| Advertise | Subscribe to this report | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, Jun 6 '13, Sivan 28, 5773 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1. Curtis Sliwa: Tough Times Demand Tough Jews, Tough Israel
by David Lev 
In order to survive, the Jewish people need to get tough, said Curtis Sliwa, leader of the Guardian Angels group in the 1980s and 1990s, and more recently a radio talk show host. Jews who are not tough are “going to get turned into speed bumps,” he said. “You have to be a tough Jew nowadays in order to survive.” Sliwa, who spoke to Arutz Sheva at Sunday's Celebrate Israel event in Manhattan, certainly knows as much as anyone about being “tough.” During the 1980s and 1990s, when violent crime rampaged through New York City, scaring off the middle class and nearly sentencing the city to urban destruction, Sliwa and members of his Guardian Angels set up a civil patrol that roaed the city's subways, parks, and streets looking for trouble – confronting muggers, petty thieves, and gang members, detaining them at times and turning them over to police, sometimes only after giving them a taste of their own medicine. Now a longtime radio talk show host, Sliwa is still outspoken about many issues, especially regarding safety, terrorism, the Jewish people (Sliwa himself is a Polish Catholic), and Israel. Sliwa worries not just about the future of the Jewish people, but of his own countrymen, he said. “Americans only get focused when there is an emergency,” and many have forgotten the lessons of 9/11, although they did get an unfortunate reminder in the recent Boston Marathon terror attack. It's especially important to remember those lessons now, Sliwa said, on the eve of the upcoming mayoral elections in New York City. “It's important that whoever the next mayor is that we continue to do surveillance on all the mosques and cultural centers,” to ensure that authorities get wind of possible terrorist attacks before they happen. While the relationship between U.S. President Barack H. Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu seems to have worked itself out, Sliwa is still suspicious of presidents “bearing gifts. We are going through a cycle,” Sliwa said, citing Israel's troubled relationship with the administration of former President George H.W. Bush (senior) and his Secretary of State James Baker, “who preferred the Saudis.” Then there was President George W. Bush, “who couldn't be friendlier to Israel.” The current U.S.-Israel relationship is a little more complicated, said Sliwa. “President Barack Obama is trying to be friends with everyone, but as you know, you can't be friends with everyone in the Middle East. As soon as you are friends with the Sunnis, the Shi'ites hate you, and if you're friends with Israel, both the Sunnis and the Shi'ites hate you.” Israel, he stressed, was the only country in the Middle East that the U.S. could trust. Besides that, Israel is the only country that guarantees freedom of religion, worship, and pilgrimage to all – important for not only Jews, but for Christians who see Israel as the Holy Land as well. “Israel guarantees everyone's safety and security. Even if you don't like Israel and support the Palestinians, they will still guarantee your safety and security. Can you really say that's true in Jordan, Egypt, or the Palestinian Authority?” Now, Israel faces a major dilemma on what to do about Iran – whether to take military action against Tehran to eliminate its nuclear threat, or to follow the counsel of President Obama and other Western leaders to allow sanctions and other measures to encourage Iran to drop its nuclear weapons research. Sliwa has no doubts about what Israel must do. “The reality is that Isael must depend on himself,” Sliwa said, as it did when Prime Minister Menachem Begin destroyed Iraq's nuclear facility in 1981. “Even President Reagan condemned Israel for that,” Sliwa said, but Begin didn't care; he did what he had to do to defend Israel. In the current Mideast nuclear crisis, Israel must do the same, Sliwa said. “The United States can be a very good ally on Iran and other issues, but you can't depend on the U.S. to lead. Israel must lead, and hopefully our country will follow.”
More on this topic
Comment on this story
2. 'Anti-Semitism Pervades Al Qaeda Magazine'
by Rina Tzvi 
In an ongoing effort to recruit and attract jihadists, Al Qaeda’s “Inspire” magazine continues to promote anti-Semitic narratives, depicting Jews as being at war with Islam and calling for the destruction of Israel,” according to an analysis by the Anti-Defamation League. Since the magazine’s inception in 2010, “Inspire” has repeatedly identified Jews as the enemies of Islam. Each issue, including the most recent edition, has been saturated with threats against Jews, Jewish institutions and the State of Israel. These themes have been at the core of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s attempts to spread anti-Jewish hostility. “Anti-Semitism fuels the blood lust of Al Qaeda’s Inspire magazine,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “Since the early days of Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda has never made a secret of their animus toward Jews, and its current leadership continues to call on its supporters around the world to target Jews and Israelis for acts of terror. Inspire magazine is anti-Semitic through-and-through and their use of incitement against Jews has served as a central tactic in the terrorist organization’s recruitment process.” “Inspire” has made direct threats against Jews, including stressing the importance of carrying out terror attacks on specific locations where Jews and Israelis congregate. The terrorist group’s publication has also routinely called for the destruction of Israel.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
3. Report: Iran, Hizbullah to 'Fight to the Death' for Assad
by David Lev 
Iran and Hizbullah are doing everything they can to keep Bashar Assad in power in Syria, said a special report by the The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), an independent organization that keeps track of terror groups and activities in the Middle East and around the world. “For Iran and Hizbullah, the preservation of Bashar Assad's regime is of supreme strategic importance,” ITIC says in its latest report. The assistance is mutual, the ITIC report says; Syria helps Hizbullah and Iran as much as they help Israel's implacable enemy. “Syria is Iran's greatest 'resistance camp' ally, providing it with a firm foothold in the heart of the Middle East, as well as political and military influence” said the report, released Tuesday. Meanwhile, “Syria plays a vital role in Hizbullah's military buildup, helping it to build offensive and deterrent capabilities against Israel. For Iran and Hizbullah, the fall of the Syrian regime would be a disaster, it would weaken Iran's regional position against the United States and Israel and damage Hizbullah's military capabilities and political influence in Lebanon,” ITIC said. Iran and Hizbullah are looking to the future, as well. On the assumption that Sunni forces represented by the Syrian rebel groups plan to continue their attempts to wrest controls of at least parts of the country – as Bashar Assad appears, at least for now, unable to get rid of the rebels – Iran and Hizbullah are “making it possible for the Shi'ites and Alawites to defend themselves by founding a 'popular army,'” consisting of 100,000-150,000 soldiers. The force would “give Iran and Hizbullah a foothold in the areas populated by Shi'ites and Alawites, making them important factors in the internal Syrian arena in the post-Bashar Assad era,” ITIC said. While recent reports indicate that Hizbullah has only recently become involved in helping Assad, the ITIC report said that “Hizbullah was involved in the first year of the civil war in Syria but was careful to keep a low profile. In 2012 it sent a limited number of its military operatives to Syria, mainly as advisors and for security missions. “Hizbullah was actively drawn into the war (as opposed to Iran's caution) during the first half of 2013,” the report said. “That was because both in Iranian and Hizbullah assessment, the survival of the Syrian regime was in jeopardy and that Shi'ite religious-sectarian interests were being threatened. However, despite its having fallen into the Syrian cauldron, Hizbullah's direct involvement in the war is still relatively limited and its influence on overall events in Syria is secondary. In our assessment, however, its involvement may grow as the Syrian regime weakens and the dangers to Iran and Hizbullah's strategic interests increase,” the report added.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
4. Syrian MP: Army Has Green Light to Respond to Israeli Attacks
by Elad Benari 
The Syrian regime’s army has the green light to respond to any future Israeli attack without referring back to its “leadership,” a Syrian lawmaker told a Lebanese television station on Wednesday, according to Al Arabiya. “Next time, if Israel dares to breach the Syrian airspace, there are orders to retaliate with fire and missiles without referring back to the leadership,” Ahmad Shalash told the al-Mayadeen television network which is close to the Hizbullah terror group. “Let it all out, they want an open war, let it be an open war, we don’t have a problem,” he was quoted as having said. Shalash vowed that the Syrian regime army will continue to fight for embattled President Bashar Al-Assad to “the ends of world.” Assad told Hizbullah’s Al-Manar television last week that there was "popular pressure" to open a military front against Israel on the Golan Heights, and warned his country would bomb Israel if it attacks Syria again. “There is clear popular pressure to open a new front of resistance in the Golan," he said. “This is a political-ideological matter that will eventually turn into a military one.” Syria’s Information Minister, Omran al-Zoubi, recently warned Israel that his country had a right to launch an operation against the Jewish State from the Golan Heights. Al-Zoubi said that Israel committed an aggression against Syria recently by raiding military sites near Damascus. With these acts, he said, Israel violated international commitments. "Accordingly, Syria has the right at this time and at any other time to deal with the Golan issue in the way the owner has the right to deal with his property, because the Golan is and has always been a Syrian Arab land," he said. The Israel Hayom newspaper reported on Wednesday that Israeli defense officials believe that Hizbullah has been trying to establish a strategic foothold in the Syrian Golan Heights to facilitate attacks on Israel from that area. Although the organization still has a long way to go before it has a permanent presence in the area, its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has recently indicated the existence of such a plan, the newspaper reported. Hizbullah may have concluded that the ongoing instability and the incessant battles between the rebels and the regime loyalists in the Golan Heights presents a fleeting opportunity to establish a base of operations in the area before it falls under the control of the rebels, should that happen. While Israeli officials believe Hizbullah’s new infrastructure would not be set up "overnight," they stress that the terror group is determined to put this plan into action as part of its efforts to prop up the Syrian regime with the help of Iran, reported Yisrael Hayom. Several thousand Hizbullah terrorists, some of whom hail from its elite units, are taking an active role in the fighting in Syria, and have reportedly been using rockets and anti-tank missiles on rebels. Last week they commandeered old Russian-made Syrian tanks and used them to fight the rebels in Qusayr, a contested town on the Syria-Lebanon border.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
5. Road 38 to Beit Shemesh to be Expanded; 20,000 Homes to be Built
by David Lev 
In Israel, real estate development often follows the routes of new highways and roads that enable potential residents to easily commute to their jobs in the Tel Aviv or Jerusalem areas. On Thursday, the government's special “Housing Cabinet,” which is supposed to come up with ways to lower the cost of housing and increase the availability of homes for first-time homebuyers, gave its approval to the construction and improvement of several traffic arteries that will give the green light to construction of large housing projects in several “hot” areas. Among the projects approved is an expansion of Road 38, the main artery residents of Beit Shemesh use to commute to Jerusalem and the Dan region. Currently a single lane road in each direction, the road is notorious for major traffic jams, accidents, and difficult driving conditions due to its many hills, twists, and turns. Ministers on Thursday gave their consent for the expansion of the road to a two lane highway in each direction by the Netivei Yisrael company (formerly Ma'atz). The expansion of the road will cost NIS 900 million ($250 million). With the project approved, construction can begin on a number of major housing projects in Beit Shemesh, as expansion of the road was a condition for the commencement of construction. Some 20,000 apartments and homes are slated to be built in Beit Shemesh in the coming years. Also receiving approval was construction of a new road and interchange that will serve the southern reaches of Rosh Ha'ayin. In recent years, the town has become a very popular one, with many new housing projects in what was once a dusty development town. Demand is high in the area, and the new road and interchange will ensure direct access to Road 5, the main artery to Tel Aviv. With approval of the project, construction will soon begin on some 5,000 new housing units. In addition, the cabinet approved construction of a new interchange on Road 70 in the lower Galilee, with a direct exit into the Arab town of Furadis. With approval of that project, construction of 811 homes in Furadis got a green light as well.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
6. Chabad Rabbi Attacked in German Shopping Center
by Rina Tzvi 
A 39-year-old Chabad rabbi was attacked by a group of young men in the German city of Offenbach, near Frankfurt, according to media reports. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gurewitz was reportedly attacked in the KOMM German shopping center by a group of six to eight young men who pushed him as they yelled “shitty Jew”. A local police spokesman said a criminal complaint had been filed and there was probable cause to investigate for an anti-Semitic hate crime, bodily injury and harassment, according to a statement released by the World Jewish Congress (WJC). State security officials are also investigating the incident. The men reportedly pursued Gurewitz as he attempted to flee the scene, but the rabbi was eventually rescued by his friend driving an automobile. Gurewitz had attempted to take pictures of his attackers with his cell phone. The men claimed they had not aimed their comments at the rabbi, but rather called one of their own a "shitty Jew" for being stingy, according to the WJC. According to repotys, security personnel of the shopping center then intervened and asked Gurewitz to delete the photos. Mark Dainow, a vice-president of the Jewish community in Offenbach, criticized the security personnel for failing to intervene when the youths began attacking the rabbi. In recent months, several Jews, including rabbis, have been attacked or verbally insulted on the streets in Germany. In a comment published on the German website 'Hagalil.com' in which he describes the incident, Gurewitz says that verbal anti-Semitic insults directed at his sons were an everyday phenomenon in Offenbach, where one third of the residents are foreigners, according to WJC.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
7. Video: Obama UN Appointee in Highly Inflammatory Interview
by Rina Tzvi 
President Barack Obama’s nominee for United States ambassador to the United Nations gave a highly anti-Israel interview in April 2002 in which she said that "external intervention" may be necessary to prevent "genocide" and "major human rights abuses" in the "Palestine/Israeli situation". Responding to a hypothetical question, Samantha Power, who was named to replace ambassador Susan Rice, said if given the opportunity she would advise the president to sacrifice billions of dollars of aid to the Jewish state, allocating the funds instead to “the new state of Palestine.” “In the Palestine-Israeli situation, there’s an abundance of information and what we don’t need is some kind of early warning mechanism there,” she said, in response to a question regarding how the United States should monitor a situation in the Middle east which may be “moving toward genocide.” “What we need is a willingness to actually put something on the line in service of helping the situation, and putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import. It may more crucially mean sacrificing or investing literally billions of dollars not in servicing Israel’s military but actually investing in the new state of Palestine, investing billions of dollars it would probably take also to support what I think will have to be a mammoth protection force,” she said. “You have to go in as if you are serious. You have to put something on the line and unfortunately the imposition of a solution on unwilling parties is dreadful,” she continued. Power, a longtime adviser for President Obama, left the administration in February, but was considered the favorite to replace Rice at the U.N. She worked on his 2008 presidential campaign and was senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights during the president’s first term in office.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
8. No One is as Spoiled as Israel's Arabs, Says Feiglin
by Gil Ronen 
MK Ahmed Tibi could not hold back a smirk of apparent acknowledgment as MK Moshe Feiglin accused Israel's Arab citizens of being the world's most spoiled minority. MK Feiglin replied to Tibi in a Knesset plenum discussion of the separation of Jewish and Arab groups in the Superland amusement parks. “We occasionally hear howls about racism toward the Arabs of Israel,” Feiglin said. “You know what? Here and there, it is indeed true. It happens in every divided society. It can't be denied. But I doubt that what happened in Superland falls under that category. “Had Superland decided not to allow Arabs to enter and enjoy the rides, that indeed would have been racism. But that was not the decision. The decision was to divide. And while I do not know if it was justified in this specific case, my argument is that the main reason for that is fear,” he said. “Because you are so concerned about racism," he continued sarcastically, "I would like to point to several examples of racism that I am sure you, the Arab MKs, will denounce along with me. For instance, when an Israeli citizen wants to enter the Temple Mount – if he is an Arab, he can enter freely, without being checked at all, through ten gates. All week long, almost 24 hours a day. “If he is a Jew, he may enter only during one or two hours a day, only through one gate, with an intensive security check – and MK Tibi is saying that even that is too much. Since you are so opposed to racism, I have no doubt that you, MK Freij – you will join me in opposing this racist discrimination. "You know what, MK Tibi was fair enough to say his opinion on this matter. It is not racism that is causing your reaction,” MK Feiglin added. “I know of no other minority in the entire human race that receives so much, and wails so much.” MK Tibi could not hold back his smirk.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
More Website News:
|
Op-Eds
Judaism
Blogs
Exchange Rates
Weather Forecast
Halachic Times
Shabbat Times
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Subscribe / Change Format | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To unsubscribe from this mailing list please click here
| Israel National News |
| POB 388, Bet El, D. N. Mizrach Binyamin, 90628, Israel |
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario