Netanyahu called ‘Churchill of our times’
(JNS.org) Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, speaking at the annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York, on Sunday warned that a nuclear Iran will threaten not only Israel but the entire world, and argued that sanctions alone are not enough to stop the Islamic Republic’s threat.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warnings on the Iranian nuclear threat make him the “Churchill of our times,” said Steinitz, who recalled that many world leaders ignored British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s warnings about German rearmament prior to World War II. Steinitz said Israel’s situation now is similar in important ways to that of Britain before World War II, “despite all the differences.”
Steinitz also touched on reports that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons against opposition forces, saying that Israel would “do its utmost to prevent delivery” of such weapons to “terrorists and Hezbollah.” He added that Israel is not encouraging the U.S. to attack Syria and is not making “any linkage or comparison” between Syria and the Iranian nuclear challenge.
“It is up to the U.S. to decide its policy on Syria,” Steinitz told the audience.
Former Israel Defense Forces intelligence chief Amos Yadlin also focused on the Iranian threat at the Jerusalem Post Conference. According to Yadlin, more time must be given to diplomacy and sanctions, which he said were only implemented for the first time correctly in 2012. Yadlin added that Israel could deal with the consequences of a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities if need be.
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Israel strikes Syrian chemical weapons site, rebel group says
(JNS.org) The Israel Air Force on Saturday bombed a Syrian chemical weapons site near Damascus, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported, citing Syrian rebels.
According to Maariv, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group posted a video of smoke rising from the chemical weapons site it claims Israeli jets struck. FSA said the jets flew over the home of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad before the strike, and a Syrian air defense battery went on to fire at the jets.
Neither Israeli nor Syrian officials have conformed the reported strike.
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Tsarnaev told to go to ‘Palestine’ by mother
(JNS.org) In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, investigators are looking into extremist ties between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, including a suggestion by his mother that he travel to “Palestine” to conduct possible terrorist activities there.
New wiretap evidence provided by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to the Federal Bureau of Investigation suggests possible extremist influence by the mother of the two bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokar.
In early 2011, the FSB had intercepted a called between Tamerlan and his mother, Zubeidat, where the two vaguely discussed jihad, U.S. officials told the Associated Press.
Part of the discussion involved the possibility of Tamerlan traveling to the Palestinian territories. But Tamerlan expressed doubts to his mother, saying he did not know the language there.
As a result, the FBI is investigating Zubeidat Tsarnaeva’s influence over her sons.
“Intelligence officials have also found text messages in which the mother discusses how Tamerlan is ready to die for Islam,” Newsday reported, citing two anonymous sources.
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‘Code Red’ rocket siren interrupts Lag B’Omer
(JNS.org) Residents of Israel’s south were forced into shelters by a “Code Red” siren while Lag B’Omer was celebrated on Sunday, following an Israel Air Force (IAF) attack on Gaza in response to a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza on Saturday night.
The rocket fired on Saturday hit the Sdot Negev area. No injuries or damage were reported.
In response, the IAF hit several targets in Gaza, including a terrorist facility and weapons storage site, according to the Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson’s Unit.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not tolerate this “drizzle” of rocket fire.
“I want to make clear that we will not tolerate a ‘drizzle’ policy; a ‘drizzle’ of rockets or missiles will be met by a very aggressive reaction, and we will take all necessary action to defend our citizens,” Netanyahu said, according to Israel Hayom.
Israel has experienced increasing rocket fire in recent weeks after a period of relative calm since last November’s conflict. On April 17, the southern city of Eilat was hit by twin rocket attacks from Egypt’s increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula.
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Report: Islamic control of Syrian rebel groups increasing
(JNS.org) Reports indicate a mounting presence of Islamic terror groups within Syria’s rebel forces, complicating options for Western policymakers to address the Syrian civil war.
According to a report in the New York Times, Islamic groups have provided basic government and local services such as running bakeries, controlling power plants and providing medical services in rebel-controlled areas.
Local residents have grown to respect the Islamic groups who receive funding and weapons from sympathetic donors in the Arab Gulf states. As a result, Islamic commanders have risen up the Syrian rebel ranks, now controlling many positions in the rebel umbrella group, the Supreme Military Council.
The biggest concern for the West is a U.S.-designated foreign terror group, the Al-Nusra Front, which has direct ties to Al-Qaeda in Iraq and has pledged loyalty to Al-Qaeda chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Another prominent terror group is Ahrar al-Sham, which is made up primarily of native Syrians.
“My sense is that there are no seculars,” Elizabeth O’Bagy of the Institute for the Study of War, who has recently interviewed several rebel commanders, told the New York Times.
Recently, the U.S. confirmed intelligence reports that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against the Syrian rebels, corroborating an earlier Israeli intelligence assessment.
U.S. President Barack Obama has previously said that Assad’s use of chemical weapons would be a “red line” for his administration, possibly triggering U.S. military action. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also recently refused to rule out possible Israeli military action in Syria in a BBC interview.
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Napolitano praises Jewish community security in post-Boston bombings summit
(JNS.org) U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano made an unscheduled appearance at a Secure Community Network (SCN) summit of leaders from the Jewish Federation and other Jewish organizations, held to discuss strategies for maintaining the safety of the Jewish community, on April 24-25 in New York.
Napolitano praised the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and SCN, a JFNA affiliate, and emphasized the importance of a close relationship between her department and the Jewish community.
The first-ever Jewish Communal Security Summit came on the heels of the recent Boston Marathon bombings. Attendees and speakers included representatives of the Anti-Defamation League, the Department of Homeland Security’s counter-terrorism division, the New York Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other agencies and organizations. Topics discussed included Jewish school safety, synagogue and community center safety, and incidents of anti-Semitism. The conference then focused on successful security programs already in place as examples to learn from.
“Our goal is to be aware of the threats we face and gain knowledge that gives us the power to act in the face of these threats,” said Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of JFNA, in his summit remarks. After incidents such as the Boston bombings, the Jewish community “will be held to account for how we apply the lessons we learn,” added Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
“The message I tried to communicate over the past two days is that it’s not about security guards, gates and guns. It’s about creating resilient community organizations that can manage any form of disaster, man-made or natural,” said Jeffrey Slotnick, chief security officer for OR3M and an adviser to SCN.
NYC’s Algemeiner unveils ‘Jewish 100’ list in star-studded gala
(JNS.org) The Algemeiner, a New York City Jewish newspaper, has released the first edition of an annual “Jewish 100” list honoring the “top 100 people positively influencing Jewish life.” The Algemeiner was founded in 1972 as a Yiddish newspaper, and evolved into today’s English-language weekly newspaper and news website.
The list was unveiled at the paper’s 40th anniversary gala in Manhattan Tuesday, which was hosted by Fox News’s Heather Nauert. Prominent Jewish figures attended the gala, including Holocaust survivor and writer Elie Wiesel, film producer Harvey Weinstein, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Alan Dershowitz and others. Among the “Jewish 100” awardees attending the Gala were Czech Ambassador to the United States Petr Gandalovič, representing Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, as well as the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman, activist Arthur Schneier, and others.
Israel’s representative at the United Nations Ron Prosor also spoke at the gala, and singer Tony Orlando performed the national anthem at the event. “I’ve turned down Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers but I couldn’t turn down the Algemeiner,” Orlando said.
“The evening was electric,” said Algemeiner Editor-in-Chief Dovid Efune. “I was deeply moved by the confluence of notable and powerful storytellers coming together at our 40th Gala—Harvey Weinstein, Elie Wiesel and the Algemeiner—all courageous voices dedicated to helping people look at the world in a new way,” added Algemeiner Publisher Simon Jacobson.
The Algemeiner’s full “Jewish 100” list can be found here: http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/04/25/algemeiner-jewish-100-the-full-list/
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Preceding provided by JNS.org