Israel Matzav

The next time

From here.

Labels: AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Iranian nuclear threat, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:56 PM 0 comments

Great news: Iranian influence in Latin America 'growing'

It's been nearly six years since the picture above was taken, and Adam Kredo reports that it's only gotten worse.

Iran’s growing influence in the region—and its effort to exert influence over governments there—has fostered pressing security concerns as the Iranians inch closer to the United States’ southern border, according to these U.S. officials and Latin American leaders, who met for several days this week at a summit organized by the Israel Allies Foundation (IAF).

“It is troubling in some of the briefings we get, particularly on the classified side, to see Iranian influence in Latin America,” Rep. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.), a member of the House Committee of Foreign Affairs, told the Washington Free Beacon in an interview. “A lot of these [Latin American officials] share the concern.”

“It’s a security risk for all of us,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis was one of several members of Congress and 20 Latin American lawmakers from 14 different countries who met during the IAF summit, which began on Sunday and ran until Tuesday morning.

Iran is becoming increasingly open about its presence in Latin America and providing its officials with passports from Venezuela and other countries, giving them free rein to travel throughout South America.

Iran has forged close ties with countries such as Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Bolivia, among others.

Luis Heber, a member of the Uruguayan senate, said that Iranian agents—who some suspect are members of the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—have been spotted in his country holding Venezuelan passports.

Officials have determined that there is “a clear penetration of Iran in our country,” Heber said during remarks Sunday before U.S. lawmakers and other Latin American officials.

“We’ve also seen Venezuelan passports in the hands of Iranians,” he revealed. “The penetration of Venezuela by Iran is clear. There is overwhelming information on this.”

...

“The threat level has increased, it’s more open,” said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R., Fla.), vice-chair of the House’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

“The Iranian threat comes not from espionage as much, but from influencing the ideology of their host country,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “That’s what they’re aiming for and penetrating [these countries] so they have a presence in Latin America right at the foothold of the U.S.”

Iran establishes consulates in these countries and then uses them as a base to conduct espionage and other covert activities, Ros-Lehtinen said.

“How is it they have Iranian consulates in Latin America?” she asked. “It’s ridiculous to think all of sudden Latin Americans want to travel to Iran. They’re not using it to issue their visas. Something is happening that Iran is penetrating the Western Hemisphere and it’s not for cultural exchanges or approval of travel docs.”

“This makes no sense … other than espionage, subterfuge, and illicit activities,” Ros-Lehtinen said.

This activity has intensified of late, several officials said.

This is what happens when the World's only superpower decides it doesn't want to be a superpower anymore.

Shabbat Shalom everyone.

Labels: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Iran, Iranian nuclear threat, Latin America, Peru, Venezuela

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:44 PM 2 comments

I'm shocked, just shocked, to hear this

Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.

This should surprise no one.

Iran were reportedly behind the assassination of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman. According to sources an Iranian agent was the killer.
— IDF Elite (@idfelite) February 21, 2015

Maybe Obama can hire Iran to come after Rudy Giuliani? (And don't get me wrong - I love Giuliani).

Labels: Alberto Nisman, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Barack Hussein Obama, Iranian nuclear threat, murder

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:27 AM 0 comments

Kirchner: 'Nisman was murdered to frame me'

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner now admits that the death of AMIA terror bombing investigator Alberto Nisman was not a suicide. But now Kirchner claims that Nisman was murdered to frame her.

The government says two key witnesses in Nisman's case against the president had been falsely presented to him as state intelligence agents.

Fernandez said the deception discredited Nisman's charges against her and points to a conspiracy to smear her name.

"They used him while he was alive and then they needed him dead," she said in an open letter to the country, adding that his death was "sad and terrible".

She did not say who killed him and no one has been arrested in the case, which has shocked Argentines. Social media networks are seething with conspiracy theories, some pointing at Fernandez and her government.

Thousands took to the streets this week to protest the slow pace of justice for the victims of the bombing and demanding answers to the questions around Nisman's death.

Fernandez again defended herself in a Facebook post on Thursday.

"Nisman's accusation not only collapses, but becomes a real political and legal scandal ... That's the key. Prosecutor Nisman did not know that the men identified as intelligence agents were in fact not," she said.

"The spies who were not spies. The questions that turned into certainties. The suicide that I am now convinced was not a suicide."

But there are a lot of suspicious things happening here. One of them is the fact that Nisman's apartment has a back door that was unlocked - contradicting earlier reports that Nisman's apartment was locked from the inside. The existence of a third door only rouses more suspicions.

Lead prosecutor Viviana Fein said there was no evidence of anyone else involved in the death, but said Nisman left no suicide note. A test of his hand showed no residue of gunpowder, though she said that may have been due to the small caliber of the gun. The fact that national Security Secretary Sergio Berni quickly turned up in the apartment also fed doubts.

Moreover, the locksmith who opened the back door to give investigators access to the home where Nisman was found dead said it was barely closed, raising questions about whether a killer might have entered or exited what was earlier described as a 13th-story apartment locked from the inside.

After testifying to investigators, the man who gave his name only as Walter said he was able to quickly open the door with a hook. He added, "If someone entered or not, I don't know."

The official news agency Telam, meanwhile, said investigators had found a third access to the home, a narrow passage holding air conditioning equipment that connects to a neighboring apartment occupied by an unidentified foreigner. They were investigating a seemingly recent footprint and fingerprint found inside. 

Opposition politicians have denounced Kirchner's claim that Nisman was murdered to frame her. 

Opposition leaders denounced Kirchner's statements as an opportunistic about-face.

"It's very serious. To go from supporting the thesis of a suicide, to an assassination, she must assume the consequences," said Senator Ernesto Sanz, a member of the opposition.

Another Kirchner opponent, deputy Francisco de Narvaez, expressed outrage that Kirchner would take a position on such a sensitive matter while an investigation was underway.

"You do not have the right to trample on the independence of the judiciary in this tragedy. I ask you to stop acting like an adolescent trying to gain influence through your Facebook account," he said.

 I would bet on Kirchner being involved. The question is how to prove it.

Labels: Alberto Nisman, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hezbullah, Iran, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:34 PM 0 comments

Alberto Nisman did not commit suicide and the AMIA bombing was not 'unsolved'

David Horovitz is certain that Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman did not commit suicide and that the AMIA bombing is not 'unsolved.' We all know who was behind it: Iran and Hezbullah.

Perednik despairs at the naivete of anyone prepared to countenance that a prosecutor who has spent a decade heading a 30-strong team investigating the worst terror attack ever committed in Argentina; who has identified the Iranian leaders who ordered it and had them placed on Interpol watch lists; who has traced and named the Hezbollah terrorists who carried out the bombing; who has exposed Iran’s still-active terror networks in South America; and who was about to detail the alleged efforts of Argentinian President Cristina Fernández and Foreign Minister Hector Timerman to whitewash Iran’s role — that this man would choose to take his own life just a few hours before giving his testimony to a Congressional hearing.

But Nisman was found dead by “self-inflicted” bullet wound in a locked apartment with no sign of forced entry, the Argentinian authorities say? Perednik is succinct and withering about both motivation and capability: Does anyone doubt that a government capable of whitewashing Iran is capable of producing a dead prosecutor in a locked apartment? he asks. “In our last conversation, Nisman told me that his evidence would either force [those top Argentinian leaders] to flee or send them to jail. He told me, ‘I’m going to put them in jail.'” Sunday was their last chance to stop him.

...

As I detailed Monday, he traced the orchestration of the bombing all the way back to the August 1993 meeting of Iran’s leadership at which it was commissioned, and identified the key conspirators to the satisfaction of Interpol. We know who ordered the bombing — an Iranian government committee headed by supreme leader Ali Khamenei and then president Hashemi Rafsanjani. We know who arranged it — the late and unlamented Hezbollah terror chief Imad Mughniyeh. And we know all about Ibrahim Berro, the suicide bomber who drove the explosives-filled Renault Trafic van into the building on July 18, 1994, killing 85 innocents. All thanks to Alberto Nisman.

Read the whole thing. Argentina has changed an awful lot since the 1970's. Kirchner may not get away with this.

Labels: Alberto Nisman, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hezbullah, Iran, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:59 AM 0 comments

Judge orders materials in AMIA case seized

The judge investigating Iranian involvement in the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires has ordered the seizure of all evidence in light of Sunday night's apparent murder of prosecutor Alberto Nisman.

Local newspaper Perfil reported that [Judge Ariel] Lijo ordered the seizure of all documentation referred to in the complaint, as well as a number of disks reportedly containing recordings of wiretaps that were provided to Nisman, and which allegedly include direct communications between Iranian and Argentine officials over the investigation into the AMIA bombing, which Nisman assumed responsibility for in 2006.

Lijo’s announcement came as the initial findings of the autopsy into Nisman’s death were released. According to La Nacion, the bullet which took Nisman’s life entered through his temple.

Viviana Fein, who is in charge of the investigation into Nisman’s death, also said that there was no evidence to indicate that the door to Nisman’s residence had been forced open.

In addition to his complaint, Nisman had ordered the freezing of assets worth some $23 million belonging to Fernández de Kirchner,  Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, and other officials. These and similar details have led to a flurry of speculation among Argentinian politicians and journalists that foul play was involved in his death.

Elisa Carrio, leader of the Civic Coalition, an opposition party, bluntly called Nisman’s death “an assassination,” saying she did not accept that it was a suicide.

Meanwhile, the Argentine government has announced that Alberto Adrián Gentili will replace Nisman at the head of the AMIA bombing investigation. Gentili, who is regarded as close to the government, was removed from a 2008 investigation into narcotics trafficking after authorizing intelligence activities against individuals with no prior record of involvement in the drugs trade. In 2012, he was reinstated as a Prosecutor by Alejandra Gils Carbo, Argentina’s Prosecutor-General.

 I trust that Gentili will be a lot more cooperative than Nisman was....

Labels: Alberto Nisman, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Hezbullah, Iran, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:17 PM 0 comments

Nisman knew his life was in danger

Only few days ago Nisman told @natashanieb @clarincom the investigation against President Kirchner "might kill him" http://t.co/3Blj75pxmu"
— Asaf Ronel (@AsafRonel) January 19, 2015

Hmmm.

Labels: Alberto Nisman, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hezbullah, Iran, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:41 PM 0 comments

Oh my: AMIA prosecutor murdered hours before he was to testify on government coverup?

Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor in the 1994 suicide bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, was found dead in his apartment on Sunday night, hours before he was to testify that Argentine President Cristina Kirchner had covered up Iranian involvement in the suicide bombing.

Nisman had filed a 300-page complaint naming Fernández, Timerman and others of seeking to “erase” Iran’s role in the bombing at the AMIA community center offices in which 85 people were killed. He had said he wanted to question the president and other officials whom he claimed were involved in the cover-up.

Nisman claimed that the president had decided to “not incriminate” former senior Iranian officials for their roles in planning the bombing, and instead has sought a rapprochement with Tehran, “establishing trade relations to mitigate Argentina’s severe energy crisis,” the Buenos Aires Herald reported.

When her agreement with Iran was challenged in the Argentinean courts, “and here is the criminal (aspect), the president ordered to divert the investigation, abandoning years of a legitimate demand of justice, and sought to free the Iranians imputed (in the case) from all suspicions, contradicting their proven ties with the attack.

“The president and her foreign minister took the criminal decision to fabricate Iran’s innocence to sate Argentina’s commercial, political and geopolitical interests,” the newspaper quoted Nisman as alleging.

Last May, an Argentine court declared unconstitutional an agreement Between the Argentinian government and Iran to jointly probe the 1994 bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish center. The agreement had been approved in 2013 by Argentina’s congress, at the request of the executive branch. Nisman consistently argued that the agreement constituted “undue interference of the executive branch in the exclusive sphere of the judiciary.”

Since 2006, Argentine courts have demanded the extradition of eight Iranians, including former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former defense minister Ahmad Vahidi and Mohsen Rabbani, Iran’s former cultural attache in Buenos Aires, over their alleged involvement in the bombing.

Police initially called Nisman's death a suicide. I don't believe that and you shouldn't either. Nisman long-claimed that Iran was behind the AMIA attack and believed that Argentina was not the only Latin American country that Iran had infiltrated. Kirchner and Timmerman have been trying for a long time to have the charges dropped in order to improve relations with Iran.

Nisman was murdered. He was murdered by the Iranians or by someone acting on their behalf. The only question is whether Kirchner and Timmerman were involved directly as well.

Labels: Alberto Nisman, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hezbullah, Iran, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:52 AM 0 comments

Pope's 'man of peace' says murdering Jews not a crime

At the same event at which Pope Francis I called  'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen a 'man of peace,' the peaceful man had some choice comments about murdering Jews. This is from Tom Gross.

(4) There is also concern in Israel that the Pope called Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas a “man of peace” today at an event where Abbas, in the Pope’s presence, repeated his demand that any Palestinian who murders an Israeli must not be punished at all.

Gross also has some comments about the infamous picture of the Pope praying at the 'security fence.'
But none of the Western media I have seen have drawn attention to the exact spot that the Pope chose to pray: in front of large graffiti comparing Bethlehem to the Warsaw Ghetto.

The photo above is from the main EU-funded Palestinian media outlet, the Maan news agency.

(There is another version of this photo below.)

A few comments:

(1) Comparing Israel with Nazi Germany forms part of the working definition of anti-Semitism formulated by the EU and others.

...

(2) Bethlehem is a relatively prosperous town where restaurants and juice bars are packed, and BMWs, Mercedes and Humvees compete for parking spaces in the center or town. By contrast, 400,000 Jews were herded into the Warsaw Ghetto and those who weren’t beaten or starved to death there, were taken to be exterminated at nearby camps.

(Yes, there is of course a political problem between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and one day, one hopes, the security barrier can be removed without its removal leading to increased terrorism, but this has nothing to do with the Warsaw Ghetto. One wonders why the Pope’s Vatican handlers were eager to choose that spot – or are so insensitive as to allow the Palestinian Authority to guide the Pontiff to that spot.)

(3) The Pope represents an organization, the Vatican, which even today, after seven decades of repeated appeals, is still refusing to make public its wartime archives detailing the full extent of its collaboration with the Nazis before, during and after the Holocaust.

 Read the whole thing.

Labels: Abu Mazen, Argentina, Bethlehem, escaped Nazis, Holocaust, Nazis, Pope Francis I, security fence, Warsaw Ghetto

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:13 PM 0 comments

Ex-ambassador: 'We took care of most of the bombers ourselves'

Former Israeli ambassador to Argentina Itzhak Aviran told a Jewish news agency on Thursday that Israel has already ensured that most of the AMIA bombers from Buenos Aires are no longer among the living.

Israel has killed most of the perpetrators responsible for the deadly attacks on its embassy and on the Argentine Jewish Charities Federation (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires, former Israeli ambassador to Argentina Itzhak Aviran said on Thursday.

"The large majority of those responsible are no longer of this world, and we did it ourselves," Aviran told the Buenos Aires-based AJN Jewish news agency, according to AFP.

In March 1992, a car bombing in front of the Israeli embassy in the Argentine capital killed 29 people and wounded 200 others. The Islamic Jihad took responsibility for this attack.

Two years later, in July 1994, a bombing at the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires killed 85 people and injured 300. 

...

Aviran, who was Israel's ambassador to the country from 1993-2000, accused the Argentinian government of not doing enough "to get to the bottom of this tragedy."

"We still need an answer [from Argentina] on what happened. We know who the perpetrators of the embassy bombing were and they did it a second time," he said.

There's at least one perpetrator we haven't gotten yet:

It's long past time.

Labels: AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Hassan Rohani

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:24 PM 0 comments

State Department decides Iran in Latin America not a threat

Adam Kredo reports that the US State Department has decided that Iran doesn't pose a threat in Latin America.

“The final classified report you received reflects the view of the entire Administration,” State Department Assistant Secretary Thomas Gibbons wrote in a Sept. 5 letter to Rep. Jeff Duncan (R., S.C.), who released the letter publicly late Friday.

The administration claims this view is held throughout the U.S. government.

“Our characterization of the Iranian threat in the Western Hemisphere is shared by all relevant agencies within the executive branch, including the Department of Defense and intelligence agencies,” Gibbons wrote.

...“Iran’s involvement in the Western Hemisphere is a matter for concern,” the letter stated.

Duncan called this response troubling and criticized the State Department for stonewalling congressional investigators.

“The State Department has chosen to obstruct congressional oversight of Iran’s deepening relations with countries in Latin America by sending a letter that did not answer even a single question,” Duncan said in a statement.

“The State Department owes the American people answers to these questions on whether they still believe Iran’s influence is ‘waning’ in the Western Hemisphere,” he said.

“Recent congressional hearings on this issue uncovered disturbing evidence of Iran’s ability to recruit over a thousand students from Latin America to travel to Iran for training, obtain fraudulent passport documentation, exploit free trade zones and loose border security measures, and cooperate with drug cartels and criminal networks,” he said.

...

The State Department’s minority view of Iran is reflective of a bureaucratic culture that downplays serious threats, said Roger Noriega, a former State Department official and U.S. ambassador to the Organization for American States.

“I have not read the classified report, but the unclassified document is a joke,” said Noriega, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Even after Benghazi, the culture of the State Department is one of willful neglect.”

Iran’s proxy group Hezbollah has a foothold in the region and plans attack nearly “every day,” Noriega said.

“Based on documents and information that my team has obtained from sources in the region, which we have shared with numerous U.S. Agencies, I am convinced that Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist are plotting every day to launch an attack against U.S. Interests in Latin America, aided and abetted by Venezuela and other hostile regimes in the region,” he said.

 What could go wrong?

Labels: Argentina, Hezbullah, Iran, Islamic terrorism, Latin America, Mexico, United States, Venezuela

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:30 AM 2 comments

No kidding: Argentinean prosecutor accuses Iran of infiltrating several Latin American countries

Alberto Nisman, the Argentinean prosecutor who is seeking to prosecute the Iranians involved in the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires in the early '90's, is accusing Iran of infiltrating several Latin American countries. No kidding.

In a 500-page indictment realeased today, the General Prosecutor in the AMIA case, Alberto Nisman, accused the Iranian regime of "infiltrating" several South American countries "by building local clandestine intelligence stations designed to sponsor, foster and execute terrorist attacks, within the principles to export the Islamic revolution.

"Based in countless reports, evidence, testimonies, court and investigative records related to other countries of the region, North America and Europe, including rulings of foreign courts against the Iranian regime, he proved the identical decision-making mechanism, planning and execution of terrorist attacks verified in different countries, which were judicially attributed to Iranian intelligence agents," according to a briefing sent to the media.

In this presentation, Nisman was able to corroborate and strengthen with new evidence, the responsibility of the highest authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the AMIA bombing, which cost the life of 85 people, stressing the higher decree of responsibility that Mohsen Rabbani had not only in the attack, but also as a coordinator of the Iranian infiltration in South America.

 That's been known for years....

Labels: AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Iran, Islamic terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:01 AM 0 comments

New Pope said to be good to the Jews

Jorge Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires who was elected Pope on Wednesday, is said to have good relations with Argentina's Jewish community.

Bergoglio has the reputation of a reformer, and pundits said that the choice of Bergoglio was a shrewd one on the part of the Cardinals, as the Church now has a symbol that could reconnect with masses of Catholics who have been disillusioned by the scandals in the Catholic Church, such as the large numbers of pedophile charges against priests, as well as the Church's unpopular positions on a number of personal issues.

Bergoglio is said to have had good relations with Argentinian Jews. He was praised by local and U.S. Jewish community leaders for his response to the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association. In 2005, Bergoglio signed a joint statement against terrorism together with Jose Adaszko of the Israel Mutual Association of Argentina, and Omar Helal Massud of the Islamic Center, with an emphasis on preventing attacks such as the 1994 bombing.

We can hope....

Labels: Argentina, Buenos Aires, Pope Francis I

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:37 PM 2 comments

Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler

Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Monday, March 4.

1) Taking the lede in blaming Israel

A number of bloggers have commented on the anti-Israel remarks made by Turkey's Prime Minister Erdogan last week. Fortunatly, Secretary of State, John Kerry and others rebuked Turkey.

Here's how the New York Times' anti-Israel blogger Robert Mackey provided context for the remarks:

The Turkish prime minister has expressed his anger with Israeli policies in blunt terms at international forums in the past, most notably at Davos in 2009. He stormed off the stage at the end of a heated discussion of Israel’s Gaza offensive, after telling President Shimon Peres, “When it comes to killing, you know well how to kill.”
Relations between the countries suffered another blow in 2010, when Israeli commandos killed nine Turks during a bloody raid on the ship leading an effort to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza organized by a Turkish aid organization.

Mackey makes no mention of Erdogan's Islamism, which is the ideology that has led him to demonize Israel. He provided no context for Cast Lead. He provided no context for the Mavi Marmara raid - not even that the soldiers who raided the ship were acting in self-defense.

Of course, too, Mackey's description of the IHH as a "Turkish aid organization" ignores the organizations extensive documented ties to terrorist organizations.

Mackey's goals here are to justify Erdogan's remarks and minimize the fact that Erdogan radicalized his country.

Mackey doesn't like being characterized as anti-Israel, but his sorry record speaks for itself.

2) The long arm of Hezbollah

Articles last week in the New York Times

During a cross-examination, the operative, Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, described himself as “an active member of Hezbollah” with the code name Wael, and said he had received a salary of $600 a month since 2010. Asked why he had a code name, he answered through an interpreter: “In general, the party is based on secrecy between members. We don’t know the real names of our fellow members.”
Mr. Yaacoub said that his handler, a shadowy figure known only as Ayman, told him to track the landing times for an Arkia Israel Airlines flight between Tel Aviv and Larnaca, Cyprus. Ayman also asked him to look into the rental prices of warehouses, he said.

and the Washington Post

Now, seven months after that attack, new details emerging in Yaakoub’s case are providing chilling insights into what investigators describe as a far broader effort by the Lebanon-based militant group to lay the groundwork for killing Israeli citizens and perhaps others in multiple countries.
Some details have come from Yaakoub himself, who made his first public appearance last week during his trial in Cyprus. But a much fuller account comes from legal documents summarizing the Swedish man’s statements to police during weeks of questioning last summer and obtained by The Washington Post.
The evidence echoes discoveries by investigators in Bulgaria and prosecutors in Thailand, India, Azerbaijan, Kenya and other countries hit by a wave of attempted assassinations and bombings linked to Hezbollah or its chief sponsor, Iran. U.S. officials characterize the plots as part of a shadow war directed by Iran in part to retaliate for Western efforts to derail Iran’s nuclear program. Evidence uncovered by investigators portrays a professional, well-funded effort by Hezbollah to recruit, train and position European-based operatives for what U.S. analysts describe as preparations for future terrorist operations.

describe how Hezbollah's international operations target Jews worldwide.

Tony Badran shows how Hezbollah (especially in its operations in Lebanon) acts as an agent of Iran:

In the fact sheet explaining its designation of Shateri (Khoshnevis) for his role as the director of the Iranian Committee for the Reconstruction of Lebanon, the Treasury clarified that the designation exposed “Iran’s use of its state apparatus and State-run social service organizations to support terrorism under the guise of providing reconstruction and economic development assistance or social services.”
Ironically, the provision of social services to Lebanese Shiites is precisely why many analysts have said we shouldn’t regard Hezbollah as an Iranian asset. However, the prominent and all-pervasive roles that the IRGC-QF continues to play in running Hezbollah operations only highlight how it has a direct say not just in Hezbollah’s military affairs, but also in its command structure as well as its finances. This should dispel any notion that Hezbollah is an autonomous organization. Rather, the Party of God itself is but an Iranian state-run organization.

Matthew Levitt recently argued:

In short, an EU designation is critical, not only to send Hezbollah a clear message that it can no longer muddy the waters between politics and terrorism, but also because it would empower EU member states to open terrorism-specific investigations into the group’s activities – something many cannot or will not do today despite the resumption of attacks in Europe. The Bulgarian announcement was just the first shoe to fall; next comes the Cyprus verdict. The EU must show Hezbollah that there are consequences for executing terrorist operations, raising funds, procuring arms, and recruiting operatives on European soil. Inaction or half-measures would only embolden the group to continue operating there as if it were business as usual.

Still despite the efforts of some officials, the European Union hesitates to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Jeff Jacoby writes in Yes, Europe, Hezbollah is a terror group:

So what can explain the European reluctance to blacklist Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and shut down its fundraising and logistical operations? As in Churchill’s day, cowardice and dishonor might have something to do with it.
“There’s the overall fear if we’re too noisy about this, Hezbollah might strike again,” Sylke Tempel, the editor-in-chief of the German foreign affairs magazine Internationale Politik told the Times last month, as the Bulgarian government was preparing its report on the Burgas bus bombing. “And it might not be Israeli tourists this time.”
The moral stench of that rationalization is almost as repellent as its stupidity. Yes, Hezbollah’s foremost targets are Jews and the Jewish state — it has always proclaimed the destruction of Israel as its goal — but have Europeans still not figure out that while Nazis and the Nazi-like start by killing Jews, they rarely end with them? After 30 years of Hezbollah butchery around the world, can Europe still imagine that pretending Hezbollah is mostly “benign” will keep them safe? That if they feed the crocodile enough, it won’t eat them just yet?

An op-ed in the New York Times recently asked Why is Argentina's President cozying up to Iran?

But bizarrely, Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, abruptly switched course last month and reached an agreement with the Iranian government that would set up a “truth commission” of international legal experts to analyze evidence from the bombings. The agreement, which the Congress approved early Thursday, would allow Argentine officials to travel to Tehran and interview Iranians suspected of involvement in the attack. The problem is that any recommendations by the commission would be nonbinding; moreover, some of the suspects in the attack are now high-ranking Iranian officials — including the sitting defense minister, Gen. Ahmad Vahidi — and therefore untouchable. Indeed, Iran has repeatedly refused to cooperate with Argentine investigators and ignored international warrants for the arrest of senior Iranian officials believed to have taken part in planning the bombing. Mrs. Kirchner’s decision to abandon Argentina’s longstanding grievances against Iran is particularly galling because it comes just weeks after Bulgaria, another country victimized by Iranian-sponsored terrorism, accused Hezbollah of staging a suicide attack on Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian town of Burgas last year. That attack, like the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires, was part of a shadow war against Jewish civilians across the world. Bulgaria’s government, unlike Argentina’s current administration, decided to stand up to Hezbollah and forthrightly accuse it of the crime.

Even as more and more evidence emerges about the deadly nature of Hezbollah and its role as Iran's proxy, there are those who refuse to acknowledge its true nature. Is it because it focuses its energy on Israel and therefore many see its efforts as being justified? Or it just laziness or fear?

Unfortunately, too, Hezbollah is not alone in escaping scrutiny and condemnation despite its terror.

There's another more serious point implied by all of this. In a number of quarters (notably the editorial pages - and even the news pages - of the New York Times,) Prime Minister Netanyahu was mocked as an alarmist and a war monger for focusing on the threat of a potential Iranian nuclear weapon. What's getting harder to deny is that Iran is engaged in a war - not only of words and even without nuclear weapons - against Israel and Jews all around the world. This war is accompanied by the genocidal rhetoric of Iran's leaders. What will it take for the world to take the Iranian threat seriously?

3) The mission of AIPAC

Last week, I linked to a couple of articles that criticized AIPAC for not fighting the nomination of Chuck Hagel for Secretary of Defense. Barry Rubin explains in Why, As President, Obama is a Disaster and Why, As a Country, Israel Should Applaud Obama:

By the same token, it is equally foolish for some to criticize, for example, President Shimon Peres for giving Obama a medal or Israeli leaders for lauding Obama on every possible opportunity. And the same applies to AIPAC not objecting to Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, never criticizing Obama, and inviting him to speak at its annual meetings. Whoever is president or secretary of defense, AIPAC and Israel will have to work with him.
All of these people, then, are doing their jobs properly by avoiding entanglements in such internal American issues.
Israel needs good relations with the United States. Obama is the president of the United States twice elected by the American people and he will be president for the next four years. It is not the task of Israel’s government to interfere with America’s internally made choices. It is the job of Israel’s government to live as best as possible with those rulers, minimize the advantage, and wait out this period by agreeing, smiling, giving in on small things, and doing everything possible to protect the nation’s security.

The American version of the Chareidi weekly, Mishpacha, presented a positive article about AIPAC, focusing on a Georgia politician and lawyer, Ashley Bell. While this article is not online another recent article, which mentions Mr. Bell, explains AIPAC's role nicely.

The speakers explained how they came to be activists for the pro-Israel community, each with a different motivating story.
County Commissioner Bell’s story was especially enlightening and affirming. During his visit to Israel with the African American Leaders Mission, they met with leaders of the PLO. In a candid conversation without AIPAC staff in the room, Bell asked one of the PLO leaders, “Do you think Israel has a right to exist?” When the PLO leader answered “No,” Bell realized that all other statements were suspect and there was no further reason to continue the conversation.
Attendees heard that while the Jewish state is facing a rapidly deteriorating security situation on all of its borders, what makes this moment in time different is the growing support for Israel across the diverse American spectrum. Hard work from not just the Jewish community, but through the work of the African American and Christian friends of Israel is making a difference. Many of the most important decisions affecting Israel’s basic security are being made in Washington, not Jerusalem. The relationship, which will need to be stronger in the future, is strong now for several reasons: supporters of Israel as a community are willing to stand up and be counted; as a community, supporters are willing to engage elected officials in exactly the way the Constitution prescribes, and because of that, supporters of Israel as a community have a real voice in Washington.

Cultivating broad-based support for a cause is not always consistent with taking stands on specific issues.

Labels: AIPAC, Argentina, Hezbullah, Iran, Middle East Media Sampler, New York Times, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Soccer Dad, Turkish obsession with Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:31 PM 1 comments

Argentina's President rips local Jewish community leaders

Two weeks ago, I reported that Israel had expressed shock at an agreement reached between Iran and Argentina to form a 'truth commission' to investigate Iran's and Hezbullah's roles in the 1994 truck bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. Three days later, Argentinian foreign minister Hector Timmerman summoned and dressed down Israeli ambassador Dorit Shavit, claiming that the entire affair was none of Israel's business.

According to Foreign Ministry sources who saw Shavit's account of the meeting, Timerman was "upset and really angry" that Israel had demanded explanations of the Argentine ambassador. He apparently launched into a long monologue in which he assailed Israel for intervening in Argentina's internal affairs and even charged that such behavior encourages anti-Semitism. Shavit was barely able to utter a word in response, as he cut her off repeatedly, according to sources.

"Israel has no right to demand explanations; we're a sovereign state," Timerman reportedly told her. "Israel doesn't speak in the name of the Jewish people and doesn't represent it. Jews who wanted or want to live in Israel moved there, and they are its citizens; those who live in Argentina are Argentine citizens. The attack was against Argentina, and Israel's desire to be involved in the issue only gives ammunition to anti-Semites who accuse Jews of dual loyalty."

Summoning the Argentine ambassador and then leaking the fact to the media was unacceptable behavior, he apparently continued. "Argentina doesn't summon the Israeli ambassador for explanations. If we wanted to, we could summon you here twice a month to demand explanations about a military operation in Gaza or construction in the settlements. But we don't do that, because we don't want to intervene in your sovereign decisions."

Shavit responded angrily, according to sources. "As the Jewish state, Israel views itself as responsible to some degree for the welfare of [all] Jews and tracks anti-Semitism worldwide," she reportedly told Timerman. "Therefore, it helped Jews leave the Soviet Union, brought Jews from Ethiopia and, at times, also helped Jews in Argentina. You surely know what I'm talking about," she apparently added, referring to Timerman's own family history.

In the 1980s, Timerman's father, himself a Jew, was arrested by the right-wing military junta then running the country because he was a journalist who supported the left. He was held in prison in solitary confinement, but was finally released due to the intervention of the Israeli ambassador to Argentina and his staff - some of whom are today senior Foreign Ministry officials. They reached a secret deal with the junta under which Timerman's father would be allowed to leave the country. He moved to Israel for a few years, but returned to Argentina once the junta fell.

Shavit reportedly stressed that Israel wasn't trying to intervene in Argentina's decisions, but it did want explanations, due to the similarity between the AMIA bombing and an attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires two years earlier. The Argentine police and security agencies believe that Iran and Hezbollah were behind both bombings. Nevertheless, Timerman decided to play dumb, according to sources.

"I don't know if there's any connection between the two attacks," he apparently said. "If Israel has any such information, I ask that you give it to us as a soon as possible."

On Sunday, Isi Leibler wrote about the AMIA bombing in the Jerusalem Post, accusing the Argentinian government of collaborating with the murderers of their own citizens.

THAT THE Argentinian leaders could collaborate with such a cynical whitewashing of the murder of their own citizens and create a “truth commission” with a wretched, despotic, Holocaust denying regime should lead to the condemnation of the Argentinian government by the civilized world. It should be viewed as even worse than the Venezuela of Hugo Chavez, known to be one of Argentina’s principal allies and funders.

Underlying this move are the economic problems Argentina is facing in relation to its debts to the World Bank and other global institutions. As far back as March 2011, there were media reports alleging that Argentinian Foreign Minister Hector Timmerman had offered to freeze the AMIA inquiry in return for an upgrade in economic relations with Iran. It was also alleged that Timmerman had proposed that Syrian President Bashar Assad could act as an intermediary to facilitate such a deal. A purportedly leaked cable from Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi was quoted stating, “Argentina is no longer interested in solving those two attacks, but in exchange prefers improving its economic relations with Iran.”

The current Argentinian Jewish communal leaders are a far cry from their courageous predecessors who led the community until the 1980s. Yet, despite being intimidated by Timmerman, they still conveyed muted distress concerning their government’s shameful whitewash of the Iranians responsible for the cold-blooded murder of their kinsmen.

Leibler notes Hector Timmerman's cynical and gratuitous role in this affair:

However, a few years later in 1983 [Hector Timmerman's father Jacobo] published a second book brutally attacking Israel’s policies in relation to the Lebanon war and accusing prime minister Menachem Begin of destroying the moral integrity of the Jewish people and transforming Israelis into “efficient criminals.” He compared Israel to the fascist government of Argentina which had incarcerated and tortured him and called for a tribunal of Diaspora Jews to pass moral judgment on Israel’s leaders and the IDF. Shortly after publishing his tirade, he left Israel and died in Buenos Aires in 1999.

His hatred and lack of appreciation to Israel for saving his life was bequeathed to his son, Hector. Prior to becoming foreign minister, Hector’s Jewish background is alleged to have been a major factor contributing to his appointment as Argentina’s consul-general in New York, where he developed relations with influential members of the Jewish community.

As foreign minister, Timmerman presents himself as a devoted supporter of human rights. Yet he played a central role on behalf of the Argentinian regime in sanitizing the Iranian murderer of his own people. Orchestrating such a pact with one of the world’s worst abusers of human rights makes a mockery of his moral pretensions.

He also clearly relishes attacking Israel, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the Jewish state was responsible for saving his father’s life. Only last month, he compared the UK’s control of the Falkland Islands, which Argentina claims, to Israel’s “colonial” control of the West Bank.

But Leibler may have gotten one thing wrong: At least one of Argentina's Jewish leaders is more courageous than Leibler gave him credit for being. And as a result, on Saturday, Argentina's President, Cristina Kirchner, lashed out against that leader.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner publicly attacked the head of Buenos Aires' Jewish community, hinting he was in contact with a "foreign espionage agency that knows of a new terror attack planned against Argentina."

Guillermo Borger, president of the AMIA Buenos Aires Jewish center, said the Argentina-Iran agreement to set up a committee to investigate the 1994 bombing of the center "will allow a third bombing in Argentina." In 1992 the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed.

"This pact is viewed by some people as a step forward. This may be a step to the precipice. It will allow a very unfortunate third attack," warned Borger.

The confrontation between Borger and Fernandez came to a head on Saturday as the president took to the national television airwaves and Twitter to defend the agreement.

"I read with concern the statements made by Guillermo Borger, president of AMIA,on the deal with Iran. What do you know to make a statement so terrible?" Fernandez asked on Twitter. "If there was an attack planned related to the agreement with Iran, who is the mastermind and the material author?"

Argentina is another Jewish community that ought to be thinking about making aliya (many of them did in the 1970's during the Peron era). This is only likely to get worse whether in terms of Kirchner's relationship with the community, her cuddling up to Iran, or the exoneration of mass murderers of Jews. In any event, the message to the Jewish community of Argentina is clear: You're not wanted.

This is actually typical behavior from Kirchner, who has been known to - literally - cuddle with some of the worst dictators the 'international community' has to offer (see the photos at the link). The open disdain for the lives of her own citizens is just a little more brazen.

Labels: AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hector Timerman, Iran, Israel, Jews, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:29 AM 3 comments

Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler

Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler for Friday, February 8.

1)Not much political about them

Once upon a time, President Obama's counter-terrorism chief and current CIA nominee, John Brennan advocated engaging with Hezbollah. In 2009, Barry Rubin quoted from a paper written by Brennan:

“It would not be foolhardy, however, for the United States to tolerate, and even to encourage, greater assimilation of Hezbollah into Lebanon's political system, a process that is subject to Iranian influence. Hezbollah is already represented in the Lebanese parliament and its members have previously served in the Lebanese cabinet, reflections of Hezbollah's interest in shaping Lebanon's political future from within government institutions. This political involvement is a far cry from Hezbollah's genesis as solely a terrorist organization dedicated to murder, kidnapping, and violence. Not coincidentally, the evolution of Hezballah into a fully vested player in the Lebanese political system has been accompanied by a marked reduction in terrorist attacks carried out by the organization. The best hope for maintaining this trend and for reducing the influence of violent extremists within the organization—as well as the influence of extremist Iranian officials who view Hezbollah primarily as a pawn of Tehran—is to increase Hezbollah’s stake in Lebanon’s struggling democratic processes” This kind of thinking would do far more than bury Lebanon. It would bury U.S. interests and influence in the Middle East. And so it is only appropriate to quote William Shakespeare’s lines for another funeral oration: “If you have tears, prepare to shed them now!” Yes, it would be foolhardy for the United States to encourage growing influence and power for a radical Islamist terrorist group that is a client of Syria and reasonably close to being an agent of Iran. Brennan seems to give no evidence of any serious knowledge about the Middle East. 

The recent Bulgarian investigation, implicating Hezbollah in last year's terror attack in Burgas, apparently has Brennan rethinking his position. Lee Smith writes in Blaming terrorists for terrorism:

The Obama administration and other U.S. officials greeted the Sofia report with enthusiasm. The White House’s counterterrorism adviser John Brennan commended “its friend and NATO ally.” Obama’s nominee for CIA director has in the past indicated he’s somewhat confused about Hezbollah, recommending for instance that Washington should seek to empower the terror group’s so-called “moderates.” But regarding the Burgas bombing, Brennan was clear-eyed. “Bulgaria’s investigation exposes Hizballah for what it is,” Brennan said in a released statement, “a terrorist group that is willing to recklessly attack innocent men, women, and children, and that poses a real and growing threat not only to Europe, but to the rest of the world.” New Secretary of State John Kerry also weighed in, urging “other governments around the world – and particularly our partners in Europe – to take immediate action to crack down on Hizballah. We need to send an unequivocal message to this terrorist group that it can no longer engage in despicable actions with impunity.” Kerry is referring to the ongoing debate within the European Union whether or not to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. France and Germany are against listing Lebanon’s Islamic resistance, and led an aggressive campaign to convince the Bulgarians not to name Hezbollah as the culprit. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has been pushing for designation and has blacklisted Hezbollah separately from any EU actions. The UK meanwhile has designated Hezbollah’s “military wing,” an action taken largely because of Hezbollah fighters that squared off against UK troops in Iraq, and intended to distinguish it from the outfit’s “political wing,” a distinction that the Bulgarian report made implicitly.

However as Smith and others have pointed out, Hezbollah's number two official, Naim Qassem said in a 2009 interview with the LA Times:

Neither Qassem nor Washington distinguish between the Shiite militant group's political wing, which has members serving in the Lebanese Cabinet and parliament, and its military wing, preparing for the next round of battle against Israel. "Hezbollah has a single leadership," said the 57-year-old cleric in a rare interview with an American reporter recently.
"All political, social and jihad work is tied to the decisions of this leadership," he said. "The same leadership that directs the parliamentary and government work also leads jihad actions in the struggle against Israel." 

Bulgaria's actions contrast favorably with those of Argentina, which recently chose to cooperate with Iran in attempting to learn the truth about the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aries. Lee Smith writes in Iran to investigate JCC bombing:

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon likened the formation of the truth committee to “inviting the murderer to participate in the murder investigation.” It’s a fair assessment. From the outset, the Iranian regime was believed to have been responsible for the AMIA Jewish community center attack, as well as the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, which killed 29 and injured 242. But it wasn’t until October 2006, when Argentinian special prosecutors officially charged that it had been carried out by a team of Hezbollah operatives, including the late head of the terrorist group’s external operations unit, Imad Mughniyeh, under the direction of the highest authorities in Tehran. An Argentinian court issued arrest warrants for Mughniyeh as well as six senior Iranian figures, among them former President Ali Rafsanjani and current Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi. According to the report that the special prosecutors presented the judge in the case, a group called the Special Affairs Committee, which includes Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Rafsanjani, convened in the Iranian city of Mashad on Aug. 14, 1993, to approve the attack. Iran, of course, has long denied any involvement in the AMIA attack, and its intense diplomatic efforts to shirk responsibility seem to have finally paid off. Mutual commercial interests and shared ideological sympathies have brought Argentina and Iran closer than ever before—and this so-called truth committee is only the latest evidence of the increasingly close alliance. 

In an interesting irony, a reporter, Borzou Daragahi, tweeted the other day that Israel had paid off Bulgaria to implicate Hezbollah. After the tweet was exposed and publicized, Daragahi backed off his charge. 

Daraghi was also the reporter who interviewed Qassem in 2009.
 
2) Not even pretending

I guess as a way to balance out Shmuel Rosner's essays in Latitudes, the New York Times has engaged Raja Shehadeh to write about all the outrages Israel visits upon the Palestinians.
A few months ago he claimed that Israel was preventing Palestinians from getting needed medical treatment. The numbers tell a much different story. 

Now in More than a land grab he raises the specter of "settlers."

Meanwhile, last Thursday a fact-finding mission of the U.N. Human Rights Council issued a scathing report about the settlers’ tactics, perhaps the boldest report ever issued by a U.N. body. It noted that “the identities of settlers who are responsible for violence and intimidation are known to the Israeli authorities, yet these acts continue with impunity.” It continued: “The mission believes that the motivation behind this violence and the intimidation against the Palestinians as well as their properties is to drive the local population away from their lands and allow the settlements to expand.”

Depending on the UN Human Rights Council for an objective view of Israel is ridiculous. A recent New York Times editorial (illogically) criticized Israel for not submitting to a human rights review by that organization even as it acknowledged that the council singled out Israel for disparate treatment. 

NGO Monitor explains that the fact finding practiced by the UNHRC didn't follow proper protocols. The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council weighs in with specific criticisms of the UNHRC report. (h/t Bennett Ruda)

Of course balance would be the goal if Shehadeh were honest. But Shehadeh isn't simply trying to make people understand the Palestinian perspective. He is using inaccuracies, distortions and generalizations to demonize Israel. He can even give his arguments some "substance" because there are institutions like the UN and Ha'aretz that are always eager to portray Israel as beyond redemption. In engaging Shehadeh, the New York Times once again demonstrates its disdain for Israel, as well as for the truth.

3) That 3 AM phone call

The editors of the Washington Post ask Why did Mr. Obama overrule his advisers on Syria?

WE NOW know that President Obama’s national security team overwhelmingly supported providing arms to the rebels in Syria. On Thursday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told a Senate committee that he and Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, backed a plan that would have vetted, trained and armed selected opposition groups, which have been pleading for such U.S. support for more than a year. According to the New York Times, the strategy was developed by former CIA director David H. Petraeus and supported by former secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton. As we have frequently argued, the rationale for such action is compelling. Syria’s civil war, which has killed more than 60,000 people, grows steadily worse and more dangerous for the United States and its allies. An opposition that once was a peaceful pro-democracy movement has been all but overtaken by jihadist organizations, including an al-Qaeda affiliate, that receive ample funding and weapons supplies from abroad.

This is incredible. During the Bush administration stories that suggested that President Bush ignored intelligence that his approach to Iraq was wrong regularly were treated as above-the-fold-front-page-news. Now we have news that the current president refused the unanimous recommendation of every single senior member of his foreign policy team. While the Washington Post is disturbed by this, there's been little else written about President Obama's failure to heed this advice. There was a time when American intervention may have helped steer the Syrian rebellion. That time has long ago passed. (Barry Rubin noted the administration's failure to aid the rebels and gain some influence among them, last May.) That the President persisted despite the recommendation of his advisers should be a major scandal.

Maybe President Obama answered the proverbial 3AM phone call, but then he did nothing to show that he appreciated its significance.

Labels: AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Barack Hussein Obama, Bulgaria, Hezbullah, Islamic terrorism, Middle East Media Sampler, Palestinian lies, Soccer Dad, Syrian uprising, United Nations Human Rights Council

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:40 PM 0 comments

Israel shocked over Argentina's agreement to 'truth commission' over AMIA bombing

Israel is said to be shocked by the Argentine government's decision to agree to a joint 'truth commission' with Iran to identify cover up for those behind the July 18, 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in which 85 Argentinians - mostly Jews - were murdered.

Israel is shocked by the signing of an agreement between Iran and Argentina Sunday to establish a truth commission in a bid to resolve the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish community center that Argentine courts accuse Iran of sponsoring. “We warned the Argentinians only a short while ago not to fall into the trap that the Iranians will set up for them,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yigal Palmor. “We are stunned by this news item and we will want to receive from the Argentine government a complete picture as to what was agreed upon because this entire affair affects Israel directly.”

Israel heard about the launching of the dialogue between Argentina and Iran in October from reports in the media. Despite repeated requests from Jerusalem, the Argentine government refused to update Israel on the progress of the talks. In meetings that have been held over the past few weeks between Argentina’s foreign minister, Hector Timerman (who is Jewish), and representatives of the country’s Jewish community, he agreed to convey only a few general details about the negotiations.

Before the first round of talks between Iran and Argentina, senior officials of Israel’s foreign ministry traveled to Buenos Aires and delivered a sternly worded message to the effect that Israel would not accept the signing of any agreement that would be at the expense of the victims. The Israeli diplomats were adamant in their demand that Argentina must insist upon the extradition of the Iranian suspects and upon the payment of compensation to the families of the victims.

Read the whole thing.  This is a job for the Mossad....

Labels: Ahmad Vahidi, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Iran

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:38 PM 0 comments

Argentina looking to drop AMIA charges in exchange for better trade relations with Iran

This is not the first time that there has been talk in Argentina of dropping the AMIA bombing charges in return for improved trade relations with Iran. But the more it comes up, the more likely it is to happen. Earlier this week, Iran offered to 'cooperate' in the investigation of the AMIA bombing in Argentina in 1994. The problem is that the investigation has been over for five years and we already know that the Iranians planned it and Hezbullah did it. As investigator Alberto Nisman (pictured) said, all that's left now is for Iran to turn over the perpetrators, including Defense Minister Ahmed Vahidi. Fat chance that will happen.

Israel is said to be quite disturbed that Argentina is apparently open to this 'offer.'

Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman’s positive reaction to an Iranian statement saying it was willing to cooperate with Buenos Aires in its search for the terrorists responsible for the AMIA building attack 17 years ago raised eyebrows Monday in Jerusalem.

“The investigation is over,” one official said, adding that what was needed now was for the Iranians to hand over those responsible for the attack that killed 85 people, and wounded 300, on July 18, 1994.

The official said the statement by the Argentine Foreign Ministry raised questions again about the validity of a report in Argentine tabloid Perfil in March about whether Timerman offered to drop the probe into the attack in exchange for better economic relations with Iran.

Timerman angrily said at a press conference in Jerusalem in April that he did not have to answer questions not based in reality.

...

Iran’s Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi is one of five people wanted by Interpol for the attack.

According to a report Sunday in the Buenos Aires Herald, Timerman said regarding the Iranian statement that “if what was published in international press is confirmed, it would be an unprecedented and very positive step forward.” He was quoted as saying that he was awaiting an official confirmation from his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi.

But Nisman dismissed the Iranian statement, saying at a press conference that if the Iranians wanted to cooperate, what they needed to do was to turn over to the Argentine authorities those accused of the attack.

I don't know why our Foreign Ministry is so surprised. Perhaps they haven't been watching the company kept by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner.

Labels: AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Hector Timerman, Iran, Iran sanctions regime, Jacobo Timerman

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:42 PM 3 comments

Bolivia expels Vahidi

Hosting Jew-hating murderers is fine in Evo Morales' Bolivia, but if they tick off your neighbors is a different story. And so, Bolivia has expelled Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi (pictured), who has been indicted by an international tribunal for being a part of the group that carried out two bombings at the Israeli embassy and at the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires in the 1990's. Bolivia claims that it didn't know what Vahidi has been accused of doing (bull dung) and Argentina, which has recently recognized a 'Palestinian' reichlet gets to mollify its Jewish community, which, after all, still votes in elections.

In the letter Bolivia apologized for the invitation, which it called "a grave incident", and assured Argentina that Vahidi would not be in the country for long.

"As a result of this lamentable situation ... the government of Bolivia has taken the corresponding provisions to see to it that Ahmad Vahidi immediately leaves Bolivian territory," said the letter, which was released in Buenos Aires by the Argentine government.

Sources in Bolivia's government, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Vahidi left Bolivia late on Tuesday.

Vahidi is among the senior Iranian officials accused by Argentine prosecutors of being behind the attack that leveled the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) building in Buenos Aires. Iran denies any links to the bombing.

"Unfortunately (the Bolivian Defense Ministry) did not know about the background of the case," the letter said. Nor did the ministry coordinate the invitation with the rest of Bolivia's government, it said.

Vahidi enjoys diplomatic immunity, which complicates efforts to bring him to trial although in 2007 Interpol notified law enforcement bodies in other countries of an Argentine arrest warrant against him.

Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, has close ties with Argentine leader Cristina Fernandez, who last year proposed that a third country be nominated by Tehran to host the trial of those accused of being involved in the bombing.

Iran rejected the idea, saying none of its citizens were involved.

Iran's state news agency IRNA said Vahidi had visited Mauritania and held talks with the African state's president before traveling to Bolivia.

Guillermo Borges, the AMIA's current president, called Vahidi's visit to Bolivia "a provocation."

The letter said that Bolivia hopes the incident will not affect the "excellent" diplomatic relationship between it and Argentina.

Everyone's happy. What could go wrong?

Labels: Ahmad Vahidi, AMIA truck bombing, Argentina, Bolivia, Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Evo Morales, Iran

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:49 PM 1 comments

Can Latin America be saved

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, is headed for Latin America on Wednesday to try to convince countries there to vote against the unilateral recognition of 'Palestinian statehood' in the UN General Assembly in September.

Ayalon will travel to Mexico City on Wednesday, for meetings there, followed by a trip to El Salvador where he will attend a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS). Israel has observer status in the OAS.

"We have realized that we can make a counter campaign," Ayalon said Tuesday. "We must conduct a counter campaign to the Palestinians, even though they have a comparative advantage in the General Assembly. We are not going to give up."

Mexico did not follow Brazil's lead late last year and recognize a Palestinian state, and its position on the matter is considered very influential with a number of Central American states that have not yet recognized a Palestinian state. Among these are El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.

The wave of recognition of a Palestinian state that began with Brazil last year swept South America, with the exception of Colombia, but did not wash over Central America or the Caribbean states, who are also members of the OAS.

Colombia, Israel's closest ally in South America, is currently a member of the UN Security Council, and in various assessments being made in Jerusalem could very well vote with the US against a Palestinian state resolution in the Security Council.

While it is widely expected that the US would veto any such resolution in the Security Council, Washington is keen on not being isolated on the matter and is interested in getting other countries on the council to vote with it – thereby preventing it from having to use its veto.

Ayalon should at least be going to Honduras and Colombia. I'd even consider a trip to Argentina. Even though they have come out in favor of recognizing the 'Palestinian' reichlet, they are also familiar with the scourge of terrorism.

Labels: Argentina, Colombia, Danny Ayalon, El Salvador, Honduras, Latin America, OAS, unilateral declaration of statehood, United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:37 AM 4 comments