New intelligence shows Iran closer than ever to a bomb
(JNS.org) The UN atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has received new and significant intelligence over the past month indicating that Iran is closer than ever to having the ability to build a nuclear weapon, The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing diplomatic sources. The sources say the intelligence, gathered from the U.S., Israel and at least two other Western countries, shows that Iran has advanced its work on calculating the destructive power of an atomic warhead through a series of computer models that it ran sometime within the past three years. Nuclear experts state that computer modeling is a key component of an advanced weapons program.
The latest intelligence may help bolster Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s case for stronger “red lines” to be set for Iran.

Hamas-Egypt ties continue to grow
(JNS.org) Egypt has agreed to allow Hamas to open a diplomatic mission in Cairo, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, which cited a report in Al-Hayat. The latest understanding between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood-controlled Egypt reflects the growing cooperation between the two Islamist groups. According to the report, Hamas and Egypt have reached various security understandings such as Hamas handing over the terrorists involved in the Rafah attack that killed 16 Egyptians last month. The two sides will also discuss the possibility of opening a free trade zone at an upcoming meeting.
In a recent op-ed in The New Republic, Middle East expert Jonathan Schanzer viewed the growing ties with Egypt as part of an effort by Hamas to eventually declare independence for Gaza. “It’s no secret that Hamas, has long considered exchanging its underground smuggling tunnels to Egypt for a policy of above-board trade. What has only recently begun to register is that Hamas may be contemplating a bolder political gambit still: Cutting its financial ties to both Israel and the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank, in preparations for declaring full independence on behalf of Gaza,” Schanzer wrote.

NY conference highlights reliability of investing in Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Israel is a solid investment, despite the many challenges it faces, Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told the “Innovate. Invest. Israel.” conference in New York on Monday, Sept. 10. The one-day conference, organized by the Israeli Finance Ministry, together with The Wall Street Journal,
Barrons and the Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry, hosted dozens of business leaders and economists from across the U.S. and Israel. The conference brought together world economic decision makers, officials of firms invested in Israel, private equity owners and venture capitalists, as well as global financial institutes and chief analysts. Among the keynote speakers were News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch, Citigroup Inc. Vice Chairman Lewis B. Kaden, Better Place founder Shai Agassi, and Nobel Prize laureate economist Daniel Kahneman.
Steinitz told the conference that Israel was known as a country that bounces back quickly after crises, and outlined the reasons it was a good investment: “First of all, we have the best human capital—Israelis always think outside the box, and therefore Israel is first in the world in start-ups per capita. Government incentives—corporate taxes for exports for firms in the Tel Aviv region are 12 percent and in the periphery they might be as low as 5 percent, which is the lowest tax rate in the modern world. The government constantly provides benefits to encourage exports. In addition, the Israeli economy keeps its macro-economic framework stable, which generates more investments in the country.”

French doctor: Foreign Islamists among Syrian rebels
(JNS.org) After returning from treating patients in Aleppo, Syria, Jacques Beres, co-founder of the medical charity group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), said that at least half the people he treated were foreign fighters who are intent on waging holy war and establishing an Islamist state. “It’s really something strange to see. They are directly saying that they aren’t interested in Bashar al-Assad’s fall, but are thinking about how to take power afterwards and set up an Islamic state with sharia law to become part of the world Emirate,” the doctor said, according to Reuters. Additionally, according to the doctor, some of the fighters included French citizens who said they were inspired by Mohammed Merah — the al Qaida-linked terrorist who carried out the attack on the Ozar HaTorah Jewish Day School in Toulouse in March, killing a rabbi and three Jewish children. Many Western analysts have begun to suspect that jihadist fighters, including Iraq war veterans, are playing an increasing role in the Syrian conflict.

Canada breaks ties with Iran
(JNS.org) The Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry announced on Sept. 7 that it has suspended diplomatic ties with Iran and is expelling Iranian diplomats from Canada, CBC News reported. Canada also added Iran, and later Syria, to the state sponsors of terrorism list under the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which allows Canadians affected by terrorism to sue the offending states. “Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today,” Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said. Commenting on Canada’s actions, Israeli President Shimon Peres said the country “has proven once again that morals come before pragmatism.” Canada’s concerns for Iranian human rights abuses, nuclear non-proliferation and threats against Israel have limited Canadian diplomatic engagement with Islamic Republic.

Chabad on the move in Manhattan
(JNS.org) Chabad-Lubavitch made one of the largest real estate moves in its history last week when it purchased a 12-story, 60,000-square-foot building in Midtown Manhattan for $42 million, the organization said. “This presents enormous opportunities and an awesome responsibility to ensure that the multitudes in the heart of the city are cared for and inspired,” said Rabbi Joshua Metzger on Chabad’s website. Chabad has occupied the second floor of the building located on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street for 16 years. It has served as the headquarters of Chabad’s rapidly growing operations in Manhattan. Chabad said it plans to fill the building’s vacant space quickly.

Austrian antisemitism on the rise
(JNS.org) Austrian Jewish leaders said that antisemitism is on the rise in the country after neo-Nazi soccer fans allegedly insulted a rabbi. The fans shouted, “Jews out!” and made the Hitler salute, Reuters reported. Police ignored the abuse, the rabbi said, with one officer telling him, “Come on, it’s only soccer.” The incident reportedly took place before a match between Rapid Vienna and the Greek team PAOK last week. Oskar Deutsch, head of Austria’s Jewish community, noted that far-right Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache also recently posted a thinly veiled antisemitic cartoon on his Facebook page. “Parallels between the feeble reactions from politicians and the public to Strache’s anti-Semitic caricature and this event … are clear to me, and they lead to a lowering of the inhibition threshold for antisemitic aberrations,” Deutsch said.

IDF strikes Palestinians planning to launch rockets at Israel
(JNS.org) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) prevented more rocket attacks on Israel on Wednesday and Thursday by striking Palestinians making preparations to fire at the Jewish state. Six Palestinians were killed in the preventative attack. “We identified an accurate strike,” the IDF spokesperson said, according to the Jerusalem Post.  Several rockets were already fired at Israel last week, and one home in the town of Sderot was damaged. The IDF said it “will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians, and will operate against anyone who uses terror against the State of Israel,” adding that Hamas “is solely responsible for any terrorist activity emanating from the Gaza Strip.”

Iron Dome developers donate prize money
(JNS.org) Developers of the Iron Dome missile defense system, who on Monday were awarded the Israel Defense Prize for 2012, have donated the prize money to a trauma rehabilitation center in Israel’s south, Israel Hayom reported. The prize, worth thousands of shekels, was given to the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council’s Resilience Center, which provides therapy for trauma victims, including those suffering from the constant rockets fired into the south from the Gaza Strip.“We owe this prize to residents of the south,” the head of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ Air-to-Air and Air Defense Directorate, Yossi Druker, said at Wednesday’s ceremony marking the donation.

Raising Israeli astronauts
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Science and technology education for Israeli students in peripheral areas is about to get a huge boost. The Negev and Galilee Development Ministry, along with World ORT’s “Kadima Mada” science and technology education program, is launching a new NIS 15 million ($3.7 million) program in Kiryat Gat, Nazareth, Safed, Dimona and Nahariya to expand students’ knowledge in the areas of space and astronomy, physics, medicine, genetics and the arts. Leading research institutions and industrial companies, such as the Weizmann Institute of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion University, Machon Lev-Jerusalem College of Technology, Micron Industries and others, have contributed to the new project. They hope that the program will enable students in the country’s periphery to study at institutions of higher learning, obtain research positions and work in knowledge-based industries. The project is open to all students, not just advanced or excelling students; those with learning disabilities will also be included.
Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, died in NASA’s fatal 2003 Columbia mission.