SWI NEWS: Thursday, May 6, 2010 22 Iyar, 5770
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Venezuela: State-Sponsored Anti-Semitism in the West
by Hana Levi Julian
State-sponsored anti-Semitism has reared its ugly head in the West.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appears to be leading a drive to make his nation Judenrein, according to a documentary by Nora Zimmett that was broadcast Wednesday night on the HDNet World Report.
Chavez expelled Israel's ambassador to the country during the IDF counterterror Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, conducted in the first three weeks of January 2009. Simultaneously, he drew closer to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly vowed to wipe the Jewish State off the global map.
Zimmett expressed shock in her report, and not a little apprehension of her own, while documenting what local Jews had to say about their daily living conditions.
Venezuelan Jewish activist Sammy Eppel, for example, told her that he personally has been threatened. “Of course I'm afraid,” he said. “I have a family, I have children... But I hope that those things would never actually happen – those things that they promise me over the phone that they're going to do to me or to my family.”
The report cited a police raid on the Hebraica School, based on an alleged “tip” that the institution was involved in an assassination plot. “No evidence was ever found,” noted Zimmett.
Also documented were the frequent publications in the state-run media calling for the expulsion of the Jews, and the speeches by Chavez himself, comparing Zionists to Nazis on national television. The Venezuelan president also had other complaints about the Jews – “the descendants of those who crucified Christ” – implying they are the ones that have all the wealth in the world, another common libel.
Following Zimmett's Internet post about the documentary, and just prior to its broadcast, one of her sources in Caracas sent her a message warning that the Venezuelan government had told the Jewish community to “stop the transmission” of her program.
Less than a day later, Zimmett posted in a Twitter tweet, “I am hearing from my sources in Caracas that the government is instructing the Jewish community not to watch HDNet tomorrow.” (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Min. Atias Admits: No Housing Marketed in J'lem Since December
by Gil Ronen
Minister of Construction and Housing, Ariel Atias (Shas), admitted Wednesday on the Knesset podium that there are thousands of housing units awaiting sale in Jerusalem, but that none have been been marketed since December.
He was responding to a motion filed by MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who claimed that marketing of plots for construction had been frozen in Jerusalem, for political reasons. Ariel surmised that the Prime Minister was behind the de facto freeze.
Atias essentially confirmed Ariel's suspicions. He said, however, that he hoped that thousands of housing units would be put on sale in the capital in 2010. He even predicted that the number of the units marketed would be larger than it had been in the past two years.
If the Prime Minister indeed instructed Atias to stop marketing homes in Jerusalem in December – this would mean that the freeze began well before the crisis with the Obama administration over construction at Ramat Shlomo. The announcement of the building of 1,600 units there sparked acrimonious rhetoric from the White House, supposedly because it coincided with Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel in March. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
'Goldstone sent 28 SA blacks to death'
By JPOST.COM STAFF 05/05/2010 17:59Jurist Richard Goldstone was responsible for sending at least 28 black South Africans to death when they appeared before him during the apartheid regime, Yediot Aharonot reported Wednesday.
According to the report, Goldstone, who headed the UN committee which investigated alleged war crimes perpetrated by the IDF during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, handed down the sentences while serving as a judge in the South African Court of Appeals.
Goldstone presided during the 1980s and 1990s, and wrote in one of his rulings that the gallows are the only deterrent for killers.
However, he responded to the report by saying that he was a part of the system and had to respect the laws of the state, occasionally having to enforce laws he was opposed to.
The former judge was also responsible for sending four men accused of violent acts to receive lashes alongside the upholding of other racist laws, Yediot Aharonot said.
UNSC powers back nuke-free ME
By E.B. SOLOMONT 05/05/2010 20:33The five permanent members of the UN Security Council said they support a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, according to a unanimous statement circulated during a conference aimed at strengthening nonproliferation.
Without mentioning Israel by name, the group voiced support for the “full implementation” of a 1995 resolution intended to free the Middle East from nuclear arms. “We are committed to a full implemented of the 1995 NPT resolution on the Middle East and we support all ongoing efforts to this end,” the statement read. “We are ready to consider all relevant proposals in the course of the Review Conference in order to come to an agreed decision aimed at taking concrete steps in this direction.”
The statement also stressed “serious concern” over the Iranian nuclear program and urged all countries to sign and adhere the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Three countries are not party to the NPT, including India, Pakistan and Israel, which is widely believed to possess a nuclear arsenal. “We urge those state that are not parties to the treaty to accede as non-nuclear-weapon states and pending accession to the NPT, to adhere to its terms,” the five countries wrote.
Coming on the third day of a month-long NPT review conference, the statement spoke to competing interests: The US came into the conference pushing for tough measures against Iran, while in speeches the Arab states have increasingly focused on Israel’s presumed nuclear arms and their desire for Israel to sign the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state.
Even while signing the statement – along with China, France, Russia and the United Kingdom – US officials stressed, however, that current circumstances in the Middle East would not allow for the immediate implementation of the 1995 resolution. “Making progress on a Middle East free of WMD will become all the more difficult if Iran continues to raise concerns in the region and beyond about the nature of its nuclear program,” a US official said.
The US, one of the original sponsors of the 1995 resolution, said comprehensive regional peace is key to a WMD-free zone. “It is unlikely that this will occur before Iran demonstrates that it has come back into compliance with its NPT and IAEA safeguards obligations,” a US official said.
Ahead of the conference, Egypt – which chairs the 118-nation group of non-aligned nations – circulated a working paper calling for the implementation of the 1995 resolution. The proposal also called for a conference to take place next year, with Israel’s participation, focused on a treaty to eliminate nuclear arms in the region.
Egyptian Ambassador to the UN Maged Abdel Abdelaziz told the conference on Wednesday that the “accession of Israel as a non-nuclear weapon state” was key to strengthening the NPT, which is currently “undermined by double standards.”
Other Arab states echoed his sentiment.
Kuwait’s ambassador to the UN, Mansour Al Otaibi said Israel’s refusal to sign onto the NPT “impedes the implementation and the universality” of the treaty. He called on weapons states to withhold from Israel direct or indirect supplies that could be used to enhance its nuclear production. Further, the IAEA should suspend its cooperation with Israel in the nuclear field until Israel accedes to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state. “This unique Israeli situation is a cause for concern, standing in the way of rendering the Middle East a nuclear-free zone,” he said.
Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari criticized explicit support, by some nuclear states, to Israeli military arsenals. “We are inquiring here whether its high time to specify a time frame for the implementation of that resolution or whether we will link it with the hope of achieving the universality of the treaty?” He said the conference must address certain questions, particularly whether parties to the NPT have decided to hold Israel accountable “given its overt refusal to apply any resolution calling upon it to accede to the NPT.”
On Monday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said given the lack of comprehensive regional peace, the conditions for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East “do not yet exist.” Speaking to reporters in New York, she said the US is prepared “to support practical measures for moving toward that objective.”
For the US, that has meant coming into the conference pushing hard against Iran’s nuclear program.
In a television interview on Wednesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran would “definitely continue” its nuclear program. Appearing on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the Iranian leader said he is not concerned about a possible Israeli military strike. “They’re not a factor. In our defense doctrine, we don’t even count them,” he said. “They’re finished,” he said, adding: “The Zionist regime can’t even manage Gaza, do they want to get into a conflict with Iran?”
He also warned that sanctions would sever any diplomatic channels with the US. “This is not something that by threatening Iran or putting pressure on Iran will force Iran to change its positions,” he said. “The first resolution passed against Iran in the UN Security Council will mean that relations between Iran and the United States will never be improved,” he added. “Paths to that will be shut.”
Iran claims new anti-cruise missile weapon
PA forbids Arabs to do Jewish construction
Court to Rule on Teitel's Fitness to Stand Trial
JERUSALEM, Israel - The three-judge panel at the Jerusalem District Court postponed its ruling Wednesday morning on whether an Israeli facing multiple terror-related charges is mentally fit to stand trail.
Jack Teitel, 37, is facing a 14-count indictment, which includes the murder of Samir Balbisi, an Arab taxi driver, in June 1997, and an Arab shepherd several months later.
Teitel also confessed to a terror bombing at the home of Messianic Israelis David and Leah Ortiz in March 2008, which critically injured their youngest son, Ami, who was 15 years old at the time.
Teitel's lawyer, public defender Asher Ohayon, took a long time debating his points in court this morning, Ami's father, David Ortiz told CBN News in a phone interview after the hearing.
"He wants the court to rule that his client is insane," Ortiz said.
Case a Test for Israel
Two of the three court-appointed psychiatrists who have examined Teitel concluded that he is fit to stand trial and the third said he is not. The court denied Ohayon's request to subpoena the psychiatrists at the next hearing.
"We are discussing one question today and that is whether the defendant is fit to stand trial or not," Judge Zvi Segal said. "We are not discussing at this time whether he can be held responsible for his actions."
Ortiz said he is thankful for freedom of the press in Israel and "for the brave men and women who report the news - for open rather than closed doors" in media reports.
"This case has nothing to with Jews versus Arabs," Ortiz said. "Both were his victims."
"This case is a test for the judges and in the end for the State of Israel," he said. "Can a person commit murder and get away with it?"
"Does an intelligent man suddenly become insane for the trial?" he asked.
Ami's Recovery
Meanwhile, doctors hope to perform complex surgery next week on Ami's damaged left hand. Doctors also hope to replace lost pigment on the extensive scarring on his chest.
"People stare at him when he goes to the swimming pool and ask him what happened," his father said.
Ami also still needs an eardrum transplant.
"With all this, he's doing well because he walks in forgiveness," his father said. "If you forgive, you can go on. It is the key."
Ynet news contributed to this report.
The Palestinian Authority on Tuesday clarified new legal punishments for Palestinian Arabs caught doing construction work in Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. Last month, PA leader Mahmoud Abbas signed into law the new ban on working in Jewish settlements. The legislation requires all Palestinians currently doing construction work in Jewish settlements to find alternative employment by the end of the year. It also forbids the purchase of agricultural and other goods produced by the Jewish communities in the area. Those found in violation of the law will face up to five years in jail and a $14,000 fine. The Palestinian Authority is reeling from massive unemployment. Trading with and working in the nearby Jewish settlements is one of the last steady sources of income for most, and the new law is likely to increase hardships tremendously. Some in Israel speculated that that is precisely what the Palestinian Authority wants, as it has had great success leveraging Palestinian suffering to extract concessions from Israel.The development of the "Mesbah 1" (Lantern), a new air defence system for countering aircraft, cruise missiles, choppers and other low-altitude threats, was announced by Iran's defence minister Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi Wednesday, May 5. It will go into operation in the near future. debkafile's military sources say that if Iran has indeed designed a weapon of this type and quality, it has come up with a powerful answer to US and Israeli cruise missiles, which pose the biggest threat to Iran's nuclear facilities in a military strike. Vahidi boasted that the Mesbah can fire 4,000 shots a minute, is very precise and can be operated by a smaller crew than similar artillery systems. He claimed it was also effective in tracing and shooting down unmanned aerial vehicles - drones. The weapon was exhibited in Iran's biggest ever naval exercise launched Wednesday, May 5, for eight days in the Sea of Oman and Gulf of Aden and covering 100,000 sq. miles. The Iranian Air force is also reported to have received 10 new "Toofan" (Storm) attack helicopters based on the Bell AH-1K Sea Cobra design. After studying photographs, Western military sources reported the Iranian version has been heavily upgraded compared with the original. It has a narrower airframe for greater flexibility and is armed with M197 3-barrelled 20-mm "Gatling-type" cannon in the A/A49E turret. Its wing-stub stations carry a pair of 19-tube 70-mm rocket launchers. The rear section has a Vulcan-type 20-mm automatic cannon, and two clusters of 38 anti-tank 70-mm missiles. Bullet-proof glass protects the pilot's cockpit and weapons officer station, internal avionics have been revamped with the addition of a GPS and receiver in the nose, and a warning radar attached to the rear, with four antennae providing 360 degrees coverage and all electronics systems integrated. debkafile's intelligence sources note that the Iranian Air Force's Badr Base for light aircraft and helicopters in Esfahan, central Iran, accommodates 1,000 aerial military vehicles of different types, and is the biggest air base of its kind in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
Obama wants to take Israel's nukes, according to reports
