Islamist Gunmen Kill Twelve at Paris Magazine Offices

February News

FRANCE

ISLAMIST GUNMEN KILL TWELVE AT PARIS MAGAZINE OFFICES

Masked gunmen armed with AK-47s and shouting "Allahu Akbar" stormed the offices of the French satirical news magazine Charlie Hebdo in a terror attack that left 12 people dead. The magazine had published cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad and was firebombed three years ago. Two gunmen killed a maintenance worker on their way into the building. At the third-floor editorial offices of the magazine they shot dead eight journalists, a guest and a police officer. "Hey! We avenged the Prophet Muhammad! We killed Charlie Hebdo," one of the men shouted. As they fled, they killed another police officer. Among the victims of the terror attack in Paris was a Jewish member of the staff, Georges Wolinski. The son of a Tunisian Jewish mother and a Polish Jewish father, Wolinski was a well-known caricaturist in France. (NY Times/INN)

TWO HOSTAGE STANDOFFS IN PARIS

French anti-terrorist police sealed off a small northern town and helicopters hovered overhead after a police source said two brothers who carried out an attack on the Charlie Hebdo news offices, took at least one person hostage in a small print works. Meanwhile, in a second crisis in Paris, French police announced that two armed people had taken at least five hostages, mostly women and children, in a kosher grocery store in the French capital.

French security forces stormed the printing factory outside Paris where they had cornered the brothers suspected in the Charlie Hebdo terror attack. Police said the brothers were killed and one hostage was freed. Meanwhile, in the east of Paris, gunfire erupted as police stormed a kosher supermarket, where at least one armed assailant had seized five hostages after three people were killed in a gun battle. The gunman was also killed, security sources said, as terrified hostages were seen running out of the store.

The dramatic climax to the two stand-offs brought to an end more than 48 hours of fear and uncertainty in the country that began when the two brothers slaughtered 12 people at Charlie Hebdo in the bloodiest attack on French soil in half a century. The gunman killed by police after taking hostages at a Jewish supermarket in Paris told media sources earlier that he had "coordinated" with the suspected Charlie Hebdo attackers and belonged to the Islamic State (ISIS) group. After neutralizing the threat, the French police were horrified to discover the bodies of four hostages, shot in cold blood, and four hostages critically wounded. (Arutz-7/Fox/ABC)

UP TO 1.6M TO HAVE TAKEN TO THE STREETS OF THE FRENCH CAPITAL

More than 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march linking arms in an act of solidarity. The marchers gathered to demonstrate unity after the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers, and a kosher supermarket. The French government said the rally turnout was the highest on record. The interior ministry reported turnout across France was at least 3.7 million, including up to 1.6 million in Paris. Rallies also took place outside of France, with thousands of people gathering in London, Washington, Montreal Berlin and Israel. World leaders, including Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, British PM David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, and Jordan's King Abdullah II joined the Paris march. (BBC) EU MINISTERS CALL FOR ANTI-TERRORISM ALLIANCE WITH MUSLIM STATES

EU ministers have called for an alliance with Muslim countries to fight the growing Islamist terrorist threat, with Europe on high alert after the deadly Paris attacks and anti-terrorism raids in Belgium. As Belgian troops patrolled the streets in the EU headquarters Brussels and other cities, the focus for the 28-nation European Union was how to prevent battle-hardened citizens returning home from the Syria and Iraq. The Arab League's secretary general was at the talks, which are being held less than two weeks after three French gunmen who caused carnage in Paris claimed they were acting on behalf of the Al Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS) terror groups. EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said: "We need to strengthen our way of cooperating together, first of all with Arab countries but also internally," she told reporters. "The terrorist threat is not only the one we faced in Paris but also spreading in many other parts of the world." Belgium has led efforts to forge a European response to the threat and Monday's meeting will help prepare for a special summit on February 12 dedicated to fighting terrorism. But so far many EU states have been reluctant to open up their intelligence networks to anyone except their most trusted allies for fear of harmful leaks. (Arutz-7)

NETANYAHU AT PARIS VICTIMS’ FUNERAL: TIME FOR CIVILIZED WORLD TO UPROOT ENEMIES IN OUR MIDST

PM Netanyahu spoke at the funeral of four Jewish victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Following words of condolence to those bereaved, he called for world leaders, particularly in the West, to take a more forceful stand against radical Islam. "These aren’t just enemies of the Jews, but all of humanity," the prime minister said. "It’s about time that all of the civilized world unite and uproot these enemies from our midst." Netanyahu said that during his trip to Paris, he came away with the impression that "most leaders understand or are starting to understand that the terror of radical Islam presents a clear and present danger to the world in which we live." (J. Post)

AFTER PARIS ATTACKS, ISRAEL VOWS TO WELCOME EUROPEAN JEWS SEEKING TO IMMIGRATE

Israeli leaders said they would welcome with open arms French Jews who fear for their safety in the wake of attacks by Islamist extremists in Paris. Israeli PM Netanyahu and members of his cabinet linked arms with French politicians during a march in Paris to commemorate the 17 people killed in three days. Netanhayu drove home the point that Israel serves as a "front line" against Islamist terrorist groups. "They might have different names - ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, al-Shabab, al-Qaeda, Hizbullah - but all of them are driven by the same hatred and bloodthirsty fanaticism." After Islamist terrorists massacred people in the heart of Paris, Jewish Agency head and former Soviet Prisoner of Zion Natan Sharansky said, "We're not building our aliyah strategy on tragic events. We're building it on the fact there is a place in the world called Europe, where Jews are feeling increasingly uncomfortable." Sharansky predicted more than 10,000 French Jews will move to Israel in 2015 - breaking 2014's record of 7,000. (Times of Israel/Washington Post)

30% OF FRENCH JEWISH STUDENTS STAY HOME AFTER ATTACKS

As much as 30-40% of France's Jewish schoolchildren stayed home on the first day of school after the attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris. France has deployed nearly 5,000 security forces and police to protect the 700 Jewish schools in the country following the attacks. Students arriving at school saw policemen or soldiers guarding the entrances like a military base. Some schools, such as the Lubavitch elementary school, were guarded by a full squad of French soldiers on a 24-hour watch - after concrete threats were made against it and shots were fired. At the Pardes Hana school, security has been heightened, and students were asked to present a passport at the entrance. Police are conducting regular patrols around the clock near the school and a police car is parked outside the building at all times. According to sources, students have not stopped talking about death with many saying they are afraid of being attacked and expressing fears their relatives could be murdered. Security is high at synagogues, where "policemen with guns drawn" are already stationed following the attack at the Hyper Casher (kosher) store in southern Paris. (Israel National News)

FRENCH INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: THIS MAY NOT BE OVER

The French intelligence community believes that the attacks in Paris could be a prelude to even more lethal attacks. Yves Trotignon, a former top counter-terrorism official, now a private terrorism consultant, said he was in close contact with French intelligence officials investigating the assaults and that there is a strong feeling “something more dangerous is ahead.” French law enforcement officers were told to delete their social media accounts and to carry their weapons at all times because terror sleeper cells have been activated in the country. Likewise, Britain’s MI5 security agency, Andrew Parker, told defense and intelligence experts in London that British intelligence officers believe terror groups are crafting “complex and ambitious plots” against Western targets. (Arutz-7)

Across EUROPE

IN BRUSSELS, JEWISH SECURITY PROFESSIONALS TRAIN FOR THE NEXT ATTACK

Seventy-two hours after a deadly attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris, dozens of Jewish community officials from across Europe were operating a hectic situation room at a hotel in the Belgian capital. But crisis managers and community leaders were not dealing with the horror unfolding 200 miles away in the French capital. Rather they were preparing for the next crisis situation, playing out a practice scenario with multiple casualties at a Jewish facility somewhere in Europe. Staffers were training to handle the deluge of queries, pleas, disinformation and even threats that often follow attacks on Jewish facilities. It was said to be the first pan-European simulation of its kind and was the latest step in a plan by the European Jewish Congress’ Security and Crisis Centre, or SACC. The drill aimed to prepare communities to manage the consequences of the terrorist threats on a continent with nearly nonexistent national borders and vast disparities in law-enforcement and crisis-management standards. The drill comes as many French Jews, reeling from the attack that killed four at a kosher supermarket, have publicly questioned whether public authorities are capable of ensuring their security. Thousands of French soldiers and police were dispatched to protect the country’s 700 Jewish schools. (JTA)

EUROPE’S LEADING RABBI: JEWS MUST BEGIN CARRYING GUNS

One of Europe’s most prominent Jewish organizations is petitioning the EU to pass new legislation that would permit Jewish community members to carry guns “for the essential protection of their communities." The European Jewish Association (EJA), which represents Jewish communities across Europe, says that gun license laws must be altered following a string of deadly attacks on Jews in France and other European countries, where anti-Semitism has been growing at an alarming rate. The recent attacks, including one on a Kosher market that killed four, “have revealed the urgent need to stop talking and start acting” in a way that empowers Europe’s Jews, according to a letter sent by EJA Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin to EU leaders.

The EU, which has enacted very stringent gun control laws, should train Jews to be proficient with guns in order to maintain their safety.” Margolin said he and the EJA have been warning for “a very long time” that anti-Semitism is growing in Europe and that it poses a direct threat to the continent’s Jewish population. “We demanded from the European governments some time ago that action should be taken and were not surprised to see the results in Paris.” Many Jews are living in fear and have shunned community outposts such as synagogues and kosher markets out of fear of an attack like that in Paris. (Free Beacon)

POLL: BRITISH JEWS FEAR FUTURE IN EUROPE

45% of British Jews fear they have no long-term future in Britain and 58% were concerned they have no long-term future in Europe, according to a survey published by the Campaign Against Anti- Semitism (CAA). A quarter of those surveyed said they had considered leaving Britain in the past two years. The CAA said 2014 saw the most anti-Semitic incidents recorded since records began 30 years ago. "The results of our survey are a shocking wake-up call straight after the atrocities in Paris," said CAA chairman Gideon Falter. "Britain is at a tipping point. Unless anti-Semitism is met with zero tolerance, it will grow and British Jews will increasingly question their place in their own country." The organization explained that anti-Semitism in Britain tended to rise during crises involving Israel, "but the sentiment behind it does not disappear when the crises end." (AFP)

THREATS TO SWEDISH JEWISH COMMUNITY DOUBLE SINCE PARIS ATTACKS

The number of threats to the Swedish Jewish community has spiraled since the attacks in Paris and the killing of four Jews at a kosher supermarket, a community representative said. "The threats have at least doubled in Sweden," a representative from Council of Jewish Communities in Sweden told media sources. Security was increased around Jewish institutions, especially in the Swedish capital. "The Säpo (intelligence services) and the police believe that we must have more protection," said the spokesperson. "They have a very good understanding of our situation. This is very important because our members are worried," she added. (Ynet)

NETANYAHU: ISLAMISTS’ GOAL IS TO DESTROY FREE SOCIETIES

PM Binyamin Netanyahu offered condolences to Paris, after Islamists launched a horrific shooting rampage at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office which killed 12 people. The prime minister expressed sympathy on behalf of the entire nation to the President of France, the bereaved families and the French people, adding, "Israel as a whole stands with you during this difficult time." Netanyahu noted that he had warned the international community of a terrorist upswing before and even reiterated this warning recently. "I was standing UN podium a few months ago and I said that if Hamas terrorism, Hezbollah terrorism, ISIS and al-Qaeda terrorism does not stop here and now, it would spread all over the world. If we do not fight it consistently, with unity and determination, the horrible acts we saw today in Paris will not be the last or the worst. The main goal of Islamic terrorism is to destroy societies, and countries, to stamp out human civilizations based on freedom and to impose in its place a fanatical dictatorship which returns humanity to another era.” (Arutz-7)

DANISH NEWSPAPER REPUBLISHES CHARLIE HEBDO CARTOONS

The Danish newspaper Berlingske has republished cartoons on Islamic themes from the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, as part of its coverage of the attack which killed 12 people in Paris. This edition of Berlingske showed several past front pages from the French magazine. Among them was one depicting the Prophet Mohammad and another about Sharia law. Such images provoked angry reactions from Muslims when originally published by Charlie Hebdo, and footage of the killings at the magazine's offices showed gunmen shouting "we have avenged the Prophet Mohammed." The managing editor of Corriere della Sera, Italy's leading newspaper, said in a video editorial that his daily would also republish Charlie Hebdo's cartoons. (Arutz-7)

ISRAEL

FAILED UN STATEHOOD BID AN EMBARASSMENT TO PA

The Palestinian Authority for months hollered as loudly as it could about going to the UN Security Council to unilaterally seek imposed terms of “peace” on Israel. But in the end, the motion failed even without America needing to use its veto. Israel Nitzan from the Israeli mission to the UN issued the following in response to the UNSC vote: “The Palestinians seek and find every opportunity to avoid direct negotiations and to walk circumventing paths. We’ve become accustomed to their political manoeuvres. But today they surpassed themselves by going all the way to the Security Council to make a mockery of it with embarrassing resolutions.”

The Palestinian motion had demanded a full Israeli withdrawal from Judea, Samaria and the eastern half of Jerusalem by no later than 2017, as well as the resumption of “negotiations” based on that ultimate outcome and resulting in a peace agreement within one year. Of course, with the outcome already set in stone, Israel noted there would be no need to negotiate, and no need for the Palestinians to even consider Israel’s conditions, such as an end to anti-Jewish incitement in the Palestinian media and official recognition of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. Ultimately, the resolution garnered eight votes on the Security Council, with France, China, Russia, Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan and Luxembourg supporting the motion. Nine votes are required for a resolution to pass, barring veto by one of the council’s five permanent members.

Voting against the resolution were the United States and Australia, while the five remaining nations (the UK, Nigeria, Lithuania, South Korea and Rwanda) abstained. The big surprise was Nigeria, which had previously signalled it would support the resolution, leaving the Palestinians to feel confident of victory. But intensive Israeli diplomatic efforts appeared to have won over Nigeria at the last minute. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, with whom he maintains warm personal ties, to thank him for helping to thwart a Palestinian manoeuvre that would ultimately have only made true peace even more unattainable. THOUSANDS IN ISRAEL MOURN PARIS KOSHER MARKET TERROR VICTIMS

Thousands of mourners gathered in Jerusalem for the funeral of four Jewish people who died in an attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris. The victims were killed when a gunman stormed the Hyper Casher (kosher) supermarket in eastern Paris, before taking hostages inside. Speaking at the funeral PM Netanyahu said that he “knows the pain of bereavement” and that “the people of Israel and the entire State of Israel embrace you with love on the day that four new graves will be dug into the soil of Jerusalem.” President Reuven Rivlin said, his voice quivering at the service, “This is not how we wanted to welcome you to Israel. We wanted you alive, we wanted for you, life. At moments such as these, I stand before you, brokenhearted, shaken and in pain, and with me stands and cries an entire nation."

The four Jews killed in the terror attack in Paris were buried in Jerusalem. Yohan Cohen, 22, who worked at the kosher supermarket, was reported to have been killed trying to stop the terrorist from killing a 3-year-old boy. Yoav Hattab, 21, had just returned from a Birthright tour to Israel. Philippe Braham, 45, a computer engineer, is survived by his wife and four children. Francois-Michel Saada, 64, a pension fund manager, was the father of two children, both living in Israel. PM Netanyahu said the victims were “murdered solely for being Jewish" in "an attack of hatred by a despicable murderer." (Ha’aretz/J.Post)

MURDER OF JEWS AT PRAYER PROMOTED IN HAMAS VIDEO

Hamas' Islamic Bloc at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem has produced a video promoting the murder of Jews at prayer. The video opens with two Jews in prayer shawls talking and praying near a model of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. A masked man stabs one of the Jews to death. Other masked fighters appear with rifles and shoot the second Jew. The song in the video encourages Palestinians to "open fire, have no mercy, shoot the Zionists!" (Palestinian Media Watch)

JESUS THE PALESTINIAN

Just as he does every December, PA President Mahmoud Abbas made the Christmas-time claim that Jesus was a Palestinian. “Jesus' message resonates in our prayers for our people in our capital Jerusalem, who continue to resist the Israeli attempts to turn the city into an exclusive Jewish place," Abbas stressed. "The mosques and the churches of Jerusalem will continue to remind the world of the Palestinian, Arab, and Christian and Muslim identity of the city. Justice means ending the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, an integral part of the State of Palestine on the basis of the 1967 border."

PA security spokesperson Adnan Al-Damiri referred to Jesus as "the first Palestinian martyr." Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Supreme Shari'ah Judge and Abbas' Adviser on Religious and Islamic Affairs joined the conversation, expressing the close ties between Palestine and the birth of Jesus Christ. "Christmas is also a Palestinian holiday, because Jesus, peace be upon him, was Palestinian. He was born in Palestine; lived and was sent as a prophet to Palestine,” Al- Habbash said. “Therefore, Christmas has a special Palestinian flavour.” Yet the New Testament defines Jesus as a Jewish resident of Judea. The Roman Empire changed the name of "Judea" to "Palestine" 100 years after Jesus' death. (Jerusalem Post) ‘JERUSALEM IS THE WILD WEST’

Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel toured with Jerusalem Municipality Dov Kalmanovitz and Yael Entebi in Jerusalem's Shuafat neighborhood where they exposed the illegal Arab construction in the neighborhood for news cameras. Both Ariel and the Council members noted that Shuafat has been known for its weapons caches, loudest Muslim muezzin (prayer tower) calls, and shooting attacks on Jewish residents of Jerusalem. They reported complaints of residents who fear the security situation and the minimal involvement of the Israel Police at the site. According to Entebi, "people can sit on their porch and suddenly feel a bullet graze them. The Wild West is here, and it has spread throughout the Jerusalem municipality." Housing Minister Ariel said, “It turns out that there are parts of Jerusalem that Israel is not sovereign over and does not control - and it's happening right here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Solving this requires a special effort of us all, and I will work with other members to exercise their sovereignty in this area." (Jerusalem Post)

ISRAEL CLOSES THREE ISLAMIC CHARITIES FOR CAUSING UNREST ON TEMPLE MOUNT

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the Israel Police closed three NGOs they say were funneling money to activities meant to "inflame tensions on the Temple Mount." The three charities were named by the Shin Bet as "Ruad Al-Aqsa", "The Al-Jaffar Fund for Art and literature", and the Nazareth-based "Muslims for Al-Aqsa". According to Shin Bet, these groups were formed in October 2014 by the northern branch of the Islamic movement “with the purpose of funding activities meant to disrupt the security of visitors to the Temple Mount and in order to inflame tensions and cause disturbances, while harming the sovereignty of the state of Israel at the site.” The closures follow a decision made by the Defense minister on December 29th, when he declared them banned organizations. (Jerusalem Post)

JEWISH YOUTH STABBED IN THE LUNG WITH A SCREWDRIVER RETURNING FROM THE WESTERN WALL

Jerusalem police arrested a 15-year-old East Jerusalem resident on suspicion of stabbing a yeshiva student near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City Thursday evening. The youth was brought in for questioning. The victim, 21, was stabbed in the back with a screwdriver by an assailant described as an “Arab.” He was taken to the hospital suffering a punctured lung and said to be in moderate condition following medical treatment. A gruesome photo taken earlier showed the weapon still in Fishman's back, embedded up to its hilt. The stabber fled the scene after the assault. (Times of Israel)

PALESTINIAN TERRORIST STABS 12 ABOARD CROWDED BUS TEL AVIV

MDA paramedics say nine people stabbed in attack carried out by 23-year-old man from Tulkarm. At least four of the victims - including the bus driver, who struggled with the attacker - were listed in serious condition, while at least three others were moderately wounded, according to Magen David Adom paramedics. They added that at least 12 people had been treated for shock. (JPost)

YOU TUBE VIDEO SHOWS STABBING METHODS

A video showing how to stab a victim correctly has been shared on Palestinian social media networks. The video shows two masked men wearing black-and-white checkered keffiyahs demonstrating the different stab positions. The video demonstrates how to turn the knife after stabbing and how to stab someone quickly and walk away. It ends with the statement, “What are you waiting for? Rise up and stab.” Two Israel Police officers were stabbed near the Lion’s Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City. (JTA) HUNDREDS OF HAMAS TERRORISTS IN ISRAEL SWITCHING TO ISIS

Israeli security officials estimate that hundreds of Hamas terrorists are leaving the "moderate" terrorist group in favor of ISIS to wage war on Israel - and the Palestinian Authority. The leader of the Hebron ISIS cell, Ahmed Wadah Salah Shehada (22), admitted under Israel Security Agency Shin Bet investigation that he switched from Hamas to ISIS because it was too "moderate" for him. The security system assesses that hundreds of other terrorists have made the move to ISIS like Shehada, and are in contact with the terrorist organization through online social media. "This [Hebron] cell was just the tip of the iceberg," a security source was quoted as saying. "There are terrorists who are tired of Hamas because it is portrayed as moderate and not aggressive and extremist enough against Israel." Indeed, ISIS already has a foothold in Gaza where it took an active part in last summer's terror war against Israel, and where it claimed a bombing attack on the French Cultural Center last October. (Israel National News)

IDF CREATES NEW INTELLIGENCE DEPT. TO MONITOR ISIS

The Israeli Defense Forces have created a new department dedicated to intelligence information on the terrorist organization Islamic State. The IDF tracks, among other things, the fighting methods of the organization, the statements of its leaders, and published propaganda videos. Their major concern is the spread of ISIS within Israel's borders - an already present phenomenon. Another major concern is that Palestinian Arab residents of Judea & Samaria, dissatisfied with their leadership, will join the organization. "For the IDF, it is a very disturbing possibility that these videos will affect the Palestinian Arab public, already frustrated with their leadership, and we follow that trend religiously," the officer noted. He also addressed ISIS' skill in recruiting young people to join the terrorist organization. "ISIS's people are knocking on our border," the officer said. "Today there are strong in Sinai and therefore we have to prepare for it. The officer added that with time, monitoring of ISIS will increase even more, given the organization's strengthening and closeness to Israel's borders. (Israel National News)

LEBANON/IRAN

ISRAEL ATTACKS FORCES HEZBOLLAH CLAIMS WEREN’T THERE

An Israel Air Force helicopter gunship fired at least two missiles into the Syrian border town of Quneitra killing a top Hezbollah terrorist commander and a number of his deputies and advisers. Six members of the Iranian Revolutionary guards were also reportedly killed in the strike including an Iranian commander. An Israeli security source said the terrorists were preparing an attack on Israel and that the airstrike took place near Quneitra, close to the ceasefire line separating Syria and Israel. Hezbollah officials were incensed and vowed that a harsh response would be forthcoming. This was curious, since just days earlier Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah claimed his militia had not deployed any forces to the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. At any rate, Israeli and Western intelligence confirmed the slain commander, Jihad Mughniyeh, son of assassinated Hezbollah operations chief Imad Mughniyeh, had led a large and powerful Hezbollah cell that was planning attacks against northern Israel. Hezbollah officials are calling the younger Mughniyeh’s death “an unbearable blow,” and threatening revenge against the Jewish state. Hezbollah “will launch between 4,000–5,000 rockets at Israel and will destroy hundreds of targets per day.” Hezbollah is estimated to have a stockpile of well over 50,000 missiles. (Israel Today) IRANIAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CHIEF: ISRAEL SHOULD EXPECT DESTRUCTIVE THUNDER BOLTS:

Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) warned that Israel could expect a "destructive" response for its role in firing at a military convoy in Syria's Quneitra. Members of the elite unit were among those killed in an Israeli air strike attack on Hezbollah and Iranian operatives on the Syrian Golan Heights. "The Revolutionary Guard is committed to the annihilation of the Zionist regime," Iranian media quoted Jafari as saying. "Zionists," the general warned, "should expect destructive thunderbolts." Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Israel was not only behind the air strike in Syria , but was also responsible for "all acts of terror" in the Middle East. Israel has not confirmed that it carried out the strike, however PM Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel would not give up its right to defend itself against all those who wish to propagate terror and other attacks against its citizens or its territory. (Jerusalem Post)

SLAIN IRANIAN WAS PLANNING HEZBOLLAH MISSILE BASE

The Iranian general who was killed in an Israeli airstrike near the border with the Golan Heights was a ballistic missile expert who was visiting Syria as part of a project to set up a missile base near the border with Israel. General Mohammed Ali Allahdadi, whom Tehran acknowledged was killed in an Israeli missile strike along with several Hezbollah fighters, was tasked with building four new Hezbollah missile bases near the Israel-Syria frontier. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed Allahdadi was ostensibly dispatched to Syria to “provide military advice to the Syrian government and nation in their war with radical Sunni terrorists, and provided valuable analysis and advice in neutralizing the plots of the Zionist-backed conspiracy in the Syrian soil.” Israeli defense officials said the country is on high alert for possible strikes from the Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The fact that three high-ranking IRGC officers were killed in the attack highlights once more that Iran perceives Syria and Lebanon as Tehran's first line of defense against Israel. (Times of Israel)

NAZRALLAH: HEZBOLLAH HAS CAPABILITIES BEYOND ISRAEL’S IMAGINATION

Hezbollah possesses a sophisticated weapons arsenal as well as military capabilities beyond anything Israel can even start to comprehend, the Shiite terror group’s chief claimed. “The resistance in Lebanon has everything the enemy can imagine and not imagine,” Hassan Nasrallah said during an interview with Lebanese television station Al Mayadeen. “We have weapons of all types, whatever comes to mind,” the Hezbollah leader added, according to the Lebanese Daily Star news site. Nasrallah further stated that should Israel choose to provoke his organization, Hezbollah was fully prepared for a military confrontation with the Jewish state. “If Israel attacks Lebanon, our resistance is strong and our ability to win is great,” he said. In September, a senior IDF official warned that while Hezbollah has no immediate plan to attack Israel, a minor security incident could erupt into a full-fledged war on Israel’s northern front during which the terror organization would likely try to capture swaths of the Galilee. Hezbollah has managed a number of cross-border attacks on Israel, sometimes placing explosives next to army infrastructure. In 2006, the group killed two soldiers and nabbed their bodies, sparking a bloody war. (Times of Israel)

IRANIAN MISSILE THAT ‘CAN REACH FAR BEYOND EUROPE

Iran has built a 27-meter-long missile capable of delivering a warhead "far beyond Europe," and placed it on a launch pad at a site close to Tehran, Israeli Channel 2 television reported, showing what it said were the first satellite images of the missile ever seen in the West. The missile could be used to launch spacecraft or deliver warheads around the world. (Times of Israel)

CHILD SOLDIERS WHO ESCAPED ISIS TELL OF LESSONS IN BEHEADING

Jomah, a 17-year-old Syrian who joined Islamic State last year, sat in a circle of trainees for a lesson in beheading, a course taught to boys as young as 8. Teachers brought in three frightened Syrian soldiers, who were forced to their knees. A teacher asked for volunteers and said, "Those who behead the infidels will receive gifts from God," recalled Jomah. Afterward, the teachers ordered the students to pass around the severed heads. The enrollment of hundreds of boys in such terrorist training camps could trouble the Middle East for years to come. A British-based Syrian monitoring organization said Sunday that the IS group has killed 1,878 people in Syria during the past six months, the majority of them civilians. Islamic State also killed 120 of its own members, most of them foreign fighters trying to return home, in the last two months, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Jerusalem Post/WSJ)

ANTI-SEMITISM

WIESENTHAL CENTER: WORST GLOBAL ANTISEMITIC/ANTI-ISRAEL INCIDENTS OF 2014

The Simon Wiesenthal Center has ranked the 10 worst outbreaks of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in 2014. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center’s associate dean, said that Europe dominated the list of incidents of Israel hatred and anti-Semitic violence, with six mentions. The No. 1 slot went to a doctor in Belgium who refused to provide medical care to a 90-year-old Jewish woman with a fractured rib. He told her son, who had requested the care: “Send her to Gaza for a few hours, then she will get rid of the pain. I’m not coming,” and hung up. Parts of Jordan’s government and the Palestinian Fatah party in Israel’s disputed territories garnered the second spot. After Palestinian terrorists murdered four rabbis in the Kehilat Bnai Torah synagogue in west Jerusalem, Jordanian MPs organized a moment of silence for the terrorists and read Koran verses aloud, stating their purpose was to “glorify their pure souls and the souls of all the martyrs in the Arab and Muslim nations.” The brutal assault on a Jewish couple, including the rape of a woman, in an apartment on the outskirts of Paris, resulted in ranking No. 3. Assailants tied up the couple and demanded, “Tell us where you hide the money. You Jews always have money.”

MPs from the radical anti-Israel wing of Germany’s Left Party secured the No. 4 spot. According to the center, “On November 10, the Left Party invited notorious Israel-bashers in the party’s meeting room in the Bundestag, the day after commemoration of the anniversary of Kristallnacht – the 1938 pogrom when the Nazis burned Jewish synagogues across Germany.” The fifth ranking went to Turkish columnist Faruk Köse, who wrote that Turkish Jews should pay a special tax for damages during Operation Protective Edge this past summer. The spread of right-wing anti-Semitism by Björn Söder, a Sweden Democrats Party politician, resulted in a sixth- place ranking. The Wiesenthal Center blasted Sweden’s government for failing to combat Jew hatred, saying, “Swedish Jews have been targets of hate crimes from Muslim extremists, but authorities have rarely, if ever, taken action against the perpetrators.” In several countries, up to a third of Jewish residents are mulling emigration, according to a 2013 study by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights. (Jerusalem Post)

ARGENTINA PROSECUTOR WHO LEVELED IRAN ACCUSATIONS FOUND DEAD

A prosecutor who had accused President Cristina Fernandez of shielding Iranian suspects in the nation's deadliest terror attack was found dead of a gunshot wound in his Buenos Aires apartment. Sources said there was no indication anybody else was involved in the death. Alberto Nisman’s body was discovered hours before he was to testify in a Congressional hearing about the 1994 bombing of the country's largest Jewish centre. The death came only five days after Nisman accused President Fernandez and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman of reaching a deal with Iran that shielded some officials from possible punishment for the attack that killed 85 people and wounded more than 200.

On Dec. 25, 2007, Nisman spoke at the Jerusalem Centre about the cover-up. Opposition Congresswoman Patricia Bullrich said Nisman told her he had received threats after denouncing the president. Israel's foreign ministry expressed "deep sorrow" over Nisman's death, calling him "a courageous, venerable jurist who acted with determination to expose the identities of the terrorists and their dispatchers." Nisman was appointed 10 years ago by Fernandez's late husband, then President Nestor Kirchner, to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires. Argentina has one of the largest concentrations of Jews outside of Israel, with estimates ranging around 200,000, mostly in Buenos Aires. (CBS)

10 ISRAELI TOURISTS HURT IN ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACK IN ARGENTINA

An hours-long attack took place in a hostel in a small Argentine village. Three assailants burned, robbed and beat the tourists at the Onda Azul hostel in Lago Puelo, in southern Argentina the Argentine media reported. Police in the Chubut province are investigating. (JPost)