Jerusalem News (2 April, 2015, 13 Nisan, 5775)
Contents:
1. Influx of advanced weapons flowing into Syria, Lebanon unprecedented,' navy source says by Yaakov Lappin
2. Germany tops Europe innovation list
3. Dr. Aaron Lerner: Two basic things many analysts forget . [Iranians are Triggerhappy Nutcases who should be locked up, not given Atom Bombs]
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1. Influx of advanced weapons flowing into Syria, Lebanon unprecedented,' navy source says
by Yaakov Lappin
http://unitycoalitionforisrael.org/uci_2014/?p=13563
Source: jpost.com.    Article date: March 29th, 2015
Extracts:
Advanced weaponry, much of it supplied by Iran, is flowing into Syria and Lebanon, a senior Israel Navy source warned on Sunday.
The Navy is spending a large chunk of its operational time dealing with advanced weapon smuggling, according to the source, who added, 'Such weapons pose a challenge to all Western navies in the area.'
He said the northern front has become unified, and that Lebanon and Syria can not be viewed as separate entities anymore.
'What happens in Syria, happens in Lebanon [in terms of weapons availability], and vice versa. I'll go a step further and say that everything that happens in Iran can end up in Syria, which can then end up in Lebanon,' the source stated. 'In the event of war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, I'm not sure Syria will remain on the sidelines. Hezbollah assists the Assad regime, and the help is mutual.'
Describing the quantity and quality of surface-to-sea missiles in Hezbollah's possession as 'unprecedented,' the source said there are dozens of such weapons in its keeping, covering around 10 different kinds of such missiles.
'The types of warheads and their ranges are many,' said the source. 'We are in a completely different situation. The sector has changed.'
The source said he assumed Hezbollah is in possession of the Yakhont guided antiship missile, adding that the navy is capable of defending itself from it.
He warned that the missile can be used to attack targets on land deep inside the country.
'They can fire it at military headquarters in Tel Aviv,' he said.
The Yakhont has a 300 kilometer range, according to the source.
'It is very fast. It has unusual capabilities. It can fly at a very high altitude, or a low one, depending on the variation,' he said.
Iran continues to develop its own weapons, copying the arms of other states, and it smuggles them to its allies and proxies in Syria and Lebanon, said the source.
Meanwhile, the Israel Navy is preparing to receive four new missile ships, to secure four gas drilling platforms in Israel's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Mediterranean, an area twoand- a-half times larger than Israel.
The gas rigs, which will form most of Israel's electricity supply, are attractive targets for Hezbollah, the source said.
The navy is setting up layers of defense around them, including antimissile defenses on ships and underwater defenses.
A second source added that the navy's submarines carried out dozens of covert operations off enemy shores in 2014.
He emphasized the ability of submarines to gather intelligence, including signals intelligence, and remain submerged for long periods far from Israeli shores.
He added that the INS Tanin, the fourth German-Dolphin submarine to join the navy's fleet, and the first vessel to use Air Independent Propulsion, received weapons and communications systems from domestic defense companies in Israel after arriving from Germany in September.
Israel ordered three AIP-enabled new generation Dolphins from Germany, with the fifth, the INS Rahav, expected to arrive in the coming months.
The submarines work closely with other navy ships, naval commandos, the IAF and infantry units.
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2. Germany tops Europe innovation list
http://www.thelocal.de/20140307/germany-tops-europe-patent-list-epo-munich
Published: 07 Mar 2014 15:12 GMT+01:00
Extracts:
Germany continues to lead Europe in innovation, filing more patents to protect new products than any other European country in 2013.
Figures from the Munich-based European Patent Office (EPO) released on Thursday showed Siemens, Bosch, BASF and Bayer leading the field for the most applications.
There were 1,620 from Siemens, 1,546 from Bosch and 1,541 from BASF.
But the stats also showed German patent applications dropped by 5.4 percent in 2013.
Rainer Osterwalder, deputy spokesman at EPO told The Local the decline was due to drops in certain fields including pharmaceutical and bio-tech.
He added the number of patent applications filed reflected the amount of research and development as well as investment taking place in a country. 'They pave the way for innovation,' Osterwalder said.
Measured in applications per head, Switzerland topped the list of European countries, ahead of Sweden and Finland with Germany in sixth place.
Overall patent filings grew by almost three percent, Â an all-time high.
The EPO received 266,000 applications, compared to 258,000 in 2012. It granted 66,700 European patents.
'Europe continues to be a key market for innovation,' said EPO President Benoit Battistelli.
"The strong position of European companies in patent-intense technologies also underlines the central role these industry sectors play in generating employment and growth in the EU economy."
However, nearly two-thirds of patent filings came from outside of Europe. The most active countries were the US with 24 percent of the total and Japan with 20 percent.
Germany was in third place with 12 percent.Â
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3. Dr. Aaron Lerner: Two basic things many analysts forget .
[Iranians are Triggerhappy Nutcases who should be locked up, not given Atom Bombs]
Weekly Commentary:
 http://www.imra.org.il
Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 2 April 2015
The following are probably the top two things analysts most frequently forget:
#1. Iranian Twelver messianism:
In this context, mutual assured destruction, the deterrent that worked so well during the Cold War, would have no meaning.
At the end of time, there will be general destruction anyway.
What will matter will be the final destination of the dead -- hell for the infidels, and heaven for the believers.
For people with this mindset, MADÂ [Mutual Assured Destruction] is not a constraint; it is an inducement.
cf.
Bernard Lewis explains why MAD doesn't work with Iranian Leadership
August 22
By Bernard Lewis
Updated Aug. 8, 2006 12:01 a.m. ETÂ Â The Wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB115500154638829470