Chinese Firm Drops $285 Million on Israel's SpaceCom Satellite Company - JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Chinese Firm Drops $285 Million on Israel's SpaceCom Satellite Company

By JNS August 28, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Know this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Hashem, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.” Deuteronomy 4:39 (The Israel Bible™)

Model of the Israeli Amos-5 satellite, the earlier version of the Amos-6. (Andrzej Olchawa via Wikimedia Commons)

Chinese Firm Drops $285 Million on Israel's SpaceCom Satellite Company

By JNS August 28, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Know this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Hashem, He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else.” Deuteronomy 4:39 (The Israel Bible™)

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 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.

Brussels Airlines Removes "Controversial Israeli Dessert" From Menu - JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

A Brussels Airlines plane. (Art Konovalov / Shutterstock.com)

Brussels Airlines Removes "Controversial Israeli Dessert" From Menu

By JNS August 25, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that change darkness into light, and light into darkness; that change bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 (The Israel Bible™)

Brussels Airlines has stopped serving Israeli-made halva on flights after a complaint was launched by a Palestinian activist.

The Palestinian Solidarity Movement activist was traveling from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport to Brussels when he noticed the dessert being served was made by the Achva brand. He informed other activists about the product and they complained to the airline who conceded to their request.

Achva halva bar.

The treat is made in the Barkan industrial park in the West Bank, an area the anti-Israel group calls “illegally occupied territory.”

After the public tweeted their shock over the decision, Brussels Airlines tweeted back they “have stopped serving that product on our flights as it was not what we had ordered.”

A Brussels Airlines spokesperson denied reports that the company intentionally boycotting the Israeli-made product.

“The customer who came to us with the complaint brought to our attention that the aforementioned dessert is a controversial product,” spokesperson Kim Daenen told Yediot Ahronot. “As a company which serves an international audience full of people from a wide range of backgrounds and cultures, it is our responsibility to present products which will be amicable to all, and therefore, we decided to change desserts.”

Ford Joins the Startup Nation, Buys Israeli Driverless Car Tech Company - JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

The Ford logo. (JuliusKielaitis / Shutterstock.com)

Ford Joins the Startup Nation, Buys Israeli Driverless Car Tech Company

By JNS August 19, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And He hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” Exodus 35:31 (The Israel Bible™)

Ford Motor Co. recently bought the Israeli startup SAIPS to improve its driverless car technology and plans to put these vehicles on the road in a ride-sharing service by 2021, the company announced this week.

SAIPS, an Israeli company focusing on machine learning and computer vision, is one of four investments Ford is making to enhance its technology and eventually deliver a fully autonomous vehicle.

“SAIPS has developed algorithmic solutions in image and video processing, deep learning, signal processing and classification,” Ford officials said. “This expertise will help Ford autonomous vehicles learn and adapt to the surroundings of their environment.”

SAIPS, founded in 2013 by CEO Udy Danino, Chief Technology Officer Rotem Littman and U.S. Branch Manager Noga Zieber, is based in Tel-Aviv and has 15 employees. The startup’s most recent clients include HP and Israel Aerospace Industries.

FCJ Reports Ukrainian Jews Desperate to Escape Unrest, Make Aliyah to Israel - JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

New olim from Ukraine with The Fellowship Founder and President Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein (center) waving Israeli flags. (Photo Credit: Olivier Fitoussi)

FCJ Reports Ukrainian Jews Desperate to Escape Unrest, Make Aliyah to Israel

By JNS August 16, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Now Hashem said unto Avram: ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee.” Genesis 12:1 (The Israel Bible™)

The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, or The Fellowship, said that in the last two weeks they have been flooded with hundreds of calls from Ukrainian Jews inquiring about immigrating to Israel as a result of increased tensions with Russia.

In the past month alone, The Fellowship, known for helping Jews immigrate to Israel, has received more than 1,700 inquiries (over 1,000 emails and 720 phone calls) from Jews in the Ukraine in their office in Kiev, the organization said.

There are 260,000 Jews living in the Ukraine and about 5,000 Jews are eligible for emigration who live in the Donbass region, which has been experiencing violence and unrest since March 2014 when government troops began fighting pro-Russian rebels, following the Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

“The plight of the Jewish people in Ukraine is deteriorating,” said Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of The Fellowship. “Our support for them will mean the difference between life and death, whether we’re providing critical aid such as food and medicine or helping those who wish to immigrate to Israel.”

Overall, as a result of the conflict and rising tensions in the region, The Fellowship has brought more than 3,200 Jews from the Ukraine to Israel.

Netanyahu Establishes Ties With New British PM Theresa May By JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu and British PM Theresa May (Photo: Breaking Israel News/Wikimedia Commons)

Netanyahu Establishes Ties With New British PM Theresa May

By JNS August 3, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And they shall be joined unto thee, and keep the charge of the Tent of Meeting, whatsoever the service of the Tent may be; but a common man shall not draw nigh unto you.” Numbers 18:4 (The Israel Bible™)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first phone conversation with his British counterpart Prime Minister Theresa May since she took office last month.

According to Netanyahu’s office, the two leaders discussed ways to maintain and increase cooperation in a variety of fields, including regional issues and the threat of global terrorism.

Netanyahu also wished May luck as she begins her premiership.

May became the U.K.’s second female prime minister following the resignation of David Cameron last month after the country’s vote to leave the European Union in late June.

May, who formerly served as home secretary, has long been seen as a supporter of Israel and a champion of the British-Jewish community.

Theresa May has repeatedly shown herself as “a committed and conscientious friend to both Israel and Jewish communities in the U.K.,” Paul Charney, chairman of the Zionist Federation of the United Kingdom, told JNS.org last month.

Israel MK Yehudah Glick to Christian Supporters of Israel: We Never Take Your Friendship for Granted By JNS - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Likud parliament member Yehudah Glick speaks at the Knesset assembly hall during his swearing in as a member of the Knesset, July 25, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

MK Yehudah Glick to Christian Supporters of Israel: We Never Take Your Friendship for Granted

By JNS July 26, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou bear witness in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to pervert justice.” Exodus 23:2 (The Israel Bible™)

At an event on Monday coordinated by two parliamentary groups within the Israeli Knesset, the Christian Allies Caucus and the Delegitimization Caucus, Israeli lawmakers and other supporters of Israel gathered to discuss how to defeat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The event was also held to thank the Israeli-Christian community for its support of the Jewish state.

The two caucuses have supported “Defeat BDS,” a campaign that has helped pass anti-BDS legislation in 12 U.S. states.

“The Delegitimization Caucus is here to fight the threats that generations and generations have brought against us, but the Christian supporters are here because they realize it’s God that has defended Israel and delivered us from their hands,” said Josh Reinstein, director of the Christian Allies Caucus.

“We seem to take things for granted. Your friendship is not something to take for granted. We should never take it for granted,” Member of Knesset Yehudah Glick told Christian attendees of Monday’s Knesset event, the Jerusalem Post reported.

U.S. Army Officer Who Rescued 2,500 Jews During Holocaust Dies at 99 By JNS - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

U.S. Army Officer Who Rescued 2,500 Jews During Holocaust Dies at 99

By JNS July 24, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.” Genesis 45:5 (The Israel Bible™)

Soviet forces liberate Auschwitz-Birkenau 27 January 1945. (Photo: World War Archive Facebook)

 A U.S. officer who helped liberate 2,500 Jews during the Holocaust has died at the age of 99.

On April 7, 1945, Lt. Frank Winchester Towers, who was the division liaison officer of Regiment 743 of the 30th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army during World War II, approached (with his regiment’s tanks) a stopped train in which there were 2,500 Jewish prisoners bound for the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The Nazis stopped the train because they were ordered to destroy it and drown the passengers in the Elbe river.

When the U.S. regiment approached, the passengers shouted, “We’re Jews!” Towers helped his regiment rescue the prisoners by mobilizing ambulances and other vehicles, and helped the freed prisoners get to an American-run field hospital.

“I feel pride and joy to know I had a small part in their release,” Towers told Yedioth Ahronoth in 2010. “They rose from the ashes like the phoenix.…It warms my heart,” said Towers, who also took part in the invasion of Normandy and helped liberate Jews from a labor camp near Magdeburg.

In 2011, Towers visited Israel, where he met 55 of the 700 children who were rescued from the train to Theresienstadt. Later, he was able to contact 226 survivors from that train. He has spent his later years speaking at Holocaust events throughout the U.S.

Watch full interview here: Frank Towers

Presbyterian Church USA “Curses” Israel With Pro-BDS, Anti-Settlement Resolutions by JNS - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Presbyterian Church USA “Curses” Israel With Pro-BDS, Anti-Settlement Resolutions

By JNS June 28, 2016  BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“For the LORD your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'” Deuteronomy 20:4 (The Israel Bible™)

Generic Presbyterian church sign with logo. (Photo: James R. Martin / Shutterstock.com)

Presbyterian Church USA passed a series of resolutions at its general assembly in support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, while calling on Israel to leave the disputed territories.

Among the measures passed by the Presbyterian Church includes the approval of a report, in a 429-129 vote, that seeks to examine the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and possible alternatives “including but not limited to that of two sovereign states—Israel and Palestine.” The report says that Israel’s “policy trajectory of continued settlements and brutal occupation” is “deeply troubling.”

“Not only does it make a two-state solution increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to achieve, but the emerging, de facto single state’s systematic violation of Palestinian rights and democratic values is eroding Israel’s moral legitimacy,” the report adds.

Additionally, the Presbyterian Church passed a resolution calling for “prayerful study” of both the church’s support for the BDS movement and opposition to that movement. A third resolution urged the real estate company RE/MAX to stop sales of property within Israeli settlements in the disputed territories. At its previous general assembly in 2014, the Presbyterian Church narrowly passed a resolution calling for divestment from companies doing business in Israel.

The church’s Israel-Palestine Mission Network, which has lobbied for pro-BDS resolutions, praised the “advances made at this year’s General Assembly towards supporting a just and lasting peace in Israel and Palestine.”

Leading American-Jewish groups criticized the church’s moves.

“We are deeply disappointed with the Presbyterian Church’s decision to embrace motions which forward arguments in favor of a bi-national state and of the anti-Israel BDS campaign,” said Rabbi David Sandmel, the Anti-Defamation League’s director of interfaith affairs.

Emily Soloff, associate director of interreligious and intergroup relations at the American Jewish Committee, said that a “major Protestant denomination in the U.S. with deep roots in the Middle East has chosen to be a cheerleader for those whose vision of peace does not include the State of Israel.”

The Unitarian Universalists, another mainline Protestant church that held its general assembly last week, also voted on an Israel divestment measure. Despite gaining 54 percent of vote, the measure failed to secure the necessary two-thirds majority needed for passage.

Southern Baptist Convention Passes Anti-BDS Resolution by JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Southern Baptist Convention Passes Anti-BDS Resolution

By JNS   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS June 21, 2016 

“For Tzion’s sake will I not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her triumph go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a torch that burneth. Isaiah 62:1 (The Israel Bible™)

Photo: Shutterstock.com

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) adopted a resolution reaffirming the church’s support and prayers for Israel as well as condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The resolution declared that the BDS movement “seeks to isolate the nation of Israel economically and socially,” while also expressing concern about the “ongoing anti-Israel activities in this country within certain university campuses, academic and professional associations, and popular culture.”

“We support the right of Israel to exist as a sovereign state and reject any activities that attack that right by promoting economic, cultural, and academic boycotts against Israel,” the SBC resolution said, adding that “at this critical time when dangerous forces are mounting up against the nation of Israel, we recommit ourselves to pray for God’s peace to rule in Jerusalem and for the salvation of Israel.”

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a non-profit that promotes religious freedom and family issues, stressed the importance of the resolution’s timing.

“There has never been a more important time for Christians to support Israel and its right to exist as a sovereign nation,” he said.

Staver, a member of the SBC Resolutions Committee, added that he is “pleased that this year’s Southern Baptist Convention took a stand in support of Israel and in opposition to the BDS movement. Frankly, with Israel as a world leader in technological and medical inventions, it is foolish to boycott Israel.”

SBC’s move comes amid a debate among its Christian counterparts in mainline Protestant churches over whether to adopt resolutions supporting the BDS movement.

During the past several years, a number of leading mainline Protestant churches—including the United Church of Christ, Presbyterian Church USA, the Episcopal Church, and most recently the United Methodist Church—have considered or voted on pro-BDS resolutions.

SBC, which is the country’s largest Protestant denomination with an estimated 15.3 million members, recently held its an annual meeting of church delegates in St. Louis.

Jewish Fertility Surpasses Arab Fertility in Jerusalem - JNS - BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

Jewish Fertility Surpasses Arab Fertility in Jerusalem

By JNS June 3, 2016   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

“And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.” Exodus 1:7 (The Israel Bible™)

The fertility rate for Jewish women (4.3 children per mother) in Jerusalem has surpassed the fertility rate among the city’s Arab women (3.3 children), according to newly released data.

The 2016 fertility figures were provided by the Statistical Yearbook of Jerusalem, which is issued annually by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies and the municipality. The overall fertility rate represents the number of children a woman is projected to give birth to in her life. Unsurprisingly, the high rate among Jewish women is heavily influenced by the city’s haredi and religious population.

Despite the fertility numbers, Jerusalem’s overall Arab population has continued to grow while the city’s Jewish majority shrinks. In 2014, the last year for which official figures are available, Jerusalem’s population of 849,000 residents comprised 533,900 Jews (63 percent) and 315,900 Arabs (37 percent). The Arab population growth rate that year stood at 2.7 percent, while the growth rate for the Jewish population was just 2.2 percent. Unofficial figures now show that the city’s Jewish majority has dropped to 61 percent of the population.

The Jewish majority has decreased not because of the fertility rate, but because more Jews are leaving Jerusalem than moving there. In 2014, 17,100 Jewish residents left the city, but only 10,400 new residents moved in. Research has attributed this trend to the shortage of available or accessible housing in Jerusalem. During the past decade, construction beyond the pre-1967 lines has fallen off due to political pressure. Construction in the western part of Jerusalem, over that same time period, has decreased due to pressure from environmental groups. Construction has been concentrated in the city’s central neighborhoods and primarily consists of high-rise buildings.

African-American Christian Leaders Bless Israel With Visit to Holy Land - By JNS BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS

African-American Christian Leaders Bless Israel With Visit to Holy Land

The Fellowship Brings Christian Leaders Visit Israel to Strengthen Ties With Jewish People

By JNS   BREAKING ISRAEL NEWS May 29, 2016

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Psalms 133:1 (The Israel Bible™)

Photo above: The Fellowship is proud to host the National Baptist Convention of America International on a tour of the Holy Land, where they will explore Israel’s national treasures and the Fellowship programs. (Photo: IFCJ Facebook)

Twenty-six African-American Christian leaders are participating in a May 23-29 educational trip to Israel sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (The Fellowship).

The visiting delegation is from the National Baptist Convention of America, a predominately black church. Yael Eckstein, senior vice president of The Fellowship, said the trip is part of an effort to combat the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and to “build strategic friends and allies for the Jewish people both financially and politically.”

“Just seeing the country and experiencing [it] is something which can build a greater connection with Israel,” she said.

Rev. Samuel C. Tolbert Jr.—president of the National Baptist Convention of America—said he hoped to use the trip to help find “common ground” between Palestinians and Israelis

.