IDF Prepares Public for Nationwide Home Front Exercise
Sivan 3, 5770, 16 May 10 04:21
by Hillel Fendel
(Israelnationalnews.com) The IDF Home Front Command has launched a media campaign in preparation for the national Home Front exercise known in Hebrew as Nekudat Mifneh 4 (Turning Point 4).
The joint exercise will be held by the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), the IDF Home Front Command, the Israel Police, Magen David Adom emergency services, government offices and local authorities. It will simulate various emergency scenarios and responses provided to civilians in Israel. The focus will be the sounding of a siren across Israel on Wednesday, May 26, at 11:00 AM, requesting that all residents enter protected spaces specified in advance.
The media campaign will include television and radio broadcasts in Hebrew and other languages, as well as internet ads directing the public to the Home Front Command website. In addition, the campaign will include ads in national and target-specific newspapers, such as hareidi-religious and Arabic newspapers.
This year marks the fourth consecutive year the exercise has taken place. It was planned as part of the annual training graph, and was prepared over the past few months by a national administration comprised of various officials. The exercise is billed as "another opportunity to prepare the public and municipal authorities for emergency periods."
During last year's Turning Point 3 five-day exercise, representatives from 70 nations participated as observers, watching Israel simulate a war with Hamas, Hizbullah, and Syria combined with Arab riots and terrorist attacks. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained last year that Israel is called upon to provide not only an offensive response to the threats surrounding the country, but also a defensive response for the civilian population.
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TIME: 'The Next Lebanon War'
Iyar 29, 5770, 13 May 10 07:13
by Hana Levi Julian
(Israelnationalnews.com) A report by TIME Magazine this week warns that "the next Lebanon War" is on the horizon, but contends that although the Hizbullah terrorist organization and Israel are both fully prepared for war, neither side is looking forward to the eventuality.
The inevitable, says writer Ramzi Haidar, actually depends more on the U.S. and Iran than it does on either Israel or Hizbullah, given that the two are locked in a battle over the Islamic Republic's nuclear development program.
Iran is aiming Hizbullah's tens of thousands of missiles at Israel in a bid to halt American pressure designed to end its ability to build an atomic weapon. The U.S., for its part, is working hard to persuade the United Nations Security Council to impose tougher economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Israel has vowed to consider the entire nation of Lebanon fair game, rather than restricting its targets to Hizbullah-linked areas, if war again breaks out in the north. The reason: Hizbullah has become a significant player in Lebanon's government, with several ministers representing the terrorist organization in the nation's cabinet and a healthy-sized faction in the parliament. The Lebanese government has issued numerous statements asserting the group's right to bear arms, and validating its status as a military entity “defending” the Lebanese people from “Israeli aggression.”
The terrorist group is supplied by Syria and Iran with generous funding and more missiles and other ordnance than most European nations, according to some reports, including Scuds. IDF Brigadier General Yossi Baidatz, a top military intelligence analyst, told a Knesset committee a week ago that Hizbullah has all kinds of weapons, “including solid-fueled rockets, more accurate and with a longer range.” The Scud missiles recently transferred from Syria to Lebanon are "just the tip of the iceberg," Baidatz warned.
Hizbullah is upgrading its battle plans and preparing for war, TIME reports, while planning to send guerrilla fighters on cross-border raids and sabotage missions, similar to that which ignited the Second Lebanon War. But although the magazine referred to the strategy as “unprecedented in the Arab-Israeli conflict,” it is in fact a common move, one that has been repeated throughout the history of the reborn State of Israel, beginning with raids by "fedayeen" attackers.
A similar attack was perpetrated by members of three Hamas-linked terrorist groups in 2006. The operation resulted in the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held hostage in Gaza. Shalit's condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper claimed several days ago that Western sources told it that "Israel will wage war the minute it discovers the whereabouts of Nasrallah's hideout whatever the time or circumstances," Nasrallah, the anti-Semitic head of Hizbullah, has mostly been in hiding since the Second Lebanon War.
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(Jerusalem Post) Unlike members of their peer generation in most other countries, Israelis are two, three and even more years behind in enrolling for university studies.
Compulsory army service, and the year spent after the army in trekking through India, South America or parts elsewhere get in the way of Israelis obtaining their first degrees at age 20 or 21.
Religious soldiers who wanted to pursue their yeshiva studies while in the army, have since 1953 been able to participate in the Hesder program which combines army service with Talmudic studies, but until recently any soldier doing compulsory army service had a long wait between completing high school and entering university.
For 50 combat soldiers representing all branches of the armed forces, there is no longer any need to wait.
They are part of a pilot program initiated by President Shimon Peres whereby soldiers can combine academic studies towards a Bachelor's Degree in engineering, physics or computer sciences with army service.
The program which is a joint endeavor of the Defense Ministry, the IDF, Beit Hanassi, the Education Ministry, the Open University, the Libi Fund for the Strengthening of Israel's Defense, the Rashi Foundation and other bodies, was officially launched at Beit Hanassi on Sunday, even though the fifty students who are part of the pilot program have already been studying for some months.
Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi disclosed that approximately a year ago, in the course of a meeting with Peres, the latter had said to him "We already have Tzva Hagana le-Israel (Israel Defense Force), how about Tzva Haskala le-Israel (Israel Education Force)?"
Ashkenazi knew that Peres was not merely probing, but had already made up his mind to push the idea as far as it could go.
In an Israeli spin of necessity being the mother of invention, Peres has said many times that Israel's impressive scientific and technological achievements were born out of security needs. Peres often makes the point that modern warfare depends more on science and technology than on military might, and reiterated this at the launch of what is known as 'the academic commando".
Noting that there had been some 3,000 applicants for enrolment in the pilot project, Ashkenazi regretted that it has been limited to fifty soldiers in its initial stages. "But the tens will become hundreds and the hundreds will become thousands," he said. "This is an important ambition with a significant investment."
Peres congratulated Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Ashkenazi for having the courage to introduce a new concept to the IDF. "What looks like a small step today," he predicted, "will be one of the great achievements of the State of Israel. It is an important phase in continuing to strengthen the foundations of the IDF."
Whereas Zionism was once expressed in working the land, said Peres, it is now science that influences everything we do.
Addressing himself to the soldier-students Peres said: "You are the best, which is why you are the first to embark on this program. The world is changing rapidly spurred by ongoing scientific developments. In ten years’ time, the world will be completely different to what it is today, and it will be different because of science. You will be part of that revolutionary change."
Looking back to the recently celebrated Israel Independence Day when 120 outstanding soldiers were honored, and more recently to the day on which the contributions of reservists to national security were publicly recognized, Barak credited them for their part in making Israel a strong and secure state, and declared that Israel's amazing achievements in the relatively short span of 62 years were attributable to talented visionaries.
Israel's scientific accomplishments are beneficial not only to Israel, but to the entire world, he said as he told the soldier-students: "You will continue to carry the torch of that development, and you will continue to be the backbone of Israel's scientific progress and security. Whoever stands still will remain behind. Today, we are taking a significant step towards the future."
Before concluding, Barak offered a piece of advice. "Don't take anything for granted. Examine everything and don't ever abandon your curiosity or your enthusiasm."
Education Minister Gideon Saar told Peres that he had always been a man of vision and initiative whose far sightedness had led to many breakthroughs of which the academic commando was yet another example.
"This is a first step in integrating army service with academic studies," said Saar, emphasizing that for many people the time gap between school and university was much too long.
One of the benefits of the new project, he said, was that people would be able to join the work force sooner than in the past.
He welcomed the program as an opportunity for reciprocity, to give Israel's young men and women who were contributing to national security the opportunity to learn while serving.
Saar was pleased that the project had been given the green light by Israel's Council for Higher Education and said that ways were being worked out to provide greater incentives and more budget for study.
The Open University which has the highest enrolment in Israel has been growing steadily since its first semester in October 1976.
Saar said that it was a good platform not only for this project, but also for a similar project that would enable haredim to acquire academic qualifications without having to compromise their own values.
Saar now wants to involve Israel's high-tech companies in the program, so that they will have an ongoing connection with the best and the brightest whom they will be able to absorb in their operations, thereby contributing not only to security and to scientific advancement but also to the economy.
Open University President Hagit Messer-Yaron said that she was proud to be associated with one of the most important flagships of the IDF and the Education system. "We were recruited to help fulfill the vision of the President," she said, and praised Open University faculty staff for devising a curriculum that will result in a "social, educational and scientific revolution."
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Deputy Defense Minister: Tel Aviv Will Be Enemy's Main Target
Nisan 23, 5770, 07 April 10 06:00
(Israelnationalnews.com) Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai toured the municipality of Tel Aviv - Yafo today as part of the IDF's program to improve the preparedness of the Home Front for times of emergency. Vilnai met with Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai in the city's Situation Room and reviewed the municipality's plans for terrorist attacks, earthquakes, and rocket attacks. Vilnai and Huldai then toured a modern underground parking garage in the HaBima Theatre building which has been renovated to provide protection against chemical weapons. The facility can provide cover for over 1000 residents in an emergency.
During the tour of the shelter Vilnai said that "We are working in a variety of ways to improve the protection of citizens, including the distribution of gas masks, improving public bomb shelters, requiring the building of safe rooms in new houses, and utilization of existing underground facilities for bomb shelters. This shelter is an example of proper use of existing spaces and an efficient solution for cities like Tel Aviv which are densely populated."
"Also, we have instructed local authorities in Israel to locate underground facilities to be used for the protection of residents in an emergency. In any future conflict the enemy will see Tel Aviv as a main target because it is central and densely populated and therefore comprehensive preparation is needed for emergency situations. I am encouraged by the mayor's activities. He is taking care of the public's safety in a responsible fashion. "
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Israeli Start-Up Makes Army Units Vanish Into Thin Air
Sivan 3, 5770, 16 May 10 12:50
by Hana Levi Julian
(Israelnationalnews.com) Remember the cloaking device used by the Klingon war ships in those old Star Trek television programs? Science fiction, right?
Not any more.
Meet the Black Fox Active Adaptive IR Stealth System, created by Israeli start-up firm Eltics Ltd., a company that produces electronic warfare systems in Ashkelon. The new technology can make a helicopter, tank or ship, vanish into thin air.
Or at least, that is how it appears. The system, financed by private investors, made its debut on Channel 10 TV last week. It comes with a FLIR camera that takes a snapshot of the environment in which the unit is operating. The equipment analyzes the thermal signature of the environment, and then screens the exact same signature on to plates fitted on to the machine.
“A tank, armored personnel carrier or ship equipped with this system can become invisible to thermal night vision systems, guided missiles and a missile's sight,” Eltics Ltd. CEO Ronen Meir explained to the interviewer. So far, Black Fox is in the advanced prototype stage.
“In the past, it has been customary to say 'We own the night.' But now, we say, 'We share the night,'” Meir later told the Xinhua news service, explaining that night vision technology has become all-too-commonplace among armies – and terrorist cells -- around the world.
Black Fox returns the advantage of night warfare, said Meir, “beginning at the intelligence level and up to the tactical and strategic level.” For obvious reasons, he revealed little else, other than to add that the firm was awaiting an infusion of funds to take the technology to the next level.
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