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Pelosi Addresses AIPAC Policy Conference

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Minority Leader of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addressed the crowd on the last day of the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington. In her speech, she covered a lot of ground, from her family’s longtime commitment to Israel — referring to her father as a “Shabbat goy” — to her support, and that of many of her colleagues, for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She mentioned anti-Semitism and the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the Iranian challenge and her abiding respect for the late President Shimon Peres. She also described the creation of the state of Israel as “the greatest political achievement of the 20th century.”

The transcript of Rep. Pelosi’s speech, as provided on the AIPAC Policy Conference website, appears below. [Read more…]

Shimon Peres: May His Name be for a Blessing

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Shimon Peres

Shimon Peres.

The staff of the PJVoice joins with the world wide Jewish community in mourning the passing of Shimon Peres. Many American Jews, particularly those old enough to have experienced the formation of the State of Israel, see a direct line from Ben-Gurion to Shimon Peres. Peres helped shape the development of the Jewish State to a great extent.

The founding Israeli leaders were never divorced from the hard reality of Israel’s security situation. Each of them took a turn leading the military, and fully understood the need for protection from both internal and external enemies.

Still Peres, especially later in life, saw the need for an accommodation with the Palestinian Arabs, while protecting the State of Israel. When the opportunity came, he applied his utmost effort to carry out the goal of a two-state solution. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, for his work as Foreign Minister negotiating the Oslo Peace accords. [Read more…]

Rambam Medical Center Conducts Live Simulation of Underground, Fortified Hospital

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Rambam live simulation— by Jake Sharfman

Sirens and lights blazing, an ambulance raced into the underground parking lot of Rambam Medical Center where doctors, nurses and other staffers had already converted a portion of the 2,000-bed below grade fortified hospital for incoming wounded. The live simulation was held last week as part of Rambam 2015 Heath Care Summit that brought supporters from around the world and leading doctors and researchers to the facility to discuss innovations in healthcare.

The Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital, which is converted from the hospital’s parking garage into a 2,000-bed, full-service medical clinic in just 72 hours, is the largest of only three such structures in the world. The underground hospital is segmented for different wards of the hospital, including neurology, surgery, and OBGYN. Furthermore, the garage can also become a sealed bomb shelter against biological and chemical attacks for up to three days.

“This is the most sophisticated underground facility in the world and we take great pride in our responsibility to serve the 2 million people living in Northern Israel, as well as regional IDF troops should a crisis arrive,” said Rambam Medical Center Director General Prof. Rafael Beyar. “We are abreast of the increased threat from Israel’s enemies in the north and unfortunately need to stay fully prepared so that we do everything possible to keep patients of the hospital completely safe.”

A senior Home Front Command source recently stated that in just one northern town, situated near Rambam Hospital’s Haifa base, hundreds of rockets could strike, dozens would hit per day and hundreds of civilians may have to be evacuated. The army source went on to suggest that Hezbollah could fire as many as 1,500 rockets from Lebanon into Israel and that they are working tirelessly to prepare for such a scenario.

The live simulation was part of the annual Rambam Summit, this year themed “From Vision to Reality,” taking place June 7-9 at the hospital’s campus in Haifa and will see leading dignitaries, scientists and philanthropists from around the world attend and learn about Rambam’s vision and the hospital’s continuous advances in modern medicine. Former Israeli President Shimon Peres and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks will receive the 2015 Rambam Award on the morning of June 9 for their lifelong contributions to Israel and the Jewish people. The summit is also celebrating the opening of the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center, Israel’s most modern cancer center, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the gala event on the evening of June 9.