Israel Matters!

At U.N., Netanyahu Warns of Iranian Nuclear ThreatIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to shred the credibility of Iran’s new president, using his annual speech at the United Nations to cast the Iranian as a man who could not be trusted and to press the international community to keep up sanctions to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb. Clearly concerned that the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, had succeeded in portraying himself as a friendly and pragmatic leader during his visit to New York, Mr. Netanyahu focused the majority of his 33-minute address on Mr. Rouhani. He described Mr. Rouhani as a beguiling figure who used reassuring words to mask malevolent intentions.click Israel Matters! 74 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Kerry Reassures Israel on Deal to Rid Syria of Chemical WeaponsU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured Israel a U.S.-Russian deal to remove Syria’s chemical weapons would be effective, addressing concern that a lack of resolve would embolden Iran in its nuclear drive. “We cannot have hollow words in the conduct of international affairs, because that affects all other issues, whether Iran or North Korea or others,” Kerry said after talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.click Israel Matters! 73 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Netanyahu: “Europe Wants to Erect New Berlin Wall in the Middle of Jerusalem”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently held a series of talks with European leaders and European Union officials to protest, and hopefully defer, the EU’s decision to impose a de facto funding ban on Israeli institutions operating beyond the pre-1967 borders, which includes Judea and Samaria, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.click Israel Matters! 72b to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Waze Deal Primes Israel’s “Silicon Wadi” for Wave of InvestmentGoogle has acquired the mobile map developer Waze Inc. in one of the most lucrative outcomes for an Israeli technology startup. The purchase is poised to fuel a wave of investment and entrepreneurship in the country. Waze was bought for about $1.1 billion, making it one of a handful of companies with roots in Israel to fetch more than $1 billion. The company has offices in Ra’anana, Israel, where it was founded, and Palo Alto, California.click Israel Matters! 71 to read the complete issue.

Physicist Stephen Hawking Joins Academic Boycott Against IsraelStephen W. Hawking, the physicist and cosmologist, has pulled out of a highprofile conference to be held in Israel during June in order to support an academic boycott of Israel. Hawking, who is also a cosmologist, astronomer, and mathematician, is the author of books including the best-seller, “A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes.”click Israel Matters! 70 to read the complete issue.

Obama in Israel: Jewish State Has Right to ExistWrapping up his three-day visit to Israel, President Obama paid respects to its heroes and to victims of the Holocaust, solemnly reaffirm-ing the Jewish state’s right to exist. Accompanied by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres, Obama laid wreaths at the graves of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism who died in 1904 before realizing his dream of a Jewish homeland, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.The president also toured the Yad Vashem Holocaust [photo] memorial, declaring after that the memorial illustrates the depravity to which man can sink but also serves as a reminder of the “righteous among nations who refused to be bystanders.”click Israel Matters! 69 to read the complete issue.

Biden Reassures AIPAC on IranVice President Joe Biden tried to end any questions pro-Israel activists have about President Barack Obama’s commitment to do-ing whatever is necessary to block Iran’s nuclear program.Obama’s policy “is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nucle-ar weapon. Period. End of discussion,” Biden told at-tendees at the recent American-Israel Public Affairs Council annu-al conference in Washington. “Prevent — not contain — prevent,” Biden added emphatically. “Big nations can’t bluff and presidents of the United States cannot and do not bluff and President Barack Obama is not bluffing,” Biden declared, in what he said was a pre-view of remarks Obama will make during his planned trip to Israel. “We are not looking for war [but] all options, including military force, are on the table,” Biden said.click Israel Matters! 68 to read the complete issue.

Obama to Visit Israel in SpringPresident Barack Obama plans to visit Israel, the West Bank and Jordan this spring, the White House has announced, raising the prospects of a new U.S. push to restart long-stalled Israel-Palestinian peace efforts.Obama’s trip, his first to Israel since taking office, signaled that he intends to make the volatile Middle East - where Iran remains locked in a nuclear standoff with the West and Syria is caught up in a bloody civil war - a top priority in his second term.click Israel Matters! 67 to read the complete issue.

Netanyahu to US Senators: Priority is IranPrime Minister Benjamin Netanya-hu told a group of visiting US Sena-tors during January that if reelect-ed he will work to stop Iran’s illicit nuclear march. “My priority, if I’m elected for a next term as prime minister, will be first to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” he told the group, which included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY, photo at left). “I think that was and remains the highest priority for both our countries. I appreciate the American support and your support for that end.”click Israel Matters! 66 to read the complete issue.

Operation Pillar of Defense: Lessons LearnedAs Israel and Hamas mostly stilled their guns after reaching a cease-fire agreement, ending eight days of intense bombardment, both sides took home some new lessons about their foes.click Israel Matters! 65 to read the complete issue.