Russian President Putin and Syrian President Assad

NETANYAHU TO MOSCOW FOR URGENT MEETING WITH PUTIN

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will soon fly to Moscow for an urgent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the possible supply of sophisticated Russian SA-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Syria. Israel is deeply concerned about the lethal missiles that could not only shoot down Israeli aircraft flying over Syria and Lebanon but also many planes taking off from inside Israel. Netanyahu spoke with Putin recently by telephone and the Russian leader invited him to come to Moscow within the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has issued an ambiguous statement about Moscow not concluding any new weapons deals but 'is now completing supplies under the previous contracts that are air defense systems'.

Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel signing the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht at the Soviet headquarters in Karlshorst, Berlin.

Victory Day – The End Of World War II

68 Years Ago Nazi Germany Surrendered. Today the World Continues To Remember and Celebrate Their Salvation and the End of WWII.

Jerusalem Day

On May 12, 1968 the Government decided to make the 28th of Iyar the symbolic holiday, Jerusalem Day, a day that symbolizes the continued historical connection of the Jewish People to Jerusalem. Thirty years later, this holiday became anchored in the law: On March 23 1998 the Knesset passed the second and third readings of the "Jerusalem Day Law", which determined that the date that Jerusalem was liberated during the 6-Day War was now a national holiday. On this day Israel marks the anniversary to the unification of Jerusalem and the liberation of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

Exclusive - Teddy Kollek Audio Interview

Teddy Kollek: 'The world will always continue to be worried about the faith of Jerusalem'

In 1971, four years after the reuniting of the city of Jerusalem in the Six-Day war, reporter Arnold Forster interviewed Teddy Kollek, then Mayor, for Dateline Israel . Kollek regarded the issues of the development of the newly formed city, which at the time received world attention and was highly controversial.

U.S.- ISRAELI PACKAGE DEAL ON SYRIA & IRAN

 Are Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu & U.S. President Barack Obama Collaborating On New Strategy For Taking On Syria and Iran? Analyst David Essing sees signs the two new-found allies have agreed that Israel will tackle the clear and present threat of the barbaric Assad while the U.S. will continue to pressure Iran. 

Arab World's Jewish Refugee Problem

Danny Ayalon: 'Half Of Israel's Residents Are Jewish Refugees, Or Their Progeny, Who Were Driven Out Of Arab Countries After They Attacked Jewish State in 1948'

'Israel To Insist That Jewish Refugee Problem Will Be Core Element In Any Future Negotiation To Resolve Conflict'

IsraCast Assessment: At Long Last, Israel's Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Raises Arab League's Responsibility For Creating Two Refugee Problems -Palestinian & Jewish

It is probably the least known fact in the long and vociferous Arab-Israeli conflict: Consider this, more Jewish refugees were forced to flee from their homes in the Arab countries than all the Palestinians who were forced to flee or left of their own volition, from the newly born state of Israel in 1948. At a Jerusalem news conference, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon announced that Israel insisted that the Jewish refugees be 'a core element in any future negotiation or settlement to resolve the conflict'. The facts: after the Arab League categorically rejected the UN Partition Plan of 1947 that would have eventually created Israel and 'Palestine', it launched an invasion from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt aimed at destroying the nascent Jewish state. The combined Arab armies were defeated and driven back and in the wake of the Arab onslaught, an estimated 600,000 Palestinian refugees fled their homes. On the other side of this two-way street, an estimated 850,000 Jewish refugees were dispossessed and forced to leave the Arab countries. The Palestinians left behind property worth an estimated $400 million that is valued today $3.9 billion. However by comparison, the Jewish refugees lost an estimated $700 million that is now valued at $6 billion. Ayalon made the point:' Today some 50% of Israel's (Jewish ) residents are the same refugees and their progeny from the Arab countries'. Moreover those Jewish refugees, and Ayalon's own family was forced to flee Algeria, were absorbed by Israeli society whereas the Arab world, except for Jordan, forced the Palestinians into refugee camps where they fester until this very day.

Ben-Zion Netanyahu (1910-2012)

AL QAEDA COMES TO CANADA

In Canada, Muslim Community Did Right Thing In Tipping Off Authorities About Two Al Qaeda Terrorists

If It Hasn't Already, Canada Should Step Up Security Cooperation With Israel's Mossad & Shabak Security Services

Iran, like North Korea, is escalating its provocations in response to growing international pressure over their nuclear weapons programs. Both 'crazy states' are trying to show they must not be tampered with in their drive to acquire nuclear capability

 Add Canada to the list of countries where Iran is flexing its muscles while continuing its relentless drive to acquire nuclear weapons. Just look at the list: Kathmandu (Nepal), New Delhi (India), Tbilisi (Georgia), and Bangkok (Thailand) are all sites of planned terror attacks against Israel instigated by Iran. But not only Iran; American authorities are now investigating how they fouled up by not catching the two Tsarnaev brothers suspected of the Boston Marathon bombing after being warned by the Russians in 2011. 

Boston Marathon Bombing. By "hahatango" account on twitter

FALLOUT FROM BOSTON MARATHON MASSACRE

The eyes of Israel focused on Boston and the two terrorists of Chechen background who terrorized the entire city for four days. How was it that two kids who were welcomed with open arms over ten years ago decided to blow their fellow Americans to smithereens? How did they start out on their heinous mission apparently in the name of Islam?

ISRAEL'S REMEMBRANCE DAY & NORTH KOREA

 What connection is there between Israel's battle for survival and the current crisis between North Korea and the U.S. on the other side of the world? The Jewish state has paid a heavy price, over 23,000 fallen soldiers in order to preserve its independence and prevent its annihilation. Analyst David Essing sees a link between America's resolution of the North Korean crisis and whether Israel may have to go it alone against Iran. 

יום הזיכרון - הקראת שמות חללי גדוד 68 ותפילת יזכור

 .לחללי מערכות ישראל חובר נוסח מיוחד של התפילה, והוא נאמר בטקסי יום הזיכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל. את הנוסח חיבר במקור ברל כצנלסון על הרוגי תל חי. מפי דן כנר.

The Forgotten Death List of Vukovar

IsraCast publishes for the first time documented list of 284 Jews who were murdered by Croatians during WWII

Israel remembers six million Jews who perished in the holocaust

On the eve of holocaust remembrance day, IsraCast is publishing the first time a list of 110 Jewish families, some 284 victims who were murdered in Croatian controlled Vukovar during World War II. Serbian officials compiled the documented list of the Jews after Serbia took over the area after the war. The list of families is in alphabetic order and includes the victims' birth date and also their date of execution. Nearly all the Jews were murdered in 1941-1942 and their names indicate they have fled to Vukovar from Nazi Germany. Avi Yaffe of IsraCast visited Vukovar shortly before it was handed back to Croatia and saw evidence that the Serbs have gathered the remains of holocaust victims from mass graves and given them a proper burial.

Righteous Among the Nations

With Respect And Gratitude To The Brave Souls Who Risked All

Israeli forces crossing Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War

YOM KIPPUR WAR, U.S. & IRAN

Defense Minister Moshe Dayan: "If We Launch Preemptive Air Strike Or Even Carry Out Major Mobilization Of Reserves, U.S. Will Blame Israel For Starting Yom Kippur War!"

IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar: "If We Do Not Preempt With Air Strike, At Least Mobilize Reserves!"

 Publication of confidential IDF protocols reveals dramatic details of confrontation between Defense Minister Moshe Dayan and IDF Chief of Staff David Elazar, just hours before Egypt and Syria launched a combined offensive against Israel. Dayan later dissuaded Prime Minister Golda Meir from carrying out a preemptive air strike or a total mobilization of the IDF reserves; this while Egyptian and Syrian aircraft, artillery, tanks and troops were about to go to war. Although Dayan's position was previously known, the new details cast the final hours before the Yom Kippur war of 1973 in a new light. Israel, at Dayan's insistence, bowed to the U.S. which believed the Arabs would not attack. In so doing Israel paid a heavy price – many of the Israeli soldiers and pilots killed in the war would be alive today, if Israel had decided differently. It also raises the issue of what will happen if Israel and the U.S. disagree over when to act on a nuclear Iran, even if Netanyahu and Obama have reached a tentative understanding. 

Barack Obama waves to the audience after delivering remarks at the Jerusalem Convention Center (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

OBAMA WIELDS 'SOFT POWER' IN MIDDLE EAST

 Have U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu forged a new deal on how to approach the Iranian nuclear crisis? After Obama took Israel by storm, Bibi declared:" I am absolutely convinced the President is determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons!" IsraCast is of the view that the dazzling impact the U.S. President has made on Israeli leaders and people makes it difficult to arrive at a rational assessment of the visit's longer term outcome. However, it can be said most Israelis now believe that Barack Hussein Obama is a true friend of the Jewish state. 

Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

'BIBI' COZIES UP TO BARACK

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu: "We Will Welcome U.S. President Barack Obama As A True Friend Of Israel"

"Israel Prepared For Historic Compromise That Will End Conflict With Palestinians Once And For All!'

IsraCast Assessment: After Obama's Warm Words For Netanyahu In An Israeli TV Interview, Bibi Reciprocates. Analyst David Essing Is Of the View That Both Obama & Netanyahu Are Trying To Patch Up Differences At The Start Of Their New Terms In Office. Both Have Important Goals They Wish To Facilitate - Obama Wants To Dissuade Netanyahu From Attacking Iran's Nuclear Weapons Sites In The Near Future While Netanyahu Is Interested In Strong American Support In Diplomatic & Military Arenas

 Two days before U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu presented his new coalition government to the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The House approved the new cabinet by a 68 seat majority in the 120 member House. In his address, Netanyahu referred to the imminent visit of U.S. President Barack Obama.

INSIDE ISRAEL'S NEW COALITION GOVERNMENT

 After a protracted round of coalition haggling, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu finally wrapped up his new government. On the way, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett taught him a trick or too.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet at IsraCast Studios in Jerusalem

FRONT-RUNNER TO THE PAPACY, CANADIAN CARDINAL AT JERUSALEM RECORDING STUDIOS

Considered to be among the two most likely front-runners for the Papacy, 68-year-old Cardinal Marc Ouellet is a likely choice.

Yair Lapid

THIS WEEK IN ISRAEL - COALITION CRISIS APPARENTLY OVER

Netanyahu Succeeds In Forming New Coalition Cabinet After Yair Lapid Agrees To Become Finance Minister

Naftali Bennett Also Decides To Join New Government That Will Apparently Muster Clear Majority In Knesset

Isracast: Yair Lapid Has Guts In Accepting Problematic Finance Portfolio - Israel Will Be Watching If He Also Has Brains & Political Savvy To Cope With Huge Deficit Left By Outgoing Netanyahu Administration

Yair Lapid has apparently resolved the current coalition crisis in Israel by agreeing to accept the Finance Portfolio in the new Netanyahu cabinet. It's still not official, but reliable sources on both sides are signaling the two leaders have now overcome this hurdle. When they meet again, they are also expected to agree on the numbers of ultra-orthodox men who will start serving in the IDF. Lapid, leader of 'There's a Future' party may be on his way to becoming Israel's next political hero or a washed-up politician, it will all depend on how he fares as new Finance Minister.

Negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 in Almaty, Khazakstan

IRAN & NETANYAHU'S COALITION CAPERS

Air strike on Iran's nuclear sites or Iranian A-bomb?

Almaty, Khazakhstan has now joined the list of exotic venues for the Great Power negotiations with Iran - aside from that nothing else has changed. The Iranians continued to string along the P5 +1, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, as they did so skillfully in Geneva, Istanbul, Moscow and Baghdad. The scene may shift but the Iranian nuclear negotiators always stick to their two-step routine - one step forward and one step back.