Satellite images reveal new long-range Iranian missile and launcher
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) The Israeli satellite imaging company ImageSat released images from Iran revealing a new nuclear development site.
The images show what appears to be a new missile launcher that stands 89 feet tall and is capable of launching a nuclear missile to Israel or Europe, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 2. Among the new nuclear developments pictured was a large long-range missile, never seen before in the West. The missile is powerful enough to launch a satellite or a manned spacecraft, the report said.
These nuclear developments are taking place while Iran is subject to sanctions for its nuclear program and while Iran’s nuclear negotiations with world powers continue.
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U.S. issues Israel travel warning over aftermath of airstrike in Syria
(JNS.org) The United States Embassy in Tel Aviv on Wednesday published a warning on traveling to Israel due to the potential aftermath of the recent airstrike in Syria that killed six members of the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terrorist group. The warning also mentioned Wednesday’s Palestinian terrorist stabbing attack that injured 12 people on a bus in Tel Aviv.
“Because of concerns about security on Israel’s northern borders, U.S. government personnel are currently required to obtain advance approval if they wish to travel within 1.5 miles of the Lebanon border, or travel on or east of Route 98 in the Golan Heights. … Further, in light of the stabbing attack on a public bus in Tel Aviv on January 21, U.S. citizens are reminded that due to security concerns, U.S. government employees are prohibited from using public buses throughout Israel and the West Bank,” the U.S. Embassy said.
On Wednesday evening, a number of Israeli communities near the border with Lebanon went on alert after a number of suspicious figures were spotted approaching the border fence. Rapid response teams were mobilized, a number of roads near the border were closed, and residents of Malkia, Baram, Margaliot, Avivim, and Dovev were instructed to remain in their homes. After around an hour, the all-clear was given, and the area returned to its normal routine.
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Hamas commander reportedly urges Hezbollah to join forces against Israel
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) Five months after Israeli forces tried to assassinate Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in Gaza, Deif appears to have signed a letter that the terrorist group claims he wrote in hiding. The letter, addressed to Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, expressed Deif’s condolences for the death of Hezbollah terrorists during Sunday’s reported Israeli airstrike in Syria.
Deif is said to have survived multiple assassination attempts, but he has not been seen in public for years. According to the Hezbollah-linked Al-Manar television station, in the letter, Deif urged Nasrallah to join forces with Hamas against Israel. “All the resistance forces must unite against the Zionist enemy and its allies,” Deif wrote. “Israel is the true enemy of the Muslim nation and all the weapons should be pointed at it.”
Last month, Hamas released a video claiming to show Deif alive. Hamas maintains that Deif survived an Aug. 19, 2014 assassination attempt during Operation Protective Edge, in which his wife and child were killed. An analysis of the operation suggested that Deif could conceivably have escaped the attack.
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Boehner on Netanyahu invite: Congress ‘can make this decision on its own’
(JNS.org) While an Obama administration spokesman said Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner (R-Ohio) breached “protocol” by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress next month about the Iranian threat, Boehner said Congress “can make this decision on its own.”
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said regarding Boehner’s invitation of Netanyahu, “The protocol would suggest that the leader of one country would contact the leader of another country when he’s traveling there. … This particular event seems to be a departure from that protocol.”
In a statement on Wednesday morning, Boehner said, “In this time of challenge, I am asking the prime minister to address Congress on the grave threats radical Islam and Iran pose to our security and way of life. … America and Israel have always stood together in shared cause and common ideals, and now we must rise to the moment again. Let’s send a clear message to the White House—and the world—about our commitment to Israel and our allies.”
Boehner also said he does not believe he was “poking anyone in the eye” by extending an invitation to Netanyahu without consulting Obama.
“There is a serious threat that exists in the world. And the president last night kind of papered over it,” said Boehner.
Boehner was referring to Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, in which the president vowed to veto “any new sanctions bill that threatens to undo” the “progress” of ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and Western powers.
The Obama veto threat comes as Sens. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) are moving quickly to bring a new Iran sanctions bill, titled Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015, to the Senate floor for a vote.
The new Menendez-Kirk bill expands on existing sanctions on Iran’s financial and energy sections, and would kick in if Iran and world powers fail to reach an agreement by the end of June.
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Muslim preacher indicted over Temple Mount speech calling for slaughter of Jews
(JNS.org) A Muslim preacher has been indicted by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office for calling for the “slaughter” of Jews during a speech on the Temple Mount.
“I say to the Jews explicitly, the time has come to slaughter you,” preacher Omar Abu Saara said in his speech on Nov. 28, 2014, according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
“The time has come to go to war with you, the time has come to kill you. And we, with God’s help, will destroy you, we, the Muslims, the correct ones, the faithful and the soldiers of the Islamic Caliphate will arrive to the land to free it from your dirtying, and today this is close by,” Saara added.
Israeli Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein personally approved the indictment, and the Israeli government has called for Saara to be remanded, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The indictment came on the same day as Palestinian terrorist Hamza Muhammed Hassan Matrouk stabbed 12 Israelis on a bus in Tel Aviv. Matrouk cited last summer’s Operation Protective Edge and the recent tension over the Temple Mount as his motives.
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Suspicious prints found near late Argentine prosecutor’s apartment
(JNS.org) Investigators have found suspicious prints near the apartment of late Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who was investigating the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires.
Nisman was found dead from a gunshot wound in his apartment on Monday, days after he accused Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of secretly negotiating with Iran to avoid punishments for those behind the attack.
A 22-caliber pistol was found at Nisman’s side, with a single gunshot wound to his head and both doors locked in what government officials said appeared to be a suicide. But according to the Argentine daily newspaper El Littoral, investigators have found suspicious fingerprints and footprints in an air conditioning service entrance into the apartment. The prints have been sent for analysis.
Another Argentine newspaper, Clarin, is reporting that Nisman’s neighbor is an Iranian—fueling speculation that the prosecutor was murdered by an agent of Iran’s government.
The 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires killed 85 people and injured 300. Iran and Hezbollah have long been suspected of carrying out the attack. In 2013, Nisman, who had been investigating the bombing after Iran and Argentina reached a widely criticized deal to establish a joint “truth commission” to investigate the attack, released an indictment blaming Iran and Hezbollah for the bombing.
Last week, Nisman asked an Argentine judge to call in Fernandez as well as Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman for questioning. Nisman had told reporters that he believes the impunity of the Iranians involved in the attack was ordered by Timerman in exchange for securing closer ties with Iran for oil and weapons deals.
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Foreign Minister John Baird defies critics of Canada’s pro-Israel stance
(JNS.org) Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird affirmed his nation’s pro-Israel stance in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon in Tel Aviv, following Sunday’s incident in which Baird’s visiting convoy was pelted with eggs and shoes by Palestinians while on a visit to Ramallah. The Palestinian protesters also held signs reading “Baird, Jerusalem is our capital” and other slogans.
“People may disagree with our position with respect to Israel, but so be it,” Baird said on Tuesday in Tel Aviv.
“It’s always wise to speak with moral clarity,” he said.
The Palestinians, said Baird, “know our position.”
“We don’t say one thing to their face and another thing when we go back home,” said the foreign minister. “We strongly support a Palestinian state. We just believe it’s a byproduct of peace negotiations with Israel. The way to accomplish a Palestinian state is dialogue with Israel and not taking unilateral action. … With the anti-Semitism rising in so many parts of the world it’s probably more important today than it was even a few short years ago that there be a Jewish state where people can seek refuge.”
Baird had said Monday that the Palestinians “made a huge mistake” by seeking war crimes charges against Israel at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
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New study reveals rise of anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Europe
(JNS.org) A newly published study titled “White Papers of Hate” reveals the concerning rise of racism, xenophobia, and radical nationalist movements in 19 European countries, including in France, where four Jews were killed recently in the terror attack at a kosher supermarket in Paris.
The 1,000-page study documents incidents of anti-Semitism and hate-crimes against other religious minorities, as well as immigrants. It focuses on incidents that took place between 2012 and 2013. The data shows that compared to 2012, the level of radical nationalism in France has increased significantly. France is currently ranked ninth in Europe for its level of xenophobia, according to the study.
“The Charlie Hebdo tragedy reminds the world that we cannot wait to acknowledge radicalism and xenophobia, wherever it rears its head,” said Dr. Valery Engel, first vice president of the World Without Nazism organization. “The White Papers of Hate was created to track manifestations of hate so leaders can understand and properly respond to this escalating problem. We cannot wait for the next Charlie Hebdo, the next synagogue bombing or the next hate-fueled attack.”
The study also shows that in Russia, 18 percent of violent crimes result in homicide. Russia places 10th in the study’s rankings on levels of radical nationalism. As of 2013, about half of the Russian population in major cities acknowledged support for slogans such as “Russia for Russians.”
“Ultra-nationalism is growing, especially among youth who are drawn to ‘country first’ slogans, and yet, the international community tends to ignore the problem,” said Richard Brodsky, a former New York state assemblyman and a senior fellow of the Demos public policy organization.
“European countries need to take a unified approach to ensuring the rights of ethnic minorities and protecting all their citizens from harassment and racial discrimination,” Brodsky said. “White Papers of Hate reminds us we cannot make the mistake of assuming ultra-nationalism, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism have been eradicated from Europe. By tracking and calling attention to these movements and stop thinking of them as isolated incidents, we are warning leaders—from the Putin in Moscow to Cameron in London that the world is watching; we will not allow Europe’s troubled past to reappear in the 21st century.”
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