Ask Ambassador Oren, yes, me

One of my initiatives is to give you access into my world, share my experiences as an Ambassador and get your feedback. So, I'm proud to introduce "Ask Oren" where I'll take your questions and answer the best of them on video this Monday.

**To participate, ask your quesiton as a comment on Facebook or use the hashtag #AskOren on Twitter.

Let me know what's on your mind about Israel--politics, innovation, or the economy. Culture too.   

Then, check back Monday afternoon, April 4 to see my answers.

Ask your question here 

Elitzur Ramla wins EuroCup

Israeli women's basketball club Elitzur Ramla won the second leg of the EuroCup final in France, beating French club Arras 61-53.

Ramla is the first Israeli women's basketball team to capture a European cup.

The first leg last week in Ramla ended with a 61-61 tie.  

Team captain Shay Doron - the first Israeli woman in WNBA, Laine Selwyn, Tanasha Wright and the other players in black and yellow celebrated a historic achievement in the history of the club, which until this season has reached two European semi-finals (in 1998 and 2008), but never made it to the end - until now.

NY judge cites PLO offices in US as he allows lawsuits over Israel bombings to proceed
A New York judge has concluded that he has jurisdiction to preside over litigation resulting from a lawsuit filed against the Palestine Liberation Organization by victims of bombings in Israel.
Federal Judge George Daniels in Manhattan said in a written order Wednesday that the PLO had offices in Washington and New York during a three-year period when the bombings occurred. He said that creates enough of a connection to the United States to allow the lawsuit to proceed here. The ruling came in a 2004 lawsuit that seeks up to $3 billion in damages as a result of attacks between January 2001 and February 2004.

Read more 

Defund the UNRWA

In all Arab states except for Jordan, legal restrictions prevent Palestinians from leading normal lives, forcing them instead to remain, as they have for over 60 years, dependent on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The organization meant to help the Palestinians is also a major obstacle to their well-being and peace with Israel. UNRWA facilities are hotbeds of anti-Israeli, anti-Western and anti-Semitic indoctrination, and according to the Palestinian Press Agency, Hamas has stored weapons in tunnels dug beneath UNRWA schools. Its staffers intimidate anyone from taking a stand in favor of peaceful coexistence with Israel.
This helps explain why the Canadian government announced last year that it would defund UNRWA and divert taxpayer monies to specific projects to help Palestinians. The U.S. is the largest Western investor in UNRWA, providing a third of its total budget. Americans and Europeans alike would do well to follow Canada's example and use tax money to promote independent Palestinian organizations and private-sector growth instead.

Read more 

'We Need to Strengthen Jewish Identity and Pride'

Rabbi Yehuda Ben Yishai, father of Ruth Fogel z"l, who was brutally murdered by terrorists just under three weeks ago along with her husband, Udi, and three of their children in the Shomron community of Itamar, gave an interview to Machon Meir's television channel

During the interview, Rabbi Ben Yishai referred to meetings he and his family had with Israel's leaders, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, following the murders.

Read more 

   

Watch the video 

A World View Interview with Benjamin Netanyahu

Channel 2 and YouTube bring you a special interview with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, in which citizens ask questions about the peace process, unrest in the Middle East, and more.

 

Watch the video 

In Israel, Treasures for Those Willing to Dig

You might have mistaken it for a typical summer barbecue: friends sprawled on a sandy ledge, shielded from the sun by a tarp flapping sporadically from an elusive sea breeze, listening to Kings of Leon blare from minispeakers connected to an iPod as they poked at the embers of a campfire.  

Except the fire went out 2,500 years ago.

Still, the campers in Ashkelon, Israel, about 35 miles south of Tel Aviv along the Mediterranean coast, were mesmerized by the layer of white ash that adhered to a blackened base. Deftly wielding bamboo sticks, dental tools and trowels, they sifted the soot gingerly in an attempt to identify those who might have flanked this fire pit around 500 B.C., what was being cooked and where it came from.

Read more 

Fighting Back Against Campus Anti-Semitism 

Last March Jessica Felber, a Jewish undergraduate at the University of California at Berkeley, was holding a placard bearing the words: "Israel Wants Peace," when Husam Zakaria, a leader of Students for Justice in Palestine, rammed Felber from behind so hard with a loaded shopping cart that she had to be taken to the university's urgent medical care facility. Felber fought back, charging this month in a federal lawsuit that UC Berkeley has ignored mounting evidence of anti-Jewish animus and should be held liable for the injuries she suffered. Her suit also contends that "physical intimidation and violence were frequently employed as a tactic by SJP and other campus groups in an effort to silence students on campus who support Israel."    The problem does not reflect a broad-based resurgence of anti-Semitic attitudes on college campuses, nor does it even suggest a widespread collegiate rejection of Israel in favor of the Palestinian cause. The problem is that a small minority of anti-Israel and perhaps anti-Semitic academics have gained disproportionate influence on many campuses.

Read more