Around lunchtime yesterday, an armed man entered a branch of Bank Hapoalim in a residential area. In the ensuing standoff with police, two bank employees and two customers were killed before the gunman killed himself.

While initial reports called the incident a botched robbery, subsequent information has revealed a slightly different picture. According to the Jerusalem Post, the gunman, 40-year-old former border guard Itamar Alon, had recently been denied an extension on his credit due to an outstanding debt.

The victims were branch manager Avner Cohen, deputy manager Meir Zeitoun, and customers Anat Evan-Haim and Idan Schnitzer Sabiri.

Hawking was originally invited to speak at a conference hosted by Israel’s President Shimon Peres. His boycott of the event is part of a larger academic boycott encouraged by the British Committee for the Universities of Palestine, a group strongly opposed to the occupation of Palestine.

The Committee provided the following statement on Hawking, which he later endorsed:

“Hawking joined the academic boycott of Israel and pulled out of the Israeli Presidential Conference: Facing Tomorrow 2013, under the auspices of President Peres. This is his independent decision to respect the boycott, based upon his knowledge of Palestine, and on the unanimous advice of his own academic contacts there.”

Hawking, and the boycott as a whole, was derided by the conference chairman:

“The academic boycott against Israel is in our view outrageous and improper, certainly for someone for whom the spirit of liberty lies at the basis of his human and academic mission,” said Israel Maimon.

Even without Hawking, the conference is expected to attract quite a few well-known people from around the world, including former British PM Tony Blair and former president Bill Clinton.

[h/t: AFP]

These include: Safaed, the coral reef in Eilat, the lowest point on earth at the Dead Sea, Acre, Tiberias, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum,Tel Meggido, Mamshit, Shivta, Bet She’an National Park, Tzippori, a nature reserve at Timna, El Carmel, Rahat, and Burma Road.

“Sports fans can even go inside Ramat Gan Stadium or Bloomfield,” says Street View program manager Ulf Spitzer. “And museum lovers can take in Haifa’s National Museum of Science, Technology & Space, the Holocaust Museum at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, the Ghetto Fighters Museum at Kibbutz Lochamei Ha’getaot, the Museum of Bedouin Culture in the Negev desert, or take a tour around the Egged Bus Museum.”

“We’ve added imagery from cities, towns and villages including Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be’er Sheva, Bnei Brak, Eilat, Isfyia, Kfar Qasem, Kiryat Gat, Nazareth, Netanya, Ofakim, Petah Tikva, Rishon LeTsiyon, Sderot, Tira, and many, many more,” adds Spitzer. “And stay tuned – we hope to expand coverage to still more of the region’s sites, streets, cities and towns in the future.”

Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee

The ‘Mushroom’ red sandstone rock formation at Timna

Ramat Gan Stadium

Haifa’s National Museum of Science, Technology & Space

Holocaust Museum at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai

What separates this particular offensive from past excursions is that Israel has threatened to cut off the Internet in Gaza. It may be an effective tactic in disrupting communications, but it affects thousands of civilians as well. Anonymous didn’t take too kindly to Israel’s action, and are now working under the #OpIsrael banner to protect Gaza citizens’ access to the Internet.

The group released a statement on the operation this morning:

For far to long, Anonymous has stood by with the rest of the world and watched in despair the barbaric, brutal and despicable treatment of the Palestinian people in the so called “Occupied Territories” by the Israel Defense Force. Like so many around the globe, we have felt helpless in the face of such implacable evil. And today’s insane attack and threatened invasion of Gaza was more of the same.

But when the government of Israel publicly threatened to sever all Internet and other telecommunications into and out of Gaza they crossed a line in the sand. As the former dictator of Egypt Mubarack learned the hard way – we are ANONYMOUS and NO ONE shuts down the Internet on our watch. To the IDF and government of Israel we issue you this warning only once. Do NOT shut down the Internet into the “Occupied Territories”, and cease and desist from your terror upon the innocent people of Palestine or you will know the full and unbridled wrath of Anonymous. And like all the other evil governments that have faced our rage, you will NOT survive it unscathed.

To the people of Gaza and the “Occupied Territories”, know that Anonymous stands with you in this fight. We will do everything in our power to hinder the evil forces of the IDF arrayed against you. We will use all our resources to make certain you stay connected to the Internet and remain able to transmit your experiences to the world. As a start, we have put together the Anonymous Gaza Care Package which contains instructions in Arabic and English that can aid you in the event the Israel government makes good on it’s threat to attempt to sever your Internet connection. It also contains useful information on evading IDF surveillance, and some basic first aid and other useful information. We will continue to expand and improve this document in the coming days, and we will transmit it to you by every means at our disposal. We encourage you to download this package, and to share it with your fellow Palestinians to the best of your ability.

We will be with you. No matter how dark it may seem, no matter how alone and abandoned you may feel – know that tens of thousands of us in Anonymous are with you and working tirelessly around the clock to bring you every aid and assistance that we can.

We Are Anonymous

We Are Everywhere

We Are Legion

We Do Not Forgive

We Do Not Forget

To the oppressors of the innocent Palestinian people, it is to late to EXPECT US

As part of the operation, Anonymous has been taking down and defacing various Israeli government and military sites in protest. The Anonymous Press says that over 40 Web sites have been taken down since the operation began.

The group is also looking for professional translators to translate its communications into Arabic and Hebrew. As it turns out, Google Translate isn’t that effective for either language, and civilians of both ethnicities stand to lose Internet in Gaza if the IDF follows through on its threat.

UPDATE: Anonymous is now saying that Internet access in some parts of Gaza has been taken down.

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Anonymous
@AnonIRC

#OpIsrael Update: We are getting reports from within Gaza that the internet–at least in some areas–is no longer accessible. @YourAnonNews

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5 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

[h/t: Business Insider]

The claim that the deceased was intentionally hit by the bulldozer is totally baseless…this was an extremely unfortunate accident.

Corrie died in 2003 after being run over by an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) bulldozer. She was in Israel with the International Solidarity Movement, She had knelt down in front of Palestinian homes that were being demolished, in protest over the destruction of those homes to make way for Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. Her death sparked outrage among international pro-palestinian groups and her parents sued Israel for negligence, asking, according to IBT, for legal expenses and the symbolic reward of $1.

The Corrie’s maintain that the Israeli government failed to follow up with a thorough investigation of their daughter’s death. The family’s lawyer, Abu Hussein, believes the ruling is another example of the Israeli military not being held accountable, and pointed out that the ruling could be seen as victim-blaming.

Three scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have discovered a way to see around corners and through walls with natural light. The technique is called scattered media and it’s kind of like the teleportation of light. As you may or may not know, what we see around us is actually light bouncing off of objects. Our eyes then process this light and create the images that we see.

Cameras work in much the same way. The only problem is that cameras, like our eyes, can’t see through objects that block light. If we look at a wall, we’re only seeing the light that is being reflected off the wall. We can’t see the light that’s behind the wall creating the images that exist there. The new camera from the Weizmann Institute of Science solves this problem.

Here’s how Xtreme Tech explains it:

The approach is surprisingly simple, and relies on a device called a spatial light modulator (SLM). Basically, when light bounces off an object, each part of that object changes the phase of light differently. An SLM is an array of pixels that can alter the phase of light passing through it, depending on the electrical current passing through each pixel. In this case, the scientists used a genetic optimization algorithm to modulate each pixel of the SLM until a sharp image is extracted from the white noise.

As you can see, it’s not exactly X-Ray Vision in the traditional sense. The technique is also still highly impractical from a usefulness standpoint. Regardless, it’s a step in the right direction. The technology can be used to better identify things within a body during surgery. It also doesn’t require doctors to shoot radioactive X-Rays through your skin. It’s a win-win for everybody.

If you wish to read the research on this new camera, check out the scientist’s research. It’s fascinating and provides a good look into how we might perceive light in the future.

“This is about preparing the battlefield for another type of covert action,” said one former high-ranking U.S. intelligence official, who added that Flame and Stuxnet were elements of a broader assault that continues today. “Cyber-collection against the Iranian program is way further down the road than this.”

The Flame virus was first revealed last month when Iranian officials detected a cyber attack on its oil refineries. The United States was not too happy that Israel decided to launch this phase of their attack without notifying American officials. In doing so they have effectively wiped out a virus that has been quietly doing its job for 5 plus years.

The Flame virus seems to be a precursor to the now infamous Stuxnet virus that directly effected almost 1,000 centrifuges and caused them to spin out of control. The damage occurred gradually, over months, and Iranian officials initially thought it was the result of incompetence.

“The scale of the espionage and sabotage effort is proportionate to the problem that’s trying to be resolved,” the former intelligence official said. “Although Stuxnet and Flame infections can be countered, it doesn’t mean that other tools aren’t in play or performing effectively.”

It is not yet clear the extent of the United Staes’ involvement in the development in making the virus, but it is believed that the U.S. relied on its 2 top spy agencies: The C.I.A. and the N.S.A.. The NSA, known mainly for its electronic eavesdropping and code-breaking capabilities, has extensive expertise in developing malicious code that can be aimed at U.S. adversaries, including Iran. The CIA lacks the NSA’s sophistication in building malware but is deeply involved in the execution of the cyber-campaign.

The disruptions from the Americans and Israelis has led the Iranians to ask a Russian security firm and a Hungarian cyber-lab for help.

So it looks as though any questions about Iran’s true intentions are already known by our government because this virus has been sending back info for years. The U.S. will know the day Iran gains the ability to build a nuclear weapon and they will put a stop to it.

To get a preview of what lies ahead in Jerusalem Street View, Google Maps put together the demo video below.

Of course, given that this swath of land in Israel is probably the most disputed and sought after territory in the world, YouTube commenters for the above video did not delay in turning the forum into a public debate about who is the rightful occupant over the holy real estate.

One of the reasons this land is so eternally disputed is because of this location here, the Dome of the Rock. It’s a religious site that’s claimed by both Jews and Muslims, which has caused the temple to be regarded as one of the most fervently contested religious locations in the world. Here you can see it as you would while standing near the Mount of Olives.

View Larger Map

Another significant area of the land that you’ll be able to see is the Wailing Wall, or Western Wall, which is just outside of the temple seen above. It lies just to the west of the temple and is considered one of the most religiously important sites in Judaism outside of the temple itself.

View Larger Map

Just for kicks, I found what appears to be one of the Google Street View people presumably consulting a map and even asking for directions (if you spent any time navigating the narrow corridors of the vertiginous roads in this city, you would probably need to stop for directions, too). Have a look at what appears to be the Google employee sporting a “I’m feeling lucky” t-shirt. “I’m feeling lucky,” by the way, is one of the search options you can choose when doing a search at google.com.

View Larger Map

Some of the other geographic features you can explore with this Street View update is the Biblical Zoo, the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, and the Via Dolorosa. So kick off your slippers and go enjoy the sights of Jerusalem.

“Love and Peace” is the brainchild of Israeli couple Ronny Edry and Michal Tamir, both graphic artists, who started the campaign over the weekend. Initially the project featured only messages from Israelis. Under a picture of the submitter — sometimes portrayed along with friends and family — read the message:

A caption attached to each message added:

To the Iranian people
To all the fathers, mothers, children, brothers and sisters

For there to be a war between us, first we must be afraid of each other, we must hate.
I’m not afraid of you, I don’t hate you.
I don t even know you

The photos include pictures of people, of human beings, doing very human things. Things anybody can identify with. Subjects pose with children, put arms around spouses, hug sisters, hold puppies, go to the beach, play guitar.

The message is a simple one: We are people. You are people. We can understand each other. We mean you no harm.

Participants in the campaign make it clear that they speak for themselves. “I’m not an official representative of my country. I m [sic] a father and a teacher,” continues the caption, written by Edry. But they add that their sentiments reflect the attitude of the people they know, that as unofficial representatives they are giving voice to the people of Israel: “I know the streets of my town, I talk with my neighbors, my family, my students, my friends and in the name of all these people …we love you. We mean you no harm. On the contrary, we want to meet, have some coffee and talk about sports.”

These posters starting going up on Saturday. By Sunday, the site began receiving responses from Iranians, who had a similar message of peace for their Israeli counterparts. The most common message reads:

Another poster expresses the maker’s desire for open discourse between the two nations.

In their photos, Iranian participants depict themselves as likewise wholly, unabashedly human. One woman holds her cat on her shoulders, another shops at a market, a man plays the accordion, another climbs a mountain, and friends and lovers hold hands and smile. A few in the posters show their faces boldly, but the majority are at least partially obscured, for fear of retribution from their government. “[W]e can’t show that we are friend with anyone from Israel because it’s dangerous. I think all around the world and war is between governments. I wish a world free from war and hope we be good friends [sic]” is the message of another poster.

Just three days old, the Love and Peace Campaign already has more than 1,500 likes (at the time of this writing) on Facebook, along with hundreds of photos and comments. It’s a touching message of mutual respect, friendship, and understanding that transcends international borders, political ideologies, and racial, cultural, and linguistic barriers. I hope their messages prove true, and that the governments of Israel and Iran can find peaceful resolutions to their disagreements. Whatever the outcome, the Love and Peace Campaign is a testament to the fact that the actions of governments do not always reflect the ideals of their citizens, and that in the hearts of most humans lies a strong desire, as one participant wrote, “To Live In Peace,&Health,&Happiness!”

That’s the message of former Prime Minister and current President of Israel Shimon Peres, who has just launched a Facebook page to promote his message across a whole new channel.

Peres officially joined the network earlier this week, and as already amassed over 38,000 likes. His first post discussed Facebook as a tool to connect people all across the world and asked those “with him” to “click like.”

Shimon PeresI am truly excited to write the first post on my wall.
I hope to find this page to be a place where peace dreamers and believers speak up and share their stories and experiences with me.
I have dedicated most of my life to make peace between countries and governments. Today I invite people from all around the world, from Europe, U.S.A, India, Latin America, Asia, Africa and specifically Iran, Lybia, Syria, and Egypt to join me and promote peace between the people.
Facebook empowers us. So let’s dare to believe, start to change our world and create a better tomorrow.
I want to hear your voice.
if you are with me click like! 2 days ago · 5,424 likes · 1,314 comments

As part of his Facebook kickoff week, Peres actually visited the company’s Menlo Park campus. There, he promoted his message fo being “friends” with the people: “The matter of peace is no longer the business of governments but the business of people,” Peres said. “Today the people are governing the governments. And when they begin to talk to each other, they are surprised. We should be friends.”

At an event Thursday night, Peres said that Jewish people have always been a “people of the book,” but now they were a “people of the Facebook.”

On that note, Peres really is trying to initiate a conversation with the younger crowd. Exhibit A: this electro trance video aptly title “Be My Friend For Peace.” Interesting, to say the least –

Peres will quickly learn that conversation on a social media site involves all sorts of unfiltered discussion. He only has a few posts, but a couple thousand comments between them. Some commenters have already taken to discussing women’s rights in the region as well as current relations with Iran.