S-300 missile defense system. © RIA Novosti. Mikhail Fomichev Netanyahu Trying To Thwart Transfer Of Surface-To-Air Missiles From Russia To Syria — Haaretz The alleged Israeli bombardments in Syria came at the height of a stormy debate in Washington. Following the two recent air strikes on Syria that foreign media sources attributed to Israel, there have been at least three worrisome developments over the past few days in regard to those attacks. (Both attacks reportedly targeted long-range missiles and antiaircraft weapons that were earmarked for Hezbollah.) First, Syrian President Bashar Assad − as well as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah − threatened that the struggle against Israel would be renewed on the Golan Heights. Second, Hezbollah said publicly for the first time that it wants to obtain what are described as “game-changing weapons” − those weapons (chemical, advanced antiaircraft, precise surface-to-surface missiles, Russian Yakhont cruise missiles) that Israel has said it will continue to stop Hezbollah from obtaining. Read more …. My Comment: This is not going to be an easy sale. The only trump card that Netanyahu has are the one million Russian Jewish emigres who now live in Israel.
Thousands of armed police were this afternoon scouring Boston for suspected bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (pictured right) as it emerged that he posted a chilling message on Twitter eight months ago where he wrote: ‘Boston marathon isn’t a good place to smoke’. Today’s stand-off followed a dramatic night in which the two suspects killed MIT campus police officer Sean Collier, 26, and hurled explosives at police in a car chase and gun battle that left his older brother Tamerlan (left) dead. The tweets suggest the level of forethought and planning that the 19-year-old Chechen immigrant and his brother allegedly put into the devastating attack on Boston which killed three people, including at eight-year-old boy, and left 176 in hospital. Terrifying Cache Of Explosives Found At Home Of Boston Bombing Suspects As Thousands Of Police Officers Scour Locked-Down City For Fugitive After His Elder Brother Accomplice Dies In Gun Battle — Daily Mail * Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, ‘Suspect 1′ killed after explosions and machine gun fire in Boston suburb of Watertown * Manhunt continues for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, ‘Suspect 2′ who was seen on CCTV wearing a white baseball cap as police name him a ‘terrorist’ * Both suspects are ‘brothers from the Russia region near Chechnya and had lived in U.S. since 2002′ * Police chief: ‘Terrorist on the loose who wants to kill people – do not open your door’ * City in lock down: Mass public transport closed, flights canceled, armed officers conduct house-to house searches * Amtrak cancels routes between Providence, Rhode Island and New York * Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins cancel their Friday night games * Police officer critically wounded in exchange of gunfire after suspects threw explosives during car chase A terrifying cache of explosives believed to belong to the suspected bombers have been found today as thousands of police officers continue to scour Boston for fugitive Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. At least seven IEDs have been located, some in Watertown and some at the Tsarnaev family home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, police said. There were fears among officials that devices had been planted at other locations after one was reportedly discovered in the Charlesgate section of the city. The IED has been made safe. Police and SWAT teams were seen rushing to the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth campus where Dzhokhar is a student. Read more …. MIDDLE EAST Brahimi gives grim report on Syria stalemate. Fierce battles in Syria; US to raise aid to rebels. Britain, France claim Syria used chemical weapons. UN lists Syrian army and militias as sex predators. Opposition hopes Syria Friends set to agree on arming rebels . Syrian opposition leader Moaz al Khatib calls on Nusra to renounce al Qaida . Half of Syrian population ‘will need aid by end of year’. UN envoy to Syria denies resignation rumors. U.S. near $10 billion arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE. Dozens killed in Baghdad cafe explosion. Mortars, blast hit Iraqi mosques before vote. Protesters rally in Bahrain streets before Grand Prix. ASIA Deadly bird flu spreading in China, unclear how. China to send North Korea envoy to Washington. China tells Japan to cool tensions in East China Sea. Pre-teen North Koreans trained as soldiers . Young NKoreans train to seek ‘revenge on US’ . Pakistan’s Musharraf vows to fight after arrest. Pakistan police take former president Musharraf into custody. Pakistan’s Pervez Musharraf under house arrest in Islamabad. Amnesty: Indonesia ‘ failing to uphold’ Aceh peace terms. South Korean intelligence officers are accused of political meddling. China aircraft carrier ‘preparing for long distance’. AFRICA Five health workers allegedly killed by soldiers in South Sudan. President: Mali will be ready for July vote. Clashes break out in central Cairo. Guinea elections: Clashes as police break up protest. U.S. charges Guinea-Bissau military chief in plot with missiles, drugs . Eight killed in gun attack in Kenyan town of Garissa. Shell shuts down Nigeria pipeline after thefts. French family captured in Cameroon freed. Somalia the yardstick in new deal for conflict-affected countries. EUROPE In Russia, Boston worries turn to Sochi. Russia: Sochi security tight after Boston bombs. Boston blasts unlikely to worsen U.S.-Russia ties, analysts say. Russia’s Caucasus have seen decades of war, terror. Fitch downgrades United Kingdom to ‘AA+’; Outlook stable. Serbia and Kosovo strike historic deal on ties. France investigates Sarkozy campaign funds on alleged Libya link. Russian anti-Putin protest leader Navalny faces new fraud probe . Police detonate suspicious package sent to German president. Farm foremen arrested over shooting of migrant workers in Greece. Warsaw marks 70 years since uprising in ghetto. AMERICAS Manhunt in Boston after bombing suspect is killed. Bruins, Red Sox postpone Friday games in Boston. 60 people still missing after Texas blast kills 12. Study: Boston, New England at greatest tsunami risk in US. Spectator rushes stage at Venezuela inaugural. Venezuelans are polarized in post-election crisis . Maduro to be sworn in as Venezuela reviews disputed vote. Protest Marches against Fernandez highlight strains in Argentina. Paraguay presidential race sinks to new low amid corruption scandal. Top Honduran anti-money laundering official shot dead. Halt to genocide trial in Guatemala is blow to victims: U.N.. TERRORISM/THE LONG WAR Russia’s Chechnya has long terrorist connections. Russia’s Caucasus: breeding ground for terror . Al Qaeda branch threatens France, allies after Mali action. Guantanamo hunger strike will lead to multiple deaths, says military’s Muslim adviser. ECONOMY/FINANCE/BUSINESS Google again beats Viacom in YouTube copyright case . Reports: Boeing Dreamliner could fly next month. G20 gathers for debate on debt, monetary stimulus. Google and Microsoft see a jump in profits.
The IDF faced security threats on three different fronts last week. Tuesday April, 2 An IDF patrol was attacked from a Syrian gun position in the second such incident in as many weeks.
On September 23, 2011, Asher Palmer, 25, was driving with his infant son, Yonatan, on Route 60 near Kiryat Arba. He was headed towards Jerusalem to visit his pregnant wife. Driving in the opposite direction was former Palestinian Authority security officer Waal al-Arjeh and his accomplice Ali Saadeh. As they crossed paths, al-Arjeh hurled a large rock that pierced the windshield of Asher’s car, hitting him in the head and causing the car to crash on the side of the road. Asher and his son died upon impact. This week, over a year and half after the incident, justice was finally served. Waal al-Arjeh was convicted of murder for the deaths of Asher and Yonatan in a military court. Among the counts against him were two counts of manslaughter, 22 counts of attempted manslaughter and three counts of hurling objects at moving vehicles. This historic ruling is unique – it is the first time a person has been convicted of murder for stone throwing and this could set the precedent for cases in the future. In 1999, the Tel Aviv District Court ruled that damage caused by rocks thrown at a vehicle is considered a hate crime , not a traffic accident. Rock throwing may seem harmless, but rocks can kill. If we ignore rock throwing, we potentially encourage even more severe hate crimes and higher-scale terror attacks. Rock throwing is common in Judea and Samaria, and along with Molotov Cocktail and burning tires, is a terror act that comes under the definition of ‘popular terror’. These incidents occur daily, and are easily ignored by the mainstream media. In 2012 over 4,370 stones were hurled at Israeli citizens and 1,195 already in 2013. Imagine if this were heading towards your windshield next time you were driving. Related posts: Israeli Security Forces Exposed and Arrested Fatah-Tanzim Terrorist Cell Indictments Filed Against Terrorists Responsible for Gunfire Attack Israel Defense Forces: March 2012
“The army is the supreme symbol of duty and as long as women are not equal to men in performing this duty, they have not yet obtained true equality. If the daughters of Israel are absent from the army, then the character of the Yishuv will be distorted.” —David Ben-Gurion, first Israeli Prime Minister Female volunteer in the Hagana, precursor to the IDF Women have served as IDF soldiers since the very beginning. On 26 May, 1948, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion established the IDF as Israel’s armed forces. Less than three months later, the Knesset instituted mandatory conscription for all women without children. Not everyone was happy about this development, however. Parts of the more religious community felt that allowing their daughters to enlist would lead to immodesty. They wanted nothing to do with Ben-Gurion’s vision. In 2012, the State Archives made a unique document available to the public for the first time. On 15 February, 1952, Ben-Gurion sent a letter to Israel’s Karaite community. Over the course of three pages and a stream of Biblical quotations, he attempts to show that women serving in the army and defending the nation is sanctioned by tradition: “All of these verses [from the Bible] prove that the Hebrew woman was not shut away in her house, but rather played an important part in the life of the nation, serving as a judge for her people and leading her nation out to war.” The State must teach women how to fight, Ben-Gurion says, as a matter of pure necessity: “Since you rightly believe that the security of the State must be pursued night and day, I want you to know that that security will not exist if our nation’s women do not know how to fight. We are few – and our enemies are many. If, heaven forbid, a war falls upon us, the men will go to fight the enemy, and if, heaven forbid, the women who are protecting their children at home do not know how to use a weapon – what will be their end if the enemy falls upon them?” There’s nothing ideal about war, Ben-Gurion says. But as long as the threat of war exists, women must play an equal role in keeping Israel safe: “I hope that one day, as our prophets said, “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4), and we will sit in quiet and in peace, and we will no longer need our sons and daughters to go to the army… But until that prophecy is realised, and the security of our nation and the safety of every man and woman in Israel is in danger, all of our sons and our daughters must know how to defend themselves, their nation and their land.” Today, 57 percent of all officers in the IDF are women. Ben-Gurion’s vision came true. Related posts: IDF Celebrates 2012 International Women’s Day Infographic: Women of the IDF Three Women Who Can Teach You What Being Tough is All About