Jerusalem Preparing for Meeting of National Security Advisers
Published on: 20.6.2019ICEJ News Briefs
A meeting of the national security advisers of Israel, the US and Russia scheduled to take place in Jerusalem on Monday received a strong endorsement from Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who told reporters on Wednesday that “This is a very important contact. The sides will have a vital exchange of views on the situation in the region, namely the Middle East settlement, the settlement process in Syria and other issues, which they consider necessary to discuss.” The planned meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, US National Security Adviser John Bolton and his Israeli counterpart Meir Ben-Shabbat has been hyped by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as yet another sign of the growing diplomatic clout of Israel, a view which has been seconded by several of the Jewish State’s leading defense and security analysts. Some have also pointed out that it sends a strong signal to Moscow’s other regional allies, particularly Iran.
Israeli Innovators Honored at Paris Conference
In another devastating blow to the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) Israel, the French parliament hosted a conference Wednesday bringing together French and Israeli experts on innovation in fields of high-tech, startups, civil society and NGOs. Israeli experts touted the success their programs have had in placing Israeli-Arab graduates in the Jewish State’s blossoming hi-tech industry, among other success stories. Also on Wednesday, Israeli defense firm Elbit systems announced it had secured a $73 million contract with the German Air Force to install missile-defense systems on cargo aircraft.
Israeli Universities Ranked Among World’s Best
The latest annual QS World University Rankings for 2019-2020 were released this week with Israel’s Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and Haifa’s Technion–Israel Institute of Technology once again being ranked among the top 300 institutions of higher learning globally. Additionally, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev was ranked at 419, Bar-Ilan University was ranked in the 551-560 range and the University of Haifa was ranked in the 651-700 range. Elsewhere, the prestigious scientific journal Nature ranked the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot as the third top university worldwide for high-quality research in the natural sciences.
“We have known for a long time that size is irrelevant when it comes to excellence in science,” said Weizmann Institute president Daniel Zajfman. “For the Weizmann Institute of Science, striving to be the best involves attracting the best scientists and letting them follow their curiosity. Interdisciplinarity and collaboration across fields and across countries are simply part of our DNA, and we are proud of that fact. The Nature Index normalized ranking truly showcases the quality of top research, showing you don’t have to be big to be on the cutting edge of global science.”
Israeli Athlete Wins Gold Medal in European Championships
Israeli sports fans had something to cheer about this week as fencer Yuval Freilich, ranked 40th in the world, defeated 13th ranked Italian athlete Andrea Santarelli to bring home a gold medal in the European Fencing Championships in Dusseldorf, Germany. “It’s the most incredible feeling,” he said in an interview posted to Facebook by the European Fencing Confederation. “Really a fantastic day. Everything connected, the fencing, the energy, the feeling. It just all came together and this is what came out. Amazing, really unbelievable feeling.”
Today’s video shows a panel discussion on the current situation in Syria