Israel Update

Israel’s population reaches more than 8 million at year’s end

From: JPost.com

By: Benji Rosen

Israel’s population is over 8 million at the close of 2013, the Central Bureau of Statistics announced Sunday.

The CBS report, published just days before the New Year, estimates that the population of Israel is 8,132,000.

The country’s population increased by 1.8 percent – or 147,000 people – since 2012, according to the report.

Sunday’s data showed that 75.2% of the country – approximately 6.1 million Israelis – are Jewish. The Arab population of Israel, which includes Muslims, Arab-Christians, and Druse, is 20.6% – 1.6 million. The remaining 4% of Israel’s population – 348,000 – are either non-Arab Christians, individuals practicing another religion, or those with no religious affiliation.

The report also showed that 175,000 infants were born in Israel in 2013. In a similar report CBS published on Independence Day last April, about 41,000 people died and some 163,000 infants were born from 2012’s Independence Day to 2013’s.

Israel’s population is on track to reach 11.4 million by 2035, according to a report CBS released in June. Israel’s annual population growth rate, however, is predicted to decline from 1.8% to 1.4% because of declining fertility rates.

Nevertheless, Israel will remain exceptionally fertile, especially in comparison to neighboring Arab states. Citing UN estimates, CBS indicated the most fertile Arab nation, Jordan, has a projected 2035 fertility rate of 2.41 children born to the average woman. Israel’s Jewish fertility rate, in comparison, is predicted to increase from 2.99 to 3.04, while the rate for Israeli Muslims is projected to decline from 3.37 to 2.71.

CBS also estimates that Israel’s already high life expectancy is set to increase across all sectors by 2035. In 22 years, the average Jewish female born in Israel may expect to live 89.5 years, as opposed to 86.3 for Arab females, 84.8 for Jewish males, and 81.6 for Arab males.

CBS’s latest population statistics do not account for the foreign population of approximately 202,000 who live in Israel, which includes anyone who entered Israel without a residence permit.

News to Remember

Israel Signs Historic Trade Agreement in Indonesia, World’s Largest Muslim Country

Naftali Bennett, Minister of Economy and the first Israeli Cabinet member to visit Indonesia in more than a dozen years, signed an historic trade agreement there, which he expects will inject a trillion dollars into the world economy.

Bennett, who is also chairman of the Jewish Home party and a reserve major in the Israel Defense Forces, was representing Israel at the recent World Trade Organization conference in Bali. Shimon Peres had visited Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population, in 2000 as Israel’s minister of regional cooperation.

Indonesia on the world map

Bennett’s trip was part and parcel of “an effort on the political, economic and international diplomatic fronts,” which also included visits to the US and Australia.

As minister of the economy, he has been stressing an interest in diversifying economic ties.

“We promoted trade agreements with surprising countries that I can’t publicize yet,” he posted on his Facebook page. “We promoted cooperation agreements in research and development with other countries in the East, as I had promised, so that in the future, we will not be so dependent on the European Union.”

To learn more about the European Union, visit:

http://www.euintheus.org/who-we-are/what-is-the-european-union/  

“I later gave a speech before the 157 trade ministers, including those from Muslim and Arab states with which Israel does not have diplomatic ties. We didn’t notice anyone walk out.”

In fact, he received enthusiastic applause.

“A couple of years ago, our region entered a new era of turbulence,” which could last for decades, he told the WTO audience.

Israel is the “one place that has withstood the storm,” he continued. It has become the “lighthouse” of the region because of its solid foundations: a “strong economy,” a “flourishing democracy,” and “Jewish roots that date back 3,800 years.”

A lighthouse, however, “also projects light,” and it is therefore important that Israel’s economy not only do well, but also do good, he said, stressing the need to “break down barriers” for the sake of global prosperity.

“An open market is in all our interests,” he stated. “It creates peace and makes the world a better place.”

Discussing Israel’s “innovative…lighthouse technology,” he focused on the areas of agriculture and food security, water, cyber-security, medical advancements and alternative energy.

“I anxiously await the day I can sit down and sign free-trade agreements with all of Israel’s neighbors, as well as other Arab and Muslim states in the wider region,” he stated.

Author: Atara Beck, Staff Writer for United With Israel

Israel Defense

Report: Israel mulls destroying missiles transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon

From: jpost.com

By: jpost.com staff

Israel has information on the location of long-range missiles transferred from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon and is considering taking military action to destroy the weapons, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported on Friday.

The paper, quoting an Israeli security source close to Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, reported that the remote-operated missiles, with a range of 1,500 kilometers, were made in China and further developed in Iran.

According to the source, the missiles are being stored by Hezbollah in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.

The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the veracity of the report.

Al-Jarida quoted the Israeli source as saying that Jerusalem views the missiles as posing a danger to the security of Israel and are therefore examining the possibility of destroying the arsenal.

Israel has said repeatedly that while it does not wish to interfere in Syria's civil war, it would act to halt the transfer of chemical arms or "game-changing" weapons to Hezbollah.

"Our policy is to stop, as much as possible, any leaks of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations. We will continue to act to ensure the security interests of the citizens of Israels," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu stressed earlier this year.

According to foreign reports, Israel has struck weaponry earmarked for Hezbollah within Syria's borders on a number of occasions in the past year.

10 Things to Know About Israel

KNOW THESE POINTS ABOUT ISRAEL.

    Use them in your conversations about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

POINT: Israel’s size is 1/6 of 1% of the Arab World.

POINT: Israel has 1,300,000 Israeli -Arab citizens, who are 20% of its population.

Israel also officially recognizes and gives privileges to 15 different religions.

POINT: Palestinian Arabs living in the territories are not citizens of Israel.

POINT: There was no Security Fence along the West Bank prior to the relentless violence in 2002, and since it was built, terrorism has dropped by 85%

POINT: Israel wants peace and is willing to make painful compromises by giving away land as it did for peace with Egypt and Jordan.

Today it is unilaterally withdrawing from Gaza.

POINT: Where is the money? Arafat was given billions of dollars to improve living conditions for the Palestinians. He did not build schools, roads or hospitals. He did not improve housing or sewage systems. Those billions are missing. The 20 million dollars a year promised to Arafat’s widow in Paris comes from the coffers of the PA. Why?

POINT: Peace Must Be Taught The PA must immediately change the message being taught by its clerics who call for the murder of Jews and by its teachers who deny Israel’s right to exist. PA schoolbooks must promote peace, not hatred.

POINT: The PA Charter Must be Changed. It still calls for the destruction of Israel, just as the Hamas Charter does.

POINT: Israel is a re-establishment of the Jewish State Jews have lived in and identified with this land for thousands of years. The Old Testament, New Testament and Koran all refer to this area as the land of the Jews. Even if one is not religious, these old documents are another way to show that Jews are indigenous to Israel and the surrounding area.

POINT: The Definition of Zionism: If you believe that Jews have a right to self- determination and to their own country in the area that is ancient Israel where they have maintained a presence for thousands of years, then you are a Zionist.
Most Jews are Zionists, as are many non-Jews.

Produced by StandWithUs

Who is Iran's New President, Hassan Rouhani???

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani: Moderate Reformer or More of the Same?

From: standwithus.com

In June, 2013 Hassan Rouhani was elected to be the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, replacing the infamous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Many observers around the world praised Rouhani as a moderate and hoped that his election would lead to better relations between Iran and the West. But Rouhani’s words and actions cast doubt over how moderate he really is. In addition, many have ignored the fact that the most powerful official in Iran remains the extremist Ayatollah Khamenei. He is Supreme Leader and still has final say in matters of policy.

Rouhani’s highest ranking ministers are anything but moderate.

1. Rouhani appointed Moustafa Pour-Mohammadi as Justice Minister. Pour-Mohammadi was dubbed “minister of murder” by Human Rights Watch, because he was responsible for Iran’s mass execution of political prisoners in the 1980s.1
2. Rouhani appointed Hossein Dehghan as Defense Minister. Dehghan commanded the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Lebanon in 1983. That year Iran orchestrated brutal terrorist attacks against French and American peacekeepers in Beirut, killing 241 US Marines and 58 French paratroopers.2
3. Rouhani appointed Mohammad Javad Zarif as Foreign Minister. In 2006 Zarif refused to acknowledge that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust when he was asked by a student at Columbia University.3
4. Rouhani’s cabinet has been described as “stacked with security insiders and regime loyalists.”

Rouhani supports the murderous Syrian government and the terrorist group Hezbollah.

1. Shortly after he was elected Rouhani affirmed his support for Hezbollah and the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad. Assad and Hezbollah have killed tens of thousands in Syria, including hundreds with poison gas. Over 100,000 people have died since the Syrian civil war began in 2011.5

Rouhani supported the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown on student protesters in 1999.

1.  In 1999 Iranian students took to the streets to demand greater political and social freedoms. Rouhani spoke in favor of the regime’s decision to “crush [the protesters] mercilessly and monumentally...”6

Rouhani boasted about Iran using negotiations as cover to advance its nuclear program.

1. “While we were talking with the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing [nuclear] equipment in... the facility in Isfahan... in fact, by creating a calm environment, we were able to complete the [nuclear] work in Isfahan.”—Hassan Rouhani, 20047

Extremist Ali Khamenei remains in charge of Iran’s nuclear, foreign, and domestic policy.

1. Religious extremist Ali Khamenei has been Iran’s Supreme Leader since 1989 and remains the most powerful figure in the government. He is responsible for Iran’s countless human rights violations, sponsorship of global terrorism, and violations of the UN’s nuclear non-proliferation treaty.8

1 Fazel Hawramy, “Rouhani Appoints Controversial Justice Minister,” Al-Monitor, August, 20, 2013, at http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/08/rouhani-justice-minister-executions.html
2 Brig. Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira, “Iran’s New Defense Minister: Behind the 1983 Attack on the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks in Beirut,” JCPA, August 11, 2013, at http://jcpa.org/irans-new-defense-minister-behind-the-1983- attack-on-the-u-s-marine-corps-barracks-in-beirut/
3 David Feith, “Iran’s ‘Moderate’ Holocaust Denier,” Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2013, at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323968704578649964138252672.html#articleTabs_video%3D% 26articleTabs%3Darticle
4 The Tower Staff, “Proposed Rouhani Cabinet to Be Voted on This Week, Stacked with Security Insiders and Regime Loyalists,” The Tower, August 12, 2013, at http://www.thetower.org/proposed-rouhani-cabinet-to-be- voted-on-this-week-stacked-with-security-insiders-and-regime-loyalists/
5 AP, “Iran’s Rohani affirms support for Syria and Hezbollah in ‘confronting Zionist regime,’” Haaretz, July 16, 2013, at http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.536095
6 Pejman Yousefzadeh, “Hassan Rouhani: The Immoderate Moderate,” Atlantic Council, August 9, 2013, at http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/hassan-rouhani-immoderate-moderate
7 Elias Groll, “How Iran’s Next President Sees the Country’s Nuclear Program,” Foreign Policy, June 15, 2013, at http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/06/15/how_irans_next_president_sees_the_countrys_nuclear_program 8 Max Fisher, “5 things to know about Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani,” Washington Post, June 17, 2013, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/17/5-things-to-know-about-irans-new- president-hassan-rouhani/; Stop Iran’s Nukes, “Home” 2013, at http://www.stopiransnukes.org/

Words from Netanyahu

Netanyahu: Arabs Must Recognize Jewish State of Israel

From: unitedwithisrael.org

By: Atara Beck

Notwithstanding the profound existential challenges facing the Jewish state and the free world and a seeming lack of will on the part of most Western nations to combat these threats, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu concluded his address at the “Israel Towards 2020 Conference” at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University with hope and determination.

“I believe in the power of the people of Israel and I believe in the power of the State of Israel,” Netanyahu declared, noting the country’s “wondrous” achievements in all fields since its establishment.

While voicing hope that peace and prosperity will come to the entire region, he warned his audience against taking Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s friendly words at face value and urged them to examine the facts behind the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking
at the Begin Sadat center in Bar Ilan University,
Tel Aviv. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom GPO

“Iran’s goal is to take over the entire Middle East and beyond, and to destroy the State of Israel. This is not speculation; this is their goal,” the Israeli leader stated.

Why does Rouhani “insist on centrifuges to enrich uranium and on plutonium reactors?  Neither of these things is necessary to produce peaceful nuclear energy.

There is no need for them; however they are the essential components for producing fissile material for nuclear weapons…. Seventeen countries, including some of the leading countries in the world…produce nuclear energy without centrifuges, without plutonium reactors….

“As long as Iran does not dismantle its centrifuges and plutonium reactors, the sanctions must not be eased at all,” the Israeli leader asserted. “On the contrary, they should be increased….  If their intentions are peaceful, they will agree.  If they are not peaceful, they will not agree.  But perhaps the formula should be put simply as follows: they dismantle, they receive; they don’t dismantle, they don’t receive.”

The second issue Netanyahu presented was the false notion that the so-called “occupation” of territories of Judea and Samaria is the main obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He pointed to terrorist attacks against the Jewish population decades before the establishment of the State of Israel, including massacres in areas such as Tel Aviv.

“There were no settlements for 46 years, from 1921 to 1967, nearly half a century,” he said. “We were excoriated by the Arab public unrelated to settlements, unrelated to what is presented as the historic heart of the struggle.”

Netanyahu presented historical evidence of the “readiness to cooperate with Germany in any way” on the part of Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini, the “undisputed leader of the Palestinian national movement in the first half of the 20th century.”

Al-Husseini, Netanyahu said, “was the living spirit” behind attacks against Jews from 1921 throughout the Second World War; according to historical records, he recruited Muslim fighters to join the ranks of the S.S. in the Balkans and broadcasted propaganda for the Nazis.

“I mention these things here because these roots, this poisonous tumor, must be uprooted,” Netanyahu stated. “The Mufti is still an admired figure in the Palestinian national movement.  Go look at websites, go to schools; look at schoolbooks. This…is the root of the conflict….

“In order for the current process to be significant, in order for it to have a real chance for success, it is essential that we finally hear from the Palestinian leadership that it recognizes the right of the Jewish people to its own country, the State of Israel…..in the land of their ancestors.”

Israel and America

ISRAEL CREATES JOBS IN AMERICA

From:StandWithUs.com

     1. U.S. aid to Israel creates jobs in America

• - Israel is pledged to spend nearly 75 percent of the military aid it receives from the U.S. (roughly $2.25 billion) on products manufactured across America. 
  
• - This spending directly supports over 20,000 jobs and indirectly supports thousands of other jobs according to recent estimates.
  
• - More than 1,000 companies in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have signed contracts worth billions of dollars through the U.S. aid to Israel program.
  
  2. Israeli investments create jobs in America
  

• - Israel is one of America’s top 20 suppliers of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). All FDI in the U.S. supports over 5.6 million jobs. 
  
• - Israeli companies invested more than $57 billion in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010. 
  
• - In 2010 Israeli companies invested $7.2 billion in the U.S., nearly 4 percent of total U.S. FDI that year.
  
• - Many Israeli companies, including Given Imaging, Amdocs, Netafim, and BrightSource, have opened offices across the U.S.
  
• - The U.S. passed new visa legislation in June 2012 to further encourage Israelis to invest in America and create even more jobs.
  
  3. U.S.-Israel cooperation creates jobs in America
  

• - The Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD), and Binational Agricultural Research and Development Foundation (BARD) are joint projects of the U.S. and Israeli governments.
  
• - Their goal is to stimulate, promote, and support cooperation between American and Israeli businesses and scientists.
  
• - These organizations have helped create anywhere between 18,000 and 200,000 jobs in the U.S. depending on the estimates used.
  
  4. Israel helps train American innovators and job creators
  
  - Cornell University and Israel’s Technion have joined forces to create the Technion-Cornell Innovation Institute in New York City. This new university will train the next generation of American leaders in technology and innovation.