03312015 NEWS AM - [SPECIAL NOTE: Lev U’Neshama was able to meet their goal and provide for 85 families with basic Passover supplies. For those who helped in this endeavor and huge thank you from Yaffa and Moshe! ] Trouble reading the news? Too wide for your CRT? Try the PDF format – rdb] http://easttexasbiblicalprophecyforum.org/uploads/-_TODAYSNEWS.pdf - Note New link Saeb Erekat lies, claims he is descended from Canaanites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddq8B83hOb8 Taqiyah after Taqiyah over and over! "A constitution is not the act of a government, but of a people constituting a government; and government without a constitution is power without a right. All power exercised over a nation, must have some beginning. It must be either delegated, or assumed. There are not other sources. All delegated power is trust, and all assumed power is usurpation. Time does not alter the nature and quality of either." -- Thomas Paine (1737-1809) US Founding father, pamphleteer, author Read the Prophets & PRAY WITHOUT CEASING ! That is the only hope of this nation! Please remember these folks in prayerCheck often – they change Plead for Grace and Mercy That the world would WAKE Time for a worldwide repentance! U P. ALL US soldiers fighting for our freedom around the world Pray for those in our government to repent of their wicked corrupt ways. Pray that the American people WAKE UP to the truth concerning our government and take a positive act Pray for BAM – Cancer treatment chemo Pray for JA – Cancer treatment chemo and radiation – complications Pray for CM – Severe liver failure Pray for M B B –surgery for a tumor – Now with more tumor. Pray that The Holy One will lead you in Your preparations for handling the world problems. – Have YOU made any preparations? 2Samuel 14:17Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee. 18Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak. 19And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid: 20To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth. Iran's Basij Commander: Israel Must Be Wiped Off the Map Even as talks over Iran's nuclear program proceed, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi issues vile statement. By Gil Ronen First Publish: 3/31/2015, 2:50 PM As talks over Iran's nuclear weapons program neared their deadline Tuesday, the Commander of Iran’s Basij (volunteer) Force, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, was quoted as saying that “wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.” In a basij conference in Iran, Naqdi also threatened Saudi Arabia and said that the counterattack it is waging in Yemen, against Iran-backed Houthis, “will end up like Saddam Hussein.” The report was carried on Kol Yisrael radio. World powers were meeting for Iranian nuclear negotiations on Tuesday morning, for the final day of talks in Lausanne, Switzerland. A morning session of the talks ended earlier than scheduled, after just 35 minutes, without results. Reports from Lausanne say that the talks may not end in a framework agreement, as had been hoped, but rather with a joint statement that outlines the points of agreement and disagreement between the sides. This. supposedly, would make it possible to continue the talks for another two months. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193445#.VRqROo4-0xg [I still haven’t figured out just why the P5+1 is negotiating with murderous terrorists. – rdb] Iran nuclear talks to continue in new phase, officials say Tehran, world powers to issue general statement, along with documents outlining understandings in greater detail; will try to hammer out accord by June By George Jahn and Matthew Lee March 31, 2015, 12:51 pm LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Wrapping up six days of marathon nuclear talks with mixed results, Iran and six world powers prepared Tuesday to issue a general statement agreeing to continue negotiations in a new phase aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord by the end of June, officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The joint statement is to be accompanied by additional documents that outline more detailed understandings, allowing the sides to claim enough progress has been made thus far to merit a new round, the officials said. One of the officials said the statement was general in part because differences between the sides remained ahead of a new phase of negotiations toward a comprehensive deal by late June. The second official said other documents will be more technical in nature and will also be made public later in the day. Both demanded anonymity because they are not authorized to comment on the talks. The documents were being finalized among the six countries negotiating with Iran, and the Iranian side had not yet signed off on them, said the first official. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who left Lausanne Monday, was heading back to the Swiss city, also indicating that an end to the talks was near. He departed on Monday but said he would return if a deal was imminent. Foreign ministers of five nations at the table already joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at the talks over the weekend in an intense effort to reach a political understanding on terms that would curb Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Kerry and others at the table said the sides have made some progress, with Iran considering demands for further cuts to its uranium enrichment program but pushing back on how long it must limit technology it could use to make atomic arms. In addition to sticking points on research and development, differences remain on the timing and scope of sanctions removal, the officials said. The Obama administration says any deal will stretch the time Iran needs to make a nuclear weapon from the present two to three months to at least a year. But critics object that it would keep Tehran’s nuclear technology intact. Officials in Lausanne said the sides were advancing on limits to aspects of Iran’s program to enrich uranium, which can be used to make the core of a nuclear warhead. Uranium enrichment has been the chief concern in over more than a decade of international attempts to cap Iran’s nuclear programs. But Western officials say the main obstacles to a deal are no longer enrichment-related but instead the type and length of restrictions on Tehran’s research and development of advanced centrifuges and the pace of sanctionslifting. Over the past weeks, Iran has moved from demanding that it be allowed to keep nearly 10,000 centrifuges enriching uranium, to agreeing to 6,000. The officials said Tehran now may be ready to accept even fewer. Tehran says it wants to enrich only for energy, science, industry and medicine. But many countries fear Iran could use the technology to make weapons-grade uranium. http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-nuclear-talks-to-continue-in-new-phase-officials-say/ [It looks like in essence what they did was grant an extension. – rdb] Ex-intel chief: If Iran’s uranium isn’t exported, US will have failed with deal Amos Yadlin, Zionist Union’s candidate for defense minister, says public criticism of US positions toughened Obama administration’s stance By Lazar Berman March 31, 2015, 10:02 am A former head of the IDF’s military intelligence branch said Tuesday morning that the emerging nuclear agreement with Iran would be a “bad deal,” if it is indeed finalized around the terms that have been made public. However, said Amos Yadlin in an interview to Israel Radio, three “core technical issues” are still not agreed upon by Tehran and the P5+1 powers – research and development, the military aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, and the shipping out of fissile material to a third-party country. “Without the export of the 7-8 tons of low-enriched uranium, the Americans do not have the goal they set” of keeping Iran a year away from enough fuel for a nuclear weapon, said Yadlin, the Zionist Union’s pick for defense minister during the recent elections, who currently runs the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Midnight Tuesday is the deadline for a framework nuclear deal between Iran and global powers the US, Russia, Britain, France, China, and Germany. Yadlin had some criticism for the way Israel under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu handled disagreements with the US over the nuclear talks. “We needed to sit with the Americans, and discuss what are the parameters that define a year to breakout. What do the Americans mean when they say ‘No deal is better than a bad deal?’ These things were not done with the Americans. What is the way to verify that the Iranians, who are known for violating agreements, are breaking or not breaking the agreement.” “And in my eyes the most important thing for agreement between Israel and the US, what will the US response be, and what support will they give for Israeli reactions, to violations of the agreement?” But Yadlin indicated that displeasure with the Barack Obama administration from other quarters forced the US to harden its positions. Criticism from Arab partners, and the potential of a nuclear race in Arab world, were especially important factors, as was public dissent from nuclear experts not generally critical of Obama. The advance of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen also affected the American position, Yadlin said. Obama understood that without the threat of new sanctions legislation from Congress, the Iranians would keep introducing new demands, Yadlin argued. Yadlin spent 33 years in the Israeli Air Force, including at the helm of the IDF intelligence directorate, and as Israel’s military attache in Washington. The former fighter pilot, one of eight who raided the Osirak reactor in Iraq in 1981, said there were “many alternatives between a bad deal and military action,” such as new harsher sanctions and covert action. After 18 months of tortuous talks, foreign ministers from Iran and the P5+1 are in marathon talks to try to reach an accord to end the standoff that has been threatening to escalate dangerously for 12 years. An army of technical and sanctions experts worked late into the night in Switzerland on Monday exchanging documents and groping for ways to figure out the outlines of this potentially historic agreement. “There are marathon meetings happening all over the place. There are several issues that have not been resolved yet. These are important issues,” an Iranian negotiator said late Monday. http://www.timesofisrael.com/ex-intel-chief-emerging-nuclearaccord-a-bad-deal/ Talk of cyber attack as huge power outages hit Turkey Worst blackouts in years bring transportation in dozens of cities to a standstill By AP March 31, 2015, 1:29 pm ANKARA, Turkey — Dozens of Turkish cities and provinces on Tuesday were hit by a massive power outage that brought transportation to a standstill and disrupted services and businesses which had no backup power. The Turkish Electricity Transmission Company, TEIAS, cited a problem at the Turkey’s electricity power transmission network for the worst blackout in Turkey in several years. Metro and tram services came to a halt in Istanbul, Ankara and three other major cities. Police officers were deployed to manage traffic at major junctions where traffic signals were disrupted. Firefighters were called to rescue people stuck in elevators. Asked whether a terror attack may have caused the outage, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu responded: “All possibilities are being investigated.” Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said: “Was there an operational fault, a technical fault, or was there a cyber attack? … We are following it closely.” Yildiz added that power was being restored in some provinces. http://www.timesofisrael.com/talk-of-cyber-attack-as-huge-poweroutages-hit-turkey/ Senators warn Obama against rescinding UN veto Bipartisan group warns that they ‘oppose efforts to bypass direct negotiations and impose peace terms on Israel at the UN’ By Rebecca Shimoni Stoil March 31, 2015, 3:41 am WASHINGTON — As reports proliferate that US leadership is considering stripping Israel of the protective diplomatic umbrella with which it has historically provided the Jewish state in the international arena — including its previously guaranteed vetoing of UN resolutions damaging to Jerusalem — a bipartisan group of US senators urged President Barack Obama in a letter Monday to avoid threatening Israel with such punitive measures and to reassert Washington’s support for the state. The letter obtained by the Times of Israel was signed by two Democrats and two Republicans who did not directly criticize the president’s policies, but did warn that “using the United Nations to push Israel and the Palestinians to accept terms defined by others will only ensure that the parties themselves are not committed to observing these provisions.” Democratic Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Mark Warner (D-VA) joined with Republican Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) in signing the missive, which stated their opposition to “efforts to bypass direct negotiations and impose peace terms on Israel at the UN and other international bodies.” The senators reminded the president that America’s “longstanding commitment to Israel transcends any one leader or government” — a not particularly veiled reference to the personal acrimony between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Relations between the two leaders have hit a new low in recent weeks, after Netanyahu appeared before Congress to warn against an impending deal with Iran which the Obama administration has been working on since 2013. The negotiations toward a political framework for a comprehensive deal are expected to conclude by Tuesday and Netanyahu has continued to warn that the deal is one that will endanger Israel’s security. The tension only increased following Netanyahu’s reelection weeks after his Congressional address. The Obama administration complained about statements made by Netanyahu in the final days of the campaign, during which he warned that Arab voters were turning out “in droves” to vote against them and said that no Palestinian state would be created during his premiership. In reaction, the administration indicated that it would “evaluate” its actions toward achieving a twostate solution, hinting that it might not block — perhaps even draft — a UN resolution in support of Palestinian independence. Netanyahu later walked back the latter statement, and apologized to Arab leaders for the former statement, but the Obama administration has continued its critical stance toward Netanyahu. “We’ve made our point,” a White House official told Politico on Sunday. “The message has clearly been received. The next move is theirs, presumably after the new government has been formed.” But the administration has been under increased pressure to moderate its stance. The same Politico article reported that a dozen Jewish Democrats in the House of Representatives — including some stalwart Obama allies — had told Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes that Obama needed to tone down his rhetoric regarding Israel. On Saturday, the Washington Post published a scathing editorial in which the paper’s editorial board declared that “Mr. Obama’s efforts to promote a settlement, going back to 2009, ignored innumerable warnings (including from this page) that he was premising his diplomacy on breakthroughs that were not achievable. It is Mr. Obama who has long been pretending, and he compounds his mistake by claiming that the reality he now accepts was created 10 days ago by Mr. Netanyahu’s rhetoric.” Monday’s letter echoed the same discontent with an administration that has posed challenges to Jewish Democrats who are at pains to emphasize that support for Israel is not just a Republican issue. “For decades, both Democratic and Republican administrations have stood by Israel in opposing anti-Israel or onesided resolutions at the UN Security Council and other UN agencies,” the senators noted, telling the president that “we must remain firm in opposing actions that are designed to circumvent direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.” Such actions, the senators warned, “will set back the opportunities for peace in the long term.” “We must make clear our willingness to use our veto power to block such efforts at the UN Security Council and our continuing defense of Israel at the United Nations Human Rights Council and other agencies where Israel is under constant assault,” the senators emphasized. The senators quoted Obama’s own 2011 address to the UN General Assembly in which he told the international body that “ultimately, it is the Israelis and the Palestinians — not us — who much reach agreement on the issues that divide them.” http://www.timesofisrael.com/senators-warn-obama-against-rescinding-un-veto/ [It is way past time for the legislative branch WHICH IS the voice of the people to get the fortitude to stand up to this man who ‘would be king’ and let him know that his behavior are unacceptable and that he has committed enough errors to warrant censure or impeachment. BHObamanation is a egomaniacal bully who will continue with his vile bullying, distorting the constitution at his whim unless the is confronted with strong opposition and told enough is enough. He has to be taken to the woodshed for a thorough thrashing and then he may start behaving like a normal person instead of a tantrum throwing nincompoop. – rdb] Dozens Are Reported Killed as Saudi-Led Strike Hits Camp for Displaced Yemeni Civilians By SAEED AL-BATATI and RICK GLADSTONEMARCH 30, 2015 AL MUKALLA, Yemen — Dozens of civilians were killed when, according to aid workers and officials, what appeared to be an airstrike hit a camp for displaced families in northern Yemen on Monday. It was thought to be the deadliest single episode involving civilians since Saudi Arabia began a military campaign to drive back the Houthi movement five days earlier. The deaths, in the Al-Mazraq camp, came as the Saudi-led Arab military coalition intensified attacks across Yemen, bombing multiple targets including a missile depot in the capital, Sana, that erupted in a nighttime conflagration and sent civilians in a nearby village fleeing the explosions, according to witnesses. Saudi officials have framed their military offensive as an effort to roll back the gains of the Houthis, whose fighters have seized control of much of Yemen over the last seven months, and to restore to power the exiled government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Saudi offensive has been primarily driven by a fear of Iranian influence in the region: the Houthis, who practice a strain of Shiite Islam and are supported by Iran, have been accused by Saudi officials as acting as an Iranian proxy force. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/world/middleeast/yemen-camp-air-raid.html [Good heavens has anyone notified the UN human rights groups yet. Perhaps they should put sanctions on Saudi? Not likely. – rdb] Knesset members sworn in at festive ceremony New 120-strong parliament includes 39 freshman lawmakers, and record 28 women MKs. Moran Azulay Published: 03.31.15, 10:32 / Israel News Two weeks after the end of a stormy election season, the Knesset convened Tuesday for a festive swearing-in ceremony, during which the lawmakers of the 20th Knesset were to declare their allegiance to the Israeli parliament and its laws. The 120 Knesset members include 39 just embarking on their legislative careers, who were earlier this week treated to a special seminar on the inner workings of parliament. The 19th Knesset had 49 new members and a record number of women – 27 in total. That record was broken on March 17, when voters gave 28 women seats in the Knesset. At the seminar earlier this week, Knesset Secretary-General Yardena Meller-Horowitz (the first woman to hold the post) provided the new Knesset members with a comprehensive explanation of how the parliament and its plethora of departments work. After the less formal gathering, all 120 lawmakers were then to head over to the Knesset for the first official session of parliament, in the presence of President Reuven Rivlin and the outgoing speaker of the 19th Knesset, Likud MK Yuli Edelstein. The Knesset elder, Zionist Union MK Amir Peretz, will oversee the plenum session as acting Knesset speaker. During the session, MKs will be officially notified that Benjamin Netanyahu has been tasked with forming the next government. MKs will then select a permanent speaker for the 20th Knesset, after which a government announcement will be issued stating the prime minister will appoint all the ministers and deputy ministers of the 34th Israeli government. Sports broadcaster and journalist Zuhair Bahalul (Zionist Union) was among the 39 new MKs at the seminar. "You could say we got similar support when we entered the first grade - it involved a lot of curiosity and a lot of questions," he said. Bahalul said that he and his new colleagues had learned a thing or two about the workings of the Knesset, "for example, the process of law before its passage (and) the legal pitfalls. These are things that we knew in theory, but were not familiar with the exact process." The freshman legislators also learned about the work of the Knesset committees, legislative and legal consultation, the Knesset Research Center, and the issues of security at the Knesset compound. "I'm a little jealous of you, a good jealousy of course", said outgoing Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein. "There is nothing quite like the feeling when you make the declaration of allegiance for the first time. In this building, one can also be an idler, but not many of them are re-elected. It all depends on the public responsibility and personal motivation of each and every one of you." The party with the highest number of new MKs is, unsurprisingly, the new Kulanu faction, whose MKs, aside chairman Moshe Kahlon, are all swearing allegiance for the first time. The Likud faction will also present 11 new MKs, including Dr. Anat Berko, who said of the seminar: "I felt kind of like I did when I enlisted at the age of 18. It was the (Knesset equivalent of) a recruitment center. We were welcomed very nicely, and I am sure I will learn a lot as we go along. They gave us the feeling that we can ask anything and that we are not supposed to know it all on day one." http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4642736,00.html Sources: US may push renewed discussion of the Saudi peace initiative By SHLOMO SHAMIR/MAARIV ONLINE \ 03/31/2015 03:12 According to senior diplomatic officials in New York, the US may work to raise discussion of the Saudi peace plan after the new Israeli government is sworn in. The United States may push a renewed discussion of the Saudi initiative to solve the Israeli Palestinian conflict, diplomatic sources in New York believe. According to the sources, the US would not initiate the move itself, but would "make sure" that another western state would introduce the move. Sources who work closely with the US delegation to the United Nations say that, parallel to the blatant declarations directed against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the White House recently, senior officials in the administration are initiating steps to be taken immediately after the swearing in of the new Israeli government aimed at renewing Israeli and Palestinian dialogue. A senior European envoy in New York said that, amid the current chaos in the Middle East and the involvement of Arab states in the war in Yemen, he believes the US will push the Saudi initiative through a discussion at an international forum or by turning directly to the Israelis and Palestinian Authority. [The Middle East is falling apart. Most of the US allies don’t trust the US anymore and have made amazingly disparaging remarks about BHObamanation. Israel is nearly surrounded to the north with aggressive terrorist groups including ISIS and other al Qaeda linked troops which the current occupier of the Whitehouse has thought were moderate and THE ONLY THING this nitwit can do is worry about an Israeli/"PA" agreement. You really can’t cure stupid. – rdb] The purported US plans do not signal that Washington supports all of the clauses of the Saudi initiative or agrees to its diplomatic goals. However, the move would serve Washington in two ways: first, it will placate the Saudis and strengthen the standing of Riyadh and the moderate Gulf states, who are afraid of the emerging nuclear deal with Iran and of Tehran's ambitions to take control of the area. Second, such a step would send a message to the new government in Israel: that it does not have a lot of time to ponder a renewal of negotiations with the Palestinians. The Saudi peace plan was first proposed during a summit of Arab leaders in Beirut in 2002. The peace plan, which became known as the Saudi initiative, was again discussed at a summit of Arab leaders in Riyadh in 2007. The plan calls for an Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, and the establishment of a Palestinian state in exchange for recognition of, and normalization of ties with, Israel by the Arab nations. Israel rejected the initiative outright at the time it was proposed, particularly because of the clause which calls for "a just solution for refugees," and in essence supports the Palestinian right of return. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas expressed at the time of its release full support for the Saudi initiative. The US has officially "ignored" the initiative for the same reason that it has ruled out attempts by its European allies and by the UN Security Council to intervene in mediation between Israel and the Palestinians - the US administration sees this as its exclusive mandate. However, the estimation now in New York is that, with the new Israeli government entering power, and in answer to France's proposed resolution to solve the conflict being planned for the Security Council, the US sees the Saudi initiative as a temporary lever that will pressure the sides and encourage new ideas about a peace initiative in Jerusalem. The turn to the Saudi peace initiative, however, is not expected to influence US policy in the Security Council. Diplomatic sources in New York rejected recent reports that the White House is considering a change in its policy to veto resolutions relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Security Council. There is almost complete agreement among the sources that the US will continue its traditional policy - to thwart initiatives in the Security Council which seek to affect the peace process. There are two factors preventing a change in this policy. First, in the UN there are excellent work relations and close cooperation between Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor and US envoy to the UN Samantha Power. Power, who was appointed by US President Barack Obama, is a staunch ally of Israel who has demonstrated special awareness of, and preparedness to preempt, efforts to hurt Israel at the UN. Power is subject to the instructions of the White House, but she is considered very close to the president and is among the small group of people that Obama listens to and whose opinions he takes into account. In addition, the channel of communication between Obama's National Security Adviser Susan Rice and her counterpart in Netanyahu's office, Yossi Cohen, operates very effectively. The two have a trusting relationship and enjoy close cooperation. Rice and Cohen speak often, and exchange views in a friendly manner. Rice is a member of Obama's inner circle and is also a friend of Power. According to the sources in New York, the close cooperation between Israel and the US through these two channels serves as a guarantee that the US support for Israel at the UN and in the international community will continue. http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Sources-US-may-push-renewed-discussion-of-the-Saudi-peaceinitiative-395629 Sneak peek into top-of-the-line IDF submarine German-made INS Tanin, which has been undergoing intensive modification since arriving in Israel, will soon be ready to undertake its secretive, long-range assignment. Yoav Zitun Published: 03.31.15, 00:13 / Israel News The IDF's newest submarine, the INS Tanin, is expected to set out soon for its debut mission. Israeli Navy personnel – together with crews from the defense industry – are executing the final sets of tests of the advanced weapons, communications, and intelligence systems added to the sub after its arrival from Germany in September. [GO TO THE WEB SITE FOR A VIDEO OF THE SUB! http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4642251,00.html – rdb] According to foreign reports, the newest set of submarines is the strategic arm of the Israeli military, the country's "second strike" force, meant to retaliate against aggressors in the worst case scenario of a nuclear attack. The technical crews and engineers have been working overtime to assure all systems are synchronized and operating flawlessly on the IDF's most expensive, and secretive, weapon – with a price tag estimated at half a billion dollars. The most overt difference between the INS Tanin and its three predecessors is its length: 68 meters compared to the veteran subs' 57.3 meters. The additional compartments have space for fuel cells which allow for quiet electric propulsion for prolonged periods while submersed, as well as a briefing room, a recreation room, and a computer station. "The add-ons allow the INS Tanin to receive missions with longer durations and further deployments than the existing submarines," says an Israeli Navy officer. "We prolonged by days its capability to operate quietly and discreetly in enemy territory." The rest of the communication, weapons, and intelligence equipment installed in the new vessel are also considered highly advanced, but the INS Tanin's advantage in those departments will end when the older subs are retrofitted with the new systems. However, the technical systems which control and steer the INS Tanin are considerably easier to operate and have a variety of built-in back-ups. For example, its digital sonar array can more easily identify undersea noises for the operators. "We are enjoying the benefits of more advanced noise-isolating capabilities and can therefore hear farther," says the officer. The fifth submarines, the INS Rahav, is identical to the Tanin and will arrive in Israel in the summer, with the sixth vessel to set sail from Germany in the coming years. The Israeli Navy has identified a significant increase in its number of operations – especially long-range – which its ships have received over the last two years. "The Tanin has more advanced equipment, among the best in the world," say naval sources. The navy says that the changing reality in the Middle East has led to, on average. one submarine each month to embark on an unplanned mission, with just a few hours notice. "We work in cooperation with units from the Ministry of Defense, Military Intelligence, special forces, Air Force and the infantry," says Lt. Col. "G". The commander of Haifa's naval base, Gen. David Salame, adds: "The submarine flotilla operates deep within deadly enemy, with efficiency and secrecy." The army predicts that the submarines will continue to perform a variety of tasks, mainly intelligence gathering missions, which could take the vessels thousands of miles from Israel. 'Hezbollah target' Meanwhile, the IDF has identified a further transfer of advanced weapons from Russia to Syria, as the country enters its fourth year civil war. The navy says that its working assumption is that everything that finds its way into Syria will end up in Hezbollah's possession, including the world's most advanced cruise missile, the Russian Yakhont. "Up until the Second Lebanon War, Lebanon had one sea-bound missile, the C-802. Based on this assessment, we therefore operated close to the Lebanese coast," says a senior naval officer. "Now, there are now dozens of sea missiles in Lebanon, of at least ten different types." "The Yakhont is not a surface-to-sea missile, as some mistakenly believe, but a missile launched from the beach that can strike at any point on land within a range of 200-300km," says the source. "We have defense systems such as the Barak 1 and soon the Barak 8 missile that can go up against it." He says the takeover by global jihad organizations such as Islamic State in the Sinai and Syria has already led to the seizure of an Egyptian missile boat by terrorists from a radical group. He says that Israel's current and future gas rigs will become sitting ducks for Hezbollah. "From the moment the contract is signed for the purchase of four defense ships, it will take two to three years until they arrive. Until then, we can provide solutions based on existing layers of intelligence, local security, aerial vehicles from a reasonable distance and ships in the area," says the official. During Operation Protective Edge, naval missile boats were deployed at each of the rigs for fear of rocket fire. Another threat that was considered was the infiltration by Hezbollah terrorists from the sea toward Nahariya and Rosh Hanikra, similar to the attempt by Hamas frogmen from Gaza during last summer's conflict. The navy is currently setting up a system to cover the maritime borders, which will improve the ability any future infiltration attempts by sea http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4642251,00.html 'Influx of advanced weapons flowing into Syria, Lebanon unprecedented,' navy source says By YAAKOV LAPPIN 03/29/2015 Hezbollah has range of surface to sea missiles; Yakhont can be used as surface to surface missile to hit Tel Aviv, source warns. Advanced weaponry, much of it supplied by Iran, is flowing into Syria and Lebanon, a senior Israel Navy source warned on Sunday. The Navy is spending a large chunk of its operational time dealing with advanced weapon smuggling, according to the source, who added, “Such weapons pose a challenge to all Western navies in the area.” He said the northern front has become unified, and that Lebanon and Syria can not be viewed as separate entities anymore. “What happens in Syria, happens in Lebanon [in terms of weapons availability], and vice versa. I’ll go a step further and say that everything that happens in Iran can end up in Syria, which can then end up in Lebanon,” the source stated. “In the event of war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, I’m not sure Syria will remain on the sidelines. Hezbollah assists the Assad regime, and the help is mutual.” Describing the quantity and quality of surface-to-sea missiles in Hezbollah’s possession as “unprecedented,” the source said there are dozens of such weapons in its keeping, covering around 10 different kinds of such missiles. “The types of warheads and their ranges are many,” said the source. “We are in a completely different situation. The sector has changed.” The source said he assumed Hezbollah is in possession of the Yakhont guided antiship missile, adding that the navy is capable of defending itself from it. He warned that the missile can be used to attack targets on land deep inside the country. “They can fire it at military headquarters in Tel Aviv,” he said. The Yakhont has a 300 kilometer range, according to the source. “It is very fast. It has unusual capabilities. It can fly at a very high altitude, or a low one, depending on the variation,” he said. Iran continues to develop its own weapons, copying the arms of other states, and it smuggles them to its allies and proxies in Syria and Lebanon, said the source. Meanwhile, semi-state organizations are growing in Syria, and jihadist groups are likelier than previously to try to mount a sea-based terrorist attack, such as a bomb-laden vessel. In Hezbollah’s view, the naval arena is becoming central, the source continued, and the organization’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah is planning offensive moves against Israel in the next clash, rather than just waging a lengthy war of attrition. Meanwhile, the Israel Navy is preparing to receive four new missile ships, to secure four gas drilling platforms in Israel’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Mediterranean, an area two and- a-half times larger than Israel. The gas rigs, which will form most of Israel’s electricity supply, are attractive targets for Hezbollah, the source said. The navy is setting up layers of defense around them, including antimissile defenses on ships and underwater defenses. “Additional ships for this task are a must,” the source said. A second source added that the navy’s submarines carried out dozens of covert operations off enemy shores in 2014. “We conducted series of operations in various sectors. Some lasted weeks,” the source said. He emphasized the ability of submarines to gather intelligence, including signals intelligence, and remain submerged for long periods far from Israeli shores. He added that the INS Tanin, the fourth German-Dolphin submarine to join the navy’s fleet, and the first vessel to use Air Independent Propulsion, received weapons and communications systems from domestic defense companies in Israel after arriving from Germany in September. Israel ordered three AIP-enabled new generation Dolphins from Germany, with the fifth, the INS Rahav, expected to arrive in the coming months. The submarines work closely with other navy ships, naval commandos, the IAF and infantry units. “The number of missions we receive is higher than the number we are able to carry out because of the number of submarines at our disposal,” the source added. http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Influx-of-advanced-weapons-to-Syria-and-Lebanon-isunprecedented-senior-navy-source-says-395490 [Even though there may be chest thumping and bragging about items which are questionable NEVER underestimate the capabilities of an enemy like Iran or you will wind up on the short end of the stick. – rdb] Gaza border towns plant trees to hide from Hamas rockets New effort seeks to conceal roads and kibbutzim from missile fire emanating from the coastal strip By Avi Lewis March 30, 2015, 11:59 pm Israeli towns and farming communities abutting the Gaza Strip are set for a green makeover in a broad tree-planting project — not to spruce up their appearance but rather to camouflage them from Hamas rocket fire in the next conflict. Spearheaded by the IDF and the Jewish National Fund (JNF), the 13 million shekel ($3.3 million) initiative will forest the areas hardest hit by missile fire emanating from the coastal strip in last summer’s 50-day war. Kibbutzim, access roads and the Sderot-Tel Aviv railway line are to be obscured by thousands of trees that will be imported from elsewhere and planted. Gaza-border communities not only acted as convenient targets for Hamas and other terror groups operating from the enclave during the conflict. They also served as waypoints that enabled missile operators to calibrate distances, bearings and directions for outgoing rocket fire. The project seeks to address these concerns by masking homes, roads and geographical features, making them more difficult to identify when seen from Gaza. Plans for the afforestation campaign predated the summer conflict, following which the scope of the initiative was widened and additional areas were designated for plantation. With irrigation and piping infrastructure laid down in recent months, saplings and full-grown trees will now be transplanted in the area. “The security-[based] tree-planting venture is stepping into high gear amid a demonstration of solidarity between communities,” Alon Shuster, head of the Sha’ar Hanegev Regional Council, told Ynet news Monday. “Mature trees that were uprooted in Kfar Aza due to demographic growth are being replanted in neighboring Nahal Oz. This is an example of mutual responsibility,” Shuster said, referring to two kibbutzim that sit one kilometer and two kilometers from the Gaza border, respectively. Thousands of rockets were fired at Israel during last summer’s hostilities between the Jewish state and terrorist groups in Gaza. Over the course of the 50-day conflict, approximately 2,200 Palestinians were killed — Israel contends that half were combatants, while the Palestinians say that most were civilians — and 72 people were killed on the Israeli side, including 64 soldiers. Israel blames Hamas for all civilian casualties since it emplaced its war machine in residential areas. Eleven soldiers were killed by Hamas gunmen emerging from tunnels dug under the border. Israeli defense officials believe Hamas has managed to dig several tunnels to be used for attacks near the Israeli border in the seven months since the end of the war. http://www.timesofisrael.com/gaza-border-towns-plant-trees-to-hide-from-hamas-rockets/ Release of PA taxes said held up over electric bill dispute After a promise to unblock funds, Israel and Palestinians still fighting over NIS 400 million ($100 million) for utilities By Lazar Berman March 31, 2015, 2:05 pm Four days after Israel announced it stop withholding unblock hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid tax funds to the Palestinian Authority, the payment remained held up over a dispute regarding the size of the PA’s unpaid electric bill. A Palestinian source said that the Israeli demand for electricity costs is far too high for the PA, Israel Radio reported on Tuesday. Multiple sources said the two sides are still NIS 400 million ($100 million) apart on their demands over the amount to be transferred. [So why shouldn’t the "PA" pay the same rates as Israeli? – rdb] PA and Israeli officials met Monday to discuss the details of the transfer, but were unable to come to an agreement. The PA is scheduled to pay the salaries of 170,000 government employees next week, according to Israel Radio. On Friday, Israel said it would release hundreds of millions of dollars in tax funds it has withheld from the PA as a punitive measure over its move to join the International Criminal Court (ICC). PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday he doubted Israel’s willingness to hand over the funds. “They’ve announced they will release the money, but so far they have unlocked nothing,” Abbas told an Arab League summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. “Maybe they will impose a thousand and one conditions before doing so and guaranteeing not to freeze the funds again.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said revenues accumulated over three months, frozen since January, would be transferred after normal deductions for services. “They are collecting this money in our name, and charging a three percent service fee,” Abbas said Saturday. “They collect $100 million and take $3 million. If they decide to deprive us of the funds by blocking them it still makes no difference to them,” he said. Netanyahu’s office did not say whether Israel would resume the normal monthly payment of around $127 million in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports. Israel has not quantified the amount to be transferred, but did say it would deduct debts due for services such as electricity, water and medical care. Israel’s move, which was welcomed by the United States, comes just ahead of the Palestinians formally becoming members of the ICC on Wednesday. They will then be able to proceed with legal action against Israeli officials at the court based in The Hague. The Palestinians have said they intend to pursue war crimes allegedly committed by Israeli during last summer’s war in Gaza, as well as Israel’s policy of building settlements on occupied Palestinian land. “The foreign minister will travel to the ICC on April 1 to celebrate our commitment to the International Criminal Court,” Abbas said Saturday, recalling that the Palestinian initiative came “after we failed to prevent further colonization by Israel.” http://www.timesofisrael.com/release-of-pa-taxes-said-held-up-over-electric-bill-dispute/ Palestinian Discontent With Abbas Is Growing By DIAA HADIDMARCH 30, 2015 AL AMARI REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — Residents of this cinder-block ghetto, a few miles from the headquarters of President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, recently removed his portrait from the camp’s entrance. Then they sought to embarrass Mr. Abbas by roundly rejecting his son’s bid to lead a local sports club. And in case the message was not clear enough, after the vote, men paraded through the streets chanting, “Tell your father that Amari camp doesn’t like you!” Much attention has focused recently on the Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent disavowal of a two-state solution and his shattered relationship with the Obama administration. But of perhaps equal importance is a growing discontent in Palestinian ranks, much of it focused on Mr. Abbas. While the United States and Europe seem ever more ready to pressure Israel to end its occupation of the West Bank, some Palestinians are questioning whether their leader, who celebrated his 80th birthday last week, will be able to seize the opportunity. MORE - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/world/middleeast/among-palestinians-discontent-with-abbasgrows.html?ref=middleeast&_r=2 [the arabs in living in Judea/Samaria under the "PA" rule would be much better off if their ‘leadership’, who only incite trouble, were gone and they were under Israeli control. If you removed the Fatah and Hamas destructive leadership which is a simmering infection you might actually be able to educate these people to be semi-civilized. Economically they would be better off because the monies which have poured into their leadership has gone to line their pockets and not for the people or infrastructure. You could probably develop businesses there. There are many Israeli arabs working in Jerusalem and other cities who are good citizens and far better off than arabs in other areas or countries.– rdb] 26 Americans to sue Hamas for rocket fire at Ben Gurion Airport Litigation to be filed in US court; under American law, targeting citizens in an international airport carries heavy penalties By Avi Lewis March 31, 2015, 1:21 pm Twenty-six American citizens who were present at Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport when it was targeted by Hamas missile fire during last summer’s war will file a lawsuit against the terror group in a US court, it was announced Tuesday. The litigation, which was inspired and organized by Israeli legal group Shurat HaDin, seeks to have various top Hamas commanders tried on war crimes charges. Under US law, targeting or committing acts of violence against American citizens in an international airport can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. War crimes suits will be filed against Hamas leaders and rocket fire cells, specifically, Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, senior spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, and officials Hamdan Awad, Hudeiffe Samir, Abdullah Al’halut, Ahmed Jandoor, Ra’ad Sa’ad, Marwan Abed-el, Karim Issa and Salah Amer Daloul. Over the course of last summer’s 50-day conflict between Hamas and Israel, terror groups from the enclave targeted Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport, located 12 kilometers southeast of Tel Aviv, and briefly grounded flights. Hamas took responsibility for the attacks on social media and in official statements. Although there were no direct hits on the terminal, missiles fell in the nearby city of Yehud, destroying a residential building. The airport is located 60 kilometers north of the Gaza Strip. MORE - http://www.timesofisrael.com/26-americans-to-suehamas-for-airport-rocket-fire-last-summer/ Mahdi to return by 2016, followed by Jesus? Mainstream Muslim website makes official announcement Published: 3 hours ago Leo Hohmann It’s not only evangelical Christians who are sensing that something has changed in the world, and that we may be entering the very last days. Muslims are also eagerly awaiting their messiah. In the latest evidence of this messianic fervor, a mainstream Sunni Muslim website has decreed that the Islamic messiah, called the Mahdi, will appear this year or in 2016 and that the Muslim Jesus will return in 2022 to conquer the world for Islam. [that would make the Mahdi the anti-Christ then. – rdb] DiscoveringIslam.org and the End Times Research Center have calculated that the “first phase” of the end of time will begin soon and lead to the “Day of Judgment” in seven years. The estimates were derived from “the latest research” into numerical analysis of the Quran, Hadith, Arabic words and historical events,” according to DiscoveringIslam.org. “The Messenger of Allah [sallallahu 'alayhi wa-sallam] informed the Companions of everything that would occur until the Day of Resurrection,” the website reports. “Based on our numerical analysis of the Quran and Hadith, the official beginning of the End of Time and the coming of the Imam Mahdi will most likely be in 2015 (or 2016) and Jesus Christ (p) will come down from Heaven to Earth in 2022, in-sha Allah (if Allah is willing),” the website reported. The Quran and the Bible put forth end-times narratives that are similar but opposite. The Bible’s antichrist, for instance, resembles Islam’s messiah while Muslims view the Jesus of the Bible as their antichrist or “Dajjal.” The Quran teaches that Jesus returns to earth but for a very different purpose – to “break the cross” and convert the world’s Christians to Islam. MORE - http://www.wnd.com/2015/03/mahdi-to-return-by-2016-followed-by-jesus/ Mass exorcism of schoolkids leaves many in hysterics as priest attempts to 'banish the Devil' 14:34, 30 March 2015 By Kirstie McCrum The priest claimed to be purifying the youngsters who were attending what they thought was a religious camp School children have been left screaming and sobbing after a priest carried out a mass exorcism on them at a religious camp. The 1,000 young people, from schools in the town of Gryfice, north-western Poland, were attending the three-day camp to help "young people explore God and devote themselves to spiritual renewal through prayer". http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/mass-exorcism-schoolkids-leaves-many-5427998 [Perhaps he could be hired to come to Washington DC and exorcize the demons which are possessing most of the people there. It might make the world a better place. – rdb] Prayer for the IDF - Mi Sheberach, Yaakov Shwekey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJEpLklULs0 THE SHORASHIM BIBLICAL GIFT CATALOG 005 http://mad.ly/7f9f64?pact=20013931524&fe=1 Support Shorashim! ARUTZ SHEVA Iran Confirms Defection of Journalist Who Covered Nuclear Talks Iran confirms that Amir Hossein Mottaghi, a close associate of Rouhani, defected while covering nuclear negotiations in Switzerland. By Ben Ariel First Publish: 3/31/2015, 3:14 AM Iran has confirmed that an Iranian journalist defected while covering nuclear negotiations underway in Switzerland between Tehran and world powers, The Associated Press (AP) reported on Monday. The Foreign Ministry, in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency late Sunday, said the journalist defected last week and was suspended from his job at the semi-official ISCA agency, a less known media outlet in Tehran. The ministry did not identify the reporter, but he was identified by the British Telegraph in a report over the weekend as Amir Hossein Mottaghi, who managed public relations for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during his 2013 election campaign. According to the Telegraph, Mottaghi appeared on an opposition television channel based in London to say he no longer saw any “sense” in his profession as a journalist as he could only write what he was told. “There are a number of people attending on the Iranian side at the negotiations who are said to be journalists reporting on the negotiations,” he was quoted as having told Irane Farda television. “But they are not journalists and their main job is to make sure that all the news fed back to Iran goes through their channels. The arrest of the Washington Post reporter is just another example of Iran’s media crackdown. In 2013, a dozen journalists were arrested and jailed in Iran on suspicion of cooperating with Persian-language foreign media outlets. The arrested reporters were accused of having ties to “anti-revolutionary” media, a term which usually means cooperation with international media outlets. A month earlier, Iranian authorities hauled in nearly a dozen journalists ina similar crackdown, accusing them of cooperation with foreign news outlets as well. All publications in Iran must be approved by the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance to ensure they comply with the Islamic republic's strict code of morality. Tehran also blocks access to numerous websites, including Facebook and Twitter, to stop Iranians from browsing content it considers immoral, or as undermining the regime. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193421#.VRoELY40xg [This reporter also commented in an earlier article that it seemed that the function of the US and Kerry was to be a spokesperson for Iran and run interference with the other members of the P5+1. – rdb] US Rabbi Calls on Jews to Rally Against Obama's Israel Policies 'Strange' bias against Israel calls for rallies like there were during the Intifada and other Israel crises, Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld says. By Eliran Aharon First Publish: 3/31/2015, 3:13 PM Many American Jews are becoming increasingly concerned over US President Barack Obama's approach towards both Israel and Iran. While Israel, a close US ally, has been on the receiving end of increasing hostility from the White House, Iran, a sworn enemy of America (which its leaders refer to as "the Great Satan"), has been wooed and even fawned over in an attempt to achieve a deal over its nuclear program deemed favorable to Tehran. Seen in that light, Obama's behavior toward Israel recently is "very strange," opined Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld, the rabbi of Young Israel of Kew Garden Hills in Queens, NY, and a member of both the Queens Rabbinical Council and the Rabbinical Council of America, in a special Arutz Sheva interview this week. Schonfeld noted that he has written unpublished letters to the New York Times over the issue, and added that he has written extensively about the hypocrisy of Obama calling out Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on comments he made involving Arabs during the elections, while the Palestinian Authority (PA) banning Jews is ignored. Similarly, he blasted Obama for continuing to negotiate with Iran, despite Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling Jews "monkeys and apes." "Suddenly, when it comes to Prime Minister Netanyahu, it's a different story altogether," Schonfeld lamented. Schonfeld called for an organized rally, by both Jews and non-Jews alike, against Washington's policies on Israel and the involvement of the US in the elections in particular - such as there were at other times over Israel, e.g. during the Second Intifada. 'If We Concede Mount of Olives, We Concede Jerusalem' Co-founder of the Int'l Committee for the Preservation of Har HaZeitim reveals the full story of the Mount's security in A7 interview. By Eliram Aharon, Tova Dvorin First Publish: 3/31/2015, 2:32 PM Menachem Lubinsky, co-chairman for the International Committee of the Preservation of Har HaZeitim, spoke to Arutz Sheva this week -- and explained the true story behind the official policies at the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives has become the "drug capital of east Jerusalem" and also was a spot for donkey races; the Palestinian Arabs neglected and abused the site, desecrating graves to a much greater extent than today. "This is the national cemetery of the Jewish people," he noted. "It represents our history, going back 3,000 years, from the time of Dovid HaMelech [King David - ed.]." Lubinsky added that "the luminaries and the notables" of the Jewish people are buried on Mount of Olives, including several prophets, leaders, and scholars; former Prime Minister Menachem Begin is also buried there. He wondered whether any other people would have endured the neglect and abuse to their national cemetery. Lubinsky then recounted how the Committee was established, and how he, his brother Avraham, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, approached Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and discussed the need for change on the Mount in 2010. Their arguments were based on a lengthy report from then-State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss on the deterioration of the Mount. Within two years, the Committee had successfully installed security cameras, built an underground monitoring room, and set up a specific Israel Police branch for the Mount - the first time security had been established there for "hundreds of years." Problems persist at Mount of Olives, however, due to its location. "[Mount of Olives] is located at the heart of east Jerusalem," he noted. "It is surrounded by Arab communities, all around." Lubinsky cited the "lawlessness" of the communities, and stated that 50,000 illegal homes for Arabs have been built there since 1967. "If an Arab wants to drive in that part of Jerusalem without a driver's license, he can. There's no law," he noted. "If somebody wants to expand his home without a permit, he can. There's no law." Thus, he said, issues with Mount of Olives reflect a host of problems with the government's overarching policy on Jerusalem. Jewish presence on the site, however, "prevents Arabs from creating a contiguous, illegal city that would go from Ramallah all the way to the doors of West Jerusalem." "The history there is so rich," he added. "If we don't preserve this 2.2 kilometers, we are essentially conceding on the heart and the history of Jerusalem." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/193444#.VRqSfo4-0xg MK Shaked: Bennett Was Not Offered One Portfolio 3/31/2015, Nisan 11, 5775 MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) announced today (Tuesday) in a Walla! news broadcast just prior to the opening of the Knesset, that "nothing has been offered either to Bennett or to Jewish Home at this point." "In politics, one must be thick-skinned. And Likud's treatment of us until now not a matter of a good or bad relation. I expect that Jewish Home will be a senior and natural partner, just as Bibi has declared many times before. And I expect Bibi to be a man of his word," Shaked said. Iraqis Retake Tikrit Government Complex from Islamic State 3/31/2015, Nisan 11, 5775 Iraqi forces have retaken the Salaheddin provincial government headquarters in Tikrit from the Islamic State jihadist group, a significant advance in the battle to recapture the city, officials said Tuesday. "Iraqi forces cleared the government complex in Tikrit," an army major general said, speaking on condition of anonymity. To be removed from this News list, Please click here and put "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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