entire region,” Danon said, adding that Hezbollah must know there are “serious repercussion” for any attack against Israelis.
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