by David Bedein
The Obama administration has begun imposing obstacles on Israeli efforts to procure American-built jet fighters.
According to Middle East Newsline, Obama administration sources said the White House has drafted measures that could prevent Israel from procuring fighters, such as the stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
They said the administration plans to require Israel to obtain special permission from the Defense Department and State Department before acquiring the JSF.
“The measures would make it more difficult for non-NATO allies to acquire JSF,” a source said.
Under the proposals, the Pentagon would order modifications of the JSF to provide the aircraft with nuclear strike capabilities. The sources said such a capability would provide the Pentagon with access to money to maintain and develop the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
“Once JSF obtains nuclear strike capability, there becomes a problem with exports,” the source said. “NATO countries would have less of a problem; non-NATO countries would need special exemptions.”
The sources said Lockheed Martin would not be instructed to develop both nuclear- and non-nuclear models of the F-35 for the first stage of production. Israel has sought to become among the first export clients of JSF.
Over the last few months, the administration has rejected a series of Israeli requests regarding modifications of the F-35. They included Israeli electronic warfare systems and acquisition of U.S. software codes that would allow Israel to repair the aircraft's central computer. The U.S. refusal meant that the Israel Air Force would be forced to send the F-35 to the United States for any repairs, a process that could take months.
The administration has also been resisting Israeli requests for technical data on the new F-15SE (Silent Eagle) fighter. The sources said the State Department has been delaying Israeli requests for pre-export licenses required to examine the next generation F-15, which incorporates certain stealth characteristics.
The sources said the administration has not approved the new F-15 for the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. They said this could prevent Israel from using U.S. military aid to purchase the aircraft from Boeing.
“This is a legal issue,” a source said. “The F-15SE might not qualify for FMS.”
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See this story at Israel Behind the News
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Islamic Cleric Makes Outburst at Papal Interfaith Meeting, Accusing Israel of Killing Children
by David Bedein
A prominent Islamic cleric used an interreligious meeting in Jerusalem presided over by Pope Benedict XVI as a platform to accuse Israel of systematically “killing Palestinian children” and to call for an “Islamic-Christian rebellion” against Israel.
Sheikh Taysir Tamimi, head of the Muslim Shariah courts in the Palestinian territories, had not been scheduled to speak, but made his comments in Arabic after seizing the microphone at the meeting.
The Pope had planned to use his appearance at the Notre Dame Center to promote interreligious dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims, but he walked out of the meeting before its scheduled end after Sheikh Tamimi launched into his tirade.
Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, who is coordinating the Pope’s visit to Israel, expressed his disappointment.
He said: “The sheikh’s provocation hurt, first and foremost, Pope Benedict XVI who came to the Holy Land to promote peace and unity between the peoples of the region and all persons of faith. Israel condemns these words of hatred uttered by the sheikh, who instead of fostering peace and coexistence chose to plant seeds of division and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as between Jews, Muslims and Christians.”
Mr. Misezhnikov added “it is a shame that the extremists were those who represented the Palestinians and the Muslims in this important event in the presence of the Holy See.”
The Pope’s spokesman in Jerusalem told the Voice Of Israel radio newsreel that Sheikh Tamimi’s speech was “not in the spirit of the conference.”
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
A prominent Islamic cleric used an interreligious meeting in Jerusalem presided over by Pope Benedict XVI as a platform to accuse Israel of systematically “killing Palestinian children” and to call for an “Islamic-Christian rebellion” against Israel.
Sheikh Taysir Tamimi, head of the Muslim Shariah courts in the Palestinian territories, had not been scheduled to speak, but made his comments in Arabic after seizing the microphone at the meeting.
The Pope had planned to use his appearance at the Notre Dame Center to promote interreligious dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims, but he walked out of the meeting before its scheduled end after Sheikh Tamimi launched into his tirade.
Israel Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov, who is coordinating the Pope’s visit to Israel, expressed his disappointment.
He said: “The sheikh’s provocation hurt, first and foremost, Pope Benedict XVI who came to the Holy Land to promote peace and unity between the peoples of the region and all persons of faith. Israel condemns these words of hatred uttered by the sheikh, who instead of fostering peace and coexistence chose to plant seeds of division and confrontation between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as between Jews, Muslims and Christians.”
Mr. Misezhnikov added “it is a shame that the extremists were those who represented the Palestinians and the Muslims in this important event in the presence of the Holy See.”
The Pope’s spokesman in Jerusalem told the Voice Of Israel radio newsreel that Sheikh Tamimi’s speech was “not in the spirit of the conference.”
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Biological Weapons, Instead of Nuclear Weapons, Keep Syria within Axis of Evil
by David Bedein
Syria has reportedly rebuilt the structure that housed the reactor bombed by Israel last year and has turned the site into a facility for manufacturing chemical and biological weapons.
Official sources stated Syria had significantly expanded its biological and chemical weapons program by doing so.
According to a CBS News report, the discovery of the Syrian program was one of the reasons President Barack Obama decided to renew the sanctions against Syria. An American source said [the U.S.] had received information that had altered the situation in U.S.-Syrian relations. After Sunday night’s report on CBS, it was clear what this information was.
A senior American intelligence source in Washington told the Israeli media Syria had denied having rebuilt the structure and also denied it was part of its biological and chemical weapons program. American satellite imagery, however, showed unequivocally that Syria was lying.
The discovery of the renewed Syrian biological and chemical weapons program adds to a series of differences of opinion that has left the Syrians and Americans in a deadlock.
Syria’s relationship with Iran, arming of Hezbollah and hosting of Hamas and other terror groups greatly troubles the Obama administration.
As a result, Mr. Obama announced a change in his Syria policy after his two envoys returned to Washington on Sunday.
The envoys went to Syria with the new intelligence showing the site that formerly housed the nuclear reactor had been restored and had become a structure housing an expanded chemical and biological weapons program.
Syria, however, denied the existence of the new program at the facility despite being shown the satellite footage, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After Mr. Obama consulted with his advisers, he reached the conclusion that Syria had not done anything to justify removing the sanctions.
“The concerns we had about Syria’s actions have not changed, so renewing the sanctions was the right thing to do,” a senior White House source told the Voice of Israel Radio.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Syria has reportedly rebuilt the structure that housed the reactor bombed by Israel last year and has turned the site into a facility for manufacturing chemical and biological weapons.
Official sources stated Syria had significantly expanded its biological and chemical weapons program by doing so.
According to a CBS News report, the discovery of the Syrian program was one of the reasons President Barack Obama decided to renew the sanctions against Syria. An American source said [the U.S.] had received information that had altered the situation in U.S.-Syrian relations. After Sunday night’s report on CBS, it was clear what this information was.
A senior American intelligence source in Washington told the Israeli media Syria had denied having rebuilt the structure and also denied it was part of its biological and chemical weapons program. American satellite imagery, however, showed unequivocally that Syria was lying.
The discovery of the renewed Syrian biological and chemical weapons program adds to a series of differences of opinion that has left the Syrians and Americans in a deadlock.
Syria’s relationship with Iran, arming of Hezbollah and hosting of Hamas and other terror groups greatly troubles the Obama administration.
As a result, Mr. Obama announced a change in his Syria policy after his two envoys returned to Washington on Sunday.
The envoys went to Syria with the new intelligence showing the site that formerly housed the nuclear reactor had been restored and had become a structure housing an expanded chemical and biological weapons program.
Syria, however, denied the existence of the new program at the facility despite being shown the satellite footage, which was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
After Mr. Obama consulted with his advisers, he reached the conclusion that Syria had not done anything to justify removing the sanctions.
“The concerns we had about Syria’s actions have not changed, so renewing the sanctions was the right thing to do,” a senior White House source told the Voice of Israel Radio.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Facebook as a Terror Weapon
by David Bedein
Terrorists Turn To Social Networking In An Effort To Target Israelis
Israeli intelligence has issued an unprecedented warning: Terrorists may use Facebook as a weapon in their war of terror.
A senior Israeli officer identifies recently fired high-tech workers or young career women seeking work abroad as potential terrorist targets for Facebook infiltration.
Their method is simple: monitor personal details on social networks and send their targets a tempting offer - for example, a dream job in Europe - with the hope they will also be able to obtain information, recruit spies and maybe even a kidnap an Israeli.
That is the Israel security establishment’s nightmare, and it believes Hezbollah already uses this technique.
An Israeli citizen recently told law enforcement authorities he had been solicited on Facebook by someone who introduced himself as a businessman from Lebanon. The businessman asked him to relay intelligence information in return for a fee.
Israel security sources say this instance was not the only case, and they believe Hezbollah has engaged in some of these activities.
“Based on our investigations, both into the people who lured Israeli civilians and the people whom they tried to lure, a worrisome picture emerges,” said a high-ranking security official. “Israelis have a short memory, but it happened once before that a boy was lured by means of the Internet by woman terrorist Amna Mona who in the end murdered the boy, Ophir Rahum. We’ve seen a lot of attempts like that lately.”
The official also said resumes sent out on the Internet also serve as bait.
“In response, someone could receive a tempting job offer that is hard to turn down and for which they would have to go to Europe - and then be kidnapped. This isn’t made up,” the official said.
It is known that Arab terror organizations use Israeli Web sites and social networks where there are a lot of Israelis, including veterans of classified Israeli Army units, with the goal of obtaining classified information on Israel’s security targets.
One year ago, two residents of the Bedouin city of Rahat were arrested and accused with transferring information to al-Qaida on Facebook.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Terrorists Turn To Social Networking In An Effort To Target Israelis
Israeli intelligence has issued an unprecedented warning: Terrorists may use Facebook as a weapon in their war of terror.
A senior Israeli officer identifies recently fired high-tech workers or young career women seeking work abroad as potential terrorist targets for Facebook infiltration.
Their method is simple: monitor personal details on social networks and send their targets a tempting offer - for example, a dream job in Europe - with the hope they will also be able to obtain information, recruit spies and maybe even a kidnap an Israeli.
That is the Israel security establishment’s nightmare, and it believes Hezbollah already uses this technique.
An Israeli citizen recently told law enforcement authorities he had been solicited on Facebook by someone who introduced himself as a businessman from Lebanon. The businessman asked him to relay intelligence information in return for a fee.
Israel security sources say this instance was not the only case, and they believe Hezbollah has engaged in some of these activities.
“Based on our investigations, both into the people who lured Israeli civilians and the people whom they tried to lure, a worrisome picture emerges,” said a high-ranking security official. “Israelis have a short memory, but it happened once before that a boy was lured by means of the Internet by woman terrorist Amna Mona who in the end murdered the boy, Ophir Rahum. We’ve seen a lot of attempts like that lately.”
The official also said resumes sent out on the Internet also serve as bait.
“In response, someone could receive a tempting job offer that is hard to turn down and for which they would have to go to Europe - and then be kidnapped. This isn’t made up,” the official said.
It is known that Arab terror organizations use Israeli Web sites and social networks where there are a lot of Israelis, including veterans of classified Israeli Army units, with the goal of obtaining classified information on Israel’s security targets.
One year ago, two residents of the Bedouin city of Rahat were arrested and accused with transferring information to al-Qaida on Facebook.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Papal Visit Planned Today at Yad Vashem
by David Bedein
Israel’s leading daily paper, Yediot Ahronot, ran a stinging editorial yesterday, on the eve of the Papal visit.
The editorial attacked Pope Benedict XVI for his involuntary service in the Hitler Youth and German Wehrmacht during World War II as well as the mistakes surrounding lifting the excommunication of Richard Williamson, a Holocaust-denying bishop, earlier this year.
The Pope joined the Hitler Youth as he was legally bound to do under German law at the time, but according to his book Salt of the Earth, he did everything he could to get out and was allowed to leave because he desired to enter seminary. The book also recounts how the then-Joseph Ratzinger served in the German army under an anti-Nazi officer who allowed him to desert his unit.
The editorial said: “Pope Benedict XVI will arrive [today] for his historic visit to Israel... Under this dark shadow, the Pope will visit Yad Vashem [today] at noon, a visit whose importance cannot be exaggerated.
“The Holy See, the head of the Catholic Church, the same church whose Pope, during World War II, did nothing to save Jews from the gas chambers, will meet there with those who survived that hell and succeeded in establishing a state here. The meeting will be too difficult for some concentration camp survivors who do not understand why they should host Pope Benedict XVI so nicely.”
However, six survivors of the Nazi horrors have volunteered to greet the Pope at the Yad Vashem Memorial for 6 Million Jews.
Gita Calderon, 83, is one of them.
“I feel that I am my people’s emissary to the Pope,” Ms. Calderon, whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust, said over the weekend. “If I could, I would tell him that the wound of the Holocaust has never healed for me. The wound is painful and bleeds all the time.”
Ms. Calderon is aware of Pope Benedict XVI’s past, but thinks that one should look ahead.
“I know that in his youth, the Pope was in the Hitler Youth and in the German army,” she says. “I hope that he did so because he was too young to understand. I hope that he also regrets it. The actions of the Nazis can never be forgiven. But we must demand of the Pope that he agree to rectify the errors that he made when he was young.”
Dan Landsberg, 70, will also shake the Pope’s hand today. Unlike Ms. Calderon, he claims that he is not excited by the occasion.
“I know that the Pope is a very important person, but I don’t look at this whole meeting from a personal perspective,” he said. “I was chosen to be a representative of the state and of my people, and all I need to do is to try to represent my people honorably.”
The Pope will also shake the hand of survivors Ed Mossberg, Yisraela Har-El, Avraham Ashkenazi and Ruth Bondy, and the hand of a “Righteous Gentile” Ivan Varantich who saved Jews during the war.
Other survivors politely refused the invitation to the historic event. Among them was former Member of Israel’s Knesset, Shmuel Halpert.
“I think that the Pope never should have been invited to the State of Israel,” Mr. Halpert told Yediot Ahronot. “Pope Benedict XVI was a member of the Nazi movement, and as a Holocaust survivor I cannot participate in ceremony honoring such a man, who was part of the war against the Jewish people. Everybody knows about the thundering silence of Pope Pius XII during World War II. Pope Pius XII and his people could have saved at least hundreds of thousands of Jews, but did not.”
These contentions, however, are disputed by world-renowned Jewish scholar, Rabbi David Dalin, whose research claims Pius XII saved more Jews during the Holocaust than Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg and other notables who saved Jews from the Nazis.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who survived the Bergen Belsen concentration camp as a small child and who now serves as the rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and as the head of Yad Vashem’s board, said that despite the “stumblings” of the Pope, his visit to Israel should not be rejected “in order not to give Israel’s enemies an occasion to speak.”
“I expect that during the Pope’s speech at Yad Vashem, he will make statements that will dispel the fog around his relationship with Judaism and strengthen the bridge that his predecessor built,” he said.
Rabbi Lau recalls that, over the past several weeks, many people contacted him about the meeting with the Pope.
“Some asked for an opportunity to shake the Pope’s hand, while others wanted to give him notes or other souvenirs. Still others said that their families had been in contact with the Pope’s family, the Ratzingers, and wanted to reminisce with him. He must be received politely and with respect, but we must not be obsequious toward him.”
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Israel’s leading daily paper, Yediot Ahronot, ran a stinging editorial yesterday, on the eve of the Papal visit.
The editorial attacked Pope Benedict XVI for his involuntary service in the Hitler Youth and German Wehrmacht during World War II as well as the mistakes surrounding lifting the excommunication of Richard Williamson, a Holocaust-denying bishop, earlier this year.
The Pope joined the Hitler Youth as he was legally bound to do under German law at the time, but according to his book Salt of the Earth, he did everything he could to get out and was allowed to leave because he desired to enter seminary. The book also recounts how the then-Joseph Ratzinger served in the German army under an anti-Nazi officer who allowed him to desert his unit.
The editorial said: “Pope Benedict XVI will arrive [today] for his historic visit to Israel... Under this dark shadow, the Pope will visit Yad Vashem [today] at noon, a visit whose importance cannot be exaggerated.
“The Holy See, the head of the Catholic Church, the same church whose Pope, during World War II, did nothing to save Jews from the gas chambers, will meet there with those who survived that hell and succeeded in establishing a state here. The meeting will be too difficult for some concentration camp survivors who do not understand why they should host Pope Benedict XVI so nicely.”
However, six survivors of the Nazi horrors have volunteered to greet the Pope at the Yad Vashem Memorial for 6 Million Jews.
Gita Calderon, 83, is one of them.
“I feel that I am my people’s emissary to the Pope,” Ms. Calderon, whose entire family was killed in the Holocaust, said over the weekend. “If I could, I would tell him that the wound of the Holocaust has never healed for me. The wound is painful and bleeds all the time.”
Ms. Calderon is aware of Pope Benedict XVI’s past, but thinks that one should look ahead.
“I know that in his youth, the Pope was in the Hitler Youth and in the German army,” she says. “I hope that he did so because he was too young to understand. I hope that he also regrets it. The actions of the Nazis can never be forgiven. But we must demand of the Pope that he agree to rectify the errors that he made when he was young.”
Dan Landsberg, 70, will also shake the Pope’s hand today. Unlike Ms. Calderon, he claims that he is not excited by the occasion.
“I know that the Pope is a very important person, but I don’t look at this whole meeting from a personal perspective,” he said. “I was chosen to be a representative of the state and of my people, and all I need to do is to try to represent my people honorably.”
The Pope will also shake the hand of survivors Ed Mossberg, Yisraela Har-El, Avraham Ashkenazi and Ruth Bondy, and the hand of a “Righteous Gentile” Ivan Varantich who saved Jews during the war.
Other survivors politely refused the invitation to the historic event. Among them was former Member of Israel’s Knesset, Shmuel Halpert.
“I think that the Pope never should have been invited to the State of Israel,” Mr. Halpert told Yediot Ahronot. “Pope Benedict XVI was a member of the Nazi movement, and as a Holocaust survivor I cannot participate in ceremony honoring such a man, who was part of the war against the Jewish people. Everybody knows about the thundering silence of Pope Pius XII during World War II. Pope Pius XII and his people could have saved at least hundreds of thousands of Jews, but did not.”
These contentions, however, are disputed by world-renowned Jewish scholar, Rabbi David Dalin, whose research claims Pius XII saved more Jews during the Holocaust than Oskar Schindler, Raoul Wallenberg and other notables who saved Jews from the Nazis.
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, who survived the Bergen Belsen concentration camp as a small child and who now serves as the rabbi of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and as the head of Yad Vashem’s board, said that despite the “stumblings” of the Pope, his visit to Israel should not be rejected “in order not to give Israel’s enemies an occasion to speak.”
“I expect that during the Pope’s speech at Yad Vashem, he will make statements that will dispel the fog around his relationship with Judaism and strengthen the bridge that his predecessor built,” he said.
Rabbi Lau recalls that, over the past several weeks, many people contacted him about the meeting with the Pope.
“Some asked for an opportunity to shake the Pope’s hand, while others wanted to give him notes or other souvenirs. Still others said that their families had been in contact with the Pope’s family, the Ratzingers, and wanted to reminisce with him. He must be received politely and with respect, but we must not be obsequious toward him.”
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Israeli Minister of Tourism: 'Pilgrims instead of Models'
by David Bedein
Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov, has informed the media that he plans to take advantage of the Pope’s visit to Israel and focus his ministry’s marketing on bringing pilgrims to the country.
He says he intends to bring in Catholic pilgrims and Evangelical Christians to Israel.
“Past tourism ministers made a mistake when they tried to market Israel as a vacation destination by showing Israel’s beaches and beautiful young women.
“Ministers who focused on photographing models, or on being photographed with them, thought that this would bring tourists to Israel.
“But their mistake was that our neighbors also have pretty young women and beaches, and we can’t compete with them in terms of the prices that they offer for vacation packages,” the minister said.
Mr. Misezhnikov was referring to the recent disastrous campaign of the Israel Ministry of Tourism that featured Israel’s bathing beauties, some of whom gave extensive interviews to the international media where they expressed their lack of patriotism to the State of Israel.
Meeting more than 100 reporters who have come to Israel to cover the Papal visit, Mr. Misezhnikov said: “What Israel needs to do is focus on what we have and others don’t, or, in other words, the Holy Land. Israel is sacred to Judaism, Christianity and also to Islam, and the Tourism Ministry’s current focus is to market Israel as the Holy Land. I hope that the Pope, who will be... visiting Israel soon, will call upon Catholic believers to come to Israel, and I intend to do everything I can to take full advantage of this visit. In addition, the Ministry of Tourism will work together with Evangelical communities all over the world in order to increase the number of their visitors to Israel.”
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Israel’s Minister of Tourism, Stas Misezhnikov, has informed the media that he plans to take advantage of the Pope’s visit to Israel and focus his ministry’s marketing on bringing pilgrims to the country.
He says he intends to bring in Catholic pilgrims and Evangelical Christians to Israel.
“Past tourism ministers made a mistake when they tried to market Israel as a vacation destination by showing Israel’s beaches and beautiful young women.
“Ministers who focused on photographing models, or on being photographed with them, thought that this would bring tourists to Israel.
“But their mistake was that our neighbors also have pretty young women and beaches, and we can’t compete with them in terms of the prices that they offer for vacation packages,” the minister said.
Mr. Misezhnikov was referring to the recent disastrous campaign of the Israel Ministry of Tourism that featured Israel’s bathing beauties, some of whom gave extensive interviews to the international media where they expressed their lack of patriotism to the State of Israel.
Meeting more than 100 reporters who have come to Israel to cover the Papal visit, Mr. Misezhnikov said: “What Israel needs to do is focus on what we have and others don’t, or, in other words, the Holy Land. Israel is sacred to Judaism, Christianity and also to Islam, and the Tourism Ministry’s current focus is to market Israel as the Holy Land. I hope that the Pope, who will be... visiting Israel soon, will call upon Catholic believers to come to Israel, and I intend to do everything I can to take full advantage of this visit. In addition, the Ministry of Tourism will work together with Evangelical communities all over the world in order to increase the number of their visitors to Israel.”
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Behind the Scenes of the Papal Visit
by David Bedein
Arguments behind the scenes have preceded Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked to speak at the reception for the Pope at Ben-Gurion Airport, but the Vatican politely refused.
The Vatican argued only heads of state give speeches at such receptions, and the Pope’s counterpart in Israel, the Vatican said, was President Shimon Peres, not Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Netanyahu, Vatican officials said, was the counterpart of the Vatican’s prime minister, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The Vatican officials also said this was a “religious visit without political aspects.”
At a certain stage, Vatican officials agreed to permit Mr. Netanyahu to speak, but only at the state reception in the President’s residence.
However, since Mr. Netanyahu has to leave immediately after the state reception at Ben-Gurion Airport for his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he will not be attending the reception at the President’s residence in Jerusalem.
A likely compromise would allow Mr. Netanyahu to speak at Ben-Gurion Airport alongside Cardinal Bertone.
The two parties disagreed not only about Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, but also about the meeting between the Pope and the prime minister.
According to protocol, the Pope, owing to his diplomatic status, does not need go to the Prime Minister’s Bureau to meet with the Israeli premier.
Instead, the Israeli premier is supposed to come to see him. When the previous Pope visited Israel in 2000 Ehud Barak, who was prime minister at the time, went to meet with Pope John Paul II at the Mount of Beatitudes in Northern Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu believes the appropriate place to meet the Pope, if not in his office, is at the Prime Minister’s Residence, but the Vatican refused to follow his wishes.
Now, talks are being held in an attempt to change the venue of the meeting away from Nazareth, where it was originally planned, to Capernaum.
A number of problems cropped up with respect to the festive celebration being planned for the Pope by Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in the Tower of David in the Old City.
According to the plan, Mr. Misezhnikov, who is the cabinet minister responsible for the trip, and Mayor Barkat are supposed to speak at the event and to welcome the members of the Vatican.
But Vatican officials have demanded that Mr. Barkat not be permitted to speak at
the event because the Vatican does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem.
Israel was forthcoming with the Vatican on this issue and removed symbols of the State of Israel and the Jerusalem municipality from the invitations. But Israel staunchly refused the Vatican’s demand that Mayor Barkat not be permitted to speak at the event.
Mr. Misezhnikov informed the Vatican representatives he invitations had already been sent, and they explicitly said Mr. Barkat would speak.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Arguments behind the scenes have preceded Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked to speak at the reception for the Pope at Ben-Gurion Airport, but the Vatican politely refused.
The Vatican argued only heads of state give speeches at such receptions, and the Pope’s counterpart in Israel, the Vatican said, was President Shimon Peres, not Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Netanyahu, Vatican officials said, was the counterpart of the Vatican’s prime minister, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The Vatican officials also said this was a “religious visit without political aspects.”
At a certain stage, Vatican officials agreed to permit Mr. Netanyahu to speak, but only at the state reception in the President’s residence.
However, since Mr. Netanyahu has to leave immediately after the state reception at Ben-Gurion Airport for his meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, he will not be attending the reception at the President’s residence in Jerusalem.
A likely compromise would allow Mr. Netanyahu to speak at Ben-Gurion Airport alongside Cardinal Bertone.
The two parties disagreed not only about Mr. Netanyahu’s speech, but also about the meeting between the Pope and the prime minister.
According to protocol, the Pope, owing to his diplomatic status, does not need go to the Prime Minister’s Bureau to meet with the Israeli premier.
Instead, the Israeli premier is supposed to come to see him. When the previous Pope visited Israel in 2000 Ehud Barak, who was prime minister at the time, went to meet with Pope John Paul II at the Mount of Beatitudes in Northern Israel.
Mr. Netanyahu believes the appropriate place to meet the Pope, if not in his office, is at the Prime Minister’s Residence, but the Vatican refused to follow his wishes.
Now, talks are being held in an attempt to change the venue of the meeting away from Nazareth, where it was originally planned, to Capernaum.
A number of problems cropped up with respect to the festive celebration being planned for the Pope by Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat in the Tower of David in the Old City.
According to the plan, Mr. Misezhnikov, who is the cabinet minister responsible for the trip, and Mayor Barkat are supposed to speak at the event and to welcome the members of the Vatican.
But Vatican officials have demanded that Mr. Barkat not be permitted to speak at
the event because the Vatican does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem.
Israel was forthcoming with the Vatican on this issue and removed symbols of the State of Israel and the Jerusalem municipality from the invitations. But Israel staunchly refused the Vatican’s demand that Mayor Barkat not be permitted to speak at the event.
Mr. Misezhnikov informed the Vatican representatives he invitations had already been sent, and they explicitly said Mr. Barkat would speak.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: No Substance to Rumors of a Mount Zion Transfer
by David Bedein
Peres: Israeli Would Not Agree To Hand Over Site To Vatican
As the Papal visit in Jerusalem approaches, rumors have run rampant that the Israeli government, including Israeli President Shimon Peres, plans to use the timing of the visit to endorse a diplomatic request from the Catholic Church to hand over the site of the Last Supper on Mount Zion in Jerusalem to Vatican authorities.
When reached in Washington, Mr. Peres, now on a sensitive state visit there, said the rumors were untrue and explained the Israeli government would not agree to such a request.
This unsubstantiated rumor began in 1993, when the late Dr. Manfred Lehman, a historian with a great interest in the Vatican, told reporters at the time of the signing of the Vatican-Israel diplomatic agreement, that the Israeli
government had made secret agreements to hand over such a site in the future.
People who were engaged in an e-mail campaign against the Papal visit started the rumor. They claimed that the Israeli government was about to make this gesture to the Vatican.
When these e-mail campaigners were asked for documentation of their claim, they said that they had none.
Based on that e-mail campaign, Israel Army radio, the Jerusalem Post and UPI still published the claim that the Israeli government had agreed to hand over Mount Zion during this Papal visit.
None of these news agencies had any substantiation for their reports from any Israeli government official.
The most prominent site in question is the room on Mount Zion said to mark the burial site of Kings Solomon and Hezekiah, known by Catholics as the Last Supper Room.
It is also located in the same structure that houses King David’s Tomb. Said to be the oldest Catholic church in the world, the building has also served as a synagogue and a mosque in the past; Muslim inscriptions still adorn the walls.
Since 1967, however, it has been under Israeli control, part of a complex leased and run by a Jewish seminary for over 40 years.
An estimated 10,000 Jewish students have studied in this seminary, also known as a yeshiva, since then. For many of them, it was their first stop on their way to becoming more Jewish and their first step in their immigration to Israel.
“We were forced to give over part of the compound to the Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs,” says Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein, founder and dean of the seminary, “which then gave it over to the Ministry of the Interior. Ever since then, the Church has been making demands and claims on the area... Their goal, ultimately, is to conduct religious services here, with hundreds of thousands of Christian tourists coming through.
A Bilateral Permanent Working Commission - a team of Israeli and Vatican representatives who have been negotiating fiscal and property questions since March 1999 - released an optimistic news release at the end of last week. The commission announced “meaningful progress,” “great cordiality” and a mutual commitment to reach a final agreement “as soon as possible.”
Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, the head of the Religions Department in the Israel Foreign Ministry, affirmed there is no chance of Israel “giving away” this property.
Israeli Attorney Aviad Visoly, who represents the Jewish seminary on Mount Zion, said that recent meetings between Israel and the Vatican had nothing to do with Mount Zion, adding the meeting is held annually and will be nothing more than a briefing on the status of the negotiations thus far.
He said Israel has politely decline the Vatican request for sovereignty on Mt. Zion, and the Vatican respected that position.
Rabbi Goldstein added, however, there is constant pressure - financial and otherwise - to allow the Church to build a passageway through the Jewish seminary to enable for thousands of Christian visitors and worshipers to gain easy access the Upper Room, where the Last Supper is said to have taken place.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
Peres: Israeli Would Not Agree To Hand Over Site To Vatican
As the Papal visit in Jerusalem approaches, rumors have run rampant that the Israeli government, including Israeli President Shimon Peres, plans to use the timing of the visit to endorse a diplomatic request from the Catholic Church to hand over the site of the Last Supper on Mount Zion in Jerusalem to Vatican authorities.
When reached in Washington, Mr. Peres, now on a sensitive state visit there, said the rumors were untrue and explained the Israeli government would not agree to such a request.
This unsubstantiated rumor began in 1993, when the late Dr. Manfred Lehman, a historian with a great interest in the Vatican, told reporters at the time of the signing of the Vatican-Israel diplomatic agreement, that the Israeli
government had made secret agreements to hand over such a site in the future.
People who were engaged in an e-mail campaign against the Papal visit started the rumor. They claimed that the Israeli government was about to make this gesture to the Vatican.
When these e-mail campaigners were asked for documentation of their claim, they said that they had none.
Based on that e-mail campaign, Israel Army radio, the Jerusalem Post and UPI still published the claim that the Israeli government had agreed to hand over Mount Zion during this Papal visit.
None of these news agencies had any substantiation for their reports from any Israeli government official.
The most prominent site in question is the room on Mount Zion said to mark the burial site of Kings Solomon and Hezekiah, known by Catholics as the Last Supper Room.
It is also located in the same structure that houses King David’s Tomb. Said to be the oldest Catholic church in the world, the building has also served as a synagogue and a mosque in the past; Muslim inscriptions still adorn the walls.
Since 1967, however, it has been under Israeli control, part of a complex leased and run by a Jewish seminary for over 40 years.
An estimated 10,000 Jewish students have studied in this seminary, also known as a yeshiva, since then. For many of them, it was their first stop on their way to becoming more Jewish and their first step in their immigration to Israel.
“We were forced to give over part of the compound to the Israel Ministry of Religious Affairs,” says Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein, founder and dean of the seminary, “which then gave it over to the Ministry of the Interior. Ever since then, the Church has been making demands and claims on the area... Their goal, ultimately, is to conduct religious services here, with hundreds of thousands of Christian tourists coming through.
A Bilateral Permanent Working Commission - a team of Israeli and Vatican representatives who have been negotiating fiscal and property questions since March 1999 - released an optimistic news release at the end of last week. The commission announced “meaningful progress,” “great cordiality” and a mutual commitment to reach a final agreement “as soon as possible.”
Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, the head of the Religions Department in the Israel Foreign Ministry, affirmed there is no chance of Israel “giving away” this property.
Israeli Attorney Aviad Visoly, who represents the Jewish seminary on Mount Zion, said that recent meetings between Israel and the Vatican had nothing to do with Mount Zion, adding the meeting is held annually and will be nothing more than a briefing on the status of the negotiations thus far.
He said Israel has politely decline the Vatican request for sovereignty on Mt. Zion, and the Vatican respected that position.
Rabbi Goldstein added, however, there is constant pressure - financial and otherwise - to allow the Church to build a passageway through the Jewish seminary to enable for thousands of Christian visitors and worshipers to gain easy access the Upper Room, where the Last Supper is said to have taken place.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Israel To Inaugurate Farsi Language Intelligence Web Site
by David Bedein
The Internet site of the Israel Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies, www.intelligence.org.il, will soon translate its writings into Farsi, also known as Persian, in an attempt to reach surfers from Iran.
Among other things, the site focuses on spreading information about the Israeli-Arab conflict and the tension between Israel and Iran. A statement by the site will read: “Translation into Farsi is part of the effort that the center is making to expand coverage of the Iranian subject.”
This site posts declassified Israeli intelligence material, which will now be available for every Iranian citizen to read.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Internet site of the Israel Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies, www.intelligence.org.il, will soon translate its writings into Farsi, also known as Persian, in an attempt to reach surfers from Iran.
Among other things, the site focuses on spreading information about the Israeli-Arab conflict and the tension between Israel and Iran. A statement by the site will read: “Translation into Farsi is part of the effort that the center is making to expand coverage of the Iranian subject.”
This site posts declassified Israeli intelligence material, which will now be available for every Iranian citizen to read.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Hamas Looks to Offset Dependency on Iran
by David Bedein
The Middle East Newsline has revealed that the Hamas regime in Gaza has sought military assistance from other Islamic countries to offset dependency on Iran.
According to Hamas sources, the Islamist leadership in Gaza City has decided to acquire military training and assistance from countries other than Iran and Syria. They said the Hamas policy was drafted in the wake of the war with Israel because Hamas was virtually entirely dependent on Tehran during the conflict.
“There is no intention to replace Iran, which remains important,” a Hamas source said. “But much of Iranian guidance was not relevant for us in the war.”
The sources said Iranian military tactics taught to Hamas in 2008 were ineffective against Israel. They said the Hamas tactics were based on doctrine adopted by the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah, located in the mountainous areas of southern Lebanon. The Gaza Strip is a flat area that is much smaller than Lebanon.
Over the last few months, Hamas has maintained contact with several potential sources of military assistance. The sources identified them as Algeria, Morocco, Sudan and Turkey.
The sources said Sudan would provide most of the training for Hamas while serving as a key supplier of weapons. They said Turkey, under the auspices of the ruling Justice and Development Party, has also been quietly training Hamas personnel in security tactics.
“Hamas got 20 academic scholarships for internal security training from Turkey to fight Fatah,” a Hamas military source said.
A Hamas military investigation determined numerous flaws in combat doctrine during the 22-day war with Hamas. The sources said 3,000 Hamas officers were investigated and 50 field commanders were dismissed.
The investigation recommended that Hamas acquire proven combat systems from foreign suppliers rather than seek to produce indigenous weapons, such as the Qassam-class, short-range rocket.
The probe also urged Hamas to focus on the procurement of Russian-origin rather than on U.S. air defense systems, such as the Stinger.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Middle East Newsline has revealed that the Hamas regime in Gaza has sought military assistance from other Islamic countries to offset dependency on Iran.
According to Hamas sources, the Islamist leadership in Gaza City has decided to acquire military training and assistance from countries other than Iran and Syria. They said the Hamas policy was drafted in the wake of the war with Israel because Hamas was virtually entirely dependent on Tehran during the conflict.
“There is no intention to replace Iran, which remains important,” a Hamas source said. “But much of Iranian guidance was not relevant for us in the war.”
The sources said Iranian military tactics taught to Hamas in 2008 were ineffective against Israel. They said the Hamas tactics were based on doctrine adopted by the Iranian-sponsored Hezbollah, located in the mountainous areas of southern Lebanon. The Gaza Strip is a flat area that is much smaller than Lebanon.
Over the last few months, Hamas has maintained contact with several potential sources of military assistance. The sources identified them as Algeria, Morocco, Sudan and Turkey.
The sources said Sudan would provide most of the training for Hamas while serving as a key supplier of weapons. They said Turkey, under the auspices of the ruling Justice and Development Party, has also been quietly training Hamas personnel in security tactics.
“Hamas got 20 academic scholarships for internal security training from Turkey to fight Fatah,” a Hamas military source said.
A Hamas military investigation determined numerous flaws in combat doctrine during the 22-day war with Hamas. The sources said 3,000 Hamas officers were investigated and 50 field commanders were dismissed.
The investigation recommended that Hamas acquire proven combat systems from foreign suppliers rather than seek to produce indigenous weapons, such as the Qassam-class, short-range rocket.
The probe also urged Hamas to focus on the procurement of Russian-origin rather than on U.S. air defense systems, such as the Stinger.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Report - Iran, Venezeula Forge Defense Agreement
by David Bedein
The Middle East Newsline reports Iran has reached an agreement intended to turn Venezuela into a major defense client.
Iran and Venezuela have signed several agreements meant to bolster defense and military cooperation. The accords call for Iran to train Venezuela’s military, as well as for Iran to export missiles and other weapons systems to the South American state.
“This is a long-term plan,” Iranian Defense Minister Mustafa Najar said.
On April 29, Mr. Najar concluded a three-day visit to Caracas where he met government and military leaders. Officials said Mr. Najar led a large delegation from his ministry as well as the Iranian military.
“Cooperation with Venezuela has experienced a leap that we’re seeking to accelerate in this visit,” Mr. Najar said.
Relations between Iran and Venezuela have developed rapidly over the last three years under President Hugo Chavez.
Iran has sent military delegations as well as Defense Ministry staffers to brief Venezuela on the latest weapons developed by Tehran.
Iran has reported defense exports to about 55 nations. Officials said the exports included that of missiles, mortars, armored vehicle platforms and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Middle East Newsline reports Iran has reached an agreement intended to turn Venezuela into a major defense client.
Iran and Venezuela have signed several agreements meant to bolster defense and military cooperation. The accords call for Iran to train Venezuela’s military, as well as for Iran to export missiles and other weapons systems to the South American state.
“This is a long-term plan,” Iranian Defense Minister Mustafa Najar said.
On April 29, Mr. Najar concluded a three-day visit to Caracas where he met government and military leaders. Officials said Mr. Najar led a large delegation from his ministry as well as the Iranian military.
“Cooperation with Venezuela has experienced a leap that we’re seeking to accelerate in this visit,” Mr. Najar said.
Relations between Iran and Venezuela have developed rapidly over the last three years under President Hugo Chavez.
Iran has sent military delegations as well as Defense Ministry staffers to brief Venezuela on the latest weapons developed by Tehran.
Iran has reported defense exports to about 55 nations. Officials said the exports included that of missiles, mortars, armored vehicle platforms and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Israeli Soldier Killed In Arab Village Near Ramallah
by David Bedein
An Israeli soldier, identified as Sgt. Noam Adin Rechter Levi, 20, was killed on Wednesday night.
The soldier was shot during a patrol in the village of Birzeit, near Ramallah.
Since April 2002, the Israeli army has resumed patrols in all Arab villages in the West Bank.
These daily Israeli army patrols have succeeded in stopping almost all potential terror attacks from the West Bank over the past two years - more than Israel’s security fence has.
During the operation, the Duhifa Battalion of the Kfir Brigade was engaged in a confrontation between Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and armed Palestinians. During the confrontation, Sgt. Levi was killed by a gunshot.
The security forces arrested several Palestinians, and the incident is being investigated.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
An Israeli soldier, identified as Sgt. Noam Adin Rechter Levi, 20, was killed on Wednesday night.
The soldier was shot during a patrol in the village of Birzeit, near Ramallah.
Since April 2002, the Israeli army has resumed patrols in all Arab villages in the West Bank.
These daily Israeli army patrols have succeeded in stopping almost all potential terror attacks from the West Bank over the past two years - more than Israel’s security fence has.
During the operation, the Duhifa Battalion of the Kfir Brigade was engaged in a confrontation between Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers and armed Palestinians. During the confrontation, Sgt. Levi was killed by a gunshot.
The security forces arrested several Palestinians, and the incident is being investigated.
See this story in the Philadelphia Bulletin
See this story at Israel Behind the News
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