Creative Commons. IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Voice of Israel from Jerusalem,
Shalom, the time is now 6 am and here is the news,
in the studio, this is Rivki Dangot, Continue reading
The Day After Israel Attacks Iran
Category Archives: Iran
Israel to Iran: Do you get the picture?
When it comes to sending signals, a picture is worth a thousand words. And lately, Israel has been sending a lot pictures to get its message across.
Just over the past week, the Israeli defense establishment has released the following pictures of its set pieces:
The Ministry of Defense has released pictures of an Arrow 3 anti-missile defense system test. [Message to Iran: We can hit your long-range missiles, your threats of massive rocket attack have been noted and we're prepared].
As its neighborhood roils, Israel must work closer with America
Over the past few weeks there have been a growing number of signs that relations between Washington and Jerusalem are even more strained than they’ve been over the past few years.
The US Administration has gone out of its way to make it clear to the Israeli leadership that it believes sanctions against Iran are working and need more time to evolve. The US does not want Israel to launch a strike against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and there exists a certain amount of unease at Israel’s opacity when it comes to sharing its Iran plans with America.
Where do Israel and America’s interests dovetail, and where do they part? Continue reading
Israel’s existential threat crisis
I’m trying to make up my mind, you know, about ‘it’. Should I be worried about it, really worried about it, somewhat worried about it? Should I panic? Should I pack an emergency suitcase? Or is it not as serious as some people make it out to be?
As a Jew born into the generation of Jews who are lucky enough to have come back to our historical homeland – after 2,000 years of exile and horror – you can understand my anxiety when serious people tell me that Iran’s nuclear program threatens to put an end to this historic homecoming. Continue reading
The Israeli diplomatic psyche explained
You dont like us when we’re weak
(Holocaust)
You dont like us when we’re strong
(Israel)
You just dont like us.
So it’s better that we’re strong.
Love in the time of Uranium
“America’s commitment and my commitment to Israel and Israel’s security is unshakeable. It is unshakeable. I am proud to say that no U.S. administration has done more in support of Israel’s security than ours. None. Don’t let anybody else tell you otherwise. It is a fact. We are determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. And that’s why, rest assured, we will take no options off the table.” – US President Barack Obama, December 17, 2011
Netanyahu and Obama are running against each other
Some thoughts on the situation
1. Silvan Shalom, the Likud’s number 2 man, had no idea that PM Netanyahu was planning to bring forward the Likud primaries date. He was caught completely by surprise. And just for that, he doesn’t deserve to be Likud leader. In this profession, and in this neighborhood, if you’re not constantly trying to politically or militarily outmaneuver your opponents, chances are they will get you. The wolf and the sheep have not laid down together yet here. If Shalom doesn’t know that by now, he’ll never know it, and he can’t lead the Likud, or this country. Continue reading
Can Israel live with a nuclear Iran?
Some thoughts about the situation following the release of the IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear weapons program. So, nu, do they have nuclear bombs or not? Are they clearly trying to make them, or is it still not clear? Does the report have a smoking gun or does it not have a smoking gun? Was the report watered down at the request of China and Russia or was it not? Do we still have time or is time up? What happens now? Continue reading
Israeli intelligence rules, OK?
The conventional wisdom around these parts in the days following the return of Gilad Shalit in a costly prisoner exchange deal is that the much-vaunted Israeli establishment was handed a resounding failure by failing to locate the missing soldier, and proposing a viable rescue operation. Continue reading
The Middle East is on the move
The Middle East is on the move.
The Old Syrians are on the way down, and the new Syrians, whoever they may be, are on their way up.
The old Libyans are digging in, and the New Libyans are trying to flush them out.
The Americans are on the way out of Iraq, and the Iranians are on their way in.
The Iranians are also on their way into Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon and Gaza.
Christians are on their way out of Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Gaza.
The Iranians sent Lebanese to Moscow to meet with the Russians, and Mexicans to kill Saudis in America.
Turkey is on its way back in to the Ottoman Empire’s stomping grounds, and the Kurds from Northern Iraq are heading into Turkey, and Turkey is chasing them back into Northern Iraq.
Egypt is moving sideways, and so are Tunisia and Jordan.
An Israeli soldier went from Gaza to the Sinai and finally to his home in the Galilee. One thousand Palestinian terrorists left Israel and went to the West Bank, Gaza, Qatar, Syria and Turkey.
Saudi Arabia takes one step forward [letting women vote hey, it is 2011 after all] and two steps back [not letting them drive, as well as the odd beheading]
Yemen is the only place not going anywhere.
Some thoughts on the Gilad Shalit deal
1. Hamas number 2 Mousa Abu Marzouk has apparently opened a Hamas office in Cairo to prepare for a new base for the terror group. This is an extremely interesting development, as Hamas’ offices in Damascus are looking rather shaky the deeper Bashar Assad’s Syria sinks into oblivion. Will Hamas leader Khaled Mashal join Marzouk? If and when Hamas leaves Syria, what will that mean for the organization, and its new relationship with Egypt? It’s natural for Hamas to be based in post-Mubarak Egypt, where the Muslim brotherhood [Hamas' mothership] is a resurgent political power and is sure to play a prominent role in any future political constellation there. If and when Mashal leaves Syria, it would signal that Hamas has bet against the survivability of Bashar Assad. Continue reading
Postcards from the edge
As I got home this afternoon from work, I saw a postcard in my postbox, and thought perhaps one of my friends had sent me a nice memo from some far-flung adventure.
Alas, it was not to be, for what I got instead was a sunny, yet disconcertingly ominous postcard from the Israel Defense Forces Homefront Command wishing me a happy and safe Jewish new year.
Happy and Safe New Year
On the flip side of the postcard, I noticed that it wasn’t specifically addressed to me, but that the army had put the same postcard in all of my neighbor’s postboxes too. How sad, I thought, not to be sent a personal postcard from the IDF. At the bottom of the postcard the army left us all this message: “A small tip for a happy and safe new year: Check where your protected space is and what equipment it needs to be stocked with.”
"Check your protected space"
So are they trying to tell us something?
I think I’m going to send the IDF Homefront Command a postcard in return, perhaps with a picture of me wearing a gas mask and sitting in my lounge with my bags packed in front of a giant atlas of the world, and on it I’ll write: Dearest army, please don’t send me any more postcards, I’m already a bit jumpy. Thanks, and have a happy new year.
For over 2,000 years the Jews said they were coming back, didn’t the Arabs notice?
Some thoughts on the situation.
1. Arab Israeli Member of Knesset Dr. Ahmed Tibi traveled to NY with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, to advise him during his bid for statehood. Tibi stayed with the Palestinian delegation at an expensive hotel in NY. Tibi even sat with the Palestinian delegation at the General Assembly hall. The Knesset allows its members a budget for “outreach with the voters.” Obviously, this budget comes from Israeli taxpayers. So which voters am I paying for Tibi to reach out to? Continue reading
Israel walks alone
Can we officially become the 51st state now?
Let’s face it folks, we can’t make it in this neighborhood by ourselves.
We’ve lost all our friends, and we’re not making any new ones. And more and more, wild animals are taking the place of inspired revolutionaries. The Arab Spring is turning into a clusterfuck before our very eyes.
The 2010 Gaza flotilla organizers failed to reach their destination, but their ultimate goal of causing us major diplomatic harm has been achieved. The Islamic Jihad terrorists who last month killed 8 Israelis couldn’t have wished for a better outcome than 80 million Egyptians ultimately turning against Israel. Continue reading
Playing Chicken with Turkey
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is quickly becoming Israel’s most dangerous enemy, and I think the time has come for him to be treated as such.
Erdogan has cut diplomatic and defense ties; cancelled military maneuvers; he’s going after our gas reserves in the sea; says his country will sue Israeli soldiers at The Hague; will take Israel’s blockade to the ICC; and now threatens to send his navy our way. Continue reading
It’s September, is the sky falling yet?
Good morning and welcome to September 2011.
For about a year now, we Israelis have been told to fear the onset of this month, as if September somehow signifies the start of our ultimate doom, as if September, instead of bringing a little relief from the cruel July-August heat, is actually going to get hotter.
But it’s already 9:30 in the morning on the first day of September, and, looking out my office window, I see a few clouds, but the sun is out, the highway is clogged as usual, and the parking lot is slowly filling up.
I’m personally not feeling more fearful than I did yesterday, or last week, but I could be wrong; I’ll recheck a couple of times today to make sure [I don't want to be breaking any laws or not following any instructions]. But for now, it’s just the usual anxiety about the state of my health, the state of my bank account, the state of the transportation system, and in a general, psycho-somatic way, the State of my forefathers. Continue reading
Assad’s fall could boost the Israeli economy
Some thoughts on Syria, Israel, and the socioeconomic protests here. Continue reading
Netanyahu’s speech by the numbers
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tonight delivered a speech to a joint meeting of the US Congress.
A numerical analysis of the words he used most sheds, perhaps, some light on where Netanyahu placed emphasis, and just as importantly, where he did not. The speech consisted of 3,549 words in total, and lasted 46 minutes and 50 seconds. The Prime Minister received 30 standing ovations. Here is a list of the words most used, in descending order:
Israel: 67 [That could be just a coincidence, but ironic nonetheless]
Peace: 50
Jewish: 19
America: 14
Iran: 12
Middle East: 12
Palestinians: 11
Nuclear: 10
Arab: 9
Friend: 8
Defend: 7
Security: 7
Freedom: 7
Terror: 7
Borders: 6
1967: 6
Jerusalem: 5
Hamas: 5
Islam: 4
Democracy: 4
God: 3
Hezbollah: 2
Holocaust: 2
Territory: 1
A purely numerical analysis of the speech seems to suggest that Netanyahu’s message to Congress and the Senate went something like this: Israel, the Jewish state, wants peace. Israel is America’s friend. Iran destabilizes the Middle East and wants to go nuclear. If Iran goes nuclear there will never be peace and there will be another Holocaust. The Palestinians aren’t ready for peace. The Arabs in the Middle East want freedom but Iran wants to spoil that. Israel will defend it’s security. Borders are not an important issue, security is more important. Forget about 1967 borders. Forget about Palestinian refugees. Jerusalem will stay undivided under Israeli sovereignty. Hamas is Israel’s al-Qaida.
Here’s a word cloud courtesy of wordle.net
Here’s a video from C-Span of the speech
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/assets/swf/CSPANPlayer.swf?pid=299666-1
And here’s the full text courtesy of the PMO:
May 24, 2011
Speech by PM Netanyahu to a Joint Meeting of the U.S. Congress Continue reading
Can Israel avoid its own looming Nakba?
63 years ago Israel was born at the United Nations General Assembly. The Palestinians called it their ‘Nakba’ – catastrophe. In a twist of fate, history may be repeating itself.
Some thoughts on the situation.
Richard Goldstone can’t stop what he’s started. The brilliant, yet naïve jurist thought he was helping to make the world a better place, thought he could bring human rights to one of the world’s most intractable conflicts, thought he could get Hamas to abide by international law [he was so proud he got the mandate to include Hamas violations of human rights]. He was terribly wrong, and now he knows it, and wishes he could change it. It remains to be seen how far he’ll go to make amends. Goldstone may have retracted his war crimes charge against Israel, but his report has a life of its own. The damage has been done and will continue to be done. In September, just as the Palestinians will be asking the United Nations General Assembly for recognition of their new state, the UN Human Rights Council will be holding a scheduled status review of the implementation of the Goldstone Report. The fact that Hamas has done nothing – and will do nothing – to investigate its human rights abuses and war crimes charges [in Gaza they call outbound rockets ‘legitimate resistance’ and inbound retaliatory Israeli rockets as ‘war crimes’] will have no effect on Hamas. Israel’s dozens of internal probes and convictions will be lauded, but any open investigations will be used to hit Israel over the head with charges of non-implementation, which will then go back to the General Assembly, where, as I’ve just mentioned, the Palestinians will be asking for recognition of Palestine. Not that the Palestinians need the Goldstone Report to convince member states to vote in favor of their independence. Continue reading
