The Israel Institute Newsletter Volume 1: Issue 4

Educating about Israel’s history, geography, culture and people Moments in History

U.S. and Israel Cooperate on the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI):

May 6, 1986 The Reagan Administration considered Israel a “strategic asset” because of Israel’s opposition to the Soviet Union. On November 30, 1981, Israel’s Defense Minister Ariel Sharon and US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), establishing a framework for cooperation to enhance the national security of both countries and to counter the Soviet threat. On December 18, 1981, the State Department announced the “suspension” of the memorandum in response to Israel annexing the Syrian Golan Heights.

In November 1983, Israel and the United States renewed the dialogue on bilateral strategic cooperation, forming a joint political-military committee to implement most of the 1981 MOU provisions.

Joint air and sea military exercises commenced in June 1984, and the United States began constructing facilities to stockpile military equipment in Israel.

On May 6, 1986, Israel and the United States signed a secret agreement for Israeli participation in Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) research.

A 1988 U.S.-Israel agreement designated Israel a “major non-NATO ally of the United States,” status which Israel had long sought and which gave Israel preferential treatment in bidding for Department of Defense contracts, as well as lower prices on U.S. defense equipment. On September 8, 1989, Israeli Defense Minister Rabin and U.S. Secretary of Defense Cheney signed an agreement allowing Israel to “lease” U.S. equipment and pre-positioning up to $100 million worth of U.S. military supplies in Israel.

Under the Strategic Defense Initiative, I s r a e l developed the “Arrow” anti-ballistic missile and the “Iron Dome.”

What point do you think the cartoonist is trying to make?

Vol.1 | Issue 4

Recommended Reading

Reclaiming Israel's History: Roots, Rights, and the Struggle for Peace

by David Brog

Author David Brog untangles the facts from the myths to reveal the truth about the Arab-Israeli conflict. In Reclaiming Israel's History you'll learn how the Jewish people have maintained a continual presence in the Land of Israel for over 3,000 years—despite centuries of Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim persecution; how the Romans invented the word "Palestine" as a way to sever the connection between the Jewish people and their land (and how subsequent conquerors doubled down on this strategy); how modern Jewish immigration to Palestine did not displace Arabs but instead sparked an Arab population boom; and the largely untold “This is not the first story of how the leader of Palestine's excellent book on the Arabs collaborated with the Nazis to Middle East conflict. But murder Jews in Europe before they when listeners to my could reach their ancestral homeland. radio show ask me for You'll also learn why most of Palestine's one book to read in order to understand the Arabs never identified themselves as Middle East conflict and "Palestinians" until after the 1967 War; Israel’s history, this is the the extraordinary lengths to which Isra- book I will recommend. el's military goes to protect Palestinian Dennis Prager civilians (and the high price Israel's soldiers pay for this morality), and how the Palestinians have on separate occasions rejected Israel's offers of a Palestinian state in virtually all of the West Bank and Gaza.

Brog frankly admits to Israel's "sins both large and small," but notes that in any fair-minded analysis these have been far out- weighed by Israel's commitment to Western values, including freedom, democracy, and human rights.

Honest, provocative, and timely, especially given rising anti-Semitism and the aggressive delegitimization of Israel, David Brog's Reclaiming Israel's History is the book for every reader who wants to understand what is really happening in the Middle East. ‫בית הספר התיכון של הישיבה דפלטבוש על שם מר יואל ברברמן‬ Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School Al and Sonny Gindi Campus 1609 Avenue J Brooklyn, NY 11230 Rabbi Dr. Raymond Harari Head of School Ms. Sari Bacon, Associate Principal Rabbi Joseph Beyda, Principal Ms. Esther Hidary, Assistant Principal

Rabbi Craig Lubner, Assistant Principal

Mr. Howard Rothbort — Director, The Israel Institute

Israel at a Glance...

NEW TECH PARKS

FLASH FLOODS

The Knesset Committee for Arab Affairs approved a NIS 20 Ten youths, nine girls and a boy from million ($5.6 million) two-year plan for the creation of technoloa pre-military academy, were killed gy parks within Arab towns in Israel to boost local employment after they were carried off by a surge opportunities and close income gaps between Jewish and Arab in the Tzafit stream west of the southIsraelis. A further NIS 5 million was earmarked to create access ern part of the Dead Sea amid intense US Embassy opens in roads and transportation to and from these parks. storms that hit the South of Israel.

Jerusalem May 14, 2018 “The plan is expected to create conditions for the creation of Two other students of the school, thousands of new jobs in the fields of development, software and the Bnei Zion Academy in Tel Aviv, were services, and to contribute to narrowing the gap between supply and demand” moderately injured and were taken to for the employment of Arabs in the high-tech sphere, a statement issued by the Soroka-University Medical Center in the Prime Minister’s Office said.

Beersheba.

The move comes as Israel’s tech industry, for years the growth engine Thirteen of of the economy, is facing an acute shortage of skilled engineers and prothe students grammers. High-tech firms operating in Israel are beginning to recognize were found by the business sense of employing Arab graduates and opening offices and search and resplants in Arab towns, said Paz Hirschmann, the co-CEO of Tsofen. Foundcue teams and ed in 2008 by Jewish and Arab high-tech professionals, Tsofen seeks to were unharmed, create an equal society in Israel by boosting the number of Arabs in according to a statement released by the IDF the tech industry to help close income gaps, to promote tech hubs Spokesperson’s Unit, a medical team from in Arab towns and help Arab engineering the co-ed Bardelas Battalion that came to the graduates find jobs in technology firms. scene.

“The high-tech industry must come Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said to the heart of Arab towns” to enable that an inquiry into the tragedy had been real social and economic change, he opened. The principal and staff members were said. The timing is perfect. questioned; two staff members were arrested.

A third remains under house arrest.

“The State of Israel grieves for the Several Arab writers have published articles in the promising young lives that were cut off by the Arab press discussing why Israel is superior to the weaker grave disaster in the Arava. We embrace, with Arab states. The following are translated expain, the grieving families, and pray for the speedy cerpts: Reda Abd Al-Salam, former governor recovery of the wounded,” said Prime Minister of Egypt’s Al-Sharqiya province, a lecturer Benjamin Netanyahu, after news of the casualties at Mansoura University in Egypt, wrote that had been reported.

Israel surpasses the Arab countries in many ways because over the years it has invested in education, health, science, and technology, and in building a Previously unseen Dead Sea democracy, while the Arabs have remained behind, mired in Scroll fragments, stored in ciprimitiveness and tyranny. “Israel, which we curse day and gar boxes since archaeologists night, is among the 20 top countries in all measures of global unearthed them in the 1950s, development – while Egypt... for example, ranks below 100th place were identified and unveiled at in most of these measures – for example in quality of education, an international conference in competitiveness, corruption, investment, online government services, honor of the 70th anniversary of intellectual property, creativity, human development, and so on... the scrolls’ discovery in Jerusalem.

Jordanian politician and intellectual Rahil Ghorayba, writes in the The tiny fragments, all thought to Jordanian Al-Dustour daily: be taken from Qumran’s Cave 11, are game changers and “In modern Arab history, there is no case of a trial or provide new puzzle pieces towards completing the picture investigation of a leader or influential figure. Therefore, it can be said of known published scrolls. One fragment, unusually written frankly that this is a highly significant weak point in the Arab home2,000 years ago in anachronistic First Temple script, may even land, and that there is no chance of revival and advancement of Arab point to a wholly unique, previously unknown manuscript. society until we reach a stage where it will have the capability to Another fragment turned out to belong to the Temple Scroll, prosecute officials who embezzled state and public funds without any a text dealing with directions for conducting the services in the oversight, who caused economic collapse, and who obstructed the Arab ideal Temple. “The identification of the new fragment peoples’ ability to regain their power and sovereignty over their strengthens the theory that a manuscript given the number resources and to protect them.”

11Q21 is indeed a third copy of this text from Cave 11.”

Lebanese writer Abd Al-Rahman Abd Al-Mulla Al-Salah, in an article One scroll fragment, containing the single Hebrew word, in the Egyptian Al-Hayat daily, noted that, “...Israel’s stability draws “zamra,” has been tentatively identified as a lost portion of the its strength from its democracy and its regime, which is derived from Great Psalms Scroll, one of the largest and best preserved of the respect for the Israeli citizen and his choices. The situation in our Qumran manuscripts. The new fragment preserves part of the Arab world will not stabilize unless the Arab citizen regains his rebeginning of Psalm 147.1. spect, and until his repression ends.”

ARAB PRESS

DEAD SEA SCROLLS

Design: Carolina Cohen