Candidates for prestigious unit now required to renounce foreign citizenship; officer: This is absurd
Yoav Zitun

The IDF now demands that new candidates for service in Israel's submarine fleet waive their foreign citizenship in order to join the elite unit.

The demand to concede one's dual citizenship is made at certain IDF combat units and for posts requiring high security clearance. Submarine fleet recruits receive a notification stating they must renounce their foreign citizenships in order to qualify for the prolonged training, as part of their security screenings.

Submarine fleet recruits who fail to complete the year-long training lose their foreign citizenships nonetheless.

The recent move raised strong opposition among fleet reserve officers,who claim that the new requirement will limit the number of volunteers to the unit.

"This is absurd. Many excellent recruits hold a dual citizenship but wish to serve in an elite unit such as submarine fleet,"an ex-officer said. "In a country that fights for every recruit, especially for elite units, this demand should not be made. Soldiers serve for only a few years, and must not pay by losing the foreign citizenship that can be used later in life."

Security officials say that in recent years there was a decline in number of units that demand a foreign citizenship waiver as part of the security clearance process. The criteria for receiving a security clearance are decided by the units, the Shin Bet and the National Security Council, according to the level of exposure to classified materials during one's service.

In many combat units, candidates are required to declare any foreign citizenship, but not to renounce it.

According to the international media, IDF submarines operate in foreign waters, far from Israel's borders.

The IDF Spokesman's Office issued the following statement in response to the story: "For information security purposes, soldiers serving in certain IDF units are required to meet strict criteria".

This is stupid.

To the best of my memory, the few times we had traitors they came from the former U.S.S.R, not Ethiopia, South Africa, Canada, or even the USA.

Following House Committee's approval, Israeli lawmakers to be paid some NIS 37,000 a month
Moran Azulay

The Knesset's House Committee on Tuesday canceled a decision from 2009 to freeze lawmakers' salaries. As a result, Knesset members will receive an additional NIS 1,078 (about $290) a month.

The new decision was unanimously approved by only eight MKs who attended the discussion. From now on, Israeli lawmakers will be paid a little more than NIS 37,000 ($9,950) a month.

Although they are aware of the potential public criticism, the MKs claim the move was justified and that all accusations will be met courageously. However, the poor attendance at the discussion and vote, and the fact that not one representative of the opposition showed up, proves that they fear criticism nonetheless.

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who attended the discussion, did have a vote but noted that he was all in favor for the move.

At the start of the discussion, Rivlin elaborated on the decisions of the Gronau Committee, which recommended canceling the pay freeze implemented following the financial crisis in early 2009.

"The MK salary issue always evokes sentiments and criticism on the part of the public toward its elective representatives. The Knesset is a place where the public sometimes directs all of its frustrations. The Knesset was aware of this criticism in 1996, and decided that it was wrong that in terms of MKs' rights and liabilities, the MKs would be the ones to determine their own salary.

"Usually," Rivlin continued, "the criticism is against the Knesset – and that's a good thing. The public's sensitivity toward the Knesset is positive and can be judgmental. Like CEOs and minister, Knesset members deserve a salary increase as well.

"I understand the criticism, but we must face it proudly. MKs do not determine their salary, and that's crystal clear."

He added, "The Knesset members have given up the right to determine their salary. In early 2009, due to a financial crisis, the heads of the State and MKs decided to freeze their salaries. When economy workers get a pay increase, MKs do not get the same raise because they work on automatic pilot."

According to the Knesset speaker, "It's possible that if the MKs' salary would have gone up in June together with the rest of the economy, there would be no criticism. MKs must make a living and avoid having to face any inappropriate influence."

Can you be any more out of touch?

I just don't know what the punch line is.

260 teachers decry decision by Education Ministry, announced last week, to take almost all Jewish students on field trips beyond the Green Line to Jewish heritage sites, saying it is designed to shape their political views • Education Ministry official says the tours allow students to get a firsthand look at the intricacies of the conflict.
Israel Hayom Staff

School trips to Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs, holy to both Jews and Muslims, have become a bone of contention among educators.

Less than a week after the Education Ministry caused a political firestorm by expanding a pilot program to send junior and high school pupils on educational field trips to Judea and Samaria, 260 teachers signed a letter Monday saying they would not comply with what they call a “politically motivated” measure, Army Radio reported.

In a letter addressed to Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar, the teachers accuse him of using young Israelis as “unwilling participants and political pawns in political matters, by means of manipulative tactics,” the Israeli daily Ha’aretz reported Monday.

The project, which the ministry calls “Touring the Land of the Ancestors,” was introduced last year as a measure meant to bolster Israeli schoolchildren’s Jewish identity, and takes them on field trips to key biblical sites such as Hebron’s Cave of the Patriarchs as well as other landmarks in Judea and Samaria. The signatories of the letter to Saar accuse the ministry and its head of having a hidden agenda and trying to shape the political views of students by bringing them into “political hot spots.”

The head of the Jerusalem District at the Education Ministry, Meir Shimoni, dismissed the allegations. “I took part in some of the tours; I accompanied the students and I observed them firsthand. They experienced the difficulties and dilemmas of the Shuhada St. (a street in the Hebron city center that runs in both Arab and Jewish neighborhoods) ... and they came back with many questions and a great sense of curiosity.”

According to Jewish tradition, the Cave of the Patriarchs is the burial place of the biblical ancestors of the Jewish people. The site is also holy to Muslims.

Since launching the program in March 2011 some 1,000 students have participated in the tours. Now the government wants to expand the program into the curricula of all Jewish schools. Last week Saar touted the program as an astounding success, saying, “Already at this time it is safe to say that the initiative is progressing beyond our expectations. Thousands of students are visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs, not just from the religious sector but also from the secular sector and that makes this something that I am definitely proud of.”

These teacher should be fired.

Lastly, let's be clear 260 teacher is not a huge group of teachers, fire all of them .

One reason for Netanyahu's extremely sharp response to reports of a deal – he made it a point to make his remarks both in Hebrew and in English – was to get the international community to pressure Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas not to implement it, one government official acknowledged.

"Anyone in the international community concerned about the peace process should be intervening now with the Palestinians to prevent the consummation of this marriage," the official said.

The agreement, reached between Fatah and Hamas under the auspices of Qatar, calls for Abbas to serve as an interim prime minister of a unity Palestinian government comprised of independent figures. The government's primary job would be to prepare for presidential and parliamentary elections, and to rebuild Gaza.

After the agreement was reported, The Prime Minister's Office distributed what it called a "special statement" by Netanyahu, saying that in recent weeks he and "several world leaders" have made serious efforts to advance peace.

"If President Abbas moves to implement what was signed today in Doha, he will abandon the path of peace and join forces with the enemies of peace," Netanyahu said. "Hamas is an enemy of peace. It's an Iranian backed terror organization committed to Israel's destruction."

Saying Abbas can't have it both ways, and has to choose either a peace pact with Israel or with Hamas, Netanyahu reiterated that Hamas had not yet accepted the three minimal requirements demanded of it by the international community: to recognize Israel's right to exist, abandon terrorism, and accept previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.

Instead, Netanyahu said, Hamas "continues to arm itself for even deadlier terrorism."

Government officials said that efforts over the last couple of weeks to put together a package of economic steps as an incentive to keep the Palestinians at nascent, low-level talks in Jordan, have now been put on hold.

"Now we are waiting to see what will be with this agreement," the official said. "We are making it clear that this agreement would be a body blow to the whole process. This sort of agreement could lead to the end of the peace process."

He characterized the move as a major "confidence destroying measure."

In 2006, following Hamas' victory in the Palestinian legislative elections and Ismail Haniyeh's appointment as prime minister, Israel stopped working with the PA government and halted the transfer of monthly tax revenue it collected for the PA.

A spokesman at the US embassy in Tel Aviv, asked about what Washington's policy would be if the Doha agreement was implemented, said the US would not articulate a "formal position on a speculative event. We will wait to see what happens."

At the same time, the spokesman reiterated that the US policy that Hamas must accept the international community's three conditions has not changed.

The EU also did not have a formal reaction Monday to the Fatah-Hamas moves. At the end of November, however, after a previous round of reconciliation talks, the EU issued a statement saying it has "consistently called for reconciliation under Abbas' authority."

The statement said it considered reconciliation "an opportunity rather than a threat," and that Palestinian unity was "an important element for a viable Palestinian state, and essential for securing a lasting peace with Israel."

At the same time, that statement said it expected a new Palestinian government to uphold the principles of non-violence, remain committed to a two-state solution, and negotiate a peaceful settlement with Israel, while accepting previous agreements and recognizing Israel's right to exist.

Please G-D, let Abbas move ahead with reconciliation.

We just might be seeing the light on the end of the tunnel, of the so called peace process.

Op-ed: Israel's Ethiopians suffer not only outright racism, but also indirect, concealed racism
Yael Rosen

Over the past weeks, protests have spread throughout Israel calling for a response to racism targeted at the country's Ethiopian community. Sparked by a Channel 2 story on discrimination in Kiryat Malachi, citizens have taken to the streets to show their outrage at the status quo. Though the despicable slurs and actions that triggered these protests are blatant examples of these grievances, they conceal a deeper issue.

This sentiment is dramatized even in circles that would never admit to harboring prejudice. Well intended statements about constructive activity such as “I volunteer with Ethiopians”, or “I donate to Ethiopians” – cast them on the other side of an imaginary, but very real fence.

The primary vehicle to overcoming these obstacles is exposing reality through education, gaining knowledge of the range of personal stories.

The lack of education becomes abundantly clear when we consider that the breadth of the average Israeli's knowledge of the Ethiopian Aliyah consists of an ability to name Operations Moses and Solomon and to recite the lyrics to "Hayareah Mashgiach Me'al", set to music by Shlomo Gronich.

How many of us know that over 4,000 Ethiopian Jews lost their lives on the way to Israel? How many know that nearly every family lost at least one loved one? And that it was not only the Mossad who worked to save the Ethiopian Jews, but that there was enormous activism from local members of the Ethiopian Jewish community?

The power of stories

An even stronger tool, however, is exposing Israeli society to the personal accounts of these same Ethiopian immigrants. Each Ethiopian family has its own story of Aliyah, uplifting and inspiring for its own reasons. But hearing these stories and gaining entrance to them is something that takes initiative from the public – to ask, to take interest and to invite speakers to schools and communities. At the same time, it asks the Ethiopian community to share their experiences, often buried deep inside.

One project that strives to create tolerance on the basis of these stories is "Project Abrah," which sheds light on the stories of Prisoners of Zion, individuals jailed in Ethiopia or neighboring countries as a result of their Zionist activity. In this project, both Israeli Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian youth work together to make films on the little known stories of these remarkable individuals.

For the Israeli Ethiopians, it is a way to promote intergenerational dialogue, and to utilize the heroic actions of their own community as a foundation for developing communal pride. For non-Ethiopians, it is a means to understand the community, break down walls and shatter stigmas. By listening to the stories of others, they begin to internalize the legacy of this community. This, in turn, impacts their interaction with the wider Ethiopian population, changing a relationship based on distance and preconceptions to one of mutual respect and admiration.

As participant Ettie Shimshilashvili from Beer Sheba said: “I was amazed to find out that people who I see on the bus, around the neighborhood, buying produce at the local market, and parents of my schoolmates are heroes who are responsible for bringing their fellow Ethiopian Jews to Israel. The project made me feel more comfortable speaking with my Ethiopian schoolmates and helped me understand our community better.”

Education – with emphasis on programs that involve personal stories – is the key to bridging cultural gaps in our society. In this way, someone who began as an “other” becomes “another” – a fellow member of a wonderfully diverse community.

Yael Rosen is the Coordinator for ATZUM's Project Abrah (www.atzum.org ), an oral history film project that bridges the generation gap in Israel’s Ethiopian community and educates the public about the Ethiopian Aliyah experience by shedding light on the heroic struggle of Ethiopian “Prisoners of Zion”

NY Post reports Talya Ben-Eliezer detained at Kennedy Airport for illegal purchase of powerful painkiller in Florida
Boaz Fyler

Police arrested the daughter of former defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer Wednesday on outstanding drug charges as she tried to fly from Kennedy Airport to Tel Aviv, the New York Post reported.

According to the report, 39-year-old Talya Ben-Eliezer was taken into custody at about 8:40 pm (local time) as she tried to pass through security at Terminal 4, and was hauled off to central booking in Queens, Port Authority.

A "no-bail warrant" for her arrest was issued on July 27 by the sheriff in Tampa, Florida for a "dangerous drug" offense after she allegedly obtained oxycontin without the proper paperwork. She was booked as a "fugitive from justice," the Post reported.

Ynet has learned that Ben-Eliezer used the same prescription to purchase the powerful painkiller in two separate Florida pharmacies.

The Post quoted a source familiar with the details as saying that Ben-Eliezer had been in Florida about a year undergoing medical treatment for a seizure condition.

Another source told the Post that soon after Ben-Eliezer was detained at the airport she told customs officials that she is the daughter of a senior member of the Israeli government.

It didn’t take long before officials with the Israeli consulate in Manhattan began "calling everyone on this," one source told The Post.

According to the report, Ben-Eliezer, who has both US and Israeli citizenship, is expected to be extradited to Florida to face a charge of "obtaining a controlled substance by fraud."

Binyamin Ben-Eliezer currently serves as a Knesset member on behalf of the Labor Party.

The street cop in me, says once a junkie always a junkie.

I hope she get's the help she needs to get off drugs and to get her life back.

Foreign Ministry report recommends raising issue of compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab countries during future peace talks • Jewish property in Arab countries estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

A recent Foreign Ministry report has recommended raising the issue of Jewish refugees in every round of future peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians or the Arab League.

The Jewish refugees referred to in the report are Jews who fled from Arab nations in 1948 and were forced to leave their possessions behind before arriving in the newly established state of Israel.

This issue aims to counter the Palestinian Right of Return, under which the Palestinians wish to compel Israel to absorb Palestinian refugees and restore the property they left behind when they were forced to flee during the 1948 Independence War and in the Six-Day War in 1967.

The report, commissioned by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, includes recommendations for rehabilitating Palestinian refugees where they currently reside, much like Israel rehabilitated Jews who fled from Arab countries.

According to the report: “The phenomenon of perpetuating the refugee condition must end immediately; rehabilitating the refugees inside their destination countries will help reduce the demand for the Right of Return during core issue peace talks. Regardless, the Right of Return that many (Palestinian) refugees insist upon is to be granted on the condition they return only to within the borders of the future Palestinian state, which would be created as a result of a peace agreement.”

The Foreign Ministry report also recommended raising the issue of compensation for Jewish refugees from Arab countries within the framework of future peace talks. The compensation would be provided through an international fund, which would be established in accordance with proposals from former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2000 and the U.S. Congress in 2008. This fund would aid in rehabilitating refugees where they currently reside, including retroactively assisting countries that have already invested in rehabilitating refugees, such as Israel and Jordan. The fund would also deal with the considerable amounts of Jewish property in Arab countries. To promote these issues Ayalon has planned a public diplomacy campaign, which is to include aiding like-minded non-governmental organizations.

The report further states that 856,000 Jews from Arab countries were uprooted from their homes, compared to 800,000 Arabs from Israel (within the Green Line). Ayalon explained that approximately half of Israel’s citizens have parents or grandparents who came from Arab countries. Therefore, within the framework of possible future peace negotiations, all aspects of these issues must be addressed. Meanwhile, Jewish property in Arab countries is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars.

The matter has received high-level political support thus far. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that the refugee issue needed to be “offset.” Netanyahu also said that “either way, an equal number of Jewish refugees were expelled from Arab countries. We absorbed them and didn’t turn them into an excuse for perpetual conflict.” The prime minister added that “the reason for the conflict is not the refugees, because attacks against Jews began in Jaffa in 1920, years before there were refugees in 1948. The reason [for the conflict] is the lack of Arab willingness to recognize the existence of a Jewish state.”

But the sad truth is the world doesn't care, and will side with the Arabs.

As regional threats grow, Israel increases operations overseas in Iran,
Lebanon, and Sudan, according to foreign reports.
By IDF Spokesman's Unit

The IDF has significantly increased the number of overseas covert operations
it has conducted over the past year, an indication of the growing threats
Israel faces in the region, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Most of the details about the operations are classified, including the exact
number, but according to foreign reports, the IDF has operated in places
such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran.

The one confirmed covert operation in the past year was in March 2011, when
commandos from the navy’s elite Flotilla 13 – or Shayetet 13 – boarded the
Victoria cargo ship sailing in the Mediterranean from Turkey en route to
Egypt.

The ship was carrying 50 tons of weaponry, including a number of advanced
radar-guided anti-ship missiles destined for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

In December, foreign reports claimed the Israel Air Forcebombed two arms
convoys on their way to the Gaza Strip in Sudan. One of the reports claimed
an Israeli helicopter was spotted over an island near Sudan and that a
submarine was also detected in the area.

Last April a car was bombed near Port Sudan. Arab media reports accused
Israel of the strike against the car whose occupants were reportedly
Islamist terrorists involved in arms-smuggling to Hamas.

The IDF has a number of units that specialize in covert operations – the Air
Force is in command of Shaldag, Military Intelligence in command of the
General Staff Reconnaissance Unit (Sayeret Matkal) and the navy in command
of Shayetet 13.

While the number of operations conducted by Israel’s special forces has
increased over the past year, there has been a feeling within the General
Staff since the Second Lebanon War that the units could do more if they
worked closer together and if there was better coordination between their
respective branches.

In an effort to improve their capabilities, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen.
Benny Gantz decided in December to establish the “Depth Corps” – a new unit
that will oversee operations deep in enemy territory.

The corps will be headed by Maj.-Gen. Shai Avital, a former commander of the
General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, who has been out of the IDF for over a
decade. Gantz selected Avital due to his expertise in deep-covert
operations.

The purpose of the corps will be to enable each unit – Sayeret Matkal,
Shaldag and Shayetet – to retain their unique capabilities and at the same
time create better coordination between themselves.

Posted: January 31, 2012 at 6:49 am

In the past 50 years, college graduation rates in developed countries have increased nearly 200%, according to Education at a Glance 2011, a recently published report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report shows that while education has improved across the board, it has not improved evenly, with some countries enjoying much greater rates of educational attainment than others. Based on the report, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 developed countries with the most educated populations.

The countries with the most highly educated citizens are also some of the wealthiest in the world. The United States, Japan and Canada are on our list and also have among the largest GDPs. Norway and Australia, also featured, have the second and sixth-highest GDPs per capita, respectively. All these countries aggressively invest in education.

The countries that invest the most in education have the most-educated people. All of the best-educated countries, except for the UK, fall within the top 15 OECD countries for greatest spending on tertiary — that is, college or college-equivalent — spending as a percentage of GDP. The U.S. spends the second most and Canada spends the fourth most.

Interestingly, public expenditure on educational institutions relative to private spending by these countries is small compared with other countries in the OECD. While the majority of education is still funded with public money, eight of the countries on our list rely the least on public funding as a percentage of total education spending.

The countries included here have had educated populations for a long time. While they have steadily increased the percentages of their populations with postsecondary educations, the increases are modest compared to developing countries. The U.S., Canada and Japan have had tertiary educational attainment above 30% since at least 1997. Poland, a recently developed country that is not on our list, had a tertiary educational rate of 10% in 1997. As of 2009, that rate had grown to 21%.

These are the 10 most educated countries in the world.

10. Finland
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 37%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 1.8% (3rd lowest)
> GDP per capita: $36,585 (14th highest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 3.15% (10th lowest)

Finland is a small country relative to the other OECD members. The share of its adult population with some sort of postsecondary education, however, is rather large. This select group is reaching the end of its expansion. From 1999 to 2009, the number of college-educated adults increased only 1.8% annually — the third-smallest amount among all OECD countries. Finland is also one of only two countries, the other being Korea, in which the fields of social sciences, business and law are not the most popular among students. In Finland, new entrants are most likely to study engineering, manufacturing and construction.

9. Australia
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 37%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 3.3% (11th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $40,719 (6th highest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 14.63% (3rd highest)

Australia’s population grew 14.63% between 2000 and 2009. This is the third-largest increase among OECD countries. Its tertiary-educated adult population is increasing at the much less impressive annual rate of 3.3%. Australia also spends the sixth-least amount in public funds on education as a percentage of all expenditures. The country also draws large numbers of international students.

8. United Kingdom
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 37%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 4.0% (9th highest)
> GDP per capita: $35,504 (16th highest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 3.47% (13th lowest)

Unlike most of the countries with the highest percentage of educated adults, the UK’s educated group increased measurably — more than 4% between 1999 and 2009. Its entire population only grew 3.5% between 2000 and 2009. One aspect that the UK does share with a number of other countries on this list is relatively low public expenditure on education institutions as a percentage of all educational spending. As of 2008, 69.5% of spending came from public sources — the fourth-smallest amount among OECD countries.

7. Norway
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 37%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): N/A
> GDP per capita: $56,617 (2nd highest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 7.52% (14th highest)

Norway has the third-greatest expenditure on educational institutions as a percentage of GDP, at 7.3%. Roughly 23% of that is spent on tertiary education. In Norway, more than 60% of all tertiary graduates were in a bachelor’s program, well more than the U.S., which is close to the OECD average of 45%. The country is one of the wealthiest in the world. GDP per capita is $56,617, second only to Luxembourg in the OECD.

6. South Korea
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 39%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 5.3% (5th highest)
> GDP per capita: $29,101 (13th lowest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 3.70% (14th lowest)

Korea is another standout country for its recent increase in the percentage of its population that has a tertiary education. Graduates increased 5.3% between 1999 and 2009, the fifth-highest among OECD countries. Like the UK, this rate is greater than the country’s recent population growth. Korea is also one of only two countries — the other being Finland — in which the most popular fields of study are not social sciences, business and law. In Korea, new students choose to study education, humanities and arts at the greatest rates. Only 59.6% of expenditures on educational institutions come from public funds — the second-lowest rate.

5. New Zealand
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 40%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 3.5% (14th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $29,871 (14th lowest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 11.88% (8th largest)

New Zealand is not a particularly wealthy country. GDP per capita is less than $30,000, and is the 14th lowest in the OECD. However, 40% of the population engages in tertiary education, the fifth-highest rate in the world. The country actually has a rapidly growing population, increasing 11.88% between 2000 and 2009. This was the eighth-largest increase in the OECD. Part of the reason for the high rate of tertiary graduates is the high output from secondary schools. More than 90% of residents graduate from secondary school.

4. United States
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 41%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 1.4% (the lowest)
> GDP per capita: $46,588 (4th highest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 8.68% (12th highest)

The U.S. experienced a fairly large growth in population from 2000 to 2009. During the period, the population increased 8.68% — the 12th highest among OECD countries. Meanwhile, the rate at which the share of the population with a tertiary education is growing has slowed to an annual rate of 1.4% — the lowest among the 34 OECD countries. Just 71% of funding for educational institutions in the country comes from public funds, placing the U.S. sixth-lowest in this measure. Among OECD countries, the largest share of adults with a tertiary education live in the United States — 25.8%.

3. Japan
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 44%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 3.2% (10th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $33,751 (17th lowest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 0.46% (6th lowest)

In Japan, 44% of the adult population has some form of tertiary education. The U.S. by comparison has a rate of 41%. Japan’s population increased just 0.46% between 2000 and 2009, the sixth-slowest growth rate in the OECD, and the slowest among our list of 10. Japan is tied with Finland for the third-highest upper-secondary graduation rate in the world, at 95%. It has the third-highest tertiary graduation rate in the world, but only spends the equivalent of 1.5% of GDP on tertiary education — the 17th lowest rate in the OECD.

2. Israel
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 45%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): N/A
> GDP per capita: $28,596 (12th lowest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 19.02% (the highest)

Although there is no data on the percentage of Israeli citizens with postsecondary education dating back to 1999, the numbers going back to 2002 show that growth is slowing dramatically compared to other countries. In fact, in 2006, 46% of adults ages 25 to 64 had a tertiary education. In 2007 this number fell to 44%. Only 78% of funds spent on educational institutions in Israel are public funds. The country is also only one of three — the other two being Ireland and Sweden — where expenditure on educational institutions as a proportion of GDP decreased from 2000 to 2008. Israel also had the largest increase in overall population, approximately 19% from 2000 to 2009.

1. Canada
> Pct. population with postsecondary education: 50%
> Avg. annual growth rate (1999 – 2009): 2.3% (5th lowest)
> GDP per capita: $39,070 (10th highest)
> Pop. change (2000 – 2009): 9.89% (10th highest)

In Canada, 50% of the adult population has completed tertiary education, easily the highest rate in the OECD. Each year, public and private expenditure on education amount to 2.5% of GDP, the fourth-highest rate in the world. Tertiary education spending accounts for 41% of total education spending in the country. In the U.S., the proportion is closer to 37%. In Israel, the rate is 22%. In Canada, nearly 25% of students have an immigrant background.

Charles B. Stockdale, Michael B. Sauter

Read more: The 10 Most Educated Countries in the World - 24/7 Wall St. http://247wallst.com/2012/01/31/the-10-most-educated-countries-in-the-world/#ixzz1l2HpiQhY

Leaving culinary powers like France and Germany behind, Israeli team takes first place in 2012 Bread Baking Cup in Rimini, Italy
Sarit Sardas-Trotino

The Israeli team took the first place in the European 2012 Bread Baking Cup over the weekend, beating culinary powers like France and Germany and leaving countries like Portugal and Britain far behind.

The competition, held in Rimini Fiera in Italy, included four different categories. Israel won two of them: Innovative Bread with a Health Focus and Baked Dessert.

Culinary Cooperation
In the first category, the Israelis prepared a modern version of pita bread with falafel. They baked green pita bread (with spinach), filled it with cheese balls coated with pistachio, and sprinkled yogurt sauce on top.

For dessert, the team prepared Black Forest-style strawberry and fruit brioche.

In the Traditional Bread category, the Israelis came in second after serving the judges whole-wheat bread with eggplant and Pecorino cheese.

In the last category, Artistic Bread Centerpiece, the bakers created a tambourine alongside Jacob's Ladder and the angels, but were only ranked fourth.

The team captain was baker Eli Avraham, and other member included pastry chef Eran Schwarzbard, artistic bread designer Osnat Lipson and baker Alex Besser.

"We prepared for the competition for a long time, making many changes in the pastries until we came up with the perfect recipes," said team trainer Jacky Hazan, the bakers and pastry chefs' representative at the Israel Chef Association. "This victory proves that Israeli chefs and bakers are at the forefront in the world."

The German team took the second place in the championship, while Australia came in third.

Yedioth Ahronoth inquiry based on international organizations' figures reveals Jewish state has GDP per capita of some $30,000– 10 times higher than Palestinian Authority
Gad Lior

Israel ranks fourth compared to 30 Arab countries in its standard of living and gross domestic product per capita, and is preceded by only Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, according to a Yedioth Ahronoth inquiry.

The inquiry was based on figures compiled by international economic organizations, like the IMF and OECD, and the CIA and Economist.

According to the data, at the end of 2011 Israel preceded nearly all Arab countries, and by a huge gap. Most figures fail to include the drop in GDP in countries which recently experiences a popular uprising or change of government (Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya).

Qatar, which has a population of only one million people, has the highest GDP in the world: $177,591 per capita. Second and third in the world are Lichtenstein (35,000 residents and a GDP per capita of $142,695) and Luxemburg (500,000 residents and a GDP per capita of $81,641).

In the Arab world, Kuwait ranks second (eighth in the world) with a GDP of $52,588, and UAE third (10th in the world) with $47,935 per capita.

Israel ranks fourth in the Middle East with a population of some eight millions people and a $29,359 GDP per capita. The Jewish state ranks 44th in the world in its residents' GDP.

Oman ranks fifth in the Arab world and 52nd in the world (three million residents and a $25,047 GDP per capita), just before Bahrain which is 53rd in the world with a GDP per capita of $24,459.

Saudi Arabia – the first large Muslim country on the list – is sixth (54th in the world) with a GDP per capita of $23,803 for its 26 million residents.

Malaysia ranks seventh with 29 million residents and a GDP per capita of $14,425, followed by Lebanon (80th in the world) with a $14,330 GDP per capita.

The top 10 countries list concludes with Libya (a population of seven million people and a $13,727 GDP per capita) and Turkey (71 million people and a $12,300 GDP). They are followed by Iran in the 11th place with 78 million people and a GDP of 10,511 per capita.

In the Palestinian Authority territories, which have a population of four million people, the GDP totals $3,027 – about one-tenth of Israel's GDP.

At the bottom of the Muslim countries list one can find Tanzania (GDP of $1,367 per capita), Niger ($671) and Somalia ($594 per capita for 10 million residents).

South Sudan ranks 223rd in the world, with an estimated $500 per capita for its eight million residents – 0.016% of the Israeli standard of living.

Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat – Free Syrian Army [FSA] Deputy Commander Colonel
Malik al-Kurdi informed Asharq Al-Awsat that the al-Farouq Brigade of the
FSA captured 7 Iranians involved in the suppression of Syrian citizens in
the city of Homs last week. He revealed that 5 of the Iranians are “military
specialists belonging to the Iranian Republic Guard”, whilst the other two
are civilians.

The Deputy FSA commander told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the operation to capture
this group took place after an FSA reconnaissance patrol observed a group
affiliated to the Syrian army – with armed escorts – scouting the Bab
al-Seba area of Homs.”

He said “this operation was undertaken after the al-Farouq Brigade noticed
this group and their armed escorts were acting suspiciously in Bab el-Seba”
adding “they were armed with automatic weapons and sniper rifles.”

Colonel al-Kurdi revealed that “a firefight broke out between the [Iranian]
group’s armed escorts and the al-Farouq Brigade, but they were able to
arrest 7 members of this group in Bab al-Seba…which was later subject to
heavy bombardment from the Syrian regime. This is why we transferred them
outside of Homs, for fear that the Syrian security services would launch
operations against civilians [in Homs].”

Al-Kurdi claimed that these Iranians had taken part in the brutal crackdown
launched by the al-Assad regime against the Syrian protesters. A video
showing the 7 Iranians was released by the FSA yesterday, the video showed
the captives’ travel documents, whilst the deputy FSA commander informed
Asharq Al-Awsat that the Iranian’s did not have Syrian visas or work permits
or any other indication as to how and indeed when they arrived in the
country.

In the short video, one of the captives, speaking Farsi, reportedly
confesses “I am Sajjad Amirian, a member of the Revolutionary Guards of the
Iranian armed forces. I am a member of the team in charge of cracking down
on protesters in Syria, and we received our orders directly from the
security division of the Syrian Air Force in Homs.”

He adds “I urge Mr. Khamenei to work on securing our release and return to
our homes.”

In light of this, the opposition Syrian National Council [SNC] on Saturday
accused Iran of “participation” in the Syrian crackdown on protesters, and
called on Tehran to stop aiding the Damascus regime.

SNC member Samir Neshar, speaking to a press conference in Istanbul, said
“the SNC condemns the participation of the Iranian regime in killing Syrians
who are demanding freedom and urges it to stop taking part in quelling the
Syrian revolution in order to protect the relations between the two people.”

The Iranian State News agency IRNA did not include any news about the arrest
of Iranian soldiers in Syria; however a report claimed that “11 Iranian
pilgrims travelling by road to Damascus were kidnapped by an unknown group”.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast was quoted as saying
“We call on the Syrian government to use all means…to release the Iranian
nationals.”

Following are comments made by Defense Minister Ehud Barak earlier today
(Monday), 30.1.12:

"Yesterday I returned from a few days in Davos. During the global forum, I
was able to meet with a host of leaders, ministers and economic figures. I
met with Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad, IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano,
and Swiss Defense and Civil Protection Minister Ueli Maurer, among other
leaders.

Over the course of the various meetings we repeatedly emphasized our stance
that we must urgently intensify and broaden the sanctions against Iran. The
determination of world leaders is critical in order to prevent the Iranians
from advancing their military-nuclear program. We must not waste time on
this matter; the Iranians continue to advance [towards nuclear weapons],
identifying every crack and squeezing through. Time is urgently running
out. "

Pentagon says "bunker-buster" bomb built specifically to penetrate heavily fortified nuclear facilities will not be effective against Iranian bunkers buried deep in the mountains, according to Wall Street Journal report • Pentagon secretly asks for an additional $82 million from Congress to improve bomb's capabilities • Panetta: We're going to have a stronger bomb soon.
Yoni Hirsch and Israel Hayom Staff, with additional reporting by Eli Leon

The U.S.'s biggest conventional bomb is not capable of destroying Iran's most heavily-guarded nuclear bunkers, the Pentagon has concluded, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Saturday.

The report, based on information from U.S. government sources, said the U.S. Department of Defense is boosting its efforts to make the bomb more powerful.

The 14-ton (30,000-pound) Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), known as the "bunker-buster" bomb, was built specifically to be able to pierce through the heavy fortifications surrounding Iranian and North Korean nuclear facilities.

However, initial experiments revealed that the bomb, as it is currently built, would not be able to destroy some Iranian nuclear facilities, either because of their depth in the ground or because of new fortifications added by Tehran to secure them.

Among the heavily-protected bunkers that the U.S. bomb would have difficulty penetrating is the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, buried deep in the mountains near the Iranian city of Qom, and surrounded by anti-aircraft batteries.

A U.S. official said some at the Pentagon believe conventional weapons will not be effective against the Fordow facility and that only a tactical nuclear weapon could work if the U.S. wants to completely destroy the facility.

"Once things go into the mountain, then really you have to have something that takes the mountain off," the official said.

He added that the MOP might have a better chance of destroying Iran's Natanz enrichment plant, "but even that is guesswork."

Doubts about the effectiveness of the MOP led the Pentagon this month to secretly seek an additional $82 million from Congress to improve the bomb's capabilities. The move comes as part of stepped-up preparations in the U.S. for a possible attack on Iran.

While some experts question whether any kind of conventional bomb could reach the deeply-hidden Iranian nuclear bunkers, officials in the U.S. Defense Department believe the MOP could already cause enough damage to delay Iran's nuclear program.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told The Wall Street Journal that he expected a more powerful MOP to be ready soon. "We're developing it. I think we're pretty close, let's put it that way. But we're still working at it because these things are not easy to be able to make sure that they will do what we want them to," he said. "But I'm confident, frankly, that we're going to have that capability and have it soon."

Panetta also said that Iran may not be the only potential target of the new bomb. "It's not just aimed at Iran. Frankly, it's aimed at any enemy that decides to locate it in some kind of impenetrable location. The goal here is to be able to get at any enemy, anywhere," he told The Wall Street Journal.

Pentagon spokesman George Little added, "The development of this weapon is not intended to send a signal to any one particular country ... It's a capability we believe we need in our arsenal and will continue to invest in it."

Meanwhile, The New York Times reported last week that Israeli intelligence assessments, supported by academic studies, have cast doubt on the widespread belief that an attack on Iran would ignite a "catastrophic set of events like a regional conflagration, widespread acts of terrorism and sky-high oil prices."

According to the report, the intelligence assessments, which several of the country's top officials have adopted, reveal that the threat of Iranian retaliation to an Israeli or U.S. attack "is partly bluff," and they are being taken into account in Israeli calculations of whether to strike Iran.

Another paper that will soon be published by Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Security Studies claims that Iran's recent threat that it will close the Strait of Hormuz is also largely a bluff.

Mother, aunt of Palestinian who took part in Itamar massacre appear on show focusing on prisoners held in Israel
Elior Levy

During a program aired on Palestinian television last week, the aunt of one of the Palestinians who took part in the brutal murder of five members of the Fogel family in the West Bank last march referred to him as a "hero" and "legend."

In August an Israeli court sentenced Hakim Awad to five consecutive life sentences for his part in the Itamar settlement massacre.

Awad's cousin Amjad was also sentenced to five life sentences and an additional seven years for brutally stabbing to death Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their children: Yoav (11) Elad (4) and four-month-old baby Hadas, last March.

In response to the aunt's comments, the show's host said, "We also wish them (murderers) well."

The aunt went on to read a poem she had written in the murderers' honor, while Hakim Awad's mother sent her regards to her son and proudly mentioned that he was the perpetrator of the Itamar massacre.

The broadcast was aired as part of a weekly show on the Palestinian state-run station called "For You," which focuses on Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

The broadcast was reported by Palestinian Media Watch – an Israel-based media watchdog organization.

How can we make peace with such people?

How can we not have a death penalty in Israel, for such people?