Just Think It, and the Computer Will Say It

{image_1}Imagine that you cannot talk. You know what you want to say, but your speaking muscles are paralyzed. Technion researcher Ariel Tankus has spent two years working on a complex brain-machine interface that could give the power of speech to people unable to express themselves.

A Celebration of Water Technology

{image_1}This summer, Tel Aviv celebrated a “water war” in which participants were invited to come to the fountain area in front of city hall and let out their frustrations or pent-up emotions by being drenched from head to toe by a variety of water guns, buckets, and almost any other type of water container. The water in the fountain is, according to the municipality, not fit for drinking. This fact was meant to assuage the critics who say that the water extravaganza was a waste of precious water resources.

Japan Seeks Clean-tech Experts

{image_1}Japan is seeking Israeli experts to help in the rehabilitation efforts of Fukushima. The city was destroyed last year following a strong earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami, which, in turn, caused a local nuclear reactor meltdown. The Japanese company heading the rehabilitation efforts has sent a delegation to confer with Israeli experts and look for local entrepreneurs willing to take on the daunting task.

South African Christians Stand Up for Israel

{image_1}Twenty-five hundred Christians from all parts of the Church took to the streets of Pretoria and Cape Town in support of Israel. Memorandums relating to the announcement that special labeling would be required for products from “the Occupied Palestinian Territories” were given to the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry in Pretoria.

Threatened on Every Side

By Missile Fire

{image_1}Yadlin, commenting on possible future confrontations with Israel's enemies, admitted that missiles would strike the Gush Dan area (central Israel): “A few more [would strike] than the number that hit in 1991 [during the Gulf War], but today we have the Arrow [anti-missile interception system], better intelligence, and a better Air Force. A large number of the rockets will be stopped, but some of them will indeed hit Gush Dan, and for this, we have to be prepared.

The Levy Report: Settlements Are Legal

{image_1}A special commission named this year by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has submitted some clear-cut conclusions regarding the legality of the so-called “Israeli settlements”. The three-member committee, informally known as the Levy Commission—headed by former Supreme Court Justice Edmond Levy, along with former Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor Alan Baker, and former Deputy President of the Tel-Aviv District Court Tehiya Shapira—determined that these settlements are perfectly legal within the standards of international law.

Fears Arise over Syrian Conflict

{image_3}With Syria overcome by violence, Jordanian King Abdullah has expressed the fear that sectarianism in Syria could lead to a fragmentation of the country. And that’s not the only regional fear. A sizable Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons also looms as a very real threat—both within the nation and out of it.

A Treat Fit for a Rich Man

{image_1}A story is told of a poor man looking into the window of a fine restaurant, watching the very rich inside talking gaily and eating blintzes. When he arrived home, he asked his wife if somehow she could make him blintzes. He just had to have some. She assembled the flour, water, egg… “Oh, my dear, I have no cream cheese,” she said. “Just skip it; make them anyway,” replied her husband. “There’s no honey,” she cried. “Don’t need it,” he replied.

Other Security Fences…besides Israel’s!

{image_1}If we were to review a list of Israel’s actions that have incurred the wrath of the nations, it would actually be hard to decide which should be ranked at the top. Certainly in the running would be the decision, over a decade ago, to build a security fence, the largest infrastructure project in Israel’s history. Developed specifically to protect citizens from the infiltration of suicide bombers after years of intifada (Arab uprisings)—which left 1,226 Israelis dead and 8,341 maimed— the cost was nearly US $2 billion.

Young Adults Discovering Their Roots

{image_1}Two names, two programs, one Jewish, the other Christian, but there are more similarities than differences between them. While Taglit-Birthright is aimed at helping young Jewish adults of the Diaspora [the Jewish population outside Israel] reconnect with their Jewish roots, Zealous8:2 seeks to connect Christian young adults to the Hebraic roots of their faith. Both are using tours to draw young people around the world to Israel. The curious bystander in Israel who observes the endless lines of excited, English-speaking Jewish youth on Taglit tours must wonder how this program began.

Gaza–Not the Full Story

{image_1}Perhaps no single place on earth is so misrepresented as the Gaza Strip. On September 12, 2005, the last of the Israeli soldiers and civilians left the Strip after 38 years. Not a Jew remained. Even the bodies in the Jewish graveyards were removed and reburied in Israel.

Wonders—Pele

{image_1}One of the things which sets God apart from false gods is His mighty power. The Bible is replete with examples of the miracle-working power of God. One of His attributes as described theologically is omnipotence, the ability to do anything.