Jerusalem News (9 December, 2014, 17 Kislev, 5775)
Duration: 4.20 minutes. To Read Articles Please Scroll Down!
Contents:
1. Christians United for Israel Chairman John Hagee says Obama is anti-SemiticÂ
2. Report: Israeli Warplanes Attack Damascus
3. Top Guns: The Most Lethal Air Forces on the Planet
Which nations have the most fearsome planes in the sky? by Kyle Mizokami  followed by Comments from Yair. What About Israel?
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1. Christians United for Israel Chairman John Hagee says Obama is anti-SemiticÂ
By ARIEL COHEN
 11/24/2014 Â
 http://www.jpost.com/landedpages/printarticle.aspx?id=382675
US Senator Ted Cruz also headlined the Zionist Organization of America's event.Â
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The chairman of the largest Christian Zionist group in the United States, John Hagee, told a large group of American Jews that President Barack Obama is anti-Semitic, while speaking at an event on Sunday night.
 The Christians United for Israel (CUFI) chairman and San-Antonio mega-church pastor, was receiving an award from the Zionist Organization of America when he made the comments.
 During his speech, Hagee referred to Obama as 'one of the most anti-Semitic presidents in the history of the United States of America,' due to his lack of support for the Holy Land in his foreign policy agenda.
 Hagee also mocked Obama for having previously called US-Israeli relations unbreakable, stating that: 'He knows it's unbreakable because he's been trying to break it for the last five years.'
US Senator Ted Cruz, a long-time critic of US policy toward Israel , headlined the Zionist organization's event along with Hagee.
 Cruz, a likely 2016 presidential hopeful, highlighted the danger of nuclear weapons as a threat to Israel. The US senator called upon the Obama administration to stand up to the Iranian nuclear program stating that under no circumstances should Iran be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons.
'The threats to Israel right now have never been greater, and now is a time when we do not need leaders who simply speak empty words of support for Israel,' Cruz said. 'We need leaders who will stand and act. Now, more than ever, is a time to strengthen the unshakable alliance and friendship America has with the nation of Israel.'
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 2. Report: Israeli Warplanes Attack Damascus
Israel fighter pilots reported to have bombed Damascus on Sunday to prevent S-300 missiles from reaching Hezbollah terrorist bases in Lebanon.
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/report-israeli-warplanes-attack-damascus/2014/12/07/
By: Hana Levi Julian
Published: December 7th, 2014
Latest update: December 8th, 2014
Israeli fighter pilots bombed multiple Syrian targets on Sunday, in particular targeting a warehouse where S-300 missiles were being prepared for transport to the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon.
Included were areas in Damascus province, near Damascus International Airport and the Dimas air base, according to Syrian state television. Footage of some of the bombing can be seen in a clip made available courtesy of the Israel Video Network.
At least ten separate explosions were heard by Damascus residents, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. No casualties were reported.
The IDF did not comment on the attack, in accordance with its policy of not confirming or denying its role in such operations.
Dimas Airbase was reported to have been used as a weapons storage facility for the Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missiles.
Four Israeli aircraft were allegedly spotted in the area, eyewitnesses told Syrian state-run television. A similar strike on the same target was carried out just over a year ago, apparently for the same reason - to keep Syria from handing over the advanced missiles and other weaponry to Hezbollah.
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3. Top Guns: The Most Lethal Air Forces on the Planet
Which nations have the most fearsome planes in the sky?
by Kyle Mizokami followed by Comments from Yair. What About Israel?
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/top-guns-the-most-lethal-air-forces-the-planet-11814
December 9, 2014
Extracts:
Qualifying the five most powerful air forces in the world is certainly a difficult and challenging proposition. There are large, well-trained and well-equipped air forces that are obvious candidates for such a list. Then there are less-obvious candidates, like Russia. The Russian Air Force, while plane-for-plane older than many air forces, has numbers, the ubiquity of the largest country by size on Earth, a modernization plan and nuclear weapons. It cannot be ignored, and thanks to Putin and his repeated sorties near NATO and Japanese air space, it certainly won't be. China is in many ways similar.
After that, however, the road gets murky. Vulnerabilities become apparent. There are air forces that are well equipped and trained, but for budgetary reasons, are too small to adequately fulfill national roles and requirements (think all of Europe.) There are also air forces that are magnificently equipped, but poorly trained. (Think virtually all of the Middle East.)
For the purpose of this article, we'll judge air forces by the following criteria: size, influence and doing the best job of matching capabilities to the mission.
United States
The U.S. Air Force
The preeminent air arm of the United States, the U.S. Air Force (USAF), is the primary service responsible for air and space missions. It manages everything from intercontinental ballistic missiles to X-37 space planes to A-10 Thunderbolt tank killers. It coordinates military space launches, airdrops of Army paratroopers and drops bombs on ISIS insurgents.
The USAF operates 5,600 aircraft of all types, including F-22 Raptors, F-35, F-15 and F-16 fighters. It operates B-2, B-1 and B-52 strategic bombers, as well as C-5, C-17 and C-130 airlifters. It operates these aircraft from bases in the continental United States and overseas bases from the United Kingdom to Japan.
The Air Force has roughly 312,000 active-duty members...
The USAF was the first air force worldwide to fly stealth combat aircraft, the first to fly fifth-generation fighters, and the first to commit to an all-stealth combat aircraft force. ... Unmanned aerial vehicles, increasingly with stealthy profiles and attack capabilities, will gradually represent a larger proportion of the overall aircraft fleet.
The USAF also manages two legs of the U.S. nuclear triad, including 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles and the strategic bomber force.
The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
Worthy of separate mention due to their size and capabilities, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps are combined the world's second-largest air force, with a total of over 3,700 aircraft of all types. ....
The aircraft of the U.S. Navy are responsible for protecting the U.S. fleet and conducting air missions from and often over the world's oceans and seas. Most of the aircraft of the Navy and Marine Corps operate from ships at sea, a difficult and dangerous job that requires a high level of training and proficiency.
Russia
The dissolution of the Soviet Union left the bulk of Soviet air power in the hands of the new Russian state, and Russia has coasted on this prodigious inheritance for decades.
Altogether, Russia has 1,500 combat aircraft and 400 military helicopters. The bulk of these aircraft, however, are old and have neither been substantially upgraded, nor consistently serviced. MiG-29, Su-27 and MiG-31 fighters that predate the end of the Cold War predominate.
The Air Force has finally entered a period of sustained modernization, with new fighters coming online and in development.
The Russian Air Force has recently adopted a high-profile role as President Vladimir Putin's rattling sabre, flying extensive missions near NATO, Swedish and Japanese airspace. These missions are primarily designed as demonstrations of Russian power.
China
While this may sound like a sizable air force, despite large increases in the defense budget, the majority of those aircraft are obsolete. Only 502 aircraft are modern... The remaining 819 fighters date to the 1970s and would not present a serious threat to foreign air forces.
China's air forces continue to modernize, however, and China's aviation industry is cranking out new designs quite rapidly....
One growth area for Chinese air forces is naval aviation. China's first carrier, the Liaoning, will likely be followed by additional carriers....
Japan
The dark horse on this list is the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF). Japan has more than 300 air superiority and multirole fighters that are finely tuned toward defending the island-nation from threats in the air, land and at sea.
Japanese pilots are well trained and regarded by their peers. Japanese pilots routinely attend the U.S. Air Force Red Flag exercises, and are kept on their toes by a growing number of scrambles against foreign aircraft nearing Japanese airspace - 533 scrambles in the first half of 2014 alone against a mix of Russian and Chinese aircraft.
Japan buys only the very best air superiority fighters from the United States....
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Comments from Yair. What About Israel?
The above article has listed the 5 top airforces in the world as:
1. USAF
 2. the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps
3.Russia
4. China
5. Japan
Going from memory, a discussion on the issue of the Israeli Air force indicated that the IAF is probably the best force in its own region.
Israel and China are unlikely to go to war with each other but one never knows.
At all events,
Israel has the largest airforce in the Eastern Mediterranean. Israeli planes are usually the best, or almost the best, that America has, and Israelis add improvements to them.
The IAF is experienced. IAF pilots are highly motivated and receive intensive training. Israel has a large number of pilots available per plane as well as State-of-the-Art ground servicing. This means that each Israeli plane can stay in the air about three times longer than the same plane when used by another force.
In War however nothing is certain.
"Tehillim [Psalms] neged [against] Tilim [Rockets]" is still a good slogan.
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