JCPA

The Middle East is imploding in waves of violence whose impact has reached Israel.

To the north, radical Islamists in Syria linked to both the Islamic State and al-Qaeda are approaching Israel’s border on the Golan Heights and threatening Jordan as well. At the same time, Iran is sending thousands of rockets with increasingly accurate guidance systems to Hizbullah in Lebanon to again attack Israeli cities.
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Endless Lamentation Betrays Cowardice

By Robert B. Sklaroff, M.D.

It is excruciatingly nauseating to listen to storied pundits decry the Iran-Nuke Capitulation and then fail to explore what might be done to stop its imminent implementation.

They claim the next president can fix the problem but, in the interim, upwards of $150B will have enriched the #1 global funder of terrorism.

Andrew C. McCarthy has chronicled efforts by Sen. Ted Cruz—detailed in a letter he wrote to Sen. McConnell—that concluded the pact could be derailed by targeting bankers.
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Regavim

The heinous terror attack in Tel Aviv is an extreme example of the lawlessness that has been ignored for decades. For many years, Regavim has warned against the loss of sovereignty in the Arab sector. Where, more than 110,000 homes are built illegally; Where thousands of citizens evade municipal and income taxes; Where there are over 25,000 illegal weapons of all kinds; Where the rate of serious crime is tens of percentage points above their share of the general population; and where their elected officials’ day and night incite against the State of Israel – the terror attack was only a matter of time.
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ARUTZ SHEVA

Parents of Amiram Ben Uliel profess son’s innocence after his indictment as chief suspect in Duma case.

The Ben Uliel family, whose son Amiram has been charged as the prime suspect in the Duma arson case, responded to the murder indictment on Sunday, stressing his innocence.

In a video message, the Ben Ulliel family said: “We the parents of Amiram are shocked and appalled by the news that has been associated to our beloved son.”

“We believe in the innocence of our son that will be proven in court, and we hope that the courts will reveal the harsh and violent abuse that he has suffered these past weeks during the interrogation process,” the family added. “We want to stress that we are against any and all violence against any person.”
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GERMAN PRESS AGENCY –

A total of 804 vehicles were set aflame in all of France on New Year’s Eve, a 14.5 per cent decrease from the previous year, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Twitter Friday.

The 2014-2015 celebrations saw 940 cars burned.

Burning automobiles as a way to ring in the new year has grown into a trend in recent years, with mostly young men using it as a form of protest.
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T. Belman. The question remains. Do the ends (obtaining enough info to lay charges) justify the suspension of civil liberties and rights for Israeli citizens.

Two Jewish youths suspected of involvement in deadly Duma arson indicted on murder charges Sunday morning.

By Uzi Baruch, INN

Indictments were filed on Sunday morning at the Lod District Court against two Jewish youths suspected of involvement in the deadly arson attack in Duma five months ago.

They have been identified as 21-year-old Amiram Ben-Uliel from Jerusalem and an unnamed 17-year-old from Samaria. Ben-Uliel was charged with three counts of murder, while the minor was charged as an accessory to murder.
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While Syria and Iraq are being torn apart, an independent Kurdish state may emerge • Saudi Arabia tries to establish a NATO-like Sunni coalition, but challenges abound • Meanwhile, Israel would be wise to avoid other people’s battles • A year in review.

By Yaakov Amidror, ISRAEL HAYOM

Kurdish forces northeast of Baghdad in 2014
The changes currently sweeping over the area surrounding Israel are so significant and will so profoundly impact the future of the region that it is difficult to say how it will look in the coming years and onward. From time to time it is important to stop and take stock — make an interim assessment — and the end of the calendar is a good time to do just that.

The concept of “nation-state” has taken quite a blow this year. Three states have entirely collapsed (Iraq, Syria and Libya) and several others are on the verge (chiefly Yemen), and no one would be surprised if additional nations join the list in the future. Even in states that have ostensibly remained intact, deep rifts have emerged that will be difficult to bridge therefore the unrest will not soon abate.

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Stephen Coughlin on ‘Catastrophic Failure’ — on The Glazov Gang

This special edition of The Glazov Gang was joined by Stephen Coughlin, the co-founder of UnconstrainedAnalytics.org and the author of the new book, Catastrophic Failure.

He came on the show to discuss his book and How American Leadership is Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad.

Don’t miss it!

Yoram will be in the US in February, and then in May, 2016, available for speaking engagements  (http://bit.ly/1W5CrSr).

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: a US-Israel initiative”
Straight from the Jerusalem Boardroom #209, http://bit.ly/1YVmFJv

1. PricewaterhouseCoopers: Israeli mergers and acquisitions (M&A) totaled $12.6bn in 2015, a 73.3% increase over 2014 ($7.25bn). Moreover, 62 Israeli companies were acquired for $7.2bn, compared to 52 companies and $5bn in 2014, a fifth year in a row with over $5bn.  Overseas investment in Israeli companies reached $6.5bn, compared to $3.8bn in 2014, a 71% increase. 2015 experienced a rise in the number of investors from the US, China, Hong Kong and Canada. Israeli entrepreneurs and developers are less inclined to sell early-stage startups, investing more resources to reach mature stage, hence the higher price per transaction/investment (Globes business daily, December 28, 2015).

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Jewish Press

A survey by Dr. Mina Tzemach and Mano Geva for Yedioth Ahronoth shows the strengthening of Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and United Torah Judaism. Likud, Kahlon, Shas and the Zionist Camp (Labor) lose seats.

Dr. Mina Tzemach is a renowned expert in conducting public opinion polls, and has been one of the key Israeli pollsters since the field began to flourish in Israel, in the late 1960s.

The survey, carried out by the Midgam Institute, shows that if the Knesset elections were held today, Likud would receive 25 seats, down five seats from its current position.
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Shooter remains at large amid massive police manhunt; semiautomatic rifle fire used in attack on pub on Dizengoff Street

By Judah Ari Gross, TOI

Two people are dead and three are in serious condition in a shooting attack in Tel Aviv just before 3 p.m. Friday.

Witnesses said some 10 shots were fired in the attack, apparently in semiautomatic bursts from a Kalashnikov rifle.

The shots were fired inside a bar at Dizengoff 122, near the city’s well-known Dizengoff Center Mall. The area is crowded on Friday afternoons.

A total of 10 casualties are reported.
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T. Belman. The right to invoke “pressure” depends on whether the event can be classified as “terrorism”. It seems to me that a court hearing is required for making such determination and interested parties should be heard from.

JEWISH PRESS

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein confirmed in “a concrete and personal” manner an order to torture the detainees in the Duma case, Ha’aretz reported Thursday, citing “sources close to the investigation.” The same sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not know about the approval and only received a report about the torture after the fact.

The sources said that Weinstein had given his approval to use torture in interrogating the suspects three weeks ago, after Police had informed him their investigation was stuck in the mud. According to the same sources, except for one suspect, a minor, who gave only partial information to informants, the rest of the suspects remain silent in their interrogations. Under these circumstances, the attorney general decided to allow the Shabak to use “special measures.”
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To draw any equivalence between Arab, Jewish “terror” is like claiming that a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and a rubber dinghy are equivalent because they can both be classed “sailing vessels.”

By Martin Sherman. JPOST

The houses burned [in Duma] aren’t in the outskirts of the town where it is easy to make a getaway. – Amira Hass, Haaretz, July 31

What a complete mess. The Dawabsha family deserves justice, justice requires the correct people [be] punished for this horrific crime…Israel has a justice system that requires evidence to bring charges. No charges have been brought despite a month of intense interrogations and detentions. Politicians have made [a] mockery of our judicial system. – Talkbacker @Zionista, in response to “Judge rejects police appeal against release of Duma suspect,” The Jerusalem Post, December 29

Without decisive proof of commission of a crime, there is no crime. That is the overriding ethical principle of justice in a democracy… – Sever Plocker, Yediot Aharonot, December 30 Read more…

To advance its diplomatic opening to Iran, the administration spied on both law-abiding US citizens and on US lawmakers.

By Caroline Glick, JPOST

It is far from clear why senior Obama administration officials told The Wall Street Journal that under President Barack Obama, the National Security Agency has been aggressively spying not only on Israeli officials but on US citizens and lawmakers who communicate with Israeli officials. Perhaps they were trying to make Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu look like a fool.

After all, the article concludes that the NSA intercepts of these communications “revealed one surprise.”

“Mr. Netanyahu and some of his allies voiced confidence they could win enough votes” in Congress to scuttle Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran.

Ha ha. What dummies.
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Joint Chiefs passed US intel to Assad

Israel Matzav

It’s come to this: The Obama administration – and in particular the CIA – knowingly armed Islamic State terrorists in Syria. Okay, take it with a grain of salt. It came from Seymour Hersh.

Barack Obama’s repeated insistence that Bashar al-Assad must leave office – and that there are ‘moderate’ rebel groups in Syria capable of defeating him – has in recent years provoked quiet dissent, and even overt opposition, among some of the most senior officers on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. Their criticism has focused on what they see as the administration’s fixation on Assad’s primary ally, Vladimir Putin. In their view, Obama is captive to Cold War thinking about Russia and China, and hasn’t adjusted his stance on Syria to the fact both countries share Washington’s anxiety about the spread of terrorism in and beyond Syria; like Washington, they believe that Islamic State must be stopped.

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MK Motti Yogev dismisses left’s criticism of a new civics textbook, stresses that the government will promote Israel’s Jewish roots.

By Benny Toker, INN

MK Motti Yogev (Jewish Home) is unfazed by the left’s criticism of a new civics textbook that was recently approved.

The book was written by, among others, Dr. Assaf Malach who is head of the professional committee on civics, and was approved by Education Minister Naftali Bennett. Many of the political left have claimed the book includes “right-wing values”.

Speaking with Arutz Sheva on Thursday, Yogev rejected recent criticism by the chairman of the Civics Committee, who claimed that ministers or CEOs cannot intervene in the curriculum.
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ISIS is planning to massacre thousands of civilians in public places around the world in 2016 as it desperately seeks to draw the west into a titanic “final battle”.

By Jason Taylor, DAILY EXPRESS

ISIS is plotting to lure western governments into a ‘final battle’ in the Middle East

Today’s issues: Olmert’s fate, Israel Police have realized what’s undermining Israel’s social order, Israel is losing its mind, and the danger of partial no-go zones.

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Hassidic Alt-Rock band ‘Bullet Proof Stockings’ sets out to inspire women from all walks of life to rock out to the beat of their own drum!

By Raphael Poch, INN