Hacker News with Generative AI: Israel

Six new ancient date trees (arava.org)
On August 23rd, 2021, Arava Institute staff harvested three bunches of dates from our world-famous ancient date palms. This is the second year of harvesting fruit from this previously extinct tree, brought back to life by Dr. Elaine Solowey.
Ancient Trees, Botany, Agriculture, Israel
27 points by mooreds 3 days ago | 0 comments
2,200-year-old pyramid filled with coins and weapons found near Dead Sea (livescience.com)
Archaeology, History, Ancient History, Israel
31 points by permo-w 5 days ago | 10 comments
'No Other Land' Filmmaker Beaten and Detained, Claims Activist Group (hollywoodreporter.com)
One of the co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land has been injured and detained after a conflict that took place on the West Bank, according to his fellow filmmaker and an activist group.
Filmmaking, Activism, Israel, Palestine, Documentary
24 points by suraci 9 days ago | 2 comments
Lessons for Western Militaries from the Gaza War (quillette.com)
Israel’s experience in Gaza provides a sobering preview of what high-intensity urban warfare can entail, and how modern militaries must evolve to achieve decisive and ethical victories in any future conflict.
Military Strategy, War, Israel, Gaza
7 points by transfer92 17 days ago | 4 comments
Evidence that Neanderthal and Homo sapiens engaged in cultural exchange (phys.org)
A new discovery at Tinshemet Cave in central Israel is reshaping our understanding of human interactions during the Middle Paleolithic (MP) period in the Near East.
Archeology, Neanderthals, Human Evolution, Paleolithic Period, Israel
99 points by wglb 22 days ago | 93 comments
Intel ruined an Israeli startup it bought for $2B–and lost the AI race (calcalistech.com)
In December 2020, Amazon announced with great fanfare that it would use Gaudi chips from the small Israeli startup Habana Labs to train its large language models (LLMs) in the cloud.
Artificial Intelligence, Business, Israel, Acquisitions, Cloud Computing
98 points by danielklnstn 52 days ago | 73 comments
Spyware maker Paragon confirms U.S. government is a customer (techcrunch.com)
Israeli spyware maker Paragon Solutions confirmed to TechCrunch that it sells its products to the U.S. government and other unspecified allied countries.
Government Surveillance, Cybersecurity, Israel, Software
20 points by pulisse 57 days ago | 1 comments
WhatsApp Says Some Users Targeted by Israeli Spyware (gizmodo.com)
WhatsApp says that civil society workers and journalists on its platform were the targets of hacks by the Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions.
Privacy, Surveillance, Cybersecurity, Journalism, Israel
8 points by siltcakes 61 days ago | 0 comments
Leaked documents expose deep ties between Israeli army and Microsoft (972mag.com)
Microsoft has a “footprint in all major military infrastructures” in Israel, and sales of the company’s cloud and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli army have skyrocketed since the beginning of its onslaught on Gaza, according to leaked commercial records from Israel’s Defense Ministry and files from Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary.
Israel, Military, Microsoft, Technology, Cloud Computing
77 points by kombine 69 days ago | 54 comments
Drone footage shows Gaza in ruins after 15 months of war [video] (youtube.com)
Drone Footage, War, Gaza, Israel, Conflict
12 points by teleforce 72 days ago | 0 comments
MIT Shuts Grant DB After It Was Used to Research MIT's Israel Ties (theintercept.com)
The Israeli Ministry of Defense has poured more than $3.7 million into developing warfare technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology since 2015, according to a recent report from students and faculty organizing against the war in Gaza.
Politics, Education, Israel, Military
14 points by eevilspock 72 days ago | 0 comments
The Former Israeli Spies Building AI Systems at Global Tech Companies (donotpanic.news)
Dozens of former members of Israel’s Unit 8200 - a secretive cyber warfare team accused of building the AI systems that helped enable the Gaza genocide - are now building AI systems for the world’s biggest tech and AI companies.
Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Israel, Ethics, Technology
4 points by jules-jules 72 days ago | 1 comments
Gen-Z shifted on Israel vs. Hamas from 50-50 (Dec 23) to 79-21 (Jan 25) (twitter.com)
Gen Z, Public Opinion, Israel, Hamas, Social Media
7 points by delichon 72 days ago | 2 comments
Weaponizing Wikipedia Against Israel (aish.com)
How the global information pipeline is being hijacked by digital jihadists.
Israel, Politics, Information Warfare, Propaganda, Social Media
12 points by xpl 76 days ago | 6 comments
Climate group that called for Gaza ceasefire risks losing federal funding (theverge.com)
An alliance of grassroots environmental groups could lose $60 million in federal funding after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Climate Change, Politics, Israel, Palestine, Funding
6 points by lots2learn 88 days ago | 0 comments
Tel Dan Stele (wikipedia.org)
The Tel Dan Stele is a fragmentary stele containing an Aramaic inscription which dates to the 9th century BCE. It is the earliest known extra-biblical archaeological reference to the house of David.
Archaeology, History, Ancient Languages, Israel
4 points by handfuloflight 91 days ago | 0 comments
With Gaza war and Trump's return, Silicon Valley embraces a military Renaissance (972mag.com)
On Dec. 10, Israeli military officials, weapons manufacturers, and American venture capitalists gathered at Tel Aviv University for the first ever DefenseTech Summit.
Military, Technology, Politics, Israel, Venture Capital
6 points by cbHXBY1D 92 days ago | 1 comments
Ex-Mossad Agents Reveal How They Turned Hezbollah's Devices into Bombs (twz.com)
Key details of the Israeli intelligence service’s operation targeting members of Hezbollah with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies in September have been revealed.
Espionage, Intelligence, Hezbollah, Israel, Security
21 points by thenaturalist 97 days ago | 21 comments
Ancient copper industry in King Solomon's mines did not pollute environment (eurekalert.org)
A new study from Tel Aviv University overturns prevailing scientific beliefs that King Solomon’s Mines not only harmed the health of workers in the ancient copper industry but also pose risks to the health of modern residents living near the site.
Archaeology, Environmental Science, History, Israel
18 points by instagraham 98 days ago | 4 comments
A 1,000-Year-Old Seed Grows in Israel (nytimes.com)
For 14 years, scientists have been growing a tree akin to the Judean balsam — the source of the balm of Gilead — but with no modern counterpart.
Science, Botany, History, Israel
21 points by Brajeshwar 99 days ago | 1 comments
US Charges Russian and Israeli National as Developer of LockBit Ransomware Group (justice.gov)
The Justice Department’s work going after the world’s most dangerous ransomware schemes includes not only dismantling networks, but also finding and bringing to justice the individuals responsible for building and running them,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Three of the individuals who we allege are responsible for LockBit’s cyberattacks against thousands of victims are now in custody, and we will continue to work alongside our partners to hold accountable all those who lead and enable ransomware attacks.”
Cybersecurity, Ransomware, Law Enforcement, Russia, Israel
9 points by impish9208 100 days ago | 0 comments
When the Bar Mitzvah Boy Is 90 (nytimes.com)
In 1947, Ron Eliran’s 13th birthday in the British Mandate for Palestine was canceled when authorities called a curfew. Now, 77 years later, he has officially become a man.
Life Events, Judaism, History, Israel
5 points by whack 100 days ago | 0 comments
X deletes all pro-Israel posts from Germany Christmas market attacker profile (twitter.com)
Social Media, Censorship, Germany, Israel, Terrorism
24 points by newspaper1 101 days ago | 2 comments
US judge finds Pegasus spyware maker liable over WhatsApp hack (theguardian.com)
WhatsApp celebrates victory as judge finds Israeli company NSO Group violated state and federal US hacking laws
Cybersecurity, Lawsuits, Surveillance, Israel, WhatsApp
10 points by bookofjoe 102 days ago | 1 comments
More than 300 Israeli strikes on Syria since fall of Assad, reports say (bbc.com)
Israeli warplanes have reportedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes across Syria, including on the capital, Damascus.
Israel, Syria, Military, International Relations
8 points by grugagag 113 days ago | 0 comments
Internal Google documents reveal concerns about its cloud contract with Israel (theverge.com)
Google officials had concerns about potential human rights violations that might be linked to its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government before ever even signing the deal, according to documents first reported on by The New York Times today.
Google, Israel, Government Contracts, Human Rights, Cloud Computing
22 points by Tomte 120 days ago | 6 comments
Documents contradict Google's claims about its Project Nimbus contract (theintercept.com)
When questioned about its controversial cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, Google has repeatedly claimed the so-called Project Nimbus deal is bound by the company’s general cloud computing terms of service policy.
Google, Cloud Computing, Israel, Government Contracts, Privacy
18 points by cannibalXxx 121 days ago | 0 comments
An Iranian Ballistic Missile Hit Israel. We Got a Peek Inside Its 'Brain' (haaretz.com)
Printed circuit boards like those found in washing machines. Soldering done by hand. Limited production quality. What can we learn from the Iranian missile attacks – and how accurate are they?
Military Technology, Iran, Israel, Weapons
5 points by wslh 128 days ago | 3 comments
Mellanox magic: The secret behind Nvidia's meteoric trillion-dollar rise (2023) (calcalistech.com)
In 2019, the American chip giant purchased Yokneam-based Mellanox for about $7 billion. While success has many fathers, you cannot deny the Israeli contribution to ensuring Nvidia was in the right place and at the right time for the AI revolution
Nvidia, Acquisitions, AI, Israel, Technology
7 points by walterbell 135 days ago | 2 comments
NSO's attacks against WhatsApp users unsealed (techcrunch.com)
On Thursday, WhatsApp scored a legal victory by convincing a U.S. federal judge to publicly release three court documents that include new revelations about the inner workings of Pegasus, the spyware made by Israeli surveillance tech maker NSO Group.
Cybersecurity, Lawsuits, Surveillance, Israel, WhatsApp
20 points by miohtama 138 days ago | 0 comments