By ETGAR LEFKOVITS, Jerusalem Post
Israeli cable television is planning to drop a major Christian TV network which runs missionary advertisements directed at Jews. The move has prompted threats of legal action by the station's representatives. The decision by the Hot Cable TV to halt the broadcasts of the Daystar TV network is pending the authorization of the Israeli Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting. A spokeswoman for the HOT cable company said in a statement that the decision to stop broadcasting the station was made "out of editorial and content considerations," and following complaints the company received for broadcasting the network. A lawyer for the Christian station said that the decision to take the network off the air was a violation of freedom of expression. "You cannot close down this station just because it is a Christian station," said attorney Amir Witkon. Witkon said that he would take legal action against HOT in an Israeli court if the decision is finalized. The Israeli Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting, which can accept or reject the cable company's request, will take up the issue at its next meeting, a spokeswoman said. The council is tentatively set to meet ...   more »

By YAAKOV KATZ, Jerusalem Post
Israeli space capabilities will take a giant leap in September when the Defense Ministry launches its most advanced spy satellite aboard an Indian rocket. The new satellite is capable of transmitting tiny images in all weather conditions. Following last month's successful launch of the Ofek 7 spy satellite, Israel is making final arrangements to launch the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)-developed TecSar. It will be the first Israeli satellite with Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) capabilities, and will monitor developments at Iran's nuclear installations. The TecSar weighs just under 300 kilograms. It was developed by the IAI's Space Division MBT and can create images of objects on earth even in cloudy weather conditions, a capability not available with the Ofek satellites. The Ofek 7 is a camera-based satellite, while TecSar is capable of creating high-resolution images using advanced radar technology. The SAR technology was developed by IAI's subsidiary Elta. "This new satellite will be a major leap for the IDF and its operational capabilities," a senior defense official said Thursday. "This will enhance our intelligence gathering capabilities, and its successful launch will place Israel as one of the leading countries in the world in satellite development." This ...   more »

By MICHAEL FREUND, Jerusalem Post 
The warning signs are everywhere, yet no one wishes to see them. Israel's foes are gearing up for war, and it's time that we opened our eyes to the danger that confronts us. The conflict may be just weeks or even months away, or perhaps a bit longer. How it will start is anyone's guess, but make no mistake, a major outbreak of hostilities is almost certainly around the corner. If this sounds like scare-mongering or even an advanced case of paranoia to you, just take a glance at the newspapers from the past few weeks. If you read them with a discerning eye, you will see exactly what I mean. For whichever direction one chooses to look, be it north, south or east of us, trouble - major trouble - is brewing. In Lebanon, Hizbullah is busy rebuilding its expansive terrorist infrastructure after this summer's fighting with Israel. Under the protective shield of UN troops, the group has been welcoming large shipments of weapons from Iran and Syria, and fortifying its bunkers in advance of the next round of conflict. In a speech delivered last month in Beirut, on September 22, Hizbullah leader Sheikh ...   more »

By Aaron Klein
Shimon Peres
TEL AVIV – A group of hundreds of prominent Israeli rabbis today urged veteran politician Shimon Peres to immediately "repent" for calling on the Jewish state to evacuate strategic territory the they fear will be used by terrorists to attack Israel.
Peres officially was installed as Israeli president earlier this week. Upon his inauguration, he immediately stated Israel must withdraw from the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport.
"We call on Shimon Peres to publicly retract his 'shameful' remarks on the day of his inauguration calling for Israel to 'rid itself of the territories,' referring to the biblical Judea and Samaria (West Bank)," read a statement by the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a coalition of more than 350 Israeli rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis.
"Our sages tell us in the Talmud that when a person assumes an exalted position, all of his sins previously committed are forgiven. But you, Mr. Peres, missed the opportunity to rectify your historical blunders when you declared so blindly that Israel must rid itself of the territories. You caused tremendous damage not only to Jews in Israel but to ...   more »

TEL AVIV – Visiting Syria today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned during a press conference that this summer will be "hot" and will bring defeat for the "region's enemies."
"We hope that the hot weather of this summer would coincide with similar victories for the region‘s peoples, and with consequent defeat for the region‘s enemies," Ahmadinejad said, standing alongside Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Ahmadinejad was speaking after a meeting in Damascus with Assad and Hassan Nasrallah, chief of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which last summer engaged in 34 days of confrontations with the Jewish state during which the group fired thousands of rockets into Israeli population centers.
Nasrallah made the rare appearance in Damascus after months of largely keeping a low public profile in Lebanon.
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Ahmadinejad claimed unspecified "enemies of the region" have "plans to attack the interests of this region." He urges those enemies to abandon their war plans "or they would be burned by the wrath of the region's peoples."
He described Syrian-Iranian relations as "amicable, excellent and extremely deep," stating the two countries have common stands on regional issues and face common enemies.
Iran and Syria have a military alliance. According to Israeli security ...   more »

According to the most recent intelligence reports, former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's gesture for peace – disengagement from Gaza – may have set the stage for the next phase of war.
A senior IDF officer said this week that the weapons Hamas is smuggling into Gaza have become significantly more sophisticated now that they have a free hand to do so without Israeli interference. Since the Gaza takeover by Hamas, it has reportedly smuggled in 20 tons of explosives via the Philidelphia Corridor from the Sinai into the Strip. According to the officer, Israel currently has a limited time frame to address the findings.
"There is today an opportunity since the world has not yet become accustomed to the new Hamas entity, and Hamas has not yet fully completed strengthening it's military capabilities," according to the Jerusalem Post, quoting the unnamed official.
"The Gaza Strip is a boiling pot, the fire underneath is fueled by economy and ideology, and the lid over it is Israel. Hamas is currently not acting against Israel because it is not in the group's interest, but one must not mistake this with the organization's ultimate goals."
Hamas has gone from being a terrorist group to ...   more »

by Hana Levi Julian
(IsraelNN.com) State pension funds in Texas are being given the opportunity to voluntarily divest from companies doing business with Iran in a move to encourage them to avoid supporting a terrorist country.
If Republican Governor Rick Perry’s efforts fail to persuade the companies to divest on their own, however, he is prepared to work toward official measures to force them to make the move.
“This is a country (Iran) that has a clear terrorist focus, has a clear mission to wipe a friendly democracy and a very close ally of the United States off of the face of the earth,” said Perry on Wednesday.
The Texas governor met last month with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Opposition Leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu (Likud) during his visit to Israel last month to accept a “Friend of Zion” award from Global Capital Associates.
The case for divesting from firms doing business with Iran was made by Netanyahu, a former Finance Minister and Prime Minister.
Perry said he would convene a special session of the state legislature if he cannot begin divestment proceedings without passing a bill for the purpose. A law that included divestment from Iran was nixed by ...   more »

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
Capitalising on the increasingly bellicose rhetoric in Moscow, a group of influential retired generals yesterday said the United States was preparing to invade Russia within a decade.
Interviewed by Komsomolskaya Pravda, Russia's biggest circulation newspaper, the four senior generals - who now direct influential military think tanks - said the United States had hatched a secret plan to seize the country's vast energy resources by force.
"The US is both laying the ground and preparing its military potential for a war with Russia," said Gen Leonid Ivashov, a former joint chief of staff.
"Anti-Russian sentiment is being fostered in the public opinion. The US is desperate to implement its century-old dream of world hegemony and the elimination of Russia as its principal obstacle to the full control of Eurasia.
The generals said the conflict would inevitably spark a third world war, but predicted it would be fought only with conventional weapons or "low impact" nuclear missiles.
Dismissed by some critics as the Cold War nostalgia of a handful of Soviet dinosaurs, such opinions nevertheless reflect a growing mood of nationalism both within the Kremlin and among many ordinary Russians wistful for lost superpower status.
Engaged ...   more »