Archive for August 23, 2012

Hezbollah drill: Operation ‘occupy the Galilee”

Nasrallah threatens to kill tens of thousands of Israelis with missiles then Hezbollah plans to capture Galilee.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Over 10,000 Hezbollah fighters participated in the organization’s largest military exercise to date last week, which included defensive tactics and preparations to occupy the Upper Galilee, Lebanese newspaper Al-Joumhouria reported.
Hizbullah rockets

Hizbullah rockets -Photo: Associated Press

The report noted that the drill lasted three days and the majority of the soldiers that participated in the exercise belonged to special forces.

According to the “informed source,” Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is said to have called for the organization to make the appropriate preparations to occupy northern Israel recently. Continue Reading »

Pentagon Report: US puts Syrian unconventional weapons contingencies in place

Pentagon’s concern over Assad’s WMD stockpiles growing; Washington officials say that if the war escalates further, US may choose to send in troops to secure weapons depots

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon has made contingency plans to ensure that Syria’s massive unconventional weapons stockpiles are secure, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Syrian President Bashar Assad Photo: EPA

Syrian President Bashar Assad – Photo: EPA

According to the report, the United States Department of Defense plans to send small teams of special operations troops into Syria should Washington feels that the depots are no longer secure, or that Syrian President Bashar Assadplans to use them on rebel forces. Continue Reading »

U.S. baseball All Star Kevin Youkilis planning to join Israel team in World Classic

Former MLB player Brad Ausmus has signed on as coach & retired players  Gabe Kapler &  Shawn Green have agreed to assist as coaches & players for Team Israel.

By JTA

Chicago White Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis said he will play for Israel at the World Baseball Classic.

Youkilis told Israel Sports Radio Wednesday that he would play for Team Israel if he is healthy. This season, the three-time All Star is hitting .241 with 15 home runs and 47 runs batted in. He has been hampered by injuries for much of the past three seasons.

Kevin Youkilis - AP - 21.7.2012

Chicago White Sox Kevin Youkilis during a game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Saturday, July 21, 2012.

Continue Reading »

DebkaFile Reports Hamas infiltrated in Abbas’ Bodyguards

Bearing out Israel’s worst fears, senior ranks of Abba’s personal guards are riddled with Hamas agents.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Hamas has infiltrated into the senior ranks of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abba’s own security forces, bearing out Israel’s worst fears that the PA might turns it guns on Israelis, according to the DebkaFile website.

Debka, staffed by former journalists and former intelligence personnel, said that the Palestinian Authority arrested this past Sunday two Hamas agents of the terrorist’ organization’s military branch who infiltrated into the elite hand-picked security force that guards Abbas.

The PA reportedly has clamped a blackout on the arrests. Continue Reading »

Once AGAIN, Abbas apparently denies Jewish link to Jerusalem

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas said that unabated attacks “under the nose of the Israeli occupation authorities” seek to “rob Muslims & Christians of their holy shrines, destroy Al-Aqsa mosque and build the alleged Jewish Temple.”

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

A “series” of attacks on the Temple Mount “under the nose of the Israeli occupation authorities” seek “to rob Muslims and Christians of their holy shrines, destroy Al-Aqsa mosque and build the alleged Jewish Temple,” according to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Al-Aqsa mosque – Photo: Phillip Pasmanick

Al-Aqsa mosque – Photo: Phillip Pasmanick

In a statement issued to mark the 43rd anniversary of an arson attack on Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Abbas said that the third holiest shrine in Islam is still under threat.

Continue Reading »

Pretoria refuses to label territories’ goods as Israeli

South Africa approves plan requiring special labels for Israeli products “emanating from Israel Occupied Territories” (IOT)

 

The South African cabinet on Wednesday approved a plan to require special labels on products coming from the settlements so that they do not read “Made in Israel.”

The government’s approval comes some three months after the plan was first made public, and despite a flood of protest from South African Jews and other pro-Israel supporters in the country.

South Africans protest Israel - Photo: Reuters

South Africans protest Israel – Photo: Reuters

The cabinet issued a statement saying it “approved that a notice in terms of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 be issued by the Minister of Trade and Industry requiring the labeling of goods or products emanating from IOTs (Israel Occupied Territories) to prevent consumers being led to believe that such goods come from Israel.

Continue Reading »

Vatican appointment is an embarrassment to Israel

The Church’s appointment of archbishop associated with pedophile priests’ scandal as envoy to Jerusalem demonstrates strained Israel-Vatican ties

By Menachem Gantz

 

The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to appoint Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto as the new papal ambassador to the Holy Land is an embarrassment and humiliation for Israel. The new papal nuncio, as the ambassador is known, has been serving as papal envoy to Australia since 2007, and he is expected to replace outgoing Archbishop Antonio Franco after six years of service in Jerusalem.

Strained relations with Vatican?

Strained relations with Vatican?

Franco, who threatened to boycott the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony five years ago, will be remembered in Rome as the envoy who conducted the Catholic Church’s battle to clear the name of Pope Pius XII at the Yad Vashem Museum. Continue Reading »

First German Rabbi faces criminal charges over anti-circumcision ruling

Rabbi David Goldberg accused of committing ‘bodily harm’ in first case since German court ruling banning religious circumcisions in May

By Ynet

 

A German rabbi has been criminally charged for performing a circumcision, committing what the indictment calls “bodily harm,” media outlets reported on Tuesday.

Archives Photo: AP

Archives Photo: AP

The lawsuit against David Goldberg, who is a mohel and the Rabbi of the city of Hof Saale in Bavaria, is the first known case following the anti-circumcision ruling issued by a German court in May.

According to media reports, the charges were filed by a physician from the city of Hessen, and was based on the court ruling which stated that performing a religious circumcision ritual can be considered a crime. Continue Reading »

Lieberman writes letter to world leaders: Call new elections to oust Abbas’ despotic gov’t

Lieberman calls PA a ‘despotic government riddled with corruption’ in his letter sent to the foreign ministers of the Middle East Quartet.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has sent a letter to the foreign ministers of the Middle East Quartet members, calling on them to press for new elections in the Palestinian Authority to replace PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Lieberman described as an obstacle to peace.

Tomer Appelbaum

Avigdor Lieberman – Photo by Tomer Appelbaum

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Haaretz, is dated August 20 and was sent to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Continue Reading »

Warning to Israel: Harming Al-Aqsa Will Open Gates of Hell

The PRC terrorist orgs threatens Israel against harming the Al-Aqsa mosque.

By Elad Benari

 

The Popular Resistance Committees terrorist organization threatened Israel on Tuesday, warning it that any harm to the Al-Aqsa mosque would “open the gates of hell against the Zionist enemy.”

Al-Aqsa mosque – Photo: Phillip Pasmanick

 

In a statement the organization issued, it stressed its commitment to protecting the dignity of the mosque, which it claimed is being “contaminated by the Zionists”, through the masses of the Islamic nation which has started waking up and meeting its religious commitment towards “Palestine” and towards the Al-Aqsa mosque. Continue Reading »

CNN Reports: US offers Egyptian army intel for its Sinai battles

 

The White House is offering Egypt increased intel sharing, including satellite imagery & drone flights and intercepts of cellphone & other communications among militants in Sinai •  for the first time since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Egypt is preparing to use aircraft & tanks in Sinai in its offensive against militants there.

By Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters

 

Looking to increase security in the Sinai Peninsula, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is offering Egypt a package of classified intelligence-sharing capabilities designed to help it identify military threats in the area and reassure Israel that Egypt can deal with rising militancy along Israel’s border, a senior Pentagon official told CNN on Monday.

Continue Reading »

Israel Electric Corporation completes steam & gas power plant ahead of schedule

Addition of 125 megawatts will help bridge gaps in dwindling reserves, says IEC CEO Glickman.

 

A month ahead of schedule, the Israel Electric Corporation has completed work and grid synchronization of a 375-megawatt combined-cycle power plant.

The plant, called the Zafit power station, is located near Kfar Menahem in the country’s south-central region, and will significantly increase electricity generation to help deal with the ever-dwindling electricity reserves, according to the IEC. The combined-cycle plant contains a 125- megawatt steam unit that the company added to an already existing 250- megawatt natural gas turbine facility, and was constructed at a cost of NIS 1 billion. Continue Reading »

$150M Hezbollah-linked funds Seized by U.S.

US authorities say banking institution ‘plays key role in facilitating money laundering for Hezbollah’ so, funds wired by Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank were ‘frozen’.

By AFP

 

US authorities on Monday announced the seizure of $150 million allegedly linked to a scheme by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to launder proceeds from drug trafficking and other crimes.

Hezbollah Chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Photo: Reuters

Hezbollah Chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Photo: Reuters

The money came from a US bank account used by the Beirut-based Lebanese Canadian Bank (LCB) to conduct US currency transactions, US Attorney Preet Bharara and US Drug Enforcement Administration chief Michele Leonhart said.

Washington considers the Shiite militant group a terrorist organization. Continue Reading »

Leftist NGO Takes Taglit Youths on Pro-Arab PA Tours

Makor Rishon: NGOs take Birthright groups to Palestinian Authority villages and providing an anti-“occupation” narrative.

By Gil Ronen

 

Pro-Arab NGOs have been taking advantage of the Taglit-Birthright program that brings young Jewish people on tours of Israel – to take the tourists on their own tours and provide them with a pro-Arab perspective on Israel, according to the Makor Rishon newspaper.

Birthright group arrives in Israel

Birthright group arrives in Israel
Israel news photo: Birthright PR

Taglit-Birthright brings thousands of young Jews to Israel every year, for 10-day tours in which they learn about Israel, meet Israelis and strengthen their Jewish identity. Many of the participants choose to lengthen their stay in Israel and use the time to visit relatives, hike or just have fun before they take the free flight home. Continue Reading »

Caucasians Are Israeli Muslims Too

Their Refugee Communities Have Their Own Memories of Genocide & Exile

By Oren Kessler

Israel was born as a sanctuary for a people banished from their homeland, harassed in exile and ultimately subjected to mass murder. But there is more than one population here that meets this description. For, the Jewish state is home to another dispersed, insular and tradition-bound nation that has suffered through the trauma of exile and one of the most devastating genocides of modern times.

Some 1.5 million Circassians were killed in the Caucasian War of the mid-to-late 19th century, and another million — fully 90% of the population — were deported from their land in the Caucasus Mountains. Continue Reading »