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By Tovah Lazaroff and Yaakov Lappin, www.JPost.Com

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a press conference on Monday that while he was sorry for lives lost, the organizers of the Gaza-bound protest flotilla were solely responsible for the outcome of the fatal Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raid earlier in the day. Fifteen activists were killed and dozens wounded in the violent clashes.

Barak said that the soldiers tried to disperse the activists aboard the ship peacefully but were forced to open fire to protect themselves.

He called the flotilla a provocation, specifically called the Islamic aid organization IHH “extremist supporters of terror.”

The defense minister also called on Arab and Palestinian leaders not to let this “provocation by irresponsible people” ruin the progress made in proximity peace talks.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking in Canada where he is currently on an official visit, said he ‘fully supported the IDF operation’.

IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Monday that the violence aboard the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships of the Gaza-bound protest flotilla, was instigated by those aboard the ships and that soldiers who opened fire were defending themselves.

Ashkenazi noted that the Mavi Marmara, the only ship on which violence took place, was different than the other five ships of the flotilla. He said that five ships carried humanitarians and peace activists but the Mavi Marmara was sponsored by the extremist organization IHH and those aboard acted in “extreme violence.”

Israeli Navy commander Vice-Admiral Eliezer Marom said Monday that IDF soldiers that raided Mavi Marmara acted with “perseverance and bravery.”

Marom said that the soldiers lives were in danger and that they fired their weapons in self-defense. He added that given the situation, many more than ten people could have been killed if the soldiers had not acted with the proper sensitivity.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said that the flotilla of ships “was an armada of hate and violence.”

Speaking at a Jerusalem press conference on Monday morning: “It was a premeditated and outrageous provocation” and its organizers had ties to global Jihad, al-Qaeda and Hamas, said Ayalon. “Their intent was violent, their methods were violent, and their results were unfortunately violent.”

“Israel regrets the loss of life and did everything it could to avoid this outcome,” Ayalon stressed, adding that Israel had offered to transport the humanitarian cargo on board the ship to Gaza.

“The organizers on the ship did not heed the calls of our forces this morning to peacefully follow them and bring a peaceful closure to this event,” said Ayalon, iterating that the successful arrival of the flotilla in Gaza would have created “a corridor of arms smuggling.”

Moved to another nation where they’ll be free to worship

Maryam Rostampour and Marzieh Amirizadah

By Bob Unruh, WorldNetDaily

Two Iranian women jailed for nearly a year for converting from Islam to Christianity have been cleared of all charges and reportedly moved to another nation where they will be free to worship.

According to International Christian Concern, Maryam Rostampour, 28, and Marzieh Amirizadah, 31, were released from prison a few weeks ago, but their cases still were pending. However, word arrived over the weekend that “all charges” against the women had been dropped.

The women immediately were able to leave Iran “to an unknown country after being warned by judicial authorities that any future Christian activity in Iran will be harshly punished,” according to the ICC report.

“From henceforth, Maryam and Marzieh will be able to worship God freely and at all hours of the day without having to fear death or imprisonment,” the organization said. “Their faith and endurance has been an encouragement to countless believers throughout the world.”

In a statement made available through ICC, the two women said, “We are most grateful to everyone who prayed for us. [We] have no doubt that God heard the prayers of His people.”

The two first were arrested March 5, 2009, by Iranian security forces for being “apostates,” converts from Islam. They were put in front of a Revolutionary Court Aug. 9, 2009, and ordered to recant their faith.

In a statement from Elam Ministries, the hearing included the women’s explanations that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit of their need for Christianity.

“It is impossible for God to speak with humans,” Haddad, a deputy prosecutor identified only by his surname, stated.

“Are you questioning whether God is Almighty?” Amirizadeh asked him.

To which Haddad then replied. “You are not worthy for God to speak to you.”

“It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy,” she said.

Haddad had asked if the women were Christian.

“We love Jesus,” they replied.

“You were Muslims and now you have become Christians,” Haddad stated.

“We were born in Muslim families, but we were not Muslims,” the women said.

The deputy prosecutor asked about their regrets, and they said, “We have no regrets.”

“You should renounce your faith verbally and in written form,” he warned.

They refused.

The two had spent months in solitary confinement in Evin Prison in Iran. They reported a multitude of health issues and problems that accompanied the severe interrogations to which they were subjected, officials said.

Evin prison is notorious for its hanging executions and brutal torture tactics. It is the same facility where Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died only three weeks after she was arrested for simply photographing the prison during a student protest in 2003.

Under sharia, or Islamic law, the penalty for apostasy is death or life imprisonment. According to reports about the punishment system within Iran, for women the execution often is preceded by rape.

By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia — Australia ordered the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat Monday after investigators concluded Israel was responsible for forging four Australian passports that were used in the slaying of a Hamas operative in Dubai.

Australia’s reaction echoes that of the United Kingdom, which in March expelled a diplomat in retaliation for the use of 12 fake British passports in the plot to kill Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Dubai authorities blame Israel’s Mossad intelligence service for the January slaying.

The governments of Ireland, Germany, and France have yet to state how they will react to similar cases of alleged identity fraud against its citizens, as revealed in the investigation.

Australia had not expelled a foreign diplomat since 2004.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told Parliament that the operation to kill Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room was not the first time Israel had forged Australian travel documents. He did not elaborate on previous incidents, but said the latest transgression breached “confidential undertakings” between the two countries that have stood for several years.

“These are not the actions of a friend,” he said. “This is not what we expect from a nation with whom we have had such a close, friendly and supportive relationship.”

Smith said Israel had been asked to withdraw a diplomat, whom he did not identify, within a week. The duration of the expulsion was indefinite.

Israeli radio stations have reported that the diplomats expelled from Australia and Britain were Mossad representatives.

“We regret this decision by the Australian government,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told The Associated Press. “It is not in line with the importance and the quality of the relationship between our countries.”

Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem is out of Australia until early next month.

Australia had notified the United States of its decision because of Canberra’s security alliance with Washington and Washington’s close friendship with Tel Aviv, Smith said.

Australia had also notified the United Arab Emirates and all the countries whose nationals claimed to have identities stolen in the case. Smith said Australian cooperation with Israel on security and intelligence matters would suffer.

“Clearly as a result of today’s events, there will be something of a cooling period so far as relevant agencies are concerned and, just as in the United Kingdom, time will tell just how long that may or may not be,” Smith said.

Israel had not retaliated against Britain’s expulsion of a diplomat and Smith said he would be disappointed if Israel retaliated against Australia’s decision.

Dubai authorities have identified at least 26 suspects from an alleged hit squad.

Smith said: “The high quality of these counterfeited passports points to the involvement of a state intelligence service.”

He said Australia’s investigation by police and intelligence services “left the government in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of these passports.”

Israeli radio reported that Australia expelled an Israeli diplomat in 2004 for his alleged involvement in helping two Israelis try to fraudulently obtain New Zealand passports. Neither the Israeli Embassy nor Smith’s department would confirm the report Monday.

Two men described by the New Zealand government as Israeli intelligence agents spent three months in prison in that country after pleading guilty to passport fraud. They were then deported from New Zealand to Israel.

ZLM’s Man in Jerusalem, David Dolan, reported the Dubai incident in the May 2010 Levitt Letter, page 12.

By Mark Lavie, Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Sirens sounded across Israel Wednesday morning as part of a massive air raid drill aimed at practicing the civilian response to large-scale rocket attacks.

Emergency crews and soldiers have been practicing all week how to deal with multiple casualties from rocket explosions. Some Israelis rushed to air raid shelters in Wednesday’s public part of the four-day drill, but others ignored the wailing sirens.

In the central Israeli city of Rehovot, teachers marched a line of small children toward a shelter in a community center, but next door, the neighborhood bomb shelter remained locked, and none of the residents tried to follow government instructions to run for the bombproof facilities.

Residents of nearby cities told reporters they already experienced running for cover during real rocket attacks, so they did not feel the need to practice.

Rockets pummeled large parts of Israel during the 2006 summer war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and last year’s winter war with Gaza militants.

Hezbollah rockets hit the northern third of Israel, causing considerable damage in the port city of Haifa and elsewhere.

Rockets fired by Gaza militants exploded in southern and central Israel, hitting cities including Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast and Beersheba in the Negev desert.

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest cities, were not hit in either war.

Gaza militants and Hezbollah, along with Syria, still have large numbers of rockets. Another threat comes from Iran, which has missiles that can hit Israel and has a nuclear program that Israel charges is designed to produce nuclear weapons. Iran insists the program is peaceful.

Israeli leaders have said the large-scale drill is not linked to specific threats. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the operation was planned long ago and is defensive in nature, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak gave similar assurances on Tuesday.

Lebanon and Syria issued statements at the beginning of the exercise warning Israel not to attack. On Wednesday, the Lebanese army conducted maneuvers of its own near the Israeli border, Lebanese security officials said. They said reinforcements were sent to the border area to raise the level of alert and monitor the Israeli drill. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

The officials said Lebanese anti-aircraft gunners also fired at Israeli warplanes flying over the town of Shebaa in south Lebanon Wednesday.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

The Israeli military refused to comment.

By Robert Spencer, www.HumanEvents.com

Now that it has been revealed that not one, but two mosques are planned for the area around Ground Zero, the supremacist and triumphalist character of this effort is clearer than ever. Is the Muslim population of lower Manhattan so huge that one projected mosque—even one so large as to be housed within a 15 story Islamic Center—would immediately be bursting at the seams, and thus yet another is required even before the first is built?

Of course not. Muslims are already praying at the projected site of the massive Islamic Center, an old Burlington Coat Factory outlet that was damaged by a piece of one of the hijacked airplanes fell through the roof on 9/11. (A Muslim real estate company paid $4.85 million in cash for the building. Where that cash came from has not been explained).

That building doesn’t appear to be overflowing, although Muslims are reportedly holding prayers on the sidewalk outside another lower Manhattan mosque, apparently in order to give the impression that they’re in dire need of more space. This is, however, more for show than for necessity.

The placement of mosques throughout Islamic history has been an expression of conquest and superiority over non-Muslims. Muslims built the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock on the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in order to proclaim Islam’s superiority to Judaism. The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus was built over the Church of St. John the Baptist, and the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in Constantinople was converted into a mosque, to express the superiority of Islam over Christianity. Historian Sita Ram Goel has estimated that over 2,000 mosques in India were built on the sites of Hindu temples for the same reason.

But the Ground Zero mosque, or mosques, won’t be another example of that Islamic supremacism, will they? After all, the mosque initiative’s organizer, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, has said that the building of the mosque by the World Trade Center site was intended to make “the opposite statement to what happened on 9/11.”

The group behind the 15 story Islamic Center sent a statement claiming that the planned mosque was “a project to honor those who were harmed on September 11. It is a project to proclaim our patriotism to this country and to stand side-by-side all men and women of peace.”

And Ground Zero is not a holy site, so the symbolism of Islam conquering and replacing other religions isn’t there—or is it?

The Twin Towers, after all, were the symbol of America’s economic power. Placing a mosque by the site of their destruction (at the hands of Islamic jihadists) symbolizes the taming of that power. Abdul Rauf has placed the blame for 9/11 not on jihadists at all, but on the U.S. and the West, saying that they “must acknowledge the harm they have done to Muslims before terrorism can end.” Statements like that call into question just who the mosque organizers have in mind when they say the mosque is intended to honor “those who were harmed on September 11.”

The possibility of deception cannot here be ruled out, given that Abdul Rauf has a history of making smooth statements that appear to endorse American principles and values, when on closer examination he is upholding sharia (Islamic) law, denigrating freedom of speech, and advocating against anti-terror measures.

By Alastair Beach, www.csmonitor.com

While millions commemorated the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday, only a handful of people could discuss his works in the language of his day: Aramaic.

Nearly all of them live in three Syrian villages, the last outposts in a region largely swept by the Arabic of Islam. In a bid to preserve its ancient heritage, Syria launched a series of language courses in 2007 to bolster the fading influence of a 3,000-year-old language that once reigned supreme in the Middle East.

And so it was that an Aramaic institute joined the cluster of buildings that cling to a rocky spine in the village of Malula, about 35 miles northwest of Damascus. But the program ran into trouble recently, when a Syrian newspaper suggested that the alphabet being used to teach written Aramaic bore an uncanny resemblance to the Hebrew characters found in modern-day Israel.

Worried that a flagship heritage scheme might in any way be associated with the country’s neighboring enemy, the government-run University of Damascus, which established the institute, acted quickly to freeze the Aramaic program.

“There were some people in the press trying to cause trouble,” says George Rezkallah, an elderly villager from Malula who runs the institute. He is hopeful that classes will be able to resume this summer.

Speaking from his flat overlooking the village’s higgledy-piggledy hillside houses, Mr. Rezkallah says that while the two alphabets do have similarities, it is Aramaic which first began using square lettering around the 12th century BC. The Hebrew now used in Israel, he said, was formulated 700 years later after the restoration of the ancient kingdom of the Jews in the 5th century BC.

“The Persians adopted Aramaic. The Babylonians adopted it and so did the Jews. It then prevailed as the language of the Middle East until 700 AD.”

David Taylor, author of The Hidden Pearl: Aramaic Heritage of the Syrian Orthodox Church, adds that the Jewish people adopted the square Aramaic alphabet – which had become the lingua franca (language-in-common) of the entire Middle East from about 700 BC – after they were exiled to Babylon in 587 BC, before which they had used a Palaeo-Hebrew script.

The fact that it has survived in Malula today is nothing short of a “miracle,” says Gene Gragg, professor of Near Eastern Languages at the University of Chicago.

“It would be something of a linguistic tragedy if this splendid survivor were allowed to disappear,” he added.

It would also be a travesty for Syria, says Dr. Taylor.

“Aramaic is a constant reminder of the international importance of Syria in the ancient world, when it was a beacon of learning and culture that had a profound impact worldwide,” he says. “It mirrors the cultural, linguistic and religious diversity that has always been of such great importance in Syria and is key to its long-term success.”

Modern branches of the language are still spoken across southeast Turkey, northern Iraq, and northwest Iran.

But the dialect spoken by its inhabitants – as well as the residents of two nearby, mostly Muslim, villages – is the only survivor of Western Aramaic, the closest modern descendant to the language spoken by Jesus and his disciples.

It would, in all probability, have been spoken by the Christian martyr St. Thecla, a disciple of St. Paul whose tomb in Malula draws pilgrims from around the world.

“It’s quite extraordinary,” says Annyck Wustyn, a 63-year-old visitor from France. “In our country, where we are mostly Catholic, Aramaic is like a myth. Now I know it is a reality.”

Undeterred by the move to shut down his Aramaic institute, Rezkallah plans to introduce a new course this summer which, for the first time, will include a textbook using Aramaic to English translations – effectively opening up the institute to non-Arabic speaking students for the first time since it was founded.

According to Rezkallah, the dispute over the Hebrew similarities is still “being discussed,” but the institute has trained an extra nine teachers this year in anticipation of an extension of the program. The new textbook will, however, use Syriac script from the second century BC in lieu of square Aramaic lettering.

For the likes of Atallah Shaib, a young man working in his father’s restaurant overlooking the rickety houses of Malula, the fight to secure his language’s future is as important as ever.

“Aramaic is not a normal language,” says Shaib, his rolled-up sleeves revealing a series of inky blue Aramaic tattoos on his forearms. “It’s Jesus Christ’s language, and that’s the most important reason why we should keep it alive.”

Israel Today

In a sweeping action against television and radio broadcasters who had purportedly failed to renew their licenses, the Palestinian Authority (PA) shut down Bethlehem-based Al-Mahed (Nativity) TV, the last Christian television station in the Palestinian-controlled territories. Al- Mahed and several other stations had been broadcasting for over a decade before the PA suddenly decided they were not authorized to do so.

Some members of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate slammed the move as a violation of freedom of the press, but their remarks were later removed from all reports on the matter.

The PA said the closure was a temporary one-month suspension aimed at giving the broadcasters time to “sort out” their finances and pay for the proper permits. But the closures bore the hallmarks of attempting to control media outlets that do not always toe the line of the ruling regime.

The Palestinian Authority, under heavy international scrutiny, eventually permitted the stations to reopen, but Al-Mahed owner and manager Samir Qumsia insisted he would not resume broadcasts until he received a public apology from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

www.JPost.com

The Canadian Bontan Oil and Gas Company, which has been exploring for natural gas off the coast of Israel, announced recently that it had found prospective resources of up to 6 trillion cubic feet [TCF]of natural gas in Mira and Sarah Prospects off the country’s coast.

As defined on the company’s website, prospective resources are “those quantities of petroleum estimated, as of a given date, to be potentially recoverable from undiscovered accumulations by application of future development projects. “

The two finds could be worth upwards of $6 billion.

The Canadian company “will have an indirect 71.625% interest in these prospects via its 75% equity interest in the Israel Petroleum Company which has acquired a 95.5% interest in the drilling licenses as well as an adjoining exploration permit from the current operator subject to approval by the Government of Israel,” a press release on its Website announced.

The evaluation report, conducted by Chapman Petroleum Engineering stated, “Based on our analysis, after consideration of risk, we have concluded that the potential of these prospects is of sufficient merit to justify the work program being proposed, and we therefore recommend and support the Company’s participation.”

The top-find estimates are a best-case scenario, with “the best estimate [for the Mira Prospect] of gross prospective sales gas resources at 4.24 TCF and for the Sarah Prospect, the best estimate of gross prospective sales gas resources is 1.47 TCF.

By Sever Plocker, www.YNetNews.com

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) officially accepted Israel into its ranks recently as a full-fledged member.

For 20 years at least, Israeli governments have sought to join the organization, which is in fact an exclusive club of the 31 developed industrial countries. Yet we’ve been rejected. With yearning eyes, our former finance ministers, Bank of Israel governors, and prime ministers watched states that are economically inferior to Israel such as Turkey and the Czech Republic accepted into the OECD with open arms, while Israel was not even granted the opportunity to submit an application.

The first obstacle was removed about three years ago. The organization decided to embark on orderly negotiations on bringing Israel in as a member. Ever since then, the Israeli economy had been scrutinized in dozens of meetings by dozens of OECD committees in Israel and in France (the organization’s headquarters is located in Paris.)

Representatives of member states examined Israel closely, usually through critical eyes, looking into its ability to meet the tough acceptance criteria. We were not given any concessions. Towards the end of the hearings, probes, and discussions, OECD economists published two comprehensive volumes about Israel’s economy and social issues.

The organization’s Secretary General, Jose Angel Gurria – a hot-tempered Mexican, a huge friend of Israel, and a personal friend of Finance Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz – brought the publications directly from the presses to Jerusalem at the end of January and presented them to public opinion. In an interview he granted me at the time, he expressed absolute confidence that Israel would be accepted into OECD.

But was all this effort worthwhile? Israel was required to pass new legislation to avert bribery in international transactions, adopt significant legislative changes in the sensitive areas of intellectual property and medical patents, and undertake all sorts of other adjustments and pledges, some of them commensurate with our economy’s interests and others less so.

And what are we getting in exchange? What will Israel gain from joining this organization, which is no more than a non-binding platform for the exchange of ideas, coordination of statics, and the joint publication of guidelines for desired economic and social policy?

In practical terms, membership in OECD will not affect the lives of Israelis in the foreseeable future. We will not become richer or more sought after because of it. We will not be receiving OECD passports, because there is no such thing. We cannot even be certain that credit rating companies will boost our rating. Greece, for example, is a veteran member of the organization…

Nonetheless, the efforts were certainly worth it. The confirmation of Israel’s membership in OECD indicates that the developed world recognizes the fact that we are an industrial, advanced country; a democratic and competitive state that shares the basic values of the wealthy west.

We have been officially brought into the family of developed nations; the top echelons of the global economy. We’re in, at the forefront.

Some people compare Israel’s acceptance into OECD to our acceptance into the United Nations. On one hand, this is a baseless comparison: By accepting Israel into the UN, most of the world recognized the sovereignty of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel; by including us in OECD, some of the world recognizes that Israel is a developed economy.

On the other hand, for a state that is merely 62-years old, with a population of a mere 7.5 million, and which so many would like to destroy, full membership in OECD is an act with deep national and international significance.

It is for good reason that hostile elements attempted to thwart this move. They realized what it means: This isn’t about economics; it’s about history.

Indeed, this is a historic moment: Thus far, Israel was the common-law partner of the developed world. From this day on, we are a legal marriage partner. With the exception of peace, this is the zenith of Herzl’s vision. It’s a great day for Israel.

by Jacob Shrybman, www.FrontPageMag.com

When developing this article I really couldn’t decide if I was going to write it in a satirical manner or in a concerned manner. The concept was just so ridiculous to me, I wasn’t sure how to convey it to the world.

The military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas, the Al Qassam Brigades –which murders, pillages, persecutes, fires rockets, stones, lynches, blows themselves up, etc. — has a Twitter account. No folks, I am not joking. The days when the world is spooked by an unmarked video or cassette tape which arrives at the Al Jazeera offices are over. You can simply “Follow” them with your personal Twitter account.

I was stunned to see the user name @AlqassamBrigade pop up amongst the average 100 tweets an hour mentioning Gaza. I had been to the terrorists’ website (which has the fun option to choose your favorite color scheme for the menus) to see their propagandized use of images from Operation Cast Lead, and this was their matching Twitter account.

Sitting at my laptop using our Sderot Media Center Twitter account, @SderotMedia, most likely only a couple of miles away from the terrorists managing the Hamas Twitter account, I thought to engage them in dialogue on one of the base debates in this conflict:

@AlqassamBrigade As you know, you terrorize thousands just over the border from Gaza here in Sderot. Or do you call it Najd?

Never receiving an answer and following protocol, I filed a complaint with Twitter and this is the automated response I received: Twitter provides a communication service. As a policy, we do not mediate content or intervene in disputes between users. Users are allowed to post content, including potentially inflammatory content, provided that they do not violate the Twitter Terms of Service and Rules (name calling is not a violation.)

Essentially, this gives the terrorist organization the most popular worldwide platform to preach whatever propaganda or hate speech they like because, as you see above, “name calling is not a violation.”

The automated Twitter response continues, “If a violent threat is posted in the future, please let us know, and send the status link.” So, only if Hamas tweets about the imminent launch of a missile attack will Twitter take action?

In the worldwide blockbuster jaw-dropping movie Bruno, created by comic mastermind Sasha Baron Cohen, the main character Bruno is attempting to make peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict and while hosting a dialogue session he continually misuses the word “Hamas” for “Hummus;” it exemplifies the great light humor for which Baron Cohen is famous. The mainstream legitimization of the terrorist organization Hamas is so widespread that, these days, it is almost a household term and this is how the caricaturist can comically draw that connection on screen.

However, it is more than a joke when the entire world has turned its back on Hamas’ actions for nearly a decade thereby accepting it into the public domain. Rocket and suicide attacks on Jewish civilians are clearly not enough, but why won’t the world delegitimize Hamas for human rights abuses such as “honor killings?” Instead, the United Nations and Judge Goldstone chose to give Hamas and radical Islam around the world an over 500 page report to continue their terrorism.

Let’s be clear: This is not an issue of freedom of speech as Hamas is a terrorist organization even to the United Nations. I encourage everyone with a Twitter account to file a complaint against Hamas’ account @AlqassamBrigade to get Hamas out of our households and stop the tweeting of terror.