“You have night blindness,” the Israeli army doctor announced unsympathetically at my pre-service medical examination. “You’re dismissed from your IDF mandatory army service by law,” he said and called the next soldier-to-be. I was frightened by the diagnosis. I had worn glasses since I was 3, but I never thought I would lose my vision at 18. It turned out not to be as serious as it sounded: My eyes just didn’t get used to darkness as quickly as they should. It took me time …More

Israel issued a stern warning to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Tuesday, hours after an IDF vehicle was fired upon in the Golan Heights. Israeli military denied Syrian forces destroyed outright the IDF jeep, as Syria claimed, though an IDF spokesperson did confirm an attempted attack took place. The incident saw an exchange of fire that is rare in the ceasefire zone, though tensions have been rising in the region in recent weeks as spillover from the Syrian civil war threatens to end the tenuous truce between …More

Over the past three months, some 200 firebombs and 80 explosive devices have been thrown at worshippers and Israeli soldiers at Rachel’s Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem in the West Bank. The figures were provided by senior Israel Defense Forces and Border Police officers on Monday during a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Israel Hayom reported. The committee gathered to discuss the security threats facing worshippers at the tomb. Committee Chairman MK Avigdor …More

The US says bigotry against Jews and Muslims is on the rise. [BBC] Syrians trot our IDF Jeep "captured" from rebels. [Times of Israel] A UNESCO visit to Jerusalem is canceled by Israel. [Times of Israel] A New York exhibit highlights US Jews that helped refugees from Nazis. [WSJ] A UK program targets the "Jewish cancer gene" with DNA analysis. [Haaretz] Was the Toulouse terrorist a lone wolf? [Jewish Press] A look at Helen Keller's letter to Nazi Germany. [Tablet] …More

Israel is the world leader is drone sales, according to insiders. The Jewish state reportedly sells $400 million in drones annually, and has sold a total of $4.6 billion worth in the last eight years. The data was published in a report by leading business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, which also found unmanned drones account for 10 percent of the Israeli military's export. In 2008, Israel’s drone exports totaled $150 million, a sum that increased to $650 million for the 2009 year. In 2010, Israel …More

Alina Dain Sharon, JNS.org By the time Israel Defense Forces Captain Ziv Shilon realized an explosive device had detonated near him while on patrol near the Gaza border, his left hand was torn off and his right hand was still hanging on by just a few pieces of skin. Ten surgeries and months of rehabilitation later, his left hand has been replaced by a hook prosthesis and his right hand is paralyzed. That’s not going to stop him, he insists. Despite his injury, Shilon plans to enroll in law school and to …More

Syria currently has weaponry aimed at Israel, a report by the Sunday Times alleges. The British paper said Sunday that satellite imagery shows several advanced missiles aimed at the ready to strike the Jewish state should Israel hit targets in Syria. The paper did not cite a particular source for the information, but did speak with Israeli officials for the report. "Better the devil we know than the demons we can only imagine if Syria falls into chaos and extremists from across the Arab world gain a foothold …More

Egyptian police have blocked the border between Egypt and the Gaza strip, after Islamists kidnapped seven members of the force. [Forward] Morocco’s King Mohammed VI is funding the restoration of his country’s Jewish burial sites. [IJN] The London Jewish Cultural Center in Golders Green will host the country’s largest Jewish food festival, Gefiltefest. [Times] South Africa’s chief rabbi, Warren Goldstein, defends Israel amongst his country’s widespread support for the anti-Israel …More

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Israelis protested in Jerusalem against plans to enlist haredi men into the military. The protesters gathered Thursday night near the city’s military draft bureau to listen to rabbis warn that army service would irreparably harm their way of life. “The government wants to uproot and secularize us,” Rabbi David Zycherman said, according to Reuters, “They call it a melting pot, but people cannot be melted.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s …More

The Israel Navy is charged with the defense of the country’s 190 km-long coastline as well as protecting the state’s vital maritime assets. The IDF’s impressive fleet of patrol boats, missile boats and submarines are eternally vigilant against hostile forces attempting to attack, sabotage and infiltrate sovereign Israeli territory. With 70 percent of Israel’s eight million citizens settled in the country’s narrow coastal plain, the Navy bears the immense responsibility for their …More

Pascale Bercovitch has a firm handshake and a ready smile. She’s hard to keep up with as she takes an elevator to a cafe on the ground floor of her gym in northern Tel Aviv and talks about her hopes to compete in 2016 in Rio De Janeiro. It’s easy to forget that she’s 45 years old and has no legs. “I love to find my limit and push it, to succeed more than I did yesterday,” Bercovitch told JTA. “What interests me is the journey.” For Bercovitch, who has represented Israel …More

Susie Davidson, JNS.org What do Israel and Massachusetts have in common? Many recent comparisons have centered on the fact that, when the Boston Marathon bombings occurred, Bostonians got a taste for the kind of attack Israelis endure on a regular basis. To that end, Israeli trauma teams were called upon to lend their expertise in Boston following the marathon bombings. But Israeli environmental entrepreneur Yosef Abramowitz stresses a different area of common ground, explaining that both Israel and …More