Remembering the 1973 Yom Kippur War: Lessons Learned

The following by Efraim Inbar is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum

Remembering the 1973 War

by Efraim Inbar
The Jerusalem Post
October 2, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3625/remembering-the-1973-war

Efraim Inbar

The 1973 war shocked Israel. The remarkable military victory was marred by the acute pain over the many casualties and the disappointment with the political and military leadership. The war had lasting as well as passing effects. Generally, Israel is in much better shape today.

As the war ended, Israeli society lost its naïveté and began a process of political maturation. Greater healthy skepticism toward state institutions and the IDF developed within the media and public opinion.

The war's misfortunes also created a political atmosphere that led to greater political pluralism, propelling the Likud into a ruling position. Over time, the conservative instincts of a changing electorate left the Likud as the main political force in the arena.

Video: The Lady in Number 6 -- The New Movie on the Life of Alice Herz-Sommer, World's Oldest Holocaust Survivor

Three years ago, I wrote about Holocaust Survivor Alice Herz Sommer, Age 106, And Her Music.

Now, 3 years later, there is a movie about Alice Herz-Sommer's life:

The Lady in Number 6 is one of the most inspirational and uplifting stories of the year. As the world’s oldest pianist and holocaust survivor, 109 year-old Alice Herz Sommer shares her views on how to live a long and happy life. She discusses music, laughter and how to remain optimistic come what may. The film features beautiful photographs and rare film footage that truly brings Alice’s extraordinary story to life.

What's The Best Way To Deal With Iran? Just Ask Rouhani!

If Obama is going to negotiate with Iran, he read the article from The Times of Israel that reports on When Rouhani unwittingly told an Israeli agent how to deal with Iran:

In August 1986, in the midst of what would become the Iran-Contra Affair, an Israeli adviser to the prime minister, working undercover as a US envoy, met with Hasan Rouhani, the current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Rouhani, in discussing ways to facilitate the release of seven US hostages then being held in Lebanon, gave the Israeli the following advice: “First and foremost, you have to be firm with [Iranian leader Ayatollah] Khomeini. Stand strongly before him… If you don’t bare sharp teeth before Khomeini, you’re going to have troubles all over the world. [But] if you threaten him with military force, he’ll kiss your hand and run.”

JCPA: After the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Is Hamas in Gaza Next in Line?

Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah addresses the question After the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Is Hamas in Gaza Next in Line?

Here is the executive summary of his article:

• Egypt has finally decided to tackle the security threat from the Sinai Peninsula, a region that was nearly under the control of jihadist organizations with links to al-Qaeda and Hamas.
  
  
• The Egyptian army’s ultimate goal is clear: to recover Egypt’s sovereignty in Sinai. In order to succeed in its mission, the Egyptian supreme command understands that it must neutralize Hamas, which it sees as partly responsible for the security situation in Sinai during the last few years.

Dawn Perlmutter on Jihadist Ritual Murder in the Kenya Mall Attack

The following by Dawn Perlmutter is reposted here with permission of the Middle East Forum:

Jihadist Ritual Murder and Mutilation at the Mall

by Dawn Perlmutter
FrontPageMagazine.com
October 1, 2013
http://www.meforum.org/3623/kenya-mall-attack-jihad

Dawn Perlmutter

During the four-day siege in Kenya's Westgate shopping Mall al-Shabaab jihadists raped, tortured, beheaded, dismembered, castrated, gouged out eyes, amputated fingers and hung hostages on hooks from the roof. According to a forensic medical doctor, "They [the al-Shabaab attackers] removed eyes, ears, noses. Fingers are cut by pliers, noses ripped by pliers"… "Those are not allegations. Those are f****** truths,"… "They removed balls, eyes, ears, nose. They get your hand and sharpen it like a pencil then they tell you to write your name with the blood. They drive knives inside a child's body. Actually, if you look at all the bodies, unless those ones that were escaping, fingers are cut by pliers, the noses are ripped by pliers." There were also reports that hostages were beheaded and their heads thrown out of the windows.

Arlene Kushner on Netanyahu's Speech to the UN -- Not the Usual Conciliatory Tone

From Arlene Kushner:
October 1, 2013

The Shock and the Pride

What had me close to speechless earlier today was a quote by the venerable (sic) US secretary of state, John Kerry.  (With thanks to IMRA for putting it up.)

The source here is Al-Arabiya, but there are other sources as well (e.g., AFP), because the quotes are taken from a "60 Minutes" broadcast.  Said Mr. Kerry (emphasis added):

"...a deal with Iran could be reached within months if Tehran proves that its nuclear program was not being used to build atomic weapons...

Video/Transcript: Netanyahu's Speech at the United Nations General Assembly October 1, 2013

Here is the video of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech today at the United Nations General Assambly, followed by the transcript -- from the Prime Minister's Office website.

Mideast Media Sampler 10/1/13: Pundits and Allies Reject Obama’s Foreign Policies

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection

In a remarkable op-ed last week, Jackson Diehl of the Washington Post excoriated Obama’s Myopic Worldview.

After noting that the President claimed in his U.N. speech, “The world is more stable than it was five years ago,” Diehl responded:

So: Why, according to Obama, is the world better off than in 2008? Well, the global economic crisis has abated. But that’s not all: “We’ve also worked to end a decade of war,” the president said, by withdrawing U.S. and NATO troops from Iraq and Afghanistan and “shifting away from a perpetual war footing.” Here’s where you could almost hear the head-scratching in the Iraqi and Afghan delegations: Violence in both of those countries is considerably worse than it was five years ago, in part because of the U.S. withdrawals.

New York Times, Like Iran's Rouhani, Dilutes Jewish History for Its Readers

...however much mullahs or media may seek to distort inconvenient historical facts, people devoted to truth will continue to know better.
Rabbi Avi Shafran

Rabbi Avi Shafran writes that The New York Times, like Iran's Rouhani, tries its hand at Defining History Down.

At a time that Rouhani sidestepped on the Holocaust, the New York Times for its part also watered down the history of the Jews. Last week, Jodi Rudoren of The New York Times wrote Jews Challenge Rules to Claim Heart of Jerusalem.

Shafran takes issue with matters of emphasis in the article. The real issue, however, is the video that accompanies the article:

Arlene Kushner: Pressure on Netanyahu as He Speaks to Obama and the UN About Iran

From Arlene Kushner:
September 30, 2013

Troubling, Unsettling

But of course!  How could the situation be anything but?

This morning's lead story in the JPost included this (emphasis added):

"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will go into his meeting with US President Barack Obama on Monday aiming not only to reveal the 'true face' of the Iranian regime, but also wanting to hear areaffirmation from Obama of Israel's right to defend itself.

"One of Israel's main concerns presently is that Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's 'charm offensive' has chipped away at Israel's legitimacy for military action if Tehran crosses the red line Netanyahu established at the General Assembly last year."

Read: At meeting with Obama, Netanyahu seeking reaffirmation of Israel's right to defend itself