RUSSIA IS SUPPORTED BY ISRAELIS IN THE UKRAINE

Israelis in Crimea: 'Putin's might is welcomed'

Without the Russians, the anti-Semites from Kiev would fight the people of Crimea,' say Israelis living in the tense peninsula.

For the past four years, Jenia Zlotnik from Be'er Sheva has been living in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula at the center of a crisis that threatens to relaunch the Cold War between East and West. And according to Zlotnik, the Russian presence is a blessing.

"At the moment there are no violent incidents," he told Ynet. "It is relatively quiet, thanks to the Russian troops protecting us from Ukrainian anti-Semites."

Zlotnik, a medical student, says that the local and international media has not reported the full story, namely, that  the Russian troop presence is maintaining law and order.

 

"In light of recent tensions in Crimea, Ukraine is on the verge of civil war, with riots taking place near Kiev, including armed men raiding shops and robbing people in broad daylight," he says. "There have also been numerous murders during the theft of arms and ammunition."

 

Zlotnik emphasized that he had no loyalty to either side, but that Putin's decision to deploy troops had brought a stabilizing influence to the region.

 

"I don’t support either Ukraine or Russia, however the situation here would be much worse if Putin hadn't invaded Crimea. I realize that his sole motive is controlling this region; however it is better than having a civil war."

The Israeli student added that, "the Ukraine government is hostile towards other ethnicities and uses slogans such as 'Ukraine for Ukrainians'. There are also extremists willing to physically harm non-Ukrainian civilians, including Jews."

 

Fadi, a 24-year-old Israeli student in Odessa, told Ynet that the effects of the crisis had yet to be felt on the ground in the southern port city, although the economic consequences were already evident.

 

"There is little tension in Odessa; however one can feel the financial impact as the cost of living becomes more expensive and people don't know what to expect. Most of the people here are pro-Russian, but there those who object to the Russian invasion. There are also lots of rumors flying around. According to a local website, there was an anti-Russia protest outside the embassy in Odessa. (Other) local websites are saying that the naval force based in the Crimean peninsula is being moved to Odessa."

 

The majority wants Russia

There is no drama in the streets of Odessa either. Fadi says that, "occasionally there are small demonstrations outside government buildings. There are those supporting the Ukrainian government and those wishing for Russia to intervene because they believe, as do I, that the situation in the Ukraine is frightening. Russian and pro-Russia Ukrainians say the people running the government are fascists who instigated the protest in western Ukraine, and claim they are traitors who supported the Nazis during Wolrd War II, and who double-crossed the Russian people."

Meanwhile in Kiev it is relatively quiet, according to Rabbi Hillel Cohen, director of the Kiev branch of the Jewish rescue service Hatzala.

"The barricades and barriers are still present at Kiev's entrances and exits, and protestors still occupy the city center; but the atmosphere is quiet, you don't feel anything drastic and there less police presence on the streets. Having said that, you can feel the tension in the air, as the events in the Crimea Peninsula play out. The word on the streets is that the young men are about to be drafted, and that Putin may also try to take Kiev. The optimists believe the crisis with Russia won't spread beyond Crimea Peninsula border."

 

In terms of the Jewish community's concerns, the rabbi talks about "fear from uncertainty. For that reason we are currently holding courses in first aid and Jewish burial in cooperation with Jewish emergency services and Hatzala Ukraine."

Ynetnews

JUST LIKE THE ARABS JUST WAVE A BARREL OF OIL : Iran seeks new Russia nuclear reactor in exchange for oil

Tehran, Moscow are in talks to build a second nuclear power reactor in Bushehr in exchange for a reported 500,000 barrels of crude shipment per day

Iran is seeking to commission Russia to build a second nuclear power reactor in exchange for massive oil shipments, Tehran's ambassador to Moscow said on Monday.

Ambassador Mehdi Sanaei said the two close trading partners have been negotiating Iran's delivery of hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil a day since September when Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

 

Russian officials had previously neither confirmed nor denied the discussions. But they stressed that such deliveries would not break existing UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

However, Washington and the EU have imposed their own restrictions over Tehran's disputed nuclear program that also penalize countries and companies dealing in certain areas with Iran.

 

The White House last month expressed "serious concern" over the rumored oil-for-goods swap - which one Russian report said concerned the delivery of 500,000 barrels of crude per day - because it could potentially boost Iran's energy exports by more than 50 percent.

 

Iran's crude shipments are believed to have shrunk under the impact of the unilateral Western sanctions from 2.5 million barrels per day in late 2011 to less than one million barrels per day at the end of last year.

 

Sanaei said Iran was interested in acquiring Russian heavy trucks and railroad equipment in exchange for the deliveries.

 

"A part of the funds (for the oil sale) could also go toward the construction by Russian companies of a second nuclear reactor at Bushehr," Sanaei told Kommersant business daily.

 

Russia completed the construction of the Islamic Republic's sole nuclear power plant after the project was dropped by Germany's industrial giant Siemens following Iran's 1979 revolution.

 

The Persian Gulf plant came into service in 2011 after several delays blamed on technical problems. Iranian engineers took complete control of the facility last September.

 

The plant's single reactor produces 1,000 megawatts of electricity - a small fraction of what the oil-rich country says it wants to produce from nuclear power.

 

Western nations and Israel suspect that the Islamic Republic's nuclear program masks a covert weapons drive - a charge Tehran denies.

 

Sanaei's confirmation of the oil-for-goods talks comes a day before world powers and Iran resume negotiations in Vienna aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord on Tehran's nuclear drive.

 

Iran has agreed to freeze some nuclear activities for six months under a landmark interim deal sealed last November.

 

It won modest sanctions relief in return that also included a promise by Western powers not to impose new restrictions on its hard-hit economy.

 

But most of the Western oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic remain in place.

Relations between Russia and Iran have wavered throughout history but included a close alliance in the 1980s after the fall of the shah.

Yaalon: Mideast's Artificial Colonial States are Collapsing....The lack of US involvement delivered Iraq to Iran, and allowed Russia to play a prominent role in Syria.'

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon

Flash 90

At the seventh international conference in the INSS annual series "Security Challenges of the 21st Century," Defense Minister Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon said that the current situation in the Middle Eastbrings with it not only risks but also opportunities. This assessment underlies Israel's security policy.

According to the Defense Minister, the Middle East is now experiencing in the collapse of artificial colonial nation states. The model of a nation state does not work in tribal states like Libya, nor does it work in sectarian societies. Israel would like to see democracy all around it, but democracy is not just elections, as evidenced by the rise of Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

In this complicated political environment, said the Defense Minister, the US is still the superpower in the region, but it has encountered many challenges in the region and seeks to be less involved.

The lack of US involvement delivered Iraq to Iran, and allowed Russia to play a prominent role in Syria. It also leaves the window open to new players, he explained. Iran, which is working to reach the nuclear threshold while negotiating with the international community, is now more of a key player in the region and is under less pressure. In Syria, Iran is part of the problem and it supports the brutality of the regime. Iran is a key source of instability in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and Gaza. It is the number one threat to stability in the Middle East and the world, he stated.

In Syria, de facto instability and partition is a looming reality, while the regime brutality continues and there is more internal fighting, Yaalon went on, but added that Israel will not intervene “unless our red lines are crossed,” meaning an attack on Israel or the transfer or use of chemical weapons. Israel does deliver some humanitarian assistance to villages on the border with Syria, Yaalon noted.

Arutz 7

Second blast in Russia's Volgograd city kills at least 14 on trolleybus

Terror strikes Russian city for second time in less than 24 hours as electric bus explodes. Sunday's blast claimed lives of 17 people in suicide attack at train station

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry says at least 14 people have been killed in a bus explosion in Volgograd, a day after a suicide bombing that killed at least 17 at a railway station in the city.

Russian investigators said they believe a male suicide bomber carried out the attack.

 

"It is now possible to preliminarily say that the explosive device was set off by a suicide bomber - a man whose body fragments have been collected and sent for genetic testing," the federal Investigative Committee said in a statement.

The explosions put the city on edge and highlighted the terrorist threat that Russia is facing as it prepares to host the Winter Games in February. Volgograd is about 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of Sochi, where theOlympics are to be held.

 

The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said the bus explosion came from a bomb that most likely had been placed in the vehicle's passenger area, but there were no further details. The Emergencies Ministry said at least 10 people were killed and news reports said anywhere from 15 to two dozen people were hospitalized.

 

The explosion ripped away much of the bus's exterior and broke windows in nearby buildings.

 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either explosion, which came several months after Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov called for new attacks against civilian targets in Russia, including the Sochi Games.

 

The federal Investigative Committee and other officials initially said a female suicide bomber had blown herself up Sunday after a police officer started to approach her near the metal detector because she looked suspicious.

A Russian website with ties to security agencies, Life News, posted a picture of what it said was the suspect's head.

 

It said authorities had identified her as a resident of Dagestan, the province adjacent to Chechnya and now the centre of a long-running Islamist insurgency, and the widow of two militants who were both killed by Russian security forces.

 

The US State Department issued a statement saying that the United States "condemns in the strongest terms (Sunday's) terrorist attack in Volgograd."

"We send our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and stand in solidarity with the Russian people against terrorism of any kind," it said.

 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council both condemned the attack on Sunday and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

Ynet news

"Peace in our time" said Chamberlin in 1938 - "Deal of our time"from Kerry in 2013 : And this will turn out just as disastrous -Americans and other nations seriously need to wake up

Kerry's appeasement will end up with the same nightmarish results as Chamberlin's appeasement  

Israel has learned a lot lately, especially in the last 24 hours, that she cannot trust anyone, now including her allies. 

The nuclear deal signed enabling Iran to effectively build a nuclear weapon via the back door, is the ultimate insult to Israel. 

America and the others know Israel's predicament yet they have now allowed Iran time knowing fully well that Iran will use it to build a nuke. Anyone, including a child of four, can see that all Iran's talk and promises of change is just that, talk. 

Even after Rouhani made his first promises Obama and Kerry didn't exactly give it time to see if they were genuine. A sensible world leader would have waited at least a year to see if any positive action by Rouhani to prove he'd changed, like stopping further hangings of women in public places, or gays being lynched from cranes. Or most of all a good world leader might have given it a year to see if the anti Israel rhetoric coming from Tehran might cease. 

But no, after a couple of smiles and a few words of encouragement Obama and Co Jump straight into the trap and sign a deal that could effectively mean the end of human existence. After just three months these incompetent bungling fools have swallowed the lie and have now given the worlds most dangerous regime a blank cheque to do what it wants. 

This deal will just give Iran time and now resources, to build a nuclear weapon and the sole reason for this is Iran's hatred of Israel, which will be the main target of any Iranian nuclear attack.

The whole world is at fault here for letting this happen. All of them could have helped prevent this, including Britain, Russia, China and Germany, but they chose not to. Instead they chose appeasement. 

But most shocking of all is the actions of America. America is 'supposed' to be Israel's closest ally, yet America has been the driving force for this 'deal', as it has also for the so-called 'peace talks' in the middle east, another 'deal' detrimental to Israel's interests. 

Israel has learned one thing from the last few weeks and that is that it can no longer trust its supposed allies let alone its enemies. Despite the good hearted nature of the millions of Americans, Britons, Europeans and Russians to name s few countries, the leaderships of those countries are out for a quick fix to look good temporarily for the voters, yet they are leaving an ally and the middle easts only democracy in the lurch, not forgetting putting the lives of millions of people world wide in jeopardy, including their own citizens. 

But the striking event to arise from this shamboc 'deal' is the conduct of France. Out of all the countries who has been vocal in standing by Israel was France. A nation that is regularly the object of jests on FB and elsewhere due to the policies of its governments in the past; jests and gibes about radical Islam on French streets and the influence of radicals in this or that sector to name some; jests and jibes coming from many quarters, but much often coming from keyboards in American homes. 

People from all nations need to step back and take note, but more so Americans need to step back and take a very close look at their own backyard before criticising others because the potential  harm done against Israel and the free world in this Iranian nuclear deal, far outweighs an Islamist buffoon shouting his mouth of on a French street or a radical nut insisting the traffic stops in Paris during prayer. 

France might have major problems, but it has not got the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood directing foreign policy in its parliament and it hasn't got an Islamist president causing problems of potential global destructive scale. 

As grateful as Israelis are at the support, past and present, from ordinary Americans, as indeed all nations, sadly its not them that hold the reigns of power. The power comes from Government and going by the actions in this latest 'Deal' involving Iran, France has actually shown more signs of being Israel's closest friend and sadly America under Obama has done Israel's interests harm, together with the lapdogs that masquerade as politicians from Britain and other appeasers.
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Nice to see some countries acting sane as Russia Is Now Targeting the Relatives of Suspected Terrorists

President Vladimir Putin signed the legislation on November 3, requiring "close relatives and acquaintances" of those who commit acts of "terrorism" to pay damages - both material and moral - resulting from those acts.

It also empowers authorities to seize property from friends and relatives of suspected militants and provides for prison sentences of up to 10 years for those convicted of receiving training "aimed at carrying out terrorist activity."

The legislation comes just four months before Russia hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, just a few hundred kilometers from the restive North Caucasus. 

Fears that terrorism could mar the Sochi Olympics heightened last month after a female suicide bomber from Daghestan detonated explosives on a bus in Volgograd, killing six people and injuring 30 others.

Analysts say the law, which was entered into parliament before the Volgograd bombing and was passed rapidly in its wake, is part of the Kremlin's hardening line in the North Caucasus.

The authorities are also testing the DNA of conservative Muslim women in the region so as to identify them rapidly if they become suicide bombers, Reuters reports.

The law signed by Putin effectively mimics at a national level the tactic of arresting relatives that has long been in place in Chechnya under its pro-Kremlin leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. 

Vatchagayev said the tactic has made Chechnya "the most peaceful republic in the region" and in stark contrast to Daghestan and Ingushetia. Vatchagayev says the Kremlin is hoping to emulate this success regionwide.

"Vladimir Putin has decided to implement the experience of the Chechen Republic across the whole North Caucasus," Vatchagayev says. "The law is almost entirely aimed at the North Caucasus against armed fighters."

Vatchagayev adds that the law is ambiguous because "relatives" and "close acquaintances" can denote a "whole clan" in predominantly Muslim republics like Chechnya.

Analysts say the law fits a hardening shift in how security forces are dealing with the insurgency ahead of the Olympics. Andrei Soldatov, the founder of investigative website agentura.ru, which tracks the security services, says it signals an ongoing shift away from using incentives to get insurgents to lay down their arms.

"The tactics of the security services now are quite different than they were a year ago," Soldatov says. "A year ago, they combined special operations with non-special operations - like encouraging people to come [in] from the forest and all these commissions of rehabilitations. It seems now that these kinds of activities have stopped in almost every North Caucasus republic and they [use] only this hard approach."

Soldatov was nonetheless unsure the measure would yield the intended result across the North Caucasus because of varying local conditions.

"I think it depends on which republic we are talking about," Soldatov says. "One thing is that in Chechnya everybody is scared by Kadyrov and his people. In this case, maybe the tactics would be effective in the short term. But I think the situation in Dagestan is completely different. There, the security services are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the population. And this kind of measure might only add to the sense of disappointment."

The Atlantic 

While the US appears irrelevant in the face if Syrian intimidation - meanwhile Russia to supply S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran increasing the risk to Israel

As American sits bewildered & appearing weak and irrelevant Moscow has also agreed to build another nuclear reactor in Bushehr. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved the transfer of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran, according to the prestigious Russian daily newspaper Kommersant.

The newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Russian government will revive the transfer three years after it canceled the original transaction.

According toKommersant, the Kremlin agreed to Tehran’s request to complete the transaction, which will net the Russian treasury $800 million.

In addition to the missile deal, Russia has also agreed to construct another nuclear reactor in Bushehr. According to the Kommersant report, the two sides are expected to finalize the details of the deal this coming Friday, when Putin is expected to meet his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani, in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan.

Kommersant reported on Wednesday that the Russians intend on supplying Iran with a less advanced version of the S-300 than originally thought.

The Russian-manufactured anti-aircraft batteries have been a source of concern to Israeli officials who fear that their enemies’ possession of them could have adverse strategic consequences.

This comes at a time when the US is under criticism for appearing weak in the face of intimidation from Syria. 

Last month, Russia suspended the delivery of S-300 missile systems to Syria, but the latest weak response from President Obama hasn't deterred this latest deal with Iran and many are saying that American standing and influence has severely been effected by the latest backtrack from Obama in dealing with the Syrian situation.  

Israeli official believe that the missiles, which have a 200-kilometer range, would have the capacity to hit planes in northern Israel. It would create a no-fly zone that would make it impossible for the Israeli air force to operate along the Syrian and Lebanese border.

Putin told Russia's First Channel that some components of the S-300 systems were delivered to Syria, but that the rest would be delayed until Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime pays for them.

Additionally, a shipment of twelve MiG-29M/M2 jets ordered in 2007, six of which were due to be delivered to Syria by the end of the year, will not be supplied before 2016-2017 because Damascus has only paid Moscow 30 percent of the agreed sum for the jets.

In May, Israel and the US asked Russia not to deliver the weapons system to Syria, but Russia said the missiles are defensive and needed by Assad in his battle against rebel groups.

Source 

Jerusalem Post

It's Not About Syri, Stupid (think Iran and Russia and.....

As information about the apparent Israeli strikes on targets inside Syria continues to pour in, it’s easy to lose sight of the central fact: the two reported Israeli attacks are part of an ongoing war, the big war against the West. While the attacks were in Syria, the mission was primarily a major strike against Iran and Russia, two key components of the global alliance arrayed against us. Both are desperately trying to shore up the Assad regime in Damascus.

The fall of Assad would be a devastating blow to Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei’s tyranny in Tehran, would gravely weaken Russia’s strategic position in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and would threaten the strength (and even the survival) of Hezbollah, the world’s most dangerous terrorist organization and the creation of Iran’s founding tyrant, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

The attacks apparently did great damage to Iranian missiles, and the vaunted Russian antiaircraft system provided to both Syria and Iran was unable to do anything to prevent them. Both have been humiliated.

The primary Israeli targets seem to have been Iranian missiles shipped from Iran to Syria, reportedly pending transfer to Hezbollah. They are capable of carrying chemical warheads, which may explain President Obama’s quick support for Israel.

The attacks came after more than a month of diplomatic activity:

–On Thursday, April 25th, the United States announced that we had evidence that the Syrians had used chemical weapons. That announcement was not merely the result of internal American deliberations; it came after several meetings with allies following claims of chemical attacks from the Syrian opposition in late March.

–There were meetings in Amman, Jordan, on April 1st and 2nd, chaired by the head of Jordanian intelligence, Faisal al Shobaki. The meetings included representatives from the United States, Qatar, and Israel, whose experts provided information from drones and satellites.

–The Saudi foreign minister met with Secretary of State John Kerry on the 16th (the day after the Marathon massacre in Boston). It was a scheduled meeting, but the session was closed (after journalists had been told it would be open). The next day, President Obama met with the foreign minister in an unscheduled session.

–On Monday the 22nd, CIA director John Brennan received the emir of Qatar and his foreign minister at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

–On Tuesday the 23rd, General Itay Bron of Israeli military intelligence announced that Israel had proof of the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

–On Wednesday the 24th and Thursday the 25th, there were further meetings in Washington to discuss the question, involving officials from France, Qatar, Great Britain, Canada, and the Czech Republic. The Czechs are world leaders in the field of chemical weapons intelligence, and their ambassador in Damascus, Eva Filipi, represents both the United States and Europe in the Syrian capital.

These discussions were undoubtedly about the “big picture” as well as the specific question of chemical weapons. I cannot imagine the Israelis not sharing their view of Iran’s regional strategy, which they believe includes a contingency plan (named after Quds Force commander Qasem Suleimani) for the occupation of Syria if Assad were to lose control.

…Syria’s centrality in Iranian strategy was voiced by Mehdi Taaib, who heads Khamenei’s think tank. He recently stated that “Syria is the 35^th district of Iran and it has greater strategic importance for Iran than Khuzestan [an Arab-populated district inside Iran].”

SIDEBAR: You may have noticed that casualties in Iraq are now running at roughly half those in Syria, as the Iranians apply the same methods they used unsuccessfully against us: foment civil war by the use of terror and religiously inspired mass movements.

BACK TO MAIN SERMON: The Israeli actions, assuming they took place more or less as described, were limited to a single battlefield of the big war, and were driven by the knowledge that Iran and its two foreign legions (Quds and Hezbollah) are preparing the destruction of the Jewish state, nukes or no nukes. Weapons move towards Israel from many directions in the region, including Sudan, and are sometimes permitted passage by the likes of Egypt and Turkey. Until and unless we show signs of recognizing the real dimensions of the menace, the weapons will continue to flow.

Just ask the king of Jordan. He knows that many of those “Syrian refugees” on his border are working with the jihadis, whether Sunni or Shi’ite. Our dribble of assistance to the Syrian opposition comes via Jordan (and it was no accident that the early meetings described above were held in Amman). Watch Jordan very carefully — along with Iraq it’s our enemies’ main strategic target.

Alas, there is no reason to believe, even now, that our deep thinkers grasp the nature of the real war. The failing New York Times spent a considerable amount of space on Sunday trying to convince its gullible readers that Obama’s celebrated “red line” proclamation regarding the potential consequences of Assad’s use of chemical weapons wasn’t serious. Why? Because “it wasn’t scripted,” he just said it.

Imagine that! An American president who makes up his own mind and announces his conclusions to the world. And now, his loyal followers are trying to walk it back, because everyone is asking Obama to make good on his ultimatum.

If his advisors were worth their keep, they’d be telling him to focus on the real issues. But no. One of them moaned, “If Assad drops sarin on his own people, what’s that got to do with us?” So much for the Valkyrie doctrine–we will move forcefully to save people from their murderous regimes–that justified our Libyan intervention. No wonder Samantha Power scampered out of her National Security Council suite.

As the piteous fall of George H.W. Bush–from 90% approval to electoral defeat–should warn our leaders, failed visions and empty heads have consequences. People die. And not just Syrians and Iranians, who are being tortured and slaughtered by their own regimes. Americans die too. The beds at Walter Reed are filling up again, as the Taliban celebrate our retreat by blowing us up.

There is no escape from the big war. We can win it or lose it, but we can’t opt out of it.

 Syrian Official: Israeli Strike 'Declaration of War

Israel is preferable Assad: Syrian refugees flock to Gaza

IDF Closes Airspace over Haifa

Experts:  Israel will only Interfere If Security Threatened

http://pjmedia.com/michaelledeen/

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