the druze in israel

The Druze people reside primarily in Israel, Syria and Lebanon. It is an Arab-speaking community loyal to the state that has suffered hundreds of casualties in its defense, and whose men serve today in high-ranking and sensitive positions within the Israeli military and security forces. In Israel the majority of the Druze consider themselves a distinct ethnic group and do not identify themselves as Arab.

israel's time to remember

Tens Of Thousands Of Israelis Attend Memorial Services For Fallen Soldiers On Remembrance Day

Israel Remains On High Alert For Terror Attacks During Independence Day Celebrations

Israel marked Remembrance Day with memorial ceremonies around the country while remaining on high alert for possible terror attacks from Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in south Lebanon. From early morning, throngs of Israelis began streaming to the military cemeteries around the country. IsraCast says Israel as taken a 'time out' from the political speculation swirling around a police investigation into Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as it commemorated Remembrance Day for the 22,347 fallen soldiers who died defending the Jewish state.

gaza's civilians as cover

IDF Video Indicates Palestinian Mother & Four Children Were Killed By Secondary Explosion Of Terrorists' Explosives

Israeli Chopper Fired Missile At Armed Terrorists During Clash In Gaza Strip On April 28th

Palestinian Civilians: 'Hamas Fighters Exploited Us For Cover During Incident'

The Israel Defense Forces have released aerial video from the helicopter that fired a missile at Hamas gunmen moving amid populated Palestinian buildings in the Beit Hanoun on April 28th. A subsequent explosion is believed responsible for the killing of a mother and her four children who were nearby. In an unprecedented step, the rival Palestinian Fatah movement has published on its website, severe criticism of Hamas by Palestinian residents in the Beit Hanoun neighborhood. IsraCast quotes these Palestinian civilians as charging that Hamas is exploiting them as cover for their Qassam rocket attacks on Israel. See IDF video of the two explosions.

holocaust - past & present

President Shimon Peres: 'What would remain of the world if Hitler had acquired the atomic bomb?'

IDF Chief Of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi: 'And the Americans today do not know about Iran's atomic bomb?'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: 'There will never be another Holocaust'

The Jewish state is marking this year's Holocaust Remembrance Day against the backdrop of Iran's repeated threats to wipe Israel off the map as Tehran steps up its drive to acquire nuclear weapons. At the Auschwitz death camp in Poland, IDF Chief of Staff Gaby Ashkenazi Israel compared the Allies refusal to bomb the gas chambers during World War II and the situation today. In Jerusalem, President Shimon Peres asked rhetorically: 'What would remain of the world if Hitler had acquired the atomic bomb' while Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared: 'There will never be another Holocaust!' Today we return to a defining moment in Israel's quest to bring Nazi war criminals to justice - IsraCast presents a riveting interview with the late Gideon Hausner, the chief prosecutor of Adolph Eichmann in Jerusalem.

vukovar death list

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.

israeli intelligence jeopardized?

Dan Patir: 'U.S. Apparently Disregarded Israel's Intelligence Interests By Publication Of Secret Israeli Photos Of Syrian Nuclear Reactor Destroyed By Israeli Air Strike'

'Olmert and Syrian President Assad Should Learn From Menachem Begin & Egypt's President Anwar Sadat'

'A Dramatic Event Similar To Sadat's Historic Visit To Jerusalem Could Also Alter Public Opinion Today'

Has the U.S. jeopardized Israeli intelligence interests by publication of secret Israeli photos proving that the Syrian target destroyed by Israeli aircraft on September 6th was a nuclear reactor being built by North Korea? Dan Patir, an advisor to Prime Ministers Menachem Begin and Yitzak Rabin, told IsraCast that Washington apparently ignored the Israeli-Syrian situation and preferred to take North Korea to task. In an in-depth interview, Patir assesses prospects for Prime Minister Olmert and Syrian President Assad to follow in the footsteps of Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat in forging a peace treaty.

gaza update

Palestinian officials say seven Palestinians including a mother and her four young children were killed in an Israeli strike on Biet Hanoun in the Gaza Strip today. An Israeli shell reportedly hit their one storey building during IDF counterterror activity in the area. Two Palestinian terrorists were killed. Before the Israeli shell, Palestinians launched two more Qassam rockets at the Israeli town of Sderot. Later the Palestinians fired six more Qassams at Israeli targets. There were no casualties but one home was seriously damaged. Hamas claimed responsibility for the rocketing.

lawyers & diplomats

Ambassador Zalman Shoval: 'Middle East Perceptions Of Next U.S. President Will Have Cogent Influence On Israel's Fate'

'Former American Diplomat Aaron Miller Distorts Reality By Saying U.S. Is Biased Toward Israel'

'Miller Gives Fuel To Israel's Adversaries'

Former American diplomat Aaron David Miller has stirred up a new controversy over who is to blame in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Miller in his book 'The Much Too Promised Land' charged the U.S. was biased toward Israel and even acting as 'Israel's lawyer'. In an interview with IsraCast, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington, Zalman Shoval rejects the contention saying it distorts the true reality and warns that although Miller probably blames the Arabs more than Israel his book will give fuel to Israel's adversaries.

prime minister's passover

Prime Minister Olmert: 'Iran Will Not Have a Nuclear Capability'

President Peres: 'Paralysis Of International Community In Acting Against Iran Reminds Me Of Failure To Act Against Nazism Before Holocaust'

Opposition Leader Netanyahu Has Failed To Persuade Olmert's Coalition Partners That Time Is Ripe To Dump The Prime Minister

On this Passover holiday, Israelis may be relaxing to celebrate the Exodus of their forefathers from bondage in Egypt to freedom in their ancient homeland. But not so the Israeli security forces which are poised to cope with a number of clear and present dangers both at home and abroad. Against this backdrop, IsraCast assesses comments by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Ehud Barak on some of the key threats facing the Jewish state at this juncture.

carter & hamas terrorism

Analyst Rony Shaked: 'Jimmy Carter's Decision To MeetHamas Leader Haled Mashal Lends Legitimacy To Terror Organization That Wants To Destroy Israel'

'Hamas Trying To Manipulate International Sympathy While ContinuingTo Rocket Israel'

'Hard To Visualize Implementation Of Any Olmert-Abbas Agreement Because Abbas Represents Only One Part Of Palestinian People'

What was the goal of the recent Palestinian terror attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot where Israeli civilians were supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip? Rony Shaked of the Yediot Ahronot newspaper says it's part and parcel of the Hamas strategy to force Israel to react so the Palestinians can play the role of victim as they continue to rocket Sderot. Analyst Shaked also told IsraCast that the meeting of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter with Hamas leader Haled Mashal lends legitimacy to a terror organization that tries to destroy Israel.

israeli blood for palestinian fuel

Israeli Security Source: 'Palestinian Terrorists Exploit Every Weak Link To Attack Israelis Even If It Harms Their Own People'

'Danger That Terrorists On West Bank Will Also try To Exploit Israel's Lifting Of Fifty Checkpoints'

Question - Was Karni Fuel Depot Not Adequately Protected On False Assumption That terrorists Would Not Attack Fuel Supply To Gaza Strip?

Israel has temporarily closed the Karni fuel depot to the Gaza Strip after Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli tanker truck drivers who were supplying fuel to the Palestinians. The four attackers were killed while trying to flee back to Gaza. A former Israeli security official has told IsraCast that the terrorists will exploit every weak point they can and warns that lifting 50 West Bank checkpoints may backfire for Israel.

hezbollah file

Senior IDF Intelligence Officer: 'Hezbollah Rebuilding Its Strength In South Lebanon's Towns & Villages That Are Off-Limits To U.N. Forces'

'We Do Not Rule Out Hezbollah Attack Along Lebanese Border Possibly Under Cover Of Different Signature'

Along the northern border, Israel is on high alert to face two threats. Syria has been building up its military power, buying new weapons and training more than in the past. Israel has sent calming messages to Damascus and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has declared that Israel's big civil defense exercise does not pose a threat to anyone. However, IsraCast reports that it's a different story with Hezbollah which has vowed to launch a bloody attack on the Jewish state.

u.s. & jewish refugees

U.S. House of Representatives: 'Rights Of Jewish Refugees From Arab Countries Must Also Be Recognized'

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a resolution calling for the recognition of Jewish refugees forced to flee the Arab countries. In the wording of the non-binding resolution: 'Explicit reference to Palestinian refugees be matched by a similar explicit reference to Jewish and other refugees as a matter of law and equity'. In a recent interview with IsraCast, Canadian Member of Parliament Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister in Canada, estimated there were more Jewish Jewish refugees from the Arab countries than there were Palestinian refugees.

new saudi initiative

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah plans to convene an interfaith conference that will include  Muslims, Christians and Jews. This would be the first time that Jews have been invited to participate in religious dialogue in Saudi Arabia.

anatomy of targeted killings

Prof. Asa Kasher: 'IDF's targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists is a complex process designed to minimize harming of Palestinian civilians'

'Israel's security forces prefer to capture terrorists rather than kill them'

For the first time, an authoritative Israeli source has revealed how the Israeli defense forces conduct the targeted killing of Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip who deliberately rocket Israeli towns and villages. Prof. Asa Kasher has told IsraCast that Israeli security and political echelons carry out a complex process to limit Palestinian collateral damage in tracking down terrorists. Prof. Kasher, who formulated the IDF code of ethics, was speaking during a seminar at the Jerusalem center for ethics at Mishkenot Shaananim.