Author: Orit ben Tzvi

Orit is Israel Rising's regional and threat analyst. She has a degree from IDC in Middle East Diplomacy and has served both intelligence related activities for the IDF as well as advised privately for firms doing business in the region.
Posted on

WITCH HUNT: Yair Lapid is the Police’s Expert Witness Against Bibi Netanyahu

With the police recommending to indict Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday,  Israel appears to be headed into a period of political uncertainty.  The job of actually deciding to indict the Prime Minister falls to Israel’s Attorney General.  Regardless of his decision and no one actually knows what that decision will be, some background info has been released about the police’s case against the Prime Minister.

One of the more absurd elements of the case is that Yair Lapid, the arch-nemesis and political rival of the Prime Minister has now been revealed to be the police’s key witness. All along Bibi Netanyahu has insisted this is a political witch hunt.  Using the testimony of a political opportunist certainly confirms the Prime Minister’s viewpoint.

Remember, Case 1000 is about the Prime Minister accepting so-called “bribes” in the form of wine and cigars from his friend Arnon Milchan over a 8 year period.  In exchange, Bibi voted to shut down channel 10, costing Milchan his stake in the company.  That does not sound like the gifts influenced Bibi’s positions.  The only thing the police have been able to find is that Bibi helped Milchan get a visa.  Not such damning evidence of bribery.

Then there is Case 2000, which claims that a form of bribery took place between Bibi and Nuni Mozes, owner of leftist rag, Yediot Ahranot.  The claim is that Bibi was to exchange a vote in favor of curtailing Sheldon Adelson’s Israel HaYom if Yediot Ahranot would give the Prime Minister favorable coverage.  It’s true there is a recording of this conversation, but nothing came from it.  To be honest, the media has never played the entire recoding in its entirety, so we are without context.

If there is bribery in these two cases, the police would have to recommend indictments for both Milchan and Mozes, but until now there has been nothing.  This too furthers the suspicions that this is one giant witch hunt.




So why are the police doing this?  Ultimately the police in Israel has been in the pocket of the Deep State since the beginning of the state.  Remember, Israel’s Deep State differs from America’s as it is controlled by 18 oligarch families with fingers in everything.  Bibi has been the one politician that has been able to wrest control of most of the governing apparatus from the hands of these 18 families and in doing so created a long list of enemies.

It’s true that often times this falls along the right-left paradigm, but that is only because these 18 families lean heavily to the left, because they understand the right hs its own ethos.  Bibi as Prime Minister tends to be populist in his tone and in fact has done a lot to return the daily functioning of the country back to a broad swath of citizenry.  Israel is not perfect, but compared to where it was in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it is economically far more open.  Bibi has almost everything to do with these changes, both internally and abroad.

The recommendation to indict Bibi Netanyahu is the last gasp of a failing leftist and former socialist bureaucracy that is giving way to an Israel that is fast becoming a global powerhouse and a light to the world. One can carry a title of police chief or judge or investigator, but in this battle between truth and falsehood, these positions carry little weight if they are backed by a sinister agenda and bureacratic tyranny.  It is too early to know if Bibi can make it through this attempt to force a soft coup. If he does, expect a serious reforming of the police forces, which is long overdue.

Posted on

WAR IS COMING: Israel Moves More Air Defense Systems North

The first direct battle between Iran and Israel opened up the need for Jerusalem to move more missile defense systems north in preparation for what appears to be a fast approaching confrontation with Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria.

With no confirmation from the IDF, eye witnesses are reporting seeing a number of these missile batteries moving up north.  Considering the fast consolidation between proxies working with US and Russia, Israel can no longer assume Putin has an interest in following through on his prearrangements with Bibi.

The Prime Minister was clear on the seriousness of the security situation:

The White House is standing squarely behind Israel against Iran.




Meanwhile US Defense Secretary James Mattis said the following on the brewing conflict between Israel and Syria/Iran:

“Israel has an absolute right to defend itself, and I think that’s what happened yesterday,” he said in response to a question about Saturday’s military crisis, warning also about a growing Iranian influence in the region. 

“So when Syria, which has made no… excuse for what they’re doing alongside Iran, when they are providing throughout for Iran to give weapons, including more sophisticated weapons, to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Israel has an absolute right to defend themselves,” he stated.

“If you live in the region, there’s no doubt what Iran is doing.”

All of this points to a very real possibilty to a serious large scale conflict about to blow open. With the SDF pushing heavily back against Turkey in northern Syria as well as the US directly bombing Syrian regime soldiers, Hezbollah, and Russian mercenaries in eastern Syria, the conflict in Israel’s north must be seen in the larger context of moves being made between America and Russia.

Posted on

President Rivlin Visits Injured Pilot and Navigator

(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)

President Reuven Rivlin today, (Sunday) visited the pilot and navigator injured yesterday during an operation in the north of Israel, and who were being treated at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.

During his visit, the President visited the bedside of the combat pilot whose condition was graded as moderate, and met his family; his wife and infant son, and his parents.

The President sat and spoke at length with the navigator who was lightly injured and was due to be released from hospital later in the day. The President was accompanied on his visit by the hospital’s director and deputy director, Prof. Rafi Beyar and Dr. Mickey Halbertal, the doctor who operated on the pilot, Dr. Hany Bahouth, and head of ICU, Dr. Yaron Bar-Lavie.

The President thanked the pilot and navigator, and spoke with their families about the moments of anxiety, and the relief at their recovery.

Before departing, the President spoke with the media gathered at the hospital. He said, “I was pleased to see the two airmen together, and that each of them were recovering at a swift pace. This is an opportunity to thank Rambam hospital for their ability, and uncompromising dedication to care for our soldiers.”

He added, “Once again we saw our teams in operation after much training, and demonstrating their DNA of devotion to achieving the goal – not returning home until the mission is completed.   This is the most important value against our enemies. All those who wish us ill should know we will not allow them to disrupt the lives of the citizens of our country, and that we will not stand by in the face of those who seek to do so. My thanks go to all the security forces, and specifically to the air crews, for their uncompromising commitment.”

When asked on the involvement of Iran, the President said, “We constantly warn our friends in the world who think they can reach an arrangement with Iran. As far as we are concerned, we are not only talking about a nuclear danger, but also about a state that supports terrorism. We have Hizbullah in the north, we have Hamas in the south, and we have Iran behind them, and Israel will not stand by as Iran wishes us ill and says so outright. The Prime Minister was right yesterday, when he warned that everyone in the world, the powers and countries, know that we cannot accept Iran’s involvement here in our borders, at our gates.”

Posted on

PEACE PROCESS: Saudi Arabia Allows Air India Flights Bound for Israel to Use its Airspace

After a 70 year ban on commercial flights using its airspace to fly to Israel, Saudi Arabia has granted for the first time permission for Air India flights bound for Israel to be able to fly over the Kingdom.

The decision, which will be implemented in March, means that the flights from New Delhi to Tel Aviv would be shortened by two and a half hours. It also means cheaper tickets for passengers.

The move is credited to the growing alliance and working relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel. It is also a testament to the growing influence India has in the Middle East.  India’s upgraded partnership with Israel to that of a strategic alliance has shuffled reltionships across the Arab world.  Between Trump’s pushing and prodding and India’s PM Modi’s ripping up of the “Palestinian” narrative, the Crown Prince Muhammed Bin-Salman has found it necessary to begin forging ties with Israel.




The Saudi government had banned flights headed to Israel from using its airspace for 70 years. While it is no secret that private jets can fly from Saudi and other Gulf airports to Israel, they could not use the direct route and had to make a stop-over in Amman airport first.

The move by Saudi Arabia also confirms the Palestinian Authority’s worst fears that it is being pushed to the side in search for a real and lasting peace.  Afterall, in the eyes of many in the Arab world, the times have changed and no longer are the “Palestinian” a necessary component of Arab nationalism.  A smaller world has led to the realization that Israel is here to stay and furthermore can play an important roll in a Middle East that has moved byond sectarian tunnel vision.

Modi’s push for Air India to be able to fly over Saudi Arabia  to Israel is beyond Trump’s peace moves, but rather reflects a changing world where traditional indigenous powers have come of age. It also reelcts Israel’s diversification in relationships.

 

Posted on

Trump Administration Begins to Cut Off Iraq

The Obama administration’s policy of simply turning a blind eye on Iraq’s willingness to work with Iran while using American equipment seems to be on its way out under the Trump administration.

According to an unnamed source in the al-Ghad Press: “The American tank company [General Dynamics] withdrew from its position at Muthanna airport in Baghdad, after considering that Iraq is in violation of the contract with it, which states that the Iraqi army is the only side that’s authorized to use the Abrams.”

The squeeze is on and the beginning of the letting loose of America’s “allies” as they act as trojan horses for the growing Shiite menace is beginning.  Discussed here on Israel Rising was the great pivot Trump’ admnistration is undergoing towards placing its long term strategy for stablizing the Middle East under Kurdish and Israeli spheres of influence.

The move by General Dynamics is the beginning of this pivot.

With Iraq on its way out,  the assumption is that the KRG in Iraq will be back as a real alternative to past US allies.

Posted on

Erdogan is the Real Terrorist in Syria, Not the Kurds

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched a brutal assault on the Kurdish majority Syrian region of Afrin on Saturday.  Dubbed “Operation Olive Branch,” the Turkish government insists it is cleaning out the area of Kurdish “Terrorists.”

Afrin is controlled by the Kurdish dominated SDF and trained and armed by the US government to defeat ISIS and offer an alternative leadership to the Assad regime.  Erdogan has a nasty habit of claiming and suspecting every Kurd of being a terrorist.

The truth is, Erdogan and his own family funded and aided ISIS for the past few years in order to sow chaos in Syria and Iraq.  The project worked until more and more countries figured out that Turkey itself was behind the rise of the Sunni Jihadists.  Why would Erdogan fund ISIS?  Turkey has always wanted to regain its former stature and what better way to do that than createenough chaos that it would be forced to go in and stablize it. Now that Erdogan and the Turkish government has been forced out of that strategy by Russia, Iran, and even the US, it has decided to use the chaos to go after a new terrorist entity…the Kurds.

For Erdogan everyone else is the terrorist.  However, in the first 24 hours of his attacking Afrin, over 20 civilians have been killed with most being chilldren, including 8 members of the same family.  Keep in mind, Erdogan has ordered the Turkish army into Afrin, the SDF has not entered into Turkey. So who is the real terrorist?

Posted on

NETANYAHU IN INDIA: “Israelis and Indians are bound by the kinship of free peoples.”

India and Israel continue to draw closer as Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made a powerful speech at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi.  Both India and Israel share a common threat with Islamic terrorism.  Yet, relations between Israel and India go back centuries as Jews enjoyed of freedom of religion for over two thousand years in the ancient Hindu country.

In modern times the two countries have had a rocky history, but a grass roots relationship has built over the last 2 decades which has finally expanded into the governments of both peoples.

Below is the Prime Minister’s speech in full as provided to us by the Government Press Office:

“Thank you my friend, Prime Minister Modi, Narendra. Thank you for your exceptional friendship and hospitality that you showed me, my wife, and our delegation. I was deeply moved today in the celebration at the ceremony. It was an expression not only of the honor you showed me but the honor you showed the people of Israel and the State of Israel. You are a revolutionary leader in the best sense of the word ‘revolution’. You are revolutionizing India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future and you have revolutionized the relationship between Israel and India.

I’m the son of a historian. Our peoples have had thousands of years of history. India and Israel are two of the most ancient civilizations on earth and yet it is an amazing fact that until you visited Israel no leader of India in 3,000 years of our own sovereign existence and our history has visited Israel. You are the first leader of a state, of an Indian state to do this. So it was a groundbreaking visit. It excited the imaginations of all Israelis and of course of the many Israelis of Indian descent, of origin, who came and were…how shall I say this…well I thought I was in a rock concert but it was a historic event as well.

We are ushering today a new era in our relations. We’ve had diplomatic relations for 25 years but something different is happening now because of your leadership and because of our partnership. There are three things that bind our countries together: The first is that we have an ancient past. The second is that we have a vibrant present. And the third is that we are seizing together a promising future. We are proud of our past, our rich histories, our peoples’ contributions to human civilization in language, in literature, in mathematics and medicine, in philosophy and faith. The greatest texts that human beings produced are in Sanskrit and in Hebrew. None greater and none more enduring and we never forget this.




More recently, you mentioned, just a century ago, brave Indian soldiers played a vital role in the liberation of the State of Israel and the land of Israel. This led to our Independence. And yesterday I was again deeply moved as we paid tribute to these brave Indian fighters and commanders who gave their lives in that historic fight. We honor their memory as you mark today Indian Army Day. We are proud of our present, of our resilient democracies. Our people are free to say what they want, do what they want, believe what they want and these values and our diversity are not a source of our weakness but the source of our strength. Evidence of this abounds in India where you hear a symphony of dozens of languages and dialects and where Jews, and you mentioned this yesterday Prime Minister, you mentioned the fact that makes India stand out in the community of nations because over 2,000 years the Jews of India have never experienced anti-Semitism as our people experienced in so many other lands. This is a tribute to your civilization, to your tolerance, to your humanity.

Israelis and Indians are bound by the kinship of free peoples but I believe that democracy cannot be taken for granted. Despite the doubts, despite the challenges, India and Israel are living proof not only that democracy works but they demonstrate something deeper – the intrinsic value of freedom which I believe is the intrinsic value of life. Citizens thrive ultimately it is the free citizens who thrive because they are free and when they are free.

Finally, we are proud that we are seizing the future so we can make a better life for our peoples and for others around the world. Our commitment to do so is reflected in the manifold agreements that we sign today in cyber, in aviation, in energy, even in cinema. My wife and I are very happy that we are going to Bollywood, we’d like to see it firsthand, and so many other areas.

Israel is a fountainhead of innovation. It’s a global force of technology. India abounds with creativity, with ingenuity, with scientists, with mathematicians and I think that when we join our respective talents together we can achieve tremendous things for our people. We can actually achieve…you say we want more…Prime Minister Modi and I are the same. We want more for our people, we want it now, we want it yesterday. But one of the things that Israel brings to this world of innovation is that we achieve more with less. More crops with less water, more energy with less expenditure of money. More with less. We want more, a lot more and we can do that even more productively by cooperating.

When you and I walked shoeless along the Mediterranean shore, we drank sea water that was purified before our eyes using technology that will save untold lives. India and Israel are working together to provide clean water, to increase crop yields, to keep our people safe from terrorism and other challenges to the future we both seek.

You mentioned the areas: Agriculture where I presented to Prime Minister Modi an idea of revolutionizing Indian agriculture as we’re revolutionizing Israeli agriculture – precision agriculture that goes down to the individual plant. Some plants need more water, some less. We can see it today with big data, with drones, with other instruments of technology to make farmers produce much more crops. More crops with less. We’re talking about cooperation in science and technology in every field and we’re talking about cooperation in defense so that our people are always safe and always secure.

Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in.

My friend last night you again showed us your tremendous hospitality and when you hosted Sara and me at your home so graciously it was brilliantly lit, illuminated by the national colors of India and Israel and I thought at that moment about your honesty, your passion, you vision, your commitment and it fills me with hope, hope that this new era of India-Israel relations will bring unprecedented benefits to India, to Israel, to all humanity.

And finally and this is perhaps the most important statement that I can make here – my friend Narendra, any time you want to do a yoga class with me it’s a big stretch but I’ll be there. Trust me.

Thank you very very much. Thank you my friend.”

Posted on

ISRAEL ATTACKS?…Hamas Official Injured in Lebanon Car Bombing

Hamas official, Mohammad Hamdan was severely injured today when is BMW exploded in the Lebanese city of Sidon.

Although Hamas officials insisted Hamdan was lightly injured.  Social media pictures from the scene showed the effects from the bomb being far worse.

While it is not confirmed Israel was behind the attack, Hamas believes it was a targets strike by the Israeli security forces.

“We hold the Israeli occupation accountable for the car bombing that targeted Hamas figure Mohammed Hamdan in southern Lebanon port city of Sidon,” said Ayman Shana’a, Hamas political leader.

Palestinians live in 12 densely populated “camps” in Lebanon.

Posted on

Does the Terror Attack at Havat Gilad Mark the Beginning of Another Intifada?

Yesterday’s terror attack at Havat Gilad in which 35 year old Rabbi Raziel Shevach father of five was murdered seems to gave caught the security services off guard.  With none of the attackers found and the IDF scrambling to shut down the immediate area around the city of Shchem, calls have gone out from Israel’s right and many leaders in Judea and Samaria to clamp down hard on the Arab population to snuff out any thoughts of using this attack as a way to inspire more.

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel said the following on Channel 2:

“These things are in the hands of the Defense Minister. These are his instructions to the military and Civil Administration. Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu) spoke in the past about ‘carrots and sticks.’ We are waiting for the Defense Minister to use the ‘sticks’ and maybe he should have done it before now.”

“We can exile the families from their homes, we can destroy the homes of terrorists who carried out attacks – and I trust that the Defense Minister will take action. He has widespread support from the Israeli public. No one agrees to or is ready to accept this terror.”

“We can exile the families from their homes, we can destroy the homes of terrorists who carried out attacks – and I trust that the Defense Minister will take action.”

With increased incitement by the Abbas regime since Trump’s Jerusalem announcement and the slashing of US funds to UNRWA many are worried that this attack if not responded to in full force may lead to another intifada.

The Derech Chaim Movement which focuses on imbuing Israeli government with Torah leadership released the following statement regarding the murder of Rabbi Raziel:

“The spilled blood of Rabbi Raziel Shevach screams out for revenge against the murderers, their emissaries, and their supporters. The blood of thousands of victims murdered since the Oslo Accords screams, ‘It is our obligation to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, which is the embodiment of murderous enemies in the heart of our land.'”

“Instead of speaking about allowing the death penalty for terrorists, it’s time the security policies included elimination of terror organizations and effective deterrence, born of the recognition of our rights to this land.”

“We feel the family’s horrific pain, which is the pain of the entire nation. G-d will put an end to our sufferings, and give us true leadership.”

“Instead of speaking about allowing the death penalty for terrorists, it’s time the security policies included elimination of terror organizations and effective deterrence, born of the recognition of our rights to this land.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman who has often touted his tough guy persona as way of ensuring the public that security will remain in place may be pushed against the wall after this attack.  His tepid response that the IDF is looking for the terror cell coupled with the possibility of legalizing Havat Gilad appears more of the same as opposed to the fresh approach he promised.

Posted on

Iran Says the Protests Are Dying Down, but these Tweets Suggest Otherwise

The regime in Iran is now trying to suggest the protests that had been sweeping the country are now dying down. While there is certainly an ebb and flow to the protests as well as a lack of cohesion and leadership to the growing movement, protests are still raging and more and more people are joining.

The regime in Iran has been trying to put a confident face on about the situation and has even suggested that the worst is over.  The problem for the Ayatollahs is that the protests are not going away. Here are some Tweets that suggest that the protests are growing.

While the continueing protests do not have the energy level the first protests had, they show that the opposition to the regime is widespread and turning into a a permanent feature. This may make the movement far more dangerous than originally believed.