Weekly News Items from the Israeli Press, June 7, 2012

JFNA in the Israeli Press

We are all the American Jewish establishment

(Haaretz) If you still don’t think you are part of the Establishment, maybe it’s time to take the Establishment back. These are not smoky back rooms with secret membership lists.

Federation Projects in the Israeli Press

Birthright Israel begets an Armenian offspring

(Times of Israel) Birthright Armenia participants stay for a minimum of two months, live with host families, and volunteer in the community.

JFNA Partners in the Israeli Press

World ORT holds DC conference

(Ynet) Under the auspices of the conference, World ORT will determine its working strategy for the next four years.

Union head slams Litzman plan for ORT training

(Jpost) Deputy health minister says nurse-training program in technical high schools would add much-needed nurses to system.  

Welfare and Social Issues

The quiet marchers

(Ynet) Hundreds of families who lost loved ones to suicide to hold march, meant to echo San Francisco's 'Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk'.

Blind woman foresees trends for IDF

(Ynet) Despite being blind from birth, Cece has been working in classified role in elite IDF intelligence unit for past 15 years.

Civil Society

Jerusalem court sanctions deportation of South Sudan nationals from Israel

(Haaretz) Some 1,000 South Sudanese are believed to be in Israel, part of a larger influx of African migrants who have poured into the country in recent years; Yishai says court ruling is first of many such steps.

The dark side of Tel Aviv

(Ynet) Special: Journalist poses as African infiltrator, spends week in Tel Aviv’s most volatile neighborhood.

Israeli advocacy group urges Haredi draft must not be at expense of women soldiers

(Haaretz) Groups cite numerous examples of service of ultra-Orthodox men causing detrimental changes in the service of women soldiers.

Tel Aviv launches nonstop gay pride week parties (and educational events, too)

(Times of Israel) Ever the hedonistic hangout, city aims for record number of parade attendees, says gay tourism is thriving.

Social Protests

Thousands take to streets in demand of social justice

(Ynet) 'This summer's protest will be the real thing,' says one protester, as thousands in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem resume social protest.

Religious Pluralism in Israel

Shopping mall guards turn away haredi man

(Ynet) Security guards at the Ramat Aviv shopping mall explain that they were acting on specific instructions.

Israel Philanthropy

Jewish group provides Israeli technology to East Africa

(Times of Israel) Founded in 2008 by Sivan Borowich Ya’ari, Jewish Heart for Africa uses Israeli solar and agricultural ingenuity to assist rural villages.

Israel Advocacy/Relations

For Israel's future spies, a mixture of Talmud and Quran

(Israel Hayom) The pre-military academy in Rosh Pina has been educating and training yeshiva students for army service in intelligence units.

10 ways to REALLY help Israel

(Times of Israel) Some ideas for what American leaders, non-profits and philanthropists can do to help Israel.

Israeli Economy

Israel 19th most competitive economy

(Ynet) IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook ranks Jewish state first in R&D investments, second for total public expenditure on education.

Australian hi-tech investor unveils audacious 30-year Jerusalem master plan

(Times of Israel) Kevin Bermeister and his team of Israeli urban planners, with tourism minister’s enthusiastic endorsement, are giving King Herod a run for his money.

Science, Technology and Development

Safra Foundation honors 10 top achievers

(Jpost) Awards given to those who contributed to Israeli society in the fields of medicine, science, business, hi-tech.

Op-Eds and Opinion Pieces from the Israel Press

Ma'ariv urges its readers to, "Understand how illogical it is that there are those who fight with all their ability to leave in place, in Tel Aviv, people who are not Israelis, but in regard to us, Israelis and Jews who were born here and served here, they are scarcely heard."

Yisrael Hayom commends the fact that there will be accelerated construction within existing communities in Judea and Samaria but believes that, "It is difficult to overlook the invective hurled by [National Union] MK Yaakov Katz at Minister Benny Begin and Minister Moshe Yaalon. He called Begin a 'man of Sodom' (!) and promised that they would no longer be friends. To Yaalon he said 'He cannot appear in any community, yeshiva, institution or pre-military school. We will hound him everywhere and tell him that just as [former IDF Chief-of-Staff] Dan Halutz was made loathsome, so will he be.' These are awful remarks and a sacrilege, even if they were said in the heat of the moment. Today, MK Katz and his friends are hurting settlement more than any evacuation of homes."