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Mossad Chief: Iran ‘Closer Than Ever Before’ to Israel’s borders The head of the Mossad intelligence service warned recently that Iran, through its proxies, is operating closer “than ever before” to Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria, though he also said Israel was operating deep in enemy territory. Spy chief Yossi Cohen said that in addition to arming the terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas, the Islamic Republic was working to develop its own nuclear capabilities with the goal of weaponizing them. click Israel Matters! 117 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Venezuelan Jews Fleeing Turmoil Get ‘Lifeline’ in Israel As the political and economic situation in Venezuela becomes increasingly unstable, Jews are fleeing the South American nation, with many choosing to immigrate to Israel. Conditions in Venezuela began deteriorating in 2013 following the death of the country’s former president, Hugo Chavez, and the ascension of his chosen successor Nicolas Maduro, a former bus driver. click Israel Matters! 116 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

IDF Discloses Scope of Israeli Aid to Syrians Affected by War Israel has for the past year treated hundreds of Syrians and sent hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid in a new project dubbed “Operation Good Neighbor,” the IDF recently disclosed. Begun in June 2016, the initiative was launched with the goal of increasing civilian aid for Syrians while maintaining the principle of non-involvement in the Syrian civil war. More than 110 new aid operations have taken place since August 2016 as part of the initiative. click Israel Matters! 115 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Israel is in Love with its Homegrown Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot For a country that takes pride in even the smallest successes of its international celebrities, the debut of Wonder Woman has sparked an Israeli lovefest for home-grown hero. A huge billboard overlooking Tel Aviv’s main highway is tagged with a “we love you” greeting, her Hebrew-accented appearances in the international media are reported daily and throngs of fans cheer wildly on seeing her on the big screen. Even Lebanon’s ban of the film hasn’t dampened the mood in Israel, where Gadot’s superhero status has been embraced as a national treasure. click Israel Matters! 114 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Israel Seeks to Identify All Jewish Holocaust Victims Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their accomplices during World War Two. In many cases, entire towns’ Jewish populations were wiped out, with no survivors to bear witness - part of the Nazis’ plan for the total annihilation of European Jewry. Since 1954, Israel’s Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, has been working to re-cover the names of all the victims, and to date has managed to identify some 4.7 million. “Every name is very important to us,” says Dr Alexander Avram, director of Yad Vashem’s Hall of Names and the Central Database of Holocaust Victims’ Names. “Every new name we can add to our database is a victory against the Nazis, against the intent of the Nazis to wipe out the Jewish people. Every new name is a small victory against oblivion.” click Israel Matters! 113 to read the complete…

Israel’s Efficient, High-tech Dairy Industry is an Unsung ‘Start-up Nation’ Story Amid all the buzz around Israel’s “start-up nation,” including Intel’s recent $15 billion acquisition of Mobileye, a lesser-known phenomenon is the high-tech and hyper-efficient Israeli dairy industry. The combination of Israelis’ high demand for dairy products and the Jewish state’s well-documented ingenuity makes the cutting-edge dairy industry a natural development in what the Bible describes as a “land flowing with milk and honey.” click Israel Matters! 112 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

UN Ambassador Nikki Haley Rips Security Council’s ‘Breathtaking’ Anti-Israel Bias United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley issued a scathing criticism of the UN Security Council over its “anti-Israel” bias after emerging from her first regular monthly meeting at the international body. “I have to admit; it was a bit strange,” Haley said of the council’s agenda. See and hear her speech at Nikki Haley click Israel Matters! 111 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Trump, Netanyahu Hold First Summit On Feb. 15th, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held their first meeting of the Trump presidency. The prime minister was the first Middle East leader to visit the White House during the Trump Administration. click Israel Matters! 110 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

U.S. Abstains From UN Vote Criticizing Israeli Settlements On December 23, 2016, the Obama administration abstained from voting on UN Security Council resolution 2334 that was critical of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, drawing accusations from the Israeli government that Washington had abandoned its closest Middle East ally and dealt a blow to the chances of peace talks with the Palestinians. click Israel Matters! 109 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.

Netanyahu: Trump Feels ‘Very Warmly’ About Israel, Jews US President-elect Donald Trump feels “very warmly” about Israel and the Jewish people, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes. In an excerpt from the interview, the Israeli leader said: “I know Donald Trump. I know him very well … his support for Israel is clear. He feels very warmly about the Jewish state, about the Jewish people and about Jewish people. There’s no question about that.”Asked if he expected a better relationship with Washington after the tumultuous years of Barack Obama’s administration, Netanyahu admitted that he had had differences of opinion with Obama, particularly on the US-led nuclear accord with Iran. But he insisted that the matter was never personal. click Israel Matters! 108 to read the complete issue. Will open with the free Adobe Reader or equal.