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In a lengthy May 26 article, Jodi Rudoren, the New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief, goes apoplectic over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s selection of Dore Gold to run Israel’s foreign ministry. The headline and the lead paragraph immediately signal to readers that Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, is disastrous for Israel’s diplomacy –“Netanyahu Appoints Hawkish Ally to Run foreign policy” – buttressed by Rudoren’s own depiction of Gold as a Bibi confidant who is “hawkish on Iran and the Palestinian issue.”

A spokesman said Israel holds Hamas responsible for the attack. One hour ago, sirens went off in southern Israel, causing people to seek shelter in their security rooms and in public shelters. In Israel, most houses have a specially built security room that can survive chemical attacks and all sorts of conventional attacks. A short time later, a rocket – probably a home-made M-75 missile with a range of 75 km or a Grad missile – landed in the city of Gan Yavne, east of the coastal city of Ashdod.

Confusion again reigns today in many Jewish circles, particularly in Israel: Some of us joyfully celebrate a festive holiday, while others watch from the side, not sure what to make of it. Some recite the usual Tachanun penitential prayer and bemusedly ask, "What, another religious-Zionist holiday?" as their neighbors recite the joyous Hallel prayer instead. A quick review of the miraculously historic events of this month 48 years ago may help clear up some of the confusion. A brief synopsis: As on Purim, Passover, and other holidays, our enemies set out to destroy us – literally – and G-d came...

May 11 Israel bought four German-made corvette warships on Monday to help secure its Mediterranean gas rigs, with Berlin heavily subsidizing the deal, Israel's Defence Ministry said on Monday. The ships, worth 430 million euros ($480 million), will be built by Thyssen Krupp and delivered within five years, providing significantly more fire power to Israel's navy. The German government will pay 115 million euros towards the cost. As part of its atonement for the Nazi Holocaust, Germany is committed to Israel's security and has often helped pay in the past for the cost of military equipment such as submarines. Thyssen...

When the F-15 was created, it was created to be a pure air-to-air fighter, with the philosophy of “not a pound for air-to-ground” guiding designers. So how did Israel end up turning their F-15s into deadly long-range multi-role strike aircraft well before the F-15E Strike Eagle became a reality? Here’s how. In Need Of A Game Changing Fighter Israel’s love affair with the F-15 began out of the need to procure a fighter that could trump the increasingly complex fighters that surrounding Arab states were amassing from Russian and French sources. Both the F-14 Tomcat and the F-15 Eagle were...

The Jewish Standard shared this “earnest exchange” between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a little girl on its Facebook page: he girl asked the Prime Minister about losing his brother Yonatan. Tablet writes that Netanyahu’s older brother “Yoni” was killed commanding 1976’s Operation Entebbe, in which an attempt was made to rescue hijacked hostages. Netanyahu’s response to the girl highlights the softer, sensitive side of the world leader: I felt like someone took an axe and chopped my hand off. Not only the hand. Somebody took an axe and chopped off my leg. Maybe both legs… That’s how I...

By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem, Israel — April 28, 2015 … Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon at his Jerusalem office, held a consultation on Israel’s rescue efforts in Nepal. Israel Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Interior Minister Gilad Erdan, Foreign Ministry Director General Nissim Ben-Shetrit, GOC Home Front Maj.-Gen. Yoel Strick and MDA Director General Eli Bein, as well as representatives from the Justice and Public Security ministries, were also in attendance. “We are focusing on two efforts,” said Netanyahu. “Our first effort is to locate and rescue Israelis who are in distress in Nepal and enable their...

By Joel Leyden Israel News AgencyJerusalem, Israel — April 26, 2015 — Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today spoke to the commander of the Israeli delegation to Nepal, Col. Yoram Laredo. The Prime Minister was informed that the rescue mission to Nepal includes an IDF field hospital and that its goals were locating Israelis, rescuing people who were trapped and treating the injured. IDF Col. Laredo told Prime Minister Netanyahu that an advance team had already landed and was preparing the infrastructure for the arrival of the humanitarian mission. “You are being sent on an important mission. This is the...

Israel has a right to use its military to defend itself against regional threats, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday as he continued his diplomatic battle to stop Russian-made arms from flowing into the hands of Israel’s enemies. “The meaning of independence, in my view, is, first of all, the ability to defend yourself,” Netanyahu before he met with the IDF General Staff. “To the growing threats around us we have a response, which is found in this room. I rely on you, chief-of-staff, and I rely on the IDF. The people of Israel rely on you.” Publicly, Netanyahu...

The IDF is poised to establish one or two new mixed-gender battalions, which will be permanently based along Israel's borders on routine patrol and observation missions, according to Army Radio. However, the Head of the IDF Fortitude Forum, Col. (res.) Raz Sagi, told Arutz Sheva there is a lot of bluffing and leftist meddling behind the changes announced. The idea of creating specialized units for the “softer” combat routine of patrolling and observation along peaceful borders, so as to let the fighting combat battalions spend more time training, is not a bad one, he opined. “But it also means that...

Could this be the answer to rocket launching terror cells in Gaza? The IDF is set receive a new model of a GPS-guided mortar shell, developed by Israel Military Industries. The weapon is designed to deliver a quick strike against terrorist cells, especially those in the Gaza Strip, and was given the original name "Morty" (Patzmi, a play on the Hebrew acronym for mortar). "Mortar shells were always considered an inaccurate weapon that hit only the target area and not the target itself," a security source told Ynet. "Turning the mortar shell into an accurate weapon with the help of...

Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer, the head of the Israel Defense Forces Planning Directorate, told Israel Hayom in a weekend interview that when Israeli leaders say “all options are on the table” with regard to Iran, they mean it. “If someone builds a nuclear bomb and at the same time declares that the State of Israel has no right to exist, then we have to think about how to respond,” he said. “It goes beyond a simple challenge." When asked if Israel might take “dramatic steps” in defiance of the American position, Sheffer answered positively: "When it comes to our national...

In a weekend interview with Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, IDF Southern Command head General Sami Turgeman said that Hamas is back at it—attempting to dig tunnels into Israel. While the IDF destroyed most, if not all, of the tunnels Hamas had dug into Israel in previous years during Operation Protective Edge, it appeared that the terror group was using the resources that are now pouring into Gaza to rebuild homes and businesses to instead rebuild its terror network, said Turgeman. “We are keeping a close eye on Hamas,” Turgeman said. “It is clear that they have gone back to digging...

Islamic State has recently found a following among Bedouin tribes in southern Jordan, tens of kilometers away from the border with Israel, sources from the IDF's Southern Command claim, according to Walla! News. Sympathy for the terror organization, IDF sources fear, may spur terror cells to be established along the border, from where terrorists will infiltrate into Israel's Aravah region and carry out attacks. Concern is only amplified by the fact that there is no border fence between Jordan and Israel in that region, and the Aravah Division of the IDF, responsible for border security, suffers from low manpower.

IDF fear that if Israel continues to sanction Palestinians economically, it could backfire, leading to riots if not new uprising in West Bank. Economic sanctions implemented by Israel against the Palestinian Authority could backfire, top IDF officials warned Monday, saying the pushback from the Palestinian street could lead to unrest, or even an uprising in the West Bank. Israel is currently holding NIS 2.5 million in Palestinian Authority tax funds, a move it took in retribution for unilateral Palestinian actions in the diplomatic arena, like their attempt to attain statehood through a UN Security Council resolution and their accession to...

The Israel Defense Forces is taking a series of measures to prevent an escalation of violence in the West Bank, including holding large-scale surprise drills and easing entry restrictions on Palestinians, as some officials warn the dead-end in peace talks could lead to new fighting. An unnamed military source indicated that an explosive confrontation in the region — taking into account the election results — was possible, but stressed that the army and the Palestinian Authority were engaged in various preemptive measures to stymie the eruption of a Third Intifada, the army weekly Bamahane reported. “As of today, the Palestinian...

Nadaf expresses his hopes that Netanyahu will continue to support Christian participation in the IDF and integration into Israeli society. Father Gabriel Nadaf sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulating him on his recent victory in the Israeli elections on Tuesday. According to Nadaf’s Facebook page, the Christian leader wrote to Netanyahu that “he was confident and sure that the new government that is going to be established with [Netanyahu’s] leadership will continue to support the Israeli Christians Recruitment Forum, lead by Father Gabriel." Nadaf also expressed hopes that Netanyahu will work to integrate the Christians into Israeli...

While Israeli citizens only began voting Tuesday morning, IDF soldiers across Israeli have been casting their ballots since Saturday night. For elections, the IDF distributed polling stations to seven command centers: Central Command, Southern Command, Northern Command, Home Front Command, the Technology and Logistics Division, the Navy, and the Air Force. The command centers were divided into over 60 areas, each with an elections authority officiating. In total 688 ballot stations were set up for soldiers across the Jewish state. The first to vote on Saturday night were Air Force officers in the Sde Dov airport, before traveling abroad as...

Israel's military says two of its soldiers were killed and another seven were wounded in a Hezbollah strike Wednesday on an army convoy near the Lebanese border. Israel's military responded to the anti-tank missile strike on the convoy with aerial and ground attacks on Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. Lebanese security officials told the Associated Press that Israel fired 25 shells across the border. The Israeli Defense Forces said that residents of the area had been ordered to remain in their homes. The Lebanese terror group Hezbollah earlier claimed responsibility for the attack and said it destroyed a number of Israeli...

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit says that the Israeli Air Force was striking multiple artillery positions belonging to the Syrian army, and that direct hits were identified. The air strikes came minutes after residents in the northern Golan Heights reported hearing air raid sirens around 12:30AM (Wednesday). No casualties or damages have been reported in Northern Israel. On Tuesday morning two rockets exploded in the northern Golan Heights.