Israel’s security industry has received on Tuesday the first images from its new espionage satellite, another crucial step toward declaring fully operational.

One week following the successful launch of the Ofek 16 satellite into space, the engineering teams of the Space Administration in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD), and  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), have operated the satellite’s observation camera for the first time.

The high-quality images were received overnight, at an IAI control station in the city of Yehud in central Israel.

Since the launch last Monday, IAI and IMoD teams have conducted a series of pre-planned tests during which all of the satellite’s systems and subsystems were activated in a gradual and controlled manner.

Upon completion of the process, the satellite’s camera was also activated successfully. In the coming weeks, engineering teams will complete the rigorous tests and prepare the satellite for operational use.

Head of the Space and Satellite Administration in the Israel Ministry of Defense, Amnon Harari stated that this stage was “the most significant milestone since the launch of the Ofek 16 satellite. The images we received from the satellite are of excellent quality.”

“We will continue the orderly process of transferring the satellite to operational use, anticipating that over the years, the system will provide great intelligence to the defense establishment,” he added.

The Ofek 16 satellite is an electro-optical observation satellite with advanced capabilities. It is equipped with a high-quality camera developed and manufactured by Elbit Systems. In the coming weeks, following the completion of the in-orbit testing process conducted by the DDR&D, IAI and the IDF, the Ministry of Defense will transfer responsibilities to Unit 9900 of the IDF’s Intelligence Corps, after which the satellite will be declared operational.

An IDF soldier was shot and wounded Monday evening during a training exercise at an army base in the Jordan Valley.

The soldier was treated on-site by IDF medics and then was evacuated in moderate condition to a hospital for further treatment.

The IDF stated that the incident was under investigation.

The Israel Air Force (IAF) marked on Sunday the opening of the new Special Forces Wing. The new wing includes the IAF’s Shaldag elite unit, the 669 Search and Rescue Unit, and the Frontal Landing Unit which will later be joined by an intelligence unit and a training school for Special Air Force combat troops.

The opening ceremony for the 7^th Wing – the Special Forces Wing was held at Palmachim Air Force Base.

The new wing “enhances the IAF’s capabilities and is a complementary and unique component to its activity, by allowing for more operational freedom and diversity in special missions in routine and emergency,” the IAF stated.

“We are in times of regional change – with a global pandemic and a battlefield becoming more complex every day. Our commanders understand that these changes force us to adapt to the challenges that the future holds”, said IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, during the opening ceremony.

The 7^th Wing was created “due to operational needs and the changing and increasing threats on different fronts, as part of a broader process to strengthen and sharpen the special unit’s operational effectiveness,” the IDF stated.

“A systemic organization of Special Forces, which focuses on unique operational response to the IAF’s challenges, is a dream for the IDF’s Special Forces personnel and in general”, said Commander of the Wing, Col. E. “The time has come, and also in the IAF, our special forces are at the core.”

“We are combining the capabilities of “Shaldag” with Unit 669 and the Frontal Landing Unit, adding the assets of our Materiel Directorate, combining their operational and training departments, changing and improving the building process, upgrading our intelligence capabilities – and making the IAF a better Air Force”, concluded Maj Gen. Norkin. “Today, we are embarking upon the next chapter in the history of the Aerial Special Forces – we were carried on the shoulders of those who dared before us, and it is now our turn to lead the way”.

Jerusalem’s police over the weekend arrested 38 Arabs who were caught while illegally launching fireworks throughout the capital.

Israelis in Jerusalem and throughout Judea and Samaria on Saturday were subjected to an incessant cacophony as Arabs celebrated the end of the school year by launching fireworks, shooting in the air and setting off other explosive charges.

While such events occur on an annual basis, this year’s celebrations were extremely prolonged and violent.

The police stated that it arrested the 38 in the capital and confiscated over 185 fireworks charges.

The Israel Police stated it “will use all the means and tools at its disposal to exhaust justice with those suspects who have chosen to celebrate while risking their lives and risking lives and public property.”

The Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) launched a campaign on Wednesday urging the public to call on YouTube to remove Louis Farrakhan’s 4^th of July address, which contained a series of incendiary anti-Semitic comments and tropes.

Despite being in clear contravention of YouTube’s own policies on hate speech, Farrakhan’s offensive rant currently remains online.

During Farrakhan’s address, he argued that Jews are responsible for many of the world’s ills and referred to the head of a leading Jewish civil rights organization as “Satan.”

He also suggested the Jewish community seeks to kill him, saying, “Jews tried to poison me, they hate me because I reveal their wickedness,” adding “If you [Jews] make that move, I can guarantee your destruction.”

Farrakhan’s speech, which was streamed live on YouTube, has been viewed by over 850,000 people. It was also promoted by the rap artist Sean Combs, known as Puff Daddy, to his millions of Twitter followers.

CAM is calling on YouTube to remove Farrakhan’s address, noting that the video clearly contravenes YouTube’s own policy, which pledges to remove content promoting hate speech. This is classified by YouTube as content that promotes or condones violence or incites hatred against individuals or groups based on core characteristics such as ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, and religion. Such a definition unequivocally includes Jewish people.

The CAM campaign calls on the public to visit the video’s page and submit a report and to contact YouTube’s Matt Halprin, Vice-President of Global Trust and Safety, to express concerns and call for the video’s removal.

CAM has already sent a letter to YouTube’s Halprin, urging that Farrakhan’s address be removed.

Sacha Roytman-Dratwa, CAM Movement Director, stated that “Louis Farrakhan has a long history of anti-Semitism, incorporating it into the very legitimate, important fight for civil rights and equality. His perversion of these values by promoting hatred and dehumanization of Jews is quite simply unacceptable.

“By turning a blind eye to Louis Farrakhan’s hateful comments, YouTube is allowing him to hijack the worthy cause of racial justice and use the video sharing site as a platform for anti-Semitism. YouTube’s failure to acknowledge and rectify this also enables celebrities and other figures with large social media followings to promote Farrakhan and his anti-Semitic sentiments,” he added.

CAM calls upon “anyone who cares about removing hatred and discrimination from our world, to take part in this campaign and ensure that YouTube does the right thing by removing Farrakhan’s naked incitement against Jews.”