Iran Enhancing Naval Base
in Port Sudan
(INEGMA)—In 2008, Iran and Sudan signed a military cooperation agreement and in May 2013 the pace and scope of the construction of Iranian naval and logistical bases in Port Sudan were enhanced remarkably. Sudan has become an extension of Iran’s proxy war against Israel, allowing Iran to use Sudanese territory as a staging ground for arms shipments to Gaza and Lebanon via the Red Sea and Egyptian Sinai, in addition to Khartoum’s support for Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups.
Iranian Moderation
(Honest Reporting)—Hassan Rohani proves his “moderation” by appointing as foreign minister the Holocaust denying Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif has previously served as Iran’s ambassador to the UN. David Feith (Wall St. Journal via Google News) writes: “Iran Nominee Seen As Olive Branch to United States,” blares a headline from Reuters. His appointment, asserts Bloomberg News, “suggests the new Iranian president would like to break a 34-year impasse between the Islamic Republic and the U.S.” Avideo of a visit he made to Columbia University in 2006 shows Mr. Zarif sounding a lot like former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Holocaust-denying firebrand that Tehran’s apologists like to portray as an aberration in Iranian politics.
Palestinians Dismiss Prisoner Release as a “Bribe”
Khaled Abu Toameh of the Gatestone Institute notes that those who argue that the release of Palestinian prisoners boosts the standing of PA President Mahmoud Abbas and facilitates the resumption of peace talks with Israel may be wrong. Many Palestinians regard the Israeli move as something that Israel was supposed to have done anyway, many years ago. So the PA does not see the release of prisoners as a conciliatory move on the part of the Israeli government. He predicts Abbas and Fatah will present the prisoner release as a “huge achievement” by Abbas. But some Palestinians, including Abbas loyalists, see the release as a bribe. There are also Palestinians who see the release of 100 prisoners as a “minor” achievement compared to Hamas’ success in securing the release of more than 1,000 inmates in return for kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
TAU Will Offer Cyber Security Degree
Raphael Kahan of Calcalist reports that the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security at Tel Aviv University will launch a new undergraduate and graduate program for studies in cyber security in 2014. The degree will be awarded in conjunction with the university’s Faculty of Engineering and School of Computer Science and is the first of its kind in the world. The program will include courses in information security, computer science, international law and the history of the cyber security field Development of the cyber security field has been declared one of the major objectives of the Israeli government. Graduates will fill meet the need for quality personnel in the field, which suffers from a shortage of experts. Check Point, Imperva, Elbit are some of Israel’s cyber security companies.
Hezbollah Ambushes Israeli Soldiers on Border, Lebanese Media Reports
(JNS.org)—Lebanese media reports suggest that Hezbollah was behind the explosion that injured four Israeli soldiers on the Lebanese border last week. Calling it an “ambush,” Lebanon’s Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is sympathetic to Hezbollah, describes how Israeli commandos crossed into Lebanese territory and were hit by an “explosive device containing four smaller devices filled with ball bearings.” The two explosions had a blast radius of about 15 meters, enough to hit everything and everyone that moved within the blast zone. Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said the soldiers were on a routine mission and inadvertently activated a land mine, Ynet reported. “Our soldiers defend us and our borders, which is what they were doing last night. We will continue to react to defend Israel’s borders,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Army Radio.
Iron Dome Protected Eilat
(TIP)—Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system last week intercepted a rocket fired from the Egypt-controlled Sinai Peninsula and aimed at the southern resort city of Eilat. The incident comes as analysts are expressing pointed concerns that attacks from the increasingly anarchic Sinai may eventually force Israel to take direct action on Egyptian soil against jihadists firing into the Jewish state. The Egyptian army is currently engaged in a wide-ranging campaign to uproot terrorist infrastructure in the territory, and Egyptian military officials claim that as part of the campaign they recently attacked a jihadist missile team. The Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, a Salafist group based out of the Gaza Strip, blamed Israel for the raid on the missile team. The group took responsibility for firing the rocket on Eilat, which the organization declared was part of making “the Jews… pay dearly.”
High Holidays Interactive Map Launched for Birthright Alumni
(JNS.org)—NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel Foundation has launched its 2013 High Holidays Initiative, featuring an interactive map of more than 250 holiday services set to take place in more than 145 U.S. cities. The goal of the project is to empower Birthright trip alumni and others in the U.S. Jewish community to create personal High Holidays experiences. The map is available at birthrightisraelnext.org/highholidays and includes a resource guide as well as small subsidies for Rosh Hashanah meals and Yom Kippur break-the-fasts.
Turkey Demotes Military Officers
To Erode Their Influence
(TIP)—Turkey’s Hurriyet discusses recent promotions and demotions in the country’s military, concluding that they highlight the extent to which Ankara’s ruling Islamist Justice and Development Party is succeeding in eroding the influence of army figures. The article specifically deals with defense procurement issues. An annual reshuffling, the article states, “underlines full government control over defense procurement decisions in the future.” More broadly, the personnel shifts—which involved interventions by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan—have been described as “the latest blow to Turkey’s beleaguered officer corps.” Many of the officers who were friendly liaisons to the Israeli military were arrested when Erdogan took power. Meanwhile Erdogan announced this week that the government will clamp down on future anti-government protests.
Coptics Under Attack
As Scapegoats in Egypt
(TIP)—The BBC reports on “a further backlash” against Egypt’s Christians, who have found themselves increasingly subject to physical attacks—up to and including several murders—at the hands of Islamists who support former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. The outlet notes that while “the Coptic Orthodox Church is one of Christianity’s oldest,” Islamist extremists have since July launched attacks against Copts, “holding them partly responsible” for the army moves that removed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood-linked government from power. Scores of Christian homes and buildings have been defaced and burned. Recently, a10-year-old girl walking home from Bible class was shot in the chest and killed, making her, according to Amnesty International, the seventh Christian murdered in recent sectarian violence across Egypt.
