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Israel: Beware of Obama; His Promise to Transform America was too Modest

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US-POLITICS-OBAMA-FILMBy Michael Goodwin. First he comes for the banks and health care, uses the IRS to go after critics, politicizes the Justice Department, spies on journalists, tries to curb religious freedom, slashes the military, throws open the borders, doubles the debt and nationalizes the Internet.

He lies to the public, ignores the Constitution, inflames race relations and urges Latinos to punish Republican “enemies.” He abandons our ­allies, appeases tyrants, coddles ­adversaries and uses the Crusades as an excuse for inaction as Islamist terrorists slaughter their way across the Mideast.

Now he’s coming for Israel.

Barack Obama’s promise to transform America was too modest. He is transforming the whole world before our eyes. Do you see it yet?

Against the backdrop of the tsunami of trouble he has unleashed, Obama’s pledge to “reassess” America’s relationship with Israel cannot be taken lightly. Already paving the way for an Iranian nuke, he is hinting he’ll also let the other anti-Semites at Turtle Bay have their way. That could mean American support for punitive Security Council resolutions or for Palestinian statehood initiatives. It could mean both, or something worse. (Read more from “Israel: Beware of Obama” HERE)

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Massive Sinkholes Break Open as Dead Sea Shrivels

By Molly Hunter. There are more than 3,000 sinkholes on the banks of the Dead Sea — and they’re multiplying exponentially, according to environmentalists, as the body of water dries up.


“It’s nature’s revenge,” said Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli Director at EcoPeace Middle East, an organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to protect their shared environmental heritage.

“These sinkholes are a direct result of the inappropriate mismanagement of water resources in the region.”

More than 1,400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest point on land. The first sinkhole was spotted in the 1980s. By 1990, there were 40, and 15 years later new chasms are breaking open every day.

“They could develop overnight. Or over time,” Bromberg said. “Making them unpredictable. And very dangerous.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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How Netanyahu’s Speech Played in Israel and among Arabs

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By JTA. In America, pundits and politicians are wondering what Netanyahu’s speech will mean for the next few months, years, even decades of US-Israel and US-Iranian relations.

In Israel, everyone is focused on the next two weeks.

Since the speech was announced in January, Netanyahu’s critics have accused him of using the US Capitol stage to boost his polls ahead of Israel’s March 17 election. Supporters say his only intention is to defend his country from a looming threat . . .

“There’s no doubt that the pictures of Congress giving a standing ovation can have a positive influence on the voters,” said Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. “Israelis understand that the criticism of him was political. Israelis understand that Israel-US relations are strong.”

In Israel’s newspapers, responses to the speech, as always, fell along ideological lines. At the pro-Netanyahu daily Israel Hayom, Boaz Bismuth, under the headline “The speech of a historic moment,” wrote that Netanyahu succeeded in transcending politics, as “there are moments in which a leader does what he does not for votes, but for the children … There are moments in history that a leader makes happen.” (Read more about how the speech played in Israel HERE)

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Arab Commentators Back Netanyahu On Speech to Congress

By Yochanan Visser. On the eve of the Purim festival, Israel watched Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu deliver a historical speech to the U.S. Congress on Iran. The speech was broadcasted on all Israeli TV Channels, albeit with a five-minute delay to make sure there was no ‘electioneering’ in what Netanyahu told Congress. Israel will hold elections in another two weeks.

In his speech, Netanyahu evoked the upcoming Purim festival, when the book of Ester is read and Jews commemorate the first attempt to commit genocide on the Jewish people by the Persian King Ahasueres (Ahasveros), who acted on the advice of his personal advisor Haman. Netanyahu compared this attempt to annihilate the Jewish people to the vows to destroy the Jewish state made by contemporary Iranian leaders.


Netanyahu said that “even if Israel has to stand alone – Israel will stand.”

Right after Netanyahu’s speech, commentators on Israeli TV highlighted the Arab and Iranian response to the event.

Tzvi Yechezkieli, the Arab affairs expert of Channel 10, said that many Arab commentators supported the content of Netanyahu’s speech. He cited a commentator on Al-Arabiya TV, who had said that he could have written a large part of the speech.

Yechezkieli said that the Arab countries are convinced that Obama will not safeguard their security interests in the current negotiations with Iran and will not protect them against Iranian aggression. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Netanyahu Showdown With Iran a ‘Replay of Bible Story’

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Christian supporters of Israel see Tuesday’s address to Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as more than just a political speech . . .

With the Feast of Purim and Netanyahu’s speech converging in the same week, there are lessons to be drawn from history, they say.

Purim celebrates Queen Esther’s brave intervention to stop a plot that, if allowed to go forward, would have led to a genocide against the Jews . . .

Netanyahu’s speech Tuesday will occur on the biblical Fast of Esther – the same day Mordecai told Queen Esther of Haman’s evil plot to kill the Jews and pleaded for her to approach the king of Persia on Israel’s behalf . . .

Could Congress be Israel’s modern-day Esther? Is Netanyahu, a modern-day Mordecai, pleading with America’s legislative body, the one that most directly represents the American people, to intervene in the situation by asking the “king” to foil the scheme of the ant-Semitic Haman, who in this case is the Iranian regime? (Read more about the showdown with Iran HERE)

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Here’s How Obama is Defending His Choice to Not Meet With Netanyahu

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Photo Credit: The BlazeBy Fred Lucas. President Barack Obama said his refusal to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu two weeks before Israel’s elections isn’t personal — he wouldn’t meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel under the same circumstances, either.

“As much as I love Angela, if she was two weeks away from election, she probably would not have received an invitation to the White House, and I suspect she would not have asked for one,” Obama said at a joint news conference with the German leader Monday at the White House. “Some of this just has to do with how we do business. I think it is important for us to maintain these protocols because the U.S.-Israeli relationship is not about a particular party” . . .

“I don’t want to be coy. The prime minister and I have differences around Iran’s sanctions,” Obama said. “I have been very clear and Angela agrees with me and [British Prime Minister] David Cameron agrees with me and the others who are members of the negotiations agree that it does not make sense to sour the negotiations a month or two before they are about to be completed and we should play that out if we can get a deal, we should embrace it. If we cannot get a deal, we will have to make a set of decisions and, as I said to Congress, I will be the first one to work with them to apply even stronger measures against Iran.” (Read more about how Obama is defending his choice to not meet with Netanyahu HERE)

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Despite Recent Criticism, Netanyahu Still Determined to Address U.S. Congress on Iran’s Nuclear Program

By Barak Ravid. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he is determined to address the U.S. Congress on Iran’s nuclear program. Netanyahu rejected the criticism in the United States and Israel, saying that “while some are busy with protocol or politics, a bad deal with Iran is taking shape.”

Speaking at a Likud election event, Netanyahu added that, as prime minister, it is his duty to do everything in his power to prevent a dangerous deal with Iran. “From the day Israel was established to this day, there have been essential differences between Israel and the U.S., and relations remained sound – this will be the case this time as well,” he said.

“This is not a political issue or a party issue, neither here nor there. This is an existential issue, and I approach it with the fullest responsibility.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Hezbollah Attacks Israel Using New Advanced Weaponry

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Photo Credit: Western Journalism By Yochanan Visser. At noon today, Hezbollah launched an attack across the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Fourth generation Kornet anti-tank missiles were fired at two IDF vehicles in the Har Dov area that were subsequently destroyed. This was the first time Hezbollah used this advanced anti-tank missile.

The IDF immediately responded with artillery fire on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. After that, Hezbollah fired mortars on Israeli villages in the area of Mount Hermon, the highest mountain in Israel.

Two Israeli soldiers were killed, and seven others were wounded critically. Several Israeli citizens were also lightly wounded by Hezbollah fire and were evacuated to Ziv Hospital in Safed . . .

Hezbollah claimed that the attack on Israel was justified, and that it was an act of ‘legal resistance’ since the organization disputes Israeli sovereignty over the Har Dov area. In fact, this has been Hezbollah’s excuse for continuing its hostilities against the Jewish state after Israel withdrew fully from Lebanon in May 2000. The United Nations confirmed later that no Lebanese territory is occupied by Israel anymore. (Read more about how Hezbollah attacks Israel HERE)

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Iran Targets Netanyahu Children for Assassination

By Adam Kredo. Iran is encouraging its terror allies to pursue the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s children by publishing personal information about them, including photographs of the kids lined up in crosshairs, and declaring, “We must await the hunt of Hezbollah.”

The publication of the personal information and biographies of Netanyahu’s children follows an Israeli airstrike last week that killed several key Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian commander affiliated with the country’s hardline Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Iranian military leaders affiliated with the IRGC threatened in recent days harsh retaliation for the strike and promised to amp up support for Hezbollah as well as Palestinian terrorist organizations.

The information was originally published in Farsi by an Iranian website affiliated with the IRGC and quickly republished by Iran’s state-controlled Fars News Agency.

In addition to biographical details and pictures of Netanyahu’s children, the Iranians provided details about the families of former Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Obama Campaign Team Sent to Israel to Defeat Netanyahu

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By Thomas Rose. Just days after the Obama White House accused House Speaker John Boehner of “breaking protocol” by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, a team of up to five Obama campaign operatives has reportedly arrived in Israel to lead a campaign to defeat the Israeli Prime Minister in upcoming national elections scheduled for March 17.

The anti-Netanyahu, left wing Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports a group called “One Voice,” reportedly funded by American donors, is paying for the Obama campaign team. That group is reportedly being led by Obama’s 2012 field director Jeremy Bird.

As Jerusalem Post columnist and putative Knesset candidate Caroline Glick reported on her Facebook page, “Obama won’t meet Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington when he addresses the Joint Houses of Congress in March because of Netanyahu’s visit’s proximity to the Israeli elections. And Obama, of course believes in protocol and propriety which is why he won’t get involved.” And yet, Glick adds, “He’s just sending his 2012 field campaign manager to Israel to run a campaign to defeat Netanyahu.” (Read more about the Obama campaing team arriving in Israel HERE)

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IDF Strikes Syrian Army Targets

By Yaakov Lappin. The Israel Air Force (IAF) struck Syrian army artillery targets late on Tuesday night in response to an earlier rocket attack carried out on the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon.

“The IDF views the Syrian regime as responsible for what occurs in its territory, and will act at any time and any way it sees fit to protect the citizens of Israel,” the IDF said.

The targets were accurately struck, the IDF added.

IDF confirmation of the strike came minutes following reports of air sirens being heard in the Golan Heights, which later proved to be false alarms. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Israeli Strikes Kill Iranian, Top Hezbollah Fighters in Syria

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An Israeli strike in Syria on Sunday killed the son of a slain top Hezbollah commander and another four fighters in a move that could ratchet up tensions with the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement, which recently boasted of rockets that can hit any part of the Jewish state.

Hezbollah fighters in towns and villages along the border with Israel went on high alert, said an official from the group. In the Shiite-dominated areas of south Lebanon and Beirut the streets emptied quickly, as residents feared an escalation. Hezbollah-run al-Manar TV warned that Israel was “playing with fire that puts the security of the whole Middle East on edge.”

A Hezbollah official identified one of the five slain men as Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, a top Hezbollah operative assassinated in 2008 in Damascus. Hezbollah blames Israel for the killing and has long vowed to avenge his death. The official said the dead included another senior Hezbollah commander, Mohammed Issa, and at least one Iranian national with the group.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the slain Iranian belonged to the Revolutionary Guards. The group, which obtains its information from a network of activists on the ground, said the Israeli strikes hit two vehicles and a home. It said the fighters were in the area to plan attacks along the Israeli-controlled frontier. (Read more about the strikes killing the Hezbollah fighters in Syria HERE)

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Hamas Stopped Palestinian Children from Going to Israel for Postwar Peace Trip

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Photo Credit: NY Daily News

Photo Credit: NY Daily News

By Fares Akram. Gaza’s Hamas rulers prevented a group of children from entering Israel on Sunday for a postwar conciliatory trip meant to foster peace, Hamas and organizers said.

The 37 children, most of whom have lost a parent in fighting between Hamas and Israel, were to enter Israel on Sunday and spend a week visiting Jewish and Arab communities and a zoo. They were also going to travel to the West Bank for a meeting with the Palestinian president.

But a bus carrying the children and their adult chaperones was turned back when it reached the main crossing between Gaza and Israel. Hamas spokesman Eyad Bozum said the decision was made “to protect the culture of our children and our people” from normalizing relations with Israel. He said Hamas would make sure such a trip “will never happen again”. . .

Yoel Marshak, an Israeli organizer, said the visit was meant to a show a positive side of Israel and promote peace. (Read more on why Hamas stopped Palestinian children from their Israel peace trip HERE)

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UAW Teachers Branch Joins Israel Boycott

By Sean Higgins. A local branch of the United Auto Workers has become the first U.S. labor organization to join the international movement to boycott Israel, according to liberal groups.

UAW Local 2865, which represents teaching assistants at the University of California, voted to join it on Dec. 4, saying that Israel was engaging in “ongoing human rights violations” against the Palestinians.

A total of 66 percent of the members backed joining the movement, which supporters call “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel.” Only 2,168 members participated in the Dec. 4 vote, a small fraction of Local 2865’s reported 13,000 members.

The ballot language asked members to support the boycott and to call on both the university and the UAW to join in by “divest[ing] their investments, including pension funds, from Israeli state institutions and international companies complicit in severe and ongoing human rights violations as part of the Israeli oppression of Palestinian people.” It also called on UAW and the university not to do business with any such companies and for the federal government to end economic aid to the country. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Publisher HarperCollins Apologizes for Middle East Atlas that Wiped Israel off the Map

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Photo Credit: Algemeiner

Photo Credit: Algemeiner

HarperCollins, one of the world’s leading publishing companies, has apologized for removing Israel from its Middle East Atlas, which is sold to English-speaking schools in the Arab Gulf, after receiving angry criticism from Jewish and Christian leaders.

“Shame on HarperCollins,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, told The Algemeiner, prior to the release of a statement from the publisher which announced that the atlas “has now been removed from sale in all territories and all remaining stock will be pulped. HarperCollins sincerely apologises for this omission and for any offence caused.”

As the British Christian newspaper The Tablet reported on Wednesday, the atlases “depict Jordan and Syria extending all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.” A spokesman for Collins Bartholomew, the subsidiary of HarperCollins that specializes in maps, told the paper that including Israel would have been “unacceptable” to their customers in the Gulf and the amendment incorporated “local preferences.” The Tablet also reported that a customs officer in one Gulf nation would only permit the atlases to reach their intended recipient “only once Israel had been struck out by hand.”

Bishop Declan Lang, the chairman of the Department of International Affairs Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, told The Tablet that the deliberate omitting of Israel from the map would harm peace efforts on the Middle East. (Read more about publisher HarperCollins apologizes for map taking Israel off HERE)

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ISIS is Setting Sites on Israel (+video)

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Photo Credit: ISIS video

Photo Credit: ISIS video

By WND. A new video issued by ISIS contradicts the oft-repeated claim that the Islamic movement now controlling large portions of Iraq and Syria has no interest in the Palestinian jihad against Israel.

ISIS, which now calls itself the Islamic State after declaring the creation of a new caliphate, vows in the video: “Allah willing, we will continue to fight against the Israelis and their allies.”

Islam researcher Robert Spencer, editor of Jihad Watch, notes, for example, Jay Michaelson claimed in the Jewish Daily Forward that “the Islamic State is a Salafist jihadist/fundamentalist movement that regards Hamas as impure and the Israel/Palestinian conflict as largely irrelevant.” (Read more on how ISIS is setting sites on Israel HERE)

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Islamic State Releases Interview with Captured Jordan Pilot

By Newsmax. The hardline Islamic State group has released what it said was an interview with a Jordanian pilot captured last week after his plane crashed during U.S.-led coalition bombing in eastern Syria.

It was not possible to independently verify the interview published in the group’s English-language online magazine Dabiq in which First Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh was quoted as saying his F-16 fighter was “struck by a heat seeking missile”.

“I heard and felt its hit. The other Jordanian pilot in the mission contacted me from a participating jet and told me that I was struck and that fire was coming out of the rear nozzle of my engine,” Kasaesbeh said.

He made brief comments about life at his base, sharing meals with hundreds of U.S. personnel.

“The Americans sometimes have dinner with us and eat mansaf (a traditional Arab dish) which they like alot. Their talk does not include details about operations because of matters of secrecy and security.” (Read more from this story HERE)
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ISIS Complains About Media Treatment of Australian Hostage-Taker

By Patrick Goodenough. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday praised the man responsible for a 17-hour siege at a café in Sydney, Australia this month, saying he had “added his name to the list of Muslims who answered the Khilafah’s [caliphate’s] call to strike those waging war against the Islamic State wherever they may be.”

In the latest edition of its propaganda publication Dabiq, ISIS lashed out at media for highlighting the fact that at the time of the “daring raid,” the hostage-taker, Man Haron Monis, was awaiting trial on several criminal charges.

It said any past transgressions had been wiped away by his act of martyrdom. (Read more from this story HERE)

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