Iranian President Ahmadinejad

Preposterous Pundits & Israel

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: 'EU Sanctions On Iran Are Step In Right Direction - Israel Waiting To See Results'

Iran: 'If There Is Any Disruption To Sale Of Iranian Oil, The Strait Of Hormuz Will Definitely Be Closed'

IsraCast Assessment: Israel Views EU Gradual Oil Embargo As Means To Halting Iran's Nuclear Weapons Program In Coming Year & Barring Unforeseen Developments Will Give Sanctions A Chance Before Deciding On Any Unilateral Measures

 From their vantage point thousands of miles away, foreign pundits love nothing better than preaching to Israel on how to cope with the Iranian nuclear threat. Recently, Roger Cohen of the New York Times and Andrew Adler formerly of the Atlantic Jewish Times Weekly took diametrically opposed positions, but both were preposterous in their own right. They centered on U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, back in in Israel, Maj. Gen.(Ret.) Amos Yadlin, the former commander of the IDF intelligence branch, who actually knows the facts, discussed the current reality that analyst David Essing compared to the fantasizing of Adler and Cohen.

Photo: Dover IDF

Iran & 'Global Nuclear Jungle'

Maj.Gen. Amir Eshel: 'If Iran Acquires Nuclear Weapons It Will Trigger A Global Nuclear Jungle'

'Under Iranian Nuclear Umbrella Radical State & Non - State Players Will Dare What They Do Not Today'

'Although Israel Is Threatened By 100,000 Missiles & Rockets, It Can Hit Back Very, Very Hard'

 Gen. Amir Eshel, the commander of the IDF Planning Branch has presented a spell- binding look at the current and future threats to Israel. In a lecture entitled ' Planning for the Unknown - Israel's Ever Changing Strategic Reality', he outlined the challenges he has to face in the wake of the 'Arab Spring'. Speaking at the Institute for Contemporary Affairs in Jerusalem, Gen. Eshel stressed that Iran was at the top of his priority list. Analyst David Essing sums up the major points made by the commander who has responsibility for the IDF's force build-up.

Benyamin Netanyahu, Barack Obama (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Barack Obama - A John Wayne or Woody Allen?

Israel & US Currently On Same Iranian Page - Despite Wall Street Journal

Prime Minister Netanyahu: 'Tehran Is Wobbling... But Sanctions Will Work Only If Accompanied By Clear Statement From International Community, Led By U.S., That Military Action Could Follow If Sanctions Fail'

IsraCast Assessment: Israel, US & Iran Now Engaged In Test Of Wills; Netanyahu & Ahamedenijad Will Not Back Down But Will Obama?

What can be said about the Wall Street Journal article that the Obama administration has warned Israel against a military strike on Iran 'over U.S. objections' and has stepped up security for U.S. facilities in the region? It reflects shifting assessments by Jerusalem and Washington on Iran's going nuclear, with the stress on 'shifting'. Analyst David Essing notes the WSJ has also reported that the EU and Japan were now getting cold feet over an Iranian oil embargo.

Bashar Assad

Israel to Grant Refuge to Syria's Alewites

IDF Chief of Staff Gantz: 'IDF Is Preparing To Grant Refuge To Syrian Alewites After Fall Of Assad Regime'

'Inevitable Collapse Of President Assad Could Trigger Bloodbath Against His Alewite Community'

'Growing Concern In Turkey Over Iran's Nuclear Weapons Project'

While Syrian President Bashar Assad was talking of his certain victory in Damascus, IDF Chief Of Staff Benny Gantz was predicting his inevitable fall. In a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee, Lt.Gen. Gantz also disclosed that he is preparing to grant refuge on the Golan Heights to Assad's Alewite supporters. David Essing sums up some other key assessments of Israel's high command for the new year.

Avigdor Lieberman

Lieberman: 'Russia is No Switzerland'

Foreign Minister Lieberman: 'Twenty Years After the Fall Of Communist Regime, Don't Expect Russia To Have Democratic System Like U.S.'

'Renewal Of Israeli-Palestinian Contacts In Jordan Are Doomed To Failure; Palestinians Plan To Internationalize The Conflict At UN'

'Nothing Can Stop Iran's Nuclear Weapons Project But Stiff Sanctions On Its Central Bank & Oil Industry'

 Israel's For Minister Avigdor Lieberman, notorious for his tough talk, pulled no punches when he briefed the Knesset's Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee in Jerusalem. Lieberman commented on Russia's controversial election, new Palestinian peace contacts, Iran, Jordan and Turkey. Although Lieberman's diplomatic discourse dealt with the numerous problems, the Foreign Minister rejected any notion that Israel was facing diplomatic isolation on his watch.

EU Oil Embargo & Iran

EU Diplomat: 'EU Has Agreed In Principle To Embargo Iranian Oil'

Official Decision Expected To Be Adopted On January 30th At Foreign Ministers Session In Brussels

IsraCast Assessment: EU's Oil Embargo Could Impose Crippling Sanctions On Iran Which Has Threatened To Retaliate By Blocking Straits OF Hormuz

 Has the European Union decided to call Iran's bluff? That is the implication of an EU diplomat's dramatic disclosure: 'The principle of an oil embargo is agreed, it is not being debated any more'. The EU's foreign ministers are slated to vote for the embargo at their next meeting in Brussels on January 30th. Analyst David Essing is of the view the EU leak is aimed at exerting further pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear weapons program before a possible military confrontation in the Straits of Hormuz.

Massive US Arms Sales to Gulf States

 Why have the huge American arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states gone almost unnoticed by Israel? For the simple reason that Washington is apparently in the midst of building a new doctrine of containment - what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once called a 'defense umbrella' to meet the Iranian nuclear threat.

David Ben Gurion in Sde Boker

Ben-Gurion's Crackdown on Yeshiva Students

David Ben Gurion: 'Any 18 year-old Yeshiva Student Who Breaks the Law Should Be Immediately Recruited Into IDF'

'Rioting Of Religious Fanatics Exceeds All Limits & I Bear Responsibility Because I Exempted Them From IDF Service'

'Whole Question Of Yeshiva Students Army Exemption Should Be Examined'

 The lawlessness of some charedim ultra-orthodox Jews in Israel is not new. Over forty-eight years ago former Prime Minister David Ben Gurion sent a letter to the incumbent Levi Eshkol with proposals for coping with the lawlessness of some yeshiva students. In presenting a translation of that letter, analyst David Essing is of the view that it applies no less today, perhaps even more, than it did then.