Israel’s National Security Council (NSC) published a level 3 severe travel warning to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a concrete threat following the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a prominent Iranian nuclear and weapons scientist.

The Counterterrorism Bureau put out on Monday a Basic concrete threat, the third most severe level.

“Given the presence and activities of terrorist organizations, there are tangible threats to the safety of Israeli citizens visiting/staying in the United Arab Emirates. The NSC said, recommending that Israelis “avoid visiting the country.”

Israel has directed its embassies around the world to heighten their alertness following the assassination of Fakhrizadeh, the mastermind behind Iran’s nuclear program who was shot by assassins on Friday in Tehran.

The Islamic Republic is blaming Israel for the shooting and is threatening retaliation.

Fearing possible reprisal attacks, Israeli embassies and Jewish communities have raised the level of security around their facilities.

This travel warning comes just weeks after the Arab country opened its gates to Israeli visit following the signing of the Abraham Accords on September 15.

Israel’s ZAKA Search and Rescue organization made history when it became the first Israeli humanitarian organization to sign a collaboration agreement with its counterpart in Dubai.

A signing ceremony was held on Wednesday at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference & Exhibition-(DIHAD) headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

At the meeting, the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding that supports future collaborations between the two in the humanitarian field in international crises and disasters, and to provide the necessary support to those affected, regardless of color, race, gender, religion or political opinions.

The two parties also announced the formal acceptance of ZAKA as an active participant in DIHAD 2021, the leading humanitarian aid and development event in the Middle East.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Mr. Paul Wilson, Director General of Planning, Business Development and International Relations at the Holdings Index, which owns the DIHAD organization, and Mr. Yehuda Meshi Zahav, ZAKA Chairman.

ZAKA Chairman, Yehuda Meshi Zahav stated the ZAKA “sees it as a great privilege, within the implementation of the Abraham Accords, to be the first Israeli humanitarian organization to sign an agreement of cooperation with DIHAD.”

“There is no greater expression of peace than volunteer units partnering for mutual humanitarian aid and assistance, as well as professional training in search, rescue and recovery,” he said.

Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani, Executive Chairman of DIHAD Conference and Exhibition and the International Advisory Council- DISAB said that he is “confident that ZAKA’s participation in DIHAD will be of great benefit due to their immense efforts and expertise in the field of humanitarian work and the training of specialized cadres in situations of disaster.”

“We are proud of their joining the DIHAD Conference and Exhibition as the first institution participating in this humanitarian event from the State of Israel,” he added.

In 2016, ZAKA received official consultative status from the United Nations, giving it the right to participate in official UN discussions.

Israeli students from Tel Aviv University achieved unprecedented success at the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM), the world championship in synthetic biology.

The 50%-female team won first place in the Best Software Development category, and second place in the Foundational Advance category, a prize given for proposed solutions for fundamental problems in synthetic biology.

In the competition’s overall ranking, the TAU team ranked higher than teams from some of the world’s top universities, including Stanford, MIT, Harvard and Cornell.

Students from 256 leading universities around the world participated in the competition. Each team formed an original idea and implemented it like a startup venture.

Usually, the competition takes place in Boston, but this year, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was conducted online.

The TAU team, led by Prof. Tamir Tuller, Head of the Laboratory of Computational, Systems and Synthetic Biology, The Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, included 12 students from the Faculties of Engineering, Medicine, Life Sciences and Exact Sciences: Karin Sionov (Captain), Niv Amitay, Hadar Ben Shoshan, Noa Kraicer, Bar Glickstein, Itamar Menuhin, Matan Arbel, Doron Naky, Omer Edgar, Itai Katzir, David Kenigsberger and Einav Saadia

Genetic engineering is based on the insertion of genes from one organism into another organism. The challenge in this process is the instability of these genes, which are often quickly “erased” from the genome.

In the iGEM competition, the TAU team developed an innovative technology that improves genome stability and ensures long-term preservation of the inserted synthetic genes.

Since most of the world’s biotech and pharma companies use this type of genetic engineering, the new technology can contribute to a range of areas, such as drug development, the food and agriculture industry and green energy.

The technology, based on tools from various disciplines, including engineering, computer science and molecular biology, comprises software for designing genetically stable DNA sequences, alongside novel techniques for measuring genome stability.

Impressed with the new technology, the judges awarded it a gold medal, as well as prizes and high ranking in several categories.

Team Captain Karin Sionov, who holds a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from TAU’s Faculty of Engineering, said that “winning was our reward for a whole year of hard, challenging work. We came to the competition with great motivation and gave everything we had. I am glad that we defeated some of the world’s leading universities.”

Prof. Tamir Tuller crown the award as “a very impressive achievement, which proves that TAU leads and excels in synthetic biology – not only in Israel but internationally as well.”

“One proof of the immensity of the achievement comes from a Swiss company that has expressed an interest in our technology, already forwarding a contribution to advance the idea, and intending to support us on our way to commercialization,” he said.

The Corona Cabinet unanimously voted on Tuesday night to approve the outline of Education Minister Yoav Galant for the opening of almost all of the education system, two months after it was shut down as part of Israel’s second Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

After a discussion lasting several hours, the cabinet decided that high school students in green and yellow cities with low infection rates will return to school this coming Sunday, and that middle school students will return to school the following Sunday, December 6.

The move will be accompanied by an increase in the number of tests among teaching staff and students.

Galant wrote on Twitter: “Dear students – in good time you are all returning to school – to studies, teachers and friends.”

“Principals and teachers are prepared to open the various educational institutions and together with the health authorities, we will increase the scope of tests for students and teaching staff, to maintain their health. For you, the dearest students of all, all that remains is to prepare the schoolbag,” he added.

The majority of the school system has been learning remotely from home for the past two months, presenting educational, social, and emotional challenges to both teachers and students.

Professor Eran Segal, a scientist at the Weizmann Institute and an expert on the Coronavirus, noted that around the world, an index of five verified new cases per week for 10,000 residents has been defined as a low level of morbidity below which schools can be opened.

Most localities in the general sector meet this criterion, he said.

He further pointed out that since the opening of grades one through four and the other easing in restriction of phase 2 some three weeks, there has been no increase in morbidity in the general public.

Overall, morbidity is stable at all ages, and there is even a decrease in morbidity at ages 0-6.

The IDF concluded on Sunday a surprise drill launched by IDF Chief of Staff Major General Aviv Kochavi simulating another war in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Division forces took part in the exercise, along with forces from the Air and Space Arms, the Sea Arm, the Information and Communication Technology Division and Cyber ​​Defense Division, the Intelligence Division, the intelligence community and the Israel Police.

The forces practiced a variety of scenarios that included responding to operational and evolving events at the border.

The exercise examined inter-organizational and multi-armed cooperation, the work interfaces between the forces, and decision-making in a multi-dimensional event.

As part of the Chief of Staff’s test, the troops practiced a scenario of a cyber-attack and the shutdown of operational systems in the division.

This is the fifth surprise test that Kochavi has introduced. The exercise was set as part of the IDF’s annual training graph for 2020 and is intended to improve the readiness of the forces for escalation in the southern arena, the IDF underscored.

Kochavi conducted the test remotely through classified military communications.

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major General Eyal Zamir, led the exercise in the field, together with the Operations Division and the IDF Comptroller Unit.