June 2012: The Turkish Islamist group IHH is under investigation for allegedly funding global terrorist network Al-Qaeda. Two Turkish special prosecutors are conducting separate probes into the allegations. IHH President Bulent Yildirim has been accused of funding the terrorist group secretly.

Yildirim was the head of IHH in 2010 when the group funded a “flotilla” aimed at breaking Israel’s naval blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza. Dozens of far-left American and European activists joined the cause. One of the boats in the flotilla, the Mavi Marmara, refused to turn aside when ordered to, attempting instead to break the blockade by force. When IDF soldiers boarded the ship they were violently attacked, IDF soldiers opened fire in response, killing 9 activists.

June 2012: Dr. Daniel Hillel, an Israeli scientist who developed an innovative way of bringing water to crops in arid regions, will recieve the 2012 World Food Prize. Dr. Daniel Hillel, revolutionized food production in the Middle East region and around the world. Dr. Hillel laid the foundation for maximizing efficient water usage in agriculture through a method known as micro-irrigation, which has impacted millions of lives.

Dr. Hillel stated he is pleased to be receiving the award, the urgent work of providing water and food for humanity is by no means finished. His joy and gratitude at being granted the World Food Prize this year is tempered by the realization that the work this award recognizes is far from complete.

Hillel stated, the task of improving the sustainable management of the Earth’s finite and vulnerable soil, water, and energy resources for the benefit of humanity while sustaining the natural biotic community and its overall environmental integrity is an ongoing and increasingly urgent challenge for our generation and for future generations. Meeting this challenge will require enhanced global cooperation and integrated scientific research.

Dr. Hillel spent part of his childhood in the Jezreel and Jordan Valleys, where he acquired a lifelong interest in agriculture and ecology. In 1951, after earning a master’s degree in earth sciences at Rutgers University in New Jersey, he returned to Israel to help in the young state’s development. He took part in surveying the country’s land and water resources and was a founding member of Sde Boker in the Negev.

His research has led to a shift from what was then the prevailing method of irrigation. The new methods conceived and developed by Dr. Hillel applied water in small but continuous amounts directly to plant roots, cutting the amount of water needed to nourish crops, maintaining their consistent health and resulting in higher crop yields to feed more people.

Ambassador Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation, announced Dr. Daniel Hillel will be presented with the $250,000 award in October, 2012. Ambassador Quinn emphasized the importance not only of Dr. Hillel’s scientific achievement but also his dedication to working with people across borders, to help improve food security for all. Quinn stated, “confronting hunger can bring diverse people together across even the broadest political, ethnic, religious or diplomatic differences.

Ambassador Quinn stated, Dr. Hillel’s work and motivation has been to bridge such divisions and to promote peace and understanding in the Middle East by advancing a breakthrough achievement addressing a problem that so many countries share in common: water scarcity. It is significant that Dr. Hillel’s nomination for the World Food Prize contained letters of support from individuals and organizations in Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.”

June 2012: Archaologists have discovered an antiquities stash in the vicinity of Kiryat Gat, in southern Israel, comprising of about 140 gold and silver coins along with gold jewelry, hidden during the Bar Kokhba Revolt some 1880 years ago. The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) stated rooms of an ancient building dating to the Roman and Byzantine period were exposed during the course of the salvage excavation.

Archeologists discerned that a pit had been dug in the earth of the ancient building’s courtyard and then refilled. A spectacular treasure trove of exquisite quality was discovered in the pit. It had been wrapped in a cloth fabric that had deteriorated. It is assumed is was an emergency cache that was concealed at the time of impending danger by a wealthy woman who wrapped her jewelry and money in a cloth and hid them deep in the ground prior to or during the Bar Kokhba Revolt.
The antiquities were removed from the field and transferred for treatment to the laboratories of the Artifacts Treatment Department of the IAA in Jerusalem. The excavation was funded by Y. S. Gat Ltd., the Economic Development Corporation for the Management of the Kiryat Gat Industrial Park.

Archaeologist Emil Aladjem, who directed the excavation on behalf of the IAA, stated the discovery included gold jewelry, in which among them an earring crafted by a jeweler in the shape of a flower and a ring with a precious stone on which there is a seal of a winged-goddess, two sticks of silver that were probably kohl sticks, as well as some 140 gold and silver coins.
The coins that were discovered date to the reigns of the Roman emperors Nero, Nerva and Trajan, who ruled the Roman Empire from 54-117 CE. The coins are adorned with the images of the Roman emperors and on their reverse are cultic portrayals of the emperor, symbols of the brotherhood of warriors and mythological gods such as Jupiter seated on a throne or Jupiter grasping a lightning bolt in his hand.

Sa’ar Ganor, District Archaeologist of Ashkelon and the Western Negev for the IAA, stated that the composition of the numismatic artifacts and their quality are consistent with treasure troves that were previously attributed to the time of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. During the uprising, between 132-135 CE, the Jews under Roman rule would re-strike coins of the emperor Trajan with symbols of the revolt. This discovery includes silver and gold coins of different denominations, most of which date to the reign of the emperor Trajan.