With UK Retreat, France Supports U.S. Military Intervention in Syria

U.S. initiative to intervene militarily in Syria was received with French backing following the British parliament’s rejection of UK forces participation in the U.S.-led offensive.

By Ari Soffer

 

French President Francois Hollande gave a boost Friday to US hopes of forging an international coalition for possible strikes against Syria after British lawmakers rejected any involvement in military action.

UN Chemical weapons experts inspecting site of attack in Syria – Reuters

The White House had signalled Thursday that President Barack Obama, guided by the “best interests” of the United States, was ready to go it alone on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks last week.  Continue Reading »

Israel steaming after UK justifies Hezbollah’s terrorism

 

UK’s ambassador to Lebanon said Europe does not view Hezbollah ‘resistance’ to Israel as terrorism.

By Yossi Aloni

 

Israel filed a strong protest with the British government after the UK ambassador in Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, stated that the inclusion of Hezbollah’s military wing on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations had nothing to do with Hezbollah’s “resistance” against Israel.

UK ambassador in Lebanon, Tom Fletcher

Flether made his remarks in an interview with Al-Monitor in Lebanon following the EU’s decision last month to finally include the military wing of Hezbollah in its list of terror organizations, a step most Arab states had taken long ago. Continue Reading »

Israelis prepare their homes for Rosh Hashana….and for war

 

Supermarket chain reports rise in sales of canned goods, bottled water & adhesive tape for gas-proofing rooms.

In addition to war preparations, Israelis are buying food & gifts for the Jewish New Year.

By Hili Yacobi

 

 

With tension in Syria rising and Rosh Hashana rapidly approaching, Israeli shoppers have been busy in recent days.

Continue Reading »

U.S. President will visit Great Synagogue of Stockholm on Rosh Hashanah

During U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Sweden, he’s scheduled to visit the Great Synagogue of Stockholm on the Jewish New Year.

By JTA

 

President Barack Obama is slated to visit the Great Synagogue of Stockholm during his visit to Sweden.

Great Synagogue of Stockholm – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Obama, who will arrive in the Swedish capital Wednesday on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, is en route to the G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, Svenska Dagbladet reported Thursday.

The U.S. embassy in Stockholm confirmed that the president will visit the synagogue and a memorial monument for Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust.

Continue Reading »

Feature: Safe or Free

 

In Israel, with the Arab Middle East exploding around us, with gov’ts from Egypt to Syria gleefully slaughtering their own citizens, with poison gas & G-d knows whatever horrific chemical weapons, the harbinger of a new war is ever present.

By Irwin Blank

 

Years ago someone defined the Cold War between the USA and the USSR as MAD-Mutually Assured Destruction. That both sides, having more than enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other several times over, an open armed conflict involving both nations, would end up with no victors, only losers. That to engage in a direct clash of arms between these two super powers could only end in the total eradication of not only both nations, but exterminate life on Earth as we know it. Continue Reading »

Egyptian marine security shoot 2 Gaza fishermen & detain 5 others

This armed confrontation is an example of deteriorating relations between Hamas and Egypt since ouster of Islamist Morsi and rejection of the Muslim Brotherhood.

By REUTERS
 

Egyptian naval police shot and wounded two Palestinian fishermen and detained five off the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, an incident that hinted at increased tension between Gaza’s Islamist Hamas rulers and Cairo.

A Palestinian boy fishes at the Gaza Seaport

A Palestinian boy fishes at the Gaza Seaport – Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Fishermen from Gaza have often brought in catch from Egyptian territory to sidestep restrictions imposed by Israel’s naval blockade of the enclave. But Egypt has grown less tolerant of this practice since Islamist president Mohamed Morsi was toppled by the military almost two months ago.

Continue Reading »

Healthier food for the IDF

 

IDF Technology & Logistics Branch are changing their soldiers’ diet from processed meats to grains, less fat & no preservatives.

By Reuven Weiss

The iconic IDF hotdogs are being replaced: The IDF’s Technology and Logistics Branch is overhauling soldiers’ diets, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “This change, that has already begun, is meant to improve soldiers’ nourishment and make it healthier,” said Lieutenant Colonel Sandra Moshe, head of the branch’s food division.

Illustration Photo: Shutterstock

Illustration Photo: Shutterstock

“The changes include using healthier products, such as whole grain cereal, less fat and more olive oil, using low fat foods, and introducing foods with no preservatives.” Continue Reading »

Washington Post exposes U.S. counterintelligence operations against Israel

Washington Post revealed top secret files leaked by Snowden that show U.S. spy agencies devoted considerable funds & attention not just on America’s foes, but also to one of its closest allies.

 

The United States conducted counterintelligence operations against Iran, China and Cuba, but also against Israel, classified documents obtained by the Washington Post reveled on Thursday.

NSA headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland.

NSA headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland. – Photo: Reuters

 

The top secret 178-page summary for the U.S. government’s National Intelligence Program, which was leaked by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, maps a bureaucratic and operational landscape that has never been subject to public scrutiny. Continue Reading »

Interior Minister Saar: Returning to ‘1967 Borders’ Are Out of the Question

Interior Minister Saar said that Israel will never agree to the Abbas’ demands that Israel withdraw to the indefensible 1949 Armistice Line, the ‘Auschwitz borders’.

By Elad Benari

 

Interior Minister Gideon Saar (Likud) said on Thursday that Israel will never agree to pull back to the indefensible pre-1967 borders as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Saar made the remarks during a toast in honor of Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) which he hosted in Tel Aviv. The event was attended by ministers, Knesset members and mayors.

Saar explained that Israel was obliged to resume negotiations with the PA in order to maintain a series of security and international interests, but stressed that this time around it was necessary to negotiate using a different approach. Continue Reading »

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 »