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Israeli Lt. Col Dismissed for Striking Pro-Palestinian Demonstrator

April 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

The Israeli military has announced that it has dismissed one of its senior officers after a video surfaced of the soldier striking at a protestor with his rifle. The decision made by Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz was motivated by what was deemed as “moral failure” by the officer.

The incident occurred in the Jordan Valley where several pro-Palestinian activists joined for a protest bicycle ride. The planned route was barricaded by Israeli soldiers who told the protestors to turn back. Some words were exchanged and one of the soldiers, identified as Lieutenant Colonel Shalom Eisner, suddenly swung the stalk of his M-16 rifle into the face of a protestor.

The activist at the receiving end of Lt Col Eisner’s rifle was identified as a Danish national who was treated and released from a hospital with minor injuries. The video did not show signs of Lt Col Eisner being provoked in any way, and the Israeli military has announced his suspension while an investigation is being conducted.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned Lt Col Eisner’s actions and stressed that it was an isolated incident and not a reflection of the core values of the Israeli Defense Force.

This is just one of two incidents that drew the ire of pro-Palestinian activists. The event followed a separate situation in which 79 protestors were barred from being admitted on board to a flight headed to Israel. The activists intended to fly to the country for a week-long seminar called “Welcome to Palestine 2012.” Similar seminars have been held in the past that addressed the control of Palestinian borders by Israel.

Soldiers were deployed at Ben Guiron airport to quell protestors from becoming unruly amid the news that they would not be permitted to board the flight headed for Tel Aviv. In addition, Israel also sent a manifest of names to European airports and requested for them to revoke the tickets of those on the list.

Ntenyahu condemned the activists for its outcry over Palestinian treatment by Israel, yet ignoring the human rights abuse taking place in Syria.

Mount Dov: IDF Soldiers Rescue Calf

March 26, 2012 / / 0 Comments

During routine training at the foot of Mount Dov, soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps and the Givati Brigade came across a calf trapped in a three meters deep cement ditch within the compass of the shooting range. The training was stopped and the soldiers stepped up to rescue the animal.

A heavy wait visitor was seen earlier this week within the 769 Brigade’s shooting range area, near Mount Dov, close to the Lebanon border. A mature calf, most likely lost and separated from its herd, entered the shooting range and fell down a three meters deep cement ditch.

Soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps in the middle of a shooting training suddenly notice the animal’s distress while passing by the ditch at noon. “At first, I received reports from my soldiers of a live cow that has survived the fall down the ditch in the shooting range and is now trapped” says Junior Lieutenant Amit Segal from the 769 Brigade.
Segal mentions that it was decided to cease the training and the shooting and attempt to assist the animal. “There are several cattle herds nearby and we decided contacting the owners in order for them to check the state of the animal” says Segal. “The calf somehow managed to avoid physical damage from the fall, but run all over the ditch unsuccessfully trying to escape. The soldiers fed it grass until the owners arrived”.

Soldiers from the engineering brigade, soldiers from the Rotem battalion of the Givati Brigade and soldiers from the769 Brigade all came to the animal’s rescue. The calf’s owner arrived along with his worker, who went down the ditch and roped the calf.

A group of 12 soldiers began tugging the calf “we started tugging but after a short while, one of the ropes tore under the weight and we had to lower the calf back to the ditch and try again with a different rope”. The combined efforts paid off and the calf was rescued unharmed. “Once we had rescued it, it began chasing us. We had to chase it out of the area in order to resume the training and keep it safe”, Segal wraps the successful rescue.

The Real Way to Get The Haredi Community Drafted to IDF

March 14, 2012 / / 0 Comments

As long as there is no Halakha law that allows Haredi Israelis to join IDF we won’t see it happen. The way to get the Haredi community drafted to IDF is not by state law, it requires a perceptual change.

The issue of Haredi Israelis not getting drafted to study Torah, or evading the army as the secular public refers to it, has been a hot topic within Israel for more than a decade. It comes down to, as disagreements tend to be, to different points of view that create a collision and amount to resentment, distance, misunderstanding and especially no results.

Most non Haredi (i.e. religious, traditional, secular and all the wide range of Jewish communities within Israel) will say the Arabic threat is so acute, present and immediate that joining IDF, protecting Israel by military force is the biggest and most meaningful service one should complete. In fact, a large percent of people from these non Haredi communities consider being a soldier in IDF a national duty and support the mandatory drafting in Israel.

According to Haredi belief the Jewish people must learn Torah at all times, if not – the world will come to its end. The phenomena of studding Torah instead of providing ones family, paying taxes or serve the army is actually legitimate among the Haredi community; according to an ancient packet, still valid by Haredi law, between the tribe of Zebulun and the tribe of Issachar, a mutual symbiosis is suppose to be between those who study Torah and those who provide for them.

As Haredi Israelis do not consider the state of Israel as an authority, the Tal’s law will not be efficient in any way. As long as there is no Halakha Law that orders Haredi Israelis to join the army, no Haredi will dare to do so. A change in Halakha orders will only be achieved by a groundbreaking change in the rigid stands taken by the different sides. As do most disagreements, this issue requires a new kind of dialog, being conveyed through a common language between the different points of view.

IDF preparing to take in Syrian refugees

January 15, 2012 / / 0 Comments

The IDF is preparing for a possible flood of Syrian refugees following the potential fall of President Bashar Assad, Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Tuesday.

Speaking at the Knesset’s Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, the army chief said that members of Assad’s Alawite sect are expected to seek shelter in Israel should the Syrian leader, an Alawite himself, be removed from power.

“The day the Assad regime falls, this is expected to hurt the Alawite sect,” Army Chief Gantz said. “We are preparing to take in Alawite refugees on the Golan Heights.”

Addressing other possible implications of the Syrian upheaval, the chief of staff added that Israel fears that weapons could make their way from Syria to Lebanon. “We must monitor the process,” Gantz said.

Turning his attention to Iran, the army chief said that 2012 is expected to be a “critical year in the meeting place between ongoing nuclear efforts, the domestic changes in Iran’s leadership, increasing pressure from the international community, and things that are happening there unnaturally.”

Meanwhile, President Assad delivered a two-hour speech Monday, charging that foreign elements are aiming to topple his rule. The Syrian president claimed that a “foreign conspiracy” was causing the unrest in his country but was failing. The civil unrest in Syria was a test of the country’s national resilience, he added: “Outside forces did not find a foothold in the revolution that they had hoped for… Nobody is deceived anymore.”

He further claimed that it was his idea to send observers to Syria “to find out the truth… Syria will not close doors to Arab solutions,” he continued, as long as “they respect Syria’s sovereignty.” The Syrian leader also rejected Western and human rights groups’ claims about the violence in his country, insisting that he did not order troops to direct live fire at innocent civilians, “unless it’s a case of self-defense.”

West Side Story

August 31, 2011 / / 0 Comments

It could be a brawl.
It could be worse.
Some may fall,
On this disputed turf…

During an upcoming militia to militia melee of sub-government warfare like the Bloods and the Crips or the Red Sox and the Yankees.

The IDF is arming and training settlers in preparation for attacks by Palestinians that will likely take place around the time the UN is asked to recognize a Palestinian state.

Stun grenades and teargas are being distributed and training sessions held with settlement security teams.

The IDF has also drawn lines on maps around Jewish settlements close to villages of Palestinians to guide troops, police and settlement security chiefs. Palestinian Protesters who cross the first line will be subject to teargas and other means of crowd dispersal. If a second “red line” is breached, soldiers are ordered to open fire at protesters’ legs.

The IDF confirmed that it was working with settlers over Operation Summer Seeds, its codename for the exercise. Palestinian leaders deny that violent protests are in the works and Ehud Barak says he expects September to pass quietly.

The IDF released a statement to OneJerusalem.com saying:

“The IDF maintains an ongoing, professional dialogue with the community leadership and security personnel throughout Judea and Samaria [the West Bank] while devoting great efforts to training local forces and preparing them to deal with any possible scenario…Recently, central command has completed training the majority of the first response teams; these exercises are ongoing. Beyond the aforementioned training, the IDF cannot comment further regarding its operational preparedness.”

According to the guardian, the IDF has stockpiled some 200,000 litres of foul-smelling liquid to be fired out of water cannon at protesters, or perhaps dropped from planes; this is with supplies of stun grenades, rubber bullets and riot gear.

According to an IDF document leaked to Haaretz, the Jewish country is expecting:

“…marches towards main junctions, Israeli communities and education centres; efforts at damaging symbols of [Israeli] government. Also there may be more extreme cases like shooting from within the demonstrations or even terrorist incidents. In all the scenarios, there is readiness to deal with incidents near the fences and the borders of the state of Israel.”

Mahmoud Abbas is calling for peaceful demonstrations in September to cheer on the Palestinians’ UN statehood bid, like cheerleaders at a college football game. He said, “I insist on popular resistance and I insist that it be unarmed popular resistance so that nobody misunderstands us…”

And speaking of protesters:

A Jewish activist who protested during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to the U.S. Congress is suing four security guards whom she says attacked her.
Rachel Abileah of El Grenada, California the Middle East Coordinator for CODEPINK, has filed a lawsuit in the District of Columbia’s Superior Court against the four unnamed people for $500,000 in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages for assault, battery and false imprisonment.
Abileah, an American/Israeli stood up in the House Gallery during the May 24 speech and opened a banner which said “Occupying Land is Indefensible” and shouted, “No more occupation. Stop Israeli war crimes! Equal rights for Palestinians!”

Candle in the Wind

July 15, 2011 / / 0 Comments

On Sunday, the final witness, then-commanding officer in the region, Colonel Pinhas Zuaretz, was heard in the trial surrounding the death of poor Rachel Corrie, crushed by an IDF bulldozer in 2003, Aza.

Corrie, a 23-year-old pro-Palestinian activist from Seattle, Washington, was killed when she stood in front of the bulldozer on the Egypt border.

When the IDF cleared the soldier who crushed Rachel, claiming it was an accident, Corrie’s parents filed a civil suit against the army in 2005.

The trial opened in 2010 with 15 hearings and 22 witnesses. The verdict will be announced April 23, 2012.

Corrie was a member of the pro-Palestinian group, the International Solidarity Movement, different than the Muslim Brotherhood, members enter conflict zones in spite of Israeli bans and attempt to interfere with military activity.

While in the strip, Rachel sent a series of e-mails to her mother, four of which were later published by The Guardian and in January 2008 in a book called Let Me Stand Alone by W. W. Norton & Company.

A dramatic play was also based on her letters called, My Name is Rachel Corrie.

The Hope for Gaza

June 25, 2011 / / 1 Comment

The IDF has permitted Gaza to receive the entry of construction material for two housing projects and 18 new schools. Starting last June, Israel cautiously permitted the entry of construction materials for 150 different projects in the Gaza Strip; this includes water and infrastructure projects as well as 42 United National Relief and Works Agency schools.

Chana Ya’ar of Israel National News indicated that:

“Until recently, materials such as cement, gravel and metals were on the “no go” list for import into Gaza due to the potential use by Hamas and other terrorist groups in the manufacture of weapons and the construction of smuggler tunnels and military bunkers.”

Meanwhile, according to Jerusalem Post:

“In related news, Israel Radio said that Israel was continuing its attempts to determine where the kidnapped Schalit was being held in the Gaza strip, sending out text messages offering $10 million for any information on the whereabouts of the hidden soldier.”

The article continues:

“An Egyptian source denied any progress in the prisoner swap deal between Hamas and Israel in regards to kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit who enters his sixth year in captivity this week, London-based al Hayat reported Wednesday. The source also told al Hayat that he had received a letter from Hamas with a message for Israel saying the Gazan group was willing to restart negotiations and even reduce the number of prisoners Hamas demands be freed in exchange for Schalit.”

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

November 2, 2010 / / 0 Comments

While the PA attempts to convince the world that they are ready for skyscrapers, country clubs and an Imax theatre, Egypt will host a set of negotiations between Fatah and Hamas leaders to determine a solution to the ugly, ever-widening schism between them.

Previously, the meeting was to be held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on October 20th. However, the scheduled timing was delayed due to Hamas’ rejection of a Fatah request to hold the negotiations in a different Arab country.

Meanwhile in Gaza, citizens suffer from a lack of electricity, casting much of the strip into a daily eight-hour blackout.

“The lack of electricity is largely due to a protracted disagreement between Gaza’s Hamas government and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank over who will pay the territory’s electricity bill, estimated at more than 80 million shekels ($21 million) each month.”

Reported Liam Stack of the Christian Science Monitor,

“Both Hamas and Fatah accuse each other of corruption and of mishandling tax revenue and international aid, all to the detriment of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents.”

Meanwhile, senior Hamas official, Ismail Haniyeh has compromised Sharia Law which he holds his people to under pains of imprisonment and worse. He has crept into the Hamas whiskey supply and taken to the mega-phone, assuring that there is no de facto war against Israel brewing:

“I don’t think that there is a war knocking at our doors because the Israeli enemy was taught a great lesson…”

He is referring to Operation Cast Lead of 2009, in which the IDF killed at least 1,400 Palestinians as a response to a constant rain of rocket attacks on Israel and the still-missing soldier, abducted in 2006, Gilad Shalit.

In a recent interview with Ynet, IDF commander Eyal Eisenberg warned that the next war on Gaza would be “more painful, complex, and powerful.”

Can Peace Really Be Just a Stone’s Throw Away?

September 12, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Last Sunday marked the 38th anniversary of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Olympic games in Munich, Germany. On September 5th, 1972, PLO terrorists slaughtered the young men after a botched rescue attempt by German commandos.

The victims’ names: Mark Slavin, David Berger, Kahat Shore, Eliezer Halfin, Andrey Shpitzer, Yosef Guttfreund, Zev Friedman, Amitzur Shapira, Moshe Weinberg, Yosef Romano and Yacov Springer are now immortalized in a big budget, 2005 motion picture by American film director, Steven Spielberg, appropriately called, “Munich.”

Meanwhile, disgruntled Islamists fired at a vehicle carrying Israeli Border Police on Monday, near the Arab town of Kalansawa, actually located in central Israel. Two of the policemen were wounded and taken to Kfar Saba’s Meir Hospital where they recovered.

On Sunday, a two-year-old baby was wounded slightly when Arabs hurled rocks at a car driving in Halhoul, north of Hevron. The child was evacuated to Shaarei Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem.

Last Thursday, a 12-year-old girl from Har Bracha was wounded in a rock-throwing ambush near Ariel. On Friday she underwent head surgery at the Schneider Children’s Hospital in Petach Tikva. She is currently in the Intensive Care Unit.

And last week, two days after Hamas shooters opened fire at a car near Kiryat Arba killing four Israeli civilians, more shots were fired at a vehicle traveling in the area between the settlement Kochav Yaakov and Rimonim Junction, wounding two more Israeli civilians, also in the West Bank last Wednesday.

According to the IDF Twitter feed on September 3:

“30 rioters in Bi’lin hurled rocks @ security forces who responded using riot dispersal means and 50 rioters gathered in Ni’lin hurled rocks @ security forces + burning tires @ the security fence.”

Because of these incidents, the United States has temporarily banned its diplomats from traveling to the West Bank and even Jerusalem’s Old City.

Also, overnight Monday, in response to the West Bank terrorist aggression, the Israel Air Force struck a terror tunnel and two smuggling tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip. The terror tunnel was being used for infiltration into Israel and executing terror attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians such as the occurrences in the West Bank.

Free Free Palestine

According to Ha’aretz, a U.S.-based pro-Palestinian organization is planning to fly a plane-load of aid to Gaza, in defiance of the Israeli blockade. The flight was originally scheduled for this coming spring.

The California-based Free Palestine Movement which is sponsoring the flight has been linked to the IHH, which sent the floatillas from Turkey in May.

Obviously it would be challenging at best for Israeli forces to intercept an airplane without causing casualties.

Anyway, despite the blockade, according to the IDF Twitter feed on September 1st:

“336 truckloads of food, fuel & gas [legally] entered the Gaza Strip yesterday (112 via Karni + 224 via the Kerem Shalom Crossing).”

For the record, More than 100 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israeli territory since the beginning of 2010, and over 400 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel since the end of Operation Cast Lead.

Israeli Protest In Front Of The Turkish Embassy Tonight

June 3, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Following recent events at sea, and especially Turkey’s reaction to these events, many Israeli groups are coming together in protest against the attacks on the IDF and its conduct.

One such demonstration is set to take place tonight in front of the Turkish Embassy in Tel-Aviv, for those intersted details in Hebrew are below.


הערב יום חמישי 3/6/2010 19.00

רח’ הירקון 202 ת”א , שגרירות טורקיה


ההפגנה מיועדת לכל מי שחפץ להגיע בכדי לתמוך בצה”ל ההפגנה בשיתוף מלא עם אוהדי בית”ר שיגיעו בהמוניהם בכדי לתמוך בצה”ל במדינה, ובכדי למחות כנגד התנהלות חברי כנסת מסויימים וכמו כן נגד מדינות שבלשון המעטה לא עושות טוב עם מדינת ישראל, ההפגנה לא רק של אוהדי בית”ר, ההפגנה הזאת מיועדת לכל מי שמעוניין להגיע לתמוך בחיילי צה”ל.
ולהגיד לממשלת טורקיה ולארדואן התככן – עד כאן

ההפגנה אומנם אורגנה ×¢”×™ אירגוני אוהדי בית”ר ירושלים-אך נועדה לכל עם ישראל

בואו, העבירו לכל אדם, הגיעו! לא לשכוח להגיע עם צעיפים ודגלי ישראל

יום חמישי, שעה 19:00, ת”א רח’ הירקון 202 , מול שגרירות טורקיה

צו 8 לכולם


אם אינך יכול להגיע לתל אביב – הפגנות תמיכה מתקיימות בכל הצמתים ברחבי הארץ

בימים אלו תלו דגל ישראל על הרכב ובחלונות הבית

אוטובוס
מתל-אביב,תחנה מרכזית חדשה לרחוב הירקון

קו 174 אגד , 06:26 06:35; 06:37; מ06:50 עד 06:56 כל 2 דקות; 07:12; 07:17; 07:19; 07:20; 07:34; 07:35; קו 175 אגד , 06:58 07:18; 08:23;


כולם מוזמנים להצטרף (כולל אוהדי קבוצות אחרות), כי זו המדינה שלנו
והלוחמים הם מיטב בנינו ואחינו

ביום הזה שמים הכל בצד כי יש דבר אחד חשוב

“אין לנו ארץ אחרת”

כל מי שחיילי צה”ל חשובים לו, כל מי שהמדינה היקרה לליבו , שיגיע לתמוך


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
נא הכינו שלטים ,הביאו כל דבר שיכול לעזור
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

נא להישמע להנחיות השוטרים ולהימנע מלהתעמת עם אחינו

**********************************************************
כל הירושלמים שבאים בואו לתחנה מרכזית ב4 ניסע יחד כולנו לתחנה מרכזית בתל
אביב ומשם להפגנה

**********************************************************

חברים יקרים מי שיכול להכין שלטים נודה לו מאוד למרות שכולנו נכין ונתרום אבל
מי שיכול ספציפית עם הסיסמאות הבאות זה יהיה מעולה

“Avrupa Birligine kabulde iyi sandor teror yandaslari!!”
it means: “good luck with the Europian Union, terror supporters”
“Erdo?an Kan senin Ellerinde!!” (emphesize “Kan”)
it means: “Erduan, the blood is on your hands!!”

עם ישראל מחזק את ידי חיילי צה”ל

Capability: Dealing With Iran

May 17, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Deputy Prime Minister and former IDF chief of staff, Moshe Ya’alon has declared that Israel has the technological capability to make a military strike on Iran.

In an address at a conference on air power at the Fisher Institute for Air & Space Strategic Studies, Ya’alon said that Israel’s experience in carrying out air strikes, such as Iraq’s nuclear reactor Osirak in 1981 and Syria in 2007 could feasibly, even easily be applied to the distantly located Iranian regime.

“There is no doubt that the technological capabilities, which improved in recent years, have improved range and aerial refueling capabilities, and have brought about a massive improvement in the accuracy or ordnance and intelligence…This capability can be used for a war on terror in Gaza, for a war in the face of rockets from Lebanon, for war on the conventional Syrian army, and also for war on a peripheral state like Iran.”

Ya’alon posited air strikes to “decapitate or blind” an enemy by targeting its early-warning defenses or even its leadership:

“As far as I’m concerned, attack remains the best form of defense.”

Israel views herself at a de facto war with Iran as a result of its sponsorship of Hezbollah and Hamas:

“There is no doubt, looking at the overall situation, that we are already in a military confrontation with Iran…Iran is the main motivator of those attacking us.”

Wanted: Soldiers

March 9, 2010 / / 0 Comments

‘Demographic challenges” are leaving the IDF with fewer soldiers than it needs to defend the country against its threats, forcing the state to take a strong stance against draft-dodging.
Brig.-Gen. Orna Barbivai, deputy head of the IDF’s Human Resources Branch, complained:

Israeli Soldiers

“We don’t have enough soldiers…we cannot lend our hand to draft-dodging in any way whatsoever…we must work to enlist everybody who is eligible, not only in keeping with Israeli law, but also with our national morals…the army can’t wait for something to happen and then say we didn’t prepare; we need to be ready at all times for all situations…our chief of General Staff says we must be prepared at all times to fight the next war. We must be ready and be able to win in war to an extent that there will be no question that we were victorious.”

She continued:

“Up until recent years, some 25 percent of women served as clerks in the army. Nowadays its only 12%, which illustrates the way in which we have created opportunities for women to find roles in the army where they can contribute more and get more out of their service…we see women in the army at every place, at every rank, in professional roles and combat roles all over, and we believe that we must launch every effort to broaden and deepen the service of women in the army.”

“Because we have fewer soldiers than we need, we believe it’s not right to give up on someone for trying to dodge the draft, or for posing as religious. Our situation won’t allow us to give up on 37% of Israeli women…There is no reason that my daughters are required to do national service and someone else’s aren’t…at one point one of my daughters was serving in Jenin, while the other was deployed at the Machpela Cave. Of course, like every mother, I worried about them, but there’s no question, it’s the army, everyone must serve.”

Dead Give Away

March 4, 2010 / / 0 Comments

The IDF says a planned raid on a West Bank village was called off after an Israeli soldier disclosed the classified details online.

The Israeli military says that the combat soldier posted the time and location of the raid on his Facebook page, saying that troops were planning on “cleaning up” the village.

Fellow soldiers reported the leak to military authorities, who then called off the raid fearing that the information may have reached hostile groups. The soldier, still unnamed has been court-martialed and sentenced to 10 days in prison.

The IDF’s statement added that it is cracking down on soldiers’ use of social networking Web sites and has launched a campaign warning of the dangers of sharing military classified information online.

Declaring War One Incident at a Time

February 14, 2010 / / 0 Comments

IDF soldiers opened fire Friday morning on Palestinian terrorists who were caught planting explosive devices along the security fence that separates Israel from Gaza, near Kibbutz Kissufim in the western Negev region.

The terrorists fled the scene.

The four terror cell members came to the fence carrying grenades and assault rifles. They were able to plant one of the bombs; an explosion was heard a short while later. Security officials estimated that the terrorists detonated the bomb in order to lure IDF forces to the area.

Soldiers of the Golani Brigade who were dispatched to the scene opened fire on the terror cell members, who managed to escape. Soldiers continue to comb the area in search of the terrorists and additional explosive devices they may have planted. Security officials said that the incident was part of the terror organization’s increased efforts to target IDF forces operating along the border.

On Thursday, an Israeli aircraft attacked a terror cell in central Gaza; this came after shots were fired at an IDF patrol in the area.

One official, who informed that Hamas was actually not involved in the terror activity, said

“The terror groups are motivated to act and are planning attacks.”

Meanwhile Hamas politburo chief, Khalad Mashaal warned his own that if another war is to break out, the fighting will not be limited to the Gaza Strip:

“If war breaks out, it will not only damage Gaza, but the entire region. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the entire Arab nation. We in Hamas don’t want war; we’ve had enough of the heinous crimes that have befallen Gaza, as documented in the Goldstone Report, but if (war) is forced on us, we will resist the Zionist aggression as we did in the past…”

Can You Hear Me Now?

February 8, 2010 / / 0 Comments

You might have heard this story. When Barack Obama became the president of the United States of America, he was told that he could no longer use his personal BlackBerry to receive e-mails, for the reason that it is not secure. Shortly after he took office, however, press reports emerged that one of America’s government agencies had succeeded in creating an encrypted BlackBerry, which had been specially designed for President Obama.

The IDF is considering doing the same and in the coming year plans to choose a new phone model to be used by commanders for the “Mountain Rose” encrypted military cellular network.

Mountain Rose is a completely secure network that enables IDF commanders to communicate with one another via cellular phones that can also be operated from behind enemy lines, as they were during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in 2009 and the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

In comparison to cellular phones used by the public, the model used by the IDF – designed by Motorola according to military specifications – is too bulky and large.
Following Cast Lead, OC C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence) Directorate Major General Ami Shafran ordered his staff to propose a new device that could replace the phones currently used for the Mountain Rose network.

Under consideration is the BlackBerry as well as Apple’s I-Phone. The IDF is also planning to expand the bandwidth of the network to enable the new devices to receive live video footage from unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as to hold video-conference calls.

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