Thursday, August 24, 2023

08/24 Links Pt1: Israel’s protesters are the real threat to its democracy now; Askar UNRWA: Cradle of Terror; Was Rabin Fooled by Arafat when They Signed the Oslo Accords?

From Ian:

Melanie Phillips: Israel’s protesters are the real threat to its democracy now
Military reservists are blackmailing the government by threatening to refuse their call-up to military service — even if the country is attacked — if the government doesn’t abandon its reforms. As one Ha’aretz article boasted: “A military coup is underway in Israel — and it’s completely justified.”

Then there’s outright thuggery. The Kohelet Policy Forum, a scholarly, conservative think-tank that helped formulate the reform programme, had its offices vandalised and then barricaded with barbed wire and rubbish. Its senior thinkers have been demonised, threatened and abused.

For months, Kohelet’s principal funder, American billionaire Arthur Dantchik, was harassed by Israeli demonstrators outside his Philadelphia house and office and had his character blackened by association with Kohelet. Eventually he cracked under the pressure and ended his funding.

Earlier this month, at a Zoom conference with more than 1,000 participants gloating about the victory over Dantchik and Kohelet, Yaya Fink, a far-left political activist, declared: “The protest isn’t the goal. The protest is a tool for implementing a world view. We’re in the process of building infrastructures for the long haul.”

A video has also surfaced of the Madame Mao of the insurrection, physics professor Shikma Bressler — who has declared that the reform would turn Israel into a “theocratic dictatorship” — drilling ranks of masked men dressed in black T-shirts, standing to attention with legs apart and hands behind their backs like a paramilitary army.

This uprising is being mounted by Ashkenazi elites, seeking to maintain the power they exercise through the court to marginalise socially conservative and lower-class Mizrachi Jews. It’s being supported by liberal diaspora plutocrats who have withdrawn their funding from Israel, thus showing that their professed love of the Jewish state was always paper-thin and conditional.

And it’s being further incited by left-wing writers in both Israel and the diaspora, sobbing into their keyboards about the destruction of Jewish unity while they bully and denounce the Israeli “right” as people with whom they refuse even to identify; and while they implore diaspora Jews to save Israel from its own “non-normative” government, and replace democratic process and the rule of law with control by a judicial oligarchy comprising people in their own image.

They are all helping promote and endorse threats, bullying, intimidation, harassment, character assassination, defamation, thuggery and blackmail. They are doing deliberate and untold harm to Israel’s economy and security in order to get what they want. Moreover, they claim this represents democracy, human rights and, quite obscenely for such traitors to the Jewish people, Jewish values.

For shame.


Bassam Tawil: The Washington Post's 'Good' Terrorists
The attacks by the Fatah-affiliated terrorists came days after The Washington Post published a story from Balata refugee camp, near Nablus, in which its correspondents romanticized members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, even documenting them as they visit their barber for a haircut.

The "fighters" The Washington Post is referring to are the terrorists responsible for a series of shooting, stabbing and car-ramming attacks against Jewish civilians and soldiers in the Nablus area and Israel over the past few months. Notably, these terrorists do not hide their involvement in the wave of attacks. In fact, they often boast of the attacks and post videos and posters documenting their role.

What the newspaper fails to mention is that this terrorist [who "bought his M16 [rifle] for $20,000 with the money he earned working in construction in Tel Aviv"] is one of tens of thousands of Palestinians who were granted permits (by Israel) to come and work in Israel as part of an effort to boost the Palestinian economy and improve the living conditions of the Palestinians in the West Bank.

The terrorist did not seek work in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories because he knew he would have earned much less.... The terrorist was able to save $20,000 from his work in Israel, but instead of using the money to build a new house or improve his living condition, we are told that he chose to establish "the Balata cell of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades."

The correspondents are apparently impressed by the fact that another terrorist, Ammar, paid 20 shekels ($6) to buy them coffee. Ammar had been shot multiple times by Israeli soldiers while attempting to murder Jews near Nablus in April. He managed to escape, but two of his fellow gunmen were killed.

The correspondents go on to claim, falsely, that "there are no sports teams" in Balata refugee camp.

The truth is that the camp has a soccer club that was established in 1954. It is called the Balata Youth Center and states that it "aspires to be the main supporter of all sports, cultural, social, and scouting activities... It also aspires to have a special playground for all sports, such as football [soccer], basketball, handball, volleyball, table tennis, and other individual and group games." The local soccer team has even won several championships.

The terrorists could have joined the soccer team, but preferred to form a terror group to attack Jews.

Instead of highlighting that many of the terrorists are involved in intimidation and extortion of the local community, The Washington Post attempts to depict them as honest law-enforcers.
Askar UNRWA: Cradle of Terror - review of a must see 7 minute film
Youtube has blocked my work and thus will not allow the posting of this seven minute movie. Is that because it shows the truth about UNRWA? Do UNRWA donors know where their money is going? Do these donors know they funded the education to violent hatred that encouraged the killers of Lucy Dee and her daughters, the Yaniv brothers and so many other innocent Jews?

We asked Raibbi Leo Dee to view the film and write his impresssions of it.

Review of "Askar UNRWA: Cradle of Terror" by Rabbi Leo Dee:

Viewing Askar UNRWA: Cradle of Terror", the latest short documentary produced by David Bedein and his staff of Jewish and Arab journalists, we see the results of "indiscriminate support" for the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA.

By providing unconditional funding for UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority, rather than support for peaceful Palestinian Arabs whom they abuse, the world funds terror.

This movie shows how UNRWA and the PA educate the next generation of Arab children to hate and murder Jews.

If Israelis and the international community do not wake up to this reality, there will never be peace.

By supporting peaceful Palestinian Arabs to assert control of PLO terrorist organizations, and hate filled UNRWA camps, both Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews will stand a chance at a better life together.


Was Rabin Fooled by Arafat when They Signed the Oslo Accords?
Two months after the signing of the Declaration of Principles for the Oslo Accords in Washington, I met with Yasser Arafat in Tunis to speak about the future of the negotiations. To my dismay, Arafat told me that the future territory of the nascent Palestinian Authority would stretch from Ein Gev in the north (on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee) to Ein Gedi (situated on the Dead Sea) in the south. He further said that the hills overlooking Jericho were his. Back in Jerusalem, I briefed the Prime Minister about Arafat's position. Rabin did not believe what he heard and asked me to check with our Foreign Ministry. They replied that during the meetings in Oslo there was no mention whatsoever of Arafat's claims.

At a December 13, 1993, meeting in Cairo, Rabin met with Arafat alone. Ten minutes later, he came out of the meeting, furious at having been taken in by Arafat's positions. He told the Israeli entourage, "Too bad I didn't meet with Arafat before the Oslo agreements were signed. I would not have signed them."

My work with Rabin leaves me with no doubt that he was aware of the contacts being held in Oslo but was not aware of the fine details of the understandings presented there, and he did not seem to have assigned enough importance to those understandings. Moreover, Rabin did not consider Arafat's positions as threatening. Arafat could claim whatever he wanted. There was no way Rabin would accept his whims.

Rabin did not call for establishing an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel and definitely not on the 1967 lines. He spoke of a political entity - a little more than an autonomy and less than a state - that would be obligated by federative or confederative agreements with Israel and Jordan.


Seth Frantzman: BRICS swings big with invitation of Middle East countries
Now BRICS has decided to invite Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Argentina, Egypt, and Ethiopia to join. Clearly there is a bias here towards Middle East countries. The UAE and Egypt are important in terms of Israel’s role because they have peace with Israel. Saudi Arabia is a leader in the region and also important in the Gulf and globally. The decision to invite Argentina and Ethiopia creates new opportunities for BRICS in Africa and South America. But the real story here is the growth in influence in Middle East states. Saudi Arabia, for instance has hosted recent meetings with China. Riyadh also recently hosted Iran’s foreign minister and China has supported Iran in recent conversations with Iran’s foreign minister as well.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are close partners of the West. Iran is openly a destabilizing force in the Middle East and has worked to become closer to China and Russia. Iran exports armed drones to Russia and seeks to build on a new 25-year deal with China. As such the Iranian membership of BRICS and other groups with China and Russia can lead to coordination between these states and this has major ramifications for the future world order. As these countries grow closer Iran’s defense industries could be boosted, for instance. This is important as Iran seeks to develop its missile and drone programs and export more weapons. Iran unveiled a new long range armed drone, the Mohajer 10, this week, for instance.

What happens next as Saudi, Iran, and others join BRICS is something that time will tell. This is an important economic group and the way it and groups like the SCO are doing outreach will shift global economic priorities and potentially create a balance in terms of how the West has dominated the world order. China and Russia would like to unseat the West and challenge the US. Countries like India are partners of the West but, like Saudi Arabia, they have their own independent policies and want to play a role in various forums.

Now more countries that are clearly partners of the West, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia and Egypt, will be playing a larger role at BRICS. This will change the Middle East and clearly put the region on the map. BRICS is swinging big with its decision to invite so many Middle East countries to join. This also shows that analysts who believed the Middle East would be less important in the future and that the US should shift focus to Russia or China, are ignoring how important the Middle East is to China, Russia, India, and others.

The Middle East has become more important in recent years, not less important, and BRICS acknowledges this; while some western countries have apparently missed the boat in seeing the region as one that is declining in importance.


Almost Half of Palestinians View Abraham Accords Positively
47% of Palestinians in Gaza and 63% in eastern Jerusalem express a positive view of the regional impact of the Abraham Accords, according to a poll commissioned by The Washington Institute and conducted in July 2023 by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion. Support in the West Bank was only 27%.

At the same time, Palestinians appeared more receptive to good relations with Iran than residents of most other Arab countries. 65% in Gaza, 51% in the West Bank, and 63% in eastern Jerusalem said good relations with Iran were important.
Israel Approves Increase in Natural Gas Exports to Egypt
Israel has approved an increase in the country’s natural gas exports to Egypt, Energy Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday.

“This step will increase the state’s revenues and strengthen the diplomatic relationship between Israel and Egypt,” Katz said in making the announcement.

A consortium of international companies operates and own the rights to Tamar, including:
• Isramco, 28.75 percent;
• US-based Chevron, 25 percent;
• Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Energy, 22 percent;
• Tamar Petroleum, 16.75 percent;
• Dor Gas with 4 percent; and
• Everest with 3.5 percent.

Approximately 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) will be added to Israel’s current natural gas exports to Egypt over the next 11 years.

The exports will come from the Tamar natural gas field in Israel’s exclusive economic zone off the coast of Haifa, about 1,700 meters beneath the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

The decision to authorize the increase was made upon the recommendation of Petroleum Commissioner Chen Bar Yosef, Katz said.

He added that approval was given only after ensuring there is enough of the precious resource to supply Israel’s energy needs. About one-third of the additional natural gas produced from Tamar will be allocated to the domestic market.
PodCast: Why Pakistan Should Establish Diplomatic Ties With Israel A Fireside Chat With Mohammed Rizwan, Journalist & Political Commentator
Following the 2020 Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between Israel and two new Arab partners, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, there has been speculation about which country may be next for Israel to establish relations, namely Saudi Arabia.

But there’s still more potential for Israel to establish ties with a much larger Muslim-majority country: Pakistan, home to nearly 250 million people.

That’s according to Mohammed Rizwan, a Pakistani-Canadian journalist and political commentator, who recently co-authored an opinion column in the National Post with activist Raheel Raza, where he called on Pakistan to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.

Rizwan joins us on this week’s podcast to discuss why Pakistani-Israeli diplomatic ties may not be as far-fetched as it seems.


Israel Arrests 4 Citizens for Smuggling Iran-Made Explosives Via Hezbollah
Israel’s Shin Bet security agency revealed on Thursday that four Arab-Israelis were arrested for smuggling arms from elements connected to the Hezbollah terrorist organization.

The Israeli citizens arrested were from Kfar Qasem and Lod, two central cities in Israel. The four men were found with explosive devices made in Iran, which were seized by the authorities, with intentions to also use them for criminal activities.

“This affair once again illustrates the efforts of terrorist elements from Hezbollah and Iran to exploit the Arab citizens of Israel for security activities against the state. The investigation also revealed that there’s a thin line between security and criminal activities,” a senior official was quoted as saying in the Shin Bet statement.

The joint operation was conducted by the Shin Bet, Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and the Israel Police. The investigation led to the discovery of high-quality ammunition and explosives in the suspects’ possession, particularly two Iranian-made devices.

Suspects were first caught in Kfar Qasem, and a later raid in Lod led to the arrest of the Arab-Israeli men who intended to use the explosive devices for criminal purposes.

The thorough investigation by Shin Bet revealed that the Iranian-funded Lebanese Shiite terror organization Hezbollah recruited and operated a smuggling route in Israel, used also to distribute illegal drugs to various criminal entities.
The Israel Guys: CNN LIED About Israel’s Raid Into This Palestinian Village
A 12 year old girl had to stand up at her mother’s funeral yesterday and tell the story of how she saw her mother get shot and killed at point blank range simply for the fact that she was a Jew daring to live in the land of Israel. The question is, when will the world wake up and say that this is enough?

CNN as usual got the story all wrong about a Palestinian terrorist who was shot and killed in an IDF raid, Israel’s security cabinet met to discuss taking the fight against terror to the next level and NYC mayor Eric Adams visited Israel.


CTV News Fails To Identify Palestinian Killed By Israeli Forces As A Terrorist
HonestReporting Canada has filed an official complaint with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) calling on CTV News to broadcast an immediate on-air clarification to remedy a seriously misleading report.

The report, which aired several times on August 22, failed to properly identify a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces as being a terrorist engaged in hostilities with IDF forces and instead, depicted the deceased Palestinian as a mere teenager, a presumably innocent one no less.

In so doing, CTV’s viewers were misled into believing that Israeli forces killed a civilian vs. a combatant.

The report stated the following:
“Israeli forces have reportedly carried out a deadly raid in the West Bank and appear to have arrested two Palestinians suspected of a shooting attack that killed an Israeli woman. Video released by Israeli Police appears to show troops arresting the two suspects. Palestinian officials say Israeli security stormed into a town in the north of the West Bank to conduct a raid. A 17-year-old Palestinian boy was reportedly fatally shot during the raid.”

At one point, the marquee that appeared below the footage said: “Palestinian teen reportedly fatally shot in West Bank”.

Untold by CTV News, the dead Palestinian teen was a member of the Islamic Jihad terrorist group which claimed him as a fighter. Accordingly, he was a combatant and not a civilian as this report strongly implied.


IMF: Lack of Reforms Hamper Palestinian Economic Growth
Growth of the Palestinian economy will continue to slow this year, weighed down by a lack of reforms, a financial crisis and the worsening political and security situation, the International Monetary Fund has said.

High unemployment and poverty are adding to macroeconomic fragilities of the occupied West Bank and Gaza that are largely dependent of foreign aid and grants, the IMF said in a statement on Wednesday at the close of its staff level discussion with Palestinian officials.

“The outlook for the Palestinian economy remains bleak amid a volatile political and security situation, with downside risks persisting,” Kerstin Gerling, head of the IMF mission to the West Bank and Gaza, said.

“Together with lower regional growth, the increasingly difficult environment is weighing on both the supply and demand side of the economy.”

After the post-pandemic rebound in 2021, gross domestic product growth nearly halved to 3.9 per cent in 2022 and is expected to decelerate further to 3 per cent in 2023, the IMF said.

Palestine's economy was driven by the recovery in private consumption as authorities eased coronavirus pandemic-related movement restrictions, the World Bank said a report in May.

However, the worsening security situation and political uncertainty “point to a gradual reduction of per capita incomes over the medium term amid a continued widening of the already large gap in living standards between the West Bank and Gaza”, Ms Gerling said.

Weakening activity and relatively lower international commodity prices, however, have helped in easing inflation, which is projected at 3.2 per cent in 2023 and to slide further to 2 per cent over the medium term, she said.

The fiscal crisis in Palestine, however, continues under “broadly unchanged policies”, which has undermined the delivery of basic government services.

“An ever-binding liquidity crunch has led to a cash-based execution of the 2023 budget and constrained the full payment of public sector wages and pensions (persisting since late 2021) and cash transfers to the most vulnerable,” the IMF said.

“Arrears continue to accumulate, and without substantial adjustment policies, public debt remains unsustainable.”
MEMRI: Article In Qatari Daily Calls Deadly Terrorist Attack On Two Israeli Civilians A 'Heroic' And 'High-Quality' Operation
On August 22, 2023 the Qatari daily Al-Watan published an article by Palestinian journalist Aiman Abu Nahia praising the August 19 terror attack in the Palestinian town of Huwara, in which two Israeli civilians, father and son, were murdered as they waited for their car to be washed. Abu Nahia calls the attack a "heroic" and "high-quality" operation and assesses that it will prompt further attacks of the same kind. He praises the terrorist for his successful planning and for the "brave," "calm" and "accurate" implementation of the attack despite the "massive presence" of Israeli troops in the area and the security coordination between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel. The attack, he adds, is a message from the Palestinian people, that nothing can stop the resistance, which is the choice of the young Palestinian generation, and that the resistance can strike anywhere and anytime, including in the most vital and sensitive locations.

It should be noted that, as documented by MEMRI over the years, the Qatari press regularly publishes articles praising jihad and armed struggle against Israel and encouraging terror within it.[1] Moreover, Qatar has for years been sheltering Hamas leaders, extending economic aid to Hamas and backing its armed action against Israel.[2] In addition, Qatar supports, sponsors and funds the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), founded in 2004 by the extremist Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradawi. The union provides Hamas with religious legitimacy and consistently promotes an extremist discourse of hate, incitement, antisemitism, calls for jihad, encouragement of armed struggle against Israel, and antisemitism.[3]

The following are translated excerpts from Aiman Abu Nahia's article:
"The heroic operation in Huwara on Saturday [August 19], in which two settlers were killed, reflects the pulse of the Palestinian public and its genuine inclination to avenge the blood of the martyrs that is shed every day in the occupied [West] Bank by the occupation and the settlers… The Huwara operation was high-quality because it caused fatalities to the occupation despite all the capabilities, military equipment and security measures employed in the occupied West Bank, especially in Nablus and in Huwara, [a town] that produced fida'i [i.e., self-sacrifice] operations already in February 2022. The Palestinian resistance has repeatedly operated in Huwara, thus opening the door wide to further fida'i operations that announce the failure of the PA's and Israel's security services, which were surprised by the courage of the attacker and did not anticipate [the operation]. This was especially [impressive] given that the occupation forces and the security forces of the PA are widely deployed in areas where fida'i operations have taken place. They have boosted their security presence in the large cities, chiefly in Nablus, Jenin, Tulkarm, Jericho, Hebron and Ramallah, in order to stop the resistance and prevent further fida'i operations against the settlers.

"But previous fida'i operations have taught us that the last word in this struggle is always said by the fida'i who carries out the operation, for he is the one who chooses the time and place and accurately carries out [his plan] and successfully reach the target despite the security obstacles and complications.
Islamic Jihad terrorist sues over ’right’ to videogames in jail
A Palestinian terrorist convicted of kidnapping and killing an Israeli teenager has petitioned a judge after the Israel Prison Service (IPS) denied him the “right” to play videogames, a spokesperson for the IPS confirmed on Wednesday.

Iham Kamamji, a Palestinian Islamic Jihad member serving two life sentences for his role in the 2006 murder of 18-year-old Eliyahu Asheri, said the prison administration had previously allowed him to have a Sony PlayStation 2 in his cell.

Kamamji was one of the six Palestinian terrorists who in September 2021 broke out of Israel’s maximum-security Gilboa Prison. Following their recapture, Kamamji was moved to the isolation wing of Ashkelon’s Shikma Prison.

In the petition, the terrorist complained about alleged “discrimination and harassment” at the hands of the Prison Service in the wake of his attempted escape. “I do not commit crimes and respect the law and the administration,” Kamamji claimed.

“The recreational rights of prisoners in segregation are examined and given on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with the prisoner’s behavior,” the IPS stated in response.

“After the request was denied, the prisoner filed a petition, which has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. We will bring our full arguments to the court as is customary,” added the spokesperson.
Hamas terrorist dies, another injured in ‘work accident’
A Hamas member was killed on Thursday in Gaza from what the terrorist group described as an “accidental explosion.”

Palestinian authorities said that the blast ripped through a Hamas terrorist site in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, killing Ashraf Hussein—a member of Hamas’s “military” wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

The explosion also seriously wounded another Hamas terrorist.

The Qassam Brigades confirmed that Hussein died from an accidental explosion.

Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza and Lebanon have stepped up their security levels in recent days over fears of Israeli strikes.

The leaderships of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad reportedly fear an Israeli response, including targeted killings, to a series of deadly attacks against civilians in Judea and Samaria in recent weeks.

Sources in the “Palestinian resistance” told London-based pan-Arab news site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Wednesday that terrorist leaders in Gaza, Lebanon and elsewhere have taken “unprecedented” security measures and “take seriously the Israeli threats.”


PreOccupiedTerritory: Hamas Embarrassed After Vow To ‘Open Gates Of Hell’ On Israel Results In Underground Beirut Fire (satire)
Leaders of the Islamist terrorist group that governs this coastal territory continued to maintain a low profile this week following indications that their bombastic threats of wielding a massive subterranean inferno against the Jewish State appears instead to have resulted in pockets of flame shooting up from the pavement in the Lebanese capital.

Official reports of the underground fires near the Beirut airport include speculation that the conflagrations involve tunnels and ammunition stockpiles of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement that exerts effective control of Lebanon. Hamas leaders, however, have taken a more cautious approach, given the closeness of the phenomenon to the very thing that they promised with their vow to “open the gates of Hell” on Israel for the latter’s moves to counter or prevent attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip.

“They haven’t been seen much in public,” observed one Gaza journalist, referring to senior Hamas figures. “The few that have, we haven’t heard them mention anything that’s going in on Lebanon – which is unusual. Usually, they make a big deal about the spiritual alliance with other enemies of the Zionist Entity, and how any act by Israel will ‘open the gates of Hell’ or the like. But they’ve kept silent on Lebanon of late, and if someone around them does bring it up, they either change the subject in a hurry or make a swift exit.”

“It’s understandable that they would try to avoid the subject,” acknowledged another, also speaking on condition of anonymity, given Hamas’s treatment of those who fail to hew to its official line. “With all the funding the group receives from Iran, the last thing they need is to drive a wedge between themselves and Iran’s other main proxy in anti-Zionist resistance, Hezbollah. It simply will not do to have Hamas be the source of Lebanese suffering. That’s Hezbollah’s job. Hamas doesn’t want to step on Hezbollah’s feet.”
The Real Story of the 1953 Iranian Coup
70 years ago, a coup toppled Iran's Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq. Mossadeq was a Persian aristocrat who objected to Britain's control of Iran's oil. Appointed to his post by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, he had led the nationalization charge to reclaim Iran's national asset.

America became involved with Iran at Mossadeq's instigation. Once negotiations over oil with Britain deadlocked, Mossadeq implored President Truman to mediate the dispute. From 1951 until the eventual coup, a succession of American diplomats came up with numerous plans, all of which Mossadeq rejected.

To pressure him, Britain imposed an embargo on Iranian oil and Iran's economy cratered. Mossadeq became more despotic. He rigged elections, disbanded Parliament, usurped the powers of the monarch, and showed little respect for the constitution, alarming Persian power brokers. By 1953 Iranians were asking the U.S. Embassy for support. Eisenhower seemed sympathetic because of Mossadeq's increasing reliance on the Tudeh Communist Party.

The CIA didn't create the opposition to Mossadeq. Iranian Lt.-Gen. Fazlollah Zahedi had already organized the military to overthrow the prime minister, mullahs were organizing demonstrations against Mossadeq, and merchants were closing their bazaars in protest. America's most essential contribution to Mossadeq's removal was to get the young and hesitant shah to dismiss his prime minister.
Unpacked: Why Did Israel Secretly Attack Syria?
Back in 2007, after the Israeli Mossad discovered that Syria had developed a nuclear reactor, then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert knew he had only one option: to destroy it quickly and quietly. The only questions that remained were who would do it, how would they do it, and what would Syria’s response be.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:40 Syria-Israel relations
01:23 Syria's nuclear reactor
02:29 The Begin Doctrine
02:54 Osirak strike on Iraq's nuclear reactor
03:34 The question of who would take out the Syrian reactor
06:38 Preparing for war in secrecy
07:20 The strike
07:49 Syria's response
08:44 Additional Israeli operations against Syria
09:07 Media speculation about mysterious explosion in Syria
09:24 Why Israel took responsibility for the strike in 2018
10:16 Source of the Begin Doctrine


Is Iran's Economy on the Brink of Collapse?
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), long considered the shock troops of the revolution, are not as content with their lot as they used to be. Protected from the winds that regularly buffet the regime, members of the IRGC can normally expect to reap economic benefits from their privileged position. But leaks from IRGC commanders show that the financial largesse that oiled the political system is waning.

Foreign sanctions are simply the salt rubbed into the self-inflicted wound of monumental mismanagement. Transparency, accountability and the rule of law, the hallmarks of a modern investment-led economy, are alien concepts. Structural reform of the economy would require a level of trust in the regime that doesn't exist.

Inflation is officially at 40% (though most believe it to be higher) and the currency has lost more than half its value over the last two years. Ironically, one source of immediate salvation for the regime is the Biden Administration's lax enforcement of oil sanctions.
How U.S. Navy Can Destroy Iranian Small Boat Swarm Attacks
Iranian small boats have harassed and interfered with U.S. Navy ships and private commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Their tactical concept is to blanket or overwhelm a larger surface ship with multiple points and angles of attack so as to overwhelm deck-mounted guns and ship defenses. Explosive-packed small boats or those armed with shoulder-fired missiles could exact a substantial toll on larger warships. U.S. Central Command reports that Iran has seized at least 20 vessels since 2021.

The U.S. Navy has in recent years taken specific and impactful measures to improve ship defenses. It has conducted numerous live-fire drills and scenario reenactments to sharpen its ability to counter and destroy swarming small boat attacks.

Most surface Navy warships operate with a Close-In-Weapons-System (CIWS) ship-defense weapon, an "area" weapon able to fire hundreds of small metal projectiles across a wide envelope in seconds to destroy incoming enemy missiles, aerial drone swarms and even lower flying helicopters or other fast-incoming attacks. Ten years ago the Navy upgraded CIWS to specifically enable it to "blanket" incoming small boats across a wide surface area, essentially denying any ability for small boats to survive moving close in to large warships.

Moreover, short- and mid-range deck-fired interceptors such as SeaRAM and the Rolling Airframe Missile have been upgraded to increase range, lethality and precision, weapons enhancements increasingly capable of targeting and destroying fast-moving small boats. Yet another critical factor is the air assets the Navy can deploy. The USS Bataan now in the region can carry 24 rotary-wing and fixed-wing attack aircraft. With its long-range, precision sensors and next-generation air-to-surface weaponry, a single F-35B would be positioned to obliterate groups of swarming small boats.
Australian Jewish Association: Iran's threat to Israel - Dr Eric Mandel, Founder & Director of MEPIN
The Iranian Regime's Anti-Israel Strategy with Dr. Eric Mandel

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is tightening the noose around Israel. It is the 'head of the snake' behind countless terror groups.

What is their strategy and how should Israel and its allies confront the IRGC?

Dr. Eric Mandel is the founder and director of MEPIN, the Middle East Political & Information Network. He regularly briefs Congressmen & Israeli leadership about Middle East geopolitics.






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