Asia Is Becoming Israel’s New Frontier
Forbes reports that Israel’s rapid transition into an entrepreneurial high-tech superpower has aroused the interest of such Asian countries as India, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Scientifically, Israel has become very attractive to the Asian high-tech industry. Israel offers both commercial and military/industrial opportunities that whet the Asian appetite. In addition, Israel already enjoys extensive trade with Japan and Vietnam and has developed strong relations with Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, further adding to its economic attractiveness. With some $8 billion in exports already in place with China and $5 billion with India, Asia is gaining tremendous importance for Israel in the 21st century.
Rededicated Burial Site Among ‘Beautiful Vestiges’ of Cape Verde’s Jewish Presence
(JNS)–There are just ten Jewish graves at the Jewish burial site in the Cape Verde, capital of Praia, and they are surrounded by a sea of tombstones in a Christian cemetery. But those tengraves are reminders of the Jews who contributed to the growth of Cape Verde and whose descendants remain prominent in the ten-island, predominately Catholic-African archipelago. The Jewish burial site was rededicated in early May, thanks to the efforts of the Cape Verde Jewish Heritage Project, Inc. (CVJHP). “By preserving the cemeteries, the Jewish Heritage Project is preserving part of our history and culture,” says Maria de Fatima Lima de Veiga, Cape Verde’s ambassador to the U.S.
King Abdullah Calls for an End to Settlement Activity and Pushes for Peace
Jordan —At the opening session of the World Economic Forum in Jordan last week, King Abdullah II, whose peace treaty with Israel has held solid since 1994, said that the war between the Israelis and Arabs in the Middle East has allowed extremism to “grow fat.” Pointing to the Peace Plan put forth by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States, he noted that the initiative offers the two-state solution to ‘67 borders with land swaps and recognizes the State of Israel—and demanded that in order to make peace possible, settlement activity must stop. That same weekend, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, said that settlements should not “stand in the way of talks that could finally set borders as part of a peace agreement.” Such an agreement, he said would resolve the issues because a treaty would finally set the borders for two states.
At the same forum, President Mahmoud Abbas echoed the King’s plea to Israel, pointing to the window of opportunity opened by the Obama administration, he said, “I invite the Israelis to make peace a reality on the ground.” His goals are to unite the Palestinians, stop settlement activity and get Palestinians out of Israeli prisons. Saeb Erakat, the chief negotiator for the Palestinians said that those who have the most to lose from failure of peace talks would be the Palestinians. He told reporters at the Economic Forum: “The key ingredient here: Do we have an Israeli government that accepts two states? Every time the Israeli government is given a chance between settlements or peace, it has chosen settlements,” he said. “That’s what will derail the efforts — the continuation of settlement activities and the rejection of the Israeli government of a two state solution.”
Flying Tel Aviv to Krakow Irish Airline Considers Special Route
London—With as many as 25,000 Israeli teens a year headed to Auschwitz on March of the Living, Ryan Air, the low-cost Irish airline company, is exploring the possibility of setting up a route from Tel Aviv to Krakow. Krakow is the closest major city to Auschwitz. “It seems that every Israeli child has to go to Poland to go and see Auschwitz. We can help them with that,” he said Howard Millar, deputy chief executive of the company, at a news conference last week.
Israeli parents pay about $1,500 per student, with some $580 going to cover flight costs. In 2010, the ministry spent approximately $30 million on trips to Poland. According to Israel’s education ministry, the ministry uses Israeli airliners as well as LOT, the Polish carrier.
Ryan Air’s announcement Monday came one month after Israel’s government decided to allow new flights to Europe.
Saudis Worry About Nuclear Iran and Territorial Grabs
(from combined services)
Saudi officials have detained another 10 suspects in an Iran-linked spy investigation that Riyadh announced in March. Authorities had arrested 18 people, and later released one. The announcement comes days after Bahrain blasted Tehran for “flagrant interference.” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussain Amir-Abdollahian had demanded that Manama apologize for a police search of the house of Shiite scholar Eisa Qassim and threatened Bahrain with “an unexpected reaction” if such an apology was not forthcoming. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) subsequently echoed Bahrain’s condemnation of Amir-Abdollahian›s comments. The incidents will be read against deepening Arab concerns that Iranian nuclear weapons acquisition will provide Tehran with the immunity to press its regional territorial claims, which encompass the entire nation of Bahrain, and to undermine stability in neighboring Sunni countries, which the GCC now regularly criticizes Iran for attempting. Wikileaks cables show that Saudi officials privately urged the U.S. to attack Iran as far back as 2010, and two years later the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States publicly stated that the benefits to bombing Iran outweighed the costs.
The Heart of Hezbollah in Beirut Takes Rocket Hits
Beirut—Agence France Press reports that last Sunday, two rockets fired from Aitat in the Mt. Lebanon region smashed into Al-Shayya, a Hezbollah stronghold in the city’s southern suburbs—about eight miles away. The Grad rockets (which could be Russian originals or Iranian copies) hit the area shortly after Hezbollah vowed to fight for Assad in Syria until he is victorious. The first rocket hit a car dealership, where four workers were injured. An AFP journalist said the second rocket hit an apartment block and caused widespread damage but no casualties.
The Lebanese Army said it found two abandoned rocket launchers in woods near Aitat.
Hour earlier, Hassan Nasrallah, head of Hezbollah, declared: “I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one [in Syria].” He made the statement while celebrating the 13th anniversary of Israel’s withdrawal from Southern Lebanon.
Lebanese president, Michel Sleiman, said the attack’s perpetrators were “terrorists and vandals who do not want peace and stability for Lebanon and the Lebanese.”
Vatican Art Exhibit Features Torah Theme
ROME—JTA reports that “Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation,” a triptych, if you will, of the special art show in the Vatican’s pavilion at the 55th Beinnale, is inspired by the first 11 chapters of the Torah according to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, who presented the concept at news conference last week. Three artists have been chosen to participate—Studio Azzurro in Milan, Czech photographer Josef Koudelka and the Australian artist, Lawrence Carroll. “Genesis,” Ravasi said, “is fundamental for culture and for Church tradition…. The first eleven chapters have been chosen, as they are dedicated to the mystery of man’s origins, the introduction of evil into history, and our hope and future projects after the devastation symbolically represented by the Flood.”
