Marina Boykis's Public Library

18 Sep 09

03 Sep 09

Sky-high hopes - Haaretz - Israel News

www.haaretz.com/...1110624.html - Preview

Iron Dome missile-interception system, which is supposed to be deployed next year to protect communities in the vicinity of the Gaza Strip from attacks by missiles and rockets launched from a range of 4-70 kilometers.
Iron Dome is the short-range component of the defense establishment's multilayered antimissile protection program, which also includes the David's Slingshot system, with a range of up to 250 kilometers, and the Arrow 2 and 3 systems intended to destroy long-range missiles such as the Scud and Iran's Shahab.
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- Indeed, according to Military Intelligence, in the lull since Operation Cast Lead ended in January, Hamas has continued to improve the range and precision of its rockets.
- The introduction of Iron Dome will enable the antiaircraft division - which in recent years had to do with aging Hawk and Patriot antimissile batteries - to assume a more central role.
- The defense establishment does not reveal precise data, but a single Iron Dome battery should be able to protect a medium-sized city. One battery includes three to six launchers, each containing 20 Tamir missiles that can be fired at a rate of one per second. Ashkelon's residents are thus supposed to be able to sleep more peacefully once the system is in place.
- In accordance with IAF demands, all components of Iron Dome are mobile. Officers boast that an entire Iron Dome battalion and the system can be transported from Gaza to the northern border within hours.
- The forces that will operate Iron Dome, like those operating the Arrow and Patriot systems, sit at screens in air-conditioned rooms but their commanders insist on calling them "combat soldiers." This stems partly from the desire to attract what the IDF calls "quality" people to these units.

31 Aug 09

The Future of Reading - ‘Reading Workshop’ Approach Lets Students Pick the Books - Series - NYTimes.com

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news

25 Aug 09

The New York Times Magazine - Features - Columns - Style - The New York Times

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news

Introducing "The Slatest," a better news aggregator. - By David Plotz - Slate Magazine

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aggregator

One-third of outstanding Israeli schools are from Arab sector - Haaretz - Israel News

www.haaretz.com/...1109607.html - Preview

education

Fifty-two percent of students graduating from the Israel Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem received an "outstanding" grade on their matriculation exams - the highest percentage among all high schools in the country.
About 40 percent of the best performers were national religious schools, and 33 percent were Arab schools. Only 26 percent were ordinary secular schools.
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- To get an outstanding score, a student must have a weighted average of 90 or above if he took exams in a total of 30 or more study units, and 95 or above if he took 25 to 30 units. Only a few thousand students every year meet this standard.
- Ali Assadi, Albion's principal, said his school draws its students, most of whom are Muslim, from all over northern Israel. To be accepted, applicants must have had an average of 85 or higher in junior high.
- none of the teachers have tenure: "If I see a burned-out or conservative teacher, I immediately get rid of him. The ability to choose the teachers affects the students' achievements."
- Rabbi Oded Meislisch, Horev's principal, declined to say how much tuition the school charges, but acknowledged that there is an entry exam. He said the school places "a very strong emphasis on Torah combined with secular studies," and "the connection to values and excellence produces the results."

David Ignatius - Iraq's Iranian Connection - washingtonpost.com

www.washingtonpost.com/...AR2009082402491.html - Preview

iraq iran

Israel's main source of water faces dire shortage - Haaretz - Israel News

www.haaretz.com/...1109874.html - Preview

Mekorot, the national water company
132 million cubic meters of water from Lake Kinneret this year - about one quarter of the annual average
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- the National Water Carrier went into service in 1964
- The level of the lake is currently about 45 centimeters lower than it was at this time last year, but it is unlikely it will maintain this level; the Water Authority predicts that the level will fall to 214.87 meters below sea level, lower than the "black line" below which the lake's pumps cannot operate properly.
- high-quality water available to farmers from three basins: the Kinneret, the Yarkon-Taninim aquifer and the coastal aquifer.

18 Aug 09

untitled

spirit.tau.ac.il/...IsraelAfrica.pdf - Preview

news

15 Aug 09

Knesset Speaker: Establishment of Israel caused Arabs real trauma - Haaretz - Israel News

www.haaretz.com/...1104884.html - Preview

israeliarabs

Poll: Half of Israelis feel those born elsewhere can't be 'true Israelis' - Haaretz - Israel News

www.haaretz.com/...1104894.html - Preview

14 Aug 09

AARP: Health, Travel, Baby Boomers, Elections, Financial Planning, Family, Games, Volunteer, Retirement, Discounts, Seniors

www.aarp.org - Preview

news

Op-Ed Contributors - The Two-State Solution Doesn’t Solve Anything - NYTimes.com

www.nytimes.com/...11malley.html - Preview

The result of this deliberation was Hamas’s message that it would adhere to the internationally accepted wisdom — a Palestinian state within the borders of 1967, the year Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas also coupled its concession with caveats aplenty, demanding full Israeli withdrawal, full Palestinian sovereignty and respect for the refugees’ rights. In this, there was little to distinguish its position from conventional Palestinian attitudes.