Archive for August 29, 2013

U.S. Report: Intel tying Assad directly to chemical weapons attack is ‘no slam dunk’

American Intelligence officials say they haven’t been able to pinpoint the exact locations of Assad’s supplies of chemical weapons’ depot, assessing that Assad may have moved them in recent days.

The intelligence linking Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle to an alleged chemical weapons attack that killed at least 100 people is no “slam dunk,” U.S. intelligence officials say.

Assad air raid in east Syria - Reuters

Men search for survivors amid debris of collapsed buildings after what activists said was an air raid by forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar Assad in Raqqa province, Syria, August 10, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

President Barack Obama declared unequivocally Wednesday that the Syrian government was responsible, while laying the groundwork for an expected U.S. Continue Reading »

Kuwaiti Report: Israel Agreed to ‘Act With Restraint’ If Attacked By Syria

An article in a Kuwaiti newspaper reported that Arab leaders from the Gulf states have asked that Israel act “with restraint” if attacked by Syrian missiles, and Jerusalem agreed.

By David Lev

 

A Kuwaiti newspaper reported Thursday that Gulf leaders have been in touch with Israel, and have asked that Israel act “with restraint” in the event of an attack by Western nations on Syria. That restraint would be necessary if Bashar al-Assad responds to an attack against him by attacking Israel.

Scud launcher – Photo courtesy: US Navy

Earlier this week, Syrian officials said that if Syria was attacked, a coalition of nations and terror groups, including Syria, Iran, Lebanon, and Hezbollah, would respond with an all-out attack on Israel. Continue Reading »

IDF Drafts Reservists as Precaution

 

There’s a ‘low probability’ that Syria would strike Israel, but the draft reflects the gov’t’s responsibility to prepare for all  scenarios, “no matter how unlikely.”

By HERB KEINON, YAAKOV LAAPIN
 

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called on Israelis to carry on with their daily routines Wednesday in light of a possible US strike on Syria, even as the security cabinet approved a limited call-up of reservists in vital military capacities.

Israeli soldiers evacuate a mock victim during a drill simulating a chemical attack May, 2013.

Israeli soldiers evacuate a mock victim during a drill simulating a chemical attack May, 2013. – Photo: REUTERS

The dual message of “stay calm but be prepared,” one government official said, reflected the continued assessments in Jerusalem that there was a “low probability” that Syria would actually strike Israel, but also reflected the government’s responsibility to prepare for all sorts of scenarios, “no matter how unlikely.”

Continue Reading »

Interior Minister: Thousands of migrants will be deported after Jewish holidays

 

 

Thousands of asylum seekers & migrants will be deported from Israel within the coming month as part of a two-stage plan, says Interior Minister Sa’ar.

By Omri Efraim

 

 

Israel will deport thousands of illegal migrants and refugees from Sudan and Eritrea after the holiday season, Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar revealed yesterday.

Gideon Sa'ar

Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar – Photo: Nir Keidar

The minister told the Knesset’s House Committee that Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved a few days ago an agreement signed between Israel and a country that agreed to absorb asylum seekers from Sudan and Eritrea.

Sa’ar said his office is expected to launch the operation to deport illegal migrants after the holidays. Continue Reading »

Dancing With the Enemy

Army investigating incident were IDF soldiers left patrol and began dancing to Psy’s Gangnam on the shoulders of young Palestinian clubbers in Hebron.

View the Video that is going viral.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

The Israel Defense Forces has launched an investigation after Israeli soldiers from the elite Givati Brigade were captured on camera dancing with young Palestinians at a club in the Jabara neighborhood of Hebron, Channel 2 reported Wednesday.
IDF soldiers deal with protesters in Hebron

IDF soldiers deal with protesters in Hebron – Photo: Reuters

According to the report, the soldiers entered the club while on patrol on Monday, after hearing the song Gangnam Style by Psy coming from the building.

Continue Reading »

UN Chief Urges US & UK: Postpone Attack

UN Secretary-General Ban tells US & UK to delay strike on Syrian targets & give inspectors more time to investigate.

Syria takes advantage of ‘advanced warning’ to evacuate top military posts & prepare for attack.

By Maayana Miskin

 

 

The United States and Britain have come under pressure to delay military intervention in Syria, with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon urging both countries to hold fire.

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon – AFP file

Speaking at a press conference at The Hague, Ban called to give UN inspectors more time to examine the scene of the chemical weapons attack near Damascus last week. Continue Reading »

Russian leader: The West acts ‘like a monkey with a grenade’…again

China reminds everyone how the current affair ‘is reminiscent of the lead-up to the Iraqi War,’ which was also based on allegations that proved false.

As Moscow sends emergency supplies to Damascus the Russian deputy premier criticizes the looming Western attack on Syria.

By Dan Lavie and News Agencies

 

Russian officials on Tuesday unleashed scathing criticism of the looming U.S.-led strike on Syria.

Continue Reading »

BDS places historically distorted anti-Israel advertisement on Vancouver buses

The Jewish community of Vancouver is mulling options to stop another BDS anti-Israel campaign on buses displaying historically distorted anti-Israel advertisement.

By JTA

 

 

The head of the Jewish federation in Vancouver and the Canadian city’s transit agency are at odds over the legality of an anti-Israel ad campaign on buses there.

Disappearing Palestine

historically distorted anti-Israel advertisement

The ads, which went up Tuesday, purport to show the “disappearance of Palestine due to Israeli occupation over the past 65 years.” The ads — 15 bus posters and one large “mural” in a station — consist of four maps spanning from 1946 to 2012 and illustrate “Palestine” shrinking over the years.

Continue Reading »

Turkey military on alert, possible ‘engagement’ with NATO allies

 

Turkey’s Foreign minister in Ankara says “all options on the table…Turkey will take whatever measures necessary within the framework of its own strategic interests,”

By MICHAEL WILNER, MAYA SHWAYDER
 

 

WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK — Turkey has placed its armed forces on alert in light of possible security threats from Syria as the West continues to discuss military action on the Damascus regime in response to a supposed chemical weapons attack, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.

Turkish soldiers.

Turkish soldiers. – Photo: REUTERS

Davutoglu asserted that “all options are on the table” for Turkey to address the use of chemical weapons in Syria on a massive scale.

Continue Reading »

Unlike 1st Gulf War, IDF deploys Israeli defensive missile technology against Syria

  Photos: AP, MCT, AFP, Reuters, CD Bank

 

 

Additional Iron Dome batteries deployed in north including Israel’s Hetz defensive system.

‘IDF is prepared for any scenario, so no reason to change our routine,’ reports IDF spokesman.

By Yoav Zitun

 

 

Hetz (Arrow), the IAF’s missile interception system, has raised its alert level amid reports of a looming American attack in Syria in the coming days.

Iron Dome, Hetz, Patriot (Photo: Reuters, Defense Ministry)

Iron Dome, Hetz (Arrow), Patriot – Photo: Reuters, Defense Ministry

The IDF has also decided to deploy an additional Iron Dome missile defense system in the north. It will join a battery placed in Haifa a number of weeks ago. The IDF is considering deploying an additional battery in central Israel. Continue Reading »

LIVE TIMELINE: US readies strike on Syria as GB drafting UNSC resolution

 

Video: UN inspectors arrive outside Damascus at site of chemical attack.

Israeli cabinet convenes to discuss probable U.S.- U.K. attack.

 

Momentum appeared to build Wednesday for Western military action against Syria, with the U.S. and France saying they are in position for a strike, while the government in Damascus vowed to use all possible measures to repel it.

USS Nimitz.

A U.S. Navy F/A 18 Hornet fighter jet lands on the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. – Photo: Reuters

 

The prospect of a dramatic U.S.-led intervention into Syria’s civil war stemmed from the West’s assertion – still not endorsed by UN inspectors – that President Bashar Assad‘s government was responsible for an alleged chemical attack on civilians outside Damascus on August 21 that the group Doctors Without Borders says killed 355 people. Continue Reading »

Report: Assad & Family now in Iran

 

Daily Lebanese newspaper reports President Bashar al-Assad & his family safely arrived in Tehran for talks on a possible U.S.-U.K. Strike.

By Gil Ronen

 

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and members of his family are in Tehran, after they arrived at Homeini Airport in the presidential plane Tuesday night, sources in Iran’s foreign ministry told the website of Lebanese newsaper a-Nahar. The news did not receive confirmation from other official sources.

Assad on state television channel Al-Ikhbariya – AFP photo

Daily newspaper Israel Hayom, which cites the report, notes that a-Nahar is considered close to Hezbollah as well as to the leadership in Syria and Iran. Continue Reading »

Lebanese Jihadists: Rocket attack indicates resumption of war against the Jews

 

The Lebanese-based terrorist group that officially claimed responsibility for the rocket attack on northern Israel last week, said more attacks against the ‘Jewish conquerors’ will be forthcoming.

By Roi Kais

 

The Lebanon-based Azzam Abdullah Brigades, which claimed responsibility for the launching of four rockets toward the Western Galilee region last week issued a statement Tuesday saying the Ziad al-Jarah Battalion fired four 122-millimeter Grad rockets on its behalf toward “the cities of Nahariya and Akko in occupied Palestine.”

Grad rocket shot into the Galilee (archive) - Photo: IsraelandStuff /PP

Exploded Grad rocket shot into the Galilee (archive) – Photo: IsraelandStuff /PP

The Azzam Abdullah Brigades further mentioned that the “green light given by Israel and the Western countries to Hezbollah in the fight against our people in Syria so that Israel could safeguard its security will not provide it with security. Continue Reading »

An American Rabbi Pens, ‘The Bill of Rights of a Jewish Wife’

Rabbi Mendel Epstein from New York writes how he’s disturbed by the outrageous number of women who suffer from the “system” of divorce in the Orthodox community.

By Kochava Rozenbaum

 

The 5 Towns Jewish Times wrote an article last week on the “proliferation of divorces” in the Jewish Orthodox community and on the current system that fails to protect women struggling to “navigate their way through difficult or bad marriages.”

The newspaper interviewed Rabbi Mendel Epstein of Brooklyn, New York, leader of a Jewish community, an experienced judge, and “to’ein”, the Hebrew term meaning “advocate” who represents on behalf of someone in front of a Rabbinical court of law. Continue Reading »

Norwegian FM: World refuses to bankroll Palestinians with blank-check forever

 

Espen Barth Eide praised Israelis for taking a very ‘difficult’ step in releasing prisoners, saying now the PA must also make concessions, and if progress is not made, ‘donations’ will stop.

 

 

Both the Palestinians and Israel should know that the world will not bankroll Palestinian Authority state-building forever, and that if progress is not made the donations will stop, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide told The Jerusalem Post Tuesday.

Espen Barth Eide meet with PA President Abbas August 27, 2013.

Espen Barth Eide meet with PA President Abbas August 27, 2013. – Photo: REUTERS

“The donors will not be ready to keep funding Palestinian state-building much longer if we are not seeing a political horizon,” said Eide.

Continue Reading »