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Abe cruises to ‘super-majority’ win in Japan vote

October 22, 2017

Abe cruises to ‘super-majority’ win in Japan vote, Breitbart, AFP, October 22, 2017

AFP

Tokyo (AFP) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe swept to a resounding victory in a snap election Sunday and immediately vowed to “deal firmly” with threats from North Korea that dominated the campaign.

Abe’s ruling conservative coalition was on track to win more than 310 seats in the 465-seat parliament, according to a projection from public broadcaster NHK, handing the premier a two-thirds “super-majority.”

This allows nationalist Abe to propose changes to pacifist Japan’s US-imposed constitution, which forces it to renounce war and effectively limits its military to a self-defence role.

Abe said the comfortable election win had stiffened his resolve to tackle North Korea’s nuclear threat, as the key US regional ally seeks to step up pressure on Pyongyang after it fired two missiles over Japan in the space of a month.

“As I promised in the election, my imminent task is to firmly deal with North Korea,” said Abe, who is now on course to become the country’s longest-serving leader.

“For that, strong diplomacy is required,” stressed the 63 year-old, who has courted both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Abe said he would “deepen” debate on the divisive constitution issue in parliament but stressed: “I don’t plan to propose (changes) via the ruling bloc alone. We’ll make efforts to gain support from as many people as possible.”

As results came in, television images showed jubilant victorious lawmakers bowing deeply before punching the air with cries of “Banzai”, the Japanese equivalent of three cheers.

– ‘Very severe result’ –

Millions of Japanese braved torrential rain and driving winds to vote as a typhoon lashed the country, with many heeding warnings to cast their ballots early.

“I support Abe’s stance not to give in to North Korea’s pressure,” said Yoshihisa Iemori as he cast his ballot in a rainswept Tokyo.

Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) benefited from a weak and splintered opposition, with the two main parties facing him created only a matter of weeks ago.

Support for the Party of Hope founded by popular Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike fizzled after an initial blaze of publicity and was on track to win around 50 seats, according to the NHK projection with a handful still to call.

Speaking from Paris where she was attending an event in her capacity as leader of the world’s biggest city, a sullen-faced Koike said it was a “very severe result.”

“As the person who launched the party, I will take responsibility,” pledged Koike.

The new centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party fared slightly better than expected but still trailed far behind Abe with a projected 50 seats.

“The LDP’s victory is simply because the opposition couldn’t form a united front,” political scientist Mikitaka Masuyama from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, told AFP.

– ‘Sink’ Japan –

The short 12-day campaign was dominated by the economy and the global crisis over North Korea, which has threatened to “sink” Japan into the sea and engaged in a war of words with Trump.

Hawkish Abe stuck to a hardline stance throughout, stressing that Japan “would not waver” in the face of an increasingly belligerent regime in Pyongyang.

But many voters said reviving the once-mighty Japanese economy was the top priority, with Abe’s trademark “Abenomics” growth policy failing to trickle down to the general public.

“Neither pensions nor wages are getting better… I don’t feel the economy is recovering at all,” said 67-year-old pensioner Hideki Kawasaki.

Although voters turned out in their millions to back Abe, he enjoys only lukewarm support and surveys showed his decision to call a snap election a year earlier than expected was unpopular.

“I totally oppose the current government. Morals collapsed. I’m afraid this country will be broken,” said 84-year-old voter Etsuko Nakajima.

– ‘I’m quite disappointed’ –

Koike briefly promised to shake up Japan’s sleepy political scene with her new party but she declined to run herself for a seat, sparking confusion over who would be prime minister if she won.

In the end the 65-year-old former TV presenter was not even in Japan on election day.

“I thought that I would vote for the Party of Hope if it’s strong enough to beat the Abe administration. But the party has been in confusion … I’m quite disappointed,” said 80-year-old pensioner Kumiko Fujimori.

The campaign was marked by a near-constant drizzle in large parts of the country and rallies frequently took place under shelter and a sea of umbrellas.

But this did not dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of doughty, sash-wearing parliamentary hopefuls, who have driven around in minibuses pleading for votes via loudspeaker and bowing deeply to every potential voter.

Categories: Japan, Japan - snap election, Japan and North Korea, Japanese military, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
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Trump’s a Big Mouth; Journalists are Villains

October 22, 2017

Trump’s a Big Mouth; Journalists are Villains, PJ Media, Andrew Klavan, October 21, 2017

Has the press at long last no decency? The short answer: No decency at all. Trump is a big mouth but the press is despicable. Democrat operatives masquerading as journalists, they are the prime engine of division in this country. Skewing every story in one direction, they keep us from discussing issues in a reasonable way so as to reach compromise. And squealing like scorched cats at every Trump remark, they manufacture a sense of crisis that has nothing to do with the true state of America.

They are villains. Within the parameters of the First Amendment, the entire industry needs to be reformed.

********************************

As Trump-loving readers of this blog have frequently complained, I am not always a fan of Donald Trump’s personal style. I don’t like bullies and I prefer a president who thinks before he opens his mouth. I do, on the other hand, very much like many of the things Trump has accomplished: the great judicial nominations, the taming of the regulatory state, the restoration of the rule of law at the border, leaving the silly Paris accord, the annihilation of ISIS, the attempts to hurry the implosion of Obamacare by suspending utterly illegal payments to insurance companies, calling out the NFL on its lack of patriotism, and calling out the media on a leftward bias that now amounts to simple malfeasance and corruption. That’s an awful lot of good stuff, and it surely makes up for the big mouthery.

Aside from a few stupid remarks that seemed to show a lack of respect for the First Amendment — remarks that have so far not been followed up by any bad actions — I can’t think of one instance in which Trump has behaved in a way that endangers the norms of American governance. He hasn’t misused the IRS like Barack Obama did, or corrupted the Justice Department like Obama did, or made illegal payouts to insurance companies like Obama did, or extended the power of regulatory agencies until they became a threat to constitutional democracy like Obama did, or lied to the people about health care or Benghazi like Obama did, or behaved so autocratically and unconstitutionally that he lost more cases before the Supreme Court than any other modern president like Obama did. In fact, Trump has been incredibly transparent with the public and has generally thrown legislative decisions to Congress — where they belong.

The press, on the other hand, in their seething hatred of Trump and the people he represents, and in their likewise seething bitterness at the loss of the election, have transformed themselves into the mustache-twirling villains of American society. If they could see themselves as they are, they would be ashamed, but because they all agree with one another, they are invisible to themselves.

This week, Donald Trump made a clumsy and defensive remark about the fact that presidents generally don’t call the families of those who die in battle. I took him to mean that they didn’t always call. I think any reasonable person would have taken him to mean that. But the media takes every word Trump speaks to mean the worst possible thing it can mean, and so the big story this week was not the revelation that the Obama administration covered up an investigation into Russian malfeasance in order to give Putin ownership of twenty percent of our uranium supply. Well, that was the big story but the mainstream media covered it up. Instead, the big story on the news was what the media said Trump said.

Enter the genuinely hideous Florida Democrat Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. She listened in on Trump’s call to the family of a dead soldier and reported Trump said the soldier “knew what he signed up for, but I guess it still hurts.” I took this to mean that every soldier knows he is doing a dangerous job, but when the worst comes, the knowledge doesn’t ease the pain. I think any reasonable person would take it to mean that. But the media takes every word Trump speaks to mean the worst possible thing it can mean and so the hideous Frederica was on TV, making political hay out of a soldier’s death.

Then Trump pointed out that Barack Obama had not called Trump’s chief of staff General John Kelly after his son was killed by a landmine in Afghanistan. So now, after allowing and encouraging the hideous Frederica to make political hay out of a soldier’s death, the media began screaming that President Trump was making political hay out of a soldier’s death.

Then John Kelly made a measured and emotional speech that shamed the news media and the hideous Frederica. So the media — which had excoriated Trump for criticizing Gold Star father Khizr Khan — now excoriated Gold Star father John Kelly as everything from racist to the engineer of a coup.

Has the press at long last no decency? The short answer: No decency at all. Trump is a big mouth but the press is despicable. Democrat operatives masquerading as journalists, they are the prime engine of division in this country. Skewing every story in one direction, they keep us from discussing issues in a reasonable way so as to reach compromise. And squealing like scorched cats at every Trump remark, they manufacture a sense of crisis that has nothing to do with the true state of America.

They are villains. Within the parameters of the First Amendment, the entire industry needs to be reformed.

Categories: Media and Trump, Media melt-down, Media vs reality
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The Case for Assyrian Independence

October 22, 2017

The Case for Assyrian Independence, Gatestone Institute, Amir George, October 22, 2017

It is a solution to the refugee problem after centuries of persecution. Not only could Assyrian Christian refugees stay where they were, but as Jews did in Israel, they could come “home”.

In the rush to condemn the liberation of Iraq as a mistake, we forget the terror that Saddam Hussein and his two sons inflicted on their people. A visit to nearly every home in Iraq will have a picture of one or more family members among the nearly one million slaughtered by Saddam.

For the Assyrian Christians, this promise of Isaiah 19:23-25 is twofold. First, that “in that day” they will finally have their nation, called Assyria. Second, that their allies will be Israel and Egypt.

Nearly six million Assyrian Christians dot the world.

In 2003, according to the Iraqi government, there were 2.5 million Assyrian Christians in the country, or 10% of the population. Another approximately 3.5 million are scattered from Australia to Europe to Lebanon, Jordan, the US and more.

The Assyrian Christians — descendants of the Assyrian Empire and the first nation to accept Christ — are the indigenous people of Iraq.

In spite of being one of the oldest civilizations, and even today speaking Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, they are refugees in their own homeland.

Following the recent move towards independence by the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Assyrian Christian organizations worldwide have organized formally to request, in accordance with Iraq’s constitution, their own area in their homeland in northern Iraq, on the Nineveh Plain.

In the wake of the “Biden Plan“, put forth by former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair, and then Vice President Joe Biden, the Assyrian Christian area is one of the four areas envisioned as the only long-term solution for Iraq.

According to the plan, Kurdistan, Assyria, Sunnistan and Shiastan — the four dramatically different areas of Iraq — would each be able to evolve into their own areas.

While the Arab areas of Sunnistan and Shiastan in Iraq operate as do most Arab countries — with corruption, terror and civil strife — the non-Arab regions of Iraq, Kurdistan and Assyria in the north are shining examples of what all of Iraq could be, and a testimony to the sacrifice of 4,888 brave Americans who gave their lives for a liberated Iraq, as well as the 35,000 injured and the 2.5 million who served.

In the rush to condemn the liberation of Iraq as a mistake, we forget the terror that Saddam Hussein and his two sons inflicted on their people. A visit to nearly every home in Iraqi will have a picture of one or more family members among the nearly one million slaughtered by Saddam.

For the Assyrian Christians, the move toward the independence of Kurdistan is their encouragement to move forward with their independence as well.

Isaiah 19:23-25 is the promise that all Assyrian Christians, the first Christian nation, hold onto as their promise for their homeland:

“In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians shall serve with the Assyrians.

“In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land:

“Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.”

For the Assyrian Christians, this promise of Isaiah 19:23-25 is twofold. First, that “in that day” they will finally have their nation, called Assyria. Second, that their allies will be Israel and Egypt.

Assyrian Independence, as with Kurdish Independence, would provide two wonderful solutions to the longstanding instability in the Middle East.

First, it would provide a homeland to the Assyrian Christians and people who scattered all over the world do not want to be refugees and go to Australia, Europe, and the US, but simply want to live in their homeland.

It is a solution to the refugee problem after centuries of persecution. Not only could Assyrian Christian refugees stay where they were, but as Jews did in Israel, they could come “home”.

Second, we owe it to the brave 4,888 Americans who died, the 35,000 who were injured and the 2.5 million who were ready to sacrifice their lives in Iraq so it could be free.

While the Arab part of Iraq is, like other Arab nations, an ongoing disaster, at least the northern third of Iraq, comprising Assyria and Kurdistan, is on its way to being another “shining city on a hill” in the Middle East — an example, a source of hope and blessing to an area with so little.

For the allies of both nearby Israel and Egypt, the prophecy of Isaiah 19 could be a solution to at least part of the crises in the Middle East, as the non-Arab people there work together to bring the region back from the brink.

Today, Kurdistan. Next, Assyria!

Assyrian Christian priest Charbel Aesso leads an Easter service at Saint John’s Church (Mar Yohanna) in the predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh on April 16, 2017 near Mosul, Iraq. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Amir George, an Assyrian Christian, is the author of “Liberating Iraq – The Story of the Assyrian Christians of Iraq”.

Categories: Assyrian Christians, Assyrian independence, Assyrians in Iraq, Kurdish independence
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Moscow’s game 

October 22, 2017

Prof. Eyal Zisser

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s visit to Israel last week was an indication of the growing ties between Israel and Russia. It was the first time an Russian defense minister had visited Israel, and it showed both sides’ desire to strengthen relations and add a strategic, defense aspect to the existing political, diplomatic, cultural, and trade ties that are flourishing between the two nations.

But as the Russian defense minister was on his way to Israel, another serious incident took place on the northern front. The Syrians fired a missile at an Israeli plane that was making a standard patrol flight over Lebanon, and in response, the IDF attacked and destroyed the battery that fired the missile. The announcements that came from Damascus – including a declaration by the head of Iran’s military who visited the Syrian capital this weekend that Iran and Syria would not allow Israel to keep attacking in Syria – indicate that it’s only a matter of time before the next incident in the north. The Syrians didn’t necessarily ask for Russian permission to fire at the Israeli planes. But we can assume that Moscow is aware of and ready to accept Damascus’ new policy of harsher responses and attempting to challenge Israel every time it acts in Syrian territory. At the same time, the Russians are also aware of and willing to accept Israel’s active policy in Syria. After all, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has testified more than once that Russian President Vladimir Putin has lent a sympathetic ear to his explanations about why Israel must act against an Iranian presence in Syria and against missile shipments from Iran to Hezbollah. Putin didn’t confront Netanyahu over the issue, and all the Russians asked of Israel was to make sure that the IDF was in coordination with the Red Army to prevent the armies from clashing in Syrian space. Russia might be aware of its limited influence on both sides, and therefore prefers to allow its two friends, Israel and Syria, to keep fighting by not positioning itself between them. That also holds true for Iran, an important partner (if not an intimate friend) of Russia in the Middle East whose services Russia still needs – like it needs the services of Hezbollah – to ensure Syrian President Bashar Assad’s final victory in the Syrian war. It’s also possible that the Russians, like the Americans, are focused on their immediate goal. Washington wants to wipe out the Islamic State, whereas Moscow wants Assad’s victory. So the Russians have no interest or free time to deal with the question of “the day after.” But it’s also possible that the blows being traded between Israel and Syria are convenient for the Russians since the brawling and the fear of escalation are pushing both Jerusalem and Damascus into Russia’s arms and are making Putin the grown-up, a job the Americans forfeited long ago. The problem is that the limited, precise exchange of hits could develop into a multidimensional conflict that no one wants but both sides could find themselves in due to a miscalculation or if they raise the stakes of their responses (like the Syrians did last week, when they shot at an Israeli plane on a regular patrol mission that hadn’t even struck in Syria). The Iranian element in the equation could only make things more complicated. The U.S. is Israel’s most important ally, especially when it comes to unfettered diplomatic support and preserving Israel’s military and technological superiority over its enemies. But it appears that when it comes to finding a formula that will ensure quiet along the northern border, Moscow is now the address. We can only hope that the Russians won’t change their policy of keeping their hands to themselves in light of the fight that has broken out between the neighborhood kids to a more active policy of drawing red lines – for the Syrians and the Iranians, but primarily for Israel, which could close the window of opportunity that the Syrian war opened for the IDF to operate in Syria, even carrying out strikes to reduce future threats against Israel.

Source: Moscow’s game – Israel Hayom

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Response to Syrian fire will intensify, Israel warns

October 22, 2017

Source: Response to Syrian fire will intensify, Israel warns – Israel Hayom

IIDF fires at three Syrian artillery guns after five projectiles hit Israeli side of Golan Heights, causing no harm • Syria accuses Israel of provoking the attack via “rebel groups doing its bidding” • IDF: Fire is unusual, Syrian regime is responsible.

Lilach Shoval, Adi Hashmonai, Daniel Siryoti, Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Five projectiles from Syria set off air raid sirens in Israeli communities on Saturday, prompting the IDF to say it would step up its response to stray fire from the Syrian civil war that has repeatedly spilled over its northern border.

The fire at the Golan Heights caused no injuries or damage. The IDF fired at three Syrian artillery guns in response and reported hitting its targets.

While errant fire into Israel, spilling over from the battles Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces are waging against rebel groups trying to unseat him, is not unusual, it has increased in frequency in recent months. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that Saturday’s fire was particularly unusual, prompting concerns that this time it was not accidental but rather intentional fire at Israel.

This assessment was based on the fact that at the time the projectiles hit the Israeli side of the border, fighting in the Harfa area from which the fire emanated was not intensive enough to result in errant spillover.

“Whether the fire was errant or not, any future occurrences will force the Israel Defense Forces to intensify its response,” the military said in a statement. “Israel holds the Syrian regime responsible and won’t tolerate any attempt to breach Israeli sovereignty.”

Military intelligence assessments have so far ruled out the possibility that any group other than the Syrian army had fired at Israel, but an intelligence official stressed that Israel had no indication of an official policy change in Syria with this regard.

However, the official added, the IDF has yet to rule out the possibility that a junior Syrian officer or an unknown third-party had initiated the fire independently.

Meanwhile, Syrian officials said the incident was “an attempt by Israel to stir provocation,” saying Israel was itself responsible for the rocket fire into Israel “through rebel groups doing its bidding.”

“Israel is using the rebel organizations to justify its criminal attacks on Syrian soil,” one official was quoted by local media as saying.

The Syrian army said militants in nearby territory fired mortar rounds into the Golan Heights. A rebel official in Quneitra said pro-government fighters had been shelling insurgent-held parts of the province when some of the shells hit the Golan Heights.

“The Israeli enemy assaulted one of our military positions this morning, which led to material damages,” the Syrian army said.

Syria’s Foreign Ministry warned of “the grave consequences of such repeated aggressive acts.” In a letter to the U.N., Syria denounced Israel’s retaliatory fire as “a flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty.”

While the incident alarmed residents in the border-adjacent communities, who reported hearing loud explosions before being able to reach bomb shelters, the military said that at this time, there was no need for any change in the residents’ routine.

The incident did not dampen the popularity of the area among Israelis and tourists visiting the Golan Heights, and hundreds took advantage of the pleasant weather to visit the area over the weekend.

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Israel believes rocket fire from Syria may have been deliberate

October 22, 2017

Source: Israel believes rocket fire from Syria may have been deliberate | The Times of Israel

Five projectiles were fired early Saturday; four landed relatively deep inside Israeli territory; Syria protests to the UN after Israel responds

By TOI STAFF21 October 2017, 8:48 pmIsraeli police officers patrol near the border with Syria in the Golan Heights after four projectiles hit the area early on October 21, 2017. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)
Israeli police officers patrol near the border with Syria in the Golan Heights after four projectiles hit the area early on October 21, 2017. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

Israel believes five rockets fired across the border from Syria early Saturday morning may have been deliberately launched at Israel, rather than constituting errant spillover from clashes in Syria, military sources said late Saturday.

Israel fired back into Syria, hitting three rocket launchers, in response to the rocket fire, and warned that further fire would prompt a more intensive response.

Syria, in turn, claimed that Israel had “coordinated” with terror groups, inviting them to fire into Israel as a pretext for the IDF response, and it sent letters of complaint to the United Nations.

The Israeli army said five projectiles were fired at around 5 am, and that four of them fell relatively deep inside Israeli territory. The rockets set off alarms in several locations. They landed in open ground, and caused no injury or damage. One of them landed close to an Israeli residential area.

UN soldiers patrol near the border with Syria in the Golan Heights after projectiles land on the Israeli side of the border, October 21, 2017. (Basel Awidat/Flash90)

Channel 2 news reported that although the IDF officially referred to “spillover” fire in its statements Saturday, there was “a growing sense” in the army that the Syrian fire was deliberate.

There was no fighting going on in Syria at the time of the fire, the TV report said. It added that the area from which the rockets were fired is under the control of the Syrian army. And it noted that the projectiles fell deep inside Israeli territory on the Golan Heights, one after the other, rather than close to the border.

Tensions have been particularly high on the Israeli-Syrian front of late.

Concluding a visit to Syria on Saturday, the commander of Iran’s armed forces signed a memorandum of understanding with Syrian officials in which the two allies announced plans for tighter military cooperation and coordination — notably against Israel. The sides agreed to expand cooperation on intelligence, training, technology and against what they called “Zionist-American schemes,” the Ynet news website reported.

Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, Iran’s chief of staff, has spent several days in Syria, touring war zones and meeting with high-level officials, including President Bashar Assad.

Syrian Defense Minister General Fahd al-Freij (R) meets with Chief of Staff of Iran’s armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri (L), at the ministry of defense in the capital Damascus on October 18, 2017. (AFP PHOTO / STRINGER)

In what was seen as part of a determined effort to put an end to Israel’s hitherto unimpeded air superiority over Syria and Lebanon, Bagheri on Wednesday said Tehran would not tolerate violations of Syrian sovereignty by Israel and vowed that the two countries would jointly fight against Syria’s enemies. “We cannot accept a situation where the Zionist entity attacks Syria from the ground and the air,” he said.

Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman this week hosted his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, and told him that Israel will take action against Iran and its proxies if they continue to entrench themselves along the Syrian border.

Liberman, and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, are in the US this coming week for talks with US officials, with Syria and Iran high on the agenda.

Avigdor Liberman, right, and Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu shaking hands with veterans at the IDF’s Kirya headquarters in Tel Aviv on October 16, 2017. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a rare instance of open disagreement with the Trump administration, has warned that the unfolding situation in southern Syria does not sufficiently address Iranian military ambitions in the area.

“The recent Israeli attack on the outskirts of Quneitra is a new chapter in the conspiracy between the Israeli occupation and armed terror groups, and another attempt to support these organizations,” Syria’s Foreign Ministry said in messages sent to the UN secretary general and the UN Security Council.

Damascus warned of the “dire consequences of these repeated aggressive actions, which cannot be seen as anything but support for terrorism and the criminal terror groups.”

IDF vehicles driving along the road parallel to the border fence separating the Israeli and Syrian regions of the Golan Heights, July 19, 2017. (AFP/MENAHEM KAHANA)

It further expressed “utter astonishment at the Security Council’s inability to stop these Israeli attacks and condemn them.”

The IDF vowed to intensify its responses to future fire. “Even if this is just spillover, this is an exceptional incident and the continuance of such events will be met with a more fierce Israeli response,” a statement by the IDF said.

“The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the security of its residents, and considers the Syrian regime responsible for what is happening in its territory,” the statement concluded, they have been looking security personnel and they eventually found out about these private military contractor jobs who can work as private security.

As a result of the projectile fire, missile warning sirens were heard in a number of local communities Saturday morning. The army fired back and hit three Syrian launchers.

After the IDF strike, Syria asserted that Israel had arranged for rebels to fire across the border, in order to justify an Israeli response. The Syrian army said in a statement that the attack was proof of Israel’s “cooperation with terrorist organizations in the region.”

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IDF Destroys 3 Rocket Launchers in Response to 5 rockets Fired at Golan

October 22, 2017

Source: IDF Destroys 3 Rocket Launchers in Response to 5 rockets Fired at Golan – Breaking Israel News | Latest News. Biblical Perspective.

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz 

“Blessed is Hashem, my rock, who trains my hands for battle, my fingers for warfare;” Psalms 144:1 (The Israel Bible™)

Illustrative: Israeli artillery on high alert after they responded to several rockets hitting the Mount Hermon Resort, in the Golan Heights, northern Israel, January 27, 2015. (Photo: Basal Awidat/Flash90)

At around 5:00 A.M. on Saturday morning, five rockets from Syria landed in the Golan. IDF artillery fired back, destroying three rocket launchers. There were no injuries or damage in Israel.

Channel 2 News reported that the IDF stated this recent incident was spillover fire from hostilities between the Syrian army and rebels. The new report also said there was “a growing sense” in the IDF that the Syrian fire was intentionally aimed at Israel.

This recent incident was exceptional in that at the time the rockets were fired, there were no hostilities between the Syrian army and rebel troops. The rockets were fired in quick succession and landed deep in Israel than usual.

The Syrian army issued a statement to the Syrian press regarding the IDF shelling, saying it came after “Syrian opposition fighters fired mortar rounds that hit an open area in the Israeli-occupied Golan giving the Jewish state a pretext to bomb the army.”

The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent messages sent to the UN secretary-general and the UN Security Council, accusing Israel of aiding the rebel groups in order to instigate spillover fire, thereby giving Israel an excuse to attack Syria.

“The recent Israeli attack on the outskirts of Quneitra is a new chapter in the conspiracy between the Israeli occupation and armed terror groups, and another attempt to support these organizations,” warning that the “dire consequences of these repeated aggressive actions, which cannot be seen as anything but support for terrorism and the criminal terror groups.”

 Tensions between Israel and Syria are growing on the northern border.  On Monday, a Syrian surface-to-air missile (SAM) SA-5 battery fired a missile at Israeli Air Force planes on a routine reconnaissance flight over Southern Lebanon on Monday. The IAF responded by dropping four bombs on the site 30 miles east of Damascus two hours later, rendering it “unoperational”.

Two rocket-alert sirens were sounded in the Golan Heights on Wednesday in response to internal fighting in Syria.

A rocket fired from Syria crossed into the Golan on Thursday landed in an open field.  No damage or injuries were reported. It is believed that the incident was spillover from ongoing hostilities between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al Assad and rebel troops.

Iran is inserting itself into the situation, making it especially volatile. Iranian army Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Mohammad Bagheri’s visit to Syria on Saturday, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in which they agreed up upgrade the cooperation and coordination between their two armies. On Wednesday, Bagheri told the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the official news agency of Iran, “It is not acceptable for the Zionist regime to violate Syria anytime it wants”.

 

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5 Reasons No Nation Wants to Go to War with Israel

October 22, 2017

Source: 5 Reasons No Nation Wants to Go to War with Israel | The National Interest Blog

Robert Farley

The technology that binds all of these other systems together is the Israeli soldier. Since 1948 (and even before) Israel has committed the best of its human capital to the armed forces. The creation of fantastic soldiers, sailors, and airmen doesn’t happen by accident, and doesn’t result simply from the enthusiasm and competence of the recruits. The IDF has developed systems of recruitment, training, and retention that allow it to field some of the most competent, capable soldiers in the world. None of the technologies above work unless they have smart, dedicated, well-trained operators to make them function at their fullest potential.

Since 1948, the state of Israel has fielded a frighteningly effective military machine. Built on a foundation of pre-independence militias, supplied with cast-off World War II weapons, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have enjoyed remarkable success in the field. In the 1960s and 1970s, both because of its unique needs and because of international boycotts, Israel began developing its own military technologies, as well as augmenting the best foreign tech. Today, Israel boasts one of the most technologically advanced military stockpiles in the world, and one of the world’s most effective workforces.

(This first appeared in 2015.)

Here are five of the most deadly systems that the Israeli Defense Forces currently employ.

Merkava

The Merkava tank joined the IDF in 1979, replacing the modified foreign tanks (most recently of British and American vintage) that the Israelis had used since 1948. Domestic design and construction avoided problems of unsteady foreign supply, while also allowing the Israelis to focus on designs optimized for their environment, rather than for Central Europe.  Around 1,600 Merkavas of various types have entered service, with several hundred more still on the way.

The Merkava entered service after the great tank battles of the Middle East had ended (at least for Israel). Consequently, the Merkavas have often seen combat in different contexts that their designers expected. The United States took major steps forward with the employment of armor in Iraq and Afghanistan (particularly in the former) in a counter-insurgency context, but the Israelis have gone even farther. After mixed results during the Hezbollah war, the IDF, using updated Merkava IVs, has worked hard to integrate the tanks into urban fighting. In both of the recent Gaza wars, the IDF has used Merkavas to penetrate Palestinian positions while active defense systems keep crews safe. Israel has also developed modifications that enhance the Merkavas’ capabilities in urban and low-intensity combat.

Indeed, the Merkavas have proved so useful in this regard that Israel has cancelled plans to stop line production, despite a lack of significant foreign orders.

F-15I Thunder

The Israeli Air Force has flown variants of the F-15 since the 1970s, and has become the world’s most versatile and effective user of the Eagle. As Tyler Rogoway’s recent story on the IAF fleet makes clear, the Israelis have perfected the F-15 both for air supremacy and for strike purposes. Flown by elite pilots, the F-15Is (nicknamed “thunder”) of the IAF remain the most lethal squadron of aircraft in the Middle East.

The F-15I provides Israel with several core capabilities. It remains an effective air-to-air combat platform, superior to the aircraft available to Israel’s most plausible foes (although the Eurofighter Typhoons and Dassault Rafales entering service in the Gulf, not to mention Saudi Arabia’s own force of F-15SAs, undoubtedly would provide some competition. But as Rogoway suggests, the Israelis have worked long and hard at turning the F-15 into an extraordinarily effective strike platform, one capable of hitting targets with precision at long range. Most analysts expect that the F-15I would play a key role in any Israeli strike against Iran, along with some of its older brethren.

Jericho III

The earliest Israeli nuclear deterrent came in the form of the F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers that the IAF used to such great effect in conventional missions in the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. Soon, however, Israel determined that it required a more effective and secure deterrent, and began to invest heavily in ballistic missiles. The Jericho I ballistic missile entered service in the early 1970s, to eventually be replaced by the Jericho II and Jericho III.

The Jericho III is the most advanced ballistic missile in the region, presumably (Israel does not offer much data on its operation) capable of striking targets not only in the Middle East, but also across Europe, Asia, and potentially North America. The Jericho III ensures that any nuclear attack against Israel would be met with devastating retaliation, especially as it is unlikely that Israel could be disarmed by a first strike. Of course, given that no potential Israeli foe has nuclear weapons (or will have them in the next decade, at least), the missiles give Jerusalem presumptive nuclear superiority across the region.

Dolphin

Israel acquired its first submarine, a former British “S” class, in 1958. That submarine and others acquired in the 1960s played several important military roles, including defense of the Israeli coastline, offensive operations against Egyptian and Syrian shipping, and the delivery of commando teams in war and peace. These early boats were superseded by the Gal class, and finally by the German Dolphin class (really two separate classes related to the Type 212) boats, which are state-of-the-art diesel-electric subs.

The role of the Dolphin class in Israel’s nuclear deterrent has almost certainly been wildly overstated. The ability of a diesel electric submarine to carry out deterrent patrols is starkly limited, no matter what ordnance they carry. However, the Dolphin remains an effective platform for all sorts of other missions required by the IDF. Capable of maritime reconnaissance, of sinking or otherwise interdicting enemy ships, and also of delivering special forces to unfriendly coastlines, the Dolphins represent a major Israeli security investment, and one of the most potentially lethal undersea forces in the region.

The Israeli Soldier

The technology that binds all of these other systems together is the Israeli soldier. Since 1948 (and even before) Israel has committed the best of its human capital to the armed forces. The creation of fantastic soldiers, sailors, and airmen doesn’t happen by accident, and doesn’t result simply from the enthusiasm and competence of the recruits. The IDF has developed systems of recruitment, training, and retention that allow it to field some of the most competent, capable soldiers in the world. None of the technologies above work unless they have smart, dedicated, well-trained operators to make them function at their fullest potential.

Conclusion

When considering the effectiveness of Israeli weapons, and the expertise of the men and women who wield them, it’s worth noting that for all the tactical and operational success the IDF has enjoyed, Israel remains in a strategically perilous position. The inability of Israel to develop long-term, stable, positive relationships with its immediate neighbors, regional powers, and the subject populations of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip means that Jerusalem continues to feel insecure, its dominance on land, air, and sea notwithstanding. Tactics and technologies, however effective and impressive, cannot solve these problems; only politics can.

Image: Reuters. 

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