Below is your weekly edition of E-News recapping key developments impacting the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Iron Dome Intercepts Four Rockets Launched From Syria
Four rockets were launched from Syria toward northern Israel on Tuesday setting off air-raid sirens. According to the IDF, all four rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome and there was no damage. The rockets were likely fired from a center near Damascus by Iranian elements. Israel has said that Iran maintains military bases in Syria and Israeli officials have recently warned that Tehran is planning to launch attacks against it from Syria. In response to rockets fired at Israel by an Iranian force in Syria this week, the IDF completed strikes on numerous military targets in Syria belonging to the Iranian Quds Force. International Spokesperson for the IDF, Jonathan Conricus, said in a statement that Israel is “prepared to operate as necessary to defend Israel, and the region, against
Iranian entrenchment.”
Violent protests over gasoline prices hiking have swept across 100 cities and towns in Iran. The protests were sparked by President Hassan Rouhani’s decision to raise government-set gasoline prices and angry crowds are now calling for the ouster of the regime. The scale of the unrest that began on Friday remains unclear because authorities have shut down the internet for 80 million citizens. Prior to the internet shutdown, videos showed people abandoning their cars on major highways and marching on city centers. Demonstrations turned into riots as people started to set fire to gas stations, attacked banks and robbed stores. Over 106 people have died as a result of the violent protests.
On Nov. 15, the U.N. renewed the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East’s (UNRWA) mandate, an agency that is seriously flawed in its functionality. Rather than work to resettle refugees, UNRWA sustains them in unfortunate conditions while holding out the promise that they will eventually be able to return to Israel. In contrast to international standards, UNRWA permits refugee status to be transmitted to descendants and defines refugees to include those who have obtained citizenship in other countries. UNRWA has also repeatedly demonstrated its inability to prevent terrorist organizations like Hamas from operating in its facilities or placing their personnel on its payroll.
For two weeks, the Israeli Air Force hosted the fourth bi-annual Blue Flag aerial exercise. The exercise included advanced drills with five international air crews participating, and F-35 stealth fighter jets taking part for the first time. An estimated 800 technical and administrative personnel from different air forces took part in the drill. Along with dozens of Israeli aircraft, 40 aircraft from the United States, Greece, Germany and Italy took part in the drill.
10 Promising Developments That Can Help Alzheimer’s Patients
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. It’s a fitting time to look at the latest Israeli advances in preventing, diagnosing and treating the progressive and incurable brain disorder. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of the 9.9 million new cases of dementia diagnosed each year worldwide. The disease primarily strikes the elderly population, affecting 30 percent of those over age of 85.
