Elder of Ziyon Daily News

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I don't know who is bombing what in Syria, but the videos are impressive (updated) Posted: 04 May 2013 07:17 PM PDT On Friday night: Hours after the first reports of an Israeli strike in Syria, details about the mysterious attack continue to emerge. The New York Times reported Saturday that the airstrike was directed at a shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles from Iran that Israel believed was intended for Hezbollah, according to American officials. The missiles, known as Fateh-110s, had been sent to Syria by Iran and were being stored at an airport in Damascus when they were struck in the attack, one American official said. According to the paper, Syrians with knowledge of security and military matters confirmed the strike, saying that Iran had sent arms and rockets to Damascus International Airport intending to resend them to Hezbollah. Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have used Fateh-110 missiles against the Syrian opposition, and some American officials are unsure whether the new shipment was intended for use by Hezbollah or by the Assad government, which is believed to be running low on missiles. One American official, said the warehouse that was struck in the Israeli attack was believed to be under the control of operatives from Hezbollah and Iran's paramilitary Quds force. Also Saturday, a source at a rebel intelligence unit in Damascus said that F-16 jets carried out three strikes on the road connecting Damascus and Beirut. One of the strikes, he said, hit a site near the Syrian army's fourth armored division in the city of al-Saboura. According to foreign sources, the jets carried out the attacks from Lebanese airspace. The rebel source said that the attack targeted a Hezbollah-bound anti-aircraft missile convoy but according to recent estimates they were surface-to-surface missiles. Earlier on Saturday, an Israeli official told the Associated Press that the shipment was not of chemical arms, but of "game changing" weapons bound for Hezbollah. Everything is speculation, of course, although the idea that the targets are advanced weapons intended for Hezbollah makes sense. But the newest reported attacks seem different: Israeli warplanes bombed the outskirts of Damascus early Sunday for the second time in two days, according to Syrian state media and reports from activists, signaling a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries that had already been exacerbated by the conflict raging in Syria. Videos posted on the Internet by activists showed a huge fireball erupting on Mount Qassioun, a landmark hill overlooking the capital on which the Syrian government has concentrated much of the firepower it is using against rebel-controlled areas surrounding the city. The official Syrian Arab News Agency said that a scientific research facility had been struck by an Israeli missile, and a banner displayed on state television said the attack was intended to relieve pressure on rebel forces in the embattled eastern suburbs. The banner was accompanied by martial music and footage of Syrian soldiers marching, descending from helicopters and firing rockets, indicating that Syria may not shrug off the assault, as it has with some Israeli strikes in the past. A subsequent video suggested further strikes were taking place in the same location, though the number was unclear. There was no immediate confirmation that the strikes were carried out by Israeli warplanes. Reuters news service reported that an Israeli military spokeswoman said, "We don't respond to this kind of report." This sounds, and looks, like attacks on a weapons depot, not on weapons in transit. And the explosion shown here is spectacular: We don't even know that these are Israeli airstrikes - Syria TV is hardly a trustworthy source. But until now, Israel seemed to be targeting Hezbollah assets (or assets-to-be) while this last apparent attack looks a lot more like it is going after Syrian assets. I'm no expert, but this looked more like a secondary explosion to me than a huge bomb dropped from an airstrike. UPDATE: Again, take this with a grain of salt: An Israeli warplane was shot down by Syrian air-defense units during a raid near Damascus early Sunday, Hezbollah's Manar television station reported, citing security sources in the Syrian capital. There was no independent confirmation of the claim and Israel did not comment on the raid reports. But then read this: Breaking #sana tv crew caught painting an old mig fighter tail with israeli airforce markings near #damascus — Free Syria Media Hub (@free_syria_news) May 5, 2013 (h/t Daled Amos, David G)

Saturday Links Posted: 04 May 2013 05:30 PM PDT From Ian: UN scrambles to distance itself from terror tournament The United Nations Development programme has insisted that "had no role" in a Palestinian tournament, despite organisers' claims Despite claims by organisers that the UNDP was complicit in the sponsoring of the event, UNDP communications staff today informed The Commentator that, "The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) had no role in the tournament, its naming or any other activity related to it. It was not informed about the activity in question." However, despite the insistence, a UNDP logo was used at the event, which they say was "used without any prior authorization from UNDP". Fayyad slams Palestinians' history of 'failed leadership' "Our story is a story of failed leadership, from way early on," Fayyad told the New York Times. "It is incredible that the fate of the Palestinian people has been in the hands of leaders so entirely casual, so guided by spur-of-the-moment decisions, without seriousness. We don't strategize, we cut deals in a tactical way and we hold ourselves hostage to our own rhetoric." Fayyad denies giving interview in which he slammed Palestinian leadership Former PA PM's office says he didn't speak to the New York Times; yes he did, says NYT's Roger Cohen Princeton University Must Fire Professor Richard Falk It is disgraceful that many of America's elite universities are awash with Anti-American and Anti-Israel propaganda, and Princeton University must immediately fire Richard Falk for blaming America for the terrorist attacks in Boston. There are clearly certain lines of acceptability which cannot be passed. Douglass Murray: Why has Abdul Hakim Murad not been sacked by Cambridge University? I know that complaining about such statements made by such a pasty-white convert only makes one a racist 'Islamophobe.' But oughtn't one to be troubled by this? Were a Christian man called Timothy to have said such things he would almost certainly have been sacked by Cambridge University by now. Students, LGBT groups, unions – everyone wanting to make a stand against bigotry – would be screaming about this. But Timothy is so lucky. Because he became Abdul I think he'll be just fine. Honest Reporting Canada: After HRC Complaint, CBC Acknowledges Gaza "Art" Exhibit Criticized as Fraudulent Other news outlets like Global News and the Daily Gleaner (article not online) provided a balanced perspective to the issue that acknowledged criticism that the exhibit was "propaganda" and "inauthentic" and that gave voice to concerns of the pro-Israel community. Following our complaint, CBC Maritimes broadcast a follow up report by Melissa Oakley on April 25 which featured a contrarian point of view by pro-Israel support Israel Unger who criticized the exhibit for featuring fraudulent artwork and for the lack of balance of the exhibit; one that did not acknowledge the suffering of Israelis from thousands of rocket attacks. Canada's Israel Support Draws Ire From Arab Nations at UN Qatar is working to gather votes from 115 countries to relocate the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which determines global rules for airplane transportation, from Montreal to the Middle East by 2016. In addition, Arab UN ambassadors met in New York on April 23 to discuss Palestinian issues, and discussed ways to rally support against the Canadian government among international organizations. Is Assad winning in Syria? Russia, Iran, its proxy Hezbollah and the Maliki government in Iraq are all playing a central role. The latest indications are that the US and the West still prefer to stay directly out of it, despite the obvious crossing of notional "red lines" regarding the use of chemical weapons. It is thus likely that the Assad regime will be around for some time to come. Iran's American Prisoner Patterns are not only evident in the Muslim world's persecution of Christians, but in the Obama administration's indifference. The U.S. State Department has excluded Abedini from its Iran Prisoners List—commensurate with the fact that it regularly whitewashes the sufferings of Christians under Islam, and even failed to cite Egypt and Pakistan as "nations of particular concern" despite the fact that Christians there are being hounded mercilessly, as documented in the book. Report Shows Jews Biggest Target of Hate Speech in Turkey Jews and Armenians are the most popular targets for hate speech in Turkish media with 25 percent of all cases, while Christians follow them at 18 percent, according to a study by the Hrant Dink Foundation. The Israeli army's most improbable Arab prosecutor Lt. Arin Shaabi is a Christian, a Jew, an Arab, an Israeli. And in the military courts of the West Bank, she is fighting a rising tide of Palestinian nationalist crime At a West Bank crossing point, Israeli students put the 'right' into human rights A new volunteer group, emphatically not from the usual left of the political spectrum, is monitoring how the IDF operates the Qalandiya checkpoint en route to Jerusalem High and mighty: a trip to the Israel Air Force Museum From Avengers and Mirages and Spitfires to blind spots and crash landings, the aircraft on display tell the incredible tale of a young nation's survival Israeli team to bring hard-earned post-trauma expertise to Boston A team from the Israel Trauma Coalition, an association of Israeli agencies specializing in post-trauma resilience, will be arriving in the Boston suburb of Watertown next week to help develop "a recovery process" for the local school system. HBO unearth Holocaust rescue documentary The documentary "50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr and Mrs Kraus" may bear many of the same hallmarks as other heroic stories from the Holocaust – with impossible odds and gargantuan reserves of courage – but its message remains as relevant as ever. It tells the story of an American couple who travelled to Vienna during the war to evacuate Jewish infants at risk of persecution, and then provide them with safe passage to the United States. The film's director, Steven Pressman, was determined to illuminate the horrors of war but equally, to show how such extreme situations can also bring out the best in humanity.

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