Israel Blamed for Massive Explosion at Syria Missile Site

Reports of massive explosions were reported at a gov’t military base in western Syria. Both Syrian & Lebanese sources say Israel was behind the blast.

By Maayana Miskin

 

There was a massive explosion early Thursday morning at an aerial defense base near the city of Latakia in northeastern Syria, Walla reports, based on reports from the Syrian opposition.

Opposition sources said the base, which held anti-aircraft missiles, was destroyed in the blast.

Sources in Syria and Lebanon blamed Israel for the strike. However, they offered alternate versions of events: while Syrian sources said the base was hit by a strike from the sea, Lebanese media outlets reported that Israeli planes were seen in the area before the blast. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Lawful Claims to the West Bank

“In light of new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949…” – U.S. President George W. Bush

 

 

Proponents of fairness and equity who have advocated against some of Israel’s most pernicious detractors have often advanced several well-reasoned arguments against further Israeli West Bank withdrawals and Palestinian statehood. Key among those arguments are that the Palestinian leadership is rejectionist, duplicitous, incites violence, is non-democratic and, in general, is not committed to a two-state solution recognizing Israel’s rights to exist within safe and secure boundaries. Continue Reading »

Knesset Speaker declares French president ‘persona non grata’

French president snubs Knesset, opting to appear before university students instead. Knesset Speaker Edelstein responds in kind, won’t invite French dignitaries to ceremonies.

French Embassy reports: President Hollande’s schedule still not final.

 

 

French President Francois Hollande is not welcome in the Knesset, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein declared Wednesday.

Hollande speaks during the opening of the Qatari-French Business Forum in Doha June 23, 2013.

Hollande speaks during the opening of the Qatari-French Business Forum in Doha June 23, 2013.- Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous

Hollande decided to speak to university students, not the Knesset, during his visit to Israel in three weeks, and Edelstein responded to the snub in kind.

“Whoever disrespects the Knesset does not deserve the Knesset’s respect,” Edelstein wrote on Facebook.

Continue Reading »

View Clip of IDF Paratroopers firing advanced Spike missile

 

In a special training exercise held before the unit deploys for tour on Israel’s northern border, IDF paratroopers fire an advanced Spike-MR missile, one of  the IDF’s most advanced portable guided missiles.  -Watch it in action

By Yoav Zitun

 

Combat soldiers from the IDF‘s Paratroopers Brigade received an unusual allocation this week and fired a Spike-MR missile during a training exercise held in preparation of the troops’ scheduled operational activity along the northern border.

Spike-MR missile in action - IDF

Spike-MR missile in action – IDF

The Spike-MR rare launch was documented by the IDF and is quite the sight.

The missile is a portable “fire-and-forget” guided missile, and it is one of the army’s most advanced anti-tank and anti-personnel projectiles. Continue Reading »

Report: Details on lost pilot Ron Arad for intel on missing Iranian diplomats

Al-Siasa newspaper from Kuwait quotes Western intel sources as saying that a possible deal would reveal info on Israel’s Ron Arad in exchange for details on Iranian diplomats who vanished in the 1980s.

 

 

A Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Wednesday that Israel will soon receive new details regarding missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad as part of a deal between Iran and a Western intelligence agency.

Missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad

Missing Israel Air Force navigator Ron Arad.- Photo by AP

The Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Siasa quoted Western intelligence officials as saying that the deal includes the release of information regarding Arad, who’s been missing in action since 1986, in exchange for details on four Iranian diplomats who vanished in Lebanon in the 1980s. Continue Reading »

Ancient Curse Unearthed in Jerusalem’s City of David

Inscribed on a lead plate the 1,700 year old curse was found at archaeological dig in the City of David. It appears to have been ordered by a woman from a professional magician.

By Ari Yashar

 

On Wednesday the Israel Antiquities Authority released the discovery of a 1,700 year old curse found at the City of David archaeological site in Jerusalem.

Ancient Curse – Clara Amit, courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority

The curse, inscribed in Greek on a rolled-up lead plate, was found at the Givati parking lot dig site opposite the City of David.

The text was determined to be a curse written by a professional magician, according to the analysis of Dr. Continue Reading »

Bank of Israel governor Flug: Israel’s economy in good state

 

In her 1st public address since the gov’t approved her appointment as Bank of Israel governor, Dr. Karnit Flug tells PM’s Conference: ‘The growth rates in Israel are relatively high & the economy is in good condition compared to developed countries’

By Gilad Morag

 

Israel‘s growth rates are relatively high and the economy is in good condition compared to developed countries, Dr. Karnit Flug said Tuesday in her first public address since the government approved her appointment as the Bank of Israel’s new governor.

“Unemployment rates have dropped to a low level after going up during the crisis, but the output per worker is relatively low compared to the developed countries,” Flug told the Prime Minister’s Conference on Partnership and Growth, organized by the Authority for the Economic Development of the Arab, Druze and Circassian Sectors. Continue Reading »

Israel frees an aditional 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of peace talks

Those freed by Israel ‘in the name of peace’ were all convicted of murder before or just after the Oslo Accords were signed 20 years ago.

By and Reuters

 

 

Israel completed early Wednesday the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners as part of the resumption of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. This was the second group of prisoners to be freed, after the first was was released two months ago.

Palestinian prisoners release

Palestinian relatives during a celebrate while waiting for his release at the checkpoint at the entrance of Beit Hanoun between north of Gaza Strip and Israel, Tuesday, Oct.

Continue Reading »

Israel tells UNHRC: “Israel’s Unfair Treatment Must Come to an End”

After repeated discrimination by the council against the Jewish State, Israel ended its 18-month boycott and attended the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva.

By Tova Dvorin

 

Israel defended itself against constant discrimination by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva today (Tuesday), demanding that Israel’s “unfair treatment” over the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria “must come to an end”.

UN Human Rights Council – AFP photo

Israeli ambassador to the UN Eviator Manor admitted to the council that Israel does not have “a perfect record”, stressing that the situation in Israel has been complicated due to “our difficult and complex security situation” with the Palestinian Arabs since its foundation in 1948. Continue Reading »

Livni’s misguided political strategy

Livni’s national security track record show, whatever her intentions may be, she is totally incompetent to understand, secure or advance Israel’s national security.

 

 

For Justice Minister Tzipi Livi, all politics are personal.She can be trusted, because she is good. Her opponents must be rejected, because they are evil.

Artwork by Stephen E Hughes

In her speech at The Jerusalem Post’s Diplomatic Conference in Herzliya last Thursday, Livni insisted that the only “legitimate” basis for opposing a Palestinian state is ideological. Livni stridently rejected the notion that one can oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state – in the two-state solution framework – for security reasons.

Continue Reading »

Hezbollah chief blames Israel for the 17,000 missing Lebanese

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah calls for a political solution in Syria & the appointment of a group to investigate the 17,000 missing people due to the Israeli occupation.

 

 

Israel is responsible for “all Lebanese who have gone missing,” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared in a speech in southern Beirut on Monday, according to the group’s Al-Manar TV website.

Hezbollah supporters gesture as they listen to Nasrallah on October 29, 2013 as be broadcasts from his secret underground bunker. – Photo: REUTERS

Speaking on a large screen, he also said that Syrian events were affecting everything in Lebanon, the website reported.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s elderly are reported poorest in Western world

 

Prior to pensions & tax the poor are in great shape in relation to global situation. But after – the picture changes completely.

Taub Center report says 1/5th of Israel’s elderly live below the poverty level – 7 times more than in most developed countries.

By Omri Efraim

 

Death of the Israeli welfare state: poverty rates among the elderly in Israel are the highest in the developed world, with a huge margin in comparison to most countries. This is according to a new study by the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel published Tuesday.

Illustration (Photo: Avi Roccah)

Illustration – Photo: Avi Roccah

The research conducted by the center’s executive director, Professor Dan Ben-David, and researcher Haim Bleikh, shows that based on their disposable income (after welfare payments, national security benefits and taxes), 21% of Israel’s elderly live below the poverty line. Continue Reading »

NY court awarded $900k to delivery man for supervisors’ gas chamber gags

Adam Wiercinski’s managers were heard to say ‘you smell like Jew’.

The New York Post reported Monday that the jurors decided it was time for payback.

 

 

A New York jury has awarded a Jewish deliveryman $900,000 in damages for the anti-Semitic harassment he endured at the restaurant where he worked, The New York Post reported Monday.

Mangia, the Manhattan restaurant where Adam Wiercinski worked.

Mangia, the Manhattan restaurant where Adam Wiercinski worked. – HAARETZ

According to the report, Adam Wiercinski was subjected to highly offensive gestures and remarks made by the supervisors at the Manhattan eatery, Mangia.

One night shift manager, Artur Zbozien, would often pass gas and then joke about Zyklon B, the cyanide-based pesticide used in Nazi gas chambers during the Holocaust. Continue Reading »

WATCH: When Abdul met President Peres in Jerusalem

On her first trip to Israel, Paula Abdul met Israeli President Shimon Peres at his residence.

By Ari Yashar

 

American singer and dancer Paula Abdul met Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday morning on her maiden voyage to Israel, during which she plans to have a belated bat mitzvah at the Western Wall.

Abdul embraced Peres at the start of visit, which took place at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

“I’m so overwhelmed with gratitude to be here, I’ve wanted to come for years,” said Abdual. “My career took me many places and this is my first vacation in almost eight years that I’m actually here to sightsee like a regular tourist. Continue Reading »

Former Head of Mossad: Obama Also Spied on Israel

 

Danny Yatom, a former Israeli spy master says the United States has a very long history of listening in on their friends & enemies alike.

By Nina Giesecke

 

In the wake of the international scandal resulting from reports that America’s National Security Agency (NSA) tapped the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the former chief of Israel’s Mossad revealed that Washington has been spying on the Jewish state, too.

Former Mossad Chief: Obama Also Spied on Israel!

Merkel was not the only leading international politician on whom the NSA was listening in, and “if the Americans think there would be a reason to spy on [Israel], they would do it,” said Danny Yatom. Continue Reading »