Iran's Terror Entity in Lebanon

Yaakov Lappin

One out of every ten homes in Lebanon now has a rocket launcher or Hezbollah weapons stored in it, according to Gilad Erdan, Israel's Home Front Defense Minister. Civilian homes are constructed in a way that allows the roof to open up for the firing of a rocket at Israel. Added up, the number of rockets and missiles reached is 200,000.

In the chaotic Middle East, every day brings new strategic changes and brutal instances of violence, the one thing that has remained constant is Iran's continuing construction of a military-terrorist missile base in Lebanon.
Through its Shi'ite Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, Iran today has formed a terrorist entity that is unprecedented in scope and firepower, whose rockets and missiles can strike any point in Israel.

During a recent security conference held at the Begin-Sadat Center at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, senior Israeli officials divulged some staggering figures that give a sense of the significant capabilities Hezbollah has built-up.

To be sure, Israel has been preparing for the day it will need to tackle Hezbollah, and the Israel Defense Force apparently feels ready to deal with the threat if and when it is required to do so.

Quietly, Israel and the Gulf States Draw Closer Together

Jonathan Spyer
PJ Media

http://www.meforum.org/3651/israel-gulf-states

Recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have fueled renewed speculation of behind-the-scenes links between Israel and the Gulf monarchies.

Netanyahu, speaking at the UN, said that "the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and the emergence of other threats in our region have led many of our Arab neighbors to recognize, finally recognize, that Israel is not their enemy."
He added: "This affords us the opportunity to overcome the historic animosities and build new relationships, new friendships, new hopes."

There have been subsequent rumors of visits by senior Gulf officials to Israel, to discuss matters of common interest.

COP: Californians 'Shocked' by Premium Increases, Dropped Coverage

Guy Benson

Barack Obama waltzed to victory in California last year, trampling Mitt Romney by 21 percentage points. For many middle class families in the Golden State, Obamacare's chicken are coming home to roost. A few weeks back, we highlighted some priceless quotes from Bay Area residents who are reassessing their views on the president's signature law. One man said he'd been "laughing" at Republicans...until his saw his new premiums. Another offered this pitch-perfect distillation of the tension between feel-good liberalism and economic reality: "Of course, I want people to have health care. I just didn't realize I would be the one who was going to pay for it personally." The law's price and access tremors continue to be felt up and down America's most populous state. The Los Angeles Times describes the "sticker shock" middle class Californians are grappling with:

Israel Air Force Plan Shoots for 10-Fold Boost in Bombs on Target

BARBARA OPALL-ROME

Israeli F-15 fighter jets are refueled by a Boeing 707 during an air show over the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva, on June 28, 2012. Israel Air Force leaders plan a major revamp in how the service operates. (Agence France-Presse)

RAMAT DAVID AIR BASE, ISRAEL — The Israel Air Force (IAF) is revamping headquarters staff, planning procedures and air operations to support a 10-fold increase in the number of targets it can detect and destroy, the Air Force’s chief of air operations said.

In an exclusive interview with Defense News, Brig. Gen. Amikam Norkin said the institutional revamp — the service’s first since the 1973 Yom Kippur War — aims to shorten the duration of future wars while reducing demand for maneuvering ground forces through massive, persistent and punishing use of precision air power.

More than a year in the making and slated for phased implementation in the coming months, the changes are driven by IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel and his Expanding Attack Capacity (EAC) program.

Negotiating with Iran Without Leverage

Benjamin Weinthal

inShare

  

The Obama administration has urged Congress to take a sanctions timeout to see if progress can be made in reaching an agreement with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program. U.S. undersecretary of state Wendy Sherman, the lead American negotiator with Iran, said there is a chance to “gain traction” without sanctions.

Since President Obama recoiled from military action against Iran’s vassal – Assad’s Syria – a common refrain in many Israeli and Arabic news reports is that Obama is ill-prepared to confront security threats in the Middle East.
As my FDD colleague, Michael Ledeen, argues, the Iranians “don’t think they have anything to fear from him [Obama], and they expect he will accept a deal favorable to them. . . . They will have been reassured at the recent spectacle of the White House asking Congress not to vote any new sanctions. This demonstrates a lack of understanding, since a vigorous Congress enables our negotiators to tell the Iranians ‘you’d better get serious and shut down the nuclear program, or these crazy people will just pile on.”’

8 Muslims brutally attack Jewish family of 5 at Sydney hotel

One of the men who were attacked

By: Ryan Lee Hall

http://www.yourjewishnews.com/2013/10/n29752.html

(Scroll down for video) Three Muslim men were arrested and charged with assault after brutally beating a Jewish family of five at a hotel in Sydney Australia, according to police reports.

Two men remain in a hospital with serious injuries after the alleged anti-Semitic attack near Bondi Beach on Saturday.

Five people were injured suffering from a fractured cheekbone, a broken nose, concussion, lacerations and bruises, when they were attacked by eight young Muslims in Blair Street.

The victims told police that the attack was unprovoked and racially motivated.

The Daily TIP: Former IAEA deputy director: Iran could produce enough material for nuke in two weeks‏

Former IAEA deputy director: Iran could produce enough material for nuke in two weeks Hezbollah blamed for Tripoli violence that kills scores as army deploys to contain blowback Associated Press: Netanyahu faces "political uproar" over prisoner release meant to boost U.S.-backed peace talks Hamas fires rockets at Israel after Egypt closes border crossing "indefinitely," Israel targets underground launchers What we’re watching today:

Dov Weisglass to IMRA: Why settlement construction area never delineated as planned with US

Dr. Aaron Lerner – IMRA   28 October, 20013
 
IMRA contacted Attorney Dov Weisglass, who served as Chief of the Prime Minister's Bureau during Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s administration, asking why the settlement construction maps that were supposed to be prepared along with US Ambassador Kurtzer a few days after April 14, 2004 were never drawn up.
 
In a conversation this evening, Dov Weisglass  told IMRA that back on 30 April 2003 Israel and the Bush Administration agreed to the principle that settlement construction would be limited to within the construction line of the settlements.
 
The two sides started to take practical measures and an American team together with an Israeli team started to go over aerial photos and it turned out that there were a lot of difficulties coming up with the edge of the construction.  As a result of this to the process was held up.
 
In the meantime, Weisglass explain,  we reached the end of 2003 start of 2004 and we started talking about the Disengagement and the work on the construction line was delayed.

Netanyahu figures out Obama's not his friend?

Has Israel's Prime Minister finally realized the truth? With the Obama administration pushing Congress to delay further sanctions against Iran,, Netanyahu is finally pushing back. For the first time since 2011, the Netanyahu government is acting in direct opposition to the Obama administration, urging Congress to pass more sanctions against Iran... now. 

An Israeli official said on Saturday night that the entire debate over whether Iran had continued to enrich uranium at that level was “meaningless” and an attempt to divert attention from the main issue: The need for Iran to completely stop uranium enrichment at any level.

The international community, therefore, should ensure the full dismantlement of Iran’s military nuclear weapons program, and until it does, sanctions against Iran should be increased, the official said.

EU Proposal to Monitor "Intolerant" Citizens

Soeren Kern

"There is no need to be tolerant to the intolerant" — European Framework National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance, Article 4
"The supra-national surveillance that it would imply would certainly be a dark day for European democracy." — European Dignity Watch

While European leaders are busy expressing public indignation over reports of American espionage operations in the European Union, the European Parliament is quietly considering a proposal that calls for the direct surveillance of any EU citizen suspected of being "intolerant."
Critics say the measure -- which seeks to force the national governments of all 28 EU member states to establish "special administrative units" to monitor any individual or group expressing views that the self-appointed guardians of European multiculturalism deem to be "intolerant" -- represents an unparalleled threat to free speech in a Europe where citizens are already regularly punished for expressing the "wrong" opinions, especially about Islam.
The proposed European Framework National Statute for the Promotion of Tolerance was recently presented to members of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, the only directly-elected body of the European Union.

Government is Magic

Sultan Knish

Our technocracy is detached it is from competence. It's not the technocracy of engineers, but of "thinkers" who read Malcolm Gladwell and Thomas Friedman and watch TED talks and savor the flavor of competence, without ever imbibing its substance.

These are the people who love Freakonomics, who enjoy all sorts of mental puzzles, who like to see an idea turned on its head, but who couldn't fix a toaster.

The ObamaCare website is the natural spawn of that technocracy who love the idea of using modernity to make things faster and easier, but have no idea what anything costs or how it works.

It's hard to have a functioning technocracy without engineers. A technocracy made in Silicon Valley with its complete disregard for anything outside its own ego zone would be bad enough. But this is a Bloombergian technocracy of billionaires and activists, of people who think that "progress" makes things work, rather than things working leading to progress.

Could Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah get rid of each other?

Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed

on : Monday, 28 Oct, 2013

Commenting on the war in Syria, which has now gone on for more than two and half years, an American said it’s better for the fighting to continue until Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda destroy each other so the US can get rid of two fierce enemies in one go.

I previously discussed this when I said that Syria is a fly trap, meaning it is bait that lures jihadist groups from across the world and makes them perish. The problem with these arguments is that they will not succeed. The result may be the complete opposite of the desired aim, as it may just strengthen these two groups’ ability to engage in larger regional wars later.

Restoring Israel’s Rights: The Levy Report

Arlene Kushner

The Jewish people’s considerable rights to the land of Israel are founded upon several bases:

Jews have been on the land for close to 4,000 years, most notably within eastern Jerusalem (where the Old City and the Temple Mount are located), and Judea and Samaria – all places where ancient Israelite heritage is marked.  Jews, in fact, are the indigenous people of Israel, present not only historically, but with continuity over the centuries.

In modern times there are legal precedents for establishing the Jewish claim to Israel: This is with reference to the San Remo Conference, the Mandate for a Jewish Homeland in Palestine, confirmed in international law, and more.
These Jewish rights have certainly not diminished over the years.  Yet there is a prevailing perception that this is the case – that there has been a rethinking of what properly accrues to the Jewish State of Israel.  A revisionist perception, we might say.

This perception has been fueled by Palestinian Arab leader Mahmoud Abbas and his cohorts, who – in insisting ad nauseum that Israel’s proper place is behind the “1967 border” – reveal themselves to be major advocates of the dictum that, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”

"A Levy Report Campaign!"

Just yesterday plans were finalized for launching the first stage of a major effort aimed at securing the acceptance of the Levy Report.

 

You will find an article about it here:

 

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/arlene-kushner/restoring-israels-rights-the-levy-report/

 

But I want to take the time in this posting to provide a bit of background and explain what the report is and why it is important.  (And those in Israel, please see all the way to the bottom.)

Every Terror Victim Has a Name, a Family and a Story – The List

 By: Jewish Press News Briefs 

Published: October 28th, 2013 

 Zaka rescue worker walks in bloodstained Mercaz haRav Yeshiva library after an Arab terrorist murdered students in March 2008. Zaka rescue worker walks in bloodstained Mercaz haRav Yeshiva library after an Arab terrorist murdered students in March 2008. Photo Credit: Zaka/flash 90 Israel is set to release 26 terrorists who killed Israeli citizens, in the coming days. Of the 26 terrorists set to be freed, 21 came from Judea and Samaria, and 5 from Gaza. Most committed their terror attacks before Oslo, and served sentences ranging from 19 to 28 years. 

Here is a list of the Jews they murdered. Issac Rosenberg (67). Murdered March 29, 1994. Killed by 2 terrorists with an ax. Murdered while working in Petach Tikva. Murdered after Oslo. Left behind a wife and son. Yigal Vaknin (22). Murdered September 24, 1993. Murdered in Batzra,near Raanana. Stabbed to death. Murdered after Oslo. Left behind parents and eight brothers and sisters. 

Clear Policy Change: Obama seeks Iran sanctions pause

Irish Examiner

The Obama administration is asking Congress to hold fire on enacting new sanctions against Iran, to give negotiators flexibility in current nuclear talks.

Even as US officials argue that tough sanctions are what brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place, the White House and State Department said the administration wanted politicians to wait on new sanctions to give the negotiations time to get traction.

Some politicians have argued that now is not the time to ease pressure and that pursuing new sanctions will give the US additional leverage in the talks.

But State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said it was the consensus of the administration’s national security teams that a pause “would be helpful in terms of providing some flexibility while we see if these negotiations will move forward”.

She said the position was delivered to politicians and congressional aides at a White House meeting on Thursday.

The Dangers of the OIC “Islamophobia” Campaign

Baron Bodissey

Over the past few months there has been a lot of discussion in this space about the intensified campaign against “Islamophobia”, which is being orchestrated by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation and promoted through various trans-national bodies by Islamic groups and their allies among left-wing NGOs. The International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA) is spearheading the pushback against the term “Islamophobia”, which is now being used in legal action against politically-chosen targets without ever being properly defined.

Below is a press release issued today by ICLA highlighting the dangers of the OIC’s Islamophobia campaign, and summarizing the counter-initiatives against it:

The dangers of the OIC “Islamophobia” campaign
ICLA notes with great concern the ongoing OIC campaign, using the pretext of “Islamophobia”, to control the media and to stifle freedom of expression, as seen recently at the OIC conference The First International Conference on Islamophobia: Law & Media, Geneva, September 2013.

“Turkey’s Relationship With The Muslim Brotherhood”

gmbwatch
 

Alarabiya.net has posted an article titled “Turkey’s relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood “ reporting that since the June 30 revolution in Egypt, Turkey has become the regional hub for the Muslim Brotherhood’s international organization. The article begins:

Since the June 30 revolution in Egypt, Turkey has become the regional hub for the Muslim Brotherhood’s international organization. Istanbul has played host to many meetings planning what steps are to be taken against the military-backed Egyptian government after the July 3 ouster of President Mohammad Mursi.

These Ankara sponsored events were part of Turkey’s attempt to outlaw ‘the foreign legitimacy’ of the new Egyptian leadership, a move made in addition to its previous role as a political boot camp after the January 25 revolution.

Turkey’s defense of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the tears of Recep Tayyip Erdogan when the Egyptian security forces attempted to storm the sit-in of Rabaa al-Adawiya, proved Erdogan’s ties with the Muslim Brotherhood’s international organization and their mutual interest in restoring ‘the era of Islamic rule,’ seen by the Brotherhood as the basis for protecting ‘the Islamic nation.’

Released Gitmo detainee was on ground in Benghazi during terror attack

by creeping


via Former Guantanamo detainee was on ground in Benghazi during terror attack, source says | Fox News.

A former Guantanamo Bay detainee with Al Qaeda ties was in Benghazi the night of the Sept. 11 attack, according to a source on the ground in Libya.

The source told Fox News that ex-detainee Sufian bin Qumu, who is suspected of running camps in eastern Libya where some of the assailants trained, is also a “respected member” of Ansar al-Sharia — one of the Islamist groups identified in State Department email traffic two hours after the attack.

Two sources familiar with the investigation, when asked about bin Qumu’s whereabouts the night of the attack, did not dispute the claim he was in Benghazi.

Netanyahu rejects Palestinian right of return to Israel

By TOVAH LAZAROFF

10/28/2013

Channel 2: Two sides far apart in peace talks.

Netanyahu and Abbas were unsuccessful in 2010, will this time around be different? Photo: REUTERS

 

The unity of Jerusalem is important and Palestinians can not have a right of return into Israel in any final-status agreement for a two-state solution, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday morning.

“We ascribe importance to the unity of Jerusalem and, of course, to the cancellation of the right of return,” Netanyahu said.

He spoke on the same day that Channel 2 provided information which it said was leaked from the ongoing talks between Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, which showed that both sides were far apart in their demands.

In a final-status negotiation the Palestinians have insisted Palestinian refugees should have the choice to return to Israel, Channel 2 said.

It added that Palestinians were only interested in a territorial exchange of not more than 1.9%.

Both sides have agreed not to divulge the contents of the negotiations which began in July and are set to end in March. US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that during the nine-month negotiating process he is the only one authorized to release information.