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1. Netanyahu to Lebanon, Hamas: 'Don't Test Us'
by Gil Ronen
Netanyahu issues warning to Israel's enemies, following a series of attacks on Israel on several fronts.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed his condolences to the family of Lt.-Col. (res.) Dov Harari, who was killed in an ambush by the Lebanese Army Tuesday. He also sent get-well wishes to Captain (res.) Ezra Lakia, who was wounded in the attack, and who is now conscious and recovering.
"In the past few days we have witnessed three criminal attacks on Israel's territory,” Netanyahu said. “An attack from Gaza on the the city of Ashkelon and the Gaza Belt communities; an attack on IDF forces who were carrying out routine activity inside Israeli territory – and I stress, they were inside Israeli territory; and between these two, another attack from the Sinai on the city of Eilat, and the city of Aqaba in Jordan.”
"The use of a peace-seeking third country's territory to launch missiles at Israel will not aid Hamas in evading responsibility,” he warned. “The government of Israel views gravely the attacks on its citizens – in an attempt to harm its relations with Egypt and Jordan. Whoever fires at Israel, no matter where he fires from, we will reach him and hit him with great force.”
"Immediately after the attack on Ashkelon,” the Prime Minister stated, “I instructed the IDF to respond decisively and it indeed did so. The IDF acted in Gaza, attacked Hamas facilities and killed a senior commander in Hamas's military wing. Also yesterday, in the North, the IDF responded quickly and hit the Lebanese Army and its facilities.”
"I want to make clear to Hamas, and also to the government of Lebanon which we hold responsible for the violent provocation against our soldiers: do not test our determination to protect the citizens of Israel and its soldiers. It seems someone understood this, and tried to evade responsibility for his crimes,” Netanyahu said, in a hint at Hamas's evasion of responsibility for the missile attack on Ashkelon and Eilat.
"Three days after our retaliation in Gaza," he said, "Grad missiles were fired from Sinai at Eilat and Aqaba by a supposedly anonymous agent. Several months earlier, on April 22, 2010, similar fire was carried out at Eilat. We investigated both of these incidents. We found beyond any doubt that a unit from Hamas's military wing fired the missiles in stealth, in both cases.”
2. Ex-CIAers to Obama: Israel Might Attack Iran This Month
by Hillel Fendel
A group of former CIA officials warns U.S. President Obama that Israel might attack Iran “even within a month,” and that Obama bears responsibility for having praised Netanyahu.
“We write to alert you to the likelihood that Israel will attack Iran as early as this month,” the open letter to Obama begins. “This would likely lead to a wider war.”
The letter, issued on Tuesday by the anti-Iraqi-war VIPS (Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity), continues:
“Israel’s leaders would calculate that once the battle is joined, it will be politically untenable for you to give anything less than unstinting support to Israel, no matter how the war started, and that U.S. troops and weaponry would flow freely. Wider war could eventually result in the destruction of the state of Israel.
“This can be stopped, but only if you move quickly to pre-empt an Israeli attack by publicly condemning such a move before it happens.” [emphasis in the original]
This is only the second memo VIPS has issued. In February 2003, it released a document criticizing then-U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's famous speech before the United Nations, in which he made the case for war against Iraq by presenting the evidence of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.
Jerusalem Building Projects and the Iran Problem
The letter is distinctly anti-Israel. Its writers - W. Patrick Lang, Larry Johnson, and Ray McGovern, among others – mock Obama for having expressed confidence that Netanyahu would not try to surprise the United States.
“You may wish to ask Vice President Biden to remind you of the kind of surprises he has encountered in Israel,” the letter states – implying that the announcement of progress in a Jerusalem housing project without informing the visiting Biden beforehand is equivalent to a surprise attack on Iraq.
“Blindsiding has long been an arrow in Israel’s quiver,” the CIA veterans write, going back to 1967 to accuse Israel of “feign[ing] fear of an imminent Arab attack as justification for starting [the Six Day War] war to seize and occupy Arab territories.” Then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s closure of the Straits of Tiran, his frequent calls to “throw Israel into the sea,” and his amassing of 1,000 tanks and nearly 100,000 soldiers on the Israeli border are overlooked in the memorandum, as are the signing of a Jordanian-Egyptian defense pact and Iraqi deployment in Jordan of troops and tanks at Jordan’s invitation a week before war broke out. Forgotten, as well, was the Egyptian Army’s Order of the Day two days before the war plugging "Holy War" and the re-conquest of "the plundered soil of Palestine."
The letter notes that Congress has implied support of Israel in case of an Israeli attack, but that “a strong public statement by you [Obama], personally warning Israel not to attack Iran would most probably head off such an Israeli move.”
Regime Change
The memorandum states that Israel is motivated not by fear of Iranian nuclear power, which it actually has reason to believe that it need not fear, but simply by the desire for “regime change” in Iran.
It accuses Netanyahu of having a “contemptuous attitude toward” the United States, and at having learned this from Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon.
“One would be well advised,” the VIPS letter states, “to greet with appropriate skepticism any private assurances Netanyahu may have given you that Israel would not surprise you with an attack on Iran.”
3. Suspicious Envelope Found at Israeli Embassy in Washington
by Chana Ya'ar
The Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. was targeted on Wednesday by unknown perpetrators who sent an envelope filled with an unidentified white powder to the building.
The FBI is currently examining the suspicious envelope, which was found in the embassy’s mailroom at approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT. It was addressed to the embassy itself and not to any one person in particular.
Officers from the local metropolitan police department, DC Fire Department and EMS, Haz-Mat division and the U.S. Secret Service immediately dispatched units to the scene.
No one opened the envelope, according to embassy spokesman Jonathan Peled, who added that officials have no idea who sent it.
Peled told the Associated Press Wednesday night that a hazardous materials team is conducting tests on the substance, which was initially feared to contain the highly contagious anthrax bacteria, which has in the past been used as a biological weapon in the United States.
The embassy spokesman added that there have been no illnesses or threats associated with the envelope. The building was not evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
4. US Cuts Funding for Israeli Defense Systems
by Chana Ya'ar
The United States has cut funding for Israel’s defense systems, even though a one-time grant appears to have raised the aid allocation.
The 2011 budget approved by Congress for the Arrow 3 program totaled $108.8 million. This included a White House request for $50.8 million, combined with another $58 million tacked on by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Last year’s allocation was considerably higher, the Globes business news service points out. The White House had budgeted $60 million, and Congress had added another $97.4 million, bringing the total appropriation for the program to $157.4 million.
A $205 million grant intended to fund a 10-unit battery of the Iron Dome system to protect Israel’s southern flank against short-range Kassam rocket attacks was announced by the White House in May, pushing up the total amount of defense aid received by the Jewish State.
The generous aid package, however, is predicted to be a one-time grant, while the Arrow 3 funding cuts may be permanent.
In addition, more permanent cuts may be on the way: the 2011 allocation for the Magic Wand system (also known as “David’s Sling”) – used to defend Israel against medium-range missile attacks – was $84.7 million. Last year’s budget was $134.7.
The Arrow 3 anti-missile system is intended to intercept and destroy long-range ballistic missiles, like the ones that could be fired at Israel from Iran.
One of the most advanced defense systems in existence, the Arrow 3 is being jointly funded and produced by Israel’s IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) and the U.S.-based Boeing aerospace and defense contractor.
5. US Increases Pressure on Iran by Targeting Firms
by Elad Benari
On Tuesday, the United States approved the latest round of sanctions against Iran and its expanding nuclear program. The latest round of sanctions were slapped on 21 specific Iranian government firms that are also believed to be providing support for radical groups such as the Taliban.
The US Treasury Department also named a slew of companies as being backed by the Iranian government. The companies that were named are spread throughout Europe and Japan, and it is believed that they are used by Iran as a means of avoiding sanctions. Treasury undersecretary Stuart Levey described these companies as "government-owned entities around the world that are not easily identifiable as Iranian" and explained that Iran uses these companies "to facilitate transactions in support of their illicit activities."
Another reason cited by the Treasury for the new sanctions is to target "the government of Iran's support for terrorism and terrorist organizations," including organizations such as Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad.
The 21 firms named included two Belarus-based banks, two Germany-based investment firms, and mining and engineering companies in Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Iran. US citizens and businesses will now be barred from doing business with these companies.
Also named were senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Hossein Musavi, who according to the Treasury "provided financial and material support to the Taliban." It is believed that the Revolutionary Guards are running operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon as cover for intelligence operations.
"As its isolation from the international financial and commercial systems increases, the government of Iran will continue efforts to evade sanctions," said Levey.
Tuesday's naming of specific companies and individuals follows a previous round of sanctions approved by the US Senate at the end of June, which penalize companies that sell gasoline to Iran or that do business with the Revolutionary Guard Corp.
Meanwhile FoxNews reported last week that research by United Against Nuclear Iran, a non-profit organization dedicated to monitoring Iran, has found that Danish shipping giant Maersk and Japanese construction equipment manufacturer Komatsu, are continuing to do business in Iran and thus breaking the new sanctions law.
United Against Nuclear Iran sent has a letter detailing its allegations to the CEOs of both companies. The letter to Maersk alleges that the company operates two Iran offices, that Maersk Iran operates several container terminals in Iran, that Maersk ships that use Iranian ports carry shipments that appear to relate "directly to Iran's petroleum and gas industries", and that Maersk does business with Tidewater, a port operator with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The letter to Komatsu alleges that its subsidiary Komatsu Middle East FZE has an office in Tehran, that Komatsu Middle East "has enabled the sale, assembly and manufacture of construction equipment that has been used in Iran's energy sector", and that Komatsu conducts business with distributors that contribute to Iran's energy sector.
Komatsu denied the charges, while Maersk said the company was reviewing the new sanctions law.
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates was also sent a copy of the letters, and the Pentagon was notified because the bulk of the firms' US government contracts were with the Defense Department. The letters to Gates urged him to cut ties with both Maersk and Kmaotsu if they refuse to abandon "sanctionable business activities in Iran."
Maersk has earned $4 billion in U.S. government contracts over the past decade, more than 90 percent of which were with the Defense Department. Komatsu has earned nearly $40 million in the same period, almost 90 percent of which was from Defense Department work.
A US State Department official told FoxNews that any such charges could entail an investigation but would not say whether the Obama administration is scrutinizing either of the firms in light of the new sanctions law. He added that the administration would certainly consider investigating the claims but cautioned that sometimes there simply is no existing evidence.
"We're going to work very carefully through this," said the official.
6. More Yesha Destruction: 5 Buildings & Synagogue Near Kiryat Arba
by Hillel Fendel
Large police and army forces arrived in Mitzpeh Avichai early this morning and destroyed six structures. Police violence was unusually intense, residents reported.
Large police and army forces arrived in Mitzpeh Avichai early this morning and destroyed six wooden structures, including a synagogue. Police violence was unusually intense, a resident reported; five residents were injured, including a 16-year-old girl. Four were arrested.
The residents immediately got to work rebuilding the neighborhood, though others went out and burned nearby Arab fields in a familiar response known as Price Tag.
One of the razed homes belonged to Aryeh Davis, a member of Kiryat Arba’s emergency response team. He told Arutz-7 that the forces arrived at 3:00 AM: “Hundreds of Yassam and Border Guard police, as well as soldiers from the Nachal’s Battalion 50, descended upon us. They shook and pounded on our house in their attempt to get in, and as a result, a bookcase collapsed, hitting our baby daughter.”
Synagogue Destruction Has Become Routine
Five years ago, the nation was aghast at the possible scenario of the State destroying synagogues in Gush Katif, and intense efforts were made to avoid it. It was said that Jewish communities abroad would be left with no recourse when local authorities, or anti-Semites, moved to destroy synagogues, if Israel itself destroys Jewish houses of worship. Since then, however, the State has destroyed synagogues in several places, including Nachliel, Yad Yair, Hazon David (dozens of times), Maoz Esther, Tapuach, and others.
Resident Itamar Ben-Gvir said, “If a mosque is destroyed, all the bleeding hearts cry out – but when a synagogue is torn down, they are all quiet.”
The buildings were not destroyed because of the construction freeze, but were rather deemed illegal for other reasons. Demolition orders were issued against them last week.
MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), who took part in a festive “New Torah Scroll” ceremony at Mitzpeh Avichai ten days ago, said in response, “The forces of destruction of the Netanyahu government continue to flex their muscles at the expense of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria. This racist destruction in Mitzpeh Avichai is another pitiful attempt to strike out at the pioneer settlers of the Land in order to bend over backwards before the terrorist Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas). But, the pioneers are stronger; when Netanyahu and Barak are thrown into the trash bin of history, Mitzpeh Avichai will be opening new kindergartens.”
7. French Businessman Announces Aliyah
by Elad Benari
French businessman Baron Edouard de Rothschild has decided to make Aliyah and move to Israel.
Yediot Aharonot reported on Tuesday that Rothschild will live part time in his Tel Aviv home while continuing to maintain his businesses in France.
Rothschild was born on December 27, 1957 and is the son of Guy de Rothschild (who was the first president of the Fonds Social Juif Unifié, the major French philanthropic agency for the Jewish community). He studied law in France and graduated from the Stern School of Business at New York University with an M.B.A. degree in 1985.
In July 2003, Rothschild was made head of Rothschild & Cie Banque, a Paris based bank which he founded in 1987 with his half-brother David René de Rothschild and cousin Eric de Rothschild, a position in which he remained until June 2004. In January 2005, he invested 20 million euros for a 37% majority shareholding in the French newspaper Libération, a left-wing daily French newspaper that was founded in 1973.
Rothschild is also an avid horse enthusiast and competes both nationally and internationally. In 2004 he was elected President of the French horse racing association, "France Galop."
The Rothschild family has historically been very Zionist and contributed financially to the founding of the state of Israel at the start of the 20th century. Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild (born 1845, died 1934) was a strong supporter of Zionism who made generous donations to the movement during its early years. He was an art lover and invested in collecting of drawings and engravings, but in 1882 cut back on his art purchases of art and instead began to buy land in Israel. Rothschild helped found the town of Rishon LeZion. He established a special colonization association in 1924 which acquired more than 125,000 acres of land and set up business ventures.
Rothschild also played a pivotal role in Israel's wine industry, supervising the establishments of farm colonies and vineyards, as well as opening two major wineries in Rishon LeZion and Zichron Yaakov that would later be called Carmel Mizrahi, a well-known leader in the Israeli wine industry. Baron Edmond de Rothschild became known as "HaNadiv HaYadu'a" ("The Famous Benefactor") due to his philanthropy. Various streets and other localities in Israel are named after him, perhaps the most famous one being Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv. The town of Binyamina (located in northern Israel, south of Haifa) , founded in 1922, was also named after him.
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