Displaying posts categorized under

ISRAEL

Ruthie Blum Ill-boding for Israel’s enemies

https://www.jns.org/opinion/ill-boding-for-israels-enemies/

Fortunately for Israel and the United States, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu possesses an uncanny ability to function on multiple fronts simultaneously.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed this week “to act vigorously and continuously against the Iranian military entrenchment in Syria.”

Addressing graduates of the Israel Air Force cadets’ pilot course on Wednesday, he said, “You have one mission: to defend the homeland and be victorious in war. [This] starts with eradicating major hostile threats.”

Netanyahu went on to assert that U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent decision to withdraw American troops from Syria “will not change our policy.”

The speech was eerily fitting, as it came mere hours after the IAF conducted massive strikes on Iranian targets near Damascus. Referring to the operation, which was condemned by Russia as “provocative,” IAF Commander Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin said that “in several arenas and over a wide scope, our jets protected [our positions] and attacked [those of the enemy]. With exceptional cooperation from the Intelligence branch, we prevented the establishment of an Iranian military capability on [Israel’s] northern front. It is not the end of the story, and if called on to do so [again], we will act on the ground and from the air.”

Netanyahu’s and Norkin’s words were not only directed at the new group of fighter pilots tasked with keeping Iran and its terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, from attempting to annihilate the Jewish state. The joint message was also aimed at Tehran, Damascus, Beirut and Moscow.

The verbal warning was as clear as Tuesday night’s military one: that Trump’s exit from the region does not signal the onset of Israeli defeatism. If anything, it bodes even more ill for Israel’s enemies.

One indication that those enemies are getting the picture is Syria’s response to the airstrikes. This took the form of a letter of lament to the United Nations, stating that “Israel’s continuous aggressive policy is possible due to the unlimited and consistent support of the American administration.”

The Modern Manifestations of the Oldest Hatred: Peter Arnold

https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/qed/2018/12/the-modern-manifestations-of-the-oldest-hatred/

As Paul Johnson put it, “What strikes the historian surveying anti-Semitism worldwide over more than two millennia is its fundamental irrationality. It seems to make no sense, any more than malaria makes sense.” Nevertheless it continues. Some random thoughts on the latest upsurge.

Aghast at what scenes were revealed for all the world to see when Allied troops liberated Hitlers’s death camps, ‘the world’s longest hatred’ went into a quick decline. Apart from a few remaining extreme ‘crazies’ who had believed Hitler’s rantings about Jews, to be thought of as being an antisemite was socially and politically unacceptable. In this atmosphere, and following a remarkable volte face at the United Nations by Stalin’s historically antisemitic, pogrom-ridden Russia, legal effect was given to the Balfour Declaration and the State of Israel was born. Stalin even allowed vassal Czechoslovakia to supply the new state with arms.

The nations’ consciences about their own millennia of Christian antisemitism did not, however, extend to sending troops to defend Israel when it was immediately attacked, at birth, by the armies (some British-trained and even initially British led—for example by Glubb Pasha) of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The nations simply watched and waited for all the Jews to be exterminated. To their surprise, the Jews won that war and set about establishing their nation, which they have since defended in succeeding wars against enemies determined to “drive them into the sea”.

But so long-standing a hatred as antisemitism was not going to give up easily.

It was not long before ‘Holocaust denial’ emerged. The Nazis and their allies had not murdered Jews— they had died of diseases in the camps; it was not possible for six million people to be murdered and for no one to know about it—the numbers must merely have been hundreds of thousands. And so on. Holocaust denial is not dead, not even after the devastating legal setback by arch-denier David Irving when he sued Deborah Lipstadt in a British Court. Although, and perhaps because, the Iranian President continues to deny that the Holocaust occurred, Holocaust denial still has a bad name.

But a new version of antisemitism has emerged in, of all places, academia. As in Australia, academia in many western countries has been taken over by the ideologically-driven Left. Part of the underlying ideology holds that no person is any better than another, that no person has any claim greater than that of another, that no nation or culture is better than any other and that, whatever the cost, all must be made equal, like it or not. And what better example to pick on that Jewish Israel?

Palestinians: The Real “Crimes” by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13472/palestinians-crimes

As far as Abbas and other Palestinians are concerned, Israel’s security measures in response to terrorist attacks are also a “crime.” In other words, they are saying that Israel does not have the right to conduct hot pursuit after terrorists hiding in Palestinian cities or refugee camps.

When it comes to the actions of the Palestinian leaders themselves, however, they see utter innocence. For them, the daily incitement against Israel and Jews is not a “crime.” For them, the glorification of terrorists and paying salaries to their families is not a “crime.” For them, the shooting of a pregnant woman at a bus stop is not a “crime.”

Such messages are driving Palestinians into the open arms of Hamas. If you are telling your people that Israel and the Jews are criminals, and that anyone who does business with them or visits them is guilty of a “crime,” you are telling them that Hamas has got it right: Palestinians should be seeking the destruction of Israel, not peace with it.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership’s favorite — and probably most used — word in recent weeks is “crime.” This is the word that PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his senior officials in Ramallah have endorsed as part of their anti-Israel campaign of incitement. Almost every statement that is issued by the Palestinian leadership concerning Israel includes the word “crime.”

For Abbas and his officials, almost everything Israel does or says is a “crime.”

ّIn their world, building housing units for Jews in the West Bank or Jerusalem is a “crime.”

According to the logic of Abbas and his Palestinian officials, the killing of a Palestinian terrorist who murdered two of his Jewish co-workers and Israel’s subsequent demolition of his house is a “crime.”

YITZHAK RABIN’S LEGACY: THE OSLO ACCORDS MOSHE DANN

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Yitzhak-Rabins-legacy-The-Oslo-Accords-575349

Serving in the IDF is considered an honor and members of the CIS fought in combat units; some are considered heroes – which is why most Israelis don’t understand the danger they pose.

Why do former and retired senior IDF officers and security heads, such as Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS), who know what the PLO, Fatah, Hamas and other terrorist organizations have done and are capable of doing nevertheless advocate Israel’s withdrawal from Judea and Samaria (the “West Bank”), destroying Jewish communities, and establishing a sovereign Palestinian state – the “two-state solution (TSS)?”

Although considered “security experts,” they seem to have learned nothing during the last 30 years of appeasement and surrender. Because of the high esteem in which Israelis regard the IDF, however, it is often protected from criticism. Serving in the IDF is considered an honor and members of the CIS fought in combat units; some are considered heroes – which is why most Israelis don’t understand the danger they pose.

They are not stupid; they have access to the best security information available. They know that Palestinian groups are working with ISIS, and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Hamas to destroy Israel and carry out hit-and-run terrorist attacks. They understand that Arabs and Palestinians have no intention of accepting Israel. They know the dangers that a Palestinian state presents to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Why do they support it?

The CIS group is not alone. It is supported by left-wing organizations in Israel, such as the INSS, a think-tank composed of former IDF officers and security heads connected to Tel Aviv University and the Peres Center for Peace. They are part of the military/political establishment that promoted the Oslo Accords – which rehabilitated and legitimized Palestinian nationalism and gave Fatah and the PLO control of most of Judea and Samaria under the Palestinian Authority, and implemented the 2005 “Disengagement” – unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip which empowered Hamas and other Jihadist Islamist terrorist groups.

Suspected Israeli Airstrike Rocks Damascus Airport, Hits Hezbollah Leaders

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/35558/Default.aspx

A series of explosions rocked Damascus on Tuesday night as Israel allegedly targeted Hezbollah and Iranian targets.

A US Defense Department official told American media that top Israeli military brass had told him that a number of senior Hezbollah leaders were targeted as they boarded a plane for Iran.

Also reportedly targeted were strategic Iranian supplies to Hezbollah, including advanced GPS components for use in the many, many missiles that the Lebanese terror group has aimed at Israel.

Syrian media reported that its air defenses had opened fire on enemy targets launching a strike from Lebanese airspace. The Syrians said they had downed a number of targets, but there were no reports of any Israeli planes being hit.

One Syrian air defense missile entered Israeli airspace, triggering Israel’s air defenses. The IDF reported that the threat had been neutralized, but did not provide any specifics. It was also unclear if the Syrian missile merely went astray, or was purposely fired toward Israel as a warning.

If Israel was indeed behind the airstrike, it was a clear message to Syria, Iran and Russia that the Jewish state would continue to take decisive action against threats to its northern border despite the recent installation of advanced Russian anti-aircraft systems in the war-torn country.

Palestinian Christians living in Gaza are under threat not to celebrate Christmas, a flyer circulated by an Islamist group reveals. By Yona Schnitzer

https://worldisraelnews.com/radical-islamists-in-gaza-wage-war-on-christmas/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=PushCrew_notification_1545646924&pushcrew_powered=1

A flyer circulated by the Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades, a coalition of small-scale Islamist groups operating in Gaza, warns the 1,300 Christians living in Gaza, as well as Muslims looking to take part in the holiday festivities, that celebration of the Christian holiday is forbidden by Islam.

The leaflet includes quotes from the Koran alongside a burning Christmas tree.

Israel, however, has taken special measures to assist Palestinian Christians in observing the holiday. On December 19th, Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Maj. Gen. Kamil Abu Rukun met with various Palestinian leaders, including some residing in the Gaza Strip, presenting special measures such as more flexibility in granting permits for Christian Gazans to visit family members both in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and abroad via Ben Gurion Airport.

Roughly 50 percent of all Christians living in Gaza have received these special permits.

GOOD NEWS FROM AMAZING ISRAEL FROM MICHAEL ORDMAN

www.verygoodnewsisrael.blogspot.com

ISRAEL’S MEDICAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Stem cell treatment for MS. Israel’s BrainStorm has received FDA approval to use its Nurown stem cells in a Phase 2 trial for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). MS affects approximately 1 million individuals in the U.S. and 2.5 million individuals worldwide. Nurown is already in a Phase 3 trial for ALS (see here).
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/12/17/1667840/0/en/FDA-Accepts-BrainStorm-s-NurOwn-IND-Application-for-Progressive-Multiple-Sclerosis.html

Revealing the secrets of multiple myeloma. Scientists from Israel’s Weizmann Institute together with other Israeli blood cancer experts, have captured the specific gene program active in each individual cell. They can now identify pre-cancer cells, for early diagnosis and treatment of the deadly multiple myeloma disease.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/profiling-killer-warm-blood
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0269-2

Targeting bone marrow to destroy tumors. Israeli researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered that breast cancer tumors boost their growth by recruiting stromal cells that originate in bone marrow. Targeting these cells with new therapies could be an effective way of treating the deadly disease.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/health-and-medicine/breast-cancer-grows-by-recruiting-cells-from-bone-marrow/2018/12/11/ http://jem.rupress.org/content/215/12/3075

New pathway may alleviate anxiety. Anxiety disorders can affect billions of people. Scientists at Israel’s Weiizmann Institute have discovered a new neural mechanism underlying anxiety. It involves protein importin alpha-5, gene MeCP2 and signal molecule S1P. Targeting this biochemical pathway may lead to new therapies.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/importins-anxiety
http://jem.rupress.org/content/215/12/3075

Groundbreaking CT-Scanning. The Radiology department at Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem has been conducting joint research with Philips Medical Systems. It has resulted in a laboratory to study dual energy CT techniques using an experimental IQon Spectral CT scanner that is the first of its kind in the world.
http://www.spectralctlearningcenter.philips.com/
http://www.israel-radiology.org.il/images/ISRA2017Abstracts.pdf

The watch that watches you. I reported previously (Jun 2017) on Israel’s Cardiacsense and its watch that watches over your heart. Its sensors monitor heart activity and blood pressure. For those at risk of stroke or cardiac arrest it can detect arrythmia, arterial fibrillation and alert doctors. Watch COO Liat Shemesh on ILTV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dORVCXW_jxc https://club.tgt.co.il/en/project-35/cardiacsense/

Engineering meets medicine for maximum impact. Engineers, researchers and physicians at Israel’s Technion literally work “hand in glove”. They developed artificial skin so burns victims can feel again. A robotic system to perform brain and spine surgery. Ingestible chemotherapy nano-delivery tubes and more.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/spotlight/engineering-meets-medicine-for-maximum-impact/

New Israeli faculty for Medicinal Chemistry. Thanks to a major donation, Israel’s Weizmann Institute is establishing the Dr. Barry Sherman Institute for Medicinal Chemistry. Scientists will research compounds that can become therapies for autoimmune diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and infectious diseases.
https://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/life-sciences/weizmann-institute-science-establishes-dr-barry-sherman-institute-medicinal-chemistry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Sherman

Senators Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton push bill recognizing Israeli control of Golan

https://worldisraelnews.com/senators-ted-cruz-tom-cotton-push-bill-recognizing-israeli-control-of-golan/

GOP Senators Ted Cruz (R.-Texas) and Tom Cotton (R.-Ark.) introduced a bill on Tuesday urging U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Cruz and Cotton, in the joint statement on Tuesday, said:

“Israel gained possession over the Golan Heights in a defensive war over 50 years ago, and has responsibly controlled the area ever since. It’s past time for the United States to recognize reality by affirming Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.”

Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, tweeted Tuesday night, “Good news today: Senators Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz presented a bill in the Senate for American recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan Heights. Another important step in the diplomatic process that I led in the last year.”

Lapid, among other Israeli leaders, has pushed the U.S. to recognize the Golan. In an interview with The Algemeiner earlier this year, he said:

“Reality has changed. We cannot return the Golan Heights to a mass murderer who just killed half a million of his own people. And the last seven years of civil war in Syria have just proved how important it is for Israel to have the strategic control of the Golan Heights.”

“The U.S. has never denied our right to the Golan Heights, but it’s been hesitant on the issue since the mid-1970s,” he added.

“Now, I think, there is a point for the Americans to take a small stand, opposite the psychopath, without it being necessary for them to put boots on the ground or go and fight another war in the Middle East,” he said.

Palestinian Children: Victims of Arab Apartheid by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/13442/palestinian-children-apartheid

According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “legal prohibitions persist on access for Palestinian refugees to 36 liberal or syndicated professions (including in medicine, farming, fishery, and public transportation)… In order to work, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are required to obtain an annual work permit. Following a change in the law in 2001, Palestinian refugees are reportedly prevented from legal acquiring, transferring or inheriting real property in Lebanon.”

The latest failure serves as a reminder of the apartheid and discrimination Palestinians face in Lebanon. According to various human rights organizations, Palestinians there suffer systematic discrimination in nearly every aspect of daily life. The UNHCR also points out that the Palestinians in Lebanon do not have access to Lebanese public health services and rely mostly on UNRWA for health services, as well as non-profit organizations and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The Palestinians are also denied access to Lebanese public schools.

Where are all the international human rights organizations and pro-Palestinian groups around the world that feign concern for the suffering of the Palestinians? Will they remain silent over the neglect of Wahbeh because because he died in an Arab country and Israel had nothing to do with his death?

Mohammed Majdi Wahbeh, a three-year-old Palestinian boy from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon, is the latest victim of apartheid and discriminatory laws targeting Palestinians in an Arab country.

Wahbeh was pronounced dead this week after Lebanese hospitals refused to receive him because his parents were unable to cover the cost of his medical treatment. According to reports in the Lebanese media, one hospital asked the boy’s family to pay $2,000 for his admittance. The boy had been in comma for three days before his death, but no hospital agreed to receive him because his family could not afford to cover the expenses of his treatment.

The death of the Palestinian boy at the entrance to the hospital has sparked a wave of anger among many Lebanese and Palestinians. Addressing the Lebanese Minister of Health, Ghassan Husbani, Lebanese journalist Dima Sadek wrote on Twitter:

Palestinian sentenced to death for preventing murder of Israeli children VIDEO

https://worldisraelnews.com/watch-palestinian-sentenced-to-death-for-preventing-murder-of-israeli-children/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=push_notification&utm_campaign=PushCrew_notification_1545239958&pushcrew_powered=1

A Palestinian man describes the brutal torture he endured under the Palestinian Authority for preventing a terror attack against Israeli children.

He also discusses the virulent anti-Semitism in the PA and the humane treatment he received in an Israeli prison.