Israel Updates

Barak hints the US would join Israel in Iran strike
By GIL HOFFMAN
09/07/2012 02:03
"We share the challenge though our timetables are not the same," the defense minister says at a pre-Rosh Hashana political even.


PHOTO: ALON BASON/DEFENSE MINISTRY

Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to hint on Thursday night that he believed the United States would join Israel in a strike on Iran to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a pre-Rosh Hashana toast for activists of his Independence Party at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, Barak noted the meeting that he had earlier in the day with Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and said they dealt with all the developments in the region, but especially Iran.

“The State of Israel will make its decision about its future and its security alone, but the United States is our most important partner,” Barak said at the toast.

“[America’s] cooperation, intelligence-sharing and military support for Israel is extraordinary in its depth and its comprehensiveness, and I’m convinced that it will continue to be that way in every future test,” he said.

Barak, who received an update from Winnefeld on America’s preparedness for dealing with the issues in the region, praised the steps that America had taken to deal with a possible confrontation with Iran.

http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=284189

Israel relents to let in 'infiltrators'

September 8, 2012

Ruth Pollard

Left out … the Eritrean asylum seekers sit and wait by the border fence as an Israeli soldier watches from the other side. Photo: Reuters/Nir Elias

JERUSALEM: After leaving a group of about 20 Eritrean asylum seekers stranded in harsh conditions between Egypt and its border fence for seven days, Israel has softened its stance and allowed the two women and one child in the group to enter the country.

The others in the group agreed to ''go back the way they came'' to Egypt, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said.

''It is important that everyone understand that Israel is no longer a destination for infiltrators. We are determined to stop the flood of infiltrators that has been here,'' Mr Netanyahu said in a statement. ''We built this fence and it has already lowered the number of infiltrators by 90 per cent. We will intensify steps against those who employ illegal infiltrators and we will continue the effort to return infiltrators to their countries of origin.''

Government officials said the refugees agreed to the arrangement but representatives for the group could not be reached. The Israeli military has prevented aid groups from reaching the Eritreans to provide food, medical care and legal assistance.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/israel-relents-to-let-in-infiltrators-20120907-25jml.html#ixzz25odgwHKm

Disappearing pro-Israel Democrats

12:06 PM, September 7, 2012 ι Abby W. Schachter

As we survey the outcomes of the Democratic National Convention, there are multiple signs that what may have once been a major force within the Democratic party -- the pro-Israel bloc -- is receding and perhaps even disappearing.

First, the Jerusalem-is-Israel's-capital debacle : Why were the words about the Democatic Party's views on Jerusalem changed in the first place? No one knows. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who describes himself as one of the most long-standing pro-Israel Democrats in existence told Charlie Rose that he had no idea why the platform language defining Jerusalem as Israel's capital was changed. But changed it was and then it took a phony-baloney declaration of the "aye have it" to change it back. But if you listen to the audio, it really doesn't sound like the folks in the convention hall want to reinstate the language about Jerusalem and it was only because President Obama had demanded to "fix" the problem that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa had to go through the embarrassment and confusion of declaring the measure passed when obviously, the majority didn't want it passed.

Second, pro-Israel Democrats stayed away from the proceedings : Natalie Portman didn't appear as part of the celebrity Obama lovefest.

Third, pro-Israel liberals took notice that Israel is not a big seller among rank-and-file Democrats : Jeffrey Goldberg took to Twitter last night during President Obama's speech to observe that Israel just wasn't getting the love that he expected. And this while Obama himself made a apoor showing of his concern for Israel's security when he nearly ignore the Iranian threat.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/capitol/disappearing_pro_israel_democrats_ln9Iq3fhVCZSiQ9TVknZeN#ixzz25oe6Ds67

Israel military says it strikes Gaza militants

By IBRAHIM BARZAK

AP  / September 6, 2012

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military says soldiers and aircraft have hit Palestinian militants planting explosives along the border with Gaza.

The military said in a statement that it targeted a ‘‘terrorist squad’’ Thursday.

Palestinian health official Ashraf al-Kidra says three men were killed. Gaza farmers at the scene say they wore military fatigues.

An Israeli airstrike the night before killed four Palestinian militants as they were preparing to fire rockets at nearby southern cities, the military said.

Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers have observed an unwritten truce since a short war more than three years ago that Israel said aimed to stop Palestinian rocket strikes. Palestinian attacks have continued but at a much lower rate.

The rockets often trigger Israeli airstrikes. Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for the attacks.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middle-east/2012/09/06/israel-military-says-strikes-gaza-militants/ozJdMIWJ3bnmlm2hUrzmgK/story.html

US-Israel duel over Iran

(Reuters) / 7 September 2012

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blew up at the US ambassador last month because he was “at wits’ end” over what he sees as the Obama administration’s lack of clarity on Iran’s nuclear programme, a US congressman who was at the meeting said.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican, made his first public comments about the late August meeting in Israel in an interview with Michigan’s WJR radio on Tuesday.

“Right now the Israelis don’t believe that this administration is serious when they say all options are on the table, and more importantly neither do the Iranians. That’s why the programme is progressing,” Rogers said. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful energy purposes.

Israel is facing growing international pressure not to unilaterally attack Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and the United States has made clear it opposes any such strike. Rogers said if the US does not show Israel more clarity on where it draws “red lines” on Iran’s nuclear programme, then Israel might conduct a strike. “If I were betting my house today, I would guess that they probably will do it if we don’t have a change in more clear red lines from the United States,” he said.

A spokesman for Israel’s embassy in Washington declined to comment. The State Department would not comment on private diplomatic meetings but spokesman Edgar Vasquez said: “We have a rock solid relationship and an ironclad commitment to Israel.” The spat between Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro appears to confirm a deep chasm over how to deal with Iran, which the two allies have tried to play down publicly.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2012/September/middleeast_September78.xml&section=middleeast&col=

Canada closes Iran embassy, set to oust diplomats
By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFFLAST UPDATED: 09/07/2012 18:20

Citing nuclear program, hostility towards Israel, Canadian FM Baird calls Iran biggest threat to global peace; Netanyahu praises move.

PHOTO: REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL GHANY 

OTTAWA - Canada has closed its embassy in Iran and will expel all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada within five days, Foreign Minister John Baird said on Friday, denouncing Tehran as the biggest threat to global security. 

 Baird cited Iran's nuclear program, its hostility towards Israel and Iranian military assistance to the government of President Bashar Assad Syria, which is locked in civil war with rebels.

"Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today," Baird said in a statement, accusing Iran of showing blatant disregard for the safety of foreign diplomats.

"Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran ... Diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran have been suspended," he said.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Friday  welcomed Canada's decision to expel the Iranian ambassador from Ottawa and to close the Canadian embassy in Tehran.

read more at http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=284254

Israel Convinced It's Electing The American President. Mitt Backs Israel's Decision Against Iran.

Mitt Romney backs Israel against nuclear-armed Iran - video

On a trip to Jerusalem's Old City, US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney declares solidarity with Israel against threats from Iran. Romney says the US under his presidency would 'not look away' in the face of an existential challenge against the Jewish state and says the US must prevent Tehran from possessing nuclear weapons

read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/jul/30/mitt-romney-israel-nuclear-iran-video

Israel elects a president

Israel convinced that it is the one electing the American president - that the decision on who will lead the United States, and the world, rests in its hands.

By Zvi Bar'el | Aug.01, 2012 | 3:13 AM

American Presidential Candidate Syndrome is a disease that has afflicted every Israeli government, as well as Israeli society as a whole. The symptoms of this syndrome are well known, and like a chronic ulcer, they recur every four years.

The most prominent symptom is that for a moment, Israel becomes convinced that it is the one electing the American president - that the decision on who will lead the United States, and the world, rests in its hands. But since it is impossible to confine an entire country to a facility for the mentally impaired, there's nothing to do but recognize this syndrome as if it were true as true can be. That's what happens when a nation is Napoleonic, in the clinical sense of the word.

After all, eight million Israelis can't be wrong. Thus, Israel is dreaming of electing the American president, and Mitt Romney is its preferred candidate. Some things don't need to be said explicitly to be understood. Love is like that.

Romney also knows that Israel's enthusiasm carries a price: It comes with a checklist dictating a list of conditions that the presidential candidate must satisfy if he wishes to earn the Israeli public's support. So far, Romney has met them all.

A trip to Israel? Check. Contempt for the Palestinians? Check. A pledge to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem? Check. Admiration for Jewish genes? Check. Nary a word about the occupation? Check. Support for an attack on Iran? Absolutely.

This, therefore, is the man who ought to replace the Muslim president now sitting in the White House. Barack Hussein Obama - who prevented recognition of a Palestinian state, who caved in when faced with the Wild West outposts in the territories (after a pathetic attempt to freeze construction in the settlements ), who is bestowing all the most advanced equipment on Israel, who has mobilized the world against Iran, and above all, who has understood that you can't spank the rebellious Israeli child, but can only mutter "I don't approve" - is no longer suitable for Israel.

In effect, he was unsuitable from the very first moment, when he told leaders of the American Jewish community that Israel must engage in some soul-searching with regard to its peace policy. Just imagine: An American president who received nearly 80 percent of the Jewish vote telling Israel to do some soul-searching.

This is the root of the loathing and anger that the current government and the man who heads it feel toward Obama. One could overlook an American president embarking on a campaign of reconciliation with the Muslim world. One could turn a blind eye to "misunderstandings" and uncomfortable rhetoric, to chilly receptions and angry phone calls - like the one Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March 2010, after Israel announced the construction of 1,600 housing units in East Jerusalem during a visit by Vice President Joe Biden.

Messianic Israel knows that not everyone has yet adopted the true faith. But it is convinced that in the end, everyone will find enlightenment. Therefore, it doesn't get insulted when an American president criticizes its policy, and especially not when the president in question is a "Muslim" like Obama or a "leftist" like Bill Clinton. Like the Israeli left, they, too, have forgotten what it means to be Jewish.

But it is unforgivable for an American president to tell Israel to engage in soul-searching.

Soul-searching is something that Israel, and only Israel, is entitled to demand of others. Someone who urges Israel to engage in soul-searching is challenging absolute justice, even divinity itself. Such a demand casts doubt on Israel's raison d'etre - not as a state of refuge for Jews, but as the realization of a divine promise.

For there is more than enough room between Gedera and Hadera to serve as a refuge for Jews, and even a bit more north of the Kishon River. A refuge doesn't have to be located in the stony hillsides of Samaria. The Promised Land, in contrast, is a matter between the government and its Creator. No president, whether American or Malaysian, has the right to thrust himself between them.

Romney understands this idea: He has adopted it and is marketing it to all and sundry. He won't demand any soul-searching of Israel, or any "reconsideration" of its policies. Romney is well-suited to us, and we to him.

In the best-case scenario, he knows that this is a crazy country, so one can't tell the truth to its face. In the more realistic scenario, he is afflicted with that same syndrome, which drove him to come to Israel to touch holiness.

source: http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/israel-elects-a-president-1.455088

‘STANDING OVATION’: HERE‘S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MITT ROMNEY’S TRIP TO ISRAEL

Posted on July 29, 2012 at 8:47pm by  Erica Ritz

(Photo: Getty Images)

Standing on Israeli soil, U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney declared Jerusalem to be the capital of the Jewish state and said the United States has “a solemn duty and a moral imperative” to block Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability.

“Make no mistake, the ayatollahs in Iran are testing our moral defenses. They want to know who will object and who will look the other way,” he said. “We will not look away nor will our country ever look away from our passion and commitment to Israel.”

The Old City formed a made-for-television backdrop behind Romney, while some of his campaign donors listened in the audience.

Here are clips from the speech on Iran:

Romney‘s declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital follows an awkward exchange last week where White House Press Secretary Jay Carney refused to say where exactly the White House believes the capital of Israel to be.

And Romney’s remarks drew a standing ovation from his audience, according to the Associated Press.

But the presidential candidate’s embrace of Israel was on display all day, as he met with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and other leaders.  The Israeli press, normally somewhat left-leaning, was more curious about Romney and his relationship with Netanyahu than critical, according to reports.

The Washington correspondent for the Israeli site Haaretz explained: “I don’t think they know [Romney] that deep — but they are suspicious enough of President Obama to express some hopes for Romney as possible leader of the free world.”

(Photo: Getty Images)

Today’s Haaretz headline reads: “In Jerusalem speech it was Romney‘s voice but Netanyahu’s words: Netanyahu embraces Romney as no prime minister has ever embraced a candidate running against an incumbent U.S. president.”

Politico sums it up: “Given Obama’s frosty relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Romney’s relationship with ‘Bibi’ — which dates back to their time as colleagues at Boston Consulting Group in the 1970s — formed a cornerstone of Israeli press coverage over the weekend.”

Romney also visited the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, and held a meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Romney steered clear of overt criticism of the president during his remarks, but made it clear that he doesn‘t buy Obama’s narrative.

“It is sometimes said that those who are the most committed to stopping the Iranian regime from security nuclear weapons are reckless and provocative and inviting war…The opposite is true. We are the true peacemakers,” Romney said.

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney meets with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem. (Photo: AP)

Israel is the second of three stops on an international trip for Romney in the weeks before he claims the Republican nomination at his party’s national convention in Tampa, Fla.

Robert Gibbs said on ABC’s “This Week” that the administration has delayed Iran’s nuclear program through its various diplomatic initiatives, but Netanyahu countered before Romney’s speech that “all the sanctions and diplomacy so far have not set back the Iranian program by one iota.”

read more here: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/standing-ovation-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-mitt-romneys-trip-to-israel/