Kerry Says Don't Cover Terror

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

US Secretary of State John Kerry made an inane statement in a press conference the other day.

He said out right that the press should stop covering terror attacks. He actually said, not implied, that if the attacks were not covered people would not know about them. The implication was that without the coverage, people would not freak out and fear terror and that without the publicity the terrorists would not act.

The entire message by Kerry is a serious mistake.

Terror does not go up and down because the events are covered. A press blackout on terror would never stop events from being covered. In this day and age of media access, most people learn about things from social media and not from traditional news sources.

The most important issue here is that Kerry's entire perspective is based on the false assumption that if you de-emphasize the value of something/anything it becomes less important to everyone else. This is not true. It is a terrible fallacy.

Terror is important to the terrorists and to the victims and to the world that is at war confronting the terror. Saying it is not Islamic or not terror will not make it less important.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Israel 1st to aid Italy

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Most people do not know this, but the first country to send a team of aid workers to help Italy after the terrible and devastating earthquake struck on August 24 - was Israel.

Israel has volunteer teams that are always ready to hop on a plane and help people in need. They were the first in Italy, the first in Haiti and the first aid team in Nicaragua.

The teams specialize in finding victims buried under rubble and in dealing with the Red Cross, neighbors and community. Knowledge of the victim's native language, in this case Italian, is essential.

In Italy one of the main foundations of the team is a psychologist named Sylvania Winer who came to Israel from Italy as a 20 year old.

The Israelis are indentifying bodies and informing the families. Part of Israel's job also is keeping people away from the remains and from the dead bodies that are decomposing and rife with disease.

Well done Israel, we are all proud.

Micah@micahhalpern.com 

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Oct Summit In Moscow BTW Pal & Is

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

It is happening... almost certainly.... in October Netanyahu will meet with Abbas in Moscow under the sponsorship of Putin.

Originally, this meeting was supposed to take place in Egypt under the sponsorship of Egypt, but Abbas is wary of the Egyptian plan. It seems that he trusts Putin more than al Sisi.

We know that Netanyahu and Putin have been in contact over the past few days and now their teams should be ironing out the details.

Last week I wrote that Egypt's President al Sisi announced to a closed groups of select journalists that Putin was interested in hosting the meetings... and now they will all come together. Egypt and Saudi Arabia will also be part of the talks

Abbas has no idea what he wants - but he knows that he needs to stack the group against Israel.

What Abbas does not realize is that most everyone has lost their patience with him (not with Netanyahu) and as I read the tea leaves, the real pressure will be on the Palestinians (not the Israelis) to make serious concessions and move towards a real solution.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Iran Attack US Carrier- US Fire Waring Shots

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Wednesday and Thursday saw two aggressive Iranian actions against the US aircraft carrier Nitze.

On Wednesday four little boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard aggressively approached the Nitze. The United States fired four warning shots at the little boats and the incident ended.

And then again, on Thursday, the rubber speed boats came in "arms length" of the US aircraft carrier. This time the US carrier fired three warning shots. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel turned and left.

The White House and the Pentagon have said only that they are concerned and that this behavior is not helpful and that they do not understand the motivation behind it.

Well, I understand the motivation very well. The Iranians are toying with United States. These actions are meant to lure the United States into an irresponsible and exaggerated response.

This is a game that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is playing.

In January the Iranians did the same thing with drones and a submarine that were close enough to nearly touch the flight deck of the US vessel.

My suggestion to the United States - don't take the bait.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Bibi's Gov Almost Fell Last Night

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:
A massive crisis in Israel was averted on Thursday night.

The crisis was not about peace or economics, not about the Palestinians or security or even about ISIS. And yet, it was a crisis of such proportion that it threatened to take down the government - and nearly did. Prime Minister Netanyahu spent the whole night in dialogue and negotiations to keep his government from falling.

The crisis centered on a simple Latin expression composed of 2 words: Status Quo - which means, things should stay the same. No Changes.

Status Quo. These words are the foundation of the Netanyahu coalition. It has to do with the concept of religious life in Israel, especially the role of government.

In this case religious parties in the Netanyahu government were up in arms because work on the rail lines was taking place on Shabbat.

Two ministers sent a scathing letter to the PM saying stop or we will pull our support from your government because this is a violation of the Status Quo, which is part of our coalition contract.
Israel's ministers of transport and labor said that their contracts allowed for work on Shabbat in Tel Aviv. The religious parties said no way.

Finally, the prime minister stepped in with a Solomonic resolution.

They agreed to allow emergency and safety related work to be done on Shabbat because that work save lives. For instance, major safety improvement on the Ayalon Highway may be performed so that fewer people will die in what has become a deadly roadway. But simply laying track and other non-safety related work will be postponed until after Shabbat.

A near crisis - averted.

 Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Shocking -- Its Politics

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

George P. Bush, Jeb Bush's 40 year old son, just returned from a trip to Israel.

The trip should come as no surprise, Jeb and his uncle George W. are great supporters of Israel.

The big surprise is that George P Bush broke ranks from his father and endorsed Donald Trump, the republican nominee. Despite the awful way that Trump attacked his father, George none the less has embraced the idea that Trump needs to win the presidency.

Currently, George P. Bush is the Texas land commissioner, elected in 2014. But he may be maneuvering for a spot in the Trump administration. This trip to Israel certainly helps secure his foreign policy exposure and experience.

Machiavelli said that politics make strange bedfellows. Here we have the perfect example.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Russia To Sponsor Israel-PA Summit

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:
Egyptian President al Sisi informed several journalists yesterday that Russian President Putin is offering to host direct talks between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Abbas.

That is a very important announcement.

Originally, Egypt was supposed to host a bi-lateral summit. Now it will be Russia who hosts. It is essential that Egypt and Saudi Arabia be present. Their presence will allow Palestinian leader Abbas the illusion of protection, comfort and security that may permit him to make concessions.

Of course, the biggest questions is where the United States will be during the summit. They will unquestionably be invited - but this time around they will have to take a back seat.

This is Russia's party and the co-hosts are Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Iran's Weapons Industry

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Iran now has an advanced weapons industry.

Iran's motivation in creating this industry was the sanctions that the West and the world imposed on them. So far, their results have been very impressive. Iran is making sophisticated weapons, on its own.

Here's an example:

The Russian S-300 rocket system has been caught in the sanctions debate. And even though Iran signed a deal with the P5+1 last year, the S-300 has not actually been delivered.
Russia has been pressured by Israel and the United States not to send the entire S-300 order.

So, since 2010, Iran has been developing an alternative to the S-300. The Iranians say that they have successfully developed the Bavar-373. We are told that they tested the rocket and that Iranian
President Rouhani actually toured and watched the launching of the new weapon.

Also on the agenda for release almost immediately is Iran's first turbo jet engine.
This info comes to us courtesy of Iran, so some skepticism is valid. Iranians are masters of deception and have, in the past, fictionalized their technical weapons development and prowess.

We just have to wait and see what the real story is this time.

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Turkey Confiscates Accounts of Rebels

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:
Turkey is confiscating the money, property and assets of anyone they feel was involved in the July coup.

Included in the group of confiscated properties are the schools and other charities of self-exiled Turkish cleric leader Gullen who lives in a complex in Rural PA.

In addition, two Fortune 500 companies that are in Turkey have also been impacted. Their assets were taken and their company offices were closed.

The Turks will continue to crack down on everyone they think was involved in the coup.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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More Info About Egypt's Refusal to Shake Hands

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

More details are coming out about that judo match between Israel and Egypt, the match in which the Egyptian refused to shake the hand of the Israeli.

Now it has been made public that Egyptian athletes have refused to ride in elevators with Israelis.

Israeli Ori Sasson has described the evil murderous looks that Egyptian Shahabi gave him before their judo match. He reports that as they began the match, Egyptian Shehabi said "Alahu Akhbar." Sasson said he could only think of the declarations make before a terror attack.

After the incident the Olympic Committee summoned the Egyptian. Shehabi was disciplined him and sent back to Egypt.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 

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Hamas Threatens PA on Elections

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Hamas sent out a scathing ultimatum to the Palestinian Authority yesterday.

Hamas said that if the PA doesn’t stop arresting their people in the West Bank --- Hamas will boycott the upcoming local elections.

Actually, many of the Hamas leaders that the Palestinian Authority is arresting in the West Bank are election organizers who are motivating people to vote for Hamas over Fatah.

Fatah might actually want Hamas to boycott the local elections - it would give Fatah a hands down victory over Hamas.

The problem is that if Hamas is absent from the election, it would call into question Fatah's true popularity and give Hamas the opportunity to delegitimize the entire election.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com 
 
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All Maps Are Political

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

All maps are political. And Google Maps is in the middle of a huge conflict over their maps.

Over the past few weeks Google has been accused of removing Palestine from their maps. The company has responded by saying that they never did have Palestine as a separate country. Some voices are saying that Google should show Israel's occupation of Palestine.

The argument is not unique to Israel and Palestine.

There are similar arguments about Crimea. The argument is whether Google maps should show Crimea as part of Ukraine or, now that it is under Russian control, should they show Crimea as part of Russia.

And what about the Kurds who control areas in Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey. Should they show the Kurdish controlled areas? And what about ISIS controlled regions?
Should people know which areas are under the control of ISIS? But then again, does showing all that automatically signify acceptance of their right to control the area?

Goggle is in a difficult position. We need their maps - and we want to be up-to-date in terms of geographical shifts and changes in territory.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Iran Lost 400 Guards in Syria

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Iran's actions are often shrouded in deep secrets - even mystery.

The Iranians do not telegraph their actions. Often they become reliable sources of information about what others are doing, such as the United States. And Iran was the source of the video and the information about the $400 million in cash that the White House delivered stealthily one night, the same night that four American hostages were released by Iran.

One of the mysteries that has plagued those of us who have been analyzing Iran is how large their force in Syria and Iraq really is.

On Saturday, Iran's semi-official news agency, ILNA, reported that 400 families were being honored because they were the parents of sons who had died in Syria as fighters for the Revolutionary Guard. Yes, 400 dead in Syria.

400 dead Revolutionary Guards is a huge number. We have be shown, here and there, memorial photos of Guards killed in Syria - but we never knew how many of them there were. We also heard from other sources that the Iranians were there.
We even had a vehicle filled with six Revolutionary Guards, including a general, that Israel killed in an airstrike as they were touring the Golan Heights.

Iran has made a huge investment in Syria and we always assumed that Iranian Revolutionary Guards were all over Syria attacking ISIS and Al Qaeda. Now we know for sure.

This is a very important admission and acceptance.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Christians Protest in Cairo

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Yesterday Christians protested in Cairo on the steps of the national court house. They were demanding equal rights and equal protection.

Protests are virtually unheard of today in Egypt. New anti-protest laws are so strict that they almost certainly guarantee conviction and prison, not to mention injury caused by the police in a crackdown.

Christians number about 10 million in Egypt, which means that they are about 10% of the population. Almost universally, they supported al Sisi in his overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood's president Morsi.

Under Morsi the Christian community was in the cross hairs. They expected improvement under al Sisi but they have not felt any significant change. Egypt's
Christians want equality under the law. And they want protection from abuse.

Their demands are reasonable.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Israel Ordered to Pay Iran $1.1 Bill

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The World Court has ordered Israel to pay Iran $1.1 billion plus interest and lawyer's fees.

The decision came about as the result of an oil company created jointly by Israel and Iran in 1968. The company was created after the 1967 War during which Egypt closed the Suez Canal. Israel needed to get oil and so they created a corporation with Iran who provided the oil.

But then, eleven years later, after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, it all fell apart. And when it fell apart Israel took control of the corporation.

Now that the court has ruled (although the ruling is dated June 27) it is unlikely that Israel will pay up.

It is against Israeli law to send any money or support to Iran.

Israel cannot and will not hand over any money to Iran.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Iran Bans Pokemon Go

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Iran joins the nations that are banning Pokemon Go.

They claim that the game is a security risk and a tool of foreign spy agencies.

Niantic, the company that makes Pokemon, never asked for permission to launch in Iran. If they had, Niantic would have had to submit an application to the Supreme Council on Cyberspace. This group was set up by the Ayatollah in 2012 in order to try to keep a handle on the cyber world inside Iran.

The Council is also responsible for a cyber defense and attack infrastructure in Iran.

Iran is one of the top 5 cyber tech countries in the world today. Obviously, the Council would have rejected Pokemon Go. But just as obviously, Pokemon Go is being played in Iran anyway. I have seen pictures and videos of Iranian teens in public parks running after those little guys.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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ISIS is Islam

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

I have been hearing that ISIS is not Islam ever since ISIS exploded onto the world scene.

So, the important question is this: if ISIS is not Islam --- what is ISIS?

Of course ISIS is Islam.

It is not the Islam that people want to see, but it is certainly Islam. The vast number of those who see Islam and ISIS as incompatible are looking at Islam through Westerners' eyes.

ISIS is very much Islam.

And those in the region know it all too well. The horror and fear and ruthlessness that are hallmarks of ISIS activities are part of a culture of fear that is well known in the region. ISIS embraces the idea of forcing others to believe in their understanding Islam.

That lesson stems from traditional Islam, it is a teaching of the Prophet Mohammed himself.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Charity Aids Hamas- Countries Strop $

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

World Vision was a credible Christian charity. It was respected all over the world and it raised millions of dollars for its various causes.

The NYT scooped a story about how World Vision in Gaza was giving its charity to Hamas.

The Israelis supported the claim by saying that they had the head of World Vision in custody since June and he confessed to siphoning millions - almost all the money allocated to Gaza - and giving it to Hamas. He actually said that he infiltrated the organization with that plan in mind from the very beginning.

Now a few days later, Australia has suspended all gifts to World Vision. The Australian government gives about $4 million a year to World Vision. Germany, also, has stopped their donation dollars to World Vision. Israel is providing the evidence to any and every country interested.

Israel has also said that countries and individuals must be particularly careful about giving to organizations in Gaza. The chances of it going to Hamas are extremely high.

According to the Israeli briefing report the monies did not go to Hamas charities or their social service infrastructure. The monies from World Vision went to the military wing of Hamas and to the digging of tunnels.

That means individual Western donors and Western countries were contributing to terror infrastructure. It means that giving to World Vision was not just fraud but a violation of the anti-terror funding laws of these countries. That is a very serious violation.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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IDF Saves Syrians

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The IDF released a video of its medical teams going into Syria to save Syrians who were badly injured in bombings. Two of the wounded were very young children with burns all over their bodies.

Seven medical teams went into Syria in the dead of night. This was many more than are even assigned to the special medical group designated to stealthily save Syrians.
These medical teams were borrowed from the armored corps that was involved on a drill nearby in the Galil. The teams included high ranking medical personnel that had with them a huge amount of equipment to help the injured.

So dramatic were the injuries that the team called a helicopter to airlift the Syrian patients out of the area. This was highly risky and very unusual --- in an already unusual situation.

The most amazing part of the story was watching an uninjured elderly women walk alongside the gurneys to the helicopter. The children's grandmother was with them as they were dying and she joined them in Israel.


Here is a link to the video:
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4838412,00.html

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Egypt Kills ISIS Leader

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The head of ISIS in Sinai was killed in an air raid conducted by the Egyptian military.

The Egyptian air force launched an attack against an ISIS weapons depot. One of the additional reasons for the strike was that according to intelligence reports they had received, in addition to the weapons numerous ISIS leaders and fighters were present at the depot.

So the strike was launched. 45 ISIS members were killed and the entire cache of weapons was destroyed.

Among the dead is said to be Abu Dua al Ansari, the head of ISIS in the Sinai. Ansari was responsible for the planning and execution of the horrific terror attack that blew up the Russia charter flight murdering all 224 people aboard the airliner.

There has been no confirmation of Ansari's death from anyone in the Sinai. No one - from ISIS to the Bedouins of Sinai have said anything about the attack or the death.

This is par for the course.

Micah@Halpern.com

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New ISIS Video Threatens Israel

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

ISIS in Egypt has released a 35 minute video entitled "Flames of the Desert." During the video ISIS says that the time for Israel "has become weighty."

The video says that Israel's "account with us has become weighty and you will soon pay a high price."

The video refers to Israel and the Jews - but it never uses the word Israel. Instead it double uses the term El Yahoud which, depending on the context, means either Jews or Israel.

The video says "Jews will not remain in Palestine, we will turn it into a graveyard for Jews."

This is a direct threat against Israel. And Israel is and will continue to defending itself against this threat and future threats.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Iranian Leader Says Saudis Are Traitors

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Iranian Supreme Leader the Ayatollah Khamenei has gone on record saying that the average Iranian has not felt any positive effect from the six month old nuclear agreement between Iran and the Western world.

The Ayatollah also accused Saudi leadership of committing treason. He was referring to a group of Saudi businessmen and a former Saudi general who recently went to Israel for a long visit and have been speaking about the experience and about how Israel is not at all what it is assumed to be by the general public and by the media.

Khamenei was livid with the Saudis. He said: "This job by Saudis is a great sin and treason but in this big wrongdoing, Americans have played a role since the Saudi government is possessed by the U.S. government while following and listening to Washington."

When the Supreme Leader speaks, the Arab world listens.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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Pope is Wrong on ISIS

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

The Pope has got ISIS and Islam all wrong. In fact, his comments actually help ISIS gain more support.

After the brutal murder of a Catholic priest in Normandy, the Pope and his spokesmen did not mention Islam. His Holiness does not believe that Islam is the issue.

Yesterday the Pope said: "It's not right to identify Islam with violence. It's not right and it's not true." He said: "I believe that in every religion there is always a little fundamentalist group."

And then he concluded "I know how they think, they are looking for peace."

Unfortunately, the Pope does not know how ISIS works. He is so very far off from understanding them.

The Pope believes that ISIS "presents itself with a violent identity card, but that's not Islam." He is wrong - for ISIS that is Islam.

Micah@Micahhalpern.com

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ISIS Terror in Europe

By Micah Halpern

I've Been Thinking:

Since June 8 there has been an ISIS inspired terror attack every 84 hours in cities outside the war zones of Iraq, Syria, Sinai, Egypt and Libya. This statistic comes to us via IntelCenter a group that tracks terrorism.

According to IntelCenter over half of those attacks were outside major cities in what would be considered low risk areas. This is counter-intuitive - but it is also part of the ISIS plan.

Today Europe is flatfooted in dealing with ISIS terror. And at the same time, ISIS terror is increasing in its intensity. We will see many more attacks before the summer ends. ISIS knows that their attacks are working.

Europe is stunned. They have no idea how to respond to ISIS and now, in addition to the deaths and the fear, they are being hit in the pocket book, too.

Tourism in all the traditional European tourist sites has plummeted. Even fellow Europeans are not travelling within Europe. Certainly Americans are not interested in visiting traditional European centers of tourism.

The loss - both financial and psychological, is devastating.

Micah@MicahHalpern.com

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