http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/israel-news/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:08:14 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286279/posts US pressures IAI to drop bid on fighter jets to India By YAAKOV KATZ Under pressure from the Pentagon, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been forced to back out of a joint partnership with a Swedish aerospace company to compete in a multi-billion dollar tender to sell new multi-role fighter jets to the Indian Air Force. The deal, estimated at a whopping $12 billion for over 120 new aircraft, is being fought over by Lockheed Martin's F-16, Boeing's F-18/Hornet, Russia's MiG-35 and BAE's Eurofighter. IAI was asked by Saab, manufacturer of the Gripen fighter jet, to jointly develop an advanced... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286279/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:08:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286277/posts 35 Years After by Ari Bussel While in Israel, I was invited to visit the old cemetery of Tsfat. Major restoration work is taking place there, alongside a hillside spread with stones. Underneath are hundreds of graves. Over the centuries, their tombstones became rubble, washed away by rain, exposing some of the graves underneath. This was my opportunity to learn that all tombstones in a Jewish cemetery face East, thus all headrests are aligned, row after row, toward Jerusalem. A separate section of the cemetery is the final resting place of a group of school children murdered 35 years ago... "Postcards from Israel - Postcards from America" http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286277/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 04:08:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286202/posts An IDF Navy Dolphin-class submarine that participated in maneuvers off the Eilat coast last week returned to Israel via the Suez Canal on Sunday according to witnesses' reports. However, an Israeli defense official told Reuters there would be no permanent deployment in Eilat of the German-made submarines, of which the Navy has three, with two more on order. "If anything, we are scaling down our naval operations in Eilat," the official was quoted as saying on Sunday. A senior naval source explained that the "submarines need the open water, and that's just not available at Eilat." "Also, the navy cannot... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286202/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:04:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286193/posts Tucked away in a far corner of northern Europe, the tranquil and resourceful nation of Finland often gets unjustly overlooked. Flanked by a swaggering and increasingly quarrelsome Russia to the east and its larger and blonder Swedish neighbor to the west, the Finns seem to receive neither the attention nor the consideration that they rightly deserve. Indeed, despite being beset by harsh winters and a dearth of arable land, as well as enjoying the dubious distinction of being the European Union's most sparsely populated country, Finland has nonetheless built one of the most pleasant and peaceful societies on the entire... The Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286193/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:52:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286192/posts Jordanian police Sunday arrested 11 people, including trade union leaders, to break up a demonstration against fruit and vegetable imports from Israel, protest organizers said. They were taken to the Shmeisani police station, in west of Amman, half an hour after they started their protest outside the ministry of agriculture, the sources and an AFP reporter said. "We demand that the government bans imports of fruits and vegetables from the Zionist entity (Israel)," the 14 trade unions which organized the protest said in a joint statement. Agriculture Minister Said Masri "should be sacked because he did not do anything to... YNet http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286192/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:50:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286144/posts Religious Jews have rioted in Jerusalem on the Jewish Sabbath for the second straight week. Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews took to the streets of Jerusalem, throwing stones and scuffling with police. The demonstrators were protesting the opening of a parking lot on the Sabbath to accommodate an influx of Israeli visitors from around the country to Jerusalem's Old City. Jewish religious law forbids driving on the Sabbath and the Orthodox accuse the secular government and public at large of desecrating the biblical holy day of rest. Some demonstrators chanted that "Sabbath desecrators will die." Riots first erupted last month when... VOA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286144/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:30:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286111/posts Plunging squarely into one of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. suggested on Sunday that the United States would not stand in the way of Israeli military action aimed at the Iranian nuclear program. The United States, Mr. Biden said in an interview broadcast on ABC’s “This Week,” “cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do.” "Israel can determine for itself — it’s a sovereign nation — what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran and anyone else," he said, in an interview... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286111/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:25:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286062/posts Saudi Arabia would turn the other cheek and allow Israel to use its airspace to attack Iran, London’s Sunday Times reports. According to the report, Mossad chief Meir Dagan has told Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that Syria has hinted to the move. “The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israel air force flying through their airspace on a mission which is supposed to be in the common interests of both Israel and Saudi Arabia,” a diplomatic source stated. Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286062/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 19:37:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285978/posts Vice President Joe Biden says the U.S. will not stand in Israel's way if Israel believes military action is needed to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat. Biden says the U.S. "cannot dictate to another sovereign nation what they can and cannot do." AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285978/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 16:41:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286009/posts The head of Mossad, Israel’s overseas intelligence service, has assured Benjamin Netanyahu, its prime minister, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites. Earlier this year Meir Dagan, Mossad’s director since 2002, held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility. The Israeli press has already carried unconfirmed reports that high-ranking officials, including Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, held meetings with Saudi colleagues. The reports were denied by Saudi officials. timesonline http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286009/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 17:49:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285926/posts U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the Obama administration would not stand in Israel's way should the latter chooses to take military action to eliminate Iran's nuclear threat. Israel has the right to determine its own course of action with regard to the Iranian nuclear threat regardless of what the Obama administration chooses to do, Biden told ABC reporter George Stephanopoulos. When asked whether the Obama administration would restrain Israeli military action against Iran, Biden responded: "Israel can determine for itself - it's a sovereign nation - what's in their interest and what they decide to do... Haaretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285926/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:42:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285844/posts .S. President Barack Obama is turning to the Pope to back his vision of a new Arab state on all of Judea and Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. The president told the Catholic Italian newspaper Avvenire, one week before a scheduled meeting with the Pope in Italy, “It [the Middle East] is a subject I am keen to discuss with the pope. I think he will share my approach." Powered by WebAds President Obama has dug in his heels in insisting that Israel stop all building for Jews in Judea and Samaria, and the State Department has indicated that the ban... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285844/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 11:55:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285818/posts Former congresswoman and current crazywoman Cynthia McKinney is spending a little time in an Israeli hoosegow this week. Only a matter of time, you say? Well, she isn't there because of the time her father blamed her electoral defeat on the "J-E-W-S." Nor, as far as we can tell, is it due to her habit of roughing up cops—although there's no official word about her demeanor when her Greek-flagged Gaza-blockade runner was boarded by the aforementioned J-E-W-S in uniform. McKinney found herself in dangerous waters as part of her new affiliation with the Green Party (she was their presidential nominee... Reason http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285818/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 09:59:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285772/posts Former US lawmaker Cynthia McKinney, who is in an Israeli jail for trying to take humanitarian aid to Gaza, says the White House has done nothing to secure her release. Speaking to Press TV from inside the Israeli jail, she said US taxpayers paid for Israel's 22-day war on the Gaza Strip. “Operation Cast Lead was made possible by the US taxpayers' gift to the Israeli war machine in the form of F16s, helicopters gunship, white phosphorous, depleted uranium, cluster bombs and anything that kills," she told Press TV from inside the Israeli jail on Saturday. McKinney has been in... Iran Press TV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285772/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 05:08:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285767/posts The head of Mossad, Israel’s overseas intelligence service, has assured Benjamin Netanyahu, its prime minister, that Saudi Arabia would turn a blind eye to Israeli jets flying over the kingdom during any future raid on Iran’s nuclear sites. Earlier this year Meir Dagan, Mossad’s director since 2002, held secret talks with Saudi officials to discuss the possibility. The Israeli press has already carried unconfirmed reports that high-ranking officials, including Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister, held meetings with Saudi colleagues. The reports were denied by Saudi officials. “The Saudis have tacitly agreed to the Israeli air force flying through their... The Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285767/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 05:01:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285685/posts The American lawyer Alan Dershowitz is one of the most prolific, high-profile and indefatiguable defenders of Israel and the Jewish people against the tidal wave of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish feeling currently coursing through the west. So a piece by him in the Wall Street Journal giving expression to the rising anxiety being felt about Obama by American Jews naturally arouses great interest. But just like the majority of American Jews, getting on for 80 per cent of whom voted for Obama, he is a Democrat supporter who is incapable of acknowledging the truth about this President. For most American Jews,... American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285685/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 00:23:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285594/posts Cynthia McKinney to Appear in Israeli Court After Gaza-Bound Boat Is SeizedFormer U.S. lawmaker Cynthia McKinney is due to appear in an Israeli court Sunday after she and 20 other activists were taken into custody this week when their relief boat was seized by an Israeli naval ship. FOXNews.com Saturday, July 04, 2009 Former U.S. lawmaker Cynthia McKinney is due to appear in an Israeli court Sunday after she and 20 other activists were taken into custody this week when their relief boat was seized by an Israeli naval ship. The 2008 Green Party presidential candidate says the group, "Free... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285594/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 20:34:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285531/posts An Israeli submarine crossed through the Suez Canal last month as a part of a military training exercise, defense officials said on Saturday. The move is believed to have been made as a warning to Iran of the Jewish state's capabilities and and to show that Israel and Egypt, are cooperating against a shared threat. The two countries share a peace agreement but have had cool relations for years. By using the Suez, an Israeli submarine could reach the Persian Gulf off Iran in a matter of days, compared wiith weeks to sail around the southern tip of Africa. The... Times of India http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285531/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 17:48:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284660/posts Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday belittled the global focus on the growth of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria, and said there would be no more unilateral concessions to the Palestinian Authority. "It is not a coincidence that since [the] Oslo [Accords] we have not reached the end of the conflict," Lieberman said, addressing a gathering of Druze supporters in the Arab city of Shfaram. The meeting was held at the home of Hamad Amar, a Knesset Member representing Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu party. In the last Knesset elections, the mixed Druze, Christian and Muslim Shfaram gave Israel Beiteinu 14.4%... Israel National News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284660/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 05:29:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284705/posts After a long hiatus, the Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the Suez Canal, recently sending one of its advanced Dolphin-class submarines through the waterway to participate in naval maneuvers off the Eilat coast in the Red Sea. IDF sources said the decision to allow navy vessels to sail through the canal was made recently and was a definite "change of policy" within the service. In 2005, then OC Navy Adm. David Ben-Bashat decided to stop sending Israeli ships through the canal due to growing threats in the area. However, the Dolphin-class submarine sailed through last month to get... Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284705/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 09:47:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284562/posts ...IDF sources said the decision to allow navy vessels to sail through the canal was made recently and was a definite "change of policy"....The significance of the move was debatable, but it could be interpreted as a message to Iran and a demonstration of strengthening ties between Egypt and Israel. In the event of a conflict with Iran, and if Israel decided to involve its three Dolphin-class submarines - which according to foreign reports can fire nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and serve as a second-strike platform - the quickest route would be to send them through the Suez Canal. Jerusalem Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284562/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 02:03:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284493/posts Benjamin Netanyahu's second cabinet will complete its 100th day in power next week, ending what is known as its 'period of grace.' In a private discussions with his associates, the prime minister said that not only was he being denied a grace period, but that he had to deal with a 'media onslaught' that began hours into his term. This onslaught relented only after his address at Bar-Ilan University last month, when he said he accepted the prospect of a future Palestinian state, he said. In the same private discussion, the premier recounted what he considers his cabinet's achievements over... Ha'aretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284493/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:58:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284435/posts Former U.S. lawmaker and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and several other human rights activists remained in an Israeli prison Thursday after refusing to sign a deportation form that they claim is self-incriminating. In a press release from the Green Party, McKinney said the form states that the Spirit of Humanity, a Greek-flagged relief boat carrying 21 activists, medical supplies, cement, olive trees and children's toys en route to Gaza, was violating the Israeli blockade and trespassing the country's territorial waters. "We were in international waters on a boat delivering humanitarian aid to people in Gaza Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284435/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 21:56:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284376/posts John Bolton has a compelling and courageous analysis in the Washington Post today, making the case that Israel should bomb Iran’s nuclear installations and do so quickly. He argues that diplomacy has no chance of working, leaving only one serious option on the table if Iran is to be prevented from going nuclear. He adds a new and important point: Commentary Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284376/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 20:19:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284300/posts He swept to power with the support of 78% of American Jews. But has Barack Obama become the bane of Israeli Jews? A gulf between American and Israeli Jews was evident even before Obama moved into the White House. Just a third of Israelis would have endorsed him had they been allowed to vote, polling indicated, while almost half would have chosen John McCain. In recent weeks, several public opinion surveys have suggested that Obama's popularity has dropped far below this already low point. A Jerusalem Post-commissioned poll released on June 19 reported that only 6% of Jewish Israelis consider... HaAretz http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284300/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:53:35 GMT