06/18 Links Pt2: The American Soviet Mentality; ‘Major Blow to BDS’: Bill Criminalizing Business With Israeli Settlements Shelved by New Irish Government ~ EoZ

From Ian:

The mobs that perform the unanimous condemnation rituals of today do not follow orders from above. But that does not diminish their power to exert pressure on those under their influence. Those of us who came out of the collectivist Soviet culture understand these dynamics instinctively. You invoked the “didn’t read, but disapprove” mantra not only to protect yourself from suspicions about your reading choices but also to communicate an eagerness to be part of the kollektiv—no matter what destructive action was next on the kollektiv’s agenda. You preemptively surrendered your personal agency in order to be in unison with the group. And this is understandable in a way: Merging with the crowd feels much better than standing alone.

Those who remember the Soviet system understand the danger of letting the practice of collective denunciation run amok. But you don’t have to imagine an American Stalin in the White House to see where first the toleration, then the normalization, and now the legitimization and rewarding of this ugly practice is taking us.

Americans have discovered the way in which fear of collective disapproval breeds self-censorship and silence, which impoverish public life and creative work. The double life one ends up leading—one where there is a growing gap between one’s public and private selves—eventually begins to feel oppressive. For a significant portion of Soviet intelligentsia (artists, doctors, scientists), the burden of leading this double life played an important role in their deciding to emigrate.

Those who join in the hounding face their own hazards. The more loyalty you pledge to a group that expects you to participate in rituals of collective demonization, the more it will ask of you and the more you, too, will feel controlled. How much of your own autonomy as a thinking, feeling person are you willing to sacrifice to the collective? What inner compromises are you willing to make for the sake of being part of the group? Which personal relationships are you willing to give up?

From my vantage point, this cultural moment in these United States feels incredibly precarious. The practice of collective condemnation feels like an assertion of a culture that ultimately tramples on the individual and creates an oppressive society. Whether that society looks like Soviet Russia, or Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, or Castro’s Cuba, or today’s China, or something uniquely 21st-century American, the failure of institutions and individuals to stand up to mob rule is no longer an option we can afford.

Daphne Anson: "The Left Have Hijacked the Public Discourse" (And How!)

Here's Alan Freedman, vice-president of the Australian Jewish Association, ably and justifiably calling out the unconscionable intolerance of today's Woke Warriors:

Which brings me to this horrible piece of Wokism issued some days ago. To read this vomitous statement from the American Reform Movement is to revisit that equally vomitous slogan of crackpot radicals during the 1960s: "we are all guilty". It's not so much a call for bridge-building and compassion, which needless to say are admirable objectives, as a one-sided exercise in self-flagellation and group demonisation.

"Black Lives Matter is Jewish value" the statement declares, going on to castigate "white Jews" for their collusion (more supposed than real), in keeping black Americans down. It's as if the visible Jewish presence in the Civil Rights era never happened. It's as if there are no antisemitic or anti-Israel aspects to the organised Black Lives Matter movement.

Of course "Black Lives Matter", along with the lives of every human being on this earth, of whatever hue our skin happens to be. That's why many of us, Jew and non-Jew, prefer the slogan "All Lives Matter", since all of us are made in the image of our Creator: that is why the concept "All Lives Matter" can be considered a Jewish value.

But try telling that to some of the politically biased bigots both in and outside the Reform movement and you risk being smeared as a racist. They should know that Judaism is not a racist religion and that Jews who harbour contempt for their fellow human beings are, fortunately, few and far between.

My mom is white and my dad is black. Don’t call me a ‘Jew of Color.’

As a biracial Jew, there is an expectation that I must have something to say in this historic moment. Unlike at any other time in my life, people are treating my opinion as though it deserves a stage, or a glass case for passersby to take in as they walk through a new exhibition on the lives of various Jews of Color.

When I tell people that I do not have much to say about my experience as a “Jew of Color,” I see faces drop just a smidge. I sense that people want to hear about the time I was rejected because of the color of my skin, or when I was sitting in services at a synagogue and somebody came up and asked what inspired a nice non-Jewish girl like me to visit a synagogue, unaware of the fact that I am an observant Jew.

The truth is that nothing like that has ever happened to me, thankfully. There have been moments when a person’s curiosity got the better of them, and they can’t help but probe into the personal details of my life within a minute of meeting me in hopes of figuring out how somebody who looks like me ended up in a Jewish environment. I’ve heard comments like “Is it hard for you to date in the Jewish world because, you know, you’re not the stereotypical Jew?” or “You can’t meet his family yet because you grew up in a broken home and that’s not something that people in his community are used to” Here’s my personal favorite, which came up while I was living in Israel: “Can you rap for us, you know, like Jay-Z!”

Yes, all of these moments and a few more like them have happened to me, and some of them were painful. But they are not the moments by which I choose to define myself.

My mother is white and my father is black. I have lived as a proud Jew in a variety of Jewish communities, including Kansas, Israel, North Carolina and New York City. Aside from those few standout moments, I have always felt at home in the Jewish world. It is the only world I know and, more than that, it is an expression of all that I am.

The 20th-century German-Jewish philosopher Franz Rosenzweig defines Judaism as a person’s “most impenetrable secret, yet evident in every gesture and every word.” To call myself a Jew of Color would be to ignore that indefinable trait inside of me that is expressed in all that I do and unites me with my fellow Jews throughout the world.

Jewish Think Tank: This Is Not the Time to Call Out BLM on their Anti-Israel Stance

The Reut Group defines itself as “an Israeli non-profit organization dealing with the most acute challenges to the State of Israel and World Jewry using a unique research and strategy methodology and an innovative impact model.”

According to the report, titled “The Pro Israel Community: Navigating the George Floyd Protests, Corona Annexation,” on the bandwagon of the corona effect, the Jewish community in the U.S. finds itself now in a quagmire: While many identify with the struggle against systemic racism, Jewish socio-economic privilege and ‘whiteness’ fuels ideological disagreements and anti-Semitism. Indeed, anti-Israel groups strive to draw parallels between the police brutality in the U.S to Israeli conduct towards the Palestinians.

The communal approach towards the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement may have a far reaching impact on the status of these organizations within liberal circles. According to Reut Group CEO Eran Shayshon: ”The decentralized nature of BLM makes many organizations associated with the movement theoretically ‘engageable’ despite the anti-Israel positions of some of their members”.

The report argues that the coronavirus and the George Floyd protests are broadening the gap between Israel and U.S Jewry. Shayshon says: “Although it seems to be a tactical and temporary ‘time-out,’ powerful trends are expanding the gap between Israel and world Jewry, putting stress on this already fragile relationship. Against this backdrop, Israel’s potential annexation of parts of the West Bank will be interpreted as a “point of no return” for certain segments of world Jewry.”

After Backlash, Handler Deletes Farrakhan Video Off Social Media Site

Following days of backlash against a controversial social media posting, comedian Chelsea Handler deleted a video that she had shared on her Instagram page that she called “powerful,” featuring National of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has an extensive history of making anti-Jewish remarks.

In the past, some of them have included “I’m anti-termite,” referring to Jews as pests, and that Adolf Hitler was “a very great man.”

The video shows Farrakhan taking questions from the audience during an appearance in 1990 on “The Phil Donahue Show.”

“I learned a lot from watching this powerful video,” wrote Handler on her Instagram page, which has 3.9 million followers.

Despite Farrakhan’s antisemitic and other bigoted remarks, Handler defended the criticism she received, countering that “Hitler was responsible for killing millions of lives. Farrakhan is just responsible for his own promotion of anti-Semitic beliefs. They are very different.”

Fellow celebrities, including actresses Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Aniston and Michelle Pfeiffer, liked the video, while other personalities, such as actress Lisa Rinna and actor Sean Hayes, praised the clip in the comments section on Handler’s post.

Jewish Voice for Peace Tries to Walk Back Attacks on Israeli Police Training Amid Racial Protests

The focus on policing in America after the killing of George Floyd has finally shed light on the antisemitism behind a campaign developed in part by the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).

JVP is behind “Deadly Exchange,” which blames Israel for policing problems in the US. In Durham, North Carolina, we have seen the damage this campaign does to the Jewish community when it comes to town.

The “Deadly Exchange” advisory team includes Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) leader Omar Barghouti, who has said his aim is to “turn Israel into a pariah.” He and his JVP allies do this by accusing Israel and Israeli police of a long list of what they call “worst practices,” including racial profiling and shoot-to-kill policies.

The campaign lures unsuspecting Americans in by claiming that when US police leaders and officers attend training workshops in Israel, they return to their communities and harm people of color.

Jewish Voice for Peace lobbied candidates for the Durham City Council, and supported those who were anti-Israel and anti-police. Durham’s mayor, Steve Schewel, is Jewish and has been a past supporter of JVP. According to The Herald-Sun, “Schewel donated to Jewish Voice for Peace five years ago, but ‘realized their politics and mine are not close enough [that] I wanted to continue to donate’ … ‘But I do deeply understand why they have the politics they do.’” He also ran on a platform of Durham Beyond Policing, and he — along with others on the council — wants to reduce funds to the police.

Quoted in @Reuters @nytimes: "During a UN urgent debate on racism, Hillel Neuer of the Geneva-based UN Watch said: "We are concerned this session may be a farce when some of the worst practitioners of police brutality & racism will be the judges."https://t.co/TPSUoUEp0y
— UN Watch (@UNWatch) June 18, 2020

UN Watch: Racists at the U.N. cannot credibly judge racism

Coronavirus in Israel: 257 New Cases

The number of active coronavirus cases passed 4,000 Thursday morning as the Health Ministry reported 257 new infections over the past 24 hours.

Of the 19,894 infections recorded since the start of the pandemic, the ministry said 4,092 were active cases, including 148 people being treated at hospitals around the country.

Among the sick, 39 were in serious condition, 32 of whom were on ventilators. That was up from 27 people requiring ventilation Wednesday morning, though separate figures from the National Security Council put the number of people on ventilators at 28.

The Health Ministry said another 44 people were in moderate condition and the rest had mild symptoms.

No new fatalities were reported, with the death toll remaining at 303.

Israel has seen a sharp rise in new COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, after a sustained drop in the daily infection rate saw the government ease many of the restrictions put in place to contain the virus.

As coronavirus cases rise, Netanyahu says no more easing restrictions

Israel has finished opening up more of the economy – at least for the time being – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared.

Speaking Thursday at a ceremony celebrating the retirement of outgoing-Health Ministry director-general Moshe Bar Siman Tov, Netanyahu said that, “There is no doubt that we need to stop the disease. The disease is coming back and we have, at least for now, finished opening up the economy.”

His statements came on the backdrop of another spike in coronavirus cases – 215 in one day, bringing the total number of active patients to 4,177. Some 303 people have died from coronavirus in Israel. The number of serious cases stands at 38, including 28 who are intubated.

In total, more than 20,000 Israelis have contracted coronavirus since February.

Based on the number of tests conducted Wednesday – 14,690 – the infection rate is holding at around 1.5%.

Netanyahu warned that the public must follow the Health Ministry’s guidelines or “we will be forced to take more aggressive measures.” He said
these could include lockdowns or “general actions for the populace,” upon which he did not elaborate. He said Israel needs to flatten the curve again and “we will do what is necessary, as we did at the beginning of the pandemic in the country.”

The prime minister has made similar threats since Shavuot, which ended May 30, a holiday that took place about two weeks after the full reopening of schools, marking the start of the current rise in cases.

Israeli scientists develop self-disinfecting face mask

As the demand for protective masks has risen dramatically since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Israeli scientists have developed a self-disinfecting, reusable face mask.

The mask was developed at the Haifa-based Technion — Israel Institute of Technology’s Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering by a team of scientists led by Professor Yair Ein-Eli.

A patent application has been submitted in the United States, the Technion said in a statement. According to the statement, the research team is talking to industrial companies about mass-producing the masks. In some countries, demand has far outstripped the supply of face masks amid the pandemic.

Here’s how the mask works: A layer of carbon fibers can be heated using a USB port with a low current source, such as a phone charger, in a process that destroys viruses that may have accumulated on the mask.

In Israel, wearing a mask in public is mandatory, and those not in compliance can be fined.

UK Moving Ahead With Probe of Top Professional Services Firm Over Suspected Ties to Groups Involved in Palestinian Terror

The UK government is proceeding with an investigation of one of the world’s largest professional services firms on suspicion of enabling a Palestinian terrorist organization.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ PwC Global Network was accused by the group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) of providing accounting services, specifically audits, to two Palestinian organizations with ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

UKLFI claimed that both the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) and Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P) were provided with audits by PwC from 2014-2018.

Both organizations, said the group, were connected to the PFLP and have employed members connected to terrorism in high positions.

PwC ceased auditing the UAWC accounts in 2019, but continues its contacts with DCI-P.

The UKLFI said that the connections between PwC and the two groups constituted a violation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises because the groups may have used funds in order to employ members of the PFLP, offer support to members of the PFLP and enable direct or indirect funding of the PFLP.

In particular, PwC’s audits could have granted legitimacy to the group’s operations, enabling them to continue to raise funds while supporting terrorism.

UKLFI asked the UK National Contact Point (UK NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to investigate.

The UK NCP said in a decision issued Tuesday that the charges “merit further examination.” It ruled against PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited (PwC IL)’s claim that it was not a multinational enterprise, and held that it was bound by the OECD Guidelines.

‘Major Blow to BDS’: Bill Criminalizing Business With Israeli Settlements Shelved by New Irish Coalition

An Irish bill that would have criminalized doing business with Israeli settlements was shelved this week, when it was not included in the incoming coalition government’s five-year plan.

The legislation — which would have fined any Irish citizens involved in goods and services produced in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem 250,000 euros and sentenced them to five years in prison — will not be part of the Program for Government in Ireland adopted by the new coalition.

The Ireland Israel Alliance (ILA) called the bill “shameful and illegal” and noted it was supported by, among others, the BDS group Al-Haq, whose leader has been linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror group.

In 2018, Visa, Mastercard, and American Express all shut down their operations enabling online donations to Al-Haq due to its terror connections.

The ILA called the defeat of the bill “a major blow to the BDS movement.”

However, the group added, “We are under no illusion that we have heard the last of this bill.”

The UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) group described the bill’s failure “a major defeat for the antisemitic BDS movement, which put large resources behind a campaign to pass the bill over the last three years.”

UKLFI particularly praised Irish opposition party Fine Gael — now part of the new coalition — for opposing the bill, which the party said was a violation of EU law.

Rep. Doug Lamborn Asks Department of Education to Investigate Middle East Studies at UC Berkeley

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos concerning the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Middle East Studies (CMES) and its potential misuse of federal funds under Title VI of the Higher Education Act (HEA).

By way of background: Title VI grants use taxpayer money to "develop a pool of international experts to meet national needs" in the field of "international studies and world languages." Programs supported by Title VI must "reflect diverse perspectives and a wide range of views" for the purpose of aiding U.S. national security.

The Middle East Forum's Campus Watch and Washington Project have long worked to reform Title VI abuses. Noting that a previous inquiry into Title VI funds at the Duke/UNC Middle East Studies Consortium found that most programs had "little or no relevance to Title VI," and that the programs "lack balance," Lamborn raises a number of concerns about Berkeley's CMES, ranging from politicized professors to murky foreign funding arrangements.

One major worry concerns support for academic boycotts of Israel. Lamborn expresses alarm that CMES Chair Emily Gottreich signed a public letter urging UC Berkley not to restart its year abroad program in Israel. Title VI specifically requires recipients to "promote access to research and training overseas, including through linkages with overseas institutions," which is diametrically opposed to Gottreich's stated views. Carrying out her pledge of opposing study abroad programs with Israel is illegal.

"Boycotts aimed at Israel – and only at Israel – are antisemitic, but when it involves Title VI funds, it's against the law," said Winfield Myers, director of Campus Watch. "Rep. Lamborn is right to raise this issue with the Department of Education."

Facebook Takes Down Trump Ads Over ‘Organized Hate’ Policy

Facebook said on Thursday it took down posts and ads run by the re-election campaign of US President Donald Trump for violating its policy against organized hate.

The ads showed a red inverted triangle with text asking Facebook users to sign a petition against antifa, a loosely-organized anti-fascist movement.

In a tweet on Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, said: “The Nazis used red triangles to identify their political victims in concentration camps. Using it to attack political opponents is highly offensive.”

The Facebook ads were run on pages belonging to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, and also appeared in ads and organic posts on the “Team Trump” page.

“Our policy prohibits using a banned hate group’s symbol to identify political prisoners without the context that condemns or discusses the symbol,” said a Facebook company spokesperson.

“The inverted red triangle is a symbol used by Antifa, so it was included in an ad about Antifa,” Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in an email.

“We would note that Facebook still has an inverted red triangle emoji in use, which looks exactly the same, so it’s curious that they would target only this ad. The image is also not included in the Anti-Defamation League’s database of symbols of hate.”

It’s also used by some antifa and far-left groups who have appropriated symbol, which is what the ads were referencing. Facebook, WaPo et al ignore this context to drive a particularly dishonest narrative about Trump campaign using it in support of Nazism. pic.twitter.com/tejS5IDjfA
— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 18, 2020

Muslim World League head responds to criticism after attending AJC event

Dr. Muhammad bin Abdul Karim Issa, Secretary-General of the Muslim World League (MWL), responded to criticism surrounding his attendance at the American Jewish Committee's virtual webinar on Sunday, in an interview with Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya.

Considering Israeli officials were also included in the virtual forum, the MWL received backlash for its attendance throughout the different social media forums and even on Al Jazeera, which al-Issa addressed.

“The Muslim World League did not participate in any forums with Israeli officials. We deal with religion followers completely away from politics,” said al-Issa in response to Al Jazeera television host Ahmed Mansour accusing him of trying to merge religions, according to Al Arabiya. “No one is looking to merge religions.”

He added further, covering his tracks even more, that the MWL will not come to the table with anyone "who caused harm to Muslims" (i.e. Israel).

“Each religion has its own beliefs and will not agree to any doctrine other than its own. Otherwise, religions would become one,” al-Issa said, according to Al Arabiya.

The Muslim World League, based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, was found in 1962 by then-Crown Prince Faisal Bin Abdul-Aziz - its main benefactor today is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Former Saudi Minister of Justice Sheikh Muhammad Issa: Muslims, Jews, and Christians Are all Brothers; Being Hateful Has Not Benefited Us pic.twitter.com/zkUVBRUqsx
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) June 18, 2020

After complaint, Daily Mail posts new article revealing the bigotry of an 'anti-racist'

We recently posted about a viral photo from a BLM protest in London that wasn’t at all what it seemed.

Whilst the photo, which inspired laudatory stories at ITV News and the Daily Mail, was framed as an inspiring, inter-generational conversation between two anti-racist campaigners, research by Community Security Trust (CST) revealed that the man on the right, Jim Curran, is not an anti-racist at all.

In fact, he’s deeply involved in an anti-Jewish hate group which peddles Holocaust denial and antisemitic conspiracy theories about Mossad and the Rothschild banking family.

As we reported at the time, following complaints on Twitter by activists over the gross misrepresentation of Curran, ITV News removed their online report, video and social media posts about the photo. We then called on Daily Mail on Twitter to take similar action, and sent a complaint to editors accompanied by the CST report revealing Curran’s association with extremists.

We promptly received a reply thanking us for the information, and noting that they would pass on it on to the newsroom for consideration.

Today, Mail Online Associate Global Editor Jake Wallis Simmons co-authored the following:

BBC’s Bowen fails to challenge Iranian and Russian talking points

Listeners were not informed that the editor Lukyanov is also a leading member of a Russian ‘think tank’ created “pursuant to presidential decree” a decade ago. Had they been given that information they may have been able to put Lukyanov’s whitewashing of Russian attacks on civilian targets including hospitals in Syria – which have been described in a UN report as war crimes – into the appropriate perspective.

Lukyanov [21:43] “It seems that Russian leadership learned a lesson both from the Soviet Union and from Americans in the Middle East because despite all the problems the Russian military got in Syria it was never a full-scale landmark operation. Russian aircraft supported significantly but just supported the Syrian army. So I think the quagmire that was envisaged at that time did not happen.”

Bowen failed to challenge that partisan portrayal but listeners did hear about bombing by another country.

Bowen [23:49]: “Inside Syria is a collection of wars within wars. A well-defined end is impossible. It’s a boxing ring for Iran and Israel. The Iranians use it to get closer to Israel’s borders. Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has an arrangement with Vladimir Putin about hitting Iranian targets says Fyodor Lukyanov in Moscow.”

Lukyanov: “Russia would have a lot of opportunities to stop Israelis from doing what they do when they bomb targets in Syrian territory but in most cases – or in some cases – Russians let them go because they see that those strikes are understandable from a security point of view. If it is not from Russian point of view, from Putin’s point of view, then Putin said it to Netanyahu in a very blunt way and then it’s time for him – for Israeli prime minister – to accept these views.”

Bowen did not bother to inform listeners of the nature of the “Iranian targets” in Syria or why Iran wants to “get closer to Israel’s borders” and notably, listeners did not hear Hizballah mentioned at all in this programme.

One can of course question the value of inviting mouthpieces of totalitarian regimes to contribute to current affairs programmes, especially when the nature of their contribution is wholly predictable. That question however becomes even more acute when BBC journalists fail to comply with their own editorial guidelines on impartiality which stipulate that audiences should be informed of a contributor’s “affiliations, funding and particular viewpoints” and when no challenge is presented to their talking points.

Hitler’s Birthplace Shows That Confronting Dark Past Can Take Decades

As anti-racism protesters topple statues of slave traders and colonizers worldwide, some nations are pondering how to mark their dark past. In Austria, debate over confronting one link to Adolf Hitler has taken decades, and it’s not over yet.

Austria recently unveiled plans to convert the house where the Nazi leader was born, in the town of Braunau am Inn on the German border, into a police station.

It also suggested moving a rock that stands on the sidewalk outside, which is inscribed with an anti-fascist message, to a Vienna museum.

While many agree that the house should not be allowed to become a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis, the idea of removing the rock has upset some Jewish and survivors’ groups who have said that Austria must confront its role in the Holocaust.

More consultations on the rock will now be held.

“Clearly (the government) wants to let the world forget that the worst mass murderer in history was born in Braunau,” said Willi Mernyi, head of the Mauthausen Committee, Austria’s main Holocaust survivors’ group.

“This approach is wrong … One must recognize what happened.”

‘Never again’

The rock, which carries the inscriptions “fascism never again” and “millions of dead” but does not mention Hitler, was installed by the town in 1989.

At that point, Austria was moving away from its position of denying responsibility for the Holocaust, a post-war stance during which it described itself as the first victim of the Nazis.

Jews Most Targeted Group for Hate Crimes in Toronto Area, New Data Shows

Newly-published police data showed that Jews were the most targeted group for hate crimes in the greater Toronto area last year.

In all, 44 out of 139 hate-related incidents — or 32 percent — registered in the City of Toronto last year targeted Jews.

In the neighboring York Region, Jews were targeted in 40 out of 133 total recorded incidents — or 30 percent.

“We are sad to see that the trends we’ve been warning of for some time now are coming to fruition, and the alarming rise of antisemitism is continuing to expand,” Michael Mostyn — chief executive officer of B’nai Brith Canada — stated. “We call on all levels of government to recognize this problem and combat it immediately by adopting B’nai Brith’s Eight-Point Plan to Tackle Antisemitism.”

10 Israeli Companies Banking on 5G Success

The dramatic upgrade in telecommunication capabilities provided by 5G, the fifth generation technology standard for cellular networks, is already resulting in a vast variety of solutions that will affect almost every aspect of modern life. It should come as little surprise to anyone who knows the Israeli tech scene that local startups are at the edge of innovation when it comes to 5G technology.

There are currently over 25 companies in Israel working on 5G related tech, from giants like Intel to small early-stage startups.

Here is a list of 10 Israeli companies who are banking on 5G for success (listed by alphabetical order):

Allot
Focus: Network intelligence and security as a service
Founded: 1999
CEO: Erez Antebi
Total funding: $26.3 million. Public traded company on Nasdaq (current market cap: $365 million)
Investors: Jerusalem Venture Partners, Partech, Tamir Fishman Ventures, Gemini Israel Ventures

Allot is a global provider of network intelligence and security-as-a-service solutions for service providers and enterprises worldwide, with a focus on enhancing value for its customers. Allot’s solutions are deployed globally for network and application analytics, traffic control and shaping, and network-based cybersecurity services. Allot provides its customers with tools to help them learn about users and network behaviors, improve quality of experience, reduce costs, detect and block cybersecurity attacks in order to protect their communication service, and optimize, innovate, and capitalize on every opportunity.

5 Israeli-founded
companies ranked in CNBC’s list of 50 Disruptor tech firms

Five Israeli or Israeli-founded tech firms are included in this year’s CNBC’s Disruptor 50 companies, the eight annual list ranking private companies “whose breakthroughs are influencing business and market competition at an accelerated pace.”

The firms selected “are poised to emerge from the coronavirus pandemic with tech platforms that have the power to dominate,”CNBC said on its website. “The start-ups making the 2020 Disruptor list are at the epicenter of a world changing in previously unimaginable ways, turning ideas in cybersecurity, education, health IT, logistics/delivery, fintech and agriculture into a new wave of billion-dollar businesses.”

Of the 50 companies selected, 36 are already so-called unicorns, having reached or passed the $1 billion valuation mark. Thirty-seven of the 50 firms have hired new employees since start of the coronavirus pandemic, and 19 have managed to pivot their products or launched new ones to meet the challenges created by the pandemic, CNBC said.

Jerusalem’s Neteera Technologies is ranked ninth on the list. Founded in 2015 by Isaac Litman, the firm has developed technology that manages to feel tiny movements on the surface of skin in order to monitor vital signs and other physical indicators such as stress, fatigue, and pain, as well as symptoms of COVID-19.

Lemonade, an insurance technology firm that recently filed a Nasdaq IPO, is ranked 17th in CNBC’s list. Founded by Israelis Daniel Schreiber and Shai Wininger, the firm has created a new business model for insurance, powered by artificial intelligence, to eliminate conflicts of interest between insurers and the insured, with a bot rather than an agent guiding customers applying for insurance.

Healthy.io, ranked 19th, is a Tel Aviv-based startup that uses smartphones to create a digital urine analysis test that can be taken at home. The firm was founded by Yonatan Adiri in 2013.

Late Bollywood Actor Sushant Singh Rajput Remembered as ‘True Friend of Israel’

A top Israeli diplomat took to Twitter on Tuesday to pay tribute to late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

“Sending my deepest condolences on the passing of Sushant Singh Rajput, a true friend of Israel. You will be missed!” Gilad Cohen — deputy director-general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry — wrote.

Cohen also shared a photo of the actor, who was 34 at the time of his death, and a link to the song “Makhna” from the his last film, “Drive.” Rajput and his co-star, Jacqueline Fernandez, filmed the song’s music video in Israel.

Sushant committed suicide on Sunday at his home in Bandra, a coastal suburb of Mumbai, India.

You won't find a more beautiful or inspiring #Israeli organization than #Shalva, who are doing truly amazing things helping special needs children and their families! If you can, please consider making a donation for their appeal!https://t.co/Lk5L6wdtSI
— Arsen Ostrovsky (@Ostrov_A) June 17, 2020

Ancient scepter found in south may be first proof of life-sized ‘divine statues’

An approximately 3,200-year-old scepter found at a biblical site in southern Israel may be the first physical evidence of life-sized “divine statues” used in Canaanite rituals, according to a new report.

Yosef Garfinkel, an archaeology professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, wrote in the academic journal Antiquity that the scepter, which was made from bronze and coated in silver, was discovered inside the cellar of a Canaanite temple at Lachish.

He linked the scepter, which looks like a spatula, to a scepter found at Hatzor in the north, as well as to a small figurine found at the site of a Canaanite temple at Meggido.

In the hand of the figurine is a specter which Garkinfel called a “miniature version” of those found at Lachish and Hatzor. He also noted the scepter from Meggido has a complex pattern of circles hammered into it, the Haaretz daily reported, similar to the scepter from Lachish.

Based on these similarities, Garfinkel said the scepter from Lachish was likely once held in the hand of a life-sized statue there.

“The scepters from Lachish, Hazor and Megiddo can be considered characteristic attributes of the Canaanite god El. The scepter was the emblem of this god, an identifying marker and symbol of his power,” he wrote in the article.

70 Years of the IDF Uniform

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