The thing about catspaws is that at the far end they’re generally attached to a cat
[IsraelTimes] Commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Leb ...an Iranian satrapy currently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... ’s Hezbollah group are on the ground in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... helping to direct and oversee Iran's Houthi sock puppets ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him... attacks on Red Sea shipping, four regional and two Iranian sources tell Rooters.
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... — which has armed, trained and funded the Houthis — stepped up its weapons supplies to the group in the wake of the war in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , which erupted after Iranian-backed gunnies Hamas ...one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,... attacked Israel on October 7, the four regional sources said.
Tehran has provided advanced drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, precision-strike ballistic missiles and medium-range missiles to the Houthis, who started targeting commercial vessels in November in solidarity with Paleostinians in Gaza, the sources says.
IRGC commanders and advisers are also providing know-how, data and intelligence support to determine which of the dozens of vessels traveling through the Red Sea each day are destined for Israel and constitute Houthi targets, all the sources say.
It’s always nice to have assumptions confirmed by data.
The Biden admin is crafting plans for a sustained military campaign against the Houthis after 10 days of strikes failed to halt their attacks, stoking concern among some officials that an open-ended operation could derail Yemen’s fragile peace & pull the US into another conflict
#5
The Biden administration is the gang that couldn't shoot straight. I don't have any confidence that they can mount any successful military campaign.
See: Jimmy Carter's failed hostage rescue mission in Iran in the spring of 1980.
Posted by: Tom ||
01/21/2024 13:07 Comments ||
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Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] A growing number of tankers carrying crude oil and fuel are now chartered to Asia rather than Europe, and also bypassing Africa. US and British strikes against the Houthis in Yemen have increased the sense of chaos in the area, Bloomberg reports.
According to shipowners, brokers and traders, tanker charters show that an increasing number of ships are being chartered for routes that bypass the danger zone, the material says.
“Tankers are now chartered for flights to Asia, not Europe. At the same time, several shipments of Iraqi oil were booked for transportation on tankers that bypass Africa,” the publication clarifies.
Thus, oil market participants are preparing for prolonged disruptions to shipping in the southern part of the Red Sea, as follows from the text of the article.
As Regnum reported on January 19, the United States and Great Britain launched strikes on Yemeni Houthi targets in Hodeidah. At least two airstrikes were carried out in the Al-Jabana area, located in the coastal part of the city, media reported.
A day earlier, it became known about the fifth attack in a week by the US Armed Forces on Houthi targets. The strikes were carried out on missiles and launchers, allegedly after receiving intelligence that an attack was being prepared on commercial ships and warships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis are attacking American military and commercial ships in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, said Ansar Allah Politburo member Khuzam al-Assad. He said Washington's efforts will not stop this movement and they will act in every possible way.
In addition, the Houthis threatened the United States with direct and full-scale war if the confrontation continued.
Oooohhh, scary.
At the same time, nothing threatens Russian and Chinese ships in the Red Sea, noted in turn a member of the Ansar Allah Politburo (Houthis) Mohammed al-Bahiti.
A happy thought for them, except for Houthi’s pray’n’spray method of targetting.
[Yahoo - FoxNews] The terrorism threat in the United Kingdom is at an "unprecedented" level following the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last October, a top U.K. counter-terrorism official said on Friday.
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes said there’s been a 25% rise in terror information coming to police in the country since the war began, adding, "it's hard to remember a more unstable, dangerous and uncertain world," according to Sky News.
Jukes added that the Israel-Hamas war has created a new "radicalization moment" for Islamist extremists egged on my "extraordinary amounts" of online content and misinformation, according to BBC News.
In the U.K., there have been 33 terrorism-related arrests connected to the war in Gaza so far, the BBC reported, adding that police didn’t confirm if any terrorist plots had been stopped.
Jukes added that the U.K. faces the worst threats from "hostile state actors" since the Cold War.
"I don't want to be coy. We are talking about parts of the state apparatus of Iran, China and Russia," he told reporters. The Metropolitan police said Friday it had added another unit to its department centered on countering threats from those three countries.
[IsraelTimes] A group of pro-Paleostinian students at SOAS University of London
..that’s the School of Oriental and African Studies, which explains it...
are filmed verbally harassing the Paleostinian ambassador to the UK who was invited to speak at an event on campus.
"You have blood on your hands! You’re a PA collaborator... Shame on you!" a student from the Paleostine Society at SOAS University in London is heard yelling at Paleostinian ambassador Husam Zomlot.
What are they teaching them at that school? The man’s not collaborating with the PA, he’s a member in good standing.
The Paleostine Society also posted a statement condemning Zomlot’s invitation due to the Paleostinian Authority’s "collaborating with the Zionist entity" on the Oslo Accords.
Taqfiris. His excellency had better watch his back lest he find a knife in it from the kitchen of their mother.
Zomlot is an ambassador representing the Paleostine Liberation Organization, which is largely controlled by the PA.
It’s the other way round — the PA being the PLO dressed up in a Western suit.
The incident highlights the relative extremism of many pro-Paleostinian students on campuses abroad compared to the political representatives on the ground.
[IsraelTimes] A spokesperson for Mayor Mathias De Clercq says ’serious problems’ are expected at February 21 game in Ghent amid tensions over Israel-Hamas ...a regional Iranian catspaw,... war
A soccer match between KAA Gent and Maccabi Haifa scheduled next month in Belgium will be played without fans due to fears of serious riots linked to the Israel-Hamas war, local authorities have ruled.
According to Belgian media reports, Ghent mayor Mathias De Clercq made his decision on the advice of local police.
Gent will host the Israeli club on Feb. 21 in the second leg of their Conference League playoff.
"Based on police information, serious problems are expected," said Thomas Dierckens, a spokesperson for Mayor De Clercq, as quoted by Phlegmish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.
"The KAA Gent Arena has no outer perimeter, which makes control difficult, and there is a good chance that public order in and around the stadium will be disrupted. This not only has consequences for the safety of fans and players but also sporting consequences," he said. "If the match is stopped for more than half an hour due to disruption, UEFA will give KAA Gent a forfeit score of 0-5."
Protests calling for a ceasefire in the war have been taking place regularly in Ghent. Last week, pro-Paleostinian activists reportedly disrupted the city’s New Year’s reception.
[HotAir] Yesterday, Joe Biden had a phone call with Bibi Netanyahu. In more normal times, such a call between the leaders of closely allied nations would be nothing unusual, particularly when one of them is in the midst of a brutal war against a terrorist regime. But believe it or not, despite all of the visits to Israel by Tony Blinken and others, it had been four weeks since Biden and Netanyahu had spoken directly.
How does it help anyone when they force that senile old man to the telephone? The Secretary of State is already in constant, counterproductive communication — let that be enough.
We don’t have a transcript of the call, but based on the reporting of the Associated Press, there is a lot more "strain" in the relationship at the moment so it wasn’t all sunshine and roses.
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally spoke Friday after a glaring, nearly four-week gap in direct communication during which fundamental differences have come into focus over a possible pathway to Palestinian statehood once the fighting in Gaza ends.
Biden and his top aides have all but smothered Netanyahu with robust support, even in the face of global condemnation over the mounting civilian death toll and humanitarian suffering in Gaza as the Israelis have carried out military operations in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
But the leaders’ relationship has increasingly shown signs of strain as Netanyahu has repeatedly rebuffed Biden’s calls for Palestinian sovereignty, gumming up what the U.S. president believes is the key to unlocking a durable peace in the Middle East — the oft-cited, elusive two-state solution.
At least for the moment, Joe Biden continues to support Israel publicly in their war against Hamas,
...support publicly, undermine slightly less publicly...
though he has been urging more "restraint" in terms of minimizing Palestinian casualties and ensuring a steady flow of aid into Gaza. But now the disagreement between the two leaders is reportedly centered not on the war itself, but what comes after. Joe Biden has jumped on the bandwagon of people calling for an independent Palestinian state.
Netanyahu is having none of the two-state solution talk. He also hasn’t set forth any sort of definitive picture of what a post-war Gaza would look like beyond some vague talk of having Western security forces in the Strip and monitoring the reconstruction and the flow of aid. Biden continues to believe that he can somehow persuade Bibi to change his mind. When a reporter asked Biden if a two-state solution is impossible with Netanyahu in office, he said, "No, it’s not." Somebody needs to tell Bibi that.
Bibi keeps up with the international news. He knows.
Both leaders are facing pressure at home right now. Netanyahu is facing a rising chorus of Israelis who want him to find a way to bring all the rest of the hostages home faster. How that would be accomplished never seems to be specified.
A few noisy protesters, quite a few of them paid professionals, who hated Bibi before the war versus a lot of quiet non-protesters soldiering on because conquering Gaza is the only pressure Hamas understands.
Biden is hearing from Senate Democrats who just this week suggested that Bibi’s position on Palestinian statehood could endanger future foreign aid to Israel.
Israel doesn’t need foreign aid. What they want is the goodwill and support that foreign aid symbolizes. Besides, most of those Senate Democrats making that threat would never vote to help Israel anyway.
What none of them seem to grasp is that the future of both Israel and Gaza is not our business. Only Israel can say what the final resolution needs to be based on their own security needs. America’s responsibility is to be a good ally to Israel and support what they do. If the people of Israel are unhappy with Netanyahu’s leadership, they will schedule new elections and make that known. (This is a situation that remains possible and Bibi is working hard to avoid such a development.)
Something will have to become of Gaza after Hamas is rooted out.
A public beach?
We’ve discussed the possibilities here before, but finding a clear path forward will be beyond challenging. Nobody involved agrees with Biden in wanting to put a "revitalized Palestinian Authority" in charge, including the PA. Can the Palestinians be trusted to rule themselves in a peaceful fashion without falling back down the same anti-Israel rathole?
Not in this generation, no.
It doesn’t seem likely, but what other options would be left? We can’t just ship all two million of them out to other Arab countries as refugees and simply give all the land to Israel, no matter how appealing that might sound. Who would take them all? And they would probably just sneak back and begin attacking Israel anyway. It’s a hot mess, and we clearly don’t have the right people in charge in the United States to figure this puzzle out at the moment.
The problem is rooted in Iran. Fix that problem, and the ancillary problem of Qatar, et al, will be much easier to resolve — especially when the Republican president encourages domestic oil and gas production.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/21/2024 00:00 ||
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[FoxNews] 'An attack on Hamas is an attack on Qatar. An attack on the Muslim Brotherhood is an attack on Qatar,' document states
The oil-rich Gulf state of Qatar hired a former CIA agent's company to discredit Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and other lawmakers who oppose Hamas and its parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
The documents reveal that the alleged Qatar state-funded espionage campaign targeted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, because he had sought to have the Muslim Brotherhood designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
The clandestine document, titled "Project ENDGAME" and drafted by U.S. company Global Risk Advisors (GRA), which was founded by the ex-CIA employee Kevin Chalker, reads, "High Alert: An attack on Hamas is an attack on Qatar. An attack on the Muslim Brotherhood is an attack on Qatar."
The March 2017 Qatari-funded plan of action to torpedo anti-Hamas and anti-Muslim Brotherhood legislation and policies noted that "Sen. Ted Cruz has reintroduced his bill to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group. Unless you act soon, your enemies will inject Qatar into this fight."
Much more at the link.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
01/21/2024 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[25 views]
Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood
#2
Doha, Qatar, Dec. 15, 2019. HASSAN AMMAR—AP IMAGES
A former CIA officer who spied on Qatar’s rivals to help the Arab country land this year’s World Cup is under FBI scrutiny, and newly obtained documents show he offered clandestine services that went beyond soccer to try to influence U.S. policy, an Associated Press investigation found. The monthslong FBI probe focuses on whether Kevin Chalker’s work for Qatar broke laws related to foreign lobbying, surveillance and exporting sensitive technologies and tradecraft...,
Chalker’s goal, AP found, was to burnish Qatar’s image among American decision makers while undermining critics who have accused the monarchy of financing terrorists and other wrongdoing. Federal investigators have focused increasing scrutiny in recent years on Qatar’s influence efforts, including those alleged to involve former U.S. national security officials.
AP’s reporting in the past year has detailed how Chalker and his company, Global Risk Advisors, sought to help Qatar host the 2022 World Cup by spying on soccer officials in rival countries. That included deploying a Facebook “honeypot” in which an attractive woman is used to get close to a target....
[GEO.TV] As Pakistain moves closer to the general election, scheduled for February 8, 2024, controversial, disturbing, and hateful content has started popping up on social media targeting religious minorities.
The fatwa — a legal ruling by Islamic scholars — issued by a Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... -based seminary back in the day, regarding minority candidates resurfaced on Facebook and X platforms suggesting voters prefer Moslem candidates over the ones belonging to minorities.
The fatwa was issued by Jamia Uloom Islamia, New Town, famously known as Jamia Binori Town, which is located near the Guru Mandir area.
The religious school is considered one of the most influential seminaries in the city.
Chaman Lal, a minority rights activist, shared an image of the undated decree on Facebook stating: "A Fatwa is issued that, it is permissible to take votes from the population of more than one million minorities, but today a fatwa has been issued that it is not permissible to vote for minority candidates in the general election."
The Fatwa was released after the query: "Is it permitted under Islamic laws to vote for a non-Moslem candidate?"
The query further added that a major political party had nominated a Hindu for the general seat in the presence of a better Moslem candidate even though there were reserved seats for non-Moslems.
"The public wants to know whether voting for a non-Moslem in this situation is permissible or not from the Islamic point of view, or is there a third option?"
In response, the fatwa said: "The vote should be given to a candidate who has the required qualifications and ability, his party manifesto must also be correct and about whom there's satisfaction that he can take better steps for the people of their constituency, religiously and secularly. And because the non-Moslem candidate does not live up to these standards; it is better to vote for a Moslem candidate."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2024 00:00 ||
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[19 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
What if someone paid to have a FATWA was issued against issuing FATWA's?
Wars are expensive in more than money. But sometimes not fighting the expensive war is the most expensive of all.
[IsraelTimes] The US ratings agency Moody’s is planning to downgrade Israel’s credit rating due to the war with Hamas ...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... , the Ynet news site reports.
Ynet says it has learned the ratings agency plans to take the step soon, but did not cite sources.
In October, Moody’s announced that it had put the Israeli government’s A1 credit ratings on review for downgrade, citing the "unexpected and violent mostly peaceful conflict between Israel and Hamas."
The severity of the conflict, sparked by the deadly shock assault by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, "raises the possibility of longer lasting and material credit impact," Moody’s said at the time.
Y’all keep right on not accepting. See what that accomplishes.
[GEO.TV] The right of the Paleostinian people to build their own state "must be recognised by all", UN Secretary-General António Guterres ...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years... told the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Uganda on Saturday
"The refusal to accept a two-state solution for Israelis and Paleostinians, and the denial of the right to statehood for the Paleostinian people, are unacceptable," the UN leader insisted in the Ugandan capital Kampala.
Such a stance "would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security; exacerbate polarization; and embolden holy warriors everywhere," Guterres warned.
"The right of the Paleostinian people to build their own state must be recognized by all."
The United States, Israel´s main ally and key supporter in its war against Hamas ...the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... , has also recently reiterated its support for the creation of a Paleostinian state.
In recent days, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his opposition to the creation of a viable Paleostinian state, drawing criticism from his American ally.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/21/2024 00:00 ||
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[19 views]
Top|| File under: Hamas
#1
Antonio, one of these days you'll wake up and find that your numbered Swiss bank account was emptied.
[IsraelTimes] Senior Israel Defense Force commanders now believe that Israel’s two stated goals of destroying Hamas ...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... and freeing the hostages are not compatible, The New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... reports.
Four senior commanders, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , tell the Times that "the dual objectives of freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas are now mutually incompatible."
The report says it has reviewed Israeli battle plans from the start of the war and that the IDF is currently in control of a smaller part of the Strip than originally envisioned.
This slow progress has caused military leaders to express frustration with the politicianship "and led them to conclude that the freedom of more than 100 Israeli hostages still in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... can be secured only through diplomatic rather than military means," the paper reports.
Asked to comment on the report, the Prime Minister’s office said: "The Prime Minister is leading the war on Hamas with unprecedented achievements in a very decisive manner."
[IsraelTimes] The Israel Defense Forces says the comments cited in a New York Times report earlier were “not known” to the military and “do not reflect the IDF’s position.”
The NYT reported today that four senior IDF commanders now believe Israel’s two stated goals of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages are not compatible.
In a brief statement in response to the report, the IDF says the release of the hostages is part of the goal of the war against Hamas in Gaza and a “major effort” by the IDF.
[IsraelTimes] The military wing of the Popular Resistance® Committees publishes a video of an Israeli hostage who appears to be maimed.
The clip released last night by the al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades
...the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, and very fond of things that go boom: rockets, roadside bombs, blowing up vehicles. The PRC split off from Fatah in 2000 because they objected to the Palestinian Authority (the PLO in an off-the-rack suit) making nice-ish with Israel. Yet another terror group financed by Iran, they’re the third largest jihadi organization in Gaza after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad...
shows Ohad Yahalomi being treated for an injury and speaking to the camera.
There is no information indicating when the video was filmed.
While he was still alive, for what that’s worth. Possibly he still is.
On October 7, Yahalomi, 49, was shot in the leg after he engaged in a shootout with button men in his house in Kibbutz Nir Oz, before being kidnapped. His son Eitan Yahalomi, 12, was taken hostage separately, and was released in late November.
Terror groups in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip have previously issued similar videos of hostages they are holding, in what Israel says is deplorable psychological warfare.
Hamas ...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... is believed to be holding the vast majority of the remaining 132 hostages taken on October 7 in Gaza, although some are held by other terror groups.
Hamas has also been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014, as well as two Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who are both thought to be alive after entering the Strip of their own accord in 2014 and 2015 respectively.
Long, sad, but encouraging that not all are as short-sighted as the noisy ones.
[IsraelTimes] Tikva Forum is a grassroots, right-wing alternative to the main hostage advocacy group, the well-financed Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum based in Tel Aviv. Its members, primarily pro-government religious Zionists, say they are putting country before loved ones
“We feel that the demand to release hostages ‘now,’ that emphasis on ‘now,’ is liable — not intentionally, of course — to hurt the hostages,” said Tikva spokesman Eitan Zeliger. “It plays into the hands of Hamas, who might be encouraged to raise the price.”
Tzvika Mor is a co-founder of the Tikva Forum, made up of relatives of hostages in Hamas captivity. “Tikva” in Hebrew means hope; the national anthem is called “HaTikva.” The Tikva Forum supports — through volunteer lectures, prayer rallies, demonstrations and media appearances — the government’s declared objective to use overwhelming military might to force Hamas into releasing the people its terror operatives abducted on October 7 during a massacre of 1,200 people. Of the 240 people seized as hostages that day, 132 are thought to still be held in Gaza — not all of them alive. The Israel Defense Forces has confirmed the deaths of 25 of those still held by Hamas, citing intelligence and findings obtained by troops operating in Gaza.
The Tikva Forum is not connected to the Tikvah Fund or the Kohelet Forum although, like those organizations, its members tend to be on the political right. Its message carries particular resonance coming from the parents and siblings of hostages. Indeed, Mor and the other members of the Tikva Forum are uniquely positioned to provide an alternative to the dominant voice among the families of hostages. This dominant voice, given expression by the well-financed and well-staffed Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum based in Tel Aviv, also seeks to focus public attention on the suffering of the hostages.
The differences between the two forums are nuanced and are generally more about tone than substance. Members of both forums are acutely familiar with the pain of being a parent or relative of a hostage. Spokespeople and members of both forums take care to express themselves diplomatically and generally refrain from attacking the other side. Several members of the Tikva Forum who spoke with The Times of Israel expressed gratitude to the many volunteers of the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum for providing both material and emotional support to the hostages’ families.
On January 10 the two forums organized an event with music, speeches and prayers. The event was emceed by two young women, Emuna Libman from Kiryat Arba, whose brother Elyakim Shlomo Libman is being held captive by Hamas ...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,... in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , and Yarden Gonen of Kfar Vradim, whose sister Romi Gonen is being held hostage.
Emuna and Eliyakim’s father, Kiryat Arba council chairman Eliyahu Libman, is one of the founders of Tikva. Gonen is active in the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
NOT AT ANY PRICE
Nevertheless, Tikva front man Eitan Zeliger said that while the two forums were united in their desire to release the hostages, there are important differences.
"We feel that the demand to release hostages ’now,’ that emphasis on ’now,’ is liable — not intentionally, of course — to hurt the hostages," said Zeliger. "It plays into the hands of Hamas, who might be encouraged to raise the price."
Cradling a picture of his son Eitan, 23, who is being held hostage by the Hamas terror group in Gaza, Tzvika Mor explained to a group of high school students why he opposes freeing Paleostinian murderous Moslems jugged Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try! in Israel in exchange for his son’s release.
"It’s not just about my personal suffering as Eitan’s father; it’s about the nation as a whole," Mor told the girls in late December at the Tohar religious Zionist high school in Yad Binyamin, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) east of Ashdod.
"I can’t let my personal hurt take priority over collective interests," said Mor, shifting the weight of the shoulder strap supporting his Glock 19 handgun. "Letting murderous Moslems go free endangers Jewish lives. And Eitan wouldn’t want that."
The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum’s website is called BringThemHomeNow.net. Some activists use slogans such as "Time’s running out, free the hostages now," or "Keep on freeing them until the very last hostage."
Zeliger noted that the position calling to free the hostages now, no matter the cost, was expressed recently by Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy during a meeting in the Knesset with hostages’ families. Levy, who was sitting next to Ronen Tzur, the head of the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, became emotional at one point during the meeting because of his connection to one of the hostages.
"I say this in my own name, and I say this in the name of my party: any price, any price. I said this from the first day, all the 6,000 [Paleostinian prisoners held by Israel], a complete ceasefire, I don’t care, at any price, any price, bring them home now," said Levy.
Many, though not all, of the families of hostages present applauded in response to Levy’s declaration.
ONLY MILITARY PRESSURE ON HAMAS WILL RELEASE HOSTAGES
"The second difference," said Zeliger, "is that we believe that only military pressure on Hamas will get the hostages released. All the negotiating, all the diplomacy, all of it, is not worth anything without the military pressure. And we think that pressure should be increased, including a curtailing of humanitarian aid."
The sense that more can be done to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages is shared by families not necessarily aligned with either Tikva or with the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. On January 9, a group of relatives of hostages converged on the Kerem Shalom crossing and attempted unsuccessfully to stop trucks carrying humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. The protest was not organized by Tikva.
Zeliger said that Tikva opposes any demonstrations, rallies or marches that can be construed as pressuring the government into making concessions to Hamas.
"We believe that every attack on the war cabinet not only does not help; it hurts," he said.
But when Zeliger was asked about concrete measures, the differences between Tikva and the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum were less clear. Zeliger said, for instance, that some Tikva Forum families, like families in the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum, supported the temporary truce deal brokered at the end of November by Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... , Egypt and the United States that resulted in Hamas releasing 105 hostages — 81 Israelis, 23 Thais and one Filipino — and Israel releasing 240 Paleostinian prisoners.
Others did not.
Zeliger said the Tikva Forum is not opposed in principle to negotiations conducted by Mossad head David Barnea or other official government representatives in Qatar, Egypt or elsewhere to secure the release of the hostages.
"We just think that none of that will work without heavy military pressure," he said.
On January 10, numerous sources reported that Israel’s war cabinet was again mulling a Qatari proposal for a hostage deal and ceasefire. That offer was said to go beyond a temporary truce and to provide a roadmap for ending the war that includes Hamas’s leaders going into exile and Israel withdrawing troops from the Gaza Strip.
NO REPEAT OF ’THE ERROR OF THE SHALIT DEAL’ Meanwhile, ...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... co-founder Mor said that he and other members of the Tikva Forum were spreading a message of what he calls "collective responsibility," so that Israel "doesn’t repeat the error of the Shalit deal."
Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier taken hostage in 2006, was released in a prisoner swap in 2011 in exchange for 1,027 Paleostinian murderous Moslems and prisoners held by Israel. It was the most lopsided prisoner swap in Israel’s history.
At least six Israelis were murdered in the four years following the Shalit swap by murderous Moslems released under the deal. Among those released was Hamas’s Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, believed to be the criminal mastermind behind the October 7 massacre in southern Israel. In comparison to the Shalit deal, the conditions of the hostage swap reached between Israel and Hamas at the end of November were radically better. Israel released approximately three Paleostinian security prisoners for each Israeli hostage.
On October 7, Mor’s son Eitan was taken hostage together with his childhood friend Elyakim Shlomo Libman. The two were working as unarmed security guards at the Supernova music festival, near Kibbutz Re’im, when they were taken hostage. Libman is named after his paternal uncle Shlomo, who was murdered in August 1998 by murderous Moslems who, after being captured, were later released in the Shalit deal.
Mor said that his son has "a huge heart" and his apartment in central Jerusalem was known for being open to anyone in need.
Noting that "nothing is a coincidence," Mor said that just four months before Eitan was kidnapped by Hamas, the family had discussed the Shalit prisoner swap.
"Eitan said to us, ’If I am taken hostage, do not do a prisoner swap to let me free.’ That’s our household. That’s my educational message to my children," Mor said. "If we agree to a deal, it means people we don’t know, whose faces we can’t see, will be murdered... We don’t know who they are but we know they will be murdered."
’I HAVEN’T GIVEN UP ON MY SON’
The opposing approaches between the two hostage family forums were on display during a December 17 appearance on Kan TV in which Mor was berated by Alon Nimrodi, the father of Tamir Nimrodi, an IDF soldier captured by Hamas.
Mor said, "Pleading with [Hamas] to speak with us is ridiculous and irresponsible. You wouldn’t even buy a secondhand electric scooter that way."
Responded Nimrodi: "Tzvika, if you have given up on your son... I haven’t given up on my son. I am not willing to hear words like that, and in my opinion, you are in a total minority with that position of yours. Those statements of yours are arrogant. I’m sorry to say this to you."
Mor then charged that Nimrodi was "reading word for word from a PR messaging page prepared in Tel Aviv."
Mor later broke down and cried on air.
Since that exchange, Mor and Nimrodi have had a rapprochement.
"He tried reaching me right after our TV appearance, but I was so upset I could not answer my phone," said Mor. "The morning after, we spoke at length. I don’t blame Nimrodi — just before our appearance on TV he had attended the funeral of his son’s best friend. What made things worse was that the producer did not tell us we would be on the show together."
Mor makes it clear that just because he is opposed to negotiating with Hamas doesn’t mean he cares any less about his son.
"Not a day goes by that I don’t cry for Eitan. But that doesn’t mean I wallow in self-pity," he said.
Mor and other relatives of hostages who oppose public protests that can be construed as attempts to pressure the government say they have encountered antagonism from within the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum. With the lives of their loved ones hanging in the balance, the emotions of parents, grandparents, spouses, and children of hostages are understandably at a breaking point, and at least in the eyes of Nimrodi and other like-minded relatives of Hamas captives, Mor is promoting a course of action that could endanger the lives of their family members.
"We saw there were a number of families within the Tel Aviv forum that attacked us and bullied us and we were unable to express our ideas in a democratic way," said Mor. "These families are by no means the majority, but they are the most vocal. They set the tone." "We saw there were a number of families within the Tel Aviv forum that attacked us and bullied us and we were unable to express our ideas in a democratic way," said Mor. "These families are by no means the majority, but they are the most vocal. They set the tone."
Mor said that the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum messaging was dictated by a left-wing, anti-government political agenda. Indeed.
"We can’t agree with the anti-government strategy of Ronen Tzur," said Mor, referring to one of the co-founders, and present head of the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
Tzur, a former Labor MK, is a political strategist and public relations campaigner who was instrumental in the campaign to free Shalit. In recent years he led a campaign against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called "How to defeat Bibi-ist terror." He was a former adviser to current war cabinet minister MK Benny Gantz.
Other dominant voices in the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum include former Labor MKs Emilie Moatti and Colette Avital, and J Street Israel director Nadav Tamir.
A HOUSE DIVIDED
Soon after the October 7 attack, families of hostages realized they had to cooperate, share information and formulate a campaign. The Mor and Libman families were initially part of this effort. A group of lawyers, media strategists and former diplomats volunteered to help. They formed the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Cybersecurity firm Checkpoint donated a building on Leonardo Da Vinci Street, adjacent to Hostages Square, which is now the headquarters of the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
Donations from businesses and private individuals have enabled the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum to conduct a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages both locally and worldwide.
There are finance, legal and medical staff as well as international relations, a graphics team, social workers and psychologists operating out of the headquarters — all volunteers. The organization also provides food to families of hostages.
Due to the location of the Hamas attack, in the southwest Negev, a disproportionately high percentage of hostages are from secular kibbutzim that have traditionally supported Labor, which seems to explain the strong presence of Labor-affiliated people working for the hostages forum. Fittingly, the building now housing the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum was once the headquarters of the Kibbutz Movement.
But not all the families of the hostages fully identify with what they see as the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum’s political agenda.
"We can’t condone a strategy of capitulation to Hamas that Ronen Tzur is spearheading, as though we have to give them an offer that Hamas can’t refuse," said Mor.
He claimed that many families were not happy with the way the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum was being run and that only about 15 families were really active in the forum.
One source in Tikva that preferred to remain anonymous claimed Tzur is exploiting the hostage crisis to lead an anti-government line as a continuation of his "Bibi-ist terror" campaign.
Tzur said in a written response on January 10: "I respect Tzvika Mor and I wish for him and for everyone the speedy return of Eitan. I extend my hand to Tzvika, as I did this week in the Knesset and offer to work together for the return of the hostages and to unite the people of Israel after their return, God willing."
Tzur said he was not aware of the bullying Mor referred to and that he personally had never participated in a meeting where there was such bullying.
"The Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum includes 110 families, representing more than 90 percent of the families of hostages, and decisions for action are made by vote," Tzur said.
Tzur added that the pain of the families as expressed in public, including in the Knesset meeting with Levy, is authentic, deep and full of real anger and fury.
"To claim that the expression of this pain and sorrow is motivated by politics is patronizing," he said. "In summation, I have a personal request for Tzvika: Don’t tell any volunteer like myself that he is working for Hamas. We are all brothers and we shouldn’t forget that."
Regarding the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum’s position on specific steps such as increasing military pressure, releasing Paleostinian murderous Moslems in exchange for hostages, or some form of ceasefire, Tzur said, "The Families Forum acts to release the hostages in every possible way and does not interfere with the war cabinet’s operational considerations for the IDF and the security establishment."
’WE AREN’T THE ONLY ONES IN THIS’
At Tohar High School, Mor ended his hourlong lecture and took questions from the girls.
"Aren’t you worried about ripping the nation apart again?" asked one girl, referring to the demonstrations and public festivities over the Netanyahu government’s proposed overhaul of the judicial system in the months leading up to October 7 that nearly tipped the country into a civil war.
(A few days after this question was asked, the Supreme Court struck down a key element of the government’s proposed judicial overhaul, the latest blow traded in the ongoing struggle.)
"I believe that 95% of the people are with me," said Mor. "So that is not called ripping anything apart."
Mor was temporarily drowned out by the roar of a fighter jet, apparently headed to Gaza.
"On its way to another satisfied customer," quipped Mor before continuing. "I tell those families who want a deal at any price, ’People are sick of seeing you putting yourselves first.’
"I tell them, ’You are losing the support of the people. You aren’t the only ones in this. There are families who don’t sleep at night because their sons are fighting in Gaza. There are evacuees. Try to be with the people.’ They are so stuck in their sorrow that they can’t lift up their heads," he said to the girls.
The Tikva Forum, Mor told The Times of Israel, was established when it became impossible to voice a more pro-government position within the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum.
Tikva has a distinctly religious Zionist political leaning and several members are residents of West Bank settlements. In addition to Mor, a resident of Kiryat Arba, the Tikva Forum’s two other founders are also settlers: Kiryat Arba council chairman Eliyahu Libman, the father of Elyakim Libman, and Shilo resident Ditza Or, the mother of Avinatan Or.
Shira Libman, CEO of the Yesha Council, who is also the sister-in-law of Eliyahu Libman and the aunt of hostage Elyakim Libman, said that one of the goals of the Tikva Forum, the way she sees it, is to support families that want to publicly present a different voice over the fate of the hostages.
"It’s not easy," said Libman, "to be so selfless, to be willing to speak up so forcefully in favor of pressuring Hamas into freeing the hostages when the natural response of any parent whose child is taken hostage is to focus solely on getting that child free at any price."
Libman said that while additional families may not be in favor of paying any price to release their relatives, they feel isolated and afraid that if they speak up they will be seen as uncaring — or worse, that they could be endangering their relatives in captivity who are at risk of Hamas retaliation.
"What makes it even more difficult is the fact that there was a major failure — that because the state failed on October 7, now the government should pay whatever price to get the hostages back," she said.
"But if we continue to pay the price, there will be no end to this. Hamas will learn to continue this strategy and the next time instead of 250 hostages there will be 2,500 hostages and instead of 1,200 people murdered there will be 12,000, God forbid."
Mor said it’s "incomprehensible" that Hamas is setting the terms for a deal and Israel is not forcing it out of its tunnels by cutting off its water, its food, its fuel.
Mor’s position is based on the premise that even a temporary truce, like the one agreed upon at the end of November to facilitate the release of Israeli hostages, takes pressure off Hamas. The food, fuel and water permitted into Gaza — as humanitarian measures, but often commandeered by Hamas — undoubtedly enable Hamas to continue fighting. He also argues that organizing public pressure against the government to strike a deal with the terror group inflates the price Hamas will demand.
But would Mor feel the same about the previous hostage deal, or a future one, if his own son were on the list of hostages slated for release?
"Any deal that hurts our national dignity; that shows we are weak, that we don’t have the ability to persevere, that we are not willing to sacrifice — and as a result undermines our security and will lead to Jews being murdered in the future — I will oppose," said Mor. "Even if my son is on the list of hostages slated to be released."
Not all members of the Tikva Forum are willing to declare themselves on board with that.
Shilo resident Ditza Or, mother of Avinatan, preferred not to say whether she would be capable of opposing a hostage deal that would see her son released.
"What I can tell you is that I’m in favor of a deal — and I am actively working for such a deal — in which the IDF will completely dismantle Hamas to the point where those senior Hamas members who remain will give up the hostages to save themselves," she said. "They’ll get their lives in exchange for the life of my son."
Or’s son Avinatan appeared in a Hamas video posted on Telegram together with his girlfriend Noa Argamani. The video shows Argamani, who has both Chinese and Israeli citizenship, being forcibly held, sitting between two murderous Moslems on an all-terrain vehicle on its way to Gaza as she reaches out her arms to Avinatan, who is being marched away from her, surrounded by at least three more terrorists. The two had been at the Supernova festival.
#1
Most of these protesters have nothing to do with hostages* - they're exactly the same people who been protesting Bibi for months before 7/10. Morons blinded by hate and desire to please Globalist Left (the new Amalek).
*And the hostages families driven mad by grief - they need psychiatric help, not public tribune.
[Jpost] In a heartwarming gesture of solidarity, the Maltese Knights Hospitaller of the Order of St John of Jerusalem announced a generous donation of 24 tons of rice to Leket Israel to help support the people of Israel during the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
May God bless them and keep them.
Known colloquially in Israel as the Knights of Malta, the Order aimed to contribute to the well-being of the community by providing essential sustenance. The donation was made to Leket Israel, an organization dedicated to distributing food to food banks, soup kitchens, and those in need throughout Israel. The delivery was efficiently coordinated under the supervision of one of the Order's priors and took place at Leket Israel's compound in Tel Aviv.
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller, is a medieval and early modern Catholic military order, founded in Jerusalem in the 12th century.
The prior, expressing the Order's commitment to standing by the people of Israel, highlighted the significance of the donation as a symbol of support during difficult times.
"The entire 24-ton shipment of rice was financed and delivered at the request of our Governor of the Nevada Commanderie Colonel David Flippo
...retired Air Force combat commander, preventative maintenance head for BP Alaska, small business owner. Whether or not he is elected this time, I suspect we’ll be hearing more of him...
from Las Vegas," the prior told The Jerusalem Post. "He is a Republican candidate for Congress in the 4th District of Nevada."
Flippo, who sponsored this Food Aid Mission, is also a Knight of the Order.
Flippo, known for his unwavering support for Israel and the Jewish people, specifically requested that the Knights personally deliver, unload, and assist in the immediate distribution of the donation to Leket's compound.
The prior extended well wishes, stating, "May the Lord continue to protect God’s Chosen People from the challenges that they are facing. And May you continue to protect the Holy Land. Shalom."
Israel's agricultural sector has suffered greatly since the Hamas attacks of October 7. The evacuation of northern and southern communities, alongside the departure of foreign agriculture workers has left Israel's food economy desperately short.
Leket Israel, the National Food Bank, is the leading food rescue organization in Israel.
[Ynet] Shilo, a soldier serving in Givati and attending officers' school, sustained a complicated injury during the intense battle in Gaza, resulting in a complete shattering of his knee; The hospital used advanced 3D printing technology, meticulously recreating his knee based on the structure of his healthy one
Posted by: Grom the Reflective ||
01/21/2024 00:00 ||
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[IsraelTimes] Tehran says it reached highest orbit yet; no independent confirmation; US has said launch vehicle development ’shortens timeline’ for intercontinental ballistic missile advancement
The Soraya satellite was placed in an orbit at some 750 kilometers (460 miles) above the Earth’s surface with a three-stage rocket, the state-run IRNA news agency said. It did not immediately acknowledge what the satellite did.
The launch was part of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ space program alongside Iran’s civilian space program, the report said.
There was no immediate independent confirmation Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... had successfully put the satellite in orbit.
The United States has previously said Iran’s satellite launches defy a UN Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
UN sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired last October.
The US intelligence community’s 2023 worldwide threat assessment said the development of satellite launch vehicles "shortens the timeline" for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles can be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Iran’s nuclear program now enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.
Tehran has enough enriched uranium for "several" nuclear weapons, if it chooses to produce them, the head of the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency repeatedly has warned.
Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and says its space program, like its nuclear activities, is for purely civilian purposes. However, there's more than one way to skin a cat... US intelligence agencies and the IAEA say Iran had an organized military nuclear program up until 2003.
The involvement of the Guard in the launches, as well as it being able to launch the rocket from a mobile launcher, raise concerns for the West.
Over the past decade, Iran has sent several short-lived satellites into orbit and in 2013, launched a monkey into space. The program has seen recent troubles, however. There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket.
A fire at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in February 2019 killed three researchers, authorities said at the time. A launchpad rocket explosion later that year drew the attention of then-US president Donald Trump ...Oh, noze! Not him!... , who taunted Iran with a tweet showing what appeared to be a US surveillance photo of the site.
In December, Iran sent a capsule into orbit capable of carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in the coming years.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede,...
[Yahoo - FoxNews] The terrorism threat in the United Kingdom is at an "unprecedented" level following the start of the war between Israel and Hamas last October, a top U.K. counter-terrorism official said on Friday.
...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,...
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
