Pro-Israel News

Sanctions to be imposed if deal isn’t reached; legislators tell Obama they will not push bill until end of March

BY AP January 29, 2015, 7:30 pm | The Times of Israel| 

W ASHINGTON — A bill that would levy tough new sanctions on Iran if it fails to sign an agreement to curb its nuclear program

cleared a Senate committee on Thursday. But lawmakers are holding off on a full Senate vote to see whether diplomatic negotiations

yield a deal. Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee voted 18­4 to pass the

bill aimed at ramping up economic pressure on Iran starting in July if it doesn’t ink an international deal preventing it from having the

capability to develop a nuclear weapon. Republicans still can move ahead, but that’s unlikely without Democratic support. They wouldn’t

have enough votes to override President Barack Obama, who says he’ll veto the legislation because it would derail the diplomatic effort to

reach a deal. The US and other nations negotiating with Tehran have long suspected Iran’s nuclear program is secretly aimed at atomic weapons

capability. Tehran insists the program is entirely devoted to civilian purposes. Talks with Tehran have been extended until July, with the goal of

reaching a framework for a deal by the end of March. Iran’s state­run IRNA news service said Wednesday that Iranian lawmakers have proposed a

bill that would scuttle the diplomatic effort if the US imposed new US sanctions. The US bill would not impose any new sanctions during the remaining

timeline for negotiations. It says that if there is no deal by July 6, the sanctions that were eased during negotiations would be reinstated. After that,

sanctions would be stepped up every month. The committee also voted to amend the bill to include a statement that Israel, an archenemy of Iran,

has a right to defend itself. Other amendments to the bill that passed allow Congress to vote on any deal approved with Iran; beef up reporting requirements

for verifying that Iran is complying with any agreement reached and task the Treasury Department to report on the economic impact of sanctions relief on Iran. 

WASHINGTON -- The United States "strongly condemned" Hezbollah's rocketing of Israeli territory on Wednesday with anti-tank munitions, killing two IDF soldiers and wounding seven others.

"The United States strongly condemns Hezbollah’s attack today on Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) near the border between Lebanon and Israel," said Edgar Vasquez, a State Department spokesman, "in blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701."

"We don’t have information on what munitions were used by Hezbollah," Vasquez added, when asked for comment on Hezbollah's alleged use of sophisticated anti-tank, Russian-made Kornet rockets.

On Tuesday, the State Department warned against "escalation" on Israel's northern border, after Syrian positions fired into the Golan Heights. The Israeli air force returned fire on Syrian Army positions overnight.

United Nations Resolution 1701 codified a ceasefire over the blue line between Israel and Lebanon after Israel's conflict with Hezbollah in 2006.

"We support Israel's legitimate right to self defense," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday, urging both parties to "respect the blue line between Israel and Lebanon."

"We also of course condemn the act of violence, and will be watching the situation closely," Psaki said.

The Israeli military authorities have been on high alert the last 10 days following the attack on a convoy carrying Hezbollah and Iranian officials on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights earlier this month.

Hezbollah has vowed to avenge the attack, which it blames on Israel.

Following the anti-tank missile, mortar shells launched from Syria were fired at IDF positions on Har Dov and the Hermon Mountain. 

The army evacuated dozens of people from the Hermon Mountain. A home in the Israeli border town of Kafr Rajar was damaged by a mortar shell.

The officer and soldier killed in the Hezbollah attack on the Lebanese border were named on Wednesday as Cap. Yohai Kalangel, 25 from Har Gilo, a company commander in the Tsavar Battalion and Sgt. Dor Haim Nini of the same battalion, a 20 year old from Shtulim who will be posthumously promoted to the rank of Staff-Sergeant.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, JPOST.COM STAFF \01/28/2015 15:30 | The Jerusalem Post| 

Sources in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau blamed Iran for Wednesday’s attack on the northern border.

“Iran is behind this heinous terrorist attack. The same Iran which the world powers are forming an agreement with, that would allow it to maintain its ability to acquire nuclear weapons capacity,” the sources said.

This is the same Iran that tried to build a terrorist infrastructure in the Golan Heights, similar to what it has in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq and Yemen, the sources said.

This is the same Iran that supports terrorism around the globe, the sources said.

“We must not give such terrorism a nuclear umbrella. We must not let the most dangerous regime in the world to arm itself with the most dangerous weapons in the world,” the sources said.

They spoke as Netanyahu held security consultations in the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv.

Earlier in the day, the premier said that the IDF was responding to an anti-tank missile attack against an army vehicle on the Lebanon border.

Speaking at a cornerstone laying ceremony for new apartments in the southern border city of Sderot., the prime minister said, “At this moment, the IDF is responding to events in the North.”

Netanyahu added: "I suggest that all those who are challenging us on our northern border, look at what happened in Gaza, not far from the city of Sderot.

"Hamas suffered the most serious blow since it was founded this past summer and the IDF is prepared to act on every front."

Netanyahu's comments came after an IDF vehicle was attacked by an anti-tank missile on the Lebanon border on Wednesday.

In addition, mortar shells were fired at Israeli communities in the Lebanon border area.

Arab media reported that the IDF responded with artillery fire into the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Shouba.

Hezbollah took responsibility for the multi-pronged attack.

Avigdor Liberman meets with counterpart in Moscow to discuss Syria, Tehran’s nuclear program

BY LAZAR BERMAN January 26, 2015, 7:07 pm | The Times of Israel| 

F oreign Minister Avigdor Liberman told his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, Monday that Israel prefers

that the world powers known as the P5+1 come to no agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, rather

than strike a “bad deal.” The two men met in Moscow to discuss ongoing challenges in the Middle East and

bilateral relations between the countries. Liberman also said that Israel is keeping “all options on the table” in

dealing with Iran, a euphemism for a possible military strike. Last week, Russia signed a military cooperation deal

with Iran, which Iran touted as a joint response to US “interference.” The deal provides for joint exercises and military

training, as well as “cooperation in peacekeeping, maintaining regional and international security and stability,

and fighting against separatism and extremism,” the Iranian defense ministry website said. Russia has long

been Iran’s principal foreign arms supplier, and the two governments are the chief allies of Syrian President

Bashar Assad in his almost four­year conflict with rebel groups, some of which are backed by the West. Liberman

also laid out Israel’s red lines over the fighting in Syria — especially activities near Israel’s borders — according

to the Foreign Ministry. Addressing Palestinian moves to join international bodies, Liberman said the Palestinian

Authority was turning the International Criminal Court into a political tool, which could eventually be used against

Russia. Liberman and Lavrov spoke of strengthening bilateral ties by several means, including swapping academics

and opening new consulates. THETIMES OFISRAEL| www.timesofisrael.com1/27/2015 Israel prefers no deal over bad Iran

deal, FM tells Russia The Moldovan­born Liberman is a native Russian speaker. Last week, the Foreign Ministry said it

was unaware of any planned visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin next month, rebuffing reports in Palestinian \

media that he was headed to the region. Putin last paid an official visit to Israel in June 2012. 

Amid row with White House, Ron Dermer defends Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to US, says intention is to ‘speak up’ on Iran while time allows

BY TIMES OF ISRAEL STAFF January 26, 2015, 4:17 |The Times of Israel|

 I srael’s Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer defended on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech before the US Congress on March 3,

just two weeks before Israeli national elections, saying it was the prime minister’s “sacred duty” to present his stance on Iran — a stance sharply at odds with

the Obama administration. Speaking at an Israel Bonds event in Florida, Dermer charged that the nuclear agreement being discussed between the P5+1 and Tehran

“could endanger the very existence of the State of Israel,” by leaving Iran as a “nuclear threshold state.” The six world powers — Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States

and Germany — are working with Iran to finalize an agreement that would curb Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West believes is intended to build atomic weapons,

a charge the Islamic Republic denies. Two earlier deadlines passed without the final deal and a third deadline is looming on July 1. Dermer said Netanyahu’s visit was

“intended for one purpose: To speak up while there is still time to speak up. To speak up when there is still time to make a difference.” The Israeli envoy said it was

Netanyahu’s “most sacred duty to do whatever he can to prevent Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons that can be aimed at Israel.” “For Israel, a nuclear armed

Iran would be a clear and present danger. Iran’s regime is both committed to Israel’s destruction and working toward Israel’s destruction,” he said. Netanyahu’s

upcoming speech, which was not coordinated with the White House, sparked a public row between his government and President Barack Obama’s administration.

In his address, the PM is expected to urge US lawmakers to ready new sanctions on Iran in order to force it to comply with international demands to curb its nuclear

program, a move Obama strongly opposes and has vowed to veto. Last Tuesday, in his State of the Union speech, Obama praised the progress of the nuclear talks.

The administration has been at odds with Netanyahu for years over international efforts to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, with Israel expressing

skepticism over emerging terms that would allow Tehran to retain some uranium enrichment capacity. Amid growing criticism in the US and in Israel of Netanyahu’s move,

including by Israel’s former US envoy Dr. Michael Oren who called on the prime minister to cancel the speech, Dermer said the visit was “not intended to show any disrespect

for President Obama,” nor was it intended “to wade into your political debate.” Earlier Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough appeared to downplay the tensions

between the White House and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting that the US relationship with Israel was “many­faceted, deep and abiding.” After news broke of Netanyahu’s

address last week — he was invited by House Speaker John Boehner — the White House accused Boehner and Netanyahu of failing to notify the White House of the coming visit in breach

of “long­standing protocol.” The White House said Obama would not meet Netanyahu during his visit to the US. “Our relationship with Israel is many­faceted, deep and abiding,”

McDonough told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning. “It’s focused on a shared series of threats, but also on a shared series of values that one particular instance is not going to

overwhelm.” McDonough deferred questions about comments attributed to an American official in Friday’s edition of the Haaretz daily, to the effect that Netanyahu “spat in our face

publicly, and that’s no way to behave.” The unnamed official warned that “Netanyahu ought to remember that President [Barack] Obama has a year and a half left to his presidency, and

that there will be a price.” McDonough emphasized that “we think that, as a general matter, we, the United States, has stayed out of internal politics in the countries of our closest allies.

That’s true whether it’s Great Britain, where we just recently had a visit from Prime Minister [David] Cameron a full four months before their election; or in Israel,” McDonough added.

McDonough’s language was notably more guarded, however, than the White House’s earlier statement, which described the policy of not meeting before elections as a “long­standing precedent.”

By SAM SOKOL \01/23/2015 02:22| The Jerusalem Post| 

Europe without its Jews has no future, a senior European Union official asserted on Wednesday, echoing comments made by politicians in England and France in the aftermath of the attack on a kosher grocery in Paris earlier this month.

“If there’s no future for Jews in Europe, there’s no future for Europe,” said Frans Timmermans, first vice president of the European Commission, at a memorial in Brussels on Wednesday for the four men killed in that attack.

Combating anti-Semitism “is the essential fight for the peaceful nature of European society,” Timmermans asserted. “If the EU is to survive... it is based on the fact that for every community that belongs in Europe, there is a place in Europe.”

The mistreatment of Jews has always been a harbinger of “trouble ahead for European societies,” he added.

The official’s comments came on the heels of similar statements by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and British Home Secretary Theresa May, both of whom stated that their own societies’ identities would be compromised by the lack of a Jewish component.

“If 100,000 French people of Spanish origin were to leave, I would never say that France is not France anymore. But if 100,000 Jews leave, France will no longer be France. The French Republic will be judged a failure,” Valls told The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg in an interview.

Some in France, which emancipated its Jews in the late 18th century, see their Jewish countrymen as a symbol of their national ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity, he explained.

“To understand what the idea of the republic is about, you have to understand the central role played by the emancipation of the Jews. It is a founding principle,” the French prime minister stated.

According to Britain’s Daily Mail, May said at a memorial: “Without its Jews, Britain would not be Britain.”

She also entreated the Jews not to leave Britain, the tabloid reported.

Nearly three-quarters of French Jews surveyed in 2013 said they were considering leaving the country. In England, 45 percent of Jewish respondents recently told pollsters they were “concerned that Jews may not have a long-term future in Britain.”

In an op-ed in the Jewish Chronicle several days after the poll’s results were reported, British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote that the “idea that the Jewish people once again feels unsafe in Europe is a truly sickening thought that strikes at the heart of everything we stand for.”

According to Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, around 50,000 French Jews inquired regarding aliya in 2014. France became the leading source of immigrants for the first time in 2014, with almost 7,000 arrivals, twice as many as in the previous year.

While there has been a great deal of rhetoric regarding combating anti-Semitism, some European Jewish leaders have asserted that the action taken has not been commensurate.

In December, the European parliament declined to establish a task force to deal with rising anti-Semitism despite what was perceived to be widespread support, eliciting harsh condemnations from Jews worldwide.

“Anti-Semitism is an abomination which has been around for a very long time. It has its specific roots and specific driving forces, not to mention the horrible results it produced in Europe – more so than anywhere else,” Stephan Kramer, of the American Jewish Committee’s European Office on anti-Semitism, said at the time.

“Therefore, combating anti-Semitism in as efficient a way as possible would have been aided by a special framework designed to do just this. I think that most of those who voted the proposal down realize this. Therefore we have to assume that they succumbed to a warped political correctness which frowns upon calling anti-Semites ‘anti-Semites,’” Kramer said.

Aside from anti-Semitic violence, European Jews have also expressed concerns over the rise of far-right political parties in a number of countries, and over efforts to curb Jewish religious slaughter. A Polish ban on the practice was recently overturned.

White House says request by House speaker a breach of protocol; PM to speak on threats posed by Iran and radical Islam

BY ADIV STERMAN AND ILAN BEN ZION January 21, 2015, 6:45 pm | The Times of Israel| 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday accepted an invitation to address the US Congress

next month on the threat posed by Iran and radical Islam. Netanyahu was reportedly also exploring the possibility of meeting with

President Barack Obama during his visit; however, the White House said the invitation by US Speaker of the House John Boehner

came as a surprise to Obama’s staff and was a breach or protocol. Boehner said the “invitation carries with it our unwavering

commitment to the security and wellbeing of [the Israeli] people.” In a statement posted on his website, Boehner said he had asked

Netanyahu to comment on the threats stemming from radical Islam as well as the Iranian regime. “Americans and Israelis have always

stood together in shared cause and common ideals, and now we must rise to the moment again,” he wrote. Netanyahu is scheduled to

address the joint session of Congress on February 11, the date of the 36th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, marking the day the

shah’s regime fell. Shortly after news of the invitation to Netanyahu broke, the White House said it was a breach of normal diplomatic protocol.

Obama’s press secretary, Josh Earnest, said the White House had not heard from Jerusalem about whether Netanyahu planned to speak to Congress.

Earnest added that the Obama administration was reserving judgment about the invitation until it had a chance to speak to the Israelis about what Netanyahu

might say. He said typical protocol was that a country’s leader would contact the White House before

planning to visit the United States. But Earnest said the White House hadn’t been given word of the invitation until Wednesday morning, shortly before Boehner

announced it publicly. The speech invitation comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is working on legislation that would allow Congress to weigh in

by allowing it to take an up­down vote on any deal the Obama administration reaches with Tehran over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. A committee

hearing on Wednesday will focus on the status of the negotiations and the role of Congress. Iran claims its nuclear program is peaceful and exists only to

produce energy for civilian use, while both Israel and the US maintain that the regime is attempting to produce atomic weapons. Time is running out for the

US to reach a deal with Iran, as bilateral talks between the representatives of both nations have been extended until July, with the goal of reaching a framework

for a deal by the end of March. Both Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani face stiff opposition to negotiations from conservatives in their respective homelands.

Moreover, a Republican victory in the 2016 presidential election would make renewed talks with Iran unlikely. Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, a Republican, said

he’s worried that Iran is holding firm while the US, the European Union and the other international partners move closer to the Iranian point of view. “Whether it’s the intelligence

agencies in Israel or the people we deal with around the world, I have had no one yet say that Congress weighing in on this deal would do anything but strengthen the administration’s

hand and help cause this process to come to fruition,” Corker said Tuesday. Obama came out swinging last Friday, telling Congress he would veto any Iran sanctions bill that lands

on his desk. “Hold your fire,” Obama told Congress while standing at the White House alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron, who took the unusual step of calling US senators

to lobby against a sanctions bill. Netanyahu has advocated for Washington to levy more sanctions on Iran in order to pressure it to relinquish entirely its uranium enrichment program,

a stance that has put him at loggerheads with Obama, who has said some enrichment should be allowed Iran. 

By SAM SOKOL \01/20/2015 04:22 | The Jerusalem Post| 

Many European Jews are afraid to identify themselves as Zionists and supporters of Israel, the leaders of several national branches of the Women’s International Zionist Organization told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

Speaking at the organization’s annual meeting in Tel Aviv, the heads of the WIZO branches in France, Belgium, Germany and Sweden described the difficulties facing their constituents in a Europe in which Jewish nationalism is decreasingly acceptable.

“There is a very bad atmosphere around Jewish people,” said Joelle Lezmi, the president of WIZO France.

“People do not have the right to wear kippot; Jewish people are afraid to put on their Star of David; Jewish people have no place to say I am Jewish, just to say I am Jewish. If you are to say ‘I am a Zionist’ it’s quite a revolution.”

A similar situation exists in Sweden, admitted Susanne Sznajderman, Lezmi’s Swedish counterpart.

“People self-censor themselves. They hear anti-semitism, but do not act, because they don’t feel safe in reacting,” she said, condemning her government’s “very weak leadership” on this issue.

Sweden’s recognition of a Palestinian state outside of the framework of a negotiated solution gave “courage to the Palestinians and to those who are violent and to the Muslims in our country to act. That strategy is extremely dangerous.”

Due to the climate in which they must operate, she added, many Jewish organizations within her community have declined to push a Zionist agenda, instead focusing on protecting themselves.

WIZO Belgium president Vicky Hollander, meanwhile, complained about the tenor of European press coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict, stating it’s a trigger and “emphasizes violence to provoke more violence.”

While she said Belgian Jews are unafraid to identify as Zionists, when mentioning pro-Israeli politicians in her country’s parliament she asked that their names not be cited in this newspaper out of concern for the possible ramifications.

“We are scared of the media. We know what they can do.

With one word they turn the world around,” she said.

Diana Schnabel of WIZO Germany agreed, stating that in her experience there is little press interest in reporting on coexistence projects run by the Zionist group and that the media only seemed to want to cover WIZO as part of the Middle East conflict.

While unafraid, Schnabel admitted that she is worried.

As the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, she always identified as a Jew living in Germany, but saw how her children began to see themselves as German Jews. With recent events, including the “anti-Semitic flood” seen this summer during Israel’s military incursion in Gaza, however, she is no longer sure that many see themselves in this way.

Both in Germany and France, those in attendance said, the use of anti-Semitic terminology is becoming more common and accepted.

Citing the rallies following the attack on Charlie Hebdo, Schnabel said millions would not have taken to the streets if the victims had been Jews.

“We have to be realistic,” she said.

As 2014 drew to a close, the assessment at the United Nations was that the Palestinians would postpone the vote on their proposal to set a fixed timetable for the establishment of an independent state.

The US had made it clear that they would vote against, meaning that even if Palestinian proposal received the necessary nine-nation majority, it would be vetoed.

On Monday, Britain's ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said that the UK would not be supporting the Palestinian proposal either.

Confident that the vote would be delayed, Israel's envoy, Ron Prosor, left New York for a conference in Jerusalem. On Tuesday, however, all the plans were upended as ambassadors were summoned to the Security Council chamber. The Palestinians, acting through the Jordanian delegation, had requested an immediate vote.

What had changed? The French government had finally decided to vote in favour and the Palestinians believed that that would be sufficient to deliver the ninth vote, forcing the US to veto the proposal and resulting in what they believed would be a "moral victory".

With only two nations voting against - the US and Australia - the UK, Lithuania and South Korea promising to abstain, and six definite votes in favour (including Russia's), the focus was on four members: France, Luxembourg, Rwanda and Nigeria.

Israeli and US pressure on the two European nations failed to deliver, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the presidents of Nigeria and Rwanda and convinced them to abstain in the name of close relations with
Jerusalem.

They did, and the proposal received only eight votes in favour.

Israel's foreign policy balance sheet now shows damage to its relations with Europe and a surprising improvement in its ties with sub-saharan Africa.

The expectation is that the Palestinians will push for another vote soon, with new members joining the Security Council in 2015.