Category Archives: Israel

Netanyahu and Obama are running against each other

December 6, 2011 By in America, International Relations, Iran, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Uncategorized Tags: , Leave a comment

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?

November 9, 2011 By in Espionage, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mossad, nuclear Tags: , Leave a comment

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 →

Protocols of the elders of Mossad

November 7, 2011 By in Espionage, Israel, Mossad, Uncategorized Tags: , , , 1 Comment

Protocols of a meeting of the former directors of Israel’s foreign intelligence service, the Mossad at a cafe near Ramat Hasharon.

In attendance: E.H, S.S, M.D, D.Y.

Gentlemen, it is clear that we have reached the point of no return. The forces of evil are upon us, the enemy is at the gate. He is strong, armed to the teeth, and is determined to throw our tiny nation into the sea. The mission before us is the most fateful one we have embarked on since the creation of the state in 1948, and we cannot blink, we cannot shirk our responsibility to protect the Jewish people. While we are no longer in active duty, all of us have taken a life-long oath to defend our people and crush our enemies. Now is the time to act, old men, time to dust off the cobwebs and sharpen our daggers. The old men of the Mossad are saddling up for one last charge against the forces of evil. Continue reading →

‘Superhero’ spymaster now a thorn in government’s side

November 3, 2011 By in Espionage, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Mossad, nuclear, Uncategorized Tags: , , , 3 Comments

Former Mossad chief, now chief thorn in government's side

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking cabinet support for a military strike on Iran, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Wednesday, after days of speculation about plans for an attack. The report, citing a senior Israeli official, said Netanyahu was working with Defense Minister Ehud Barak to win support from skeptical members of the cabinet who oppose attacking Iranian nuclear facilities.

The above quote is making its way around the world’s media. It bothers me that the whole world now knows what’s going on deep inside the top Israeli leadership concerning the issue of an attack on Iran, no less. But there you have it. A few days before the Haaretz report, Yediot Aharonot reported that Barak and Netanyahu had already decided to attack Iran, without consulting the other ministers.The Israeli government is furious that Haaretz even reported on the inner deliberations of the Israeli ministers. Now everybody is talking about this issue: should Israel attack Iran before the winter clouds make it difficult for our planes to find their targets? Are Barak and Netanyahu sufficiently experienced to carry out this fateful mission? Is the Israeli home front ready and capable to withstand an Iranian and Hezbollah retaliation? Should the Israeli public be readied to live with the Iranian bomb, or is there no way on earth the Jewish people should ever let radical Islamists arm themselves with nuclear weapons? Should our planes swoop in from the east or the north? What music should the pilots listen to the night before, something rhythmic or something soothing? Metallica or Mozart? Continue reading →

Israeli intelligence rules, OK?

October 24, 2011 By in Competitive intelligence, Ehud Olmert, Espionage, Gadgets, Gaza, gilad shalit, International Relations, Internet, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Mossad, Syria, Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment

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

October 19, 2011 By in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Turkey Tags: , , , 1 Comment

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

October 17, 2011 By in Gaza, Iran, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized Tags: , , , 6 Comments

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

October 10, 2011 By in Iran, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Syria Tags: , , , 2 Comments

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.

Off with their heads

October 3, 2011 By in Israel 3 Comments

A mosque in the Galilee area has just been vandalized.

The entire interior of the mosque went up in flames, causing heavy damage. Holy books inside the mosque were burned. Residents of the village described the attack as “very serious.” “It is obvious that Jewish extremists did this, despite the internal divisions we have, no one here would dare harm the mosque.”

The latest mosque attack came in Tzuba Zangaria, an Israeli-Arab village of 6,000 residents in the Galilee. Many serve in the army and perform national service. This is a deliberate attack on Israeli Arabs with the aim of causing even more sectarian violence. Continue reading →

Erdogan’s ego, the World’s problem

September 28, 2011 By in Gaza, International Relations, Israel, Turkey, Uncategorized Tags: , , 1 Comment

Two days ago I wrote a post called Erdogan wants a fight.

Now this video has emerged, and with it, new details about a scuffle between Erdogan, and a UN guard at UN Headquarters in NY last week as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was delivering his speech.

Continue reading →

For over 2,000 years the Jews said they were coming back, didn’t the Arabs notice?

September 23, 2011 By in Gaza, Iran, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Uncategorized Tags: , Leave a comment

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 →

Can we officially become the 51st state now?

September 11, 2011 By in America, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized 5 Comments

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

September 9, 2011 By in Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

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 →

Will Turkey’s navy try break Israel’s blockade on Gaza?

September 4, 2011 By in Gaza, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Turkey, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

Some thoughts on the situation:

1. A senior Turkish official revealed that the Turkish Navy intends to significantly increase its presence in the eastern Mediterranean following the Palmer Commission report. The official described it as an “aggressive naval strategy” against the “thuggery of the Israeli navy.”

Continue reading →

Turkey rocks ‘the boat’

September 2, 2011 By in Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Turkey, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment

Not many people have noticed this, but on the day that Turkey announced it was expelling the Israeli ambassador for Israel’s refusal to apologize for the Mavi Marmara flotilla battle, Human Rights Watch slammed Turkey for human rights abuses in northern Iraq.

From AFP:

“The evidence suggests that Turkey and Iran are not doing what they need to do to make sure their attacks have a minimum impact on civilians, and in the case of Iran, it is at least quite possibly deliberately targeting civilians,” Joe Stork, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, said in a statement on Friday. “Year after year, civilians in northern Iraq have suffered from these cross-border attacks, but the situation right now is dire,” Stork said. “Iran and Turkey should do all they can to protect civilians and their property from harm, no matter what the reason for their attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan.”

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Turks timed their announcement of sanctions against Israel to drown out the Human Rights Watch statement on Turkey’s own human rights record…

Did I hear someone say ‘hypocrites?’

By the way, Turkey has a long rap sheet when it comes to Human Rights too.

So they really should get off their high horses. Their demand for an apology has more to do with their own regional political ambitions than a desire to uphold human rights.

It’s September, is the sky falling yet?

September 1, 2011 By in Gaza, International Relations, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized Leave a comment

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 →

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