Google Street View Returns to Israel

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Google Street View returned to Israel three years after it first photographed the nation’s streets.
The Google cars and tricycles, fitted with 360-degree cameras to take panoramic images, will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other cities in order to update the online mapping tool.
Google Street View provides a 3-D view of buildings, landmarks and streets around the world. The images from Israel were posted on the Internet in April 2012.
Israel’s Justice Ministry set several conditions for its approval to photograph city streets, including the right for Israelis to request further blurring of residences and license plates. Israeli officials reportedly had been concerned that terrorists would use the service to plan attacks in Israel.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
