Planned United the Right Rally in Washington D.C. draws condemnation
The Greater Washington Urban League and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Washington Region call on civic, political and religious leaders to unequivocally reject the anti-Semitism and racism of the white nationalists who will gather for the “Unite the Right” rally in Lafayette Park on Sunday.
“Bringing such public hatred to our nation’s capital, near the White House, challenges all people of goodwill to condemn in the strongest possible terms the rally organizers. We will never be silent in the face of this kind of odious rhetoric in our country,” said Alan Ronkin, AJC Washington, D.C. Regional Director, and George Lambert Jr., President and CEO of the Greater Washington Urban League.
The hate rally comes one year after the same groups gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia for a similar rally that devolved into violence, with neo-Nazis chanting vile, threatening racist and anti-Semitic slogans, and Heather Hoyer was tragically murdered.
“This gathering is a form of domestic terrorism,” said Lambert. “It intends to intimidate and incite violence against people of color, Jews and other minorities. This is not free speech and we will not tolerate it in our city.”
“American democracy and pluralism, cherished values that we all share, demand that we stand up and make our voices heard,” said Ronkin. “We must work together to build a society that confronts prejudice and promotes understanding.” — From American Jewish Committee
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Hadassah joins pharmaceutical testing cooperative
Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), a leading healing, teaching, and research hospital in Jerusalem, Israel, is the first medical center in the country to join the TriNetX global health research network to increase clinical trial activity and help pharmaceutical companies improve the protocol design and feasibility process.*
Ben-Gurion University warns of cyber-vulnerability of irrigation systems
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) cyber security researchers warn of a potential distributed attack against urban water services that uses a botnet of smart irrigation systems that water simultaneously. A botnet is a large network of computers or devices controlled by a command and control server without the owner’s knowledge.
Ben Nassi, a researcher at Cyber@BGU, will be presenting “Attacking Smart Irrigation Systems” in Las Vegas at the prestigious Def Con 26 Conference in the IoT Village on August 11.
The researchers analyzed and found vulnerabilities in a number of commercial smart irrigation systems, which enable attackers to remotely turn watering systems on and off at will. The researchers tested three of the most widely sold smart irrigation systems: GreenIQ, BlueSpray, and RainMachine smart irrigation systems. Watch the video.
“By simultaneously applying a distributed attack that exploits such vulnerabilities, a botnet of 1,355 smart irrigation systems can empty an urban water tower in an hour and a botnet of 23,866 smart irrigation systems can empty flood water reservoir overnight,” Nassi says. “We have notified the companies to alert them of the security gaps so they can upgrade their smart system’s irrigation system’s firmware.”
Water production and delivery systems are part of a nation’s critical infrastructure and generally are secured to prevent attackers from infecting their systems. “However, municipalities and local government entities have adopted new green technology using IoT smart irrigation systems to replace traditional sprinkler systems, and they don’t have the same critical infrastructure security standards.”
In the study, the researchers present a new attack against urban water services that doesn’t require infecting its physical cyber systems. Instead, the attack can be applied using a botnet of smart irrigation regulation systems at urban water services that are much easier to attack.
The researchers demonstrated how a bot running on a compromised device can (1) detect a smart irrigation system connected to its LAN in less than 15 minutes, and (2) turn on watering via each smart irrigation system using a set of session hijacking and replay attacks. — From Ben-Gurion University
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Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations urges Europeans to support sanctions on Iran
“Arthur Stark, Chairman and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations issued the following statement:
“It is our hope that the imposition of new sanctions will lead Iran to meaningful negotiations and bring an end to the variety of threats that the Iranian leaders have been making. Beyond its nuclear program, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been expanding its support for terrorism in the region and globally, undermining and destabilizing governments in the region, and issuing military threats, including against the very existence of the State of Israel.
“We know that the demonstrations from many different sectors symbolize the public’s strong discontent with the counterproductive and belligerent policies and rhetoric of the current regime. The economic conditions in Iran have deteriorated rapidly, while additional European companies are pulling out or cancelling plans in Iran. We hope that the Iranian government will receive the clear message from the people in the streets that they want the country’s resources spent on bettering the conditions of daily life, expanding domestic investments, and addressing the vast drought that has plagued so much of the country.
“We urge European and other countries to support the US efforts for a more comprehensive arrangement for stricter compliance rules without sunset clauses, a prohibition against the development of long and short-range ballistic missiles, along with any weaponization program, unfettered access to military and other barred sites for inspectors, and, of course, a demand that Iran cease all human rights violations. These renewed sanctions are the best way to end Iran’s aggressive behavior and designs in the region and beyond. We appreciate the support of the administration and the bipartisan support of both houses of Congress.” — From Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
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Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv touts activities for kids
Someone in your family likes unicorns? Mermaids? Search together for mythical creatures and more in the wooden synagogue ceiling in our lobby. Extra credit if you spot the pineapple-eating bear (!)
Need a rest? Take a nap on a gefilte fish beanbag created by artist Zeev Engelmayer in the “Let There Be Laughter – Jewish Humor Around the World” exhibition. When the children feel energetic again – they can polish their stand up skills in a special exhibit where their act is recorded and displayed.
Then visit the “Heroes – Trailblazers of the Jewish People” gallery and experience the stories of some 150 heroes from various fields in Jewish history. You can learn about Ada Yonat, King David, and Stan Lee, to name just a few.
Finally, after you found the unicorn (and the pineapple!), rested and jumped the hurdles like Esther Roth-Shachamorov, you deserve a nice meal or milkshake in “Aroma” café, where you won’t feel the heat. — From Museum of the Jewish People
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Preceding items culled from news releases. Send yours to editor@sdjewishworld.com