Israel boosts funding for ultra-Orthodox tech entrepreneurs

timesofisrael

Israel’s Innovation Authority, in charge of setting out the nation’s technology policies and funding startups in their earliest stages, said it was expanding its support for ultra-Orthodox tech entrepreneurs, to make it easier for them to access funding and integrate into Israel’s booming tech scene.

A statement from the Ministry of Economy and Industry said that under the revised terms of a program that has been in force since 2014, technology enterprises at least 33 percent-owned by ultra-Orthodox entrepreneurs will be eligible for funding for two years: 75% of their R&D expenses for the first year and 70% for the second. The original program only provided funding for one year.

These startups will also be eligible for grants of NIS 2.5 million ($682,000) in the first year and of up to NIS 4.5 million in the second year. The program originally granted NIS 2.3 million in the first year alone.

Fact-checking Donald Trump's talking points about the economy

politifact.

President Donald Trump campaigned hard on a promise to kick the economy into high gear and with the latest economic numbers, he had something to crow about. The economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent between April and June.

Trump said the country was seeing proof of the power of his tax- and regulation-cutting agenda. Let’s take a look at some of his assertions and see whether they hold up.

Quarterly increases of at least 4 percent are not unheard of. That level was reached four times under President Barack Obama, including heights Trump has not yet reached, such as 4.6 percent (twice) and 5.2 percent (once). On two other occasions, Obama oversaw 3.9 percent growth.

Quarterly increases of at least 4 percent are not unheard of. That level was reached four times under President Barack Obama, including heights Trump has not yet reached, such as 4.6 percent (twice) and 5.2 percent (once). On two other occasions, Obama oversaw 3.9 percent growth.

Donald Trump's shutdown threat is big trouble for Republicans

Without the border wall, Donald Trump might have only been a gold-matted asterisk in the 2016 presidential race. But with the border wall, the longshot real estate billionaire went from political purgatory to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Given the centrality of his pledge to build a wall along the southern border of the United States (muffled voice: And make Mexico pay for it), Trump is totally committed to ensuring that he can go to voters in 2020 and tell them he made good on that most important of promises. Which is a big, big, big problem for Republicans desperately trying to hold onto their House and Senate majorities in 99 days' time.

"I would have no problem doing a shutdown," Trump said bluntly during a joint press conference Monday afternoon with Italy's prime minister. That bombshell confirmed a Trump tweet from over the weekend. "I would be willing to 'shut down' government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall," Trump tweeted on Sunday. "Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!"

Those twin pronouncements will land like a rotting fish head at a dinner party for the likes of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan.

For every second since the last time the government shut down -- in January -- McConnell has insisted it would not happen again.

"The Senate has a lot to do this week," he said from the Senate floor just moments after Trump made his shutdown threat Monday. "We'll finish up the set of appropriations measures we've been considering for several days and take four more big steps towards our goal of completing a regular appropriations process and funding the government in a timely and orderly manner."

McConnell's quote is the essence of envisioning the best possible result in the future, repeating it as much as possible and hoping that it comes true.

McConnell figures if he says "no shutdown" enough, he will keep it from happening. But wishful thinking is not legislation that funds the government. And, with only 11 -- yes 11! -- legislative days between now and the September 30 government shutdown, McConnell knows better than anyone how politically dangerous Trump's threats actually are.

BAILING OUT TRUMP TARIFF LOSSES COULD COST 3 TIMES INITIAL ESTIMATE

newsweek

 A bailout for the industries affected by President Donald Trump’s trade war would total $39 billion, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned Monday morning.

Trump appropriated $12 billion to bail out American farmers reeling from escalating tariffs last week. Now the Chamber of Commerce, which opposes changes to the global tariff system, worries that these measures may be extended to other sectors of the economy.

In a statement, Neil Bradley, the chamber’s executive vice president and chief policy officer, warned that the farmer aid package could send the U.S. down "a slippery—and costly—slope."

“While America's agricultural industry has been hit extremely hard by escalating tariffs, it's not alone,” wrote Bradley. "Thousands of U.S. companies—including manufacturers, input suppliers, fisherman, and businesses from numerous other industries—are finding it more difficult to sell American made products abroad amid the growing trade war."

The Jew who spied for the Nazis

ynet

Journalist and author Eldad Eyal reveals in his book the painful truth about his family: his uncle was forced to aid the Nazis in exterminating the Jews in Romania, fled to Brazil after WWII and spent the rest of his life in hiding, isolated from everyone he cared for.

Religious IDF soldiers forced to listen to transgender lecture

ARUTZ7

The IDF forced soldiers attending commanders course to attend a pro-transgender lecture given by an LGBT activist despite complaints from observant troops that it violated their religious beliefs.

According to the Channel 2 report, the lecture was related to the LGBT protests regarding the Surrogacy Law. The class was run under the auspices of the base's Education Corps, which provides a schedule of mandatory educational events for troops throughout the course.

"As part of our training course, we were forced to enter into a class with a transgender person," one soldier messaged his rabbi. "During the lecture, there were clear messages about connecting to our femininity and how much the subject of sex is above everything. "

"I feel that it hurts me as a religious soldier and as a combat soldier who wants to be part of the team," the soldier added. "Suddenly, because I emphasized that I do not agree with this issue, it makes me ashamed of the opinion that I grew up because it was perceived as primitive and different from all of them."

According to the report, the entire Educational Corps at the base was dedicated to promoting the LGBT narrative and had close ties to the pro-gay Hoshen organization, which the IDF recently stopped collaborating with.

BRITAIN'S LABOUR PARTY SUSPENDS COUNCILLOR FOR JEWS 'DRINK BLOOD' FACEBOOK POST

newsweek

Britain's Labour Party suspended councillor Damien Enticott after a Facebook post from earlier this month, in which he suggested "Jews are parasites" that "drink blood" and perform sexual acts on children, surfaced. 

A screenshot of Enticott's July 4 Facebook comment and post was tweeted out by former councillor and Jewish Labor Movement member Adam Langleben Friday with the remark, "Ladies and Gentleman. A Labour Councillor in 2018. But yeah. All just a smear."

Enticott is a councillor in the town of Bognor Regis on England's south coast and a member of the Labour Party, the center-left U.K. political party led by Jeremy Corbyn. The party has been mired in controversy over anti-Semitism in recent months, with several incidents making headlines, and some members of the party declaring the accusations unfair. 

Palestinian Teen Protest Icon Released From Israeli Prison

nrp

Seventeen-year-old Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi has been released from Israeli prison after serving an eight-month sentence for slapping Israeli soldiers during a confrontation that went viral on the Internet. The teen has become a symbol of resistance for many Palestinians; for many Israelis, she's seen as a provocateur.

Tamini was greeted by jubilant crowds in her village of Nabi Saleh, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as she smiled and embraced family members.

"Power to the people," she said. "The people can decide their way of resistance." Tamimi called for continued resistance to Israeli occupation.

Last year, her mother posted a video on social media that showed her kicking and slapping Israeli soldiers outside her family home. It went viral and led to her arrest in December. Her trial opened in February at an Israeli military court and in March she agreed to plead guilty to charges including assault.

GDP growth touted as “historic” by Trump is anything but

cbs

We've accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions," Mr. Trump remarked Friday at the White House shortly after the Commerce Department released its GDP report.

In fact, Mr. Trump didn't inherit a fixer-upper economy.

The U.S. economy just entered its 10th year of growth, a recovery that began under President Barack Obama, who inherited the Great Recession. The data show that the falling unemployment rate and gains in home values reflect the duration of the recovery, rather than any major changes made since 2017 by the Trump administration.

While Mr. Trump praised the 4.1 percent annual growth rate in the second quarter, the economy exceeded that level four times during the Obama presidency: in 2009, 2011 and twice in 2014.

In purely numerical terms, a larger shift took place in the second quarter of 2014, when the economy went from contracting by 1 percent to growing at a rate of 5.1 percent

The New York Times Publisher Met With President Trump to Discuss Anti-Media Rhetoric

WASH POST

time

The publisher of The New York Times said Sunday he “implored” President Donald Trump at a private White House meeting this month to reconsider his broad attacks on journalists, calling the president’s anti-press rhetoric “not just divisive but increasingly dangerous.”

In a statement, publisher A.G. Sulzberger said he decided to comment publicly after Trump revealed their off-the-record meeting to his more than 53 million Twitter followers on Sunday. Trump’s aides had requested that the July 20 meeting not be made public, Sulzberger said.

“Had a very good and interesting meeting at the White House with A.G. Sulzberger, Publisher of The New York Times. Spent much time talking about the vast amounts of Fake News being put out by the media & how that Fake News has morphed into phrase, “Enemy of the People.” Sad!” Trump wrote.

Trump threatening to shut down the government if he doesn't get border wall