The incident unfolded while the aircraft traversed airspace known to be frequented by Houthi rebels, heightening fears of potential sabotage.

i24 NEWS                                                                              18 February 2024

El Al flight takes off in Tel Aviv, IsraelYossi Aloni/FLASH90

In a concerning sequence of events for Israeli aviation, hostile elements reportedly attempted to seize control of the communication network on an El Al flight traveling from Phuket, Thailand, to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel.

The incident unfolded while the aircraft traversed airspace known to be frequented by Houthi rebels, heightening fears of potential sabotage, according to a report from Israeli public broadcaster Kann.

Despite the alarming nature of the attempted takeover, the flight managed to reach its intended destination and land safely, averting a potentially catastrophic situation.

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Assessment says ‘Israel takes effective action’ to prevent human rights violations; Biden’s continued support for Israel draws increased criticism

By TOI STAFF  Today, 12:59 am

An Israeli fighter jet releases flares as it flies over the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, December 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The Biden administration is preparing to send a new weapons shipment to Israel that would add to its arsenal even as the US seeks to rein in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip and pushes for a pause in the fighting, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing current and former US officials.

According to the report, the proposed shipment includes around a thousand units of MK-82 bombs, fuses, and Joint Direct Attack Munitions guidance kits, which add precision guidance to bombs.

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February 18, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Remarks at the Conference of the Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations.

Going all the way back to the 1940s, presidents or other senior US officials occasionally have said some ugly things about Israel or Jews.

By  Rafael Medoff, IH     02-18-2024

US President Joe Biden is reported to have used profanity in two recent outbursts against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Sadly, such eruptions are nothing new. Going all the way back to the 1940s, presidents or other senior US officials occasionally have said some ugly things about Israel or Jews.

In 1943, Samuel Rosenman, the chief speechwriter for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, confided to a colleague that the president was “much displeased” to learn that four hundred rabbis were planning to march to the White House to plead for the rescue of Jewish refugees. Rosenman said FDR was so upset that he “used language that morning while breakfasting which would have pleased Hitler himself.”

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The government must act swiftly to end the network’s broadcasts from Israel.

 David M. Weinberg, IH    02-18-2024

The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television network is an evil empire. It glorifies Hamas, including its “heroic” massacres of Oct. 7 and ongoing “resistance” against Israel, and all forms of Iranian proxy terrorism against Israel. It aids Hamas by reporting on IDF troop movements in Gaza and on IDF forces concentrated along the Gaza border. It is actively drumming-up Ramadan terrorism against Israelis too.

By Michael Ordman, VGNI

Future proof is when something has been designed to anticipate and minimize the effects of unwanted future events.  This could apply to so many Israeli achievements and even to its current war against terrorism.

This week’s positive Israel newsletter includes Israeli medical innovations that promise a better future for those with dementia, autism, PTSD, tumors and the war-wounded. It includes a healthier future environment from Israeli innovations that cut pollution, save energy, feed humanity, and cool the planet.

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by Linda Goudsmit   February 18, 2024

Globalism is a replacement ideology that seeks to reorder the world into one singular, planetary Unistate, ruled by the globalist elite themselves. The globalist war on nation-states cannot succeed without collapsing the United States of America. The long-term strategic attack plan moves America incrementally from constitutional republic to socialism to globalism to feudalism. The tactical attack plan uses asymmetric psychological and informational warfare to destabilize Americans and drive society out of objective reality into the madness of subjective reality. America’s children are the primary target of the globalist predators.

We have discussed the weaponization of education in American schools and its sinister political objective to eliminate high literacy, individual agency, and independent intelligence. Dr. Dennis Cuddy, historian and political analyst, wrote an extraordinary article published on NewsWithViews, April 26, 2021, “An Unaware and Compliant Citizenry.”[i]
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#India has reportedly delivered 20 Hermes 900 drones to #Israel amid the ongoing war in #Gaza. The India-made drones were manufactured at a private facility in Hyderabad. pic.twitter.com/YUruO713K5

— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) February 13, 2024

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by Marilyn Stern
Middle East Forum Webinar  February 12, 2024

Michael Rubin, director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, spoke to a February 12 Middle East Forum podcast (video). The following summarizes his comments:

Iranian-backed Houthi militants are harming the international economy by disrupting global shipping in the Red Sea with anti-ship missile and drone attacks. The Houthis, a Shia tribe in northern Yemen, have been accumulating weapons since their uprising in 2004 against the government of Yemen. In 2009, Iran shipped weaponry to the Houthis in an effort to counter its regional Sunni foe, Saudi Arabia, which had begun “sectarian propaganda” against the Houthis. Iran’s assertiveness coincided with the commencement of the Obama administration, and the regime, which was emboldened to “test the waters,” concluded that there was “permissiveness.”

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B. Kalman:  In the United States, espionage has gone completely off the rails.  The passage of the Patriot Act allowed the NSA to surveil potential terrorists outside of the United States.  Under the Obama administration the Patriot Act allowed for surveillance of US citizens that Obama deemed his political rivals and enemies.  Now surveillance in the US is used for anyone deemed “a threat to democracy,” i.e. any conservative, traditional Catholic, patriot, or political populist, or dissenter of the government’s narrative.  There are no guard rails at all.  The Senate Select Permanent Committee on Intelligence, instead of protecting the rights of the citizens, serves to protect the Intelligence Community from the prying interest of the citizens.

By Everest Chahali, UJASUSI BLOG                         17 February 2024

The art of spying, or espionage, has been an integral part of human history for centuries, evolving alongside societal, technological, and political changes. From ancient civilizations to modern nation-states, espionage has played a pivotal role in shaping the course of events, influencing diplomacy, warfare, and even the fate of nations. This essay aims to delve into the multifaceted world of espionage, exploring its history, techniques, ethical considerations, and contemporary relevance.

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A comprehensive timeline of the White House’s post-Oct. 7 words and deeds eviscerating the claim it has Israel’s back — let alone America’s

Benjamin Weingarten, Substack Feb 16, 2024

The notion that President Joe Biden is a stalwart supporter of Israel, let alone acting in the best interests of the U.S. in the Middle East, is and has been a complete and total canard.

This Big Lie, propagated by the administration and its mouthpieces, provides cover for what amounts to an anti-American plot to put the screws to Israel, as part and parcel of an effort to make the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, Iran, the regional hegemon.

Since Oct. 7^th, a Holocaust-in-a-day perpetrated by Iran’s proxy Hamas, despite initial rhetoric to the contrary and the continued provision of munitions (for now), the Biden administration has shown in word and more importantly deed that it is doing everything it possibly can within political reason to slander, stymie, sabotage, and ultimately imperil the very existence of our chief ally in the Middle East.

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I24News English, February 17, 2024

B. Kalman:  This is an article containing and about the Tucker Carlson interview with Mike Benz.  It contains Sundance’s perspective on the changes being made to the internet in the US by the US national security surveillance state.  The changes are happening now, but may seem invisible at first.  It’s important to know what we are facing.

By Sundance, CTH                                                             16 February 2024

The national security state is the main driver of censorship and election interference in the United States. “What I’m describing is military rule,” says Mike Benz. “It’s the inversion of democracy.”

CTH readers have discussed this issue for several years.  What Benz describes in the video below is the reality of what systems and tech architecture are in place right now.  The big picture of who wants control over the domestic internet apparatus and how.  WATCH: 

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INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR                  16 February 2024

The Iran Update provides insights into Iranian and Iranian-sponsored activities abroad that undermine regional stability and threaten US forces and interests. It also covers events and trends that affect the stability and decision-making of the Iranian regime. The Critical Threats Project (CTP) at the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) provides these updates regularly based on regional events. For more on developments in Iran and the region, see our interactive map of Iran and the Middle East. 

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by Majid Rafizadeh, GATESTONE  •  February 17, 2024

Protesters and members of Iranian paramilitary’s Basij forces march next to the fourth generation Khorramshahr ballistic missile Khaibar in Tehran on November 24, 2023. (Photo by Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

• “No one ever said it better than Osama bin Laden: When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they are attracted to the strong horse.” — Thomas Friedman, newyorker.com, July 5, 2010.
• Especially in the Middle East, leaders are looking for who will protect them.
• Read more…

Kedar discusses the threats of potential Iranian militia attacks from Jordan and Syria.

IDSF Webinar,  February 14, 2024