08/28 Links: NYTs: Can Israel and the Arab States Be Friends?; Kick Antisemitism Out of Sports ~ EoZ

From Ian:

PMW: PMW asks “World Scout Movement” to cancel PA Scouts’ membership

Palestinian Media Watch has requested of the World Organization of the Scout Movement that it cancel the membership of the terror promoting Palestinian Scout Association (PSA).
This comes in response to the PSA's opening a course for training scout leaders named the "Martyr Leader Baha Alyan Course." Baha Alyan, a former Palestinian Scout Leader who is being presented as a role model for the new Palestinian Scout Leaders, was a terrorist murderer. He boarded a bus in Jerusalem last October armed with knives and a gun, and together with an accomplice he murdered three Israelis: Alon Govberg (51), Haviv Haim (78) and Richard Lakin (76).
The course for scout leaders was organized by the Committee for Training and Developing Leadership of the PSA. Six months ago, the World Organization of the Scout Movement accepted the Palestinian Scout Association as a full member.
The PSA's choice to present a terrorist murderer as a role model for future scout leaders contradicts the goals and mission of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
PMW has sent the World Organization of the Scout Movement the following request to cancel the membership of the Palestinian Scout Association, so it will not be a co-sponsor of this terror promoting course:

Rowan Dean: The mysterious epidemic of mental or psychiatric illnesses

The world of mental health and wellbeing has been rocked to its core by a bizarre global outbreak of inexplicable nervous breakdowns. Researchers are struggling to find a common cause or factor that may link or in some way help explain what is behind this mysterious epidemic of mental, or psychiatric, illnesses. Thus far experts remain baffled as to any similarities between the cases, which to date have been reported with their own specific medical terminology.
Homophobicus orlanditis: In this disturbing case, a young man from an ethnically diverse and culturally rich background that coincidentally has strong traditional taboos against such modern practices as man on man copulation or woman on woman coupling and yet who exhibited no previous symptoms of any mental disorder whatsoever mysteriously suffered an acute breakdown of his nervous system (or homophobicus orlanditis), when he found himself inexplicably confronted by a tutu-wearing group of cavorting drag queens in a "gays only" nightclub in an American tourist resort. Symptoms of the mysterious breakdown included loudly and repetitively shouting out guttural slogans with strong flat vowel sounds whilst expressing his neurological disturbances via the means of shooting everybody dead. Diagnosis: Unknown mental illness.
Catholicus intoleranza: In this extremely rare case, a young man and his associate, both from ethnically diverse and culturally rich heritages that coincidentally hold strong traditional taboos against the faith-expression practices of so-called "non-believers" and yet who exhibited no previous symptoms of any mental disorders mysteriously suffered an acute and simultaneous breakdown of their nervous systems (suspected catholicus intoleranza) when they found themselves accidentally confronted by one old priest and two nuns swinging a bowl of incense in front of their faces in a French medieval town. Symptoms of this unusual twinned nervous breakdown include both individuals simultaneously breaking into guttural verbal manifestations with unusual linguistic quirks whilst displaying signs of acute psychological disturbances via the means of slitting the priest's throat. Diagnosis: Unknown mental illness.

NYTimes: Can Israel and the Arab States Be Friends?

Israel and Saudi Arabia have no formal diplomatic relations. The Saudis do not even recognize Israel as a state. Still, there is evidence that ties between Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states and Israel are not only improving but, after developing in secret over many years, could evolve into a more explicit alliance as a result of their mutual distrust of Iran. Better relations among these neighbors could put the chaotic Middle East on a more positive course. They could also leave the Palestinians in the dust, a worrisome prospect.
A recent case in point was a visit to Jerusalem last month by a Saudi delegation, led by a retired major general, Anwar Eshki, that included talks with Dore Gold, a senior Israeli Foreign Ministry official. The meeting was notable because it was openly acknowledged. General Eshki and Mr. Gold reportedly began secret contacts in 2014; they went public last year by appearing together at an event in Washington.
Israel and the Sunni Arab states last fought a war in 1973. Now, after decades of hostility, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is seeking to engage his country’s former enemies. Meanwhile, since coming to power 18 months ago, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and his son Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have shown a surprising willingness to take foreign policy risks.
The Israelis and the Saudis have reasons to work together. They share antipathy toward Iran, the leading Shiite-majority country. Both are worried about regional instability. Both are upset with the United States over the Iranian nuclear deal and other policies, including those dealing with Syria. For some time, Israeli and Saudi officials have been cooperating covertly on security and intelligence matters.

Continued bipartisan support for the Jewish state and the future of US-Israel ties

WITH THE American presidential election less than four months away, it’s natural for supporters of Israel to ponder how US-Israel relations will be affected by the outcome. Yet, too often, we focus on the relationship on the micro level ‒ in this instance, the posture toward Israel likely to be taken by a Clinton or Trump administration ‒ when we should be focusing more on the macro level: the current state of support for Israel in the US and the very real prospect of diminishing support in the not too distant future.
Not surprisingly, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has emerged as a significant point of contention on the presidential campaign trail, making it easy for the pro-Israel community to get caught up in the moment.
This was manifested most strikingly in May, when US Senator Bernie Sanders, who eventually lost out to Hillary Clinton for the nomination of the Democratic Party, named three outspoken critics of Israel to the party’s platform-drafting committee: Cornel West, a philosopher and professor emeritus at Princeton University; James Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute; and Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison. Both West and Zogby back the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement; Ellison has been openly critical of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.
The Republicans, including Jewish conservatives, were quick to pounce, claiming that their opponents were falling under the sway of “radical” individuals whose positions are hostile to Israel. In late June, the Republican Jewish Coalition released three Internet video ads targeting each of the Sanders appointees and attacking the Democratic Party. In turn, the Democrats ‒ and progressive Jewish groups ‒ accused the Republicans of, once again, using Israel as a “political football.”
The issue here isn’t what ended up as the settled-upon text of the Democratic platform, which, in any event, is largely symbolic.

'First Temple Mount, then Mecca'

The Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem blasted plans to construct a cable-car system above the capital to bring visitors to the Western Wall in the Old City, calling the proposal “dangerous”.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has pushed the plan, which is intend to alleviate pressure on existing transportation infrastructure to the Old City, as well as serve as a tourist attraction, giving riders a bird’s eye view of the city.
"The cable-car will enable people to reach the Old City without a car or a bus,” said Barkat. “What you see today is not the way Jerusalem will look in the future. Tomorrow I want to bring ten million tourists to these places, but without an infrastructure of trains, cable-cars, a fast train (to Tel Aviv), hotels, et cetera, we will not be able to enjoy this unique experience. In order to bring people from around the world, in order to understand who the real boss is in this city, we need to create infrastructure."
The head of the Supreme Muslim Council, Sheikh Ekrima Sa'id Sabri, spoke to the Arabic Al-Quds newspaper, claiming that the planned cable-car was part of a larger effort to cement the city’s Jewish character, and constituted an assault on the Islamic Waqf. He added that the project would desecrate Muslim cemeteries in the area.
Sabri, who has a long history of making provocative and anti-Semitic statements, has in the past denied that six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust, and has cited the notorious Protocols of the Elders of Zion to justify his views.
Sabri dubbed the cable-car plan “illegal” and demanded it be abandoned immediately.

Will UNRWA schools in Jerusalem be part of the incitement crackdown?

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of news stories in the Israeli media that Israel will finally "crack down on incitement in east Jerusalem schools" and that "the Jerusalem Municipality is censoring textbooks designated for Arab students in Jerusalem" in order to delete the war education which has dominated Israeli Arab schools in Jerusalem ever since these schools began to adopt the virulent PA curriculum introduced in August 2000.
The latest one of those news stories appeared on Arutz Sheva.
However, before jumping to conclusions that a new policy is about to be implemented thoroughly, it is vital to note that representatives of the Israel Ministry of Education testified at Knesset Parliament Education Committee on Oct. 27, 2015 that they do not supervise or oversee UNRWA schools, curriculum or the UNRWA teachers that operate in Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Municipality Education Department officials reported to me in an interview three years ago that 42% of the Arab students in Jerusalem study in UNRWA schools.
Israel Resource News Agency, the news outlet that I run in Jerusalem, has submitted an official formal inquiry to the Israeli government and the Israeli Knesset Education Committee, to ask if and when UNRWA schools will now be included in the "crackdown on incitement in east Jerusalem schools."
We await an answer.
If UNRWA schools are not included in the crackdown on incitement in Jerusalem schools, that crackdown will be meaningless.

StandWithUs+: Kick Antisemitism Out of Sports

When countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Malaysia, or Qatar bring politics into sports, everyone suffers - especially the athletes who spend countless hours training.
In this clip, an Iranian boy is forced to forfeit a sports match by Iran because he has to play against an Israeli.
Similar antisemitic incidents have occurred with all the above countries listed. Of course the antisemitism and obsessive Israel hatred is not acceptable, but here you see the anguish from the athlete's perspective as well.
An athlete's future should not be defined by the politics of the Muslim countries which are antisemitic.

Hebron soldier was right to shoot, civilian security official testifies

The manslaughter trial of Sgt. Elor Azaria, the IDF soldier who shot and killed a disarmed Palestinian assailant in Hebron, resumed Sunday, with the judge beginning to hear witnesses for the defense.
Eliyahu Libman, civilian security chief for Hebron’s Jewish settlers, told the Jaffa military court that there was no justification for the accusations against Azaria, stating that in past cases soldiers had shot to kill attackers without being put on trial.
“In terrorist incidents I witnessed, I saw with my own eyes that in every instance in which a terrorist attacked, soldiers shot him in the center of mass until he was neutralized… and [shot] a bullet to the head to ensure that the terrorist could not set off a suicide belt or continue the attack. These soldiers never went to court,” he testified.
Azaria shot Abdel Fattah al-Sharif dead nearly 15 minutes after the latter was shot and wounded by soldiers he had tried to stab, as he lay wounded and unarmed on the ground. Azaria has been charged with manslaughter. His main defense claim has been that he shot Sharif because he saw him moving and feared that the Palestinian was wearing an explosive belt and was trying to set it off, endangering troops in the area.

Duma survivor Ahmed Dawabsha taken to home of Hamas terrorist

Ahmed Dawabsha, the six-year-old Palestinian boy who was badly injured in a Jewish terror attack last year that killed his parents and baby brother, on Saturday was reportedly taken to visit the home of a Hamas terrorist who gunned down three people in a West Bank shooting attack last November.
Ahmed was taken to the demolished Hebron-area home of Mohammed Abdel Basset al-Kharoub by his grandfather Hussein Dawabsha in a show of solitary with the Hamas gunman, the Hebrew-language Ynet news reported.
The two were joined at the Kharoub’s family home in Dir Smat by Mohammed al-Qiq, a former Palestinian prisoner who protested his incarceration by Israel by launching an unprecedented 94-day hunger strike.
Al-Kharoub last November opened fire with an Uzi submachine gun on a line of traffic near the Alon Shvut settlement in the West Bank, killing three people and injuring five others.
Among his victims was American Jewish teenager Ezra Schwartz, 18, Alon Shvut resident Yaakov Don, 51 and Palestinian Shadi Arafa, 24. Al-Kharoub was captured in the attack.

Poll: Hamas will win the Palestinian elections

Public opinion polls conducted by the Arab World Institute for Research and Development indicate that Hamas-affiliated lists will triumph in the Palestinian Authority's upcoming elections.
The Palestinian Authority is set to run local elections in its cities on October 8th.
Despite recent crackdowns by the ruling Fatah party on Hamas members and affiliates, Hamas seems to be gaining support among the voters of the PA.
By the numbers:
60 percent of PA voters are expected to participate in the elections.
In Judea and Samaria, Fatah is expected to receive 34 percent of the parliament seats, tied with Hamas at 33 percent, while 9 percent of votes are expected to go to independent parties, and 4 percent to other Islamic organizations.
In Gaza: Fatah would garner 32 percent of the vote, Hamas would take the election with 37 percent, Leftist organizations would win 9 percent, and other Islamic factions would bring up the rear with 6 percent.

In Hebron, Fatah faces a civil war at the polls

Wednesday noon, downtown Hebron. Registration for the various slates for the upcoming local elections will be closing in roughly 36 hours, and it is hard to sense anything unusual in the air. Those who see themselves as candidates are meeting with their advisers and their friends in anticipation of the official announcement of their candidacy, but no election posters have yet gone up in the city.
The well-known restaurants here — Al-Khalil, Abu Mazen, the Pasha’s Palace — are full of customers, and one would be hard-pressed to say that the residents are all that excited about the municipal elections planned for October 8.
The talk of the day, of all things, is an incident that took place here just about two weeks ago, when an argument between two kids devolved into a deadly armed battle between two clans in the city.
Yet although the public in Hebron seems somewhat indifferent to the elections, for the Fatah party, tensions are as high as the stakes.
These are the first elections in more than a decade in which voting is taking place at the same time in both Gaza and the West Bank, and Hamas and Fatah are going head-to-head.

Egypt to open Rafah crossing for Hajj pilgrimage

Egyptian authorities are set to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza for three days on Tuesday to allow Palestinian Arabs to cross for the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, the Ma'an news agency reported Saturday.
The director for the Palestinian side of Rafah crossing, Hisham Adwan, told Ma’an that the Egyptian authorities informed him that the crossing would be open from Tuesday until Thursday.
Egyptian authorities have kept the Rafah crossing virtually sealed since a terrorist attack in the Sinai Peninsula in October 2014, though they have temporarily reopened the crossing several times since that specific attack, most recently in early July.
Sources in Egypt have revealed that Hamas terrorists had provided the weapons for the lethal October 2014 attack, which killed 30 soldiers, through one of its smuggling tunnels under the border to Sinai. Hamas denies the allegations.
In the past, Hamas has blamed Israel or Egypt for the closure of the crossing, but it has recently changed its tune and is now blaming the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), led by chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

At last: Stunning victory for Mail on Sunday campaign as £12billion foreign aid budget will be slashed to fund the war on terror

The Mail on Sunday's campaign to tackle the UK's bloated foreign aid budget scored a massive victory last night – when the Government decided that tens of millions of pounds can be diverted to fund the war on terror.
In a radical break with the David Cameron era, new International Development Secretary Priti Patel is to cut spending on traditional aid projects and use the money to help promote 'national security and the national interest'.
It could lead to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon handing to Ms Patel his responsibility for funding British troops combating Islamic insurgencies in global hotspots – freeing up more of his resources for frontline troops.
The move is a major U-turn and comes after The Mail on Sunday and its readers protested against wasteful and corrupt aid projects.
During our campaign, supported by more than 235,000 readers who signed a petition to force a Commons debate, we exposed handouts to Palestinian terrorists, how North Korean officials were flown to Britain for English lessons and how music teachers were sent around the world to teach children to sing.

Report: Non-Jewish U of Sydney Student Linking Antisemitism, Anti-Zionism Interrupted During Presentation, Given Low Grade

A University of Sydney student was prevented from completing a Holocaust-studies presentation highlighting links between modern antisemitism and anti-Zionism, the Australian Jewish News (AJN) reported on Thursday.
According to the report, halfway through the presentation by the non-Jewish student, the class tutor interrupted and said, “We don’t want people to get the wrong idea about you.”
AJN reported that the student, who believes the low grade he received was the result of expressing his opinion, has since pulled out of the course.
Vic Alhadeff, CEO of NSW (New South Wales) Jewish Board of Deputies, told AJN, “It’s outrageous that a student would be warned against creating a link between modern antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment.”
“Not only is this a suppression of valid discourse, but it’s academically dishonest and denies the fundamental truth that such a link exists,” he said.
Matthew Lesh, a research fellow and free speech expert at the Australian think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, slammed the tutor’s actions as “disgraceful,” telling AJN, “Students should be free to express their views in class, not interrupted and punished.”
“This incident is sadly just another disturbing attack on freedom of speech on campus,” he said, describing universities as turning into “closed intellectual workshops, where only certain ideas are allowed to be expressed and the rest are silenced.”
Responding to the student’s claim, a spokesman for the University of Sydney told AJN that the institution is “extremely concerned” by the incident, “and would like to investigate this matter further.”

So @MarcLamontHill, should we boycott breakthrough Tel Aviv U melanoma research?

Marc Lamont Hill is a professor at Morehouse College, frequent cable news commentator, and host of his own shows on BET and VH1.
Lamont Hill has voiced support for “revolutionary struggle” against Israel, which he recorded on a video for a Dream Defenders trip to express solidarity with Palestinians against Israel:
Lamont Hill also is a supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, specifically the academic boycott of Israel.
This spring Lamont Hill announced that he was voting in favor of a resolution at the American Anthropological Association to boycott Israeli academia under the expansive guidelines of the BDS movement. The boycott failed to pass by a very slim margin.
Among other things, the BDS academic boycott guidelines forbid any cooperation with Israeli academic institutions or any individual faculty members representing such institutions. Israeli universities are not permitted to attend conferences, and cooperation of any nature, including research, is barred. Student interactions are barred under the “anti-normalization” portion of the boycott. There are no exceptions based on field of study.

IsraellyCool: WATCH: Palestinian: It Would Be “Sh*t” If BDS Shut Down Factories In Israel Employing Us

It is no secret I am no fan of Shmuley Boteach, aka The Bobblehead Rav, whose ego is so large, it has me constantly saying this.
Yet I am sharing this new video of his, because – despite Shmuley managing a way to find a way to talk about himself again – it portrays an important reality of life here.

Palestinian worker in the West Bank tells Rabbi Shmuley that BDS is "sh't"

BBC’s ME bureau chief flags up Hamas treatment of journalists

On August 22nd the BBC’s Middle East bureau chief put out this Tweet:

The link leads to the following statement from the Foreign Press Association (FPA):
Readers may recall that two years ago, during the conflict between Israel and terror groups in the Gaza Strip, the FPA found it necessary to put out an even more strongly worded statement concerning Hamas’ treatment of foreign journalists at the time.
Back then, however, BBC audiences were not informed – even via Twitter – of restrictions placed on journalists by the terror group.

Former State Department Negotiator: ‘Cash-for-Prisoners’ Controversy Has Bolstered Image of Growing US Weakness in Middle East (INTERVIEW)

The recent “cash-for-prisoners” controversy has played into the hands of Iranian hardliners and helped bolster the image of growing US weakness in the Middle East, a former US State Department Middle East negotiator told The Algemeiner on Friday.
“Let’s be clear, this was not ransom in the traditional sense,” Aaron David Miller, currently a vice president at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington, said about the transfer by the US of $400 million to Iran on the same day this past January that four Americans were released from Iranian captivity. “But I think it makes us look bad and it feeds the narrative that the Iranians have outfoxed, outmaneuvered an outnegotiated us.”
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed published earlier this week, Miller, who worked for two decades as a State Department analyst adviser — and negotiator on Middle East issues in Republican and Democratic administrations — called the Iranian regime a “force to be reckoned with” in a “region of weak Arab states, alongside a Russia willing to assert its power, and a Washington constrained by a nuclear accord that has expanded Iran’s ambitions.”
More than a year after Iran and six world powers agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Miller summed up for The Algemeiner on Friday his view of what he called a “highly imperfect” deal by borrowing a line from a legendary rock star.

Iran arrests nuclear negotiator on spying allegations

Iran’s judiciary confirmed the brief detention of a member of Iran’s negotiation team with world powers on suspicion of “infiltration,” the state’s official news agency said Sunday.
Hard-line news outlets said last week that the authorities detained a dual Iranian-Canadian national, Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, who was a member of a parallel team working on lifting economic sanctions under last year’s landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The Sunday report by IRNA quoted judiciary spokesman, Gholamhosein Mohseni Ejehi, as saying, “(News of) the arrest of the infiltrating spy is true. He was released based on bail. Yet, his charge is not proved.”
He added that the case was still under investigation, but did not provide any more details and did not identify Efsahani by name.
Reuters quoted the state media as saying that Ejehi called the detainee a “spy who had infiltrated the nuclear team.”

Turkey's Diyarbakir Airport shelled by rockets in suspected Kurdish attack

Four rockets were fired at Diyarbakir Airport insouth-eastt Turkey by suspected Kurdish militants, causing airport staff and passenger took shelter inside the airport's terminal building for safety, according to Dogan news agency.
The intended target of the heavy bombardment was a police checkpoint located near the VIP lounge, added the agency. The shelling missed, with rockets landing on wasteland close around midnight (local time) on Saturday, 27 August, said broadcaster NTV.
Diyarbakir governor Huseyin Aksoy said there was no disruption to flights and there were no casualties at the airport which is used by both military and civilian functions.
The airport is known as the unofficial capital of the Turkish Kurds and the location of violent attacks this year, in reprisals for Ankara's offensive against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the country's southeast.
The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organisation by Turkey, has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region here since 1984.
The rocket attack comes days after Turkey forces launched an offensive in Syria against Kurdish miltants.

Turkish air strikes kill at least 35 civilians in Syria

Turkey's army and its allies thrust deeper into Syria on Sunday, seizing territory controlled by Kurdish-aligned forces on the fifth day of a cross-border campaign that a monitoring group said had killed at least 35 villagers.
Turkish warplanes roared into northern Syria at daybreak and its artillery pounded what security sources said were sites held by Kurdish YPG militia, after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported fierce overnight fighting around two villages.
Turkey's military said 25 Kurdish militants were killed in its air strikes. There was no immediate comment from the YPG, but forces aligned with the Kurdish militia have said it withdrew from the area targeted by Turkey before the offensive.
Turkey, which is also battling Kurdish insurgents on its own soil, sent tanks and troops into Syria on Wednesday to support its Syrian rebel allies. The Turkish-backed forces first seized the Syrian border town of Jarablus from Islamic State militants before pushing south into areas held by Kurdish-aligned militias. They have also moved west towards Islamic State areas.

Syrian-Jewish Families Resettled in Louisville

Three of the remaining Jewish families in Syria were quietly brought to the United States and settled in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 13 Jewish refugees, including seven children, were smuggled out of Damascus, where they had been living amid the raging civil war since 2011. The families posed as Christian refugees to enter Sweden earlier this year, according to Point of No Return, a blog about Jewish refugees from Arab and Muslim countries.
The families were described as able to speak multiple languages, well off and having done business with the Assad regime, according to the blog.
A Conservative synagogue in Louisville helped the families enter the US and resettle in the southern town, which has already absorbed thousands of Middle Eastern refugees over the past five years.

Israeli Researchers Invent Mind-Controlled DNA Nanobots for Potential Treatment of Brain Disorders From Epilepsy to Depression

Taking a cue from science fiction, Israeli researchers have invented mind-controlled nanobots that have the potential to treat “challenging” brain disorders, the UK’s Daily Mail reported on Friday.
According to the report, researchers from Bar-Ilan University and the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya created the first-of-their-kind microscopic DNA robots to treat disorders such as epilepsy, schizophrenia and depression.
The shell-like structure of the nanobots was formed using DNA origami — which creates non-arbitrary two- and three-dimensional shapes — with a hollow inside. Drugs could potentially be placed inside the nanobot, the report said, and locked with particles of iron oxide.
Using electromagnets, doctors would be able to control the release of the drug over a specific time-span, heightening its effects. Even more remarkable, researchers said, was that the release process can now also be controlled using human brainwaves.
Now, for the first time, scientists have successfully used thought to get the nanobots to release drugs while inside a living creature after placing them in cockroaches, the report said.

Chinese Companies Invest Big in Israel

The Chinese telecommunications conglomerate Xinwei Telecom Technology Group is buying Israeli satellite operator SpaceCom for $285 million, representing the latest of several recent Chinese purchases of Israeli companies and technologies.
The purchase is pending the successful launch of Spacecom’s Amos-6 telecommunications satellite, which was built by Israel Aerospace Industries. It will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Sept. 3, Space News reported.
Chinese companies invested about $500 million in Israeli companies last year, according to an analysis by the Ettinger Report. Israel’s trade with China is $11 billion, which represents 10 percent of Israel’s overall trade balance and double its 2010 trade balance.
Israeli technologies of special interest to Chinese companies include agro-technology and irrigation. In 2015, China’s Bright Food acquired Israel’s dairy product maker Tnuva for $2 billion. In 2011, China’s National Chemical Corp. bought Israeli pesticides and crop protection company Adama for $2.4 billion.

Former defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer dies at 80

Former defense minister Binyamin “Fuad” Ben-Eliezer, a career general, politician and one-time leader of the Labor Party who became embroiled in allegations of graft in his later years, died Sunday at the age of 80.
Ben-Eliezer was being treated at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv when he passed away from complications stemming from dialysis treatment.
He is survived by his wife and five children.
A former Labor Party leader and presidential candidate, Ben-Eliezer had suffered from a rash of health issues for a number of years, and in December 2014 underwent a kidney transplant. Several months later, he was hospitalized with a serious case of influenza, at which time he was hooked up to life support until his condition improved. He was hospitalized three weeks ago in Rishon Lezion, and transferred to Tel Aviv earlier Sunday, where he was pronounced dead.
Born in southern Iraq, Ben-Eliezer went on to have a storied career as a military commander, politician and peace negotiator in Israel. He was known for being the first Israeli minister to meet with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 1994 and for his convivial relationship with Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak.

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