Free Republic

In Yom Kippur War anniversary speech, prime minister suggests that inaction on Iran is costlier than international opprobrium Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a thinly veiled defense of a possible Israeli preemptive strike on Iran during a Knesset commemoration Tuesday of the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War. In a speech to MKs about the war, in which Israel was surprised by a coordinated Arab invasion on the northern and southern fronts, Netanyahu explained that IDF soldiers who fought in the bitter battles of that war “saved us from paying the price of complacency.” “In the end we won...

There has been a just degree of criticism directed towards the Guardian over the results of their readers’ poll on the Nobel Peace Prize in which 76% of respondents chose Hassan Rouhani from a list (compiled by their journalists) which included the brave Pakistani girl – shot by the Taliban for advocating on behalf of girls’ education – named Malala Yousafzai. (see charts at website) Rouhani was nominated by Saeed Kamali-Dehghan, who has served as one of the paper’s chief promoters of the lie that the new Iranian president is a “moderate” despite Rouhani’s involvement in terror attacks abroad and...

Iranian leaders are doing everything they can to display their country’s Jewish population as satisfied, even if they have to resort to fakery to do so, according to Iranian Affairs expert Menashe Amir. Amir, who was born and raised in Tehran and now lives in Israel, explained that Iran’s leaders believe that showing Jewish support will help their image. … Iranian Jews suffer from discrimination as do all religious minorities in Shiite Muslim states like Iran, he said. The problems they face include, in some cases, a lack of access to medicine, he said. …

The Israeli air force has updated the status of an ongoing modernisation programme for its fleet of Boeing F-15I "Raam" strike aircraft. "This is the first major upgrade of this excellent aircraft and it will enable it to fly for many more years," says Col Shimon Tsentsiper, commander of the service's depot 22. Intended to help retain the two-seat F-15I's status as the air force's primary long-strike platform in a variety of operational scenarios, the upgrade introduces a "great number" of new avionic systems, most of which were developed in Israel by drawing on the service's operational experience. The F-15I...

The Ministry of Defense's weapons development administration (Mafat) is targeting a global market worth $2 billion annually. The Ministry of Defense's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (Mafat) has set the next challenge for Israel's defense industry: do for unmanned submarines what it did for unmanned aerial warfare. If the defense industry moves quickly and purposefully in identifying this emerging market, and offers a well-functioning unmanned submarine, it could be riding the right wave in a decade from now: Mafat aeronautics division director Dr. Yuval Cohen estimates that the market will be worth $2 billion a year...

Iraqi and Lebanese Shi'ite militia backed by Syrian army firepower overran a southern suburb of Damascus on Wednesday, opposition activists said, in a blow to Sunni Muslim rebels trying to hold onto strategic outskirts of the capital. At least 20 rebels were killed when Hezbollah guerrillas and Iraqi militiamen captured the town of Sheikh Omar under cover of Syrian army artillery and tank fire and aerial bombardment, the activists said, with tens of Shi'ite fighters killed or wounded.

A group of Syrian clerics have issued a ruling - or fatwa - allowing people living in besieged suburbs of Damascus to eat meat that is normally forbidden. In a video, the Muslim clerics said people could eat cats, dogs and donkeys to stave off hunger. The fatwa comes amid reports of starvation in the besieged, rebel-held Damascus suburb of Muadhamiya. Aid agencies have urged the government to allow humanitarian supplies to the area, where many residents are trapped. Hundreds of civilians, some carried on stretchers, were able to flee Muadhamiya at the weekend following a temporary ceasefire. 'Absurd situation'...

Anti-Israel sentiment on British campuses is nothing new. … But the UK’s most famous anti-Israel Member of Parliament got a little more he bargained for at a debate at the prestigious Oxford University. … When it came to the audience Q&A session, after several minutes one audience member stood up and, facing Galloway, delivered a speech of his own—in Hebrew, whilst holding an Israeli flag. After Galloway claimed to feel “threatened” by the episode, the student, named as Jonathan Hunter, switched to English, condemning Galloway for his support of Middle Eastern dictators, including former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When the...

Genesis 25 - The First Wrestling Match in Recorded History In Biblical History, which is arguably the most accurate history in the world, a woman named Rebekah was pregnant with two boys; Jacob and Esau. While in the womb the two boys moved and kicked very often, almost seeming to wrestle with each other. Like many historical stories in the Bible, all of us are like one of these two little wrestlers. Rebekah prayed and asked God why this was happening. The Lord answered her and said that she was pregnant with two great nations. The older would serve the...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Children and Families In The Bible John 8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do...

Swiss radiation experts have confirmed they found traces of polonium on clothing used by Yasser Arafat which "support the possibility" the veteran Palestinian leader was poisoned. In a report published by The Lancet at the weekend, the team provide scientific details to media statements made in 2012 that they had found polonium on Arafat's belongings. Arafat died in France on November 11 2004 at the age of 75, but doctors were unable to specify the cause of death. No autopsy was carried out at the time, in line with his widow's request. His remains were exhumed in November 2012 and...

Greece and Israel signed a joint declaration last week that further enhances their cooperation in the energy sector and acts as a guide for the development of relations of wider geopolitical significance for the two Mediterranean countries. It also makes clear that the two sides with proceed with a series of actions for the joint extraction and exploitation of hydrocarbons. The two states “will examine ways and means for the better development of natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and their transfer to the energy market,” reads the confidential agreement, which has been seen by Kathimerini. This phrase refers to...

When a US Congressional committee approved a resolution recognizing the World War I-era massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide, Turkey's reaction was swift and harsh: Blame the Jews. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo: AP In an interview with the liberal Islamic Zaman newspaper on the eve of the resolution's approval October 10 by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said he had told American Jewish leaders that a genocide bill would strengthen the public perception in Turkey that "Armenian and Jewish lobbies unite forces against Turks." Babacan added, "We...

IDF soldiers recently discovered a tunnel, built by Gaza terrorists, that led from Gaza to a nearby Israeli community. The discovery was made late Wednesday night, but was under a gag order until Sunday morning. Terrorists were apparently planning a large-scale infiltration and attack, and were possibly planning to bring Israeli civilians back to Gaza as captives. Terrorists have made several attempts to kidnap Israelis in recent months, with the goal of exchanging captives for terrorists being held in Israeli prisons. A terror tunnel similar to that found Wednesday night was used in the 2006 kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Children and Families In The Bible Luke 10 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41...

"In our time the Biblical prophecies are being realized. As the prophet Amos said, they shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall till gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their soil never to be uprooted again. Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Israel have come home never to be uprooted again."—Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu The quotation above is how Benjamin Netanyahu concluded his speech on October 1, 2013 at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. >>SNIP<< The Prime Minister said that...

Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas’s political bureau, will visit Iran soon, the movement confirmed on Thursday, according to Kol Yisrael radio. Hamas used to be heavily backed by Iran, but the relations between the Islamic Republic and the terror group have been strained for the past two years because of the civil war in Syria. …

Following are excerpts from a statement by Egyptian TV host Khaled Al-Abraq, which aired on Egyptian Channel 1 on October 5, 2013. Khaled Al-Abraq: [In the 1973 war], the Israeli Jews slashed open our soldiers' bellies, chopped them to pieces, and ran them over with tanks. Gentlemen, our external enemy will forever be Israel, and our internal enemy will be ignorance. They may try to invent other enemies for us, but the real enemy will remain [Israel]. Never will they approve of you… They always taught us at school that our enemy is Israel. I don't know who they say...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Children and Families In The Bible Luke 2 39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. The Boy Jesus at the Temple 41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After...

Israeli Air Force F-15 and F-16 fighter squadrons this week carried out exercises testing their capability to conduct missions at long ranges from base, the Israeli military said Thursday, Oct. 10. The drills included air-to-air refueling and dogfights against foreign combat planes. They were conducted together with Hellenic Air Force aircraft and naval units over the western Peloponnese and the Myrtoon Pelagos of Greece, shortly before the Six Power talks begin in Geneva on Iran’s nuclear program. Israeli commentators noted that the drill broadcast a message to Tehran that Israel’s military option for bombing its nuclear program was alive and...

WASHINGTON - Taking on one of the United States’ most prominent Israel critics Wednesday, Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who is mulling a presidential run, defended the special relationship with Israel as essential for U.S. security. The sparring came when, at a Homeland Security Committee hearing on the threat posed by Somali al-Qaida affiliate Al Shabaab, former CIA al-Qaida analyst Michael Scheuer said that al-Qaida would leave the U.S. alone if they were to abandon their alliance with Israel. “If it was up to me I’d dump the Israelis tomorrow,” Scheuer said. “All I worry about is the...

NOBLE Energy, operators of the Block 12 offshore licence, has reportedly renewed a proposal for piping gas from the Aphrodite well for the purpose of domestic electricity generation. Daily Politis writes that the Houston-based energy company has quoted a delivery price of $9 or $10 per million btus (mmbtu). That’s significantly lower than the price offered by Itera during the ‘interim gas’ tender procedure. Itera’s offer is understood to have been around $15.5 per mmbtu. Politis said the cost of electricity generation – and thus the price of electricity to end-consumers – could on paper drop by 15 to 20...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Children and Families In The Bible Luke 2 22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Amply documented the Al Nusrah rebels are in possession of chemical weapons. In an unusual twist, An August 9, 2013 UPI report intimates that the Al Qaeda affiliated Al Nusrah rebels rather than the Syrian government constitute a threat to the security of Israel, an absurd proposition. And that Israel, so to speak, fears that chemical weapons might “fall in the wrong hands”. Troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad have broken through rebel forces encircling the northern city of Aleppo to secure a major chemical weapons base that, if they can hold it, will be a big help to...

Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists broke into a home in the Jordan Valley on Thursday night, attacking a couple who was in the home. The husband was critically injured and died a short time later. The woman was lightly injured, was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to the HaEmek Hospital in Afula.

Iran’s supreme leader promises in a newly released audiotape the destruction of Israel and Palestinians’ return to that land. Fars News Agency, an outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards, last week posted an audiotape of excerpts of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s speeches to Palestinian officials and others with a title “Palestine will surely become free.” In the audiotape, which is partly in Arabic, Khamenei gives blessings to those who fight against Israel and says, “Peace be upon the children of our nation, peace be upon the brave jihadists in Palestinian and Lebanese resistance. Today the Islamic world and the whole world...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Children and Families In The Bible Luke 1 39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44...

IAI is developing a new missile carrying warship with powerful offensive capabilities for patrol operations on the high seas. Sources inform ''Globes'' that Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) is developing a new missile carrying warship with powerful offensive capabilities for patrol operations on the high seas. The ship, which will be called the Multirole Super Dvora (bee in Hebrew) is still on the drawing board at IAI Ramta plant in Beersheva. On the basis of the general features that Ramta general manager Brig.-Gen. (res.) Nitzan Shaked has provided "Globes", the Super Dvora will be the largest warship ever...

Netanyahu already apologized for Marmara incident, but Turkey is in no rush to forgive or forget. ‘Israel apologized too late,’ Turkish President Abdullah Gul tells Yedioth Ahronoth. Senior Turkish advisor: As long as Erdogan is in power, things will not change ...

Officials and experts in Israel responded on Wednesday with a mixture of disappointment and alarm to the news that the United States planned to reduce its military aid to Egypt in response to this summer’s brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood and the continuing violence it has spawned. Israel views the aid as part and parcel of its 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, and essential to the maintenance of stability in the region. But one Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the delicate diplomacy involved, warned that the implications of punitive cuts in Egypt’s aid could...

Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem Children and Families In The Bible Luke 1 5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,...

Israel condemned on Tuesday the selection of Iran for a high-level position on a United Nations committee dealing with disarmament and international security issues. Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor said in a letter to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council that “it is inconceivable” that a country under UN sanctions over its nuclear program would be allowed to hold the position of rapporteur on a committee dealing with nuclear disarmament. …

This unpleasant bit of history is routinely ignored and glossed over, despite the blazingly obvious congruence of National Socialist anti-Semitism with modern-day Islamic jihadist anti-Semitism, which existed long before Nazism and helped fuel it. NETANYAHU LINKS PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP, NAZIS (Arutz Sheva)—In a surprisingly powerful and frank speech at Bar Ilan University, delivered in a calm and almost informal manner, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu pointed to a deep link between the Palestinian national movement and the Nazi regime in Germany. At the heart of the oration was the determination that Arab rhetoric notwithstanding, the “territories” and “settlements” are not the heart...

In a precedent-setting move, Israel’s Interior Ministry has recognized two men as the biological father of a baby boy. The baby is the son of Yuval Topper-Erez, a transgender male who gave birth in December 2011. The Interior Ministry initially refused to recognize the child’s father, Matan, as the biological father. But the couple fought for more than a year, and after gaining support from Interior Minister Gideon Saar and Knesset Internal Affairs Committee Chairwoman Member of Knesset Miri Regev, it received recognition. “While the solution was not ideal, we are still very happy that the child has been registered...

The United States will cut off aid to Egypt in the wake of the July coup against President Mohamed Morsy and the turmoil that has followed, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The Obama administration withheld some military aid to Egypt in August. The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the full suspension has been prompted by an "accumulation of events," including recent violence against protesters, dozens of whom were killed over the weekend.

A tale of two aerospace companies One of Israel's earliest startups, Israel Aerospace Industries, failed to fulfill its potential or rival its peers. Long before Israel became world-renowned as the “Startup Nation,” the country was already home to a highly successful startup: Israel Aircraft Industries (now called Israel Aerospace Industries), which shot up like a meteor in a few years, from a small aircraft overhaul and maintenance shop to a major player in the aerospace industry. Initially encouraged by David Ben-Gurion and Shimon Peres, staffed by talented Israeli aeronautical engineers, and led by an ambitious and active management, IAI accomplished...

A top member of Fatah said on Sunday that he condemns the terror attack in the Binyamin region community of Psagot, but placed the blame for the attack on the Israeli government. Speaking to Kol Yisrael radio, Jibril Rajoub was asked if he condemns the attack, to which he responded, “Listen, listen, I condemn everything that causes damage. I condemn it and I condemn those responsible for it. And those responsible for it are the Government of Israel and the prime minister of Israel.” Rajoub went on to say that the Israeli government was responsible for the attack, in which...

Turkey has begun building a two-metre high wall along its border with Syria in an attempt to stem border security and smuggling problems. The move comes as the United Nations forecast that another two million refugees will flee the Syrian conflict in 2014. Turkey is sheltering around a quarter of the two million people who have already fled Syria's conflict. Construction workers have begun digging foundations for the wall in Nusaybin, a border district six miles (10 km) north of the Syrian town of Qamishli. An unnamed government official in the Turkish capital, Ankara, said: "We haven't had border security...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis, like Islam's Sufi mystic theologians and poets, "is trying to do good for the sake of the Good One, motivated by love and compassion," said the president of the Islamic Affairs Council of Maryland. Mohamad Bashar Arafat, a Syrian who has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, was visiting the Vatican and speaking to groups in Rome in early October as a guest of the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See as part of the U.S. State Department's international speakers program. In an interview with Catholic News Service, Arafat said...

5,549 trucks carrying 155,312 tons of goods entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing in September, according to figures released by the IDF on Sunday. These included 1,519 truckloads of food products, 1,244 truckloads of construction materials, 64 truckloads of medical equipment, 258 truckloads of livestock and 2,464 truckloads of miscellaneous items. … Hamas, which violently took control of Gaza in 2007, constantly claims that the region is under an “Israeli siege” because of Israel’s naval blockade on the region, which is meant at stopping weapons and other materials that can used for terror attacks to enter Gaza. …

A volunteer with the Magen David Adom first aid service was forced on Sunday to remove his jacket with the organization’s emblem before he was allowed to enter the Temple Mount. The emblem of Magen David Adom is a red Star of David. … Police, in an attempt to appease the Waqf, limit the number of Jewish worshipers allowed on the Temple Mount at one time in order to prevent conflict with Muslim worshipers. Police often close the Mount to Jews in response to Muslim riots—despite evidence that Muslim riots have been planned in advance for the specific purpose of...

In a surprisingly powerful and frank speech at Bar Ilan University, delivered in a calm and almost informal manner, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tied between the Palestinian national movement and the Nazi regime in Germany. At the heart of the oration was the determination that Arab rhetoric notwithstanding, the “territories” and “settlements” are not the heart of the territorial conflict between Jews and Arabs – but that the conflict stems from the historic refusal of the Arabs to accept a Jewish state. Netanyahu provided quotes and evidence showing that the supreme leader of the Palestinian Arabs in the first half...

Forty years ago, Israel experienced the most devastating war in its modern history. Israel not only suffered its worst casualties during the Yom Kippur War, but actually came close to being destroyed with Defense Minister Moshe Dayan warning that “The Third Temple is falling.” To understand the lessons of the Yom Kippur War, it is important to understand the three key elements that led to it. These are Muslim deceptiveness, American diplomatic pressure and Israeli complacency. Egypt had lulled Israel into complacency by faking a crisis. Before the Yom Kippur War everyone “knew” that Egypt’s air force was defunct and...

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - Netanyahu Responds to Abbas’s Praise of Hitler’s MuftiPosted By David Bedein On October 7, 2013 @ 12:10 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 3 Comments On January 4, 2013, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke via video link on a wide screen to the masses in Gaza, who gathered to celebrate the founding of Fatah (Arabic word for “conquest�),  otherwise known as the Palestine Liberation Organization.In his New Year’s speech, Abbas spoke glowingly of the legacy of the Godfather of the PLO, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini, who during the 1920′s and 1930’s instigated pogroms...

Over a half a million people were attending the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Monday night in Jerusalem. Rabbi Yosef, 93, passed away earlier in the day. The crowd, observers said, consisted of a cross-section of Israelis, from hareidi to Religious Zionist to secular. Eulogies were being held at the Porat Yosef yeshiva in the Geula neighborhood. Dozens of speakers will eulogize the rabbi. Among the first to speak was Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, one of Rabbi Yosef's sons and current Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel. In a heart-wrenching voice, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef spoke of his father, saying that “from the...

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has reported that on three different occasions, Palestinian Authority TV has broadcast children reciting a poem that includes the words "my enemy, Zion, is Satan with a tail." Last week during a performance given in the PA, the Egyptian writer of the poem, Hesham El-Gakh, recited this and other poems, after which the PA Minister of Culture, Anwar Abu Eisheh, and PA District Governor of Ramallah, Laila Ghannam, awarded him a plaque of honor. The event was broadcast on official Palestinian Authority TV Live. To warm up the audience, a young girl recited a small section...

I recently read a hundred-page book by a wonderful American historian who passed away nearly 50 years ago. His name was Will Durant and he wrote many books. He wrote an eleven volume history of civilization, but at the end of his life, he wrote a hundred-page book, The Lessons of History. You should read it. Every line is carved from the stone of truth, and I will give you the bad news and the good news. The bad news is that when you finish reading this book, you understand that in history, greater numbers rule. They matter. But here...

<p>President Shim'on Peres sent a letter to Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland of the Council of Europe, Monday, urging the council to reconsider its recent decision against circumcision.</p>

- FrontPage Magazine - http://frontpagemag.com - KerryÂ’s Peace Process ExplodingPosted By P. David Hornik On October 7, 2013 @ 12:31 am In Daily Mailer,FrontPage | 11 Comments On Saturday night a Palestinian terrorist snuck into the Israeli community of Psagot, north of Jerusalem and near Ramallah, and either shot or stabbed a nine-year-old girl, Noam Glick. Noam was rushed to hospital in Jerusalem and, fortunately, is in stable condition.The terrorist, however, melted back into the Palestinian population and has not yet been apprehended, and the attack was part of a pattern.In the Jewish year that ended on the Rosh Hashanah...

Here is something to remember as nuclear negotiations between the West and Iran appear set to recommence: The Iranian president, Hasan Rouhani, the putative moderate on whose shoulders great American hopes have been placed, is proud of the work he did to advance his country's nuclear program — and also of his efforts to stymie Western attempts to stop that work. Rouhani didn't talk about this during his recent visit to the United Nations. He came bearing a different message: Iran seeks a peaceful resolution to its decade-old nuclear standoff with the international community. Yet in May, shortly before he...