Measure for Israel’s defense moves through U.S. Senate committee
AIPAC applauds the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for adopting the U.S.-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 (S. 2497), which seeks to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself, by itself, against growing and emerging threats—including Iran’s presence close to Israel’s northern border. This bipartisan legislation authorizes agreed-upon increases in Israel’s security assistance and encourages expanding weapons stockpiles and new U.S.-Israel cooperation in anti-drone technologies, cybersecurity and space.
AIPAC also appreciates the committee’s overwhelming rejection of an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul to eliminate all aid to Israel over a 10-year period.
Major provisions include:
• Authorizing U.S. security assistance to Israel for 10 years, as called for in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding on security assistance.
• Authorizing a joint assessment of the quantity and type of precision-guided munitions necessary for Israel to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas and other terrorist groups; mandating rapid acquisition and deployment procedures for such munitions.
• Extending authorization for the U.S. War Reserve Stockpile in Israel by five years and authorizing an additional $1 billion in stocks; authorizing the president to add precision-guided munitions to the stockpile for potential Israeli use in a conflict with Hezbollah.
• Urging the NASA administrator to continue working with the Israel Space Agency to identify and cooperatively pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives.
• Authorizing the president to establish a counter-drone program with Israel.
AIPAC appreciates the leadership of Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ranking Member Robert Menendez (D-NJ) along with the authors of the bill, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Coons (D-DE). In May, the House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a version of this measure, H.R. 5141. AIPAC urges the full Senate and House to act on these important measures. – From AIPAC
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Levin, Harkey draw national endorsements in 49th CD race
The race in the 49th Congressional District to succeed U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) has drawn national attention.
The MoveOn organization has endorsed Democrat Mike Levin, a member of the Jewish community, while the Tea Party Express has selected Republican Diane Harkey for its support.
“After a long and successful career in banking and finance, Diane Harkey understands how regulatory and tax burdens are strangling the economy and killing jobs,” said the Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo. “As a Member of the State Assembly and Chair of the State Board of Equalization, she fought to protect the rights of taxpayers, streamline California’s onerous regulations, and help individuals and businesses navigate the state’s complex tax code.”
MoveOn spokesman Jordan Wilhelmi said of Levin: “Mike is a passionate believer in clean energy and has over a decade of experience in the industry, helping to accelerate the transition towards more sustainable power generation and transportation options.” He added that Levin has “vowed to fight for progressive values like making health care more affordable and creating equal economic opportunity…” — From Tea Party Express and MoveOn
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Little Hezki is a firefighter for the day
A number of rescue organizations banded together last week with the city of Rehovot to help little Hezki’s dream of being a fireman come true. After receiving a letter from Hezki’s family, the organization contacted the Fire Department in Rehovot and began to organize the logistics for the day. On Thursday, a special ambulance arrived to take Hezki and his family, from their home in a town near Jerusalem to Rehovot. At the entrance to the city, a second ambulance together with ambucycles from the organization awaited the family. After showing Hezki the vehicles and how they operate during a medical emergency, they accompanied the family to the local fire station.
Firefighters in the station received Hezki and dressed him in full firefighting gear. They then showed him the different vehicles they use to fight fires. Hezki was even allowed to go on the basket and the ladder supporting him was raised. He was accompanied by a firefighter on his trip. – From United Hatzalah
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Noradrenaline helps us perceive the world, Tel Aviv researchers say
Being aware of our surroundings is a fundamental aspect of our existence. But what in our biological makeup determines how we access and interpret the endless stream of information around us?
A new Tel Aviv University study published in Current Biology suggests that noradrenaline, a neurotransmitter responsible for arousal in the brain, plays a vital role in our early sensory perceptions of the world.
“Until now, medical science believed that noradrenaline is involved in alertness, stress, attention and decision making,” says senior author Dr. Yuval Nir, of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience. “Our study shows that, in fact, noradrenaline plays a vital role in earlier stages of perception, determining our ability to perceive events around us.”
The research was jointly led by Dr. Hagar Gelbard-Sagiv and Efrat Magidov of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine and Sagol School of Neuroscience, in collaboration with Dr. Haggai Sharon and Prof. Talma Hendler of TAU and the Sagol Brain Institute at Tel Aviv Medical Center.
The scientists ran a series of experiments on 30 participants at the Sagol Brain Institute at Tel Aviv Medical Center. Subjects took part in three different sessions in which they received (1) drugs that lowered noradrenaline levels; (2) drugs that increased those levels; or (3) a placebo. After taking the medication, the participants were asked to perform visual tasks such as detecting and discriminating between low-contrast images, while the researchers measured their brain activity by EEG or fMRI. The researchers hoped to determine how various levels of noradrenaline affected visual perception and the way the brain responds to images.
“We determined that noradrenaline affected the participants’ ability to detect low-contrast images. Even though the images were identical in each case, their visibility changed across sessions. We could predict whether the subjects could perceive those images by examining the levels of noradrenaline in their systems,” says Dr. Gelbard-Sagiv. – From Tel Aviv University
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Preceding articles culled from news releases sent to editor@sdjewishworld.com