Despite sequester cuts, the Pentagon has officially requested an additional $400 million over the next two years to extend Israel’s missile defense system. The money will come from the defense department’s Missile Defense Agency, with $220 million to be paid out in 2014 and $180 to be paid in 2015. The money must still be approved during the annual defense budget process, but is likely to go through, as President Obama alluded to the spending during his trip to Israel last month. The $400 million …More

While a great deal of international and media focus has been placed on Israel's military conflicts, the country quietly has become an energetic, ambitious incubator of entrepreneurialism and invention. What follows is a timeline chronicling some of the most important and interesting innovations produced by Israelis during their country's 65-year existence. RUMMIKUB (1940s): Ephraim Hertzano invents the smash hit board game Rummikub, which goes on to become the best-selling game in the United States in 1977. UZI …More

In an exchange of ministers ceremony held on March 19, Gilad Erdan stepped down as Environmental Protection Minister. Erdan, who has served as the ministry’s head for four years, is set to become the new home front and communication minister. Amir Peretz, who has previously served as Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, will assume the duties of Israel’s top green post. During the ceremony, outgoing minister Erdan praised accomplishments of the Environmental Protection Ministry during his …More

Barack Obama was awarded the Israeli Presidential Medal of Distinction this evening, in a state dinner hosted by Shimon Peres. The Israeli leader bestowed the honor on Obama, who is the first sitting president to receive the award. The medal goes to individuals who have made strides for the Jewish state, and is comparable to France’s Legion of Honor. The dinner capped Obama’s second day in Israel and last evening in the nation. He travels to Jordon tomorrow to continue a diplomatic tour. In …More

As Air Force One touched down in Tel Aviv at noon Israeli time, the red carpet had literally been rolled out. It was a celebratory scene at Ben-Gurion Airport as Israel’s top leaders and a vast collection of military and religious officials gathered to welcome President Barack Obama to the Jewish state. Obama is just the fifth sitting US president to visit Israel, and the fanfare marked the uniqueness of the occasion. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres were the first to …More

On February 25, members of the Homa Administration in the Defense Ministry's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, together with the US Missile Defense Agency, conducted the first test of the new Arrow 3 missile interception system. The IDF Website sat down for an exclusive interview with the commander of the Israel Air Force's Active Air Defense Wing, Col. Tzvika Haimovich, to discuss the development of the new system and the upcoming challenges for Israel's air …More

Jacob Kamaras, JNS.org Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted nearly 400 Gaza rockets last November alone, with an 85 percent success rate, amid the Israel Defense Forces’ Operation Pillar of Defense. But the brains behind the system isn’t resting on his laurels. “I’m realistic, so I’m not putting all the eggs in one system, [even though] it had much success,” IDF Brig. Gen. Dr. Danny Gold, who had the initial idea for the Iron Dome, said in an interview …More

Jacob Kamaras, JNS.org US Vice President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday offered their takes on the strategic timetable for the Iranian nuclear threat, with Biden saying there remains “time and space” for diplomacy to work and Netanyahu dismissing diplomacy because Iran is “running out the clock.” Netanyahu told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) via a live satellite message that “diplomacy has not worked” for Iran, …More

Israel's Ehud Barak will be the first foreign defense minister to meet with new US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Barak and Hagel will meet Tuesday at the Pentagon, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed US official. The meeting will take place following Barak's speech on the last day of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference in Washington. The defense chiefs, who have known each other for more than a decade, will discuss the Iranian threat, according to Reuters. They are also …More

A bipartisan array of US lawmakers remembered the late Sen. Daniel Inouye at an Iron Dome Tribute Luncheon, where they pledged continued support of Israel's anti-missile defense system. On Wednesday, 10 senators and at least seven members of the US House of Representatives gave tribute speeches for Inouye, a Hawaii Democrat who championed funding for Israel through his decades in the Senate. Inouye died in December. Among those addressing the event in the Russell Senate Building were Sen. Jim Inhofe, the ranking …More

The ceasefire that ended Israel’s November operation in Gaza has been broken, with Palestinian terrorists firing a long-range Grad rocket into southern Israel. The rocket struck the industrial zone of Ashkelon Tuesday morning, causing some damage but no injuries. The al-Aksa Martyrs' Brigades, the military wing of the Fatah Party, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which it allegedly launched in response to the death of Palestinian prisoner Arafat Jaradat on February 23. The belief that Jaradat was …More

The IDF completed its first successful test of the Arrow 3 interceptor missile this morning in cooperation with the United States. Set to become operational around 2016, the Arrow 3 missile defense system will join Arrow 2, the Iron Dome and David’s Sling as another layer of defense against incoming fire at the Jewish State. The system operates in space, leaving the atmosphere at twice the speed of a tank shell to track and destroy long-range projectiles like Iran’s Shihab 3 missiles. Defense …More