On May 31st 1948, 65 years ago, the Israel Defense Forces was born.

Message from the IDF:

May 31st, 1948: On this day, 65 years ago, Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, founded the Israel Defense Forces. It hasn’t always been easy, but over the past six and a half decades, we IDF soldiers have never wavered: looking danger in the eyes, confronting fear with bravery, and making the impossible possible. We do not take our responsibility lightly. We have the sole duty of protecting the existence of the State of Israel, and we promise to pass this sense of duty and devotion on to future generations of soldiers.
Happy Birthday, IDF

The official ceremony marking Memorial Day for the IDF’s Fallen Soldiers, in which Israel remembers and honors its fallen soldiers, began Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. at the Kotel. President Shimon Peres addressed the ceremony,

According to numbers published by the Defense Ministry, since the year 1860 — when Jews founded the first neighborhood in Jerusalem outside of the Old City — 23,085 soldiers and members of the security forces died in the line of duty, including 92 in the past year.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made the following remarks Sunday:

“Today, the State of Israel honors the memory of its fallen, our soldiers and our people who fell in Israel’s wars and in the terrorist attacks. From the moment the state was established, it has not ceased to wish for peace with its neighbors, and to the same degree, its enemies have not ceased from their aspiration to wipe it off the face of the earth.

“We are here thanks to Israel’s fighters who joined the struggle for our existence, thanks to those who survived the wars and thanks to those who fell. We do not forget, even for a second, that we are here thanks to the fallen.

“Today, while the accumulated threats against the State of Israel are greater than in the past, both the IDF and our security services are stronger than ever. We will continue to strengthen our security, we will continue to aspire for peace with our neighbors, and we will continue to ensure the future of our country.”

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

(this video is from Aish.com)

 On Monday March 18th 2013,  the new Israeli government was sworn in – the 33rd Knesset. The government ministers were sworn in individually, each promising to be faithful to the State of Israel and its laws, and to fulfill his or her duties as a member of Knesset. The new government features Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Beiteinu faction, the Yesh Atid party led by Yair Lapid, the Jewish Home party led by Naphtali Bennett, and Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua Party.

 Shimon Peres – President

 Benjamin Netanyahu – Prime Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Public Affairs and the Diaspora

 Yitzhak Aharonovitch – Minister of Public Security
 Uri Ariel – Minister of Housing and Construction
 Naftali Bennett – Minister of Trade, Industry and Labor, Minister of Religious Services, Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs
 Meir Cohen – Minister of Welfare and Social Affairs
 Gilad Erdan – Minister of Communications and Home Front Protection
 Yael German – Minister of Health
 Yisrael Katz – Minister of of Transportation, National Infrastructures and Road Safety
 Uzi Landau – Minister of Tourism
 Sofa Landver – Minister of Immigration Absorption
 Yair Lapid – Minister of Finance
 Limor Livnat – Minister of Culture and Sport
 Tzipi Livni – Minister of Justice
 Uri Orbach – Minister for Senior Citizens
 Amir Peretz – Minister of Environmental Protection
 Yaakov Perry – Minister of Science and Technology
 Shai Piron – Minister of Education
 Gideon Sa’ar – Minister of the Interior
 Silvan Shalom – Minister of Water and Energy, Minister for Regional Development and the       Development of the Negev and the Galilee
 Yair Shamir – Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
 Yuval Steinitz – Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs responsible for International Relations
 Moshe Ya’alon – Minister of Defense

(Taken From Times of Israel and MFA.gov.il )

IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) reports: 180 centrifuges hooked up at Natanz, Iran’s main uranium enrichment plant; Prime minister calls findings “very grave.”

“This is a very grave report which proves that Iran is continuing to makerapid progress toward the red line that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu sketched in his 27 September 2012 UN speech,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

“Today, Iran is closer than ever to achieving enriched material for a nuclear bomb. Preventing Iran from attaining nuclear weapons is the first subject that Prime Minister Netanyahu will discuss with U.S. President Barack Obama during the latter’s expected visit in less than a month,” added the statement.

In his speech to the UN in September, Netanyahu drew an actual red line with a marker on a chart symbolizing Iran’s uranium enrichment program, and explained that Iran must be told that if it reaches enough uranium enriched to the 90% level in order to make a nuclear bomb, it will be attacked.

According to the report, 180 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had been hooked up at the plant near the central town of Natanz. They were not yet operating. Such machines could enable Iran to significantly speed up its accumulation of material that could be used to make a nuclear weapon.

It was not clear how many of the new centrifuges Iran aims to install at Natanz, which is designed for tens of thousands.

(IsraelNationalNews.com and Jpost.com)

President Obama plans to travel to Israel this spring for the first time since taking office, as he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu try to move past the friction of the last four years now that both have won re-election.

By making Israel a stop on the first overseas trip of his second term, President Obama hopes to demonstrate support for the Jewish state . But the trip also seems designed to signal a new start in a fraught relationship rather than an ambitious effort to revive a stalled peace process.“The start of the president’s second term and the formation of a new Israeli government offer the opportunity to reaffirm the deep and enduring bonds between the United States and Israel,” Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said Tuesday, “and to discuss the way forward on a broad range of issues of mutual concern, including, of course, Iran and Syria.”

Obama will also visit Jordan and the west bank.The Israeli news media reported that President Obama would arrive on March 20, but the White House would not discuss any dates for the trip.

“The United States can put an end to the Iranian threat,” President Shimon Peres of Israel said in an address to Parliament on Tuesday, “and I believe that the president of the United States is determined to do it.”

While President Obama visited Israel in 2008 as a candidate, he did not travel there during his first term, a fact that became fodder on the campaign trail last year. A television commercial from a group called the Emergency Committee for Israel said President Obama had “traveled all over the Middle East but he hasn’t found time to visit our ally and friend, Israel.” Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, ran his own advertisement criticizing the president for not going to Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office said a visit by the president would be “an important opportunity to underscore the friendship and strong partnership between Israel and the United States.”

(NYTimes)

“I thank you for giving me the opportunity for a third time to lead the State of Israel,” says Netanyahu in victory speech.

Watch More of Netanyahu Speech Here:

Netanyahu has remained a remarkable leader over the years.

This is footage of Netanyahu when he was a student in MIT, and 28 years old.

Next week, on Tuesday, January 22nd, Israelis will be heading to the polls to cast their ballot. The Israeli system is a bit different than in the United States, so we hope to explain it to you here today. Let’s have a look!

For starters, Israel doesn’t have just 2 major political parties. It doesn’t even have 3 or 4. In the upcoming election, there are a whopping thirty-four parties running to get seats in Israel’s legislative body, the Knesset. Are they all going to get seats? Probably not. Israeli law states that you need to have over two percent of the popular vote to get a seat in the Knesset. The 120 seats in the Knesset are divided proportionately between all the parties who received at least two percent of the vote (and thus one seat).

But let’s back up a bit. Unlike the United States, in Israel, you’re not voting for your direct representative. Instead, you vote for a political party. Each party has a list of candidates for Knesset. Should that party do well in the elections and gain 5 seats for example, the top 5 names on their list become Knesset members. So the public knows who they are voting for (the number one spot on every party list is the leader of the party). Each party has to have a pretty long list, in the off chance that they receive a lion’s share of the public’s votes. The closer you are to the top of the list, the more likely you will make it to the Knesset should your party do well.

Now we get to the fun part. Israel’s Prime Minister, who heads the government, is chosen from among the members of the newly-elected Knesset. The best way to think about the difference between the U.S. and Israel’s system is that while America has separate legislative and Presidential elections, Israel’s are combined into one. The process by which Israel chooses its Prime Minister is similar to how the U.S. Congress chooses their Speaker of the House or Senate majority leader. While the public votes for which party they want to have seats in the Knesset, it’s up to the elected officials themselves to “nominate” a Prime Minister.

Usually, but not always, this person is the head of the party that received the most seats. However, because you have dozens of parties vying for the Knesset’s 120 seats, its almost impossible for one party to have a clear majority of 61 or more seats. To date, no single party has received enough Knesset seats to be able to form a government by itself; thus all Israeli governments have been based on coalitions of several parties. Those remaining outside the government compose the opposition.

According to Israeli law, each Knesset term is up to four years. However, coalition governments have an average lifespan of 3.5 years. There are a number of reasons why early elections can take place:

1. The Knesset passes a bill to disperse the Knesset
2. The Knesset has not approved the budget within three months of the start of the financial year
3. The Prime Minister asks the Knesset to disperse
4. A no-confidence vote has passed and a new government has not formed.

In this case, it’s the third option. In the fall of 2012, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for early elections to take place in January of 2013. Whichever party receives the most seats next week essentially has “first pick” over forming a coalition with other parties to get a majority of seats in the Knesset. The President of the State of Israel, largely a ceremonial post, formally requests the leader of the larges party to form a government. When a government has been formed, the designated Prime Minister presents it to the Knesset within 45 days of the election. At this time, he or she announces its composition, the basic guidelines of its policy and the distribution of functions among its ministers.

The Prime Minister then asks the Knesset for an expression of confidence. The government is installed when the Knesset has expressed confidence in it by a majority of 61 Knesset members. Then the new ministers assume their offices.

While in America the term government refers to Federal, Legislative and Judicial branches, in Israel, the term “government” is used to refer to the cabinet positions – everything from Prime Minister to Minister of Transportation. The government (cabinet of ministers) is the executive authority of the state, charged with administering internal and foreign affairs, including security matters. Only members of the political parties which form the majority coalition in the Knesset are appointed to government posts.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AIRTIME:

Election broadcasts begin on television 21 days before the elections. All election advertising is broadcast free of charge on television and radio, although the parties are responsible for preparing the advertisements at their own expense. Under the principle of equal opportunity, it is prohibited to purchase broadcasting time.

The Election Law contains strict rules regarding the timing, length and content of television and radio election broadcasts. Parties participating in the elections receive broadcasting minutes according to a formula set in law. Each is given a basic and equal allocation of minutes for broadcasts on television and radio. Factions which have candidates who served in the outgoing Knesset are allocated an additional amount of time based on their number of former Members of Knesset (MKs).

For example, each party receives 7 basic minutes of advertising on television and an additional 2 minute per former MK. On radio, each party list receives 15 basic minutes and 4 additional ones per outgoing MK. Parties are also limited in the amount of inches of election advertising they can print in newspapers.

Other restrictions on advertising include:

• No use of children under the age of 15

• No use of the IDF that creates the impression that the army identifies with a particular party

• No use of the names or images of victims of terrorism without their permission or that of their surviving family

ELECTION DAY!

On January 22nd, this process will begin in earnest. Election day in Israel is a national holiday in order to enable all potential voters to participate. Free transportation is available to voters who happen to be outside their polling districts on this day. Every Israeli citizen aged 18 or older on election day has the right to vote. Israelis of all ethnic groups and religious beliefs, including Arab Israelis, actively participate in the process. There will be 10,128 polling stations open next week, including 190 in hospitals and 57 in prisons. Soldiers on active duty vote in polling stations in their units. Special arrangements are made for prison inmates to vote, as well as for those confined to hospital. Disabled persons who are ambulatory can vote in special voting stations designed for accessibility.Israeli law does not provide for absentee ballots and in general, voting takes place only on Israeli soil. The sole exceptions are Israeli citizens serving in Israeli embassies and consulates abroad or on Israeli ships.

2012 was a busy news year. Here are some less-reported stories you might have missed.

January

In Israel, rain is regarded as a blessing. In that case, 2012 started off on a wonderful note, with January 2012 breaking all-time Israeli record with 29 days of precipitation.

“Eye from Zion” marked its one-thousandth operation – saving the sight of 1,000 people around the world in the previous six months. The charity, partly funded by the Israeli government, sends leading Israeli doctors to poor countries where they set up temporary, mobile clinics. Founder Nati Marcus said: “We see ourselves as the goodwill ambassadors of Israel and the Jewish people.”

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked Israel as the second-most educated country in the world. 92% of Israelis graduate from high school, and 46% have a post-high-school degree. 2012 also saw the beginning of free preschool in Israel.

A malicious photo went viral on Facebook, purporting to depict an Israeli soldier pointing his gun at a young girl. The photo was removed after it was pointed out that neither the gun nor the uniform in the photo were those issued by the Israeli army, and the picture was likely shot during protests in Bahrain.

February

Israeli scientists found that starting the day with chocolate cake was ideal. Prof. Daniela Jakubowicz of the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon compared high-calorie chocolaty breakfasts with low-calorie options. Obese patients eating 600 calories of chocolate cake as part of a balanced died lost an average of 33 lbs. after 16 weeks; patients who ate a chocolate-less 300 calorie breakfast gained weight instead.

Scientists at Ben Gurion University of the Negev startled the world by announcing that plants can talk! Pea plants which were deprived of water sent transmissions via their roots to nearby pea plants, which then copied their stressed neighbors and likewise prepared for drought.

March

The “Photoshop Law” went into effect in Israel, banning the use of underweight models in advertising. The law also mandates that magazines disclose which photos have been digitally manipulated.

Business Week reported that Israel Theme Tours has launched full-package Elvis-themed tours of Israel. The tour features backup singers who toured with the King, Elvis impersonators, and takes in Elvis-themed sites in the Holy Land, as well.

April

Israel’s Ezer Mizion Bone Registry celebrated saving 1,000 lives since its founding. The registry has expanded thanks in part to the Israeli Defense Forces, which gives every Israeli soldier the option of giving a blood sample to become a potential bone marrow donor.

Israeli soldiers gave emergency first-aid and saved the life of a 10-day-old Palestinian baby, whose panicked mother rushed her to the nearest army base. The IDF reported this was the third time in recent weeks that local Palestinians turned to the nearest army base for acute medical care.

The Israel Museum’s collection went online with Google’s Art Project.

As the top official in Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, sends rockets into civilian centers in Israel and is dedicated to the Jewish state’s destruction. But this month, his brother-in-law, accompanied by Haniyeh’s sister, traveled to Israel to undergo emergency treatment for a heart condition in Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva.

Psychologist Tal Ben Shahar, Harvard’s most popular professor, returned home to live in Israel. The professor, who became best known for his class on positive psychology, decided he’d be happiest back home in the Jewish State, one of the world’s happiest countries, according to international rankings.

May

At age 24, Israeli mountain climber Nadav ben Yehuda was set to become the youngest Israeli ever to scale Everest. But he gave up his own conquest when, just 300 meters from the summit, he spotted the unconscious body of another climber, Aydin Irmak, of Turkey. “Other climbers jut passed him by and didn’t lift a finger, but I had no second thoughts. I knew that I had to save him,” said ben Yehuda, who carried the unconscious climber down the mountain.

Israel banned smoking in public this month, stopping second-hand smoke in hospitals, restaurants, public pools, and on public transportation.

June

Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held by Hamas for five years with no contact with the outside world, was hired by Yediot Aharonot to be their basketball correspondent.

Dr. Daniel Hillel, whose micro-irrigation techniques revolutionized food production first in Israel and then throughout the world, won the World Food Prize, the foremost award recognizing those who have increased the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

Acting sensation David Arquette celebrated his bar mitzvah at Jerusalem’s Western Wall. The Scream star was attending a Bar Mitzvah when he was invited to have his own. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, the official rabbi of the Western Wall, officiated.

Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, praised Israel as the world’s leader of innovation and a “tech miracle” – describing Google’s Israeli innovation centers as the company’s most prized, which Google is constantly expanding.

July

Israeli scientists developed a marijuana that has all of that drug’s anti-pain properties, but without the high-inducing chemicals that make cannabis so contentious.

The stunning remains of a magnificent Roman-era synagogue were uncovered in Huqoq. The synagogue features preserved mosaics, including biblical scenes and inscriptions.

A planned UN-sponsored concert in Jerusalem by Daniel Barenboim’s “East West Orchestra,” which brings together Jews and Muslims to perform together, was cancelled after anti-Israel protestors complained that having both Jews and Muslims in the orchestra implied too much “balance” between the two groups.

Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s new President, sent a warm letter of introduction to Israeli President Shimon Peres – and then strenuously denied ever making such a statesman-like overture to the Jewish state, claiming his initial letter was a hoax.

August

A researcher in Israel was able to control a robot in France, simply by thinking about it. Student Tirosh Shapira was hooked up to a computer which sent his brain waves to the robot in France, which he then directed to walk around the room, and seek out people and objects.

Israel tested a new missile alert system whereby messages in Hebrew, Arabic, English and Russian were sent to every mobile phone in the country. In the event of an actual attack, the messages could warn residents of incoming missiles.

Israel increased its ranking in the annual Academic Ranking of World Universities list. Hebrew University, the Technion, Weitzman Institute, Tel Aviv University, Bar Ilan University, and Ben Gurion University of the Negev all made the list of the world’s top spots.

September

Israeli pilot Noam Gershony, who was critically injured during 2006 fighting in Lebanon, won the gold medal in wheelchair tennis at the Paralympics in London.

October

Hamas stopped sending mortars into Israel for 48 hours so Israeli workers could lay high speed internet cables into Gaza, to replace the slower dial-up service that previously served the area. “This is Israel’s answer to the hundreds of mortars, to connect the people in Gaza to the world,” said Maj. Adam Avidam, who coordinates security for Israel in the area.

Amateur Israeli cyclist Izhar Gafni developed a working bicycle made almost entirely of cardboard. He estimates the bike will retail around the world for about $20.

Operation Dove’s Wings began, bringing the remaining Jews in Ethiopia to Israel. The operation will take approximately one year, considerably longer than the two days in 1991, when over 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel.

Lonely Planet named the Negev as the second best travel destination in the world. (Corsica in France came in first.) The travel company described the region as a “giant greenhouse of development. Think eco-villages, spa resorts and even wineries.”

November

Israel’s anti-missile system, Iron Dome, intercepted 421 of the over 1,000 missiles fired from Gaza in hostilities this month. A new anti-missile system, David’s Sling, also went operational this month, capable of intercepting longer-range missiles.

At an international scientific conference in Tel Aviv, Israeli presenters revealed they’d developed microwaves that affect cancer, but leave regular cells unharmed. The new “millimeter wave radiation” was tested on human lung cancer cells, and killed diseased cells while leaving nearby healthy cells unaffected.

December

Jerusalem’s neo-Byzantine Inbal Hotel made Conde Nast’s “Gold List” 2012 of the world’s best places to stay.

A study found that 88% of Palestinians support “violent struggle” against Israel, with a minority wanting to resume peace negotiations. By contrast, 71% of Israelis favor peace negotiations, even though many – 67% – feel they won’t ultimately be effective.

Coming full circle, this year is shaping up to be the “rainiest winter” in the past 20 years, raising the Sea of Galilee to near-record levels.

(From Aish.com)

Public Continues to Sympathize with Israel over Palestinians

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 5-9 among 1,503 adults, also finds little change in the public’s sympathies in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians: 50% say they sympathize more with Israel while just 10% sympathize more with the Palestinians.

For decades, the public has sympathized with Israel over the Palestinians and that remains the case today. Overall, 50% say they sympathize more with Israel, compared with just 10% who say they sympathize more with the Palestinians; almost a quarter (23%) do not offer an opinion while 13% volunteer that they sympathize with neither side, and 4% say both.

Attitudes on this question have been stable over the past six years, after showing more volatility in the middle of the last decade.

There continue to be stark partisan differences in Middle East sympathies. Conservative Republicans maintain strong support for Israel with fully 75% saying they sympathize with Israel compared with just 2% who sympathize with the Palestinians. By contrast, liberal Democrats are much more divided: 33% sympathize more with Israel, 22% with the Palestinians. Independents sympathize more with Israel by a 47% to 13% margin.

Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants remain strongly supportive of Israel. Two-thirds (67%) say they sympathize more with Israel; only 5% say they sympathize more with the Palestinians. Opinion among other religious groups is more mixed. Catholics, for example, offer more sympathy for Israel than the Palestinians by a 44% to 11% margin.

There also are age differences in Mideast sympathies. About four-in-ten (38%) people younger than 30 sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians. That is only slightly lower than the percentage of 30-49 year olds who sympathize with Israel (46%). However, more than half of those 50 and older (58%) sympathize with Israel more than the Palestinians. Age differences were more modest in 2011 and 2010.

GILLIBRAND, INHOFE SECURE NEARLY $270 MILLION FOR U.S.-ISRAEL COOPERATIVE MISSILE DEFENSE PROGRAMS IN FINAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN SENATE-HOUSE DEFENSE BILLS –

WILL HEAD TO PRESIDENT’S DESK AS PART OF 2013 DEFENSE BILL

Lawmakers Fight to Strengthen National Security, Increase Funding for US-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation

 Gillibrand, Inhofe: “Missile Defense Programs are a Win-Win for Both U.S. and Israel”

 Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and James Inhofe (R-OK) today announced that the Senate-House conference committee included nearly $270 million for the U.S.-Israel cooperative missile defense programs in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013. Earlier this month, the lawmakers urged the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees to allocate nearly $270 million provided by the appropriators. Now that the measure has cleared the bipartisan conference committee, it is expected to pass both houses of Congress this week and will head to the President’s desk for his signature.

Last week, Senators Gillibrand and Inhofe wrote in a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI), Ranking Member John McCain (R-AZ), House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard McKeon (R-CA), and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), “As witnessed by the recent attacks on Israel from Gaza, the continued joint efforts of the United States and Israel in missile defense systems is critical to protecting this close U.S. ally and American interests in that region…. The technology yields results that both of our militaries will utilize in our respective defense systems. U.S. funding is fully matched by that of Israel. This is, in short, a win-win.”

The Senators pointed out that the Iron Dome air defense system, which was developed in 2007 to counter rockets and short-range missiles against attacks, was critical in intercepting and destroying an estimated 400 rockets before they reached Israeli soil and caused widespread devastation. The recent successful test of the David’s Sling weapon system highlights the opportunity to increase funding in order to complete the development of the U.S-Israel cooperative missile defense programs, allowing Israel to defend its citizens from hostile threats.

The Middle East Conflict

According to Dennis Prager , “It is the easiest conflict in the world to describe. It may be the hardest to solve, but it really is the easiest to describe.”

If israel tomorrow put down its arms  and said “we will fight no more,” what would happen? If the arab countries around Israel said “we will fight no more, we put down our arms”, what would happen? Will there be peace?

There are many many arab states, but only one Jewish state. Why is the biggest problem in the world about a state the size of New Jersey?

Watch this Video:

For more information please contact members of the Israel and Zionism Committee, Sarit Bassal saritbassal@gmail.com and Tracey Cohen traceyc1990@yahoo.com

The Story and Life of Theodor Hertzl

The Israel and Zionism Committee invites you to the screaning of an exceptional movie documentary on the life of Theordor Hertzl, one of the most important figures in the world’s Jewry. Monday, December 17 at 8:30 pm at Shaare Shalom (54 Steamboat Road). Entrance $5.00 per person. For more information please contact Dalia Hakimian at (516)482-3977, Kourosh Namdar at (516)263-9480 or any member of the IZC. 

The Combined Synagogues of Great Neck present

THE NATHAN ACKERMAN MEMORIAL DIALOGUE

Sunday December 16th, 2012 at 3:00pm in Temple Emanuel of Great Neck

With Perter Beinart and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin

Topic:  Dialogue Continues: Israel & the Crisis of Zionism

Admission is FREE