Planning timelines of days and weeks are very comforting for policy-makers seeking to avoid costly decisions. But the purpose of the exercise is not to indefinitely postpone what is best done today. The decision-makers owe it to their constituents to look beyond the next weeks and even months.
By Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ambassador Haim Waxman: "In previous letters . . . we warned of the dangers of inaction by the international community. We alerted the Council that these attacks had the potential to ignite a serious escalation of the conflict, which could affect the entire region. The events of the last two days have proven the danger of silence on behalf of the international community at large, and the Security Council, in particular."
The latest of Iran's provocations against Israel came last week, when it became clear that the Iranian-sponsored terrorist group PRC had planned to carry out another terrorist attack on Israel’s southern border. This time however, the IDF decided not to rely on Egyptian security forces in Sinai in order to prevent this attack.
The war on terrorism cannot be won by defensive – but only by offensive – means, notwithstanding the impressive performance of the Iron Dome missile defense system.
Multiple rockets were shot, after a ceasefire had gone into effect Tuesday. Rockets landed at Eshkol, Ashkelon, and Sha'ar Ha'Negev. Still, the shooting has subsided significantly. Palestinians agreed to stop launching rockets at Israeli cities, Israel agreed to stop targeting terrorist leaders from the air. Israel released only a noncommittal confirmation, saying "Quiet will be met with quiet."
Michigan Israel Business Bridge President Chuck Newman announced the members of the newly formed MIBB Advisory Council, which is composed of leaders from Michigan and Israel who serve as ambassadors and counselors for the organization. Mitechnews.com reports that the group was chosen for their ability to assist the MIBB in its mission to promote business […]
Life did not go on as usual today in southern Israel as this photo-essay will show you.
By Tibbi Singer
The month of February 2012 has broken records in the tourism industry in Israel, with 232,000 visitor arrivals, 6% more than the same month last year, and an increase of 4% compared to February 2010, which marked the previous record. Out of 232,000 arrivals, 200,000 were tourist entries, another all-time record high.
Palestinians wage a war of lies with fake photos - the latest fauxtography is coming right out of the UN.
Israeli intelligence authorities need to assess the threats coming from Iran. This is not a public relations issue. Obama and the other world leaders can support or oppose our actions, but Israel will have to do what is best for the future and well-being of the Jewish State. No one else will do the heavy lifting for us. While we cannot diminish the possibility that Iran actually has the technology and the motivation to strike Israel, we also cannot afford to overlook other real and obvious threats to Israel.
Apartheid in Israel does not exist, however gender apartheid, apartheid against gays, as well as slavery and racism against blacks, Palestinians and non-Muslims are all commonplace in the Muslim world.
Can there be successful athletes among the settlers in Judea and Samaria? Recent achievements show that the answer is yes! A very small geographic area has produced four international champions.
Israel killed 3 additional terrorists Monday morning, bringing Palestinian death toll to 16. Islamic terror groups launch 20 rockets Monday at Israeli civilians in the south. PM Netanyahu: "We will continue to hit whoever plans to attack citizens of the State of Israel."
AFP reports that Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters at a regular briefing that "China is concerned about the escalation of the situation in Gaza." "We call upon the Israeli side to stop air raids against Gaza. We hope the parties concerned can stop firing immediately in order to avoid casualties of innocent […]
UC President Mark G. Yudof released an open letter calling on UC students, faculty and staff members to "foster a climate of tolerance, civility and open-mindedness," reports Angela Swartz of the California Aggie. Yudof specifically addressed recent anti-Israel incidents on UC campuses. He denounced students who heckled speakers at a UC Davis Feb. 27 event, […]
Would it be prudent for Israel to launch now the kind of unilateral initiative proposed by former Yesha Council Director Naftali Bennett, or is it best to leave well enough alone?
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, "We are deeply concerned by the renewal of violence in southern Israel. We call on both sides to make every effort to restore calm." "We condemn in the strongest terms the rocket fire from Gaza by terrorists into southern Israel in recent days, which has dramatically and dangerously escalated […]
While the Air Force continues to attack Gaza and rocket attacks on communities in the south persist, following the killing of Gilad Shalit's kidnapper, both Israel's Prime Minister and Minister of Defense are threatening terrorist organizations in Gaza. In conversation with mayors in the south, Netanyahu said: "We'll arm ourselves with additional Iron Dome systems, which have tested well again." Barak: "No one in Gaza is immune." IDF Chief of Staff: "We will respond aggressively to every rocket launch against Israel."
By Tibbi Singer
A resident of Israel's central region driving last night on the Ayalon Highway spotted two unidentified objects glowing in the sky, and decided to pull over and capture the strange phenomenon. "It was unusual, I was shocked and could not stop myself," he told News 2. "I never believed it but now I think again." Watch the documentation: an illusion or a discovery?
PM David Cameron: "I don’t believe that an Iranian nuclear weapon is just a threat to Israel...Not least because there are signs that the Iranians want to have some sort of intercontinental missile capability. So we have to be clear this is potentially a threat much more widely."
By Rafi Harkham
Anonymous diplomatic and intelligence sources tell Israeli paper that the Obama administration would supply Israel with weapons that would extend its time-line for military action – like advanced GBU-28 bunker-busting bombs and long-range refueling aircraft, so that Israel could wait till after the 2012 presidential election to launch a strike.
On March 7, the PA President convened yet another urgent meeting of PLO and Fatah leaders in Ramallah to discuss the content of this "mother of all letters" which he intends to send to Israel. The meeting, which came less than 48 hours after Obama's speech, reflected the increased concern of the Palestinians over the world's fading attention to their problems.
The Jewish homeland guarantees Jews their security -- which is why every attempt to rob them of this homeland, or endanger its existence, is an anti-Semitic act endangering the entire Jewish community.
A series of new innovations coming out of Israel are making life better, easier, and more fulfilling for Jews around the world.
It is impossible not to make a connection between the intentional running over of the policeman this Friday night by an Arab car thief and the Shahar Mizrahi story.
Since its establishment, the Kingdom of Jordan has suffered from a split personality between two identities, the Jordanian and the Palestinian, that are intertwined like a pair of Siamese twins who hate one another, but cannot part from each other. The source of the problem is the fact that most of the citizens of the Hashemite Jordanian monarchy define themselves as "Palestinians", but their state is "Jordanian". So how should they relate to it - as their country or as a foreign interloper?
While the personal relationship between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu thankfully seems to have taken a turn for the better, and on several issues they had a meeting of the minds – it seemed almost like a minuet – there is no escaping the reality that sharp policy differences remain on some fundamental issues.
Several weeks ago it was reported that Robert “Bud” McFarlane, President Ronald Reagan's national security adviser at the time of the Pollard arrest and obviously someone privy to all the information known to the government – wrote a letter to President Obama asking that Mr. Pollard’s sentence be commuted to time served.
This past weekend Harvard hosted a One-State Solution Conference, designed to promote the dissolution of Israel. It is only the latest example of that university’s longstanding practice of facilitating the spread of anti-Semitism.
By Steven Plaut
And after helping so many groups of people, after absorbing so many sets of refugees, after solving so many of the world's problems, there were no longer any wise leaders to govern the adorable little state. Because it had humanitarian-ized itself into oblivion.
MK Zeev Bielski, chairman of the Knesset subcommittee on Israel’s home defense: “The home front is not ready. We have made improvements over the situation since the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when the home front was completely unprepared, but the situation is not good.”
If the reports are accurate, North Korea is playing a direct role in helping Tehran create the infrastructure to assemble nuclear warheads that can be mounted on missiles aimed at Israel, American military bases in the Persian Gulf and pro-Western oil sheikhdoms in the Middle East.
By Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may not have bridged their differences on how to deal with Iran, but each managed to give the other a measure of reassurance.
Last week, two shameful events occurred on University of California campuses that made Jewish students feel targeted, intimidated, harassed, and unsafe. We charge the UC administration with failing in their basic responsibilities - to protect Jewish students from a hostile environment and to ensure their rights to freedom of speech.
Israel must demonstrate confidence in ourselves and an iron determination to defy our antagonists. Mordechai teaches that it is not through appeasement that one achieves peace but rather through strength, self-assurance and unequivocally firm resistance to tyranny and injustice.
At a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, coinciding with the Super Tuesday primaries, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum accused President Barack Obama of appeasement of Iran and urged an ultimatum demanding that it put a stop to its nuclear production immediately, or the US will "tear down" its plants. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich took a break from their race for votes in the high-stakes primaries to speak to the pro-Israel lobby.
By Barry Rubin
Whether he realizes it or not, President Obama changed history with his AIPAC speech. What he did is make a war between Israel and Iran almost inevitable - let’s say more than 90 percent probable - most likely some time in late 2013, 2014, or 2015.
Berlin-based researcher Benjamin Weinthal argues that Israel is militarily capable today of launching a successful attack on Iran's nuclear facilities. It would require successive strikes, using GBU-28 bunker busters to knock out Iran's entire nuclear program. Those devastating bombs were delivered to Israel by President Obama, who made good on a promise made by President Bush.
A transcript of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before the AIPAC Policy Conference Monday.
“The members of [Florida’s Legislature] support Israel in its legal, historical, moral and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon the entirety of its own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others, and that peace can be afforded the region only through a whole and united Israel governed under one law for all people.”
Once again, the Egyptian oil pipeline to Israel in the Sinai was blown up.
By Rafi Harkham
The Israel Export Research Institute reported that from October 2011 to January 2012, the US share of Israeli exports had drastically declined as compared to the same period the year before. In contrast, Israel's exports to the Asian market have seen healthy growth, with an increase of 9% over the same period, totaling $3.1 billion.
Rare landscapes, natural settings, springs, Biblical sites and the largest flying fox in Israel – these are just a few of the attractions you will find on a tour of Judea and Samaria
After immigrating to Israel from England in 1999 at age 50, Susan Nathan has become an outspoken pro-Palestinian advocate, appearing in the Swedish Human Rights festival and the Stockholm Olof Palme Centre, as well as forums sponsored by the Arab American Association. She came to India for medical treatment, but her visa expired and the government wants her out on suspicion of contact with extremist Muslim organizations.
By Rafi Harkham
President Obama: "I do not have a policy of containment, I have a policy of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons." He also hailed himself as Israel's greatest friend, and said he plans to honors Israeli President Shimon Peres with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.
AFP reports that Israel and Cyprus have signed an accord Sunday to lay an underwater electricity cable between the two countries. It's the first stage in an effort to transfer power between mainland Europe and Israel. The cable, to be complete by 2016, will stretch 178 miles, at a depth of 6,550 feet. Israel Electric […]
By Rafi Harkham
President Peres said "there is NO space between" Israel and the US, and insisted that Obama's "commitment to Israel is deep and profound." Regarding peace with the Palestinians, he said "the principle of the 'The Two State solution' was "a paramount Israeli interest."
By Tibbi Singer
Large amounts of water that swept through northern Israel and led to a strong flow of streams have produced exceptionally high figures for the National Lake's level. The Kinneret water is now at about 80 centimeters (31.5 inches) above the "lower red line." While rain may be ceasing soon, the snow thaw is expected to add even more water in the spring.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Barack Obama at a time when Israel has been gaining in popularity among Americans, and at a time when his approval rating is a frail 43%, according to recent poll. Unlike previous visits by Netanyahu, this time Obama will be anxious for warm photo opportunities with Israel’s prime minister.
Whether or not Israel builds another porch in Jerusalem or for that matter entire new communities beyond the Green Line has no impact on the resolution of the problems in Egypt, Syria and the rest of the states on the neighborhood.
Israel's Channel 2 News reports that in a meeting held between Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the latter clarified Israel's position on events in Syria, stating that Israel will provide immediate humanitarian aid to the victims of President Assad. Yesterday, the Red Cross entered the besieged city of Homs to […]
Occupy AIPAC is a weekend long series of events to coincide with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual Policy Conference, going through March 6. The Occupy AIPAC website says the group is gathering in Washington DC for a policy-style summit on the issues of Iran, the Arab Uprising and Palestine and "the affects of AIPAC in determining US foreign policy around those topics."
For those who have claimed that Obama is anti-Israel and/or weak on Iran, his forceful statements in a recent interview should make them reconsider. I was not surprised by President Obama's strong words, because he said similar things to me in private conversation. And I, for one, am satisfied with the President's words. Now I want to hear them repeated by Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, by Joint Chief of Staff Martin Dempsey and by others in the Obama Administration.
By Adam Levick
The broader aims of Global March to Jerusalem, according to the project’s official website, are as follows: “[To] end the Apartheid, ethnic cleansing and [racist]...Judaisation policies affecting the people, land and sanctity of Jerusalem… [which] is a crime not only against Palestinians but against all humanity.”
The presence of Israel physicians in Ramallah drew furious reactions from workers at the Palestine Medical Compound and many Palestinians, including the Western-backed Fatah faction headed by Mahmoud Abbas. The fact that thousands of Palestinian patients receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals each year did not stop their vociferous oppostion.
By Barry Rubin
The new Middle East strategic battle is heating up and this is only the start. It has nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with two more serious lines of battle: Arabs versus Persians and Sunni versus Shia Muslims.
Although J Street describes itself as a pro-Israel organization that supports peace between Israel and its neighbors, many Israelis and US Jews, including many public figures, have said that J Street is anti-Israel, particularly in relation to the security challenges facing the Jewish state. Several US Jewish leaders have objected to J Street's position on Israel, and have publicly disassociated themselves from the organization.
In an hour-long interview with American broadcaster Charlie Rose, conducted before a large audience at New York’s 92nd Street Y, Peres said that he does not want to interfere in American politics, but he is stating his opinion that US President Barack Obama is "a great president and a great friend of Israel, because it’s […]
These are excerpts from the sefer “Inside Purim” which contains additional answers to the following questions and much more.
By Rafi Harkham
The New York Times quoted a former senior Israeli official as saying that the Iranian retaliation against an Israeli military strike would be the functional equivalent of Iraq's scud missile attack on Israel during the 1991 Gulf War, the 3000+ Hizbollah rockets fired on Israel during the 2006 Second Lebanon War, and the terror attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Buenos Aires in the early 1990s, multiplied in scale at least three times.
By Elke Weiss
Purim is my favorite holiday, and I love to share the joy. I have spent previous years wandering around my neighborhood in costume. This year, I fully intend to celebrate with full cheer, and I want everyone to know why I plan to spend the day in costume, singing Shoshanat Yaakov at the top of my lungs.
By dvora
There once was a man named Shloime, and he was a Jewish Prince. Or so his mother thought of him, and not many others did, though he was a nice guy and all...
While the transgression of the Golden Calf had caused Aharon to feel a sense of distance from HaShem, the miluim was intended to bring him close again through spiritual perfection. The priestly vestments play a central role in this process and great detail is offered in describing them.
Why has it become the dream of many Arab Christians and Muslims to immigrate to the "Apartheid State"? Is it possible that all of these people are uninformed? Or do they really know the truth about Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East? In Egypt, Syria, and Iran, for example, government officials put journalists in jail, but Israel is the only country in the region where a single obscure journalist nobody can put a government official in jail.
Ariel said five Israeli Prime Ministers have tried to pursue a land for peace approach, and each have failed. He declared that it was time to present the alternative to the two-state solution - annexing 100% of Judea and Samaria.
By Moshe Herman
Yishai and Malkah talk about their excitement for snow in Israel, an Arab rock-throwing attack against American Legislators, an ancient Judean palm tree grows today, the expiration of a law allowing ultra-Orthodox Jews to avoid military service, and Yishai’s Tu B’Shevat Seder in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York.
By Tibbi Singer
Once we recognize that the enemy is not acting against us based on rational reasons, but out of a pathological hatred, it is our duty to act on our conclusion and strike at the enemy, disregarding world opinion.
A new video by a young Israeli from New York earned 57,000 views in two days, taking comedic aim at the life of the average young English-speaking immigrant to Israel.
Feiglin: I know that religious Zionists think that their army service will pave their way into the heart of Israeli legitimacy. But that is not the case. Army service is a very important value. But those holding the reins will never let go in exchange for religious Zionist cannon-fodder.
By Rafi Harkham
More than anything else, the likes of Arab MKs Hanin Zoabi and Ahmed Tibi frame the tension of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in stark terms, and reveal what is in store for the country should it shift more towards modern liberal democracy and away from a state that reflects a Jewish character culturally and politically.
To properly fulfill the mitzvah of listening to the megillah, each word must be heard. If a word is missed, the listener should read it quietly to himself from the text in his hand. The principal purpose of reciting the megillah is to publicize the miracle of Purim. Accordingly, many poskim permit the megillah to be read in English if the reader does not understand Hebrew.
The news that a Mormon temple in the Dominican Republic recently conducted a posthumous proxy baptism of Anne Frank, the most famous diarist of the Holocaust, undoubtedly will cause some offense in the Jewish community. Evidently the baptizers believe they were saving Anne's soul. Of greater significance, however, is what Mormons tried to do to save Anne's life.
By Jason Maoz
Billy Graham had for decades been one of America’s most admired figures, a national icon, a man respected across the board for his seeming sincerity, rock-solid faith and openness to working with those whose beliefs differ from his own. He was also a staunch friend of Israel. But a different side of Graham emerged during the 90-minute White House meeting with Nixon. Graham was particularly exercised by what he saw as the “stranglehold” Jews maintained on the American media.
The Iran issue may be moved somewhat down the agenda as flailing Syrian dictator Bashar Assad is being pressured by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to move both his WMD cache and long-range Scud missiles to well-protected Hizbullah bases inside Lebanon.
By Mati Wagner
The Supreme Court’s interventionist approach was pioneered by Aharon Barak, who served as the court’s president from 1995 till 2006. Dorit Beinisch, who is retiring from the court this week after serving as president since her mentor's retirement, upheld the tradition of judicial activism, keeping the court at the center of Israeli public debate and making it a lightning rod for Orthodox and right-wing critics. That could change as Beinisch is replaced by Asher Grunis, a conservative justice who has made a name for himself as a supporter of judicial restraint.
Israel Defense reports that Eurospike, a subsidiary of weapons manufacturer Rafael, has signed a contract to supply Spike missiles totaling hundreds of millions of dollars to Germany.
By Rafi Harkham
The 9th president of the Supreme Court of Israel, Beinisch presided over an active term, in which she wrote landmark decisions like the 2005 ruling against the IDF’s use of “human shields,” the 2007 ruling that Israel's separation fence route must be modified, and the 2009 ruling declaring private prisons unconstitutional. But the most memorable ruling of her legacy may be her penultimate one – the High Court's revocation of the Tal Law.
The two parties are telling Palestinians that Israel does not want peace or a two-state solution and is only interested in maintaining control over Palestinian lands and "Judaizing" Jerusalem. The stepped-up anti-Israel rhetoric has resulted in a sharp increase in Palestinian violence soldiers, policemen, and civilians in Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem.
Is an Estate Tax in Israel in the works? 30 years ago they tried, but it never took off. Will the new socio-political atmosphere make it possible?
Malkah and Yishai discuss Canadian dedication to Israel, and simple but deeply important aspects of distinctly Jewish life, experts from Brookings get real on Middle East dynamics, and, finally, Rebbitzin Mizrachi teaches how to be truly happy.
By Tibbi Singer
The Chief Rabbinate claims that, based on data provided by the Badatz in London, it appears that the products under the name "Dr Pepper" which are made in England and imported to Israel are not kosher.
Recent comments by Media Matters' Senior Foreign Policy Fellow MJ Rosenberg are the most recent incarnation of the age-old accusation against Jews of disloyalty to their own country. It finds its roots in the Biblical villains Pharaoh and Hamen who accused the Jews of Egypt and Persia of disloyalty. It was a central tenet of Nazism, Stalinism and other anti-Semitic regimes. Today, it is the mantra of David Duke, Patrick Buchanan, Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Jew haters of every race, religion and national origin.
Members of Knesset Taleb Al-Sana and Ahmed Tibi tell Arab League nations that Israel is systematically attempting to 'Judaize' Jerusalem, and is in breach of international law.
Why would Saudi Arabia support Israel instead of attacking it? Forbes' Peter Cohan argues that Saudi Arabia is dominated by Sunnis, while Iran’s ayatollahs are the Sunni's sworn enemies, the Shi’ites. Saudi Arabia’s rage against the Shi’ites exceeds its dislike of its Jewish neighbors.
By Ayman Masri
Abbas's peace process will only lead to a Palestinian government or state controlled by Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood.
There are certainly substantive questions and concerns that can be raised about Naftali Bennett’s proposal to annex Area C in Judea and Samaria, but when people associated with Oslo, the Geneva Initiative, and Peace Now trash the idea on the grounds that it is out of touch with reality, one can only respond: “look who’s talking.”
Malcolm Hoenlein: “While I choose not to reveal their names, they [Arab leaders] have all expressed serious concern about Iran and are interested in making peace with Israel. They are serious about what they say and proof of that has been seen in recent weeks, as you don’t hear many of these leaders raise the Palestinian issue against Israel in our discussions or in the headlines.”
By Ted Belman
Robert Bernstein, founder of Human Rights Watch, has established a new organization called Advancing Human Rights, with Irwin Cotler and David Keyes on the Board of Directors.
Countries whose immediate danger from Iranian bombs is far less than Israel's are remarkably hypocritical and insulting when they warn Israel against a military strike. Telling Israel that it should not defend itself is like saying “just die, but don’t make a mess.” When have Jews heard this before? It’s become a cliché, but one that still resonates. The difference is that then they had no choice because they had no power to defend themselves. Today there is a Jewish state, which should not be expected to act as though it is as powerless as the European Jews of WWII. All this is part of the “Israel is expected to…” syndrome.
If Israeli electric car company, Better Place, only gave the world an electric car that could switch an empty battery for a full one in five minutes that would have been enough! But Better Place is also the key to making renewable energy production practical all over the world. Dai aynu!
As atomic energy watchdogs reported being denied access to critical Iranian nuclear facilities, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told reporters that Israel alone would make the decisions necessary for the security of its citizens.
By Sandy Eller
“Our goal is not to provide social services,” said Sara Gorfinkel, Director of Tikkun Olam and its only full time employee. “We focus on social change, so that women don’t get to the point where they require social services. We don’t want to fund programs that deal with victims of domestic abuse. We want to prevent domestic abuse before it ever happens.”
The stories in this column are translations by Mr. Nollet from Die Juden In Der Welt (The Jews in the World) by Mark Wischnitzer, a long out-of-print book published more than seven decades ago in Germany. The book examines Jewish communities, one country at a time, as they existed in 1935.
To my fellow Israelis, I say this: The door is open. Just start marching toward leadership, toward liberty, toward destiny. It is not easy, but it is doable. That is what we proved in these elections. The nation is waiting. It is yearning for a life of national meaning and anticipates your leadership.
In the strict Islamic view, not merely in the more narrowly Jihadi or Islamist perspectives, Israel must be seen as the individual Jew in macrocosm. The Jewish state must be despised on account of this relationship – that is, because of the allegedly “innate evil” of each individual Jew.
Incoming New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren has been exhibiting not only questionable judgment but also an overt bias against Israel even before she’s landed in the country.
It seems like only yesterday that the Obama administration missed no opportunity to declare its solidarity with Israel regarding the threat of a nuclear Iran.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor warned the UN Security Council Tuesday that Hizbollah was increasing its power base in western Africa. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his own concern about dangerous ties between the Lebanese terror group and African crime organizations. Ambassador Prosor added: "Israel is particularly concerned over Hezbollah's use of the […]