To provide greater exposure to primary Israeli news sources and opinions in order to become better informed on the issues, and to gain a better understanding of the wide range of perspectives that exist in Israeli society and politics. Issue 1112 • June 29, 2018 • 16 Tammuz 5778 IDF STRIKES 'HAMAS VEHICLE USED BY FLAMING KITE LAUNCHERS'; operational capabilities, casts doubt on its readiness for a conflict in the south 12 ROCKETS FIRED FROM GAZA (Ha’aretz 6/27/18) and highlights the subpar standards in the quality among senior military staff. Yet another flare-up between the Israeli army and Hamas militants in Gaza General (res.) Yitzhak Brik published what will be his final annual report as played out overnight on Wednesday, as the IDF struck the car of a Hamas IDF and Defense Ministry ombudsman having occupied the post for a operative said to be involved in the launching of flaming kites into Israel. decade. “If I read you these reports, you would fall over,” Brik said of the The Israeli military confirmed twelve rocket launches toward Israel from Gaza report whose content is not made available to the public. over the course of the night, adding that three projectiles were intercepted by The report is rife with pessimistic conclusions and highlights a series of the Iron Dome missile defense system. No information is currently available failures in the IDF apparatus that he says could come to the fore in the IDF’s on the other nine rockets. levels of preparation during the next war. Multiple rocket sirens began sounded in southern Israeli communities near According to Brik, concerning discrepancies exist between the public the Gaza border starting at around 1.30 A.M. on Wednesday, with sixteen declarations and bravado about the IDF’s capabilities and the realities on the alarm sirens sounding in communities such as in Shaar Hanegev, Hof ground. “There are documents that back up my claims and not only direct Ashkelon, Eshkol Regional Council, as well as Sdot Negev and Sderot. statements from senior officers and officers in the field,” he explained. The IDF spokesperson said the army targeted two Hamas positions in Gaza “There is a lack of regular military monitoring of military processes, using both aircraft and tank fire, adding that a fighter jet also struck a car in disciplinary problems and a failure to fulfil orders. Take as an example the the Nuseirat refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. fact that two billion shekels were invested in emergency storage units after "At the same time, the Hamas terror organization was carrying out a ballistic the Second Lebanon War, but the project was abandoned,” Brik said. attack against Israel. The organization will bear the consequences of terrorism and instability," the statement read. ISRAEL SEIZES HAMAS FUNDS GIVEN TO TERRORIST’S FAMILY IN Last week, some 45 rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israel overnight on EAST JERUSALEM (JPost 6/27/18) Tuesday after the Israeli military struck Hamas infrastructure in the Strip in Police and the Shin Bet raided the home of a terrorist’s family that received response to burning balloons being launched from the enclave into Israel. funds and support from Hamas, police said on Wednesday, after a joint operation conducted in the morning. CHIEF OF STAFF: IDF WELL PREPARED FOR WAR (YNet 6/27/18) The raid was the result of a covert operation in which police and intelligence After the IDF ombudsman warned of failures in the army’s preparedness for units gathered information regarding money that they say Hamas gave to the war Monday, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gadi Eisenkot responded family of Hisham Hussein Abu Dhaim, who carried out the deadly terrorist that the IDF was well prepared. attack on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem in 2008, in which eight “I visit training sessions and see the operational activity proving that the IDF students were murdered. has high abilities and good preparedness, along with the duty to locate weaknesses and failures and work vigorously to fix them,” Eisenkot said Israel Report is a Student Publication of Monday evening at a tribute to the reserve forces at the Knesset. “I am very proud of the command ranks, which has scored noteworthy achievements. Alex Ostrin, Yoav Zolty, Editors-in-Chief “As part of the five-year Gideon efficiency plan, we have made a significant Akiva Sturm, Eli Jarashow, Ezra Seplowitz and Bentzion Rotblat, Editors We are proud to be distributed by these institutions, though they do not necessarily support or condone step in securing the IDF’s preparedness for war. We have built an advanced any of the material published: service model implementing the government’s decision to shorten the Anshei Chesed Cong., Boynton Beach, FL Hillel at Brandeis University service, develop the commanders and non-commissioned officers and utilize Bergen County High School of Jewish Studies Hillel at California State University - Long Beach Boca Raton Synagogue, FL Hillel at Columbia University the human capital to the fullest.” Carmel School, Hong Kong Hillel at Johns Hopkins University According to the IDF chief, “We are in the midst of a complicated period in Cong. Agudath Achim, Bradley Beach, NJ Hillel at Yale University Cong. Ahavas Achim, Highland Park, NJ Hillel High School, Deal NJ terms of security, filled with challenges from the north and from the south, Cong. Ahavath Achim, Fairfield, CT Jewish Center of Teaneck, NJ and we must remember that the IDF’s strength depends on people, spirit, Cong. Anshe Shalom, Jamaica Estates, NY Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi, Cedarhurst, NY Cong. Anshe Sholom, New Rochelle, NY Kemp Mill Synagogue, Silver Spring, MD equipment, skills and unity. We will keep reinforcing them through actions Cong. Beth Aaron, Teaneck, NJ Mizrachi Shul, Johannesburg, SA expressing their supreme importance, while showing respect for the Cong. Beth Shalom, Monroe Twp, NJ North Shore Hebrew Academy HS, NY Cong. Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ Suburban Torah Center, Livingston, NJ dedication and loyalty of the reserve forces serving the State of Israel.” Cong. Etz Ahaim, Highland Park, NJ The Learning Shul, Columbia, SC Eisenkot noted that “the reserve forces’ training and skills increased Cong. Ohr Torah, Edison, NJ Woodsburgh, NY Minyan significantly in 2017. This year, we doubled the number of reserve forces Cong. Rinat Yisrael, Teaneck, NJ Young Israel Bet Tefilah of Aberdeen, NJ Cong. Shomrei Torah, Fair Lawn, NJ Young Israel of Brookline, MA participating in operational occupation, to allow the IDF’s tip of the spear Cong. Sons of Israel, Allentown, PA Young Israel of East Brunswick, NJ forces to increase the training to 50 percent of their time. Cong. Zichron Mordechai, Teaneck, NJ Young Israel of Fort Lee, NJ Cong. Zichron R. M. Feinstein, Brooklyn, NY Young Israel of Hancock Park, CA “The IDF units on the ground, in the air and in the sea are operating around Delray Orthodox Synagogue, Delray Beach, FL Young Israel of Holliswood, NY the clock and tested on a daily basis in thwarting terror in Judea and East Denver Orthodox Synagogue, CO Young Israel of Houston, TX Flatbush Park Jewish Center, Mill Basin, NY Young Israel of New Hyde Park, NY Samaria, in protecting the state’s borders in the south and in the north and in Harvard University Library Young Israel of North Woodmere, NY continuous offensive activity to thwart advanced abilities and reduce the Hebrew Academy of Long Beach, NY Young Israel of New Rochelle, NY Hillel at Baruch College Young Israel of Sharon, MA threats to the state.” YI Shomrai Emunah, Silver Spring, MD The IDF ombudsman warned on Monday that a new gloomy annual report We encourage our readers to subscribe to our sources on the internet. For more information or to which he has produced points to a plethora of shortcomings in the military’s subscribe by e-mail, reach us at [email protected] 2 During Wednesday’s operation, police units searched the home of the equally amazing and it is safe to say that many Israelis owe you their lives," terrorist’s family in east Jerusalem and seized NIS 43,000 in cash and money he told the winners. in foreign currencies. The raid was carried out as part of a wider operation to prevent funds from SECRET MEETING HELD BETWEEN INTEL CHIEFS (Arutz-7 6/28/18) Hamas making their way into the hands of the families of terrorists who have Beneath the surface, relations between Israel and moderate Arab countries murdered Israelis, police said. are growing, but a significant expression of this was given ten days ago at a In 2017, police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) seized over NIS secret meeting of heads of intelligence agencies from all over the region. 300,000 from the families of seven different terrorists. The conference was initiated by senior adviser and son-in-law of US “The involvement of Jerusalem residents in any form of activity financed by President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, and Middle East special envoy Hamas is a serious offense and constitutes an attempt to gain a foothold Jason Greenblatt. inside Jerusalem,” the police said in a statement, stressing that the police The conference was attended by Jordanian General Intelligence chief Adnan would not permit any type of support by a terrorist organization to families of al-Issam al-Jundi, General Abbas Kamel, head of the Egyptian Mukhabarat, terrorists who carried out murderous attacks. Khaled bin Ali al-Humaidan, head of the Saudi intelligence agency, and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen. On the explicit request of the American DEVELOPERS OF TERROR TUNNEL DETECTION SYSTEM WIN ISRAEL emissaries and despite the PA's boycott of the United States, PA intel chief DEFENSE PRIZE (Israel Hayom 6/28/18) Majed Faraj also joined the meeting.