Below is your weekly edition of E-News recapping key developments impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Iranian Hackers Target Presidential Campaigns in Runup to 2020 Election
Iranians are using cyberattacks to disrupt presidential campaigns in the United States, ahead of the 2020 election. Microsoft said on Friday that Iranian hackers, with apparent government backing, had made more than 2,700 attempts to identify the email accounts of current and former United States government officials, journalists covering political campaigns, and other accounts associated with a presidential campaign. For weeks, officials from the F.B.I., the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency have said they are particularly concerned about Iranian-backed attacks.
Israel and Gulf States Working on ‘Historic Pact’ to End Conflict Between Them
Israel is reportedly negotiating with several Gulf states on a “non-aggression pact” between them as they face off against an increasingly emboldened Iran. The deal, which Israel’s Channel 12 News described as potentially “historic,” aims to put an end to the state of conflict between the Gulf states and Israel, and reportedly provides for friendly relations, cooperation in a variety of fields, and no war or incitement against each other. Advancing the Israeli initiative, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz met on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last month with several foreign ministers from Arab Gulf states, as reported Saturday night.
Palestinian Authority Removes Peace Agreements from Schoolbooks, Encourages Incitement and Intolerance
The Palestinian Authority has removed any mention of past agreements with Israel from their school textbooks except for partial details of the Oslo Accords, according to a new report by Israel’s Yedioth Aharonot. The new curriculum, which has been progressively implemented over the past three years, is aimed at first through 12th grades in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, east Jerusalem and refugee camps. Unlike previous editions, the new textbooks make no mention of the historical Jewish presence in Israel and mention every quarter in Jerusalem's Old City—except the Jewish Quarter. The portions of the textbooks that mention the Oslo Accords only selectively cover the subject and demonize Israel and peace, while encouraging violence and hatred.
Clean Up Your Indoor Air and Grow Veggies with Green Walls
Israeli startup Vertical Field has created sensor-controlled indoor and outdoor “green walls.” High levels of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in offices, classrooms, homes, trains and planes could affect an individual’s cognitive performance. In more serious cases, high CO2 levels may trigger inflammation, kidney calcification and bone demineralization. Green walls transform CO2 into oxygen via photosynthesis. Installing a Vertical Field living biofilter can remove about 95 percent of the pollutants in a building, according to the startup. When the CO2 level goes above a certain threshold, Vertical Field can “manipulate the plants in an active way,” Guy Elitzur, Vertical Field’s CEO, says, by adding precise amounts of water, fertilizer and other nutrients through drip irrigation into the planters’
soil in order to increase absorption of CO2 and other allergens.
