SAN DIEGO — Following are some of the stories of Jewish interest that hit our editor’s computer mail box at editor@sdjewishworld.com on Monday, June 11. We are interested in local, national, and international news of Jewish interest, and welcome comments from members of the Jewish community about these news items.
U.S. Air Force, Ben Gurion University to cooperate on aircraft engine monitoring
United States Air Force aircraft may become safer and less costly to maintain through a groundbreaking research collaboration between Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to improve engine monitoring.
The three-year agreement will leverage advanced diagnostic and prognostic algorithms to monitor engine health and predict materials deterioration. Prof. Jacob Bortman, currently the head of BGU’s Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) Lab in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, worked on the algorithms in the Israel Air Force as head of materiel command and will continue development in his lab.
“The agreement for developing advanced monitoring algorithms has the potential to affect a strategic change in aircraft maintenance while increasing the safety of flight,” says Prof. Bortman. “We are proud to collaborate with the AFRL, a world-leading lab to bring the aeronautical industry closer to achieving ‘condition-based maintenance’.”
Prof. Bortman is also head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Flight Course Academic Program at BGU, and is leading the University’s coordination with the IDF as it moves its technology and training units to Beer-Sheva next to the Advanced Technologies Park that is adjacent to the University’s Marcus Family Campus.
The AFRL agreement was signed under the auspices of the Defense Ministry’s Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure. – From Ben Gurion University
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Hearings in Knesset and High Court of Justice on Palestinian terror
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has approved the second and third readings of a bill that would cut funds transferred to the Palestinian Authority over salaries paid to convicted terrorists and their families.
The bill will now be transferred to the Knesset plenum for a final vote.
Im Tirtzu CEO Matan Peleg, whose organization has been accompanying the Choosing Life Forum of bereaved families, said: “This is an historic day that is long overdue. There is no way to ease the suffering of the bereaved families, but at least justice can be done.”
“This is an important step in creating a strong and effective deterrent package against terrorism,” added Peleg
In a related development, the Choosing Life Forum has objected to Israel’s High Court of Justice convening to hear a petition filed by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah against the Interior Minister’s decision to revoke the citizenship of convicted terrorist Ala’a Ziwad.
Ziwad, an Israeli citizen and resident of Umm al-Fahm, was convicted of perpetrating hit-and-run and stabbing attacks in October 2015 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The hearing was postponed because the petitioners failed to include the Knesset, whose legislation was invoked to strip Ziwad’s citizenship, as a party in the petition. The petitioners will have 90 days to redraft the petition to include the Knesset.
The hearing was attended by representatives of the Choosing Life Forum of bereaved families, including Yardena Buchbut, mother of Niv Buchbut, one of the soldiers injured in the attack.
Ahead of the hearing, Buchbut sent a letter to Chief Justice Esther Hayut calling on her not to hear the petition.
“Once again the court is lending a hand to vile organizations that are working against us to defend terrorists,” said Buchbut.
“The depraved terrorist that nearly killed my son proudly boasts about his actions while enjoying lavish rights in prison, while Niv’s life will never be the same. Is there a greater absurdity than this? The revocation of the terrorist’s citizenship should’ve been done long ago. Now it is time to immediately deport him and his family to Gaza.”
“Convening these hearings bolsters foreign governments who harm us time and time again by funding the legal defense of terrorists,” added Buchbut.
Im Tirtzu CEO Peleg said the Association for Civil Rights in Israel and Adalah, have received over $8.5 million in recent years from foreign governments, adding that the “industry” of providing legal defense for terrorists has become a very serious problem in Israel.
“By means of foreign governmental funding, terrorists and their families enjoy unprecedented legal defense. If the Government of Germany or the European Union disagree with the way Israel combats terrorism, they can object via proper diplomatic channels. Funding radical Israeli NGOs to submit legal petitions on behalf of terrorists is not one of them.”
Peleg continued: “It is very unfortunate that the High Court of Justice enables this lawfare industry to flourish by hearing these petitions. This is an affront to Israeli democracy and sovereignty and must end immediately.” —From Im Tirzu
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Legislation moves through Congress to penalize Palestinians for hate material in their textbooks
IMPACT-se, a research institute that analyzes educational materials to determine their compliance with standards of peace and tolerance as derived from international declarations and resolutions, is playing an instrumental role in legislation introduced last week in Congress that seeks to hold the Palestinian Authority (PA) accountable for incitement in their school curricula and to offer young Palestinians a vision for peace with Israel.
The Palestinian Authority Educational Curriculum Transparency Act was brought to the floor of Congress on Thursday, June 7 by Rep. David Young (R-Iowa) and is co-sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA).
It requires the U.S. Secretary of State to submit annual reports reviewing the educational material used in schools in the West Bank and Gaza run by the PA and UNRWA and to determine whether US foreign assistance is being used, directly or indirectly, to fund dissemination of such material by the PA and UNWRA. IMPACT-se participated in the drafting of the bill.
“Congressman Young’s vision in initiating and introducing this bill is timely, remarkable, and potentially extremely significant in offering young Palestinians a peaceful vision for the future,” said Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se.
The bill notes that in 2016 and 2017, the PA published a reformed curriculum for students in grades 1-11 (see IMPACT-se grade 1-4 and grade 5-11 reports) that fails to meet the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) standards of peace and tolerance for educational materials. The textbooks “demonize Israel, encourage war, and teach children that a ‘independent Palestine state’ can be achieved through violence,” according to Young’s legislation.
Last Thursday’s introduction of the Palestinian Authority Educational Curriculum Transparency Act comes as legislatures in the U.S. and in Europe are gaining awareness—and subsequently taking action—on the PA’s purposeful radicalization of children in its schools. In April, the European Parliament adopted legislation designed to prevent European Union aid to the PA from being used to teach hate. IMPACT-se worked alongside European lawmakers to formulate that legislation, which relates to the PEGASE fund, the main source of EU funding to the PA to the tune of more than $3.5 billion over time.
“American and European lawmakers’ growing awareness about PA incitement in schools comes with a crucial understanding of how large an impediment to peace and tolerance the PA curriculum really is,” said Sheff. “The political right, center and left are equally averse to funding incitement. The PA’s donor nations are in the best position to demand change from PA leaders.”
During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in February, Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) pressed Kevin Moley, the nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, on his willingness to investigate incitement in UNRWA’s educational materials.
IMPACT-se worked with Senator Young’s office to challenge UNRWA’s use of Palestinian Authority textbooks that radicalize Palestinian children.
A pioneer in the field of textbook analysis, Jerusalem-based IMPACT-se presents a clear picture of how different nations educate their children in relation to religion, societies, cultures, democratic values, and the other. The institute is dedicated to peacemaking between peoples and nations by encouraging acceptance of others and rejection of violent conflict.
“Ultimately, these textbooks are a major impediment to the possibility of peace,” said Sheff. “They deny young Palestinians the chance of a violence-free and peaceful future and perpetuate eternal war. We look forward to the swift passage of the bill through the U.S. Congress.” —From IMPACT-se
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Murray Fromson, journalist and professor, mourned
American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev mourns the passing of generous benefactor and veteran CBS news correspondent Murray Fromson, who died in Los Angeles on Saturday at age 88.
For the past 13 years, former journalist Murray Fromson and his wife, Dodi, have provided funding to help promote Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) by underwriting the AABGU Murray Fromson Journalism Fellowship for U.S. journalists (Fromson fellows) to visit Israel and report on research and innovation emanating from the University.
“Murray had a real love and passion for Ben-Gurion University,” says Doug Seserman, chief executive officer. “With the vision of his wife, Dodi, and daughter Aliza Ben-Tal, the Fromsons’ provided an annual opportunity that has resulted in more than 100 journalists experiencing the Negev, Beer-Sheva and BGU, reporting on its growth as a world class research institution. We send our deepest condolences to Dodi, Aliza and son Derek, as well as to his extended family.”
Murray Fromson was professor emeritus at and former director of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He was an Associated Press and CBS News correspondent and producer who covered the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the former Soviet Union, two U.S. presidential campaigns, the civil rights movement in the southern United States, as well as major stories in the Midwest.
During a 35-year career in journalism, he reported from Tokyo, Jakarta, Phnom Penh, New Delhi, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Moscow, Bangkok, Saigon, and Hong Kong. He and his CBS colleagues were awarded two Overseas Press Club awards for their reporting on the fall of Saigon in 1975.
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Preceding compiled from news releases sent to editor@sdjewishworld.com