Drill to simulate massive rocket attack
By YAAKOV LAPPIN
17/05/2010 07:15
68 local authorities to take part in five-day exercise next week.
A national war drill will be held at the end of the month to test the country's responses to a scenario of hundreds of rockets being fired on the home front.
The annual exercise, Turning Point 4, will take place May 23-27, and will be managed jointly by the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) and the IDF Home Front Command. The Israel Police, Magen David Adom, government offices and local authorities will all be involved.
The ability of local authorities to deal with large-scale rocket attacks will form the centerpiece of the exercise, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i said during a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
"After the Second Lebanon War, we concluded that the ultimate responsibility rests with the local authorities," he said. "If you seek peace, prepare for war."
The minister stressed that the exercise was an annual and routine affair that was not linked in any way to fears of looming war. He added that messages of assurance "have been sent where they needed to be sent" to allay any tensions that could be caused by the exercise.
Maj.-Gen. Yair Golan, commander of the Home Front Command, said an unprecedented number of local authorities, 68, would participate in the drill, which will include field simulations to test emergency responses.
On Wednesday, May 26, an air raid siren will sound across the country, and citizens will be asked to head for safe areas or bomb shelters as part of the exercise.
"In addition, there will be several sirens in local councils during the exercise," Golan said.
In 2009, 50 percent of the population took an active role in the drill during the siren, Golan said, adding that he hoped "even more would respond this year."
The Home Front Command has asked citizens to "enter safe zones chosen ahead of time when the siren sounds." Detailed instructions on how to select a safe zone are available on the Home Front Command Web site.
The Home Front Command will also practice taking over the distribution of gas masks - a task now managed by the Israel Postal Company - to ensure rapid distribution during a time of conflict.
Eight cities - Tirat Hacarmel, Safed, Yokneam, Rishon Lezion, Petah Tikva, Holon and Tel Aviv - will see gas mask distribution centers opened by the Home Front Command for a day during the drill, and local residents will be able to collect masks.
Ze'ev Zuk Ram, Head of NEMA, said the exercise would test the ability of government ministries to coordinate responses with regional councils. Responding to a question by a journalist, Ram added that Arab regional councils would play as active a role as the remainder of councils.
The government will test its ability to keep basic infrastructure like electricity, water and transportation running during the exercise, as well as the manufacture of basic necessities.
Vilna'i said the drill was aimed at preparing the country for a full-scale conflict, adding that Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last year "was not a war, but a limited operation which affected one region and a small percentage of the population."
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PA to Israelis: Go Back to Europe
by Maayana Miskin
As Palestinian Authority officials agree to indirect "proximity" peace talks with Israel, PA television sends a different message. A broadcast that was repeated twice last week called on Israelis to "return" to Europe and Ethiopia, so that PA Arabs can "return" to Israeli cities such as Akko (Acre), Haifa and Jerusalem.
The speaker suggested that Israelis go to "your original homeland," listing Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Russia and Ethiopia as possible options. He did not mention the many countries in the Arab world from which Jews fled to Israel, such as Syria, Egypt, or Iraq.
PA TV is owned and controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
Besides portraying Israeli Jews - most of whom were born in Israel - as foreigners, the broadcast also backs the "right of return." The PA, along with much of the Arab world, demands that Israel allow millions of Arabs born abroad to "return" to the Israeli cities from which their grandparents or great grandparents fled during the War of Independence in 1948.
The broadcast was picked up and translated by Palestinian Media Watch, which noted that this is far from the first time the PA has broadcast material portraying Israelis as foreigners who "stole" the land. In February, a PA children's program told Israeli Arab children that they are "part of occupied Palestine."
In a recent interview with OpEdNews reporter Joan Brunwasser, PMW director Itamar Marcus warned that the incitement in PA media is more indicative of the PA's intentions than its statements given to the foreign press. "We feel that if there is to be peace, it has to start with children," Marcus said. "Therefore, what children are being taught in schools and what they are learning from music videos and children's media are a better indicator of the real beliefs and goals of the leaders, and will also determine if we have peace in the next generation." (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Christians, Jews Honor Israel's Long-time Supporters
Video
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/May/Christians-Jews-Show-Support-for-Israel/
A group of Christians and Jews gathered in New York City to honor those who have stood with Israel and support the country's right to exist.
CBN Founder Dr. Pat Robertson was also honored for his long-time commitment to the Jewish state.
At the gathering, hosted by Eagles Wings, Robertson recalled a meeting he had in 1974 with then Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin. After sensing the weight of the world on the prime minister's shoulders, Robertson made a covenant with God while over-looking Jerusalem.
"That whatever happened, however unpleasant it might be, whatever enemies may arise, whatever the cost, that I and the ministries that I was in charge of, would stand with Israel. And ladies and gentlemen, after 30 years, I am pleased to say, I have kept that pledge. We've stood with Israel," he said.
Robertson put his words into action. In 2000, he established the CBN News bureau in Jerusalem. In 2006, during the war between Israel and Hezbollah, he did not just give analysis from behind a desk. He stood on the front lines and experienced the war firsthand.
Jay Sekulow, who serves as chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, also spoke at the reward ceremony.
"And in 2010, the law firm he founded that I have the pleasure of serving as chief counsel, the ACLJ walked into the International Criminal Court in the Hague, defending Israel's right to engage in self-defense as it was being attacked," Sekulow said.
Robertson has also defended Israel's right to build on its own land.
"Recently, the U.S. State Department complained because the Jews want to build apartment buildings in their capital," he explained. "Can you imagine anything as outrageous as this? This is the Jewish capital. Of course, they can build apartment buildings. It belongs to them."
"It was bought and paid for by King David," Robertson added. "And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the eternal, undivided capital of Israel and it shall not be taken away from them."
Several of the Christian and Jewish leaders in attendance said there has never been a more important time to stand together on Israels' behalf.
"Let's not mince words, the Judeo-Christian civilization, Western civilization, is under attack and we are literally fighting for our lives and for the future of our communities and our faiths," Rabbi Dr. Gerald Meister said.
"Israel's under assault. In fact there's no country in the world that's under assault as Israel is," Daniel Pipes, with the Middle East Forum, said. "And therefore, its important for all of those who support Israel, its right to exist, its security, and its welfare to work together."
Because of Robertson's continuing stand for Israel, Eagles Wings has named a scholarship in his name. The Israel Experience College Scholarship, named after Robertson, will fund a trip to Israel every year to a young Christian.
"He has always had in his heart a special love for Israel and the Jewish people. So we could think of no better honoree to recognize at our banquet this year," Robert Sterns, who founded Eagles Wings, said.
Many believe educating the next generation is critical to securing Israel's future.
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German synagogue attacked by arsonists
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT
17/05/2010 20:50
Perpetrators' note demands that Jews "give Palestinians peace."
BERLIN - A synagogue in the German city of Worms was attacked by arsonists on Monday.
The attackers left a note linking their torching of the synagogue with the Israel-Palestinian conflict, according to a report in the regional paper Wiesebadner Kurier. German police found eight copies of a note written in "awkward" German, claiming responsibility for setting the place blaze.
"So long as you do not give the Palestinians peace, we are not going to give you peace," stated the note.
Public prosecutor Klaus-Peter Mieth said there was still an open question regarding the authenticity of the note. However, Levi Salomon, who heads a task force combating anti-Semitism for the 12,000-member Berlin Jewish community, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that he could not rule out that German Palestinians had set the synagogue afire.
While there are no current statistics on the rise of Islamic anti-Semitism in Germany, according to Salomon, he has observed an increase in expressions of Muslim hatred of Jews. Observers of the attack said they believe the perpetrators could have been extreme leftists, neo-Nazis or radical Islamists. What unites these groups, they said, is their common hatred of Israel.
"We are a small minority in Germany and we have such a history," Stella Schindler-Siegreich, the head of the Jewish community in Mainz, told the Kurier after traveling to Worms.
Germans destroyed the synagogue in Worms in 1938 during the Nazi period and the place of worship was rebuilt in 1961. Authorities said there was no serious damage to the Synagogue.
In sharp contrast to many Jewish institutions and synagogues in Germany, the Worms synagogue does not have a police presence or barricades protecting the building, according to Schindler-Siegreich. The synagogue dates back to the year 1034.
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Web 2.0 for the Nationalist Camp: MyIsrael.org.il
by Hillel Fendel
The Yesha Council's new website, as introduced at a public conference in Jerusalem on Sunday, teaches Land of Israel supporters how to take full advantage of the internet for the cause.
The Hebrew-language website, www.MyIsrael.org.il, was conceived by Karnei Shomron resident Elchanan Shwartz, and was implemented under the direction of Natali Bennett, director of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria. The site currently features, for example, several short films advocating Israeli positions - films that are not meant to be merely viewed, but rather to be disseminated around the internet in order to influence international public opinion.
Hundreds of people showed up at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel on Sunday evening to take part in the combination website-launching and internet-tutorial event. Bennett opened by speaking of the importance of the "new age of connectivity" and how each individual can have more influence now than ever before.
The goal of both the website and the people behind it is to have people learn how to use tools such as Facebook, Twitter, blog sites, talkbacks, Youtube, and the like in order to promote the ideals that drive the religious-nationalist camp in the Land of Israel.
"Using the internet wisely," one speaker said, "specifically Facebook, a single individual was able to get hundreds of thousands of people to perform the same act of solidarity for Gilad Shalit on the same day - namely, to wear white shirts. We must all learn how to do the same."
A prime example of how the MyIsrael site can work occurs when a user comes across what he/she feels is an important article, or conversely, something worthy of protesting. The use can multiply its impact many times over by sending the article/link/reference on to MyIsrael. The site will then, if it agrees with the user's judgement, make mention of it on its site, asking readers to pass it on as well.
Make it "Most Widely Read"
Surfers must be made aware, some speakers said, of the importance of getting certain articles on to their respective sites' "most widely read" sections - and they must also learn how they can have an influence on these sections, by disseminating these articles for maximum effect.
The MyIsrael website says about itself that it is an "internet work group for the dissemination of Zionism and love of the Land of Israel, which has set itself the goal of countering the disinformation presented by the media. It invites supporters of the nationalist camp to register to receive updates, to take part in the public discourse in Israel, to sound off and to have an influence."
Instant Revolution
Among the speakers, marketing expert Tzvika Avneri explained some of the basics of the internet, as well as the new developments of what is known as Web 2.0 - namely, the interactive and user-provided content sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. "We have the privilege of living in a period in which individuals have the ability to have tremendous influence; revolutions can be brought about nearly instantaneously," he said.
The evening was capped off by NRG reporter Roi Sharon, who spoke of great opportunities that must not be missed. "For one thing," he said, "you should take a camera wherever you go. If something needs to be photographed or filmed, you're there to do it..." - and the next step is to upload it to Youtube or the like, and then to inform the world of its presence via MyIsrael.
Other points emphasized at the conference:
** The general sense is that most of Israel is nationalist in their political leanings, while the media is generally leftist. Until now, the media had a monopoly and there was no way to detour it; but that has now changed. The public has a voice, and those who have energy, creativity and initiative can reach many population sectors.
** Another objective of the new site is to enable the ideas of many people to be raised and discussed, not only those of a select few.
** The Hebrew-language Wikipedia recently had a vote as to whether the negative word "settlements" should be used in its articles, or a more neutral word such as "communities." The word "settlers" was chosen, by only a small margin; had we been aware of our power, we could have used it wisely in such a case.
** The question is asked: "If I start a blog, how will people ever find out about it?" And the answer is: Do it through MyIsrael, which is a place where we pool our resources and come out ahead.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)
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20,000 Expected at NYC Israel Day Event
by Maayana Miskin
The 17th annual Israel Day Concert in New York City is quickly approaching, and organizers say they expect a record 20,000 people to attend. The event will take place Sunday, May 23, in Central Park. Admission is free.
The concert aims to bring together supporters of a united Israel and attracts at least 10,000 every year. It is dedicated to a united Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to Israel standing up to Iran.
"Jerusalem - United Forever," state the concert posters, which also bear the verse from Psalms, "Built up Jerusalem, a city that is united together." The poster also warns, "No further concessions in Judea and Samaria."
The concert is presented in association with Young Israel Chovevei Tzion and will be chaired by Paul and Drora Brody.
The annual event was founded by Sylvia and Carl Freyer in June 1994 in honor of Dr. Manfred R. Lehmann, the well known international businessman who combined Torah scholarship with fearless activism on the part of the Jewish people and generous philanthropy. Due to his respected name in Africa where he had business dealings, he was asked to meet with Idi Amin to try to free the Entebbe hostages and almost lost his life during the rescue operation. He was also allowed to see the works of Judaica held in the Vatican and subsequently placed advertisments in the N.Y. Times demanding they be returned to the Jewish people One of his great loves was the Israel Day Concert and he chaired the first three before his untimely death. This year's concert is dedicated to his family.
Performers will include Eitan Katz, Elad Snir, the Maccabeats, Shlomi Aharoni, and Pey Dalid. Head of World Likud and Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, MK Danny Dannon and Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele will appear as featured speakers. Steve Malzberg, WOR radio commentator and David HaIvri, director of the Shomron Liaison Office, will appear as well.
Radio personality Nachum Segal will emcee. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Brazil, Turkey bolster Iran's nuclear drive, disarm US sanctions threat
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis May 17, 2010, 1:42 PM (GMT+02:00)
Celebration in Tehran
Iran can keep its nuclear program afloat with a quiet mind and without fear of international harassment, thanks to the intercession of Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva "Lula" and Turkish prime minister Reccep Erdogan. They clinched a deal in Tehran Monday, May 17, for Iran to export some 1,200 kilograms of its lightly enriched uranium to Turkey for reprocessing to 19.5 percent grade.
The two leaders mounted their initiative on behalf of the nascent anti-American bloc also backed by Russia, as well as Iran's close allies Syria, Hizballah and Hamas.
There was no immediate response from Washington.
From a wide range of data, debkafile's military sources confirm the deal is wholly fraudulent and no more than a piece of diplomatic trickery.
1. Turkey does not possess the facilities for reprocessing enriched uranium to a higher level, unlike Russia and France, which also have the technology to block its further enrichment to weapons-grade and whose services Tehran rejected.
2. The deal legitimizes Iran's right to enriched uranium of a higher grade, which can be converted in short order to fuel for a nuclear bomb. Tehran has now gained an international seal for going up to weapons grade.
3. Given the close bonds unfolding between Turkey, Iran and Syria, no independent agency can expect a chance to monitor the transaction or find out the actual quantity of enriched uranium Tehran is in fact exporting to Turkey.
4. The Six-Power group's compromise proposition for the export of 1.200 kilograms of low-enriched Iranian uranium was put forward more than a year ago and left hanging. There is no telling how much enriched uranium Tehran has produced in the interim period. Therefore, the quantity Iran has agreed to send to Turkey may be a drop in the ocean. In any case, the deal leaves Tehran with all the necessary infrastructure for continuing to build up its stocks of enriched uranium - and at a higher grade.
5. US president Barack Obama's insistence on engaging Iran in diplomacy and concentrating the effort on curbing Iran's product of enriched uranium has led up a blind alley after being outmaneuvered by Tehran and its backers.
The Iranians can use the phony deal pulled off by Lula and Erdogan as a recipe for putting paid to all hopes of the UN Security Council uniting behind a resolution for reining in their drive for a nuclear bomb. It has stripped the United States of levers for controlling the most dangerous peril besetting Middle East stability in the immediate future.
The Brazilian and Turkish rulers were not alone; they maintained constant communication with Moscow in the last ten days, during which Russian president Dmitry Medvedev made trips to Damascus and Ankara, the Brazilian president's stopped over in Moscow on his way to Tehran Sunday, May 16, and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin kept an open line to the prime movers in the anti-US group's scheme to get Tehran off the nuclear hook.
After the signing, the Brazilian, Turkish and Iranian foreign ministers announced they expected by the Six Power Group led by the United States to approve the deal within a week and delivery of Iranian enriched uranium to Turkey a month later.
Turkish foreign minister Ahmed Davutoglu said he saw no need for further sanctions against Iran, even though the foreign ministry spokesman in Tehran said the deal brokered between the three powers would not prevent Iran from continuing to enrich uranium up to 20 percent inside the country.
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Obama turns a new leaf on Israel
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 16, 2010, 10:49 PM (GMT+02:00)
The start of a new friendship?
After more than a year, US president Barack Obama has suddenly stepped back form his icy treatment of Israel and its prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, debkafile's Washington sources report. In an effort to make amends, he sent his top advisers, including his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, with a public apology (of a kind) to leading American rabbis.
Our sources add that under new White House guidelines, US Middle East envoy George Mitchell should not try and extract from Israel more concessions that it is willing to offer, when he leads the proximity talks with the Palestinians starting this week.
The Obama U-turn dashes Palestinian hopes of the US president holding his own solution ready to impose on Israel in the event of the talks foundering or winding down in September without progress.
Political and Jewish circles see the change as an attempt win back Jewish voter support for the Democrats, eroded over the downturn in US-Israel relations, for the forthcoming midterm elections.
debkafile's Washington sources stress that the context is a lot wider. The US president knows the time has come to count his assets in the face of the dramatic big power realignment in the Middle East and the diplomatic impasse over Iran's drive for a nuclear bomb.
After fourteen months in the White House, Barack Obama has suddenly discovered that he has no other strategic ally in the region to rely on except for Israel.
Netanyahu may be justified in crowing over his critics at home. His decision to stand up to the US president's cold shoulder, insults and pressure, has been vindicated, whereas defense minister Ehud Barak and opposition leader Tzipi Liivni have been confounded in their dire warnings that refusal to surrender in a big way to the Palestinians would gravely jeopardize US-Israel relations.
A senior source in Washington told debkafile Sunday, May 16, that the Israeli prime minister has chalked up an impressive achievement; he can expect warmth and friendship from the administration in the foreseeable future in place of the coolness hitherto.
This does not mean Obama has given up on his objective of a two-state solution of the conflict with the Palestinians, but the arm-twisting tactics have been set aside for now.
Obama's new look on Israel was manifested in the words of Rahm Emanuel, when he met a carefully selected group of 15 rabbis from across the United States Thursday, May 13 along with fellow White House officials, including Dennis Ross, senior presidential adviser on Iran and Dan Shapiro, head of Middle East desk at the National Security Council.
Emanuel was the most outspoken when he said the Obama administration had "screwed up the messaging" about his support for Israel over the past 14 months. He promised the White House would work to undo the damage, but said it would take "more than one month to make up for 14 months."
Whether or not the Netanyahu government will be satisfied with this crudely-worded White House "apology" -addressed to American Jewish rabbis rather than Jerusalem - remains to be seen. Much will depend on the actions the Obama administration takes to undo the damage to which it has now owned up.
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Israel: Two-state solution doesn't address core problem
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon on Sunday said the United States and the international community are going about making peace between Israel and the Arabs all wrong by focusing almost solely on the establishment of a Palestinian state.
In remarks to The Jerusalem Post on the eve of US envoy George Mitchell's arrival, Ayalon noted that the current US-brokered indirect peace talks seem to have the singular goal of bringing into being a new Arab state on ancient Jewish lands, which Washington and the world thinks will magically make the conflict disappear.
But the birth of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip will not result in a "lasting peace," insisted Ayalon. At least not if it is not accompanied by true reconciliation.
"What is needed is reconciliation based on co-existence," Ayalon explained.
The original land-for-peace process ostensibly laid the groundwork for reconciliation and co-existence alongside security and land concessions. But the Palestinians have for nearly two decades ignored or outright refused to honor their commitments to end incitement against Israel and the Jews.
Because of its impatience over brining the peace process to a successful close, Washington has brushed aside these Palestinian violations, or worse, written them off as a justifiable response to alleged Israel provocations.
Ayalon's warning echoed the words of former US President John F. Kennedy when he told the UN General Assembly amid escalating tension with the Soviet Union:
"But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people. And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty, no organization can hope to preserve it without the support and the wholehearted commitment of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper; let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace, in the hearts and minds of all our people."
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Palestinian homes destroyed in Gaza
When Israel knocks down the homes of Palestinian terrorists or demolishes Arab buildings constructed illegally in Jerusalem, the international community has a field day condemning the actions of the Jewish state.
But when Hamas is the one operating the bulldozers, it seems the world has little problem with firm enforcement of the law.
The Associated Press reports that on Sunday, Hamas security forces demolished dozens of illegally built homes in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Hamas officials said the buildings were constructed without proper permits on government-owned land.
Local Palestinians said they were furious that their own government would enforce the law in the same manner as the Israelis.
There was no reaction to the newly homeless Palestinians from the United Nation
