http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/idf/ en-us Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:19:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417106/posts A Mass Grave NO MORE by Ari Bussel Like an ancient song, the melody has not changed: a group of Palestinians, armed and trained by the USA with Israeli consent, target a single driver in Judea and Samaria. He was just 45 when his life was taken. His only fault: being Jewish. He dies, leaving a wife and seven children behind. A senseless act of murdering another human being is “heroism” to a barbarian. We, the Jewish People, cannot comprehend this murder. Everything we believe points to holding the sanctity of life above all else. Our enemies, animals of the... "Postcards from Israel - Postcards from America" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2417106/posts#comment Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:19:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415612/posts General Security Services in partnership with soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed the murderers of Rabbi Meir Avshalom Chai. All three were convicted terrorists who had been committed to and later released from Israeli prisons. Chai, 45, was murdered by Arabs in a drive by shooting while chauffeuring his wife and one of their children in their family car, between Shavei Shomron and Einav. The Israeli military operation took place on the evening of December 25, the Jewish Sabbath. PA head Mahmoud Abbas was not forewarned of the mission... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415612/posts#comment Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:58:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414322/posts Two hundred 12th graders from all parts of Israel, including urban centers, have written Defense Minister Ehud Barak that they want to serve in the army but will not accept orders to expel Jews from their homes. The unprecedented declaration represents another slap in the face of the Defense Minister, whose policies prompted the Hesder yeshiva in Arad to announce on Wednesday it is pulling out of the Hesder program after he threw the Har Brachah yeshiva out of the Torah study army service program. Defense Minister Barak has rejected as insufficient Hesder yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Melamed’s signed statements opposing... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414322/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 07:15:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411035/posts Israel's new rocket defense system has proven a hit-to-kill capability. Officials said Israel's Iron Dome has achieved the ability to strike incoming short-range missiles and rockets. They said the Iron Dome demonstrated this during its first live fire test in mid-2009. "They met head on," Defense Minister Ehud Barak said. In a Nov. 17 address to the International Aerospace Conference and Exhibition-Israel, Barak said Iron Dome exceeded all expectations. He said the assessment within the Defense Ministry and military had been that the interceptor would explode 10 meters from the incoming missile. World Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411035/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:20:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407236/posts (IsraelNN.com) Soldiers at the Kalandia checkpoint near Jerusalem caught an Arab teenager Monday morning with two knives hidden on his body. He admitted he was planning carry out a terrorist attack Jews, and security officials are continuing an investigation. It was at least the fifth terrorist attack or attempt to strike at Jews in the past week. All of the incidents involved relatively simple weapons, indicating a grassroots movement and spontaneous terror in the Palestinian Authority. Several PA officials have explicitly encouraged violence in the past several weeks following the refusal of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to accept the Netanyahu... INN News Arutz Sheva http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2407236/posts#comment Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:55:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404434/posts Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Shara estimated that Israel would not be able to attack Iran without the support of the United States. Speaking to heads of the ruling Ba'ath Party, al-Shara claimed Thursday that US President Barack Obama has tried to "restrain" Israel in order to prevent a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. "The Israelis, despite their (vast arsenal), were unable to force the Palestinian people in Gaza to surrender and wave the white flag, he said. Ynet News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404434/posts#comment Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:29:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404033/posts IDF and Border Police forces thwarted a potential terror attack in Jerusalem on Wednesday afternoon, when they discovered six pipe bombs in a 20-year-old Palestinian man's bag. The man arrived at the Kalandiya checkpoint in northern Jerusalem shortly after 3 p.m. Border Police guards stationed at the checkpoint searched the man after he raised their suspicions. Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2404033/posts#comment Wed, 9 Dec 2009 21:56:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402732/posts It is 2 a.m. in Beit Omar, an Arab village near Hevron and on the main highway between Hevron and Jerusalem, where passing Jewish vehicles are favorite targets of Arabs hurling rocks and firebombs. Their aim is not just to shatter windows but to cause a fatal accident. Put on a protective vest and helmet and join a frightened IDF spokeswoman, under the command of Major “D,” who accompanied soldiers on “routine” counterterrorist operations. Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402732/posts#comment Tue, 8 Dec 2009 12:56:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397429/posts Israel is sticking to its guns on a demand the United States allow it to integrate its own electronic warfare suite in Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, even though the Americans have given the green light to install other Israeli systems in the jet. Israel wants to buy an initial batch of 25 F-35s, enough for one squadron, in fiscal 2012 and would like to acquire another 50. The U.S. Department of Defense and Maryland-based Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor in the program, want to finalize a contract with Israel as soon as possible. The main holdup has been... Space War http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397429/posts#comment Tue, 1 Dec 2009 06:17:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394055/posts As Iran tests the capabilities of its air defense systems in nationwide exercises, the Israeli air force is reported to be planning special seminars to prepare its attack pilots to cope with heavy surface-to-air missile defenses. According to The Jerusalem Post, the sessions will encompass "future conflict with Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran" in which air force crews will "have to deal with an unprecedented number of surface-to-air missiles, most of them Russian-made." None of these adversaries is considered to pose an overwhelming air-defense threat, although Israeli intelligence believes that Iran has supplied some shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles to the Palestinian... Space War http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2394055/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:38:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392205/posts According to the Saudi Network, al-Arabiya (via Ynet), Gilad Shalit, Kidnapped by Hamas over three years ago, may be coming home as soon as this coming Friday. It will be a four-stage deal. Israel will release 450 terrorists, custody of Shalit will be transferred to the Egyptian Government. Israel will follow up by releasing the another 650 terrorists and Egypt will transfer Shalit to the Israel. I assume that means that Hamas believes that one Jewish life is worth 1,000 Arab terrorist lives. Israel had agreed to release 1,000 prisoners months ago, within the group 450 specific prisoners were demanded... Ynet News/Fox News/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392205/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:09:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389686/posts A Gaza charity headed by the interior minister of Hamas yesterday offered $1.4 million to any Arab citizen of Israel who abducts an Israeli soldier. Palestinians have frequently called on Israeli Arabs to abduct soldiers, but this is the first time money has been offered. Haaretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2389686/posts#comment Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:04:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387089/posts How does Israel—with fewer people than the state of New Jersey, no natural resources, and hostile nations all around—produce more tech companies listed on the NASDAQ than all of Europe, Japan, South Korea, India, and China combined? How does Israel attract, per person, 30 times as much venture capital as Europe and more than twice the flow to American companies? How does it produce, for its size, the most cutting-edge technology startups in the world? There are many components to the answer, but one of the most central and surprising is the Israeli military's role in breaking down hierarchies and—serendipitously—becoming... Newsweek http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387089/posts#comment Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:41:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385378/posts While Israel is interested in purchasing the fifth-generation stealth Joint Strike Fighter from Lockheed Martin, it will likely hinge its order on US acceptance of its demand that Israeli defense industries be allowed to participate in the aircraft's production, senior defense officials said Thursday. On Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and discussed potential Israeli involvement in the production of the JSF, also known as the F-35. In the past, Israeli aerospace companies have been integrated into the production of aircraft purchased by the IAF. During their meeting, as well as a meeting... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385378/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:23:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383183/posts Israel must prepare itself for the fact that in a coming war, the IDF will not be able to block all incoming rockets from hitting civilian areas, despite the anticipated deployment of the Iron Dome system in 2010, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday morning. During the general periodical briefing to the powerful committee, the commander of the IDF focused heavily on Iran and Israel's security, offering cautious optimism regarding the efficacy of international sanctions, while warning that with Teheran's help, Hezbollah had amassed "tens of thousands" of... The Woodward Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2383183/posts#comment Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:19:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381394/posts The development schedule for a new U.S.-Israeli missile interceptor system is overly ambitious, and defense authorities likely will have to implement a backup plan if countries like Iran acquire a nuclear-tipped missile before the end of the next decade, according to defense experts. Advanced sensor and propulsion capabilities envisioned for the Arrow-3 interceptor likely will take significantly longer to develop than the five or six years estimated by Boeing Co., particularly given the program’s funding level, the experts said. “Look at any system that is developed — it takes 10 years from concept to deployment and there’s not much [funding]... Space News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2381394/posts#comment Sun, 8 Nov 2009 09:40:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380709/posts Israel's warnings that it will not tolerate an existential threat in the form of a nuclear Iran should be taken seriously, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon warned in an interview with the Britain-based Sky News on Friday. "The one who's bluffing is Iran, which is trying to play with cards they don't have," Ayalon told the news network. "All the bravado that we see and the testing and the very dangerous and harsh rhetoric are hiding a lot of weaknesses." ... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380709/posts#comment Sat, 7 Nov 2009 07:46:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380380/posts In 2000, I was asked by the Israel Defense Forces to join a group of philosophers, lawyers, and generals for the purpose of drafting the army's ethics code. Since then, I have been deeply involved in the analysis of the moral issues that Israel faces in its war on terrorism. I have spent many hours in discussions with soldiers and officers in order to better grasp the dilemmas that they tackle in the field, and in an attempt to help facilitate the internalization of the code of ethics in war. It was no wonder that, when the Goldstone Report on... The New Republic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2380380/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 22:35:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2378490/posts The Ethics of War Sarah Carlsruh, November 4, 2009 The U.N. Human Rights Council released a September report on their fact-finding mission on Gaza, often referred to as the Goldstone Report because Justice Richard Goldstone headed the mission. This report’s goal, it stated, was to “investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that might have been committed” militarily during the winter 2008-2009 Gaza War. However, on September 16th Israel President Shimon Peres responded that it “makes a mockery of history.” Israeli Defense Force (IDF) Reserve Colonel Bentzi Gruber agreed with President Peres at an October... Campus Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2378490/posts#comment Wed, 4 Nov 2009 18:36:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364976/posts (IsraelNN.com) Col. Shai Malka, who headed the IDF's Pillar of Fire artillery group, is leaving the unit to become Commander of Artillery in the Northern Command. Malka is unfazed by international condemnation of the IDF's attack on Gaza in the Cast Lead counter-terror operation. He says the IDF's artillery did not bring even half of its firepower to bear... Arutz Sheva http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2364976/posts#comment Sun, 18 Oct 2009 06:09:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361722/posts (IsraelNN.com) The IDF on Tuesday released video footage of Hizbullah terrorists smuggling missiles and other weaponry out of a warehouse where an explosion occurred Monday in the southern Lebanese town of Tayir Filsay. Lebanese Army soldiers and troops from the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) raced to the scene, but terrorists had emptied the warehouse by the time they arrived - a secret activity caught on camera by IDF military intelligence Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2361722/posts#comment Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:46:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2359273/posts It was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions of 2008, but Raytheon’s Active Protection System (APS), formerly known as “Quick Kill,” was nowhere to be found on the floor of the Washington Convention Center at the Army’s annual conference this week. I asked the Raytheon folks about its status and the best they could come up with was that the program is “maturing”; there was no APS on display nor were there videos showing field tests of the system. By contrast, over at the Israeli Military Industries booth, the Israelis were showing video of their “Iron Fist” APS in... DoD Buzz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2359273/posts#comment Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:06:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355284/posts Navy to soon declare unmanned craft operational for patrols Oct. 4, 2009 Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST The Israel Navy plans to begin using unmanned naval craft in the coming months for patrols along the Mediterranean coast, senior IDF officers said on Sunday. Called unmanned surface vehicles, the ships are operated by remote control from a land-based station and are highly maneuverable, allowing them to conduct a wide range of missions, including patrols of the coast, without endangering navy personnel. One system that the navy has already purchased is the Protector, which was developed by Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd.... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355284/posts#comment Mon, 5 Oct 2009 17:22:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351416/posts Israel gets two more German submarines (AFP) – 14 hours ago JERUSALEM — Israel has taken delivery of two German submarines ordered four years ago, a military spokesman said on Tuesday. "We have received two Dolphin-class submarines built in Germany," he said, on condition of anonymity. The submarines, called U212s, can launch cruise missiles carrying nuclear warheads, although when it confirmed the sale in 2006 the German government said the two vessels were not equipped to carry nuclear weapons. The subs were ordered in 2005 and delivery was initially expected in 2010. Including the two new ones, Israel has five... Agence France Presse (AFP) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2351416/posts#comment Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:23:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2344036/posts Last year Zbigniew Brzezinski, adviser to former US president Jimmy Carter, described the Bush administration's policy of maintaining the option of military action against Iran as "counterproductive." Now Brzezinski, who advises Obama on foreign policy, is calling for the US to shoot down Israeli jets. Brzezinski is known to be anti-Israel. The Weekly Standard Blog reported: In a little noticed interview with the Daily Beast (presumably little noticed because serious people don't read the Daily Beast), Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that Barack Obama do more than just refuse to support an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear sites -- the American president... Gateway Pundit http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2344036/posts#comment Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:42:41 GMT