Jerusalem Demonstration In Support Of Ami Meshulam and his family

17 Ellul 5768

Tonight I stumbled upon a demonstration in support of Immanuel Yedidya (Ami) Meshulam, now in Canada for medical treatment for undetermined illnesses, allegedly from a lethal drugs injected into him by agents of the persecutory Israeli government. I know, I know. But read on, just a bit more.

Ami Meshulam is the son of Rabbi Uzi Azulai Meshulam who is best known for raising awareness, and pursuing justice for the Yemenite children, kidnapped during the early years of the State of Israel.

This case has both disturbed and fascinated me for years. It disturbs me not only that Yemenite children were kidnapped from the families, but also because there has no real response from the government, save for the persecution of those in pursuit of the truth.

The Rosh Yeshivah of the yeshiva high school where I last taught is one of the non-kidnapped victims. He has a brother out there, possible still alive, who was taken from his parents over 50 years ago.

I have been fascinated by the thoughts of seeing families reunited someday.

Rabbi Uzi Meshulam claims to have compiled a list of 4,500 names of missing children.

You can read the background story in English. It is like something out of a film about CIA cover-ups. Only this one features the Mossad and Shabba"k (Israeli secret police). It also features a Waco style stand-off, known as the Yehud Incident.

But, that's not even the half of it.

I have heard various names thrown around of big rabbis and [sitting] government officials who he claims were involved in the kidnappings and subsequent cover-up, as well as big name rabbis who turned him over. In the words of the man with whom I spoke at the demonstration, "...the Erev Rav."

I have yet to find any of those names on his supporters' website. Yet there is a lot of material out there, including videos, to be examined.

This is not the only case of non-Ashkinazy children allegedly being abused by the Israel government. The documentary "The Ringworm Children" exposes the radioactivity experiments which were carried out on children of mostly North African descent.

Some of you will scoff at the incidents presented here, and called them convoluted conspiracy theories.

One of the fliers that was being handed out included a quote from Mori Hayim Sinwani ztz"l, Rav Uzi's grandfather and rav who originally instructed him to look into the issue of the kidnapped children:

"The state that sells its children in the end will be sold to its enemies."

Sounds like prophecy to me. Examine the evidence. Something is rotten in Israel.

Cross-posted on Esser Agaroth.

American Jewish man arrested this week for spying for Israel

Blogmaster's Opinion: Arresting Ben-Ami smacks of the worst kind of governmental terrorism. First, it's strange that after all these years, suddenly he should be grabbed just after Jimmy Carter pals up with Hamas (Makes Carter look good doesn't it). Why arrest him on Passover? They are sending Israel a message: Don't oppose the Bush Peace Plan - cooperate fully with Condileeza Rice, give away Jewish land and partition Jerusalem...or else! Look at the information that was furnished our ally... Patriot Missile System - A Defensive Weapon good only for shooting down incoming missiles. F-15 upgrades...Israel had F-15s but the aircraft we gave the Arabs had superior avionics - he warned Israel of the imbalance in the Arab's favor given them by America - hardly damaging to the U.S. Lastly, information that was "Atomic Related", again, only defensive information. Ben-Ami Kadish is 85 years old... he fought with the Haganah in 1948, he was an American G.I. fighting the Nazis during WWII, and was commander of the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) in Monroe, N.J. In my book, he's a hero. If he is prosecuted by Bush's anti-Israel coterie (persecuted would be more accurate) then we should all stand with Ben-Ami Kadish - Enough with the bedevilment of Jews in America! A Communist Chinese spy who was employed by a U.S. Department of Defense Contractor steals current top secret “offensive” military information, takes it to his Commie bosses in Beijing and all he gets is deported. Now they have an old Jew to torment and molest. Thank him for his service to both of our countries and let him go.

JTA - MOBILE
Last updated 04/22/2008 @ 03:26PM ET

American arrested for spying for Israel

The American Jewish man arrested this week for spying for Israel was released on $300,000 bond.

The Justice Department disclosed Tuesday that Ben-Ami Kadish, a mechanical engineer at a U.S. Army facility in Dover, N.J., was arrested on charges of relaying secrets to Israel from 1979 to 1985, including nuclear secrets. Kadish speaks Hebrew and has an Israeli brother, according to the Justice Department.

Kadish allegedly "borrowed" classified documents from the facility's library and took them home to be copied by an Israeli diplomat employed at Israel’s consulate in New York, according to a sealed complaint filed Monday in a federal district court in New York.

One of the documents "contained information concerning nuclear weaponry and was classified as 'Restricted Data,' a specific designation by the U.S. Department of Energy, because the document contained atomic-related information," said a statement Tuesday from the Justice Department.

Another classified document "contained information concerning a major weapons system -- a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet that the United States had sold to another country. This document was classified by the Department of Defense as 'Secret' and was further restricted as 'Noforn,' or 'Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals.'"

Kadish, who allegedly was not paid for relaying the documents, appeared in court Tuesday and was released after posting $300,000 bond, putting his New Jersey home up as collateral.

He allegedly spoke with his Israeli co-conspirator by phone on March 20, before he was due to meet with U.S. officials. According to the Justice Department, the Israeli instructed Kadish to lie to law enforcement officials. The following day, March 21, Kadish denied having had the phone call.

The alleged spying took place before U.S. Navy analyst Jonathan Pollard was sentenced to life for spying for Israel. Israeli diplomats have said that Pollard's case led the United States to increase its information sharing with Israel and at the same time led Israel to clamp down on any Israeli espionage in the United States.

Ben-Ami, who lives in New Jersey, grew up in pre-state Palestine and fought with the Haganah, the Jewish military organization that was the precursor to the Israel Defense Forces, according to a 2006 story on Kadish and his wife, Doris, published in the New Jersey Jewish News. Ben-Ami served in both the British and U.S. militaries during World War II and is an ex-commander of the Jewish War Veterans Post 609 in Monroe, N.J., the story said. The newspaper also said Kadish was active in the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County. « Return to JTA Breaking News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008WWW.USDOJ.GOV
NSD(202) 514-2007TDD (202) 514-1888

Man Arrested for Disclosing National Defense Information to Israel

MANHATTAN — Michael J. Garcia, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mark J. Mershon, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), and Weysan Dun, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Newark Office of the FBI, in conjunction with the U.S. Army, announced today the arrest of Ben-Ami Kadish on charges that he participated in a conspiracy to disclose to the Government of Israel documents related to the national defense of the United States and, in connection with that unauthorized disclosure, that he participated in a conspiracy to act as an agent of the Government of Israel. According to the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:

From about 1979 through 1985, Kadish, a citizen of the United States, was a mechanical engineer, employed at the U.S. Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, New Jersey (the “Arsenal”). The Arsenal kept a library of documents with classified information related to the national defense of the United States (the “Library”).

On numerous occasions during this time period, Kadish borrowed classified documents (the “Classified Documents”) from the Library and took the Classified Documents to his residence in New Jersey (the “Residence”). At the Residence, Kadish would then provide the Classified Documents to a co-conspirator not named herein as a defendant (“CC-1”), who would photograph the Classified Documents in the basement of the Residence.
From at least 1980 through 1985, CC-1, a citizen of Israel, was employed by the Government of Israel as the Consul for Science Affairs at the Israeli Consulate General in Manhattan and directed Kadish to provide the Classified Documents to him (CC-1).
One of the Classified Documents that Kadish provided to CC-1 contained information concerning nuclear weaponry and was classified as “Restricted Data,” a specific designation by the U.S. Department of Energy, because the document contained atomic-related information.

Another one of the Classified Documents that Kadish provided CC-1 contained information concerning a major weapons system -- a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet that the United States had sold to another country. This document was classified by the Department of Defense as “Secret” and was further restricted as “Noforn,” or “Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals.”

Another one of the Classified Documents borrowed by Kadish from the Arsenal Library contained information concerning a major weapons system and major element of defense strategy -- the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system. This document was classified by the Department of Defense as “Secret.”

On March 20, 2008, Kadish and CC-1 had a telephone conversation, during which CC-1 instructed Kadish to lie to federal law enforcement officials. The following day, during an interview with the FBI, Kadish denied having had the telephone conversation with CC-1.

Kadish is charged with four counts: one count of conspiring to disclose documents related to the national defense of the United States to the Government of Israel; one count of conspiring to act as an agent of the Government of Israel; one count of conspiring to hinder a communication to a law enforcement officer; and one count of conspiring to make a materially false statement to a law enforcement officer.
Kadish is scheduled to appear this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Douglas F. Eaton in Manhattan federal court.

Mr. Garcia praised the FBI and the U.S. Army for their efforts in this continuing investigation.

This prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Iris Lan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney Kathleen Kedian of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
###
08-324

US Army engineer arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel

GIL HOFFMAN, HERB KEINON and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST

Apr. 22, 2008

An 85-year-old former US Army mechanical engineer was arrested Tuesday on charges he slipped classified documents about nuclear weapons to an employee of the Israeli Consulate who also received information from convicted Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard, US authorities announced.

Ben-Ami Kadish was charged in US District Court in Manhattan with four counts of conspiracy, including allegations that he disclosed US national defense documents to Israel and acted as an agent of the Israeli government.

At a court hearing Tuesday afternoon, Kadish, who was wearing black sweatpants, was released on a $300,000 property bond. He was required tosurrender his passport and can travel only in New Jersey and southern Manhattan. A potential preliminary hearing is set for May 22.

Prosecutors say Kadish, a US citizen who worked at an Army base in New Jersey, took home classified documents for six years and let the Israeli photograph them in his basement. Those documents included information about nuclear weapons, a modified version of an F-15 fighter jet, and the US Patriot missile air defense system.

A criminal complaint said Kadish confessed to FBI agents on Sunday that he had given the Israeli between 50 and 100 classified documents and accepted no cash in return, only small gifts and occasional dinners for him and his family.

Kadish admitted to the charges in court, saying that he wanted to help Israel.
Calls requesting comment from the Israeli consulate in the United States were referred to officials in Israel.

The Prime Minister's Office referred queries on the matter to the Foreign Ministry. Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said: "We know nothing about it. We have nothing to say."

Kadish worked at the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, New Jersey. On numerous occasions between 1979 and 1985, the agent provided Kadish with lists of US national defense classified documents he was interested in, according to the complaint. Kadish worked at the military facility from 1963 through 1990.

The complaint described a close relationship between the two men that continued beyond 1985, and included telephone and e-mail conversations exchanged as recently as Sunday.

The unidentified Israeli agent - since identified in Israel as Yossi Yagur - was described in the complaint as a one-time employee of Israeli Aircraft Industries, which since at least the late 1970s has been a defense manufacturing contractor for the Israeli government. The company is now known as Israeli Aerospace Industries.

From July 1980 through November 1985, Yagur worked for the Israeli government as the consul for science affairs at the Israeli consulate in Manhattan.

The two men were introduced by Kadish's brother, who worked with Yagur at the manufacturing plant in Israel.

The research center where Kadish worked housed a library of documents, including many with classified information related to US national defense. From 1979 through 1985, Kadish signed out at least 35 classified documents, according to the complaint.
Kadish told the FBI that he knew that one restricted document he provided to Yagur included atomic-related information and that he did not have the required clearance to borrow it, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors say Yagur called Kadish on March 20 and told him to lie to federal law enforcement agents who were investigating possible espionage.

"Don't say anything. Let them say whatever they want. You didn't ... do anything. ... What happened 25 years ago? You didn't remember anything," Yagur allegedly told Kadish in Hebrew.

In addition to the spying counts, Kadish is charged with conspiring to hinder a communication with, and to make a materially false statement to, a law enforcement officer. Those charges stem from the March conversation.

Yagur left the United States in November 1985 and has not returned, according to the complaint, which described him as the same Israeli to whom Pollard provided classified information.

Pollard, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy, pleaded guilty to transferring military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon. He is serving a life sentence in a US federal prison.

US State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that more than 20 years ago, when the Pollard affair emerged, the US said that it had not expected such conduct from a close ally and that the same applied in the Kadish case.

Pollard's wife, Esther, a vocal critic of both the US and Israeli governments' handling of her husband's case, said there was no connection between Kadish and her husband, and expressed concerned that the new case "could result in a further delay in Jonathan's release from prison."

"This kind of propaganda plays right into the hands of the people in Israel who are not interested in Jonathan's release," she said.

The Kadish story, she added, was no different from other reports that have been used in the past to embarrass Israel, and called upon Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "not to be distracted by this case from what he should be doing and that's bringing Jonathan home."
She said she was worried that Olmert might now decide that it was "too delicate a time" to make a serious effort to bring Jonathan home in honor of Israel's 60th birthday celebrations.

Gerrie Bamira, the executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, in which Kadish's home in Monroe Township is located, said she knew Kadish and his wife, Doris, through their supported of the Federation.

"Information is still being gathered with respect to this case, and we look forward to the due process of law," Bamira said. "Individuals are innocent until proven guilty."
According to some accounts, Kadish was born in Connecticut and moved to pre-state Israel, where he fought with the Hagana. Other accounts say he served in the American military during World War II.
Michal Lando contributed to this report.

ANNOTHER MOSSAD INNOVATIVE DEVICE

Israel kills terror chief with headrest bomb
(Yasser Koach to our operatives on a successful mission!) Blogmaster

Uzi Mahnaimi in Tel Aviv, Hala Jaber in Beirut and Jon Swain
The Sunday Times (UK) February 17, 2008

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3382343.ece

NOTHING seemed very remarkable about the short, bearded man who mingled with other guests on Tuesday evening at a reception in Damascus, the Syrian
capital, to mark the 29th anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini's Iranian
revolution.

Yet before the night was over he was dead in the twisted wreckage of his car
and the inevitable assumption was that Mossad, the Israeli foreign
intelligence service, had killed him with an ingeniously planted bomb.
The news spread rapidly that the dead man was Imad Mughniyeh, an elusive
figure known as "the Fox" who had been one of the world's most feared
terrorist masterminds.

Robert Baer, a former CIA agent who spent years on his trail, said Mughniyeh
was "probably the most intelligent, most capable operative we've ever run
across".
As the Israelis rejoiced, Iran and Hezbollah, the militant Shi'ite group,
which together had harnessed Mugniyeh's expertise, mourned his death at a
huge funeral in Beirut, where he established his terrorist network.
Mughniyeh's mother, Um Imad, sat amid a sea of black chadors, a lonely,
sombre figure as mourners held their hero's picture aloft.

"If only I had more boys to carry on in his footsteps," she sighed,
confessing that she did not have any pictures of him, even from his
childhood, as he had taken them away. He was the third of her sons to die in
a car bombing.
With a price of $25m on his head, he was always vigilant. Some say he had
had plastic surgery to alter his face in an effort to elude the Americans
and Israelis who blamed him for plane hijackings and other bloody attacks
which killed hundreds of their citizens in the Middle East and as far away
as South America.

He had grown accustomed to living dangerously and there was no reason he
should have feared for his safety last Tuesday as he sipped fruit juice at
the party at the Iranian cultural centre. Mughniyeh was on fairly good terms
with everybody present - almost all the leaders of the Damascus-based
militant groups were represented.

At 10.35pm he decided to go home. Having exchanged customary kisses with his
host, Hojatoleslam Ahmad Musavi, the newly appointed Iranian ambassador,
Mughniyeh stepped into the night.

Minutes later he was seated in his silver Mitsubishi Pajero in a nearby
street when a deafening blast ripped the car apart and killed him instantly.
According to Israeli intelligence sources, someone had replaced the headrest
of the driver's seat with another containing a small high-explosive charge.
Israel welcomed his death but the prime minister's office denied
responsibility. Hezbollah accused the "Zionist Israelis" of killing its
"brother commander" but believed the explosive had been detonated in another
car by satellite.

One witness said: "I held his head in my hands, kissed him farewell. His
face was burnt but intact and he had received serious injuries to his
abdomen."

Whatever the truth about the bomb, Mughniyeh, 45, died as he had lived -
violently. He was a product of the Lebanese civil war that transfixed
western governments 25 years ago.

Born in a south Lebanon village, the son of a vegetable seller, Mughniyeh
joined Force 17, Yasser Arafat's personal bodyguard, when scarcely out of
his teens. After the Palestine Liberation Organisation was forced to leave
Lebanon in 1982, he stayed behind and joined Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shi'ite
Islamic group that emerged in 1985 as a militant force resisting Israeli
occupation.

He came to the attention of Sheikh Mohammed Fadlallah, Hezbollah's spiritual
leader, and rose quickly up the ranks. He was shaped into a remarkably
effective terrorist as, under the auspices of Iran's Revolutionary Guards,
the organisation grew into one of the deadliest forces fighting Israel and
America.

Western terrorism experts say he was the dynamo behind some of Hezbollah's
most lethal operations. These included the bombing of the American embassy
in Beirut that killed 63 people and the attacks on the US marine and French
paratrooper barracks that left more than 200 dead. It was Mughniyeh's
decision to kidnap Terry Waite, the Church of England envoy, as he tried to
broker the release of other captives.

Another notorious act attributed to him was the hijacking of a TWA flight
when an American passenger, a US navy diver, was shot and his body thrown
onto the runway.

In the 1990s Israel made him a priority target for his involvement in two
attacks in Buenos Aires - the 1992 Israeli embassy bombing, which killed 29,
and a 1994 suicide bomb attack on a Jewish community centre, in which 85
died. Then he went to ground. The FBI placed him on its most-wanted list but
had to use a 20-year-old photograph for its reward posters.

Despite these difficulties, the CIA came close to capturing him. The
Israelis were also hot on his trail. "We tried to knock him down several
times in the late 1980s," revealed David Barkay, a former major in unit 504
of Israeli military intelligence who was in charge of Mughniyeh's file.
"We accumulated intelligence on him, but the closer we got, the less
information we gleaned - no weak points, no women, money, drugs - nothing."
Mughniyeh lost two brothers, Jihad and Fuad, in car bomb explosions in
Beirut. In 2000 he was targeted by an Israeli sniper in southern Lebanon.
But in Meir Dagan, who became head of Mossad in 2002, he faced a committed
opponent under whose leadership the organisation built a strong record in
assassinating Israel's enemies.

Israel fought a bitter 34-day war against Hezbollah in 2006 to eradicate it
in southern Lebanon. It believes that Mughniyeh was instrumental in
rebuilding the group after the war, rearming it with Iranian-made Fateh 110
rockets which are capable of hitting Tel Aviv and which it fears could be
equipped with chemical weapons.

Informed Israeli sources said that at the time of his death Mughniyeh was
working for the Syrians on a terrorist attack against Israeli targets. This
was to avenge Israel's airstrike on what was believed to be a secret nuclear
site in Syria last year.

Since Mughniyeh's death, Israeli embassies and Jewish institutions around
the world have been on high alert. "I've no doubt the Syrians and Iranians
will retaliate," said Barkay.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's general secretary, warned in a fiery oration
at Mughniyeh's funeral that Israel had committed a "major stupid mistake".
It was now "open war", he said.

In Lebanon, a close friend of Mughniyeh was certain that he would be avenged
by Hezbollah in an attack that, ironically, he had prepared himself before
his death. "Most likely the retaliation when it comes will be one that had
been planned and masterminded by Imad himself," said Anis Al-Nackash, a
Lebanese expert on Hezbollah.

He said Mughniyeh had prepared a variety of "spectacular" attacks to be
executed by Hezbollah if one of its top leaders was assassinated. These were
now being dusted off and updated.

On the day Mughniyeh was buried, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister,
summoned Dagan from his cottage in Galilee to Jerusalem.
"It was a one-on-one meeting," said a source. But it is believed that Dagan
was complimented by his boss and told that he would stay as head of Mossad
until the end of 2009.

Time will tell whether, as Israel fervently hopes, Mughniyeh's death has
gravely weakened his organisation or if the effect has merely been to harden
Hezbollah's resolve.

Taken out
The Israeli security service, Mossad, is thought to have killed six other
militants abroad since Meir Dagan became director in August 2002:
December 2002 Ramzi Nahara, Israeli agent who defected to Hezbollah and
planned attacks against Israel. Dagan knew him personally. Killed in Lebanon
by car bomb

March 2003 Abu Mohammed Al-Masri, Al-Qaeda member building cell to target
Israeli border with Lebanon. Killed by car bomb in Lebanon
August 2003 Ali Hussein Saleh, Hezbollah explosives expert. Killed by car
bomb in Beirut

July 2004 Ghaleb Awali, Hezbollah official with links to activists in Gaza
Strip. Killed by car bomb in Beirut

September 2004 Izz el-Deen al-Sheikh Khalil, Hamas official liaising between
headquarters in Syria and members in Gaza and West Bank. Killed by car bomb
in Damascus

May 2006 Mahmoud Majzoub, Islamic Jihad official liaising with Hezbollah.
Killed by car bomb blast in Lebanon

Imad Mougniyeh - Death of a Terrorist

Blogmaster Comment: If Israel did not do it, we should have. Yasher Koach to those responsible!

Imad Mougniyeh - Death of a Terrorist

13.02. 2008 http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000492.html
Original content copyright by the author Zionism & Israel Center http://zionism-israel.com
Note - portions of this are plagiarized from my article at Israel News: Death of a terrorist: Top Hezbullah terrorist Imad Mughniyeh killed in Damascus blast


Death of a "militant!"

According to Wikipedia,
Imad Fayez Mugniyah (also spelt Moughnieh) (... born December 7, 1962, killed Feb 12, 2008 was a senior member of the Hezbollah militant organization. He is alternatively described as the head of its security section, a senior intelligence official and as a founder of the organization.
So it seems that Mr. Mughnieh was a "militant" - like sufragettes and the Salvation Army. Moughniyeh believed in blowing people up and kidnapping them - that was his religion and his ideology.
Imad Mughniyeh (pronounced Mourrniyeh, spelled Moughnieh, Mugnieh...) was one of the worst "militants" (as Wikipedia calls them) to walk the face of the earth. He was responsible for involuntarilty shortening the lifespans of numerous people, including Jews in Argentina and US marines and embassy personnel in Lebanon. Israelis believe he was responsible, under the direction of Iran, for the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers that ignited the Second Lebanon war. He was perhaps involved in some way in the murder of Rafiq Hariri and other internal Lebanese political efforts.
Israeli covert operations teams have refrained from hurting Moughnieh because of his esulivesness and the fear that Hezbollah teams based in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, and elsewhere in Argentina, or Hezbollah in Lebanon, would take revenge as they took revenge for the killing of another senior Hezbollah terrorist (sorry - MILITANT) when they hit the Jewish center in Argentina.
Moughnieh has a distinguished record as a terrorist (ooops - MILITANT) He is known to have been the mastermind behind the attacks against Jewish centers in Buenos Aires in1994, as well as the kidnapping of a TWA airplane in Lebanon in 1985 and the abduction of westerners in the country during the 1980s. Moughnieh was also most likely the man behind the bombing at the American embassy in Beirut in and the attack against the Marine headquarters in Lebanon in 1983, which killed over 200 Americans, as well as kidnappings of Americans in the 80s, and more recently, the kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers that ignited the Lebanese war. He had a rich career as a "militant." The earlier "militant" activities were apparently directed by Ali Akbar Mohstashemi Pour, who was Iranian ambassador to Syria in the 80s.
Today Moughniyeh has died, or perhaps it was yesterday. It appears that someone has decided to send Moughnieh to his reward. His career was terminated in a car bomb blast, a characteristic tool of Syrian army intelligence, though others have used it. Israeli PM Ehud Olmert denied involvement in the killing of Moughiyeh. It is unlikely to have been Israel, though Hezbollah automatically blamed Israel of course. It is stretches the imagination to believe that Israel has covert operations abilities of that kind in Damascus, under the watchful eyes of the Syrian Mukhabarat (secret police) and Syrian army intelligence. If they did, they would focus on other more urgent targets such as Khaled Meshal who heads the Hamas, or Ramadan Shelah who heads the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Another report about the demise of Moughniyeh is here.
Is Israel really trying to send a message, or did the Syrian Army Intelligence decide that Moughnieh had outlived his usefulness? Perhaps he knew too much about the murder of Rafiq Hariri?
Terror groupies and humanitarians who mourn this "militant" should understant precisely who he was. From Ronen Bergman's book, "Point of No Return", 2007, pages 159 ff. in Hebrew:
"In another time and another place and with a different childhood. Imad Moughiyeh would have set up a start up," smiles "The Major." "We are talking about one of the most creative and brilliant minds I have encountered. A man of deep understanding, excellent technical grasp and leadership abilities. Unfortunately, the mix of personal and geopolitical circumstances led him to channel these excellent talents to the path of destruction and blood and to turn him into a very dangerous enemy." During a part of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s Major David Barrkai ("The Major" as Lebanese call him), who later became a senior partner in a start up, headed the the large northern base of Unit 504, the Israel Army Intelligence (AMAN) base that operated agents of AMAN, and he was in charge, inter alia, of the Moughniyeh file. Many in Israel and the world have since been involved in understanding the image of the man called "the Iranian Carlos," the most serious competitor of Osama Bin Laden for the title of most dangerous terrorist in the world. Numberless hours were spent by Barkai and his men on Moughnieh. That was, and remains, a fascinating battle of the minds, extremely sly and cruel. Despite localized victories in data collection and terror prevention by Barkai and his colleagues, Moughnieh won the war. He is still out there, working and kicking, and Israel and the United States have been unable to stop his inspired and bloody activities. On the 12 of July 2006 he began a war in the Middle East, when he stood behind the kidnapping of Israeli reserve soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. Moughnieh wis a stealth bomber. At any given time Israel had several conflicting reports about his whereabouts and activities. In London, a person connected to British intelligence admitted embarrassment, over the fact that despite the great interest that the United Kingdom has in "Mr Moughnieh," they have no idea where he is and what exactly he is planning. "The use of the terror weapon against Israel is rare and informed by consciousness of the severe political damage that could be done to Iran if its involvement is exposed," according to a secret intelligence report of the AMAN research division. "Therefore Iran generally refrains from carrying out direct terror attacks, and its involvement in carrying out these attacks is expressed in a roundabout way." That "roundabout way," according to the intelligence report, passes through Imad Moughnieh. Imad Moughnieh was born on the 12 of July 1962 in the village of Tir Daba in South Lebanon, 15 KM from Tyre.... At the end of the 70s, after dropping out of high school, Moughnieh joined the Fatah and underwent a series of trainings in guerrilla warfare. Later he joined Unit 17, the Fatah security unit, and was among the bodyguards of Salah Khalef (Abu Iyyad). In that period he conducted a totally secular lifestyle. In 1982, when the PLO was planning to evacuate Beirut, Moughniyeh and many other Shi'a, including his brothers Fuad and Jihad, to stay in Lebanon. They joined the Al Dawah organization, one of many little groups that were somewhat later sucked in to the Hezbollah. In 1983, during a wave of suicide bombings against American, French and Israeli targets that was planned by Moughnieh, he found time to marry his cousin, Saada Badr A-din. Their daughter, Fatima, was born on August 2, 1984, and their son, Mustapha, was born on January 7, 1987. As opposed to other young Hezbollah leaders like Abbas Mousawi, Subhi Toufeili or Hassan Nassrallah, Moughnieh was not a religious authority or a man with political influence. He was always though of as the operations man, the single mind behind the daring exploits of the organization. At the beginning of its road, the young organization was very much in need of the terror leadership of this man.
Ami Isseroff
Original content is Copyright by the author 2008. Posted at ZioNation-Zionism and Israel Web Log, http://www.zionism-israel.com/log/archives/00000492.html where your intelligent and constructive comments are welcome. Disributed by ZNN list. Subscribe by sending a message to ZNN-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Please forward by e-mail with this notice, cite this article and link to it. Other uses by permission only.

Rocket threat from the Gaza Strip, 2000-2007

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC) December 2007


Rocket threat from the Gaza Strip, 2000-2007

Houses in Sderot damaged by rocket fire
(Photos courtesy of the Sderot Communications Center)

1.
Overview
2.
Methodological notes
3.
Part I: The advantages and disadvantages of the use of rockets in the eyes of the Palestinian terrorist organizations
i.
Overview
ii.
Advantages
iii.
Disadvantages
iv.
Future trends
4.
Part II: The terrorist organizations' rocket launching policy
i.
General description
ii.
The Hamas Movement
iii.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
iv.
Popular Resistance Committees
v.
Fatah groups active in the Gaza Strip
vi.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
vii.
The Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
5.
Part III: Nature of the rocket threat, 2000 – 2007
i.
Scope of the attacks during the confrontation
ii.
How and from where rockets are launched
iii.
The scope of the attacks and factors influencing them
6.
Part IV: Technological aspects
i.
General description
ii.
Technological data for locally manufactured rockets
iii.
Improvement of technological capabilities
iv.
The rocket stockpiles and how they are housed
7.
Part V: The failure of the efforts to export rockets and mortar shells to the West Bank
i.
Overview
ii.
Attempts to export know-how to the West Bank
iii.
Attempts mortar and rocket attacks from the West Bank
8.
Part VI: The impact of rocket fire on the western Negev settlements
i.
Israeli settlements drawing the most fire
ii.
Casualties caused by rocket fire
iii.
The long-term influence of the rocket fire on Sderot residents
iv.
Property damage done by rocket fire
9.
Part VII: Mortar shell fire from the Gaza Strip
i.
Overview
ii.
Mortar shell fire during the confrontation, 2001-2007
iii.
The technical-tactical aspects of using mortars
iv.
Casualties caused by mortar fire
10.
Digital appendix: Rocket manufacture and fire as reported by the Arab and terrorist organization media 1

Overview

1. The main objective of this study is to analyze the terrorist organizations' use of rocket and mortar shell fire between 2000 and 2007, the years of the terrorist campaign initiated by the Palestinians (called the Al-Aqsa intifada). The study examines the extent of the fire, the policies employed by the various organizations, the factors influencing those policies, trends of escalation or lulls in the attacks, the impact on the residents of the western Negev settlements.

2. Rocket fire began in 2001 2 and during the confrontation gradually became one of primary threats coming from the Palestinian terrorist organizations. As of the end of November 2007, there has been a total of 2,383 identified rocket hits in and around the western Negev settlements, with the southern city of Sderot as a priority and drawing 45% of the rockets which landed on inhabited areas.

3. For the Palestinian terrorist organizations, rockets and mortars serve as an asymmetric response to Israel 's military superiority. They are simple, available and cheap. That response, from their point of view, even though there are problems and disadvantages, allows them to disrupt the life and rend the social fabric of the civilian population living with range, to bypass the security fence Israel constructed in the Gaza Strip and to create a kind of balance of terror to hamper the Israeli security forces' counterterrorist activities. That strategic conception was primarily inspired by Hezbollah's Lebanese model , which was regarded as successful before the Israeli withdrawal from the security zone and during the second Lebanon war. Syria and Iran support the terrorist organizations' efforts to copy the Lebanese model in the Palestinian Authority with know-how, training and the purchase of standard rockets.

4. Since 2001 rocket fire has been directly responsible for the deaths of ten Israeli civilians , nine of them Sderot residents. In addition, 433 individuals have been wounded, 3 the overwhelming majority of them civilians, and during the past year and a half more than 1,600 instances of stress were reported. Mortar fire has been responsible for the deaths of ten individuals, eight civilians and two IDF soldiers . Of the 150 wounded, 80 were civilians and 70 soldiers.

5. The damage to the civilian populace is not only measured statistically in terms of the number killed and wounded or the extent of property damage . The continued attacks have an accumulated psychological impact on the population and destroy the sense of security previously had by more than 190,000 people, who now live under the potential threat of daily rocket and mortar shell attacks . They also disrupt the routine of daily life in all the western Negev settlements, cause residents to move away (especially from Sderot), and expose the political echelons and the IDF to harsh criticism. The continuing fire hampers efforts to advance a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians by creating a situation of constant rocket fire and constant Israelis countermeasures.

6. In addition, between 2001 and November 2007, more than 2,500 mortar shells were fired . Their short range made them effective before the disengagement, especially when they were aimed at the IDF forces which operated in the Gaza Strip and at the Israeli settlements there. In the absence of Israeli targets after the disengagement there was a sharp decrease in the number of rockets fired . However, since April 2007 the terrorist organizations have begun to make greater use of mortar shells , especially Hamas, which does not directly participate in rocket fire. In recent months the fire has been aimed at IDF forces operating in the Gaza Strip and along the security fence, at the crossings (especially Kerem Shalom) and at the Israeli settlements close to the security fence, such as Netiv Ha'asara, Kibbutz Kerem Shalom and Kibbutz Nahal Oz .

7. This study concentrated all the data and examined the Palestinian terrorist organization policy of rocket and mortar fire, beginning when confrontation started in 2000 and going through October 2007. An examination of the following graph shows the number of attacks gradually grew (2001-2004) until the disengagement (2005), when there was a temporary drop. However, in the two following years (2006-2007) there was a sharp increase and rockets became the main weapons in the hands of the Palestinian terrorist organizations.

Annual distribution of rocket fire 4

8. The Palestinian rocket attacks, both policies and scope , are influenced by their technological capabilities, ideologies, internal considerations within the organizations and among the Palestinians, Israeli counterterrorist activities, developments in Israel and developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general. The main factors influencing the policy are:

1) As an asymmetric weapon, rockets provide the Palestinian terrorist organizations with a response to Israel 's military superiority . They are easy to manufacture, their components are cheap and readily available, and it is simple to transport and operate them. Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip easily use the technology for producing large quantities of rockets, which give them the ability to attack the Israel populace in the western Negev without the IDF's having an effective response. On the other hand, they face operational difficulties when they attempt to carry out other, more difficult types of attacks from the Gaza Strip, mainly attempts to infiltrate into Israel to carry out suicide bombing attacks, shootings and abductions.
2) The strengthening of Hamas' grip on the Gaza Strip since the disengagement (August 2005) :

A) Following the disengagement, Hamas' grip on the security and politics of the Gaza Strip was strengthened at the expense of Fatah and the security services under Abu Mazen's control. Within the territorial space controlled by Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organizations found it easy to expand their technological facilities for manufacturing rockets, smuggle in standard rockets from Egypt and make intensive use of rockets as weapons against Israel .
B) However, because of political considerations which will be discussed below, Hamas does not directly participate in rocket launches for extended periods of time, but rather grants the other organizations, especially the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, considerable freedom of action. That enabled the terrorist organizations to increase the scope of their rocket attacks significantly in 2006 and 2007 and to train their sights on new Israeli settlements (primarily the large city of Ashqelon ). When Hamas does decide to join directly in the shooting, the range of settlements affected is liable to be much greater because of the organization's potential and technical capabilities.

3) Internal Palestinian political developments and the relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority :

A) Internal Palestinian developments among the terrorist organizations, between the terrorist organizations and the PA and between the PA and Israel all greatly influence the rocket fire policies of the various terrorist organizations, especially Hamas . As a result their rocket-launching policies sometimes had a moderating influence and sometimes led to escalation, sometimes long-term , sometimes short-term . Temporary cessations of rocket fire are exploited for rearming, training and smuggling standard rockets into the Gaza Strip for use in the future.
B) Many examples which illustrate the influence of internal Palestinian relations and Palestinian-Israeli relations on Hamas' rocket fire policies are contained in this study . For example:

i.After Arafat died in November 2004, there was a lull in the fighting resulting in a temporary decrease in the amount of rocket fire.

ii. In September 2006, Hamas stopped firing rockets after a lethal “work accident” resulted in hostile internal criticism.

iii. Since the Palestinian Legislative Council elections on January 25, 2006 and the establishment of the Hamas government in March 2006, for long periods of time Hamas has preferred not to participate directly in rocket fire.

iv. The cease fire agreed upon by the Israeli prime minister and the PA chairman on November 26, 2006, brought about a reduction in rocket fire, but did not end it.

v. The worsening of the battles between Fatah and Hamas in May 2007 made Hamas initiate a massive rocket attack unprecedented in scope.

vi. Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007, it has not directly participated in rocket fire because its priority is to strengthen its grip over the Strip.

C) Events and developments in Israel : Several times events and developments in Israel resulted in a change in the scope of rocket fire for short periods of time. For example:

i. In August 2005 during the disengagement there was a decrease so as not to hamper the Israelis from leaving.

ii. In September 2005, after the disengagement, there was a significant increase.

iii. On March 28, 2006, election day for the 17 th Knesset, the first 122 mm Grad rocket was fired at Ashqelon, which has been the object of rocket attacks ever since.

iv. In early September 2007, a barrage of rockets was fired at Sderot, coinciding with the beginning of the school year.

9. The operational and technological trends clearly showed that the rockets have not begun to scratch the surface of the impact they can have on Israel . In the coming years the terrorist organizations can be expected to continue their efforts to introduce technological improvements which are liable to increase rocket ranges, the amount of explosives the warheads can carry and their degree of accuracy (following the Hezbollah model in Lebanon). There may be much more rocket fire, both as technological developments extend the rockets' shelf life and because following political developments, Hamas may join the organizations launching rockets. At the same time, there may be an increase in the organizations' arsenals of standard rockets which have a range of more than 20 kilometers (more than 12 miles ), which would enable them to attack more settlements.

10. The variety of military and civilian actions taken by Israel during the years of the confrontation hampered the rocket fire, prevented several attempted launches and reduced the number of casualties. However, to date Israel has not found an appropriate response to the rocket threat which has grown alarmingly during the past two years, and which today is the terrorist organizations' main threat against Israel .

Israeli settlements within range of rocket fire 5

Methodological notes

11. This study collected and analyzed the information about rocket and mortar shell fire in the seven years of the current conflict (2000-2007). As it was being prepared it became clear that the Israeli defense establishment uses different statistical methods to define the data. As a result some of the statistics are different because of methodological differences in tracking rocket and mortar shell fire.

12. In this study we used rocket and mortar shell fire data based on the Operational Division of the IDF General Staff. Rocket or mortar shell fire is defined in the study as an event, during which a launch is tracked and the hit is clearly identified as falling in Israeli territory (or close to an IDF force, or an Israeli settlement in the Gaza Strip before the disengagement). It is also defined as an event during which a launch from the Gaza Strip is tracked and an explosion is heard, even if the location of the hit is not clearly identified. Regarding our statistics, it should be taken into account that the actual number of rockets launched may be at least 20% greater than the number of hits identified. Rocket fire and mortar shell fire data were separated because in our assessment the two are different in nature and each Palestinian terrorist organization has its own policies regarding them.

13. Monitoring information provided by the media about the Palestinian terrorist organizations' claims of responsibility for the rocket and/or mortar shell fire showed that in certain instances the organizations claim many more fired than those located in Israeli territory . In our assessment, there are two factors behind the disparity: one, many of the launchings were in fact carried out but did not reach Israel and the rockets/mortar shells fell either in the Gaza Strip itself or in the sea; two, often the reports issued by the terrorist organizations are unreliable. For example, often several organizations claim responsibility for the same event. Therefore, although this study also used statements made by the terrorist organizations, they were not considered a reliable source.

14. The data in this study update and replace those which appeared in the past in Information Bulletins issued by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center .

15. Sources : This study is based on information received from the Operational Division of the IDF General Staff, military intelligence and other Israeli security sources. Use was also made of the Arab and terrorist organization media, and previous ITIC publications. It is accompanied by a digital appendix of videos broadcast on television, dealing with the manufacture and launching of rockets.

The examination of the data and the analysis of the terrorist organizations' policies was carried out by the researchers of the ITIC. Therefore, the opinions and conclusions presented in this study represent only the ITIC.

The full English translation of the study will be issued in the coming days
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 Based on films shown of Al-Arabiya TV, Al-Aqsa TV, Al-Jazeera TV and the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Websites.

2 The official Hamas announcement of the firing of a Qassam 1 rocket at Sderot was made on November 1, 2001. It had been fired a few days previously.

3 As of October 2007.

4 As of the end of November 2007.

5 The ranges were calculated from the launching areas in Gaza Strip and not from the security fence. 122 mm rockets with a range of 20.4 kilometers were used only a few time.

Pollard Situation Heating Up on Both Sides - U.S. AMBASSADOR AN IDIOT!

U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL SHOULD BE RECALLED
AND FIRED! B'nai Elim Blogmaster

Jones Video Adds Fuel to Pollard Fire

12 Sivan 5767, 29 May 07 10:52

by Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) With the publication of a video of US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones' remarks against Jonathan Pollard, calls increase for a retraction and correction - and for clemency for Pollard.

The Justice for Jonathan Pollard (J4JP) organization has circulated a video link at which Ambassador Richard Jones can be seen and heard making his infamous remarks about Pollard. Speaking last week at a Bar Ilan University conference on US-Israeli relations, Jones said twice that Pollard committed treason against the United States. He added bitingly that "it came out clearly in the trial that Jonathan Pollard took money" and that he "sold out" his country.

While J4JP easily and quickly rebutted these claims, other accusations by Jones were less widely publicized. He implied that the American people were punishing Israel itself when he said, "I know he was doing this [spying] for a friend [Israel - ed.], but that's what makes this even more emotional for Americans - that a friend would cooperate in aiding and abetting someone who is committing treason against his own country."

Jones's final biting comment, coming in the context of the above remark, was the most explosive of all: "The fact that he wasn't executed is the mercy that Jonathan Pollard will receive." The double implication that Pollard deserved to be put to death, even though he was convicted on only one count of passing classified information to a friendly nation, and that he would never be freed, had Pollard supporters up in arms and demanding an apology.

The pressure was apparently strong enough to elicit an apology within a matter of hours. Jones said his remarks were "misinformed and misleading," and "did not reflect my personal views nor those of the Bush Administration."

Apology not Accepted by All
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations welcomed the apology the next day. Though it reiterated its call for Pollard's quick release, the organization said, “We accept Ambassador Jones’ explanation and retraction and believe that it puts this matter to rest."

Other groups, however, were less willing to bury the issue. Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, wrote, "I believe the case cannot be closed. The apology, as is, is still missing a correction of Jones' comments. His facts were wrong [and] he needs to admit that... We must demand a full retraction, correction and perhaps an official inquiry into the sources of his information, the source of his directive to respond with such lies, etc."

Click here to hear Rabbi Lerner speaking with IsraelNationalRadio's Alex Traiman.

J4JP noted that though Jones apologized for daring to say that the US had shown mercy in not executing Jonathan - who never faced anything near a death penalty - he "did not apologize for falsely accusing him of treason or of having taken money. These false charges are soundly contradicted by Jonathan's indictment and by his sentencing transcript, and most important of all by Israel's formal recognition of him as her agent."

Some in the Israeli press, too, were unhappy with the apology - and with Israel's lukewarm response. Two major Israeli dailies, Yediot Acharonot and Haaretz, ran strikingly similar editorials saying that if Israel were "self-respecting" [Haaretz] or "well administered" [Yediot], it would have summoned Jones to the Foreign Ministry and demanded a clarification of his statements.

"It's difficult to accept or understand the American lust for revenge when it comes to Pollard," wrote Yossi Melman of Haaretz. "There's something irrational about it. Jones's remarks were rude and bereft of diplomatic tact, reflecting this American pathology that aspires to keep Pollard from ever being pardoned. Even though Jones has apologized, he deserves to be denounced. By essentially ignoring his comments, Israel is adding insult to the injury it has already done Pollard."

Chief Rabbi Metzger Takes up the Cause in the US
Israel's Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, currently on a short visit to the New York Jewish communities of Jamaica Estates and Great Neck, is making the most of the recent developments to ask American Jewry to redouble their efforts to work for Pollard's release. The rabbi said today that after he visited Pollard in prison over two years ago, he wrote a letter to US President Bush asking for clemency - and had it signed by every living past and present Israeli chief rabbi.

"I planned to give it by hand to the President," Rabbi Metzger said, "but we received a message that it would be better not to bring it because the subject was too [sensitive] - and so I gave it to the US Ambassador, and he promised that he would give it to the President, but as of now, I have not yet received an answer... We have only two ways to act: Jews all over the world must put a lot of pressure on President Bush as his term draws to a close, and we must pray to G-d that He will save Jonathan's life and rescue him."

Pollard's wife Esther, speaking on the Knesset television channel last week, said that Prime Minister Olmert could capitalize on the situation and make up for past government inaction by raising the matter quietly with President Bush and asking for the release of Pollard as an Israeli agent.

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ISRAEL - AMERICA'S SECRET EMEMY

Pollard's Unforgivable Sin

12 Sivan 5767, 29 May 07 10:16

by Ted Belman

(IsraelNN.com) Jonathan Pollard - sentenced to life in a US federal penitentiary - committed an unforgivable sin. He unmasked US foreign policy.

In a recent post on the American Ambassador to Israel saying that the US was merciful in not executing Pollard, there was a link to a post by Robert Olive and a rebuttal. The rebuttal quoted from a court filing that described the damage Pollard caused to the US. It is very instructive:

"Mr. Pollard's unauthorized disclosures have threatened the US [sic] relations with numerous Middle East Arab allies, many of whom question the extent to which Mr. Pollard's disclosures of classified information have skewed the balance of power in the Middle East."

This is unbelievable; yet, it is believable.

In other words, the US didn't want anyone to know the true relationship between the US and its Arab allies. It suggests that the public face it puts on these relationships have nothing to do with reality. This is a matter of utmost importance to both the US and the Arabs. It also suggests that the US knew of Arab plans that were detrimental to Israel and the US was not willing to tell Israel about them.

"Moreover, because Mr. Pollard provided the Israelis virtually any classified document requested by Mr. Pollard's co-conspirators, the US has been deprived of the quid pro quo routinely received during authorized and official intelligence exchanges with Israel, and Israel has received information classified at a level far in excess of that ever contemplated by the National Security Council. The obvious result of Mr. Pollard's largess is that US bargaining leverage with the Israeli government in any further intelligence exchanges has been undermined."

The fact that the US, as a result of Pollard's actions, had fewer bargaining chips is of minor importance. Israel shares most of its intelligence without a specific quid pro quo. But this sentence supports the argument that the US has many secrets that it does not share with Israel. Why does the US keep Israel, ostensibly a friend and ally, in the dark? The US has no need for "bargaining leverage," but it does have a need to not share with Israel the many things it does which are not in Israel's favour.

Thus, Pollard unmasked US policy. This, the US cannot forgive Pollard for.

"In short, Mr. Pollard's activities have adversely affected US relations with both its Middle East Arab allies and the government of Israel."

This sums it up. Pollard made Israel stronger because Israel had a clearer understanding of the true US-Arab relationship, and Arab intentions and plans.

The way I see it, the magnitude of Pollard's sentence reflects the magnitude of the American secrets. One must conclude that the US was duplicitous. It worked to shrink Israel while posturing as its friend.

So, in effect, Pollard was spying for an enemy, Israel, rather than for a friend. His life sentence proves it. I wonder if the US is being so hard-nosed about it in order to please the Saudis?

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