News Briefs





Blog


Nisan 23, 5766, 4/21/2006

Al Capone for Chief of Police?


Talk about inviting the cat to guard the milk.

In yet another sign that the new Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (PA) aims to continue attacking Israel, the Palestinian terrorist behind ongoing rocket barrages against the Jewish state has now been appointed to oversee the Palestinian security forces.

Jamal Abu Samhadana, head of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees and number two on Israel’s list of most wanted terrorists, was chosen on Thursday to serve as Director-General of the PA Interior and National Security Ministry.

This will place Abu Samhadana in a powerful position, where he will effectively be in charge of the tens of thousands of armed gunmen serving in the various PA police and military wings.

Capone It is the equivalent of appointing Al Capone to head the FBI, or Tony Soprano as Chief of Police.

Abu Samhadana is a career terrorist, responsible for countless attacks against Israel, including firing thousands of Qassam rockets and mortar shells at Jewish communities.

With his new promotion, Abu Samhadana will now be able to marshal far greater manpower and weaponry toward his lethal aims.

This is just one more reason why it is essential that Israel move quickly to dismantle the PA and sweep Hamas from power once and for all, because all indications are that they are gearing up for an escalation in attacks.




Nisan 15, 5766, 4/13/2006

A Plea to US Christians - Stop Iran & Save Israel and the West!!


The clock is ticking, yet no one wishes to hear it. The countdown to a nuclear Iran has begun, and with each passing day the nightmare scenario draws ever closer to becoming a reality.

In just a few months' time, if all goes according to plan, the tyrant of Teheran will preside over a celebration of terrifying, and history-altering, significance.

His goal, as he has stated repeatedly in recent weeks, is to complete the installation of thousands of centrifuges, the devices used to enrich uranium, by the end of March 2007.

This will give the ayatollahs the ability to start producing nuclear weapons, and to spread nuclear terror far and wide, threatening the existence not only of Israel, but of Western civilization itself.

The would-be Hitler of Persia has already made it abundantly clear that he plans to wipe Israel and its millions of Jews off the map. And last week he told Western leaders that their turn would soon be next: "If you do not respond to the divine call," he warned, "you will die soon and vanish from the face of the earth."

Three months. That's all we've got. That's all that stands right now between the world as we know it, and one in which the Persian executioner will be able to put his finger on the nuclear button.

This can not be allowed to happen. The danger is too great, the peril is too real.

Now is the time for all those who love Israel to stand up and be counted. Now is the time for pro-Israel Christians everywhere, and especially in the US, to rise up and cry out on behalf of God's people.

Storm the heavens with your prayers, and the White House with your pleas. Speak out now and urge US President George W. Bush to eliminate the Iranian nuclear threat once and for all.

BY NOW it should be clear: Nothing less than US military action is going to deter Teheran from pursuing its nuclear goals. Threats of sanctions and finger-wagging have failed to do the job.

Europe is hopelessly weak and conciliatory, and the United Nations is completely inept. There is one man, and one man alone, whom God has put in a position to stop Iran, and that man's name is George W. Bush.

But the president is under attack, as the media and his critics do their utmost to tear him down. They hate him and everything he stands for, and will stop at nothing to spoil his remaining time in office.

The president is a good man, and a man of faith. He knows what needs to be done; but like any leader, he also needs to hear from those who put him in office.

And that, dear Christians, is where you come in to play.

With your size and your influence, and yes, with your faith, it is you who can make a difference at this critical juncture for Israel and the West.

Many of my fellow Jews in the US are largely silent, afraid to be seen as leading the charge. It is as if they learned nothing from the Jewish people's horrific experience in Europe over six decades ago, when silence in America made possible extermination across the sea.

But you know better than that, and you are not afraid.

On issues that you care about, you have demonstrated an impressive ability to affect US policy, mustering the passion and power necessary to shape debate. Now, more than ever, is the time to do so again, for the threat to us all is very, very real.

Flood the White House and Congress with your concerns. Let them know that you fear for Israel and its safety. Urge your elected officials to hit Iran hard, and soon. Not merely with criticism, but with bombs as well.

Because unless the US Air Force goes into action, the mullahs of Teheran will jeopardize everything we hold dear.

Israel, as you know, is the "apple of His eye" (see Deut. 32:10 and Zech. 2:12). And G-d has made clear in His Scripture what He expects from people of faith at times such as these, when Israel is in danger.

"You who make mention of the L-rd," says the prophet Isaiah (Chap. 62: 6-7), "do not keep silent, and give Him no rest until He establishes and until He makes Jerusalem unto a praise in the earth."

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem," says the Psalmist, in Psalm 122. "They that love thee shall prosper."

These aren't just guidelines or recommendations from books of old. They are a command to each and every one of us, Jew and Christian alike, to stand up and speak out when Israel is under threat.

I have no doubt, not one iota of disbelief, that G-d will save His people Israel. Deliverance comes from Him, and Him alone. But each of us must do our part to help bring it about.

And you, dear Christians, now have the power, and the opportunity, to do so. To move the president's heart, and to save Israel and the West from a truly diabolical fate.

So please, don't tarry - we dare not delay. The clock is winding down, the alarm bells are ringing. Raise your voices in prayer and supplication. The time to do something is now, and there is not a moment to waste.

--- from my column in the December 13 Jerusalem Post




Nisan 11, 5766, 4/9/2006

Getting Ready for the Next Round


Anyone who thought the threat posed to Israel by rocket attacks had passed would do best to think again.

In a raid carried out in Tulkarem yesterday, Israeli security forces arrested two members of the Fatah Tanzim terror group who were involved in the manufacture of rockets, several of which they unsuccessfully tried to fire at Israel back in July.

The terrorists were being financed and directed by – you guessed it – Hizbullah in Lebanon, and had a weapons cache that included two rockets in the process of being built.

Obviously, this was no science project – but a clear-cut example of how the terrorists are simply using the current lull in hostilities to prepare for the next round of fighting, whenever it may come.

And it would seem logical to assume that the Tulkarem cell that was captured yesterday is just one of several that may be operating in the area, with the aim of preparing to open a second front against the Jewish state should the cease-fire in Lebanon fail to hold.

So don't let the surface calm fool you – the bad guys are already looking ahead, planning their next, horrific move.

Let's just hope that next time around, Israel and its leaders will know what to do.



First | 2 |3 |4 |5 |6 |7 |8 |9 |10 |11 |12 |13 |14 |15 |16 |17 |18 |19 |20 |21 |22 |23 |24 |25 |26 |27 |28 |29 |30 |31 |32 |33 |34 |35 |36 |37 |38 |39 |40 |41 |42 |43 |44 |45 |46 |47 |48 |49 |50 |51 |52 |53 |54 |55 |56 |57 |58 |59 |60 |61 |62 |63 |64 |65 |66 |67 |68 |69 |70 |71 |72 |73 |74 |75 |76 |77 |78 |79 |80 |81 |82 |83 |84 |85 |86 |87 |88 |89 |90 |91 |92 |93 |94 |95 |96 |97 |98 |99 |100 |101 |102 |103 |104 |105 |106 |107 |108 |109 |

Fundamentally Freund

by Michael Freund
An Alternative Approach to Israeli Political Commentary
Email Me

Subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed

Michael Freund is Founder and Chairman of Shavei Israel, returning "lost Jews" to the Jewish people.
Previously, he served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy Planning under former premier Benjamin Netanyahu.

A native of New York, he holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia University and a BA from Princeton University.
He has lived in Israel for the past decade.

Shavei Israel
For Our People's Return
www.shavei.org