Official: Israel capable of unilateral strike on Iran, if US not committed
Senior Israeli official doubts US move to thwart nuclear Iran.
Israel is capable of carrying out a unilateral military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities without operational support from the United States, a senior Israeli official said to Israel Radio on Tuesday morning.
Although, such a strike would render less effective than one conducted by America, the unidentified official said.
The diplomatic official doubted US intentions to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons at all costs.
American conduct regarding Syria, contrary to declarations by President Barack Obama, shows Israel that it cannot rely on US assurances, the Israeli source said.
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GAFFNEY: Willful blindness, mortal peril
Fantasizing that enemies are friends is a dangerous pastime
Diana West’s splendid new book, “American Betrayal: The Secret Assault on Our Nation’s Character,” is an expose of a practice that she persuasively argues has cost us dearly in the past and endangers our future. Former federal prosecutor-turned-pundit Andrew C. McCarthy calls it “willful blindness,” and we indulge in it at our extreme peril.
Ms. West painstakingly documents how America’s government, media, academia, political and policy elites actively helped obscure the true nature of the Soviet Union. She persuasively argues that such blinding began literally from the moment in November 1933 when Franklin Roosevelt normalized relations with the USSR in exchange for the Kremlin’s fraudulent promise to forgo subversion against this country.
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Desperation in the Benghazi Coverup
[A congressional select committee could offer immunity to the CIA’s dispersed, intimidated survivors.]
You can always tell the depth of an event’s illegality by the measures people take to cover it up. By that measure, the conduct of President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and David Petraeus leading up to the terrorist attack that killed four Americans on 9/11 2012 must be must be so sufficiently wrongful that, if revealed, they could lead to the president’s impeachment.
How else can we gauge what is apparently the most energetic coverup in modern history? We know, from several sources, that the survivors of the attack — not on the consulate, but on the CIA annex — number a few dozen or more. We also know from those sources that almost all of their names have been concealed from Congress in the course of the coverup.
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Before we cede land, more than a referendum is necessary
A two-thirds Knesset and referendum majority should be required on an issue of such long-term importance as withdrawing from Judea and Samaria.
The ability of Israeli governments to govern has been proven time and again through thick and thin during the past 65 years. Israeli governments have handled wars, signed peace agreements, put an end to rampant inflation, absorbed millions of immigrants. Other democracies, including the United States, can only envy the ability of Israeli governments to get things done. Those who sought to imitate the U.S. presidential system need only look at the problems that Barack Obama faces in dealing with Congress. Putin’s Russian presidential system is something we really don’t want.
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Birthright May Double its Numbers, Plus Encourage Hi-Tech Aliyah
There’s a new plan to greatly increase Birthright availability Question: What’s Blue and White even though it’s on fire? Answer: The participants of most Birthright programs.
Approximately 350,000 Jews from across the globe have gone on the 10-day all expenses paid Birthright trip to Israel since the program started in 2000. For some reason, the people who crafted the Birthright-Taglit program 13 years ago pretty much got it right. Research shows that young Jews who go on Birthright trips are:
- 46 percent more likely to feel very much connected to Israel than their counterparts who applied but did not go, and the Taglit effect was greatest among participants from relatively weaker Jewish backgrounds.
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Poll: 63% of Israeli Jews oppose withdrawal to ’67 borders
Most Israeli Jews would oppose a peace agreement with the Palestinians if it included a West Bank pullout with land swaps to let Israel retain major settlement population centers, according to a new poll that appears to contradict the conclusions of other recent surveys.
The poll, released Tuesday by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, found that 63 percent of Jews in Israel oppose a withdrawal to the 1967 lines with land swaps as part of any peace arrangement with the Palestinian Authority, even if it meant Israel would hold onto the Etzion Bloc, directly south of Jerusalem; Ma’aleh Adumim, east of the capital; and Ariel in the central West Bank about 34 kilometers (21 miles) east of Tel Aviv.
Fifty-eight percent of Jewish respondents were opposed to the dismantling of any settlements. The poll was conducted among 602 respondents in late July, after the announcement of new peace talks with the Palestinians, and has a statistical error of 4.5%. (Read more…)
Despite construction slowdown, settlement population still growing fast
The first half of 2013 was characterized by an average 2.12 percent population increase in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley, according to population registry data obtained by Israel Hayom. The information suggests that the growth rate is highest in the Har Hebron Regional Council, at 4.8%.
On Sunday, the cabinet expanded its list of cities and communities eligible for government subsidies, which included a record number of Judea and Samaria settlements. The decision came just days after the resumption of long-frozen peace talks and drew quick Palestinian condemnation. The government hopes to encourage more people to move to the communities on the “national priorities” list.
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Death penalty will save lives
Op-d: No reason why Israel shouldn’t execute terrorists who murdered innocent, defenseless civilians
Ahead of the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians Israel is being asked to release numerous murderers as a “gesture.” This is very difficult because we are talking about terrorists who murdered many civilians. Some of them are even Israeli citizens who were tried here like any other prisoner, so why should they be released?
First of all, we should internalize the fact that this is not about making a gesture – there is a deal at play here. The release of prisoners as part of the negotiations is far more worthy than releasing prisoners as part of a deal to return kidnapped soldiers or civilians. At least here there is hope that the release, and the subsequent talks, will reduce the number of casualties in the future. (Read more…)
The Right Moment for Israel’s Danny Danon?
by Daniel Pipes, The Washington Times
August 5, 2013
August 5, 2013
“Lunacy.” That’s how Danny Danon describes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s decision to hand over 104 killers to the Palestinian Authority as a “goodwill gesture.”
He’s hardly alone, as many observers (including myself) are outraged by this move. But Danon, 42, has a unique place in this debate because he (1) sits in Israel’s parliament as a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, he (2) is chairman of Likud’s powerful Central Committee, and he (3) serves as Israel’s deputy minister of Defense. In American terms, his criticism resembles Gen.Stanley McChrystal’s 2010 interview mocking Vice President Joe Biden. But McChrystal was gone within days whereas Danon continues to gain influence and stature.
Danon (right) is widely seen as a thorn in Netanyahu’s side, as in this Ha’aretz cartoon.
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Danon’s ability to denounce his own prime minister’s actions points to his not being a routine politician. Three qualities stand out: a devotion to principle, a mastery of tactics, and the ability to articulate a vision. (Read more…)
Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel
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