07/12 Links: Senior Rabbi Rebukes Junior Rabbi’s Viral Tweet Claiming Jews Aren’t Indigenous to Israel; For PA 'peace' means destroying Israel with 5.6 million refugees ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Senior Rabbi Rebukes Junior Rabbi’s Viral Tweet Claiming Jews Aren’t Indigenous to Israel

The tweet quickly went viral, surpassing 10 thousand likes. In the expanded thread, Kahn went on to argue that “Jews, as a people, have not been part” of the indigenous rights struggle because they have not been included in the work by the United Nations for Indigenous Peoples “over the past 20+ years.”

The statement drew criticism from numerous Jewish voices, including Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson, the Senior Rabbi at Kahn’s synagogue.

“I disagree with Rabbi Kahn’s statement in both its facts and its effects, nor does it speak for Temple Emanu-El,” Davidson wrote in a letter to The Forward. “Beyond the Bible, numerous historians argue the Jewish people’s national identity was forged in the land of Israel.”

The senior rabbi also noted that Kahn’s tweets can be harmful and easily exploited.

“Whatever point Rabbi Kahn sought to make, and whether Jews meet the United Nations measure of an indigenous people or not, such claims are too easily manipulated by those who seek to undermine Israel’s legitimacy as a Jewish homeland,” Davidson wrote.

He then went on to argue that Jews are indigenous to the land of Israel.

“Archeology suggests an ancient Jewish presence there 3,000 years ago corresponding to the period of the Davidic monarchy,” Davidson said.

One group who took major issue with Kahn’s comments were Jews of color.

“You do realize that over half of Israeli Jews never left the Middle East — ever. So, how are we appropriating the suffering of others? Sorry if our indigeneity, oppressions, and culture are inconvenient truth to your political agenda,” Jews Indigenous to the North East and North Africa (JIMENA) tweeted in response to Kahn.

Siamak Kordestani, who is on the young professionals board of JIMENA, penned an open letter to Kahn.

“The fact you a) blocked a large number of Jews including Jews indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa and b) failed to note that these communities have been living in the Middle East for well over 2,000 years deeply concerns me,” Kordestani wrote. “Can you see how this is extremely offensive and even prejudiced against non-European Jews?”

Mitch Albom: Anti-Semitic posts — and tepid reactions — should enrage us

These days, you can lose your job for a tweet. You can lose it for a retweet, or a spouse’s tweet. If your message is considered racist or hateful, it can bring an onslaught of condemnation, followed swiftly by an erasure of your reputation and your career.

So it might seem surprising that after NFL star DeSean Jackson posted several anti-Semitic messages on Instagram last weekend — including a quote he (wrongly) attributed to Adolf Hitler claiming Jews “will extort America” and “have a plan for world domination” — there was no mass outrage from his industry, and no immediate punishment from his team.

In fact, although they labeled the posts "offensive" and "appalling," it took nearly a week before the Philadelphia Eagles finally announced the consequences for Jackson’s hateful messages: An undisclosed fine.

Think about that. A fine. Meanwhile, despite Jackson repeating the worst form of Jewish stereotyping and citing not only Hitler but Louis Farrakhan, who has called Jews “satanic” and likened them to “termites," only a handful of athletes (several of them Jewish) and some notable media voices criticized him.

Jackson did, however, receive support from other sports stars, including former NBA player Stephen Jackson, who initially said DeSean was “speaking the truth” and claimed Jews “are the richest” and “control the banks," then later said, “I don't support Hitler, I don’t know nothing about Hitler and I could give a [expletive] about Hitler!”

Fellow Eagle Malik Jackson supported DeSean Jackson as well, and echoed praise for Farrakhan, even though Farrakhan has referred to Hitler as “a very great man.”

Malcolm Jenkins, an NFL player with the New Orleans Saints known for social justice advocacy, seemed bothered that this was “a distraction” from the Black Lives Matter movement, saying: “Jewish people aren’t our problem, and we aren’t their problem ... We’ve got a lot of work to do, and this ain’t it.”

Respectfully, Malcolm, yes, it is.

Because you can’t separate one hate from all hate, any more than you can separate a breeze from the wind.

Honest Reporting: Activism through Racism: Celebs share Farrakhan video

Social media giants Twitter and YouTube have still not totally deplatformed infamous antisemite Louis Farrakhan. Despite breaching YouTube and Twitter's hate speech policies, his hateful messages continue to reach literally hundreds of thousands of people.

Yet the media remains silent. Why?

For PA 'peace' means destroying Israel with 5.6 million refugees

The inalienable right that can never be realized

Having brainwashed all Palestinians – and in particular the Palestinian “refugees” - for over seven decades to believe that their refugee status is inalienable and they will eventually be allowed to settle in Israel, it is doubtful whether any Palestinian leader will ever be able to accept any offer for peace that does not accommodate and realize this narrative.

Indeed, in 2013 when Israel offered to allow Palestinian refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria to enter the PA-controlled territories, on condition they waived their refugee status, the offer was rejected by Abbas. According to Abbas, it was more reasonable that the Palestinian refugees potentially die in Syria, rather than give up their refugee status:

“[PA] Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina announced yesterday [Jan 21, 2013] that President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the condition set by Israel for the entry of Palestinian refugees from Syria into the territories of the State of Palestine.
Abu Rudeina said to AFP in a conversation from Riyadh [Saudi Arabia] where he is with the president in order to participate in the Arab Economic Summit: ‘President Abbas requested of the Secretary-General of the UN Ban Ki-moon that Israel allow the Palestinians from Syria – victims of the violence taking place there – to enter the territories of the occupied State of Palestine.’ He added that ‘Israel agreed but set an impossible condition – that anyone who enters the territories of the occupied State of Palestine renounce his right of return, which President Mahmoud Abbas absolutely refuses.’
Abu Rudeina said: ‘The issue of the Palestinian refugees and their right of return is one of the issues in a permanent arrangement, and no one can make changes to it, as the international resolutions stipulate their return to their homeland and the homes from which they were expelled, especially [UN] resolution 194, which stipulates the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.’” [Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 22, 2013]

The PA ideology behind flooding Israel with millions of the descendants of the Palestinian refugees is very clear and plays an integral part in the PA deception to hide its true goals.

For the purposes of the international community, the PA pretends to support what has become known as the “Two State Solution”, which would see a sovereign Jewish state living side by side with a sovereign Palestinian state. But in reality, the PA’s only vision is the creation of a Palestinian state, free of Jews, that would exist alongside Israel flooded with the so-called Palestinian refugees. These refugees, according to the PA vision, would of course receive full Israeli citizenship and be able democratically to eradicate the Jewish state.

US House Republicans pen letter to Pompeo in support of Israeli sovereignty

A group of U.S. House Republicans has penned a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in response to a letter sent to him last month by their Democratic colleagues that threatened the conditioning or even cutting off of U.S. assistance to Israel if the Jewish state goes ahead with its plans to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank, also known as Judea and Samaria.

The GOP letter was signed by Reps. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Andy Harris (R-Md.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), Ron Wright (R-Texas), Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Randy Weber (R-Texas), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Tedd Budd (R-N.C.), Denver Riggleman (R-Va.) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), who is the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

“America has no greater friend than Israel, and Israel has no greater friend than America. For 72 years, both of our nations have fought side by side in pursuit of justice and peace,” they wrote in the July 10 letter, which was obtained by JNS. “No state in the modern history of the world has done more to prepare a path for reconciliation and peace with their neighbors than the State of Israel.”

The Republican congressmen noted that Israel has done what it could to achieve peace, only for the Palestinians to respond with “open hostility and violence.”

“Many who wax poetic about a perceived injustice when raising concerns regarding a potential annexation of 30% of Judea and Samaria willfully fail to countenance two important points,” wrote the members of Congress, citing that Israeli “decisions regarding territorial boundaries are necessitated by national security concerns and survival.”

It continued: “When Israel won control over Judea and Samaria following the 1967 war, their presence in the area was perfectly legitimate under international law.”

United Israel Appeal says won't invest in projects beyond Green Line

Keren HaYesod – United Israel Appeal has issued a demand from the organizations it funds to refrain from becoming involved with projects in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights.

The United Israel Appeal is an official fundraising organization for Israel with branches in 45 countries. Its work is carried out in accordance with the Keren HaYesod Law of 1956, granting the organization a unique fundraising status.

Israel Hayom has learned that the UIA has begun demanding that any groups appealing for its funding sign an obligation stating that it is "not involved and/or associated in any way in any activity beyond Israel's borders, as set on June 4, 1967. We hereby commit not to invest any of these [Keren HaYesod's] funds in any such projects."

This means that the UIA, which handles much of the funds raised outside North America, excludes projects beyond the Green Line, namely in Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley, as well as in east Jerusalem.

The UIA noted that such an obligation by supported groups was necessary over the tax laws in which the donors reside, such as Germany, Brazil, and Australia, which do not offer tax benefits for donations to projects beyond the Green Line.

Coalition Chairman Miki Zohar, who is vying for the position of Likud representative in national institutions, including Keren HaYesod, pledged to change what he called "a discriminatory policy."

"This is one of the main reasons I'm in the running for the position," he told Israel Hayom. "It's unthinkable that national and Zionist institutions fail to recognize Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights, and the Jordan Valley as part of Israel proper. I will spare no effort to change that."

The World Zionist Organization will be electing its delegates on Sunday.

Ahead of the renewal of the @UNIFIL_ mandate, the IDF & @IsraelMFA took ambassadors and diplomats to Israel’s northern border & a neutralized Hezbollah terror tunnel.@UNIFIL_ must fully implement UNSC Resolution #1701 to prevent Hezbollah terror activity in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/YumNgwfuwt
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 10, 2020

Merkel press office staffer 'worked for years for Egyptian intelligence'

A former employee of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's press office was discharged in December last year on suspicions that he was spying for Egypt, according to a government report seen by German media on Thursday.

Police carried out "executive measures" against the man in December 2019 after he was found to have "worked for years for an Egyptian intelligence service", according to the report.

The Federal Public Prosecutor confirmed that the man was charged on suspicion of espionage and that the investigation is ongoing.

Local newspaper Bild said the man worked for the visitor service of the federal government press office (BPA), headed by Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert

He was a mid-level employee, meaning he would have completed an exam and at least two years of vocational training.

The premises of the visitor service were searched as part of the investigation, Bild reported.

A spokesman for the BPA told AFP it would not comment on ongoing investigations or personnel matters.

World Zionist Organization offers plan to bring French Jews to Israel

The World Zionist Organization (WZO) has presented to Israel's Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata a plan to bring French Jews to Israel.

WZO Deputy CEO Yaakov Hagoel said he believes that French Jews are likely to leave France and move to other places across the world, and that Israel should make its best effort to bring them here. He added that the French Jewish community holds Zionism very closely and tends to bring financial benefits to Israel in various ways.

"The situation in France is deteriorating every day," Hagoel said. "The economic situation is worsening, antisemitism is rising and France is giving in to extreme Islamic Jihad."

The plan said there is an opportunity to quickly and efficiently bring about 50,000 members of the community, as well as another half a million over the next few years, citing the economic benefit they can bring to Israel, as well as citing Zionist and Jewish traditions as reasons to try and bring them to Israel.

Hagoel suggested removing the various bureaucratic processes that can complicate the process of aliyah in order to maximize the country's ability to bring those people to Israel.

Air force brings all special forces under one roof with new 7th Wing

The Israeli Air Force opened a new unit on Sunday aimed at bringing all of its special forces units under one roof.

The new 7th Aerial Special Forces Wing will contain the air force’s elite search-and-rescue Unit 669; the Shaldag commando unit; the Frontal Landing Unit, which builds ad hoc landing strips behind enemy lines; a dedicated intelligence unit for the wing; and a special forces school.

By bringing all of these freestanding units into one wing — a nearly two-year process — the air force hopes to streamline their operations and make them more effective. Until now, these units have all operated independently within the air force, lacking the staff and management that come with being a larger wing. The unit will be under the command of an officer who can only be identified by his rank and first Hebrew initial of his name, Col. “Ayin.”

“The wing was formed as part of an overall process of strengthening as well as streamlining and improving operational effectiveness of the units,” the military said in a statement.

The unit was meant to be opened with a large public ceremony at its new home in the Palmahim Air Base in central Israel, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was dramatically reduced in size.

During the small ceremony, IAF chief Amikam Norkin said the formation of the new wing “will make our special forces more effective in battle, more influential in our aerial superiority and more a part of all the processes and scenarios taking place in the air force.

“We are moving now to the new era in the history of the Aerial Special Forces Wing — we are standing on the shoulders of our predecessors, who were courageous and took action — and now we are leading the way,” he said.

Israel’s 2nd wave has fewer serious cases as at-risk groups on guard — analysis

The new wave of coronavirus infections sweeping the country is so far causing less serious illness than the initial stage of the pandemic, largely as a result of at-risk populations taking greater precautions to protect themselves, according to an analysis by a top healthcare provider.

Though Israel’s infection rate has soared to some 1,200-1,400 new cases a day in recent days, the percentage of serious cases has been far lower.

For example, at the height of the first wave in mid-April, some 180 of a total 9,800 active cases were considered serious, or about 1.8 percent. On Saturday, 134 of 18,296 cases were considered serious, or about 0.7%.

Data provided to Channel 12 news Saturday by the Clalit Research Institute — which belongs to Clalit Health Services, Israel’s largest health maintenance organization — showed that a major factor in the generally milder illness numbers was lower rates of infection among at-risk groups.

In the highest risk group — people over 70 with four or more risk factors (such as diabetes, heart and lung disease, compromised immunity etc.) — the rate of infection had dropped from 5.5% of total patients during the first wave to 3.3% during the second, a decrease of some 40%.

In the high-risk group, lower than the highest-risk category due to younger age yet still in danger over chronic health issues, the rate of infection dropped from 18% of total patients to 13%.

Only 8% of 1,147 new corona cases reported among elderly Israelis

The 24-hour period from midnight Friday to midnight Saturday saw another 1,147 new confirmed coronavirus cases in Israel. Over two-thirds (67%) of new cases were confirmed in people ages 0-39. Only 8% of new cases were reported in people age 60 and over, the highest-risk age group.

On Saturday, 17,587 corona tests were processed, bringing the total number of tests since the epidemic began to 1,178,447.

As of Sunday morning, the number of new cases was doubling at a rate of once every 18 days, compared to 16 days at the end of last week.

A total of 132 corona patients were listed in serious condition on Sunday.

The number of active or symptomatic cases stood at 18,703, and the death toll since the start of the first wave stood at 358.

A total of 19,010 Israelis have recovered from coronavirus.

On Sunday, the third day of neighborhood-wide closures in some cities, began a series of clashes between police and residents of Jerusalem's Haredi neighborhoods on Saturday night.

Haredim in Romema and Kiryat Belz rioted, throwing eggs, rocks, and other objects at police. The rioters also broke down the police barriers set up to enforce the closure. Ten rioters were arrested.

There was also concern about possible rioting in Bnei Brak, where a large police contingent is employed and where a broad closure might soon be declared. Bnei Brak residents are also criticizing the authorities for failing to evacuate confirmed corona cases fast enough to keep them from spreading the virus.

One Bnei Brak resident said, "people here are very careful about wearing masks and social distancing, but without the authorities and the Homefront Command, it will be difficult."

PA cancels annexation protest due to coronavirus spread in West Bank

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday evening announced that it has decided to cancel a major rally planned for Tuesday in Ramallah to protest Israeli intentions to apply sovereignty to parts of the West Bank and US President Donald Trump’s Peace for Prosperity vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The cancellation of the rally was announced as part of new measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the West Bank.

The new measures include lockdowns on four Palestinian cities for an additional four days and a ban on movement between all Palestinian cities for two weeks.

The planned rally, which would have been the second of its kind in the past three weeks, had been an indication of the Palestinian leadership’s belief that Israel has not abandoned its plan to extend sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.

On June 22, the Palestinian ruling Fatah faction held a big rally in Jericho to protest the Israeli annexation plan. Several foreign diplomats
attended the event, including EU and UN officials who spoke out against the plan, arguing that it would be in breach of international law.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas had been originally scheduled to address the now-canceled Ramallah rally, said Majed al-Fityani, secretary-general of the Fatah “Revolutionary Council.”

Abbas, he said, “has been leading the campaign to confront Israeli-American schemes aiming to liquidate the Palestinian cause.”
According to Fityani, some 192 countries have expressed their support for Palestinian rejection of the Israeli annexation plan and Trump’s peace vision.

This is why firing bullets into the sky is never a good idea. A paramedic was struck by a bullet after celebratory gunfire in the West Bank Saturday. pic.twitter.com/ZwYizdvRfa
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) July 12, 2020

Hamas MP Yunis Al-Astal: The Jews Are Evil, Spread Corruption; Israel Must Be Finished off pic.twitter.com/d3tv7WE4gv
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) July 12, 2020

Former Lebanese Minister Ahmed Fatfat: Hizbullah Is Occupying Lebanon, Is the Country’s Main Problem; It Must Be Dismantled pic.twitter.com/tQmWqkzrll
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) July 12, 2020

Iran blames 'misaligned radar' in downing of Ukrainian passenger flight

Flight 752, a Ukraine International Airlines plane that was struck by two missiles and crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport on January 8, was downed due to faulty radar operation, Iran said on Sunday

"A failure occurred due to a human error in following the procedure" for aligning the radar, causing an error in the system, the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization said in a recent report, which refutes Iran's previous claim that it had misidentified the aircraft because of heightened tensions with the US at the time.

As a result of this first mishap, there began a chain of successive failures in the minutes before the plane was shot down that eventually ended in tragedy, said the CAO.

The report states that despite the incorrect information available to the radar system operator on the aircraft's trajectory, he could have identified his target as an airliner, but instead the commercial flight was deemed a threat and fired upon.

Tehran's air defenses had been on high alert at the time the jet was shot down due to fears of US retaliation in response to Iranian strikes on American troops in Iraq hours earlier. The Iranians initially attacked the Americans in response to the killing of Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani in a US drone attack near the Baghdad airport.

Texas-Based Shiite Scholar Shamshad Haider: Imam Khomeini is not Just Any World Leader like Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin; Islam Should Dominate the World and Bring Justice to Humanity pic.twitter.com/cEdgLkwzqb
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) July 12, 2020

Turkey vows to 'liberate Al-Aqsa' after turning Hagia Sophia to mosque

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to “liberate al-Aqsa mosque” from Israel after “resurrecting Hagia Sophia” as a mosque on Friday.

The decision to change the status of the ancient Hagia Sophia church, which had been transformed into a mosque in 1453 and then into a museum in 1934, was made controversially last week.

It follows an increasingly religious authoritarian agenda from Ankara that has made Turkey the world’s largest jailer of journalists, seen dissidents imprisoned for “terrorism” and witnessed increasing military invasions of neighboring countries by Turkey.

The resurrection of Hagia Sophia heralds the liberation of the al-Aqsa mosque, the Turkish Presidency website says. “The resurrection of Hagia Sophia is the footsteps of the will of Muslims across the world to come… the resurrection of Hagia Sophia is the reignition of the fire of hope of Muslims and all oppressed, wrong, downtrodden and exploited.”

The speech, which was in Turkish, was translated slightly differently to Arabic and English, apparently as a way to hide part of Ankara’s full views on how it has linked Hagia Sophia to a wider agenda.

In Arabic the speech says that turning Hagia Sophia into a mosque is part of the “return of freedom to al-Aqsa,” essentially meaning Israel should be ejected from controlling Jerusalem’s Old City where al-Aqsa is located.

🇹🇷 Turkey's decision to turn UNESCO-listed Hagia Sophia into a mosque violates the World Heritage Convention.

🇺🇳 But key UN bodies will do 0.

🇹🇷 Turkey is President of UNESCO General Conference
🇹🇷 Turkey is next President of UN General Assembly
🇹🇷 Turkey is on UN NGO Committee pic.twitter.com/DFX6NMXgVF
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 12, 2020

Bullshit.

1) You opposed 1999 NATO intervention in Kosovo https://t.co/MdpHntTIws

2) You signed an Early Day motion in 2004 praising John Pilger for his "expose" into "fraudulent justifications for intervening in a 'genocide' that never really existed" https://t.co/M6Dgw3ca5O https://t.co/Q30NKrfpTo
— أبو عمّار (@MaajidNawaz) July 11, 2020

British Labour MP forced to apologise for calling Israel a terrorist state

A senior British Labour Party member of parliament has apologized, after it emerged that he had made comments on social media in which he called Zionism a 'dangerous nationalist idea' and accused Israel of terrorism.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, 33, a shadow environment minister and the MP for Brighton Kemptown on England's south coast made the comments before becoming an MP in 2017, according to Britain's Sunday Times.

In one comment, since deleted, Russell-Moyle wrote “The point is people who are form Jewish decent/Jewish but are not Zionist is that the two are not automatic that you can be proud of being Jewish but realize that idea of inheriting/claim a land that you may have never visited or seen but have a ‘heritage’ claim for is not progressive in its very nature.”

In another, he compared the State of Israel to South Africa's National Party, an Afrikaner ethnic nationalist party which held power in the country during the apartheid era before disbanding in 1997.

“Terrorism feeds of [sic] violence," he wrote, "that is why it is only Israel that can stop the violence, it was the National Party in South Africa that had to make the first steps.”

Russell-Moyle gained his seat with the support of Jeremy Corbyn's faction of the Labour Party, which was heavily criticized in the run up to the last general election in December 2019 for normalizing antisemitism within the UK. He also has links to Momentum, the hard right faction of the Labour Party which helped Corbyn take power.

Last month Russell-Moyle sent a letter to Labour Party headquarters in support of Rebecca Massey, a "notorious" activist, according to The Sunday Times, who accused Israel of having the Labour and Conservative Parties "under control."

New Simon Wiesenthal award honors those fighting antisemitism in Austria

Austria is to create a new award for fighting antisemitism within the country, named after Simon Wiesenthal, the man who dedicated his life to tracking down fugitive Nazi criminals after World War II, the Jewish Chronicle reported.

The prize will be given to three people or organizations every year who have made a mark on Austrian society, with hopes to inspire others to fight antisemitism, and comes with a reward of €30,000.

The award is backed by every political party in Austria with the exception of the right-wing Freedom party, who claimed that they object to the name of the award, saying it should be named after former Social Democratic Chancellor Bruno Kreisky, the Chronicle reported.

The award will be funded by the National Fund for the Victims of National Socialism, and be given to the individuals by six members, reportedly including the president of the Austrian Jewish community and one of the descendants of Simon Wiesenthal.

Israeli animation app wins the 2020 Apple Design Awards

An Israeli developed animation app has won the 2020 Apple Design Awards, being selected as one of eight apps and games across all of Apple's platforms that have shown notable excellence in design and innovation.

The app, called Looom, offers an innovative way for animators to create playful hand-drawn animation on Apple's iPads, while also offering toy-like accessories such as a wireless controller remote, that make the experience of creating animation even more unique and accessible.

Developed by Israeli animation artists Finn Ericson and Eran Hilleli, Looom takes inspiration from music creation tools and offers a user-experience that "feels more like playing an instrument than operating software - exploring lines, shapes and colors through loopable time and rhythm," according to the Looom website.

The website describes Ericson and Hilleli as "United by a complementary skillset," adding that they both "share the love for the visual, audio and code. Inspired by musical instruments and early video games we set out to create meaningful and playful experiences for all ages with a hearty focus on creativity."

However, while the app's technology makes the process of animating quicker, simpler and more accessible, it's secretly still a powerful app that offers a high quality system for both novice and experienced animators and creators. "Looom is all about looping animation with a smile. It was designed for professionals and beginners of any age, and is already being used by some influential indie animators."

The Philippines to acquire eight Shaldag fast patrol boats

The Philippine Navy is pushing ahead to acquire eight Shaldag-class patrol boats to replace its medium-sized patrol craft that have been in use since the mid-1990s.

The boats, built by Israel Shipyards, are designed to offer immediate responses and high-speed interception. They have been deployed by coast guards throughout the world.

They can support a range of missions, including maritime patrol, prevention and interception of terrorist or drug activities and search-and-rescue operations.

Designed to carry 10 to 14 crew on board, it can carry optional payloads and be armed with a Typhoon automatic gun, two Mini-Typhoon heavy machine guns and eight short-range anti-ship missiles.

Surgeons save Bedouin boy from brain-eating parasite

Surgeons at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba have successfully completed a rare operation to remove a parasitic cyst from the brain of a six-year-old boy that had caused paralysis to the left side of the child's body.

Prior to the operation, the mother of six-year-old Qusay al-Hamidi, a member of the Negev Bedouin community, noticed that her son was dragging his left leg and suffering headaches, particularly in the morning. The worried parents took Qusay to the pediatric emergency center at Soroka, where doctors noted signs of weakness on the left side of the boy's body, which was indicative of growing pressure inside his skull.

Doctors conducted an emergency CT scan, which showed a large cyst developing in his brain. The cyst, which was causing significant pressure on Qusay's brain, was caused by the Echinococcus parasite.

The diagnosis was confirmed with an MRI scan, and Qusay was transferred to surgery. During the operation, the parasitic cyst was removed in its entirety.

Dr. Israel Melamed, head of the Neurosurgery Department at Soroka, said, that the operation required "A very high level of skill because if the cyst was punctured and its content spilled, it could cause a severe allergic reaction and spread the parasite's eggs throughout the brain and around it.

"The operation required close cooperation among the team and readiness for any possible scenario during the process of removing the cyst," Melamed said.

Melamed explained that the parasite eggs that caused Qusay's cyst was found in the excrement of dogs, foxes, and wolves. Goats, cattle, and sometimes humans wind up consuming these eggs at some point along the food chain. When the eggs hatch, he said the parasite usually reaches the liver, but is sometimes carried elsewhere in the body by the bloodstream and can reach the brain.

#OnThisDay 1947, more than 4,500 Holocaust survivors boarded SS #Exodus as it set sail from France for Palestine (now #Israel).

Although the British ruthlessly and cruelly turned them away & forced to return to Germany, most would subsequently find their way back to Israel! pic.twitter.com/hIRsJSm1hN
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) July 12, 2020

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