From Ian:
Why It Matters That Iran Lied
With the leak of an International Atomic Energy Agency report about Iran’s work on military research to the Associated Press, the last obstacle to implementation of the nuclear deal struck by the West with Tehran has been removed. The good news for the deal’s advocates is that the IAEA says there is no proof that Iran worked on creating a nuclear explosive device after 2009, although it admits its work is inconclusive. There are reasons to doubt that Iran stopped working on nukes at sites that we don’t know about. But even if we accept the notion that they did stop at face value the UN agency’s work gives us plenty of reasons to worry. After a decade of denying that it had ever worked on a nuclear weapon, the IAEA’s conclusions about the pre-2009 period are definitive. There is no longer the slightest doubt that Iran was working to create a nuclear weapon before 2009. In other words, the Iranian government lied. And it continued to lie throughout the negotiations with Obama administration and Western allies. The question the president and others who actually think the nuclear deal is a reasonable solution to the problem of the nuclear threat must answer is if Iran lied for so long, what makes them think the Islamist regime is willing or even capable of telling the truth and abiding by the terms of the pact they’ve signed with it?
There are two big problems with the IAEA report.
One is that we know that the IAEA’s access to the one Iranian site where work on “possible military dimensions” — PMD — of their nuclear program was limited due to the terms of a side deal struck with Iran. As we learned over the summer while the debate over the deal was going on, the IAEA agreed to serious restrictions on its access to the Parchin military site. Even more troubling, when the IAEA did their best under the circumstances to find out what had happened at Parchin, they discovered that there had been new construction had taken place at a place that apologists for the agreement claimed had long been moribund. Just as bad was the fact that during the course of their investigation, the IAEA discovered that some important equipment known to have been at the site was now missing. That makes it more than obvious that Iran was making efforts to sanitize the site and make it difficult if not impossible for the UN to test the site for activity. Yet it doesn’t appear that the new report will solve either of these mysteries. It seems that the nuclear watchdogs have simply thrown up their hands
Think you're on the moral high ground by opposing air strikes in Syria? Sorry but you couldn't be more wrong
Somehow, we have allowed the doctrine of inaction to claim monopoly on morals. While the last Iraq War was declared and fought on a false premise, a perpetual dispute on whether Blair lied in 2003 is meaningless in today’s terms. For two wrongs do not make a right. If we become a pacifist nation now, we will not resurrect the lives lost in Iraq, yet may well cost lives that could otherwise have been saved from Isis.
“Ah, but we must learn the lessons of history,” opponents of air strikes would say. But what lessons are we learning exactly? Who is learning from the history of 1990s, when up to 800,000 people were slaughtered in Rwanda as the world watched on? Who is learning the lessons of the Srebrenica Massacre, where more than 8,000 Muslims were massacred, again amid the apathy of the world? Above all, who will listen to the Syrian activist who lived under Assad who could not afford to choose between two evils?
While Parliament voted for military action last night, the public debate has indicated that the monopoly on morals is now a disease running in our collective memory. 12 years on, it is high time we learn the right lessons of Iraq, for our moral compass has been pointing in the wrong direction for far too long.
Col Kemp: Ex-army head: ISIS negotiation is fools option but we'll need troops on ground for victory
Airstrikes must be part of a wider strategy encompassing ground operations, economic warfare and the political landscape at the end of the conflict. But if we wait until everything is in place before we join the fight we will be too late, as we sit and watch IS gain momentum and support.
Denying that support is crucial. Muslims from across the Middle East, Asia and Europe are flocking to fight with IS. They do so because they see jihadists standing up victoriously to the ‘apostate’ Arab regimes and to the West. Only when IS are exposed as bloodied losers, and fighting with them a path to certain death, will this life-blood of new recruits be cut off.
Will British air strikes in Syria provoke terrorist attacks at home? Yes, because the publicity-obsessed IS will be desperate to be seen to hit back at us. But they are trying to kill us anyway. Seven attacks in the UK have been foiled by MI5 in the last 6 months alone.
Jewish Student Under Ethics Probe for Confronting Anti-Israel Demonstrators: ‘I Acted for Those Who Felt Marginalized, Unsafe’ (INTERVIEW)
The Jewish University of Michigan student at the center of an ethics probe for arguing with anti-Israel demonstrators on campus told his side of the story to The Algemeiner on Wednesday.
“My actions came from my own place of hurt and that of a sizable portion of my constituency’s,” said Jesse Arm, a University of Michigan sophomore and Central Student Government (CSG) representative. “I am saddened that my fitness for office has been called into question by virtue of my opposition to a purposefully inflammatory protest.
“To suggest that I am not suited to be a member of Michigan’s Central Student Government because of my public opposition to Students Allied for Freedom and Equality’s protest on the Diag [quad] would be to undermine the core principles of democracy and pluralism on which our nation was founded and our University rooted.”
Last month, Arm confronted fellow protesting students who assembled an anti-Israel display on campus. The demonstration took place on Nov. 19, the day that 18-year-old American student Ezra Schwartz was killed in a Palestinian terrorist attack in Israel.
The altercation between Arm and the demonstrators was caught on video and resulted in SAFE, the group responsible for the display, calling on the student government’s ethics committee to dismiss Arm. During a CSG meeting on Tuesday, a number of university students and former student government representatives spoke in defense of Arm.
Dennis Ross: 3 Things the U.S. Gets Wrong About Israel and the Middle East
It seems that in the Middle East everywhere one looks there is conflict and turmoil. The Arab state system itself is under assault. Islamic State group challenges every Arab regime and rejects all Shia. For its part, Iran and its Shia proxies threaten the authority of Sunni-dominated Arab countries. Understanding the nature of the threats and what is, in truth, a struggle over who will define and shape the identity of the region is the first requirement for fashioning a successful strategy.
Interestingly, given the circumstances in the area, Israel will stand in stark contrast to the rest of the Middle East, and continue to be a natural partner for the United States. It is not just that Israel is the only democracy in the region. It is that Israel is the only country whose institutions and rule of law – with elections where the loser accepts the outcome – permits it to cope with its problems. Those problems, ranging from the conflict with the Palestinians to its Arab minority and secular-religious divide, are real. But because it is a genuine democracy, Israel has the wherewithal to adjust – even if the adjustment often proves difficult to make.
It is harder to say that about other countries in the region. The American track-record in understanding the region – and the countries in it – is not great. In looking at the U.S.-Israeli relationship under presidents Harry Truman through Barack Obama in my new book, "Doomed to Succeed," it became apparent that in every administration three interrelated assumptions were embedded in the national security apparatus. First, if we distanced from Israel we would gain with the Arabs. Second, if we cooperated with Israel, we would lose with the Arabs. And third, if we wanted to transform our position in the region – and transform the region itself, we needed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All three of these assumptions were fundamentally flawed.
Israel was never a British Colony:Judaea & Samaria aren’t Israeli Colonies
The “West Bank” is not an Israeli Colony
As detailed above, the global community approved the rights of Jews to move to their ancient homeland in the holy land. That right was given to the entire region, including Judaea and Samaria. While the UN voted to recognize a Jewish State within a section of Palestine, the right to move throughout the region was approved in repeated resolutions many decades ago.
While the UN does not recognize Judaea and Samaria to be part of Israel, they also do not recognize it as part of Jordan that illegally annexed it in 1950 (Jordan gave up all claim to the region in 1988). The UN would like to see that region be part of a new Arab State of Palestine through negotiations with Israel.
The desire to see a new Palestinian State does not mean that international law protecting the rights of Jews to live in the region are null and void. The 1922 British Mandate Article 15 specifically stated that “no person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief.” “No person” included Jews, and “Palestine” covered the entire mandate area of 1922.
The Oslo Accords of 1993 and 1995 which were negotiated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, specifically stated that Israel controls and administers most of the “West Bank.” As such, Israel approves housing and roads and infrastructure for everyone. So the Palestinians agree that Israel is in charge of housing and international law approves Jews living in the region. Israel acts as the administrator, much in the same way that Great Britain acted as the administrator for Palestine from 1922 to 1948.
The “settlements” are principally located next to greater metropolitan areas within Israel. Unlike European colonies which were across oceans and thousands of miles from the country, these Jewish homes are just suburban communities of major Israeli cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. They happen to be on the other side of an invisible “green line” that was the Armistice Lines of 1949. Those Armistice Agreements specifically stated that the Armistice Lines were not to be considered a border.
Erdogan hints it will be 'possible' to repair ties with Israel
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said he thinks it would be possible to repair the strained ties between his country and Israel, in light of the events in the region.
Erdogan made the comments to a Kol Yisrael radio reporter on the sidelines of the UN climate conference in Paris, but he did not provide further details.
Israel-Turkey relations have, of course, been strained for years as Turkey under Erdogan has become more and more Islamist.
The relations broke down completely following the 2010 flotilla to Gaza, when the Turkish Mavi Marmara ship, which claimed to be providing "humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza," defied orders to turn around and dock at the Ashdod port. After it ignored repeated warnings to change course, the IDF boarded the vessel - only to be attacked by Islamist extremists on board.
Erdogan: Israelis created the 'occupation state' in 1948
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at it again. On Wednesday, the Islamist leader expressed his personal support and his country's support for the Palestinian issue and for "the struggle of the Palestinian people against injustice, destruction and the Israeli occupation," as he put it.
This message was passed on Erdogan’s behalf by the Turkish deputy foreign minister, Naci Koru, during a rally in support of the Palestinian Arabs which was held in Ankara.
Erdogan, in his message, noted that "the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the most serious obstacle to the achievement of stability and peace in the Middle East. The Israelis established their state of occupation in 1948, depriving the Palestinian people of their right to establish their independent state."
"It is impossible to reach a just and comprehensive peace to the Palestinian problem as long as this historical injustice is not repaired," said the Turkish president, who added that his country is fully supportive of the Palestinians.
PMO confirms Trump to visit by end of month, will meet Netanyahu
Sources in the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had asked for a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Netanyahu, and that the Republican candidate is expected to come to Israel before the end of the month.
The official said that Netanyahu's policy is to meet with every candidate – Republican or Democratic – who comes to Israel and requests a meeting.
The official stressed that all candidates will get equal treatment, meaning that there will be a meeting and a photo opportunity with each candidate, though no public statements will be delivered before or after the meeting takes place.
Dogged by persistent claims that Netanyahu actively supported Mitt Romney in his 2012 campaign against US President Barack Obama, the PMO is taking great pains to not be seen during this campaign as partial to any candidate.
Obama renews waiver delaying US embassy move to Jerusalem
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday renewed a presidential waiver suspending the relocation of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for another 6 months.
In 1995 Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which demands the relocation. But every president since Bill Clinton has signed a presidential waiver every six months in order to keep the embassy in Tel Aviv, citing concerns that a move to Jerusalem would upset the prospects for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Earlier this year Republican senators proposed legislation that would force the president to approve the move, by striking the language in the original bill that allows the delay for national security reasons.
Russia's Failed Adventure in Syria
The lack of progress made in Syria since Mr Putin first authorized Russian military involvement could soon have serious repercussions for the Kremlin.
Public support for the mission in Russia is starting to wane, after Investigators suggested the bombing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula at the end of October, killing all 224 on board, was carried out by ISIS terrorists in retaliation for Moscow's military campaign.
Many Russians are also wary of the country becoming embroiled in another long, drawn-out military entanglement, as happened in Afghanistan in the 1980s and ultimately ended with the Soviet Union suffering an ignominious defeat.
And then there is the question of just how long Russia can afford to sustain its expensive military adventure in Syria. The Russian economy already has enough difficulties without having to bear the cost of Mr Putin's latest act of military aggression. Moscow's invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s ultimately bankrupted the Soviet Union: the Syrian conflict could have a similarly catastrophic effect on modern Russia.
ISIS beheads alleged Russian spy, releases video threatening Putin
ISIS released new video footage on Wednesday of the beheading of an alleged Russian spy. The video included a direct message for Russian President Vladimir Putin, threatening every Russian citizen, according to a report by Fox News.
In the video, the alleged Russian spy confessed to his crimes in a darkened room, claiming to be working on behalf of Russian intelligence to gather information on the Islamic State militants, specifically those of Russian origin, and jihadis in the area.
The video then moved on to the scene of the murder which took place outside near a body of water. The video showed the Russian prisoner in a bright orange jumpsuit with a knife wielding ISIS militant standing behind him.
"Here today, on this blessed land, the battle [against Russia] begins," the militant says in Russian.
Iraqis Believe US Works With ISIS Because It's The Only Explanation For US Incompetence
A widespread belief among Iraqis is that the United States is secretly in league with Islamic State, as many believe the only explanation for abysmal foreign policy failures is an alliance with ISIS.
That belief has taken root in both Sunni and Shia sects, The Washington Post reports.
Part of the reason for alternative explanations, according to Mustafa Alani, director of the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center, is that Iraqis don’t believe it’s possible for American foreign policy to be so entirely incompetent and ineffectual. Instead, many Iraqi civilians on the ground believe the U.S. lent a helping hand to ISIS for the purpose of furthering control in the Middle East and solidifying access to oil.
PMO: Statement from PM Netanyahu's Office on the IAEA Report
The IAEA investigation proves beyond any doubt that Iran's secret program for the development of nuclear weapons continued even after 2003, as Israel has maintained.
In addition, the report exposes the methods Iran used to conceal and deceive regarding its nuclear program.
The most glaring example of this pertains to the Parchin facility where the Iranians tried to hide and tamper with evidence of their illicit activities.
Israel expects the international community to continue and expand the IAEA investigation in these areas and to use all means at its disposal to ensure that Iran will not be able to secretly build a nuclear weapon. Unless and until the investigation is completed, the world will not know the full extent of Iran's covert nuclear weapons program and where it stands today.
Jennifer Rubin: Call Iran’s bluff, Mr. President
Once upon a time, the Obama administration insisted that any enforcement scheme would require a complete accounting of Iran’s PMDs (possible military dimensions). The administration then suggested it would be a condition for lifting of sanctions, but that did not make it into the deal. Then Secretary of State John F. Kerry pleaded that the PMDs and other inspection-related issues were in a document it did not have and could not produce. Now Iran insists on an ultimatum: either the deal or continued investigation of the PMD issue.
This should shock no one. “Iran has learned that its repeated threats will be met with climb-down after climb-down from the Obama administration,” says sanctions expert Mark Dubowitz. “So it’s no surprise that it is threatening to scuttle the Iran nuclear deal if the file is not closed on its weaponization activities.” He expects the administration will once again capitulate. He warns that “it should come as no surprise when the Obama administration whitewashes Iran’s weaponization track record by not holding Tehran to account for its decades-long history of nuclear mendacity.”
Iran goaded the administration into dropping one critical point after another on the talks. Since the talks, it has conducted an illegal missile test. It sent ground troops into Syria, and it grabbed another American. Now, it is not maintaining any pretense of abiding by the structure of the deal. At every turn, Senate Democrats and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton have gone along with the charade, making excuses for Iran and the administration’s fecklessness and insisting the only alternative was war. Well, we now have an intensified war in Syria.
Nuclear Agency Says Iran Worked on Weapons Design Until 2009
Iran was actively designing a nuclear weapon until 2009, more recently than the United States and other Western intelligence agencies have publicly acknowledged, according to a final report by the United Nations nuclear inspection agency.
The report, based on partial answers Iran provided after reaching its nuclear accord with the West in July, concluded that Tehran conducted “computer modeling of a nuclear explosive device” before 2004. It then resumed the efforts during President Bush’s second term and continued them into President Obama’s first year in office.
But while the International Atomic Energy Agency detailed a long list of experiments Iran had conducted that were “relevant to a nuclear explosive device,” it found no evidence that the effort succeeded in developing a complete blueprint for a bomb.
In part, that may have been because Iran refused to answer several essential questions, and appeared to have destroyed potential evidence in others.
Think Tank: Atomic Agency Report on Military Dimensions of Iran Nuclear Program Inconclusive
Washington, DC-based think tank said on Wednesday that a new report on Iran’s nuclear program by international inspectors did not conclude the issue of whether Iran once pursued nuclear weapons.
The Institute for Science and International Security released a statement saying, “The bottom line is that the [International Atomic Energy Agency] investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear programs cannot be understood to be concluded, certainly it cannot be closed.”
The statement was signed by David Albright — a former IAEA official — Andrea Stricker and Serena Kelleher-Vergantini.
The IAEA report apparently shows that Iran had a “coordinated effort” to the making of nuclear bombs until 2003, and some arms-related work may have continued until 2009, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Iran: IAEA report proves nuclear program is 'peaceful'
Iran's senior nuclear negotiator claimed on Wednesday that the report by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on his country’s nuclear program showed the program had was “peaceful”, Reuters reported.
In fact, the report presented some disturbing facts about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, namely that the Islamic Republic attempted to develop nuclear weapons in the past.
"The final IAEA report about past dimensions (to the program) shows there was no sign of a military nuclear program... and confirms that Iran's program was peaceful," Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.
The IAEA said in its report that it believes that the Islamic Republic made a "coordinated" effort to develop nuclear weapons in the past, although the efforts apparently ended at an early stage.
According to the report, most of the dedicated work took place before 2003, though some parts continued until 2009.
Russia begins delivering S-300 air defense system to Iran
President Vladimir Putin’s arms trade adviser says Russia has begun delivering S-300 air defense missile systems to Iran, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.
Tass quoted Vladimir Kozhin as saying Thursday that the implementation of the contract for the delivery of the S-300s has begun and the deliveries have started. He didn’t provide any specifics.
One of the most sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons in the world, the S-300 is capable of tracking multiple planes at once, and some versions have an interception range of up to 200 kilometers.
In 2010 Russia froze a deal to supply advanced long-range S-300 missile systems to Iran, linking the decision to UN sanctions. Putin lifted the suspension earlier this year following Iran’s deal with six world powers that curbed its nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions. Officials said last month that Russia and Iran finalized the contract for their delivery.
Expert at Congressional Hearing: Iran Undermining U.S. National Interests, Not Fighting ISIS
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is perpetuating the presence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq while undermining American national interests in the Middle East, Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow and expert on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Wednesday at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
In his prepared testimony, Alfoneh pointed to recent comments by Anne Patterson, the State Department’s assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, which illustrate that Iran’s goals in Syria are diametrically opposed to U.S. objectives.
According to Patterson, the U.S. is seeking to defeat ISIS in both Syria and Iraq, facilitate a political transition to a ruler other than Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, mitigate the suffering of Syrian civilians, and stabilize allies in the region while assisting European partners as they deal with an influx of refugees.
Washington Post says detained reporter is in 'immediate danger'
The Washington Post said Wednesday that its journalist detained in Iran is in “immediate danger” as his health deteriorates and mistreatment of him intensifies, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
Thursday will mark 500 days since Jason Rezaian was arrested, the newspaper noted, with executive editor Martin Baron calling it the “grimmest” of milestones.
Rezaian, a joint American-Iranian citizen and a correspondent for The Washington Post, was arrested in July 2014 and accused of spying.
Following a closed-door trial, Iran announced in late November that Rezaian was sentenced to a prison term. The length of the prison term was not specified.
The newspaper said that Rezaian’s brother, Ali, will deliver a petition Thursday to Iran’s mission to the United Nations with more than 500,000 signatures asking for his immediate release.
Knesset Speaker at Germany’s Bundestag: I Fear Soon the Labeling of People
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein aired staunch Israeli disapproval of the EU’s decision to go ahead with settlement labeling during his address to the German parliament on Wednesday, Israel’s Walla news website reported.
Quoting 19th century German author Heinrich Heine, who wrote that “Wherever they burn books they will also, in the end, burn human beings,” Edelstein admonished the Bundestag, “I fear that wherever they label products based on their place of manufacture, they will also, someday, label people based on where they’re from.”
Edelstein repeated Israeli concerns that the labeling of products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank and from the Golan Heights galvanized the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), which he said acts under the pretense of humanitarian concern but is really motivated by “blind hatred” for Israel.
Edelstein also said that Palestinian workers would be the first to feel the brunt of measures like labeling settlement products. He said Israelis and Palestinians are most likely to encounter one another in “Israeli factories, which employ thousands of Israelis and Palestinians in the industrial areas of Judea and Samaria,” which are the Hebrew names for the West Bank.
Berlin’s Newest Kosher Supermarket Ignores EU Anti-Israel Orders
Germany’s answer to the European Union’s order to label “Green Line” goods was to allow the nation’s biggest kosher supermarket, Daily Markt, to open in Berlin.
In the heart of the nation where Jews once feared to tread, one can shop “blue-and-white” – and find quite a few products from Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights.
The initiative comes as a joint effort by German business owner Asan Mytev – who is not Jewish – along with several Jewish entrepreneurs and the assistance of Berlin Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal.
Located in the Chartlottenburg district, the store stocks only kosher items – a boon for those who until now have had to really search for such products.
“We will not be deterred by the security situation,” said Evgeny Bort, co-partner and store manager. “It doesn’t scare us and we don’t linger on it or pay attention to it. We cannot let terrorism stop us and interfere with our lives.”
Blaming Jews gets you in the news
Let’s wish a hearty mazel tov to the members of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) who voted "overwhelmingly in favor" of boycotting Israeli academic institutions at their annual meeting this past month! Congratulations! You have now joined the elite company of close-minded bigots such as Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan who aren't interested in the facts as much as they are dedicated to spewing anti-Israel hatred in the form of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).
It's a pity, you know. The founding father of academic anthropology, Franz Boas (1858-1942), was himself both a Jew and an outspoken critic of anti-Semitism. Beyond his roots, Boas was dedicated to fighting any sort of racism and to promoting communication between all people. This same prolific scholar—who founded the AAA back in 1902—once wrote, "There are two things to which I am devoted: absolute academic and spiritual freedom." And now his academic descendants are voting in droves to boycott Israeli academic institutions. How does that make any sense?
Perhaps if you thought that Israeli is guilty of ethnic cleansing—something which the AAA absurdly accuses the Jewish State of—then it would make sense. But hasn't the population of Arabs and non-Jewish citizens of Israel skyrocketed since the founding of the state in 1948? Didn't the literacy rate among the Arab populace increase dramatically in the past few decades? Furthermore, isn't it the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah that seeks to establish a state without any Jews, thereby necessitating ethnic cleansing as part of their proposed national charter? (The answer to all three questions is in the affirmative.)
Rumor mill reports: Sir Elton John to perform in Israel in summer 2016
Israel's Elton John fans can start getting excited. If there are no changes or delays, the British musician is expected to return to Israel at the beginning of summer 2016.
Sir Elton John, who has performed in Israel three times is expected to appear again in late May on the stage in front of tens of thousands of fans in Park Hayarkon in Tel Aviv.
According to sources close to the singer-songwriter, the negotiation for the performance is nearing completion. Rumor has it, Shuki Weiss, an Israeli producer, will be charged with preparing Sir Elton John's colorful show.
Elton John performed in Israel for the first time in 1980 in the Cultural Center in Tel Aviv and in the Jerusalem Convention Center. He visited again in 1993 for another concert but immediately returned to London citing a dislike of the attitude of local media and photographers as his reasoning. The show's producer convinced him to return to Israel just in time for the show to begin in Park Hayarkon, Tel Aviv.
In summer 2010 John came to Israel for the third time for a performance in Ramat Gan Stadium.
IsraellyCool: Heavy Metal Rockers Attack BDS And Roger Waters
The Titans of Metal concert, scheduled for Dec 17 in Israel, features 22 musicians from famous heavy metal bands.
A few of these musicians have absolutely ripped the BDS movement and Roger Waters in the lead up to this concert.
Musicians like Tim Ripper Owens (Ex Judas Priest/Judas Priest):
Big respect!!! Boycott can't stop Tim Ripper!!! Music is for the people!!!
Come to see Titans Of Metal Israel!!!
And Ross the Boss (Death Dealer/Ex-Manowar):
So now I'm getting ready to go play The Titans of Metal show in Israel , but we are hearing from this Anti Israeli Pro Palestinian Anti Semetic group BDS to not perform in Israel . We all should Boycott Israel .Perhaps Roger Waters is involved . I have only 2 words to say to BDS and perhaps Mr Waters . F__K YOU
Germany investigates man with Auschwitz-glorifying tattoo
German prosecutors say they are investigating whether a man violated the country’s prohibition of the public display of Nazi symbols by appearing at a swimming pool with a tattoo of what appeared to be the Auschwitz death camp on his back.
Neuruppin prosecutors’ spokeswoman Lolita Lodenkaemper said Tuesday another bather took a photo of the tattoo, which also carried the slogan from the Buchenwald concentration camp’s gate, “Jedem das Seine” — “to each his own” — at a pool in Oranienburg, north of Berlin, on November 21.
She says that having such a tattoo is legal but showing it publicly could be considered incitement.
Lodenkaemper would not confirm local media reports that the suspect is a member of the far-right National Democratic Party and sits on the county council.
German Jewish group OK with publishing ‘Mein Kampf’ again
The Central Council of Jews in Germany said Wednesday it does not object to the publication of a critical, scientifically-annotated version of Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” scheduled for January.
“Knowledge of ‘Mein Kampf’ is still important to explain National Socialism and the Holocaust,” the council’s head Josef Schuster told the Handelsblatt business daily.
“Therefore there are no objections to a scientifically annotated edition for research and teaching purposes.”
The rights to the Nazi leader’s anti-Semitic diatribe have since the end of World War II been held by the state of Bavaria, which has refused to allow reprints because the book incites racial hatred, and out of respect for victims of the Holocaust.
Vietnamese Deputy PM visits as trade between countries soars above $1b
Netanyahu told reporters in Paris on Monday that Israel will begin asking countries who have good ties and close cooperation with Israel to reflect those ties in their votes in international forums. He said this is one of Israel's “natural expectations” from friendly countries, and something that will be increasingly discussed. According to sources in the PMO, Netanyahu’s remarks to Hoang were an articulation of this policy.
Hoang's visit comes amid a significant strengthening of ties between the two countries, with two-way trade having rocketed from $200 million in 2009 to almost $1.1 billion in 2014. The 2015 goal is $2 billion, and the figures are expected to climb even higher once a free trade agreement, currently being negotiated, is completed.
Israel’s current level of trade with Vietnam is more than that of all but seven of the 28 countries in the EU. It is four times the level of trade with Norway, more than twice the amount of trade with Austria, and also exceeds trade with Sweden by $200m, and Ireland by more than $100m.
Egyptian company says it wants Israeli gas as soon as possible
As the debate in Israel over a controversial deal to extract gas out of off-shore fields rages on, an Egyptian company has expressed intense interest in purchasing the coveted resource from Israel as soon as possible.
An official at Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings told Channel 2 news that the company is seeking to become a major player in the gas market and is interested in buying around 6 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Israel in the coming years.
In recent weeks thousands have protested throughout the country against the government’s intention to bypass anti-trust regulations in order to approve a the deal with US energy giant Noble Energy.
Under the terms of the proposed deal, the government plans to give an international consortium led by the Delek and Noble Energy companies the rights to the largest gas reserve yet found in Israeli territorial waters, the Leviathan field, in exchange for scaling back their involvement in the currently operational Tamar field and the smaller Tanin and Karish fields.
Auction of flag from the ship Exodus called off
The auction of a flag from an iconic ship that tried to take Jewish Holocaust survivors to what would later become Israel was cancelled Wednesday after it was bought by a public institution.
The SS Exodus was the most famous of hundreds of ships that sought to transport European Jews to the land that later became the nation of Israel immediately after World War II.
The Israeli flag that flew from the ship was expected to be sold at a public auction in Jerusalem on Wednesday with a starting bid of $100,000, but it was pulled at the last minute.
Meron Eren, owner of the Kedem Auction House, announced that “the lot was withdrawn from the auction by the consignor… to ensure its placement in a public institution.”
The auction house declined to provide more details about the institution or how much the flag was sold for, saying a public announcement would be made in the coming weeks.
Emotional reunion for Holocaust survivor and Polish rescuer
An Israeli man and a Polish woman were reunited Wednesday in New York, seven decades after her Catholic family saved him during the Holocaust.
Michael Hochberg, 77, sat holding hands with 86-year-old Krystyna Jakubowska at Kennedy International Airport, locking eyes as their relatives looked on.
“He was a very pretty boy and he was very good — no problems with him as a child,” she said with a smile, speaking in Polish through a translator. “But I was scared, because the Germans announced on the street what would happen if somebody is saving a Jew.”
The punishment was death.
On Wednesday, Jakubowska flew in from Warsaw to meet Hochberg.
The Polish woman’s family had taken in the boy at age 4 after he was literally thrown over the wall of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw by a friend so as not to fall into the hands of the Nazis who herded hundreds of thousands of Jews there, many of them then sent to an extermination camp.
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