5 More Incredible Technologies Used by the IDF

A few weeks ago we gave you an insight on eight amazing technologies the IDF uses for the protection of the State of Israel and its citizens. As many people pointed out, there are still many more amazing gadgets and systems IDF soldiers work with every day. So grab a cup of coffee, pull your chair close and read about 5 more incredible technologies used by the IDF.

1. The Protector USV (unmanned surface vehicle):

You have heard of drones in the IDF and you have probably heard of unmanned vehicles, but did you know the IDF also has robot boats?

Meet the Protector USV. This 9 meter long unmanned vessel is fast, stealthy and highly maneuverable. Capable of reaching speeds of up to 92 km/h (57 mph), the Protector offers surveillance, identification and interception capabilities. The Protector is highly autonomous but can be easily remote-controlled by two operators on shore or a nearby vessel. Equipped with an extremely accurate, stabilized weapons station, a search radar, electro-optical detection systems, a speaker system and a targeting system with day and night capabilities, this easily reconfigurable system can be used for a wide variety of missions. Force protection, anti-terror missions, surveillance or sabotage; the Protector USV does it all with the crew safely out of harm’s way.

2. The VIPeR (Versatile, Intelligent, Portable Robot):

Did you love R/C cars as a kid but always thought that they were lacking something? Take a look at the VIPeR.

It’s a portable, lightweight robot designed specifically for urban guerrilla warfare and thanks to its special wheel system that can literally change its shape, VIPeR knows how to handle a variety of obstacles such as climbing stairs and big rocks or crawling into very confined spaces and caves. VIPeR is equipped with several day & night cameras, sensible microphones, GPS and an array of sensors that can detect and locate chemicals, gases, explosives and radiation. One single operator controls the robot with a gaming style controller and a helmet mounted display, giving him the ability to see everything that VIPeR sees, from a safe distance. Despite all of these capabilities, VIPeR weighs in at just over 11 kilo and can easily be carried in a soldier’s backpack. Besides being the perfect tool for safe surveillance and reconnaissance missions, this amazing robot can also be outfitted with a 4-ft robotic arm including a gripper, a 9mm mini-Uzi with scope and pointer and even a grenade launcher. This is definitely not your childhood toy.

Soldier operating the VIPeR (Photo: www.soldiermod.com)

3. The Delilah missile:

“Honestly, it’s the most amazing weapon in the Air Force today.” – These are the words an IAF officer used to describe the Delilah and it’s easy to understand why he is right.

For many years the Delilah was one of the IDF’s biggest secrets, quietly undergoing improvement after improvement, until it became what it is today. Delilah is a cruise missile but it possesses some very unique capabilities that set it apart from the rest.

A typical cruise missile is launched and finds its pre-programmed target with the help of its navigational system. The navigator can send the missile commands and make small adjustments in its flight path, but once the missile begins its final approach no changes can be made. If the missile attacks a target that moves in the last moment or even a wrong target, the missile simply misses with possibly devastating consequences. This is where the Delilah’s special abilities come into play.

Patience is a virtue - The Delilah can loiter around the target area and wait until the right moment to attack (Photo: IMI)

Let’s say Delilah is approaching a target and in the last moment the navigator sees on the images transmitted from the missile’s camera that there are civilians in the target zone. All he needs to do is push a button and Delilah aborts its attack, returns to the air and keeps loitering in the target zone until it receives new instructions. Delilah can also be launched in the direction of a suspected target and be instructed to patrol the area and search for its target, effectively functioning as a surveillance drone. Once the navigator identifies the target, he instructs Delilah to approach it. If the target was correctly identified Delilah will attack. If it was not the correct target, a push of a button is enough and Delilah will abort its approach and continue to search for the real target.

"The most amazing weapon in the IAF today" - Delilah's eye can spot you from over 15km away

Read the full story of the Delilah in the IAF Magazine.

4. The SIMON Breach Grenade:

One of the most dangerous tasks of urban warfare is entering a building with enemy fighters inside. The sounds of movement outside of a door can give away the soldier’s position and should the door be booby-trapped, the lives of the soldiers are in danger.

With this in mind, Rafael developed the SIMON. It is an advanced, lightweight door-breaching device that easily attaches to almost any conventional assault rifle and is fired from a safe distance of 15-30 meters. A fail-safe mechanism ensures that the SIMON is only armed after it has travelled a minimum distance of 15 meters. When the SIMON’s tip hits the door, the explosives in the warhead are triggered and blast open the door. SIMON contains only 120-150 grams of explosives, but its special shape ensures that the energy from the explosion is directed straight at the door, with very little damage to people inside and outside.

Simon says: “Open door!”

5. The MATADOR:

Sometimes, however, entering through the door is not an issue. That’s when the MATADOR comes into play. Created as a cost-effective, low maintenance weapon system, this shoulder launched wall-breacher packs a heavy punch. The MATADOR’s rocket-propelled warhead operates in two modes. In blast mode the whole warhead explodes on impact on a wall and creates a man-sized hole for troops to enter through. When soldiers know that entering a room is too dangerous because of a high number of enemies inside, they can switch into delay mode. In this mode the warhead explodes in two stages. One small detonation penetrates the wall, and a delay of one millisecond ensures that the second explosion occurs inside the building, effectively taking out every threat inside. MATADOR’s special firing mechanism allows the weapon to be launched in enclosed spaces, so soldiers don’t have to be exposed when firing.

And if this isn’t already enough for you; the MATADOR is also extremely effective against most know armored personnel carriers and light tanks in the world.

Shlomo Carlebach - song Lekhah Dodi

Israeli hackers unite in response to Arab cyberattacks

The cyberwar continues with an Israeli cyberattack on Saudi and Abu Dhabi stock market websites • Calling his group "IDF-Team," hacker retaliates for Arab attack on Tel Aviv stock exchange site on Monday • "IDF-Team" says this is only the beginning.

Hezi Sternlicht, Ilan Gattegno and News Agencies

Abu Dhabi stock market. Israeli hacker targets Arab web pages in retaliation for cyberattacks on Israeli sites by "0xOmar."  |  Photo credit: Reuters

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In the latest round of Israeli-Arab online hacking wars, an Israeli group of hackers calling itself the "IDF-Team" crashed the Saudi Arabian and Abu Dhabi stock market web pages on Tuesday.

The group said it was retaliating for Monday's cyberattack on the websites of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and El Al, Israel's national airline, by a purported Saudi Arabian hacker. The Saudi, "0xOmar," had publicly threatened to launch attacks on commercial Israeli sites 24 hours before apparently doing so.

As the Saudi and Abu Dhabi stock market pages were blocked on Tuesday, the "IDF-Team" identified itself on the same web page that hacker 0xOmar first used to publicize a list of Israeli credit card holders together with their details. After the self-described Saudi hacker allegedly leaked the credit card details of some 15,000 Israelis, an Israeli hacker calling himself "0xOmer" proceeded to retaliate, exposing the credit card information of hundreds of Saudi citizens, sparking a tit-for-tat exchange in recent days.

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An Israeli hacker who claimed to be the leader of the "IDF-Team" wrote in a hacker forum: "Because lame hackers from Saudi Arabia decided to launch an attack against Israeli sites such as the airport site El Al and sites of Israeli banks, today, 01/17/12, official stock exchange site of Saudi Arabia at the following addresshttp://www.adx.ae will not be available online, and that is only the beginning. In addition, there may be disruption to the government's stock exchange site at the following: http://www.sama.gov.sa/. If the lame attacks from Saudi Arabia will continue, we will move to the next level which will disable these sites [in the] longer term [which] may come to weeks or even months. You have been warned."

The Israeli hackers did not, however, mention the main Saudi stock market page (tadawul.com.sa) in their message, despite the fact that the page could not be accessed on Tuesday.

Intelligence Services Minister Dan Meridor, meanwhile, criticized the cyberattacks by Israeli hackers of Saudi websites.

"Independent initiatives by Israeli hackers to attack Saudi hackers, or hackers from anywhere else, are ineffective and should not be done in Israel's name," Meridor told Israel Radio.

Meridor added that it had not been confirmed that the hackers who penetrated the Israeli websites were in fact Saudi nationals.

The Saudi and Egyptian stock markets are considered central markets in the Arab world. More than 144 companies buy and sellstocks on the Saudi market, including companies involved in the Saudi petrochemical, crude oil, infrastructure and agricultural industries.

In a statement published on its website on Wednesday, the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) denied media reports that its website had been exposed to an alleged cyberattack by Israeli hackers, according to the Al-Arabiya English news site.

Al-Arabiya reported that the statement said that all Tadawul’s systems were operating properly and normally. The statement added that Tadawul applied many advanced security measures to guarantee the protection of all its operations.

In an email exchange with Beirut-based Al-Akhbar website in English, 0xOmar said he would be releasing the details of 200 Israeli credit cards daily. "Israel's end is near. I want to start ending them in the cyberworld," the hacker said.

Stock trading and El Al flights operated normally despite the disruption. While apparently confined to areas causing only limited inconvenience, the attacks have caused particular alarm in a country that depends on high-tech systems for much of its defense against hostile neighbors. Officials insist, however, that they pose no immediate security threat.

Reacting to the ongoing cyberwar, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on his Facebook page, "They [the Saudi hackers] have demanded an apology for Israel's defensive measures. I am using this platform to send a clear message that ... they will not silence us on the Internet, or in any forum."

According to Israel's Channel 10, 0xOmar launched his own website with a forum called "0xOmar Cyber Intifada." The Saudi hacker has singled out Ayalon as his number one target, saying, "I send my thanks to Gaza hackers who have successfully hacked stupid Danny Ayalon's website ... Danny Ayalon, I am here, waiting for you."

In his email to Al-Akhbar, 0xOmar said, "Danny Ayalon proved his stupidity multiple times. He just talks, 'We'll catch, we'll do, we'll reply, we, we, we, we'll.' Enough said, Danny, enough said. You say and I do. You talk and I hack, this is the reality. Wake up, you cannot even find me, I keep publishing and when you talked again, Gaza hackers taught you a lesson, hacked your homepage and put a shoe on your face. We don't have anything to say about people who just talk, we act!"

IDF recruits trees for home defense; Army launches new program in conjunction with Jewish National Fund to make targeting Israeli homes homes harder for Gaza terrorists.

The IDF is known for its sophisticated and advanced technology. In the past year alone, the military deployed the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system to intercept Katyusha rockets launched from the Gaza Strip and the Trophy active protection system that can intercept anti-tank missiles fired at Merkava tanks.

In recent months though, the IDF has decided to install a new defensive system – trees.


“The idea is simple,” a senior officer from the IDF’s Gaza Division explained. “Trees are planted around Israeli towns and communities that are close to the border, making it more difficult for terrorists to accurately target homes and residents.”

The project was launched several months ago in conjunction with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL) – Jewish National Fund, which has been planting eucalyptus trees 16 kilometers outside communities located along the border with the Gaza Strip.


The IDF is concerned Palestinian terrorists will tryto target residents of the communities with sniper fire or by launching anti-tank missiles at the homes.

In April, for example, Hamas fired an anti-tank missile at a school bus, killing 16-year-old Daniel Viflic and just moments after it dropped off a group of schoolchildren.

KKL said the eucalyptus was chosen since the trees reach heights of about eight meters, high enough to protect borderline communities. Next month, KKL plans to plant additional trees along main roads near the border in conjunction with the holiday of Tu Bishvat, marking the beginning of the new year for trees.

Israel is a country which is misunderstood and misrepresented

What images come to mind when people think about the state of Israel? Israeli oppressors shooting at cherub faced Palestinians? Suicide bombings and exploded buses? Or maybe indifference reigns; why should we care about this faraway place that has no real bearing on our daily lives? Perhaps it is all of the above.

I was indifferent about Israel and the Middle East. However, last year when I visited Israel and the Palestinian territories for the firsttime, I was left with a very different impression of the place: Israel is a country misunderstood and misrepresented. Looking across the border with Lebanon and peering at Hizbullah strongholds, no more than 100 yards away from where I was standing, underlined the significance of Israel’s strategic frailty in the face of constant threat.

Touring the security barrier I was surprised to hear that the architect of the barrier had appeared before the Israeli Supreme Court on countless occasions to defend his decisions regarding the route of the barrier. On occasion, when his planned route was ruled illegal, the barrier was removed and re-built according to the judgement. I also learnt that as a country with sparse natural resources Israel has had to develop alternative methods of productivity. The country leads the way in hi-tech, green and agri-techniques as well as in scientific development.

My travels around Israel surprised me completely. The people were full of get up and go, eager to live peacefully in the region; the towns and cities were energetic and cosmopolitan; and the deliverance of democracy never failed to impress upon me. So why is there such a discrepancy between what I experienced and public perception back in the UK?  When was the last time you heard a good news story emanating from Israel on your TV screens or in the newspapers? And why has Israel become defined simply by its inability to solve the conflict when it is so much more than that? 

I raised these questions when I returned to Israel again last week with colleagues from the UK and Australia for a dialogue with Israeli and Palestinian politicians, journalists, academics and commentators. This serious problem is not being effectively addressed and Israel’s future is being undermined by its inability to promote itself both accurately and attractively. As an MP, I witness this difference between perception and reality, on a regular basis in the House of Commons. From Backbenchers through to Government Ministers and Shadow Ministers, colleagues suffer from a serial case of apathy where Israel is concerned. Seemingly no positive impression of the place has been determined in people’s minds.

Israel has consistently perceived military might as the number one way to protect and defend the state. Although an important factor, this cannot be the only focus. The country’s re-branding is now an issue of serious strategic importance. Israel must accept that engaging their critics, isolating and correcting their propaganda and successfully rebalancing the debate must be a priority in order to protect their future. All of us who see Israel as more than a conflict zone ought to play our part in this important task.

My challenge to anybody who feels strongly on Israel is to get on a plane and go and see the place for yourself. Visit Tel Aviv where you will see a modern liberal western society where most people are just getting on with their lives in peace. Chat to Israelis or to their politicians and you will be reminded that this is the only true democracy in the Middle East where political debate is passionate, diverse and vibrant. More vibrant than our own democracy perhaps. That is the true Israel, the real Israel.

ACSZ Western Region Salon; Building African-American Support for Israel - The Deligitimization of Israel

Civil trial attorney Baruch C. Cohen with Jarrod Jordon

Executive Director of Vanguard Leadership Group

topics

1)    Building African-American Support for Israel

2)   The Deligitimization of Israel

Each one of Salons has been unique in different ways: topics, speakers, participants, venues… The Salon that took place last night was VERY unique (I know, ‘very unique’ is poor English – but in this case the perfect description). First – The Salon was held in the new 42 story “THE CENTURY”, one of LA’s most prestigious condominiums (Candy Spelling, Paula Abdul, Jane Fonda live there). The building is more than gorgeous and the areas in which we held our Salon were stunning. Second – the topics were timely, interesting, and thought provoking. The hour allotted for presentations and Q&As went very quickly and the 50 people in attendance (max we allowed) were mesmerized from beginning to end. Third – and most importantly – the presenters:

Adelle Nazarian, Program Director of the Henry Jackson Society (http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org/) described the work of the London based (not a typo, London as in London, England) think-tank working against the international delegitimization of Israel. Adelle is as sharp as they come, a great role model, and made us all very proud to meet and hear from such strong advocate for Israel.

Jerrod Jordan, Executive Director of the African-American Atlanta based Vanguard Leadership Group (http://vanguardleadershipgroup.com/), discussed his organizations programs geared towards building support for Israel (one of its many outstanding programs). The VLG, which works closely with AIPAC, developed pro-Israel ads which were placed in University newspapers during Apartheid week. Columbia University refused to carry the ad because it was too political! Gary Rosenblatt’s (NYJW) wonderful story about Jerrod and the VLG may be found by opening: http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/black_group_defends_israel_against_charge_apartheid

We thank the speakers, Pam Chais for hosting this Salon, Honey Kessler Amado for sponsoring the program, Stephen Matloff for spearheading our outreach to the ‘younger’ people in our community, and last but not least Jennifer Weinstein who, as always, did an outstanding job.

Israel Matzav: #OWS (Occupy Wall Street) supporter David Duke explains how the Zionists control the World

Israel Matzav: #OWS (Occupy Wall Street) supporter David Duke explains how the Zionists control the World

Do You Even Have a Soul?

The Simulation Room

Daniel Gordis J Street's Certainty, When Humility Is in Order

4 of the IDF’s greatest Heroes

Major Roi Klein: Leapt On A Grenade

Klein and his men were fighting in the Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil during the 2nd Lebanon War, when they were ambushed by Hisbollah terrorists. Together with a group of soldiers, Klein tried to attack the terrorists from behind, but they were blocked by a building. While Klein was treating one of his wounded soldiers, a grenade was thrown at the group. Without hesitation, Klein jumped on the grenade, absorbing the force of the explosion, thereby saving the lives of the soldiers around him. Despite having been mortally wounded Klein still tried to radio to his superiors and as his last act on earth handed his coded radio to his second in command so that it wouldn't fall into enemy hands. Roi Klein was posthumously awarded with the Medal of Courage.

Maj. Roi Klein - A true Israeli hero

Cpatain Zvi "Zvika" Greengold: "Team Zvika"

Cpt. Greengold commanded a force of three tanks in the Yom Kippur War, when two of them were destroyed in the beginning of the battle. Even when left alone, Greengold continued to fight the Syrian enemy. In order to fool the enemy and make them believe that they were fighting a much larger force, other officers referred to Greengold as the "Zvika Force".  Later in the battle, Greengold was injured, which didn't stop him from continuing fighting and eventually destroying dozens of enemy tanks. After the war was over, Greengold was awarded the Medal of Valor, the nation's highest medal for heroism.

Cpt. Zvi "Zvika" Greengold - One against many

Sergeant Shaul Vardi: Kept Fighting After Being Blinded

The only non-officer in our list, Shaul fought in the Six Days War, were he served as a tank commander. While fighting, Shaul's tank was struck and he was wounded in the face and temporarily blinded. Once he regained his sight he immediately continued to fight. Even after his tank was struck a second time and this time disabled, Vardi and his men continued to fight and clear out Syrian positions, armed with nothing more than Uzis and hand-grenades. Only after Vardi successfully completed his mission he allowed himself to be evacuated to the hospital. For his exemplary display of bravery and sense of duty, Vardi was awarded the Medal of Valor

Sgt. Shaul Vardi - It takes more than blindness to stop this man.

Lt. Col. Avigdor Kahalani: Saved His Country by Sheer Guts

Lt. Col. Kahalani commanded the 7^th Brigade's 77^th Tank Battalion in the battle for the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur War. After most of the tanks in the battalion were destroyed, Kahalani was left completely outnumbered with less than 20 tanks against an advancing Syrian tank division. Kahalani's remarkable skill, bravery, and tactical understanding of the battlefield allowed him to successfully hold his position and eventually force the Syrian division to retreat after days of fierce fighting. This was a major turning point in the Yom Kippur War and his Major, Eitan Kauli, told him "You have saved the people of Israel". Kahalani was awarded with Israel's highest military decoration, the Medal of Valor, and later rose up to the rank of Brigadier General.

Assassins of nuclear scientists are sending a double message to Iran Whoever is sending the assassins understands that any system that is damaged or even destroyed can be rehabilitated if the right people are found to revive it.

In Jewish tradition, the world is said to rest on three fundamentals. Nuclear projects also have three fundamentals: nuclear material, equipment and manpower.

A nuclear weapon requires a sufficient quantity and quality of uranium or plutonium. It also requires enrichment facilities for the material and the means to deliver it to its target (bombs and aircraft, warheads and missiles, and on a tactical level, shells and landmines.) It also needs scientists, engineers and operators. It needs people to push the button, and it needs people to build whatever goes flying when that button, or switch, is triggered.

Even the most fervent Shi'ite Muslims, who believe in Allah and his three prophets, will have a hard time believing that mere happenstance is causing people in Iran's nuclear industry to blow up. And it's precisely these people and no one else who about every two months are meeting their deaths.

Human involvement is the target of the Iranians' suspicions, and when it comes to every explosive charge delivered on the back of a motorcycle, as if it were a pizza being delivered, the Iranians finger one culprit: Israel. And that's not because reputed Israeli mobster Yaakov Alperon met his fate in a similar manner on a Tel Aviv street.

Comments on Tuesday by IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz about unnatural occurrences in Iran would tend to reinforce conjecture about some kind of plot. But in practice it doesn't matter if this suspicion is correct, half correct or even less than that. It doesn't matter whether the assassinations are Made in Israel or the work of unknown assailants who simply share a common enemy with Israel in the form of a fanatic Islamic regime in Tehran.

The ambiguity is the sibling of the ambiguity surrounding Israel's alleged nuclear capability. It serves the following purpose: the working assumption that Israel knows who is active in Iran's nuclear project, knows where and when to find them and how to eliminate them from the community of scientists. In other words, every Iranian nuclear scientist will know he's in the crosshairs.

Infiltrating into the heart of the Iranian capital or outlying towns, or remote highways near security installations; assassinations; departures from this world without leaving evidence of who carried out the act - all this reflects a systematic approach and professionalism. True, these qualities didn't characterize the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh two years ago, which the Dubai police attributed to the Mossad, but two years earlier there was a much more successful assassination operation in Damascus against Imad Mughniyeh, so the balance of suspicions remains intact.

The West's campaign, under American leadership, against the Iranian nuclear program is not a war of choice. In its absence, tensions in the Middle East would intensify to an intolerable level. If we are to judge by the thunderous results, it's a very selective war with carefully selected targets. The targets are not symbols of the regime or even theological, diplomatic or military decision-makers.

Not that they have immunity. It could be that they are well-protected, but it appears that no extraordinary effort has been invested in them either. The reason for this could be the survival instinct of ministers and military commanders in Western capitals who fear Iranian retaliation for the assassination of senior figures. This would be more sophisticated than the intelligence-gathering before the assassination plot on the Saudi ambassador in Washington, an amateurish case that was uncovered via intelligence from informants. But it also involves judgment over limiting the campaign's scope.

Limiting the assassinations to nuclear scientists conveys a double message to Iran. First, whoever is sending the assassins will not be reconciled to a militarily nuclear Iran. They are determined to damage the nuclear program in all its aspects. Whoever is sending the assassins also understands that any system that is damaged or even destroyed can be rehabilitated if the right people are found to revive it.

These people, some of whom are being blown up, would certainly feature in the West's target bank after an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, if one is carried out, to head off efforts to restore the program. The West would do this to impede the rebuilding of what would remain in ruins for years.

Second, this is not a wide assault on the Iranian regime, just on its nuclear arm. Iran's leaders must decide now on a small scale and all the more so after an attack whether to respond to a precision strike by opening a wider war.

If the West were to attack Iran along an entire front, the response would have to be major. On the other hand, an attack on the nuclear facilities alone would leave many assets in Iran's hands that it would be hesitant to lose in a tit-for-tat response. These include oil installations, Revolutionary Guard bases and above all the regime itself and its leaders.

Therefore, in his death on Wednesday, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan directed his leaders to do some soul-searching. The cyclists carrying the explosives really were messengers. In addition to delivering the sentence on the nuclear scientist, they were sending a message to the authorities in Tehran.

Israel uses risky "hits" in deadly shadow war

(Reuters) - If Mossad assassins were behind the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist Wednesday, it would be the latest chapter in a long history of Israeli covert action against foes best not confronted with full force.

As always, Israeli officials declined any comment on the death of Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, who was blown up in his car, while Iran itself immediately pinned the blame on Israel.

Cold-eyed calculus guides what Israeli officials call "precision thwarting," a euphemism that strives to focus blame on those marked for death while conveying reluctance to escalate the shadow war.

Critics condemn all such attacks on moral grounds, and also question the long-term efficiency of targeted killings, but Israeli officials, drawing on years of experience in the murky practice, believe they play a vital role in defending the state.

When it comes to Iran, whose uranium enrichment and ballistic missile projects have suffered a surge of spectacular and often bloody mishaps in recent months, Israel measures the gains in terms of the delays they cause.

"They are not keeping to the schedules they would like to keep to," former Mossad spymaster Meir Dagan said in a recent television interview, smilingly crediting the apparent sabotage spree to "God, who controls everything."

The daylight killings of atomic technicians such as Ahmadi-Roshan -- who, like others before him, fell victim to an explosive device attached to his car by a passing motorcyclist -- obviously deplete Iran's pool of nuclear experts.

It also provokes panic in surviving colleagues, said an Israel official, generating a phenomenon that Mossad veterans dub "virtual defection."

"It's not that we've been seeing mass resignations, but rather a sense of spreading paranoia given the degree to which their security has been compromised," the official, who has extensive Iran expertise, told Reuters.

"It means they have to take more precautions, including, perhaps, being a little less keen to stand out for excellence in their nuclear work. That slows things down."

HISTORY OF HITS

The activation this week of an Iranian enrichment plant deep in a mountain drew condemnation from world powers which, along with many Gulf Arabs, see bomb-making potential in a nuclear program that Tehran insists is for peaceful energy needs.

Ahmadi-Roshan was at least the third expert linked to Iran's nuclear program to be killed in the last two years.

"I don't know who settled the score with the Iranian scientist, but I am definitely not shedding any tears," Israel's army spokesman Yoav Mordechai said on his Facebook page.

Happy to deflect the blame, Israeli officials say many people have an interest in sabotaging Iranian operations.

"I think several players, not only Israel, are active (in Iran)," former Mossad deputy director Ilan Mizrahi said on Wednesday. "It's not only countries, it is movements. You have the Iranian opposition, which is very strong. They have their own capabilities inside Iran."

Yet Israel has an admitted history of state-sponsored assassination and intimidation, from letter-bombs it sent German scientists serving Egypt's missile program in the 1960s to the Mossad hunt, using guns and booby-traps, for Palestinians involved in killing 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972Olympics.

More recently, Israeli air-launched missiles and special forces picked off Palestinian uprising leaders. In 1995, motorbike-borne gunmen killed Islamic Jihad chief Fathi Shiqaqi in Malta, and another suspected Mossad team smothered Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in his Dubai hotel in 2010.

Proponents of such tactics say they stave off more ruinous open war and few voices are raised in Israel in condemnation. Mabhouh had helped smuggle rockets to Palestinians, a threat Israel cited in justifying its 2008-2009 offensive on the Gaza Strip, amid international outcry at the high civilian toll.

"When you are fighting terror, targeting the heads of terror organizations is positive," Mizrahi said, justifying killings.

BACK FIRE

Against Iran's nuclear program, Israel - like the United States - has hinted it could resort to military force.

But neither is keen to further destabilize the region by opening a new Muslim front, and military experts say Israel alone does not have the firepower to kill off Iran's nuclear program in a single swoop.

Assassinations carry their own incalculable risks, as the Mossad learned in 1997 when the men it sent to poison Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Amman bungled the job and were caught.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then in his first term, had ordered the hit under pressure to retaliate for Hamas suicide bombings. He ended up having to repair ties with Jordan by freeing Hamas's spiritual mentor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, from prison -- an unexpected boon for Palestinian radicals.

Despite widespread speculation, Iran denied Israeli sabotage was to blame for a blast last November that killed a Revolutionary Guards general. Wednesday it was swift not only to blame Israel, but also to publish the sensitive nature of the victim's work at the uranium enrichment facility of Natanz.

"The Iranians are exposing this in order, ultimately, to provide a large degree of rationale and justification, both domestically and abroad, for what they will eventually consider as a reprisal," said Uzi Rabi, a Middle East expert at Tel Aviv University.

He predicted an "unavoidable showdown," most likely in the Gulf, where Iran has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, with a possible spillover in the form of Israeli and Western air strikes on Iran.

(Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Uniformed IDF Soldiers Visit Temple Mount

For the first time in a decade, Israeli soldiers in uniforms ascended to the Temple Mount this week and toured the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The tour for the uniformed soldiers was permitted after a long time period in which the police objected to such visits, Temple Mount Heritage Foundation Chairman Yehuda Glick told Arutz Sheva.

“There was a discussion of the Knesset Interior Committee and MKs Tzipi Hotovely, Aryeh Eldad and Danny Danon asked the police how come they don’t let soldiers go up to the Temple Mount,” Glick said.

“Suddenly,” he said, “we saw Arab websites displaying pictures of soldiers on the Temple Mount. We hadn’t known about it."

“It’s absolutely amazing,” said Glick, adding: “It’s not just because of the special relationship the paratroopers have to the Temple Mount, but also because the police kept saying that it would be dangerous if uniformed soldiers visit the compound. All of a sudden we see that it’s not so dangerous.”

Police have had a policy of discrimination towards Jewish visitors to the compound. Among those regularly turned back were brides who wished to visit the holy site on their wedding day, and soldiers who came in uniform.

While Muslims are allowed to pray freely at the Temple Mount, Jews are allowed to enter the area only in small groups, and may not pray while there. This is the result of then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan's decision to leave the holiest site in Judaism in the hands of the Muslim Wakf after Jerusalem's reunification in 1967.

Activists held a protest last summer in which they accused police of discriminating against Jews in an attempt to appease the Muslim Wakf religious authority. Police limit the number of Jewish worshippers allowed on the Temple Mount at one time in order to prevent conflict with Muslim worshippers. They often close the Mount to Jews in response to Muslim riots – despite evidence that Muslim riots have been planned in advance for the specific purpose of forcing Jews out.

Glick praised the police and the army for allowing the tour and said, “I welcome it and I hope it’s the start of a new era, in which every soldier in the IDF will tour the Temple Mount as part of their military duty.”

MK Tzipi Hotovely also welcomed the tour and said, “Now we must turn to the next battle - allowing Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount. Only when the State of Israel will see real sovereignty on the Temple Mount will we know for sure that the Mount is ours.”

בן סנוף-אם אשכח ירושלים

Shir lamaalot - IDF - צה"ל שיר למעלות - בן סנוף

Father & Son Singing at the Annual Bein Ish Ubein Uchiv Melave Malka 2012

Dedi & Shlomie Daskal Kumsitz

United States Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro visits the Mir Yeshiva in Jerushalayim

United States Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro visits the Mir Yeshiva in Jerushalayim and is given a tour by Rav Nachman Levovits and Rav Binyomin Carlebach and meets the Rosh Yeshiva Rav Leizer Yehuda Finkel

A Magical Tour Of Israel

Yedid Nefesh: Friend of My Soul

The media here is like a coin or two in a jar - shake the jar and it makes a lot of noise. If the jar were full of content, it wouldn't make noise.

The true picture in Israel is that people are coming back to Hashem right and left. They see that the only thing that can save a soul from deoression and despair is emuna and a connection with Hashem. As such, there's virtually no Baal-teshuva yeshivas with empty seats.

Many of Israel's finest singers and musicians are coming home to their spiritual roots and making teshuva. Several have got together and created a Shabbat-Song Project, where voluntarily, they're recording Shabbat songs so that everyne can learn them. Our appreciation to Roni Eylon and "Shamayim" Center. Enjoy - on Wednesday, we start looking forward to the light of the coming Shabbat.

Top senator: An attack on Israel is an attack on US; US Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) says an Iranian attack on Israel would be tantamount to attacking the United States.

An Iranian attack on Israel would be tantamount to attacking the United States, US Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) told an auditorium full of high school students in Jerusalem on Monday.

Inouye, introduced to the students by former AIPAC president Robert Asher as the best friend Israel has in Congress, said he discussed the Iranian threat in a meeting earlier in the day with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

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“We in the US are deeply concerned with the activities in Iran,” said Inouye, who is America’s senior senator, having served continuously since 1963. “If the Iranians should ever develop a nuclear device or bomb, that could mean the end of the world as we know it in the Middle East. It would have an impact on all countries, not just Israel. As a result, our position is that if you attack Israel, you are attacking the United States.”

Inouye is the president pro tempore of the US Senate, making him third in line to succeed the US president, following the vice president and speaker of the house. He is also chairman of the powerful senate appropriations committee, and is here leading a delegation from that committee that also includes Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD).


Asked to explain the close US-Israel relationship, Inouye said that “if one looks at most of this world, especially the Middle East, one country stands out as a foundation of stability and as a pillar of democracy. And at a time like this, when you have revolution in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan, thank God we have Israel.”

Inouye, who lost an arm while fighting in Europe during World War II, and was later decorated with a Congressional Medal of Honor for his service, traced his interest in Jews and Judaism to his rehabilitation in a military hospital in New Jersey in 1945.

Inouye said that in the next bed over was another soldier recuperating from his wounds. When Inouye asked the man about his wounds, the “blonde, blue-eyed officer” said it happened after he liberated a prison camp “where there were ovens, and people cooked in the ovens, and bodies stacked up” like kindling wood.

“I asked him what kind of prison it was, was it for murderers?” Inouye retold the tale in his deep, bass voice.

“‘No,’ he said, ‘they were Jews.’ I asked what crime they committed, and his answer changed my life. He said, ‘Well you know, Dan, people don’t like Jews.’” Inouye said this left a lasting impression on him, and that a few years later, when the honor society at his law school, George Washington University, refused to accept two students because they were Jewish, he said he told the group that if the Jews were blackballed, “then kick me out, too.”

Inouye dated his concrete connection to Israel back to 1951, when he was a salesman in Hawaii for Israel bonds. He quipped that he was the first person in his state to buy an Israeli bond, and still has it framed in hisoffice, along with a mezuzah on the door and “menorahs all over the place.”

“There was a time I considered conversion,” he said.

“But I decided not to because my mother was such a devout Christian, she might not get over it.”

Asked where he thought Israel-US relations would be a century from now, Inouye said it was difficult to predict relations 100 years down the line. As proof, he said, just look at America’s close alliance with Great Britain, once its colonial masters, and with Japan, once the US’s worst enemy.

But, he said, “In the case of Israel, because of the unusual situation in this area, the relationship will be strengthened because of our mutual interests. As long as the mutual interest remains, I’d say we will remain good friends.”

Let Me Introduce Myself, My Name Is Israel

Pressed by Media, Evasive UN Pledges to Answer UN Watch Challenge on Labeling Gaza "Occupied"

As shown in the video and transcript below, the spokesman of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was asked by journalists on Friday to respond to UN Watch's challenge as to why the world body continues to label the Gaza Strip “occupied” by Israel, despite a Hamas leader last week stating the opposite.

After initially seeking to dodge the question, the spokesman promised the UN would look into it and respond. We're waiting.

Over the past week, UN Watch created an international buzz on the story with op-eds placed in Canada'sNational Post and the Jerusalem Post, which in turn were featured in the Mideast Mirror, the PLO-linkedAmerican Task Force on Palestine, the Daily Alert and Jewish Ideas Daily.

Transcript of UN daily press briefing, Jan. 6, 2012, with Martin Nesirky, Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

Journalist #1: I have a report which I got this morning, apparently it came out yesterday from UN Watch in Geneva, which quotes one of the senior officials of Hamas saying that the Gaza Strip, specifically the Gaza Strip only, is no longer Israeli-occupied territory and it refers, however, to some comments that Farhan made when he must have been doing the daily briefing two and a half or three years ago, saying that it is still the UN policy that the Gaza Strip is part of the Israel-occupied territory.
And a 22 September 2011 report put out by the Office of the Secretary-General speaks of a UN mission’s visit to the “Occupied Palestinian Territory, specifically the Gaza Strip”. Do you have any comment on that, or does the UN still seriously believe that the Gaza Strip is occupied territory?

UN Spokesperson: I think we can discuss this after. I don’t think I am going to get into a long back-and-forth on this right now. But I will certainly speak to you afterwards about it. Yes, okay. Yes?

Journalist #2: Can we get someone in to brief about that from the UN, Martin? It would be very helpful as this whole Palestinian statehood issue is being reviewed and things like that…

UN: I’ll ask.

Journalist #2: …because it has come up in the past and there should be some UN clarification about the UN position on it. And it has been historically the UN saying it is occupied territory; my understanding is because the Israelis control the border crossing; I don’t know.

UN Spokesperson: I’ll ask. I am sure there is a fairly clear response to it. I need to check, and then I’ll come back to you. All right, okay, have a good afternoon. Thanks very much.