Page 5 - Israel

Israeli company Playtika likely to layoff about 600 employees worldwide

Israeli mobile games company Playtika will cut 12 to 15 per cent of its workforce. About 600 employees worldwide will be dismissed including 180 in Israel, the media reported

Jewish Americans fear collision with emerging far-right Israeli government

Israel's ties to the Jewish American community, one of its closest and most important allies, are about to be put to the test, with Israel's emerging far-right government on a collision course with Jews in the United States. Major Jewish American organisations, traditionally a bedrock of support for Israel, have expressed alarm over the far-right character of the presumptive government led by conservative Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Given American Jews' predominantly liberal political views and affinity for the Democratic Party, these misgivings could have a ripple effect in Washington and further widen what has become a partisan divide over support for Israel. This is a very significant crossroads, said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, a liberal, pro-Israel group in Washington. The potential for specific actions that could be taken by this government, these are the moments when the relationship between the bulk of American Jews and the state of Israel begins to really

Blinken vows US support for Israel despite unease over govt

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the US will not shrink from its unwavering support for Israel despite stark differences with Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu and concerns the Biden administration may have about potential members of his incoming right-wing government. Speaking to a left-leaning group that some on the right accuse of being too sympathetic to the Palestinians and Iran, Blinken said the United States will remain a stalwart friend of Israel even as it pursues goals that Netanyahu has opposed, including a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a restoration of the languishing 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The US-Israel partnership and all that it's produced for the people of our nations and the world has always been underwritten by the United States ironclad commitment to Israel's security, a commitment that has never been stronger than it is today, he said. Blinken said the Biden administration would engage with Netanyahu's governme

India-Israel natural allies, share deep resonance of arts-culture: Herzog

India and Israel are natural allies who are united by a fundamental commitment to the democratic ideals upon which they were founded, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said, as he made a rare appearance at an exhibition here featuring Indian deities and temple rituals. Herzog attended a cultural event at the Israel Museum on Thursday evening to inaugurate the new exhibition titled 'Body of Faith: Sculpture from the National Museum of India.' He called the exhibition a byproduct of the growing friendship between the two countries. "India and Israel are natural allies, united by a fundamental commitment to the democratic ideals upon which both our nations were founded. Yet this evening transcends politics, commerce even diplomacy," he said. "This evening shines a light on our shared humanity while paying tribute to the rich history and cultural legacy of the Indian people," Herzog, who made a rare appearance because of "his love for India", said. "This exhibition, literally 'spiri

Israel says successfully intercepted cruise missile from sea in test

Israel has announced its navy successfully launched a long-range missile from a warship to intercept a cruise missile in a test

Israeli ultra-orthodox army unit linked to American's death exits West Bank

The Israeli military said on Wednesday it is temporarily removing a unit of ultra-Orthodox soldiers out of the occupied West Bank after a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man died following an arrest by its soldiers early this year. The army said the Netzah Yehuda Battalion will be moved to the Golan Heights, along Israel's northern front with Syria, by the end of the year. The announcement made no mention of the death of Omar Assad, who died after being detained, handcuffed and blindfolded by Israeli soldiers. Instead, it said the decision was made out of a desire to diversify their operational deployment in multiple areas, in addition to accumulating more operational experience. It said the unit would return to the West Bank at the end of next year. Netzah Yehuda, or Judea Forever, is a special unit for ultra-Orthodox Jewish soldiers. The unit was formed to encourage religious men, who often receive special exemptions from compulsory military service, to join the army. But its ..

Wipro Lighting enters into exclusive partnership with Aura Air

Wipro Lighting has entered into an all-India exclusive partnership with Israel-based public company Aura Air, which makes air purifiers, the company said on Wednesday. The arrangement will provide Wipro Lighting exclusive access to all enterprise offerings of Aura Air for India geography, the company said in a statement. "In the post-pandemic scenario, the awareness and demand for better indoor air quality has seen an uptick in corporate and business spaces. We intend to provide these services to our existing institutional clients with exclusive access to all enterprise offerings of Aura Air for the Indian geography. We are confident in the technology and expertise Aura will bring to the table," Wipro Lighting, Vice President, and Business Head for Commercial & Institutional Business, Anuj Dhir said. Through this partnership with Aura Air, Wipro Lighting will be adding the indoor air quality management business to their portfolio. "Aura Air technology is extremely successful in ...

Nadav Lapid: Israel's 'philosophical' filmmaker who has stirred up a storm

Reacting to the backlash for his remarks about The Kashmir Files, Lapid says making bad films is not a crime, but the film is 'crude, manipulative and violent'

Israeli director under fire for comments on The Kashmir Files'

Israeli director and IFFI international jury chairperson Nadav Lapid was at the centre of furious debate on Tuesday for his comments on The Kashmir Files with Israel's ambassador saying he abused India's invitation and jury members distancing themselves from his views. As controversy grew, a day after the director described the The Kashmir Files as "propaganda" and vulgar, BJP leaders, actors such as Anupam Kher and Ranvir Shorey and the film's director Vivek Agnihotri also joined the discourse against him. There were some voices, including from the Congress and some in the film fraternity, who spoke up his defence. Lapid's surprise comments on the much discussed film came at the closing ceremony of the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival of India on Monday attended by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur as well as actors Akshay Kumar and Asha Parekh. Agnihotri has compared The Kashmir Files, which portrays the exodus of Kashmir Pandits from the Valley d

Health ministry: Israeli fire kills Palestinian in West Bank

A Palestinian was killed and 11 were wounded by Israeli fire in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that clashes erupted between Israeli forces and residents of north Hebron city on Monday evening. The Israeli military said soldiers shot at Palestinians who hurled rocks and improvised explosive devices at the forces who were operating in the town. It said the Palestinians also shot at the troops, and two army vehicles got stuck due to mechanical issues. The ministry said nine Palestinians were wounded by live fire and two others suffered breathing problems from tear gas. One of the wounded succumbed early Tuesday, the ministry said, without identifying him. Tensions between Israelis and Palestinians have been surging for months amid nightly Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank prompted by a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people in the spring. More than 138 Palestinians

Second Israeli, wounded in Jerusalem blasts, dies, says hospital

An Israeli man died Saturday from wounds he sustained in twin blasts that hit Jerusalem earlier this week, bringing to two the number of dead in the explosions that Israeli police blamed on Palestinians. Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem announced that Tadesse Teshome Ben Madeh had died. He was critically wounded in one of the blasts at the city's bus stops. The trauma and intensive care teams of Shaare Zedek fought for his life, but unfortunately his injury was very fatal, the hospital said. The first explosion occurred near a typically crowded bus stop on the edge of the city. The second went off about half an hour later in Ramot, a settlement in the city's north. One of the blasts immediately killed Aryeh Schupak, 15, a dual Israeli-Canadian national who was heading to a Jewish seminary when the blast went off. The blasts wounded about 18 Israelis, three of them seriously. While Palestinians have carried out stabbings, car rammings and shootings in recent years, bombing

US, Israel agree to accelerate operational plans against Iran: Kohavi

Israel and the US have agreed that they are at a "critical point" in time that requires the acceleration of operational plans and cooperation against Iran and its terrorist proxies, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have said as its chief held discussions with senior American officials in Washington. Chief of Staff of the IDF Lieutenant General Aviv Kohav landed in the US on Sunday for five days of meetings with senior officials focused on the Iranian threat, the IDF said. The Israeli Army's Chief on Monday met with the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, and CIA Director, William Burns. During the discussions, it was agreed that we are at a critical point in time that requires the acceleration of operational plans and cooperation against Iran and its terrorist proxies in the region, the IDF quoted Kohavi as saying in Tweets posted on its social media handle on Tuesday. On the one hand, Iran is under many economic, military,

Israel welcomes Azerbaijan's historic decision to open embassy in Tel Aviv

The decision reflects the depth of the relationship between the two countries and "is the result of the Israeli government's efforts to build strong diplomatic bridges with the Muslim world"

Former Israeli PM Netanyahu says Turkey's Erdogan agrees to reset ties

Israel and Turkey agreed to a fresh start in ties Thursday, according to former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Relations between the former allies became icy under Netanyahu's term in office. He is now expected to return to power soon as head of Israel's most right-wing government ever. Relations were already on the mend under outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid who met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York in September, the first meeting between the countries' leaders in 14 years. But Erdogan's relations with Israel under Netanyahu were particularly frosty, especially over recurring wars against Gaza's militant Hamas rulers and the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid by the Israeli military, also during Netanyahu's rule. Erdogan had shown a willingness for warmer ties since Netanyahu was ousted after 12 consecutive years in power last year. Thursday's statement signalled that the ties could continue to improve under Netanyahu. Netanyahu's office said t

Drone hits Israeli-linked tanker; Iran frees 2 Greek tankers

An oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire has been struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman amid heightened tensions with Iran, officials said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Greece said Iran freed two Greek oil tankers held by Tehran since May. The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, one Mideast-based defence official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorised to discuss the attack publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping, which is a company ultimately owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer. In a statement, Eastern Pacific Shipping said the Pacific Zircon, carrying gas oil, had been hit by a projectile some 150 miles (240 kilometres) off the coast of Oman. We are in communication with the vessel and there is no reports of injuries or pollution. All crew are safe and accounted for, the company

After 5 elections, Israel swears in new parliament, most right-wing ever

After nearly four years of political deadlock and five elections, Israel swore in the most right-wing parliament in its history on Tuesday. Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu is working to cobble together a far-right and religious governing coalition in the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset. The surging popularity of a right-wing alliance once on the fringes of Israeli society helped propel Netanyahu's political comeback even as he stands trial on corruption charges. The 25th Knesset was sworn into office with trumpets and choral music just hours after a Palestinian assailant went on a deadly rampage in an Israeli-controlled industrial zone in the occupied West Bank, killing three Israelis and wounding three more before being shot dead. Netanyahu's likely right-wing coalition partners have vowed to act more aggressively against Palestinian attackers to protect Israelis. Israeli President Isaac Herzog appealed for national unity in his speech after the country's five divisive

APSEZ forms JV with Gadot Chemical Terminals in Israel to buy Haifa Port

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on Monday announced the setting up of a joint venture company with Gadot Chemical Terminals Ltd in Israel. "The company has incorporated a joint venture company with Gadot Chemical Terminals (1985) Ltd in Israel namely 'Mediterranean International Ports A.D.G.D Ltd' on November 13, 2022," APSEZ said in a BSE filing. It said Mediterranean has been incorporated as a joint venture company with Gadot Chemical Terminals (1985) Ltd for the acquisition of Haifa Port Company which currently operates Haifa Port in Israel. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones, the flagship transportation arm of the diversified Adani group, is India's largest private ports and logistics company.

Israeli missile attack on central Homs area in Syria, reports war monitor

Israel fired missiles toward Syria's central province of Homs Sunday evening targeting an airbase and positions of Iran-backed fighters, an opposition war monitor reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is based in London, said strong explosions were heard when four Israeli missiles hit the Shayrat airbase in Homs province. It said the missile attack targeted the positions of Iran-backed fighters in the area. State news agency SANA said Syrian air defenses were responding to hostile targets over Homs province adding that some missiles were shot down. It gave no further details. Syrian TV said an Israeli aggression was targeting the province adding that air defenses were responding to the attacks. The strikes occurred after Israeli warplanes were seen flying over neighboring Lebanon whose airspace Israeli air forces sometimes cross to carry out attacks on Syria. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in rec

Israeli president to ask Benjamin Netanyahu to form new government

Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become Israel's prime minister for a record sixth time after President Isaac Herzog on Friday announced that he will invite the veteran Likud Party leader form the next government, a move likely to end the political impasse in the country. President Herzog said that he will assign the task to form a new government to Netanyahu, 73, following consultations with leaders of all the political parties that have been elected to Parliament. Israelis voted on November 1 for an unprecedented fifth time in four years to break the political impasse that has paralysed the Jewish nation. Herzog will officially issue the mandate to Netanyahu on Sunday. The leaders of the right-wing religious bloc, which includes the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties along with the far-right Religious Zionism party, have already said that they would be recommending Netanyahu's name for premiership. Herzog held discussions with the political parties since Wednesday

Biden underscores unwavering support for Israel during call with Netanyahu

During a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his re-election, US President Joe Biden "underscored his unwavering support for Israels security"