This week from Israel

* After about two years of preparation, the largest exercise ever between Israeli and American forces started last Sunday. The exercise, called AC12 (“Austere Challenge 12”), is a shared exercise combining the IDF and U.S forces stationed in Europe.It is due to last three weeks, during which cutting edge technology is tested for the first time. The participants will also examine and review new Israeli developments. The exercise is part of a long-term agreement between EUCOM (the United States European Command) and the IDF that calls for cooperative exercises on an annual basis.

* Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, celebrated its 100th anniversary in Jerusalem. Nearly 2000 people from all over the world arrivedin Israel in order to pay respect to the organization, and celebrate many years of activity. At a special dinner, the organization raised nearly 18 million dollars from supporters and members. 10 million was donated by Irene Pollin, which will launch a new heart disease prevention program at Hadassah. Other significant donations were also made that night. Million dollar gifts were announced, among them two sponsorships of Chagall Windows in the Abell Synagogue at Hadassah Ein Kerem. So far, the windows named for Jacob’s sons Judah and Levy, have been sponsored. Additionally, two $300,000 gifts were announced from two sides of the Atlantic: One from Chicago and one from Paris.

* This Sunday, Israel mentioned the 17th annual Memorial Day for the murder of Prime Minister, Izhak Rabin. Rabin was shot by a Jewish, Israeli assassin who disagreed with his political agenda and ways of action. Ever since that day, November 4th, 1995, we mention this day nation-wide, while emphasizing the ideas of Democracy and respect. Rabin himself was a major figure in Israeli history. He was the commander in chief of the IDF, Minister of Defense, and twice Prime Minister. While being Prime Minister, he signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1979 and with Jordan in 1994. In the same year, he won a Nobel peace prize.
An Israeli pride: The World Academy of Arts, Literature and Media (WAALM) has decided to give its annual award in the pop music category to Iranian-born Israeli singer Rita for her new album, “My Joys,” in which she sings in Persian. The album has been a great success since its release, and became one of the most heard albums in Iran. “>virtual tour of Jerusalem. This project founded by Tamir Orbaum, works in a similar way to Google Street, and took two years to conclude. In an interview for Yediot Ahronot newspaper, Tamir said the idea for the project came as a result of Google Earth's imbalanced representation of Jerusalem's holy site, setting the primary focus on the Christian sites and churches. In this tour, which launched last week, you can virtually visit the various Jewish sites in Jerusalem, including the Mount of Olives, the Hebrew University and Yamin Moshe neighborhood.