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Perceived threats to the dollar’s role in the global financial system are nothing new; they have been a frequent occurrence since the 1980s. But until would-be challengers can find a credible alternative to the dollar for their own savings, the greenback’s dominance will not really be in doubt

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Rafael’s engineers say the home front may never need to hear another warning siren once their new laser system is ready – maybe even by next year.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A leading Israeli defense company is putting the finishing touches on a new system that will cause incoming rockets to explode long before they reach the country’s border, and it may be ready as soon as next year, Calcalist reported Tuesday.

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems’ R&D department says the company has almost completed the “Light Shield” (‘Magen Ohr’ in Hebrew), a laser that will intercept airborne threats ranging from mortar bombs, rockets and drones to anti-tank missiles.

“We are currently at a peak stage in the full development of the system,” said its chief engineer, Dr. Yohai, who has been working on the project for the past 17 years in conjunction with the Defense Ministry’s weapons development department.

The system has just successfully undergone a major test, Yohai said, and he expects that in “one of the future confrontations” with Hamas, his team will put Light Shield to use in the field. “

We’ll then take the data home and study it,” he said, in order to develop it even further. But “this system learns,” he added. “Like the Iron Dome, it improves itself all the time.”

The heart of the system is its laser targeter, which looks like a large camera lens. When an enemy launch is detected, it gives off an invisible beam that “cooks” the rocket with 100 kilowatts of heat concentrated into a beam the diameter of a 10-shekel coin. The threat is neutralized almost instantaneously, as it literally works at the speed of light.

If the system works as planned, it could spell an end to the phenomenon of men, women and children racing to a shelter when a warning siren sounds – because there may be no need for such a siren.

“Why should the man from Sderot have to wake up in the middle of the night to run to the protected area if we already intercepted the threats long before they crossed the border?” said Maj. Hananel, one of the leaders of the R&D team from the defense ministry side. “There will be quiet. For us, this is a complete negation of the enemy’s capabilities.”

Its cost is also a major factor in the steady backing it has received from the defense ministry, the major said, noting that each Tamir interceptor of the Iron Dome costs about $50,000, and sometimes two are launched to ensure that a rocket shot by Hamas or Hizbollah will not hit a populated area.

The enemy, he said, keeps launching such rockets, even though most are intercepted, for two main reasons.

“He understands that he is still rushing us to shelters, disrupting our daily routine and occasionally also hitting us…[and] understands that for every such cheap and simple rocket, we launch a super-advanced interceptor missile that costs a fortune.”

Thus, he said, “The enemy is waging an economic war with us.”

“The initial benefit of Magen Ohr is in the dramatic improvement in our position in [this] war,” he explained, because a laser “is simply light,” and the main cost of use is just the electric bill for the generators it needs to work.

Light Shield cannot replace the Iron Dome anti-missile system, however, because it is not a perfect product. Stormy weather, fog and sandstorms are examples of factors that limit its function for now. The engineers also refused to divulge to Calcalist exactly how often it could work within a specific amount of time.

Still, the system will be an extraordinarily valuable addition to the defensive screen that Israel has built around itself, and for Maj. Hananel, the goal is clear.

“I want us to reach a situation that we cause the enemy to completely despair,” he said. “To understand that we have laser targeters deployed wherever necessary, that [he] shoots what he wants at us but everything is intercepted and explodes on him all the time, almost at the moment of the launch itself, long before it reaches Israeli territory and threatens someone or something here.”

The post Enemy rockets soon to be ‘cooked’ long before reaching Israel appeared first on World Israel News.

Here are a few examples of how the relationship is mutually beneficial.

By Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, The Ettinger Report

The U.S. does not give foreign aid to Israel — the U.S. makes an annual investment in Israel, giving American taxpayers a return of several hundred percent.

While Israel is a grateful recipient of U.S. military systems, it also serves as a battle-tested, cost-effective laboratory for the U.S. defense and aerospace industries, (employing 3.5 million Americans). This enhances U.S. performance on the battlefield and the U.S. economy, national security and homeland security.

Here are a few examples.

In defense: The Israeli Air Force flies the U.S.’s Lockheed-Martin’s F-16 and F-35 combat aircraft, providing both Lockheed-Martin and the U.S. Air Force with invaluable information on operations, maintenance and repairs, which is then used to manufacture a multitude of upgrades for next-generation aircraft. Just the F-16 itself has been improved by several hundred Israeli-driven upgrades, sparing Lockheed-Martin 10-20 years of research and developments, which amounts to billions of dollars.

Israel is the Triple-A store for Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, G.D., Northrop Grumman, and many other U.S. defense and aerospace companies. This enhances the image of these companies abroad and multiplies their export markets, because other countries assume that if Israel — with its unique national security challenges — uses these companies’ products, they must be of high quality.

The U.S. is also trained by Israeli experts in neutralizing car bombs, suicide bombers and IEDs, and U.S. combat pilots benefit greatly from joint maneuvers with their highly experienced Israeli counterparts.

In intelligence: According to a former head of the U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Gen. George Keegan, the U.S. would have to establish five CIAs to procure the intelligence provided by Israel (the CIA’s annual budget is around $15 billion).

According to the late Sen. Daniel Inouye, (Chairman of the Senate Appropriations and Intelligence Committees), the scope of Israeli intelligence shared with the U.S. exceeded that provided by all NATO countries combined. Israeli intelligence helped foil sinister plots against the U.S., secured airliners and airports and provided vital data on advanced Soviet/Russian military systems.

Israel is a unique force multiplier for the U.S., helping to extend America’s strategic reach, so it can secure vulnerable pro-U.S. Arab oil-producing regimes and deter wars and terrorism. With Israel’s help, the U.S. can do this without deploying additional troops, which is not the case with countries like Japan and South Korea, in addition to 100,000 US troops in Europe.

Gen. Alexander Haig, who served as NATO’s Supreme Commander and U.S. Secretary of State, and Adm. Elmo Zumwalt assessed that “Israel is the largest U.S. aircraft carrier, which does not require American soldiers on board, cannot be sunk and is deployed in a most critical region – between Europe, Asia and Africa – sparing the U.S. the need to manufacture, deploy and maintain a few more real aircraft carriers and additional ground divisions, which would cost the U.S. taxpayer some $15 billion annually.”

In tech: More than 200 top American high-tech companies — such as Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Google and Facebook — have established R&D centers in Israel. They use Israel’s brainpower to increase production, exports and employment. They realize that Israel is a critical partner in sustaining their edge over China, Russia, Europe and Japan in the development and manufacture of tech.

The U.S.-Israel strategic relationship constitutes a classic case of a mutually- beneficial two-way street; one that enhances the economies and defense of both countries and benefits Israeli and American taxpayers alike.

The post ‘Foreign aid’ to Israel is ‘bonanza for the US,’ says former Israeli ambassador appeared first on World Israel News.

Recipe of endless memories: A bereaved sister brings her brother’s favorite dish into the ILTV studio ahead of Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terror.

The post WATCH: Unique initiative uses favorite recipes to commemorate fallen soldiers appeared first on World Israel News.

The BRICS nations are focusing on increasing their international roles and “enhancing coordination on key multilateral platforms,” Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs reportedly revealed after a meeting with BRICS ambassadors. He stressed “the need for joint efforts to counter destructive actions aimed at destroying the established security architecture.”

Unprecedented disruptions on somber day as lawmakers are heckled and bereaved families physically clash at military graveyards.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

Groups of bereaved families clashed in Beersheba’s military cemetery on Memorial Day, a normally solemn occasion that sees relatives visit the graves of their loved ones who fell during their IDF service or were victims of terror.

But this year’s Memorial Day has been marked by stark politicization, with some demanding that politicians who support the judicial reform refrain from speaking at or attending ceremonies commemorating soldiers.

While numerous ministers and MKs have agreed to the request and dropped out of their previously scheduled appearances, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir delivered a speech in Beersheba despite the backlash.

Tensions were clearly running high on Tuesday morning as families gathered in the southern Negev city’s military cemetery, with a clip on social media depicting physical clashes between two men at the site.

The video begins after one man presumably finishes making anti-government remarks. Another visitor tells him that the cemetery “is not the place” for that rhetoric, and urges him to “respect” the site.

The first man responds by screaming at him to “shut up,” and the two begin a heated verbal exchange, which culminates in water being thrown, a string of obscenities being shouted, and a shoving match.

In another video of a separate incident at the same cemetery in Beersheba, a bereaved father is seen fighting soldiers who blocked off access to his son’s grave ahead of Ben Gvir’s appearance.

The soldiers offer to escort the man to the grave, explaining that movement in the area has been restricted due to security concerns, but the man angrily responds by pushing them.

For unclear reasons, other visitors to the graveyard choose to get involved in the fray, accusing the man of being a “leftist” and scuffling with him. Soldiers were eventually able to calm down everyone involved in the incident.

During Ben-Gvir’s speech, he was interrupted by shouting and heckling from the audience.

Some called him “garbage” and demanded that he “go home.” Ben-Gvir continued with his speech, which ended with a mix of boos and applause.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s speech in a military cemetery in Holon was punctuated by cries of “Shame!” from the audience. One bereaved father then shouted at the hecklers, saying, “Enough! Respect the dead,” according to a Ynet report.

Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel was met with shouting by some bereaved families in Rehovot who said, “You are not welcome here, we don’t want politicians.” Soldiers at the Rehovot cemetery were seen struggling to hold back two groups of clashing families who appeared to be split over Arbel’s presence.

In northern Israel, Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel was prevented from entering a military cemetery in the Druze town of Isifiya. Anti-government protesters blocked Gamliel from reaching the site, and she was forced to leave without making her scheduled appearance and speech.

Notably, the majority of Druze citizens are Likud voters, so it’s unclear if the people preventing Gamliel from making her appearance were actually locals or left-wing activists who traveled to the site.

The post Clashes, cursing, and expelled lawmakers: Memorial Day tensions boil over appeared first on World Israel News.

Preparations for Ukraine’s anticipated offensive is far from complete.

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Israeli man participating in memorial run for fallen soldiers wounded in drive-by shooting; Manhunt for the terrorist is currently underway.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli man was shot by a terrorist in a vehicle in the Binyamin region north of Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, Israel’s national Memorial Day for IDF soldiers and security forces who were killed during the country’s wars and military operations.

The 28-year-old Israeli, whose name was not made public, was participating in a Memorial Day jog along route 60, with dozens of other runners who were commemorating fallen soldiers.

The shooting occurred at the British Police Junction near Ofra, some 34 kilometers (21 miles) north of Jerusalem.

The victim was struck in his arm and moderately wounded. The terrorist sped away in his vehicle. Security forces are currently searching the area for the perpetrator of the attack.

“When we arrived at the scene, we saw…a man who was fully conscious and suffering from a wound to his arm. We gave him initial medical treatment, including stopping the bleeding and bandaging him,” said Magen David Adom paramedics Eden Cohen and Shmuel Harel in a media statement.

The victim was “evacuated to Hadassah Hospital – Ein HaKerem in Jerusalem and is in moderate, stable condition,” they added.

Notably, the attack occurred just meters away from where a public Memorial Day ceremony is slated to take place.

“No terror will stop us. The ceremony will begin as usual. The settlements continue on their heroic and Zionist path to the redemption of the land. The enemy must be fought to the bitter end,” said Binyamin Regional Council head Yisrael Ganz in a media statement.

Tuesday’s incident marked the second terrorist attack occuring on this year’s Memorial Day. On Monday evening, an Arab-Israeli terrorist from eastern Jerusalem plowed his vehicle into a crowd of Israelis outside of Shuk Mahane Yehuda, a popular Jerusalem outdoor market.

The terrorist was shot dead at the scene of attack by armed citizens.

One man in his 70s was seriously wounded and is currently fighting for his life in the hospital. An additional seven people were hurt in the attack, with one woman in her 30s hospitalized in moderate condition.

The post Memorial Day terror: Israeli shot near Jerusalem, suspect at large appeared first on World Israel News.