Obama condemns ‘abhorrent violence’ of Syrian gov’t – Israel News, Ynetnews.

US president rebukes Bashar Assad over violent crackdown on protestors, as dozens more reported to have been killed in clashes

Reuters

President Barack Obama sternly rebuked Syria on Friday about violence there in which sources said 22 pro-democracy protesters died.

“I strongly condemn the abhorrent violence committed against peaceful protesters by the Syrian government today and over the past few weeks. I also condemn any use of violence by protesters,” the president said in a statement.

Sources said that 22 died in the southern city of Daraa during a day of pro-democracy protests across the country as demonstrations entered a fourth week of defiance of the government and against the rule of President Bashar Assad.

“I call upon the Syrian authorities to refrain from any further violence against peaceful protesters,” Obama said.

“Furthermore, the arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture of prisoners that has been reported must end now, and the free flow of information must be permitted so that there can be independent verification of events on the ground,” he said.

Obama added: “Violence and detention are not the answer to the grievances of the Syrian people. It is time for the Syrian government to stop repressing its citizens and to listen to the voices of the Syrian people calling for meaningful political and economic reforms. ”

Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to this report

Coming soon: Jewish ‘al-Jazeera’ – Israel Culture, Ynetnews.

(About time! – JW)

Dr. Alexander Mashkevich announces plan to form pro-Israel international news network. ‘It won’t be a propaganda channel, but will simply tell the truth,’ he tells Ynet during Jewish leaders conference

Liron Nagler-Cohen

WASHINGTON – Dr. Alexander Mashkevich, president of the United Israel Appeal’s annual conference of Jewish leaders in Washington, has announced his plan to form a pro-Israel international news network, similar to al-Jazeera and the BBC.

This year’s conference focused on attempts to deal with the de-legitimization campaign against Israel, and was attended by some 200 Jewish community leaders and key philanthropists.

Al-Jazeera studio in Washington (Photo: MCT)

An announcement on the creation of the international news network was made at the end of the conference, with the aim of dealing with anti-Israel defamation in the media and influence public opinion.

Mashkevich, who also serves as president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, said that the network would offer programs in English, French, Arabic and Spanish, focusing on news only.

“My intention is not to create a propaganda channel,” he told Ynet, “but simply a channel telling the truth.

“Unfortunately, in the current situation most channels simply don’t tell the truth about Israel,” he explained. “Every day that passes we lose the battle for Israel’s image. I am sure that Goldstone is a decent person, who didn’t want to damage Israel consciously and intentionally, but if everything he gets from the media every day is anti-Israel propaganda, I assume it’s hard to make the right decisions.”

Presentation within 3-4 months

Mashkevich, whose fortune is estimated at some $3.7 billion, plans to recruit other philanthropists and senior businesspeople for the mission. “The international de-legitimization has become a huge risk for Israel,” he adds.

Anchor Anderson Cooper. ‘We’ll get talents from everywhere’ (Photo: AP)

“It’s unthinkable that Israel has no television network like the channels operated by countries such as the United States, Britain and Russia. The creation of such a channel is necessary, and does not require something out of nothing, as there are existing models we can work according to.”

The channel is in the thinking stages, without a target date for the launching or even a revelation of the other names behind it. All Mashkevich agreed to say was that it would be a private, independent channel.

“We are preparing a work program, and in about three-four months we’ll hold a presentation in Israel. We’ll purchase talents from all other channels,” he promised. “From BBC, CNN – everyone.”

‘If we don’t fight back, we’ll be in trouble’

The conference was also attended by outgoing Israeli Ambassador to Britain and newly appointed Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who analyzed the anti-Israeli incitement on international media.

Student protest in UK (Photo: Leon Ferri)

“We deal with creating awareness,” said Prosor. “Today there isn’t one university campus in Britain which I, as an Israeli ambassador, can enter without facing horrible protests. If we don’t fight back – we’ll be in trouble.

“The current situation is that Jewish students in Britain feel uncomfortable in their own campuses. What I saw in Britain could definitely be seen here, in the United States, in the coming years,” he warned the Jewish community leaders.Prosor told Ynet that the organizations behind the de-legitimization must be exposed, denounced and suffer a counter attack. “We have no choice but to strike back at them, to give a ‘price tag’ to those who demonize Israel. Too much is at stake here. We are all at the front, but if we coordinate, we’ll be able to win the battle.”

‘Situation like in 1947’

“It’s time for us to stop complaining about how bad Israel’s PR is,” added Hoenlein. “It’s not just Israel that’s in danger – but all of us. The entire Jewish people are under attack, and this is about the future of all the Jewish people.

Hoenlein with Peres. ‘World recognizes Jewish power, Jews don’t’ (Photo: Avi Hayun)

“Those who undermine Israel’s right to self-defense – hurt the entire Jewish people’s right to self-defense. We are not talking about a situation like in 1967, but like in 1947 – about the entire Jewish people’s right to exist.

“If we unite, others will join us too. So we must launch a well-coordinated campaign. It’s unthinkable that according to research we’ve conducted, the European governments are more committed to Israel than the public opinion in those countries. These are the enemies rising to destroy us – from the inside and the outside.

“Jews today have power, and the entire world recognizes it – apart from the Jews. We can make a difference, if only we remember that it’s a battlefield. We must educate our children from an early age – know what to answer.”

Hoenlein believes the establishment of a news network like al-Jazeera is vital. “People are influenced by it,” he says, revealing that he has already held several meetings in a bid to strike a collaboration with media organizations and Israeli governmental bodies.

Mashkevich lives in Britain and has an Israeli citizenship as well. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish oligarchs in the world, and a “warm Jew” who donates in many fields close to his heart. He built seven synagogues in different countries, named “Beit Rachel” after his mother, and donated 17 Torah scrolls. He also participates in the bringing in of each new Torah scroll.

“I still remember as a child, how difficult it was for me to get to the synagogue, which was far away and crowded,” he said.

His parents fled the Nazis and gave him “a proud Jewish education”. His childhood in Kyrgyzstan contributed to shaping his Jewish awareness as well. “In Soviet Russia people would never let me forget I was a Jew, not for one day,” he said.

“I feel the persecution of Jews on my skin. We can’t just be indifferent. Every year the situation gets worse, and we monitor it. People tend to think that the American Congress members know the truth about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but it’s not true. All their information comes from the media.

“Seventy percent of what the international media reports in terms of the conflict is of anti-Israel nature. We check the ‘anti-Semitism index’ in 27 countries, and there is definitely a rise in anti-Semitism, which I believe is a direct result of what the media reports.”

Police: Santa Monica Chabad explosion was a bomb.

An explosion that hit the Santa Monica, California Chabad House Thursday morning was caused by an explosive device, Santa Monica Police said late Friday night, reversing their previous statement that the explosion was caused by a freak industrial accident.

The Santa Monica Police Department released a photograph and description of a suspect, named as 60-year-old Ron Hirsch, who it described as a transient. A police bulletin said “Hirsch should be considered extremely dangerous.”

Police added that Hirsch previously frequented synagogues and Jewish community centers in the Los Angeles area seeking charity.

The blast, which took place at a synagogue in Santa Monica sent debris crashing through the roof of the Chabad House, which sits next door.

Following the announcement, the Anti-Defamation League issued a security alert to other synagogues and Jewish institutions in southern California, according to the Los Angeles Times. It said that it had “no information regarding a specific threat,” but called on community members to be “extra vigilant.”

There were no injuries in the early Thursday morning blast that saw a four-block area around the synagogue and Chabad center evacuated. A statement from the Santa Monica Police Department several hours after had denied the presence of an “incendiary device,” saying that the explosion was caused by “a mechanical failure.”

Eiland: Consider ‘Defensive Shield’ type action in Gaza.

2 Grads, 25 mortars fired from Gaza explode in Israel.

Nuclear fuel being reloaded at Iran power plant.

MOSCOW – Nuclear fuel is once again being loaded into the reactor of Iran’s Bushehr power plant, the Russian company that built the station said on Friday, after the latest in a series of delays to its launch.

Russia has built Iran’s first nuclear power plant under a $1 billion deal dating back to the 1990s. The project has long been a focus of attention because of global concern that Tehran’s nuclear programme could be aimed at developing weapons.

The plant near the Persian Gulf had been due to start producing electricity early this year after the process of loading nuclear fuel into the reactor core got under way last October.

But Russia and Iran said late in February that the fuel would have to be taken back out of the reactor because broken pumps had sent small pieces of metal into the cooling system, raising fears that fuel rods could be damaged.

Russia’s state-run company Atomstroyexport, which builds nuclear power plants abroad, said fuel was being loaded again after it finished examining and cleansing the pipes and fuel assemblies.

“On April 8, 2011, loading of fuel rod arrays began at Bushehr,” Atomstroyexport said in a statement. It said the removal of the fuel had been “a necessary measure” to ensure safety.

“To rule out the possible effects of particles hitting the fuel assemblies, the fuel assemblies were removed from the reactor and rinsed and the body of the reactor was cleaned,” it said.

Atomstroyexport said the reactor would be powered up after additional work and tests. It gave no timetable but said all work was being conducted according to a schedule agreed with Iran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on March 1 that the problem was purely technical and he expected it to be resolved within three months.

Iran has blamed Russia for delays at Bushehr, which was first begun by Germany’s Siemens in the 1970s but halted after Iran’s Islamic revolution.

The United States and other Western countries urged Russia for years to abandon the project, saying it could help Tehran develop nuclear weapons, but those fears were allayed five years ago by a deal committing Iran to return spent fuel to Russia.

Iran is under UN nuclear watchdog investigation and UN sanctions over its defiance of international demands that it halt uranium enrichment and do more to back up its claim that its nuclear programme is purely peaceful.

Syrian forces reportedly kill 17 as protests flare.

AMMAN – At least 17 people were killed in the southern Syrian city of Deraa on Friday, a hospital source said, after witnesses reported security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators.

The state news agency SANA reported shooting in Deraa, but it said “vandals” had opened fire on mass gatherings, killing a policeman and an ambulance driver and wounding dozens of police and residents.

In the east, thousands of ethnic Kurds demonstrated for reform despite the president’s offer this week to ease rules which bar many Kurds from citizenship, activists said.

Security men opened fire on thousands of protesters in Deraa, where protests first erupted last month before spreading across the country over the past three weeks.

“The were snipers on roofs. Gunfire was heavy. The injured are being taken to homes. No one trusts putting his relative in a hospital in these circumstances,” he added. Many protesters fear they would be arrested if taken to clinics.

Protests also erupted in the western city of Homs and gunfire was heard in the Damascus suburb of Harasta. The suburb of Douma, where protests have been sustained in recent days, was largely out of contact due to phone lines being cut, local activists said. Media are heavily restricted in Syria.

Popular demonstrations calling for greater freedoms have shaken the country for the last three weeks. Assad has responded with a blend of force against protesters, and gestures towards reform, most recently aimed at ethnic Kurds.

In the northeastern city of Qamishli, Kurdish youths chanted: “No Kurd, no Arab, Syrian people are one. We salute the martyrs of Deraa”. Demonstrations have raised concerns that unrest could fuel ethnic and sectarian tensions in the country.

4 Kassams, 11 mortar shells fired at South from Gaza.

Rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip continued on Friday evening as four Kassam rockets were launched towards Ashkelon.

Police said that the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system intercepted three of the rockets and the fourth rocket exploded in the industrial area of southern Ashkelon.

Less than hour later, three mortar shells landed in the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council. Earlier in the afternoon, five mortar shells landed landed south of Ashkelon and three in the Eshkol Regional Council. All landed in open areas, causing no casualties or damage.

Palestinian sources reported that IDF strikes in Gaza earlier on Friday afternoon left one woman, her daughter, and a third man dead in a village near Khan Younis. Two Hamas members were also reportedly killed during the strikes.

Since Thursday night, ten Palestinians were killed in various IDF attacks on terror cells throughout Gaza.

The IDF said that in response to rocket fire from deep inside a residential area in southern Gaza, IAF air craft struck two terror cells. According to to the Palestinian media source, an Israeli aircraft struck a group of civilians.

Since Friday morning, nineteen mortar shells in total exploded across southern Israel. One mortar exploded in a chicken coop in the Eshkol Regional Council.

The explosions occurred in the afternoon hours, and schools held students from returning to their homes until the attacks passed. The explosions caused no casualties.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Thursday’s school bus attack “crossed the line,” and adding that “the IDF acted immediately last night and would continue to act with determination.”

Speaking from a meeting with the Czech president, Netanyahu commented that “whoever tries to hurt and murder children: the blood is on his hands.”

israel today | Palestinians attack Israeli school bus, pound southern Israel – israel today.

Israeli army strikes Gaza after school bus hit – NBC29.

By MATTI FRIEDMAN
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli aircraft and ground forces struck Gaza on Friday, killing two Hamas gunmen and wounding seven other Palestinians in a surge of fighting sparked by a Palestinian rocket attack on an Israeli school bus the day before.

Israel’s ongoing retaliation for the bus attack has killed five militants, a policeman and a civilian. An Israeli Cabinet minister said the strikes will continue.

In Thursday’s attack, Gaza militants hit an Israeli school bus near the border with an anti-tank rocket, badly wounding the driver and a 16-year-old boy. Hamas, the Iran-backed militant group that controls Gaza, claimed responsibility for the attack. The boy remains unconscious in the intensive care ward of an Israeli hospital.

At around midnight Thursday, with Gaza rocked by explosions, Hamas announced a cease-fire. The Israeli strikes continued, hitting Hamas facilities and smuggling tunnels.

An Israeli airstrike Friday morning near the town of Khan Yunis killed two Hamas gunmen and wounded a third, according to Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry said three civilians were wounded.

Palestinian rescue services reported that three other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli tank fire in a separate incident in southern Gaza. It was unclear if they were armed men or bystanders. Electricity lines and transformers were damaged, causing power blackouts in some parts of the territory, according to Jamal Dardsawi, a spokesman for Gaza’s Electric Distribution Company.

In Israel, studies at some schools near Gaza were canceled Friday because of concerns for the students’ safety.

Matan Vilnai, the Israeli Cabinet minister in charge of the home front, told Army Radio that Israel was engaged in a “war of attrition.”

“We are acting as we see fit so that this type of fire will not continue, and so that the people behind the fire will regret it,” Vilnai said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday condemned the bus attack and expressed concern over civilian casualties in Israel’s strikes in Gaza. He called for “de-escalation and calm to prevent any further bloodshed.”

The new round of fighting saw a potentially significant strategic breakthrough.

After years of development by an Israeli defense contractor, the Israeli military activated a new cutting-edge missile-defense system for the first time Thursday. The Iron Dome system scored a direct hit on an incoming Palestinian rocket aimed at an Israeli city, shooting it down, Israel said.

Thousands of rockets from Gaza have hit Israeli towns and cities since 2001. Israel’s attempts to stop the rockets have included military incursions – including a three-week assault than began in late 2008 –