Jerusalem News (18 May, 2015, 29 Iyar, 5775)
Contents:
1. Pollard has Been Discriminated Against! Editorial: What's Wrong With This Picture? Hamodia [NY] - Editorial - May 13, 2015
2. Best Elite Special Forces in the World, 2 separate lists (out of several more options).
(a) 10 Best Special Forces in the world
(b)Â The 8 most elite special forces in the world
3. THOUSANDS PRAY AT JOSEPH'S TOMBÂ Â by Ido Ben-Porat
4. IDF Decides: No Women in Tanks by Gil Ronen
5. Some 250 Hizballah dead in Qalamoun battle. Nasrallah pushes Lebanese army to enter Syrian war
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1. Pollard has Been Discriminated Against!
Editorial: What's Wrong With This Picture?
Hamodia [NY] - Editorial - May 13, 2015
http://hamodia.com/2015/05/13/whats-wrong-with-this-picture/
Â
Extracts:
It's a story that has all the makings of a spy novel. It has already been at the core of a major expose by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist.
Â
It's unreal, Â and yet all too real. But, after all is said and undone, there is something wrong with the picture.
Â
The key character list includes:
Â
Jeffrey Sterling of O'Fallon, Missouri, a lawyer and former CIA officer.
Â
James Risen, a reporter for The New York Times and author.
Â
Supporting characters include:
Â
Leonie Brinkema, judge, United States District Court Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria.
Â
David Petraeus, former director of the CIA and a highly decorated four-star general, Â former commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Â
John Brennan, Director, Central Intelligence Agency
Â
Other characters include legal teams, the CIA and two presidents.
Â
On Monday, a jury convicted Sterling on all nine counts of violating the Espionage Act by leaking classified information to New York Times reporter Risen information about a covert CIA plan. The plan, dubbed 'Operation Merlin,' was a secret mission to undermine Iran's nuclear program by slipping false nuclear blueprints to the Iranians through a Russian agent.
Â
Judge Brinkema sentenced Sterling to 42 months in prison.
Â
In contrast with Sterling's sentence, former CIA Director David Petraeus, convicted in April for disclosing classified information, received no prison term. He was sentenced to two years� probation and a $100,000 fine for disclosing highly sensitive information.
Â
Whether Petraeus' slap-on-the-wrist sentence was a result of his political connections, or because he knows too much, we will never know.
Â
What's wrong with this picture? Not Sterling's conviction and sentence. Like a well-constructed plot, the ending now seems almost inevitable. What makes no sense is that Jonathan Pollard, who leaked information to America's closest ally, is still serving a life sentence.
Â
Maybe Pollard should have given the information to The New York Times. They are not a U.S. ally
--
Â
JUSTICE FOR JONATHAN POLLARD
Website: http://www.JonathanPollard.org
Follow J4JP on Twitter:http://twitter.com/J4JPollard
Follow J4JP on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/justice4jp
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
2. Best Elite Special Forces in the World, 2 separate lists (out of several more options).
==============================
(a) 10 Best Special Forces in the world
http://www.wonderslist.com/10-best-special-forces-world/
1. SASÂ Â UK
2. Navy Seals USA
3. Delta Force USA
4. GSG 9, Germany
5. JW GROM, Poland
6. SSG, Pakistan
7. GIGN, France
8. EKO Cobra, Austria
9. GIS, Italy
10. MARCOS, India
==============================
(b) The 8 most elite special forces in the world
http://www.businessinsider.sg/the-most-elite-special-forces-in-the-world-2015-5/#.VViHWPlVhBd
1) USA. But the US Navy SEALS might one-up even the marines. ...
2) UK. SBS.  The UK equivalent of the Navy SEALS is the Special Boat Service. The selection process involves a gruelling endurance test, jungle training in the rainforests of Belize, and combat survival training, which involves intense interrogation of candidates. And you only get two attempts to pass.
3) UK. The British Special Air Service (or SAS as they are more commonly known), are the infantry counterparts to the SBS. Their insignia bears the famous phrase 'Who dares wins.' Asked about the importance of the SAS's role in the fighting that followed the Iraq war, US General Stanley McChrystal responded: 'Essential. Could not have done it without them.'
4) Israel. Israel's Sayeret Matkal is another of the world's most elite units. Its primary purpose is intelligence-gathering and it often operates deep behind enemy lines. During the selection camp (Gibbush), would-be recruits endure hardcore training exercises while being constantly monitored by doctors and psychologists. Only the strongest get in.
5) France. Of all the counter-terrorism forces in the world, few can compete with France's National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN). The group is 200-strong and trained specifically to respond to hostage situations. They claim to have freed over 600 people since they were formed in 1973. It is against French law to publish pictures of their faces.
One of the most extraordinary episodes in the GIGN's history was the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979. Due to the prohibition on non-Muslims entering the holy city a team of three GIGN commandos briefly converted to Islam before helping the Saudi armed forces to plan the recapture of the mosque.
6) Russia. Russia's Alpha Group is one of the best known special forces units in the world. This elite anti-terrorism unit was created by the KGB in 1974 and remains under its modern day counterpart, the FSB.
Russian special forces, and the Alpha Group in particular, came under criticism during the 2002 Moscow hostage crisis where 129 hostages died from the effects of the gas used to knock-out militants who had seized a theatre.
7) Spain's Unidad de Operaciones Especiales, or the Naval Special Warfare Force as it has become since 2009, has long been one of Europe's best respected special forces. Originally established as the volunteer Amphibious Climbing Company unit in 1952, it has since followed the SAS's example to become an elite fighting force.
8) Pakistan. The Special Services Group, SSG, in Pakistan is better known in the country as the 'Black Storks' due to the commandos' unique headgear.
In October 2009, SSG commandos stormed an office building and rescued 39 people taken hostage by suspected Taliban militants after an attack on the army's headquarters.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
3. THOUSANDS PRAY AT JOSEPH'S TOMB
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/195453#.VVmty_lVhBc
by Ido Ben-Porat
Extracts:
Nearly 4,000 Jews on 65 buses arrived from across the country to pray at Joseph's Tomb in Shechem (Nablus) overnight Thursday/Friday, on the occasion of counting the Omer. Last night's Omer day has been attributed to the Biblical Joseph and a visit is made in its honor every year.
The visit was made under IDF protection and the organization of the Samaria Regional Council, as well as the director of the site. The visit, the largest in a year, extended from 11:00 pm Thursday until the small hours of Friday morning.
"This is a historic event when thousands of Jews come to express solidarity with this holy place," Samaria Regional Council leader Gershon Mesika stated. "It's very symbolic that on this same evening, the new government was sworn in. Hence, we call on the national government today to apply full sovereignty " over the site.
"Under the Oslo Accords, the tomb of Joseph was supposed to be under Israeli sovereignty - but in fact we come here like thieves in the night, not realizing the right to one of the holiest sites for the Jewish people," he noted.
Acting Regional Council head Dagan explained the importance of the event and thanked the Central Command officers for providing security for mass prayer.
"This is the most significant entrance to Joseph's Tomb this year," he said.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
4. IDF Decides: No Women in Tanks
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/195538#.VVmuFPlVhBc
by Gil Ronen
First Publish: 5/18/2015, 8:17 AM
The IDF is faced with a manpower problem in its combat forces, after partially adopting PC gender equality norms. Seeking to replace male fighters with women, it has now found that at least as far as tanks are concerned, this is not possible.
Following a period of experimentation in which women who were placed in tanks under the supervision of the Medical Corps, the IDF has concluded that  'placing female warriors in tanks causes damage,' a senior Ground Forces officer told Ynet.
The problem is an acute one because starting on July, the period of mandatory service for men will be cut down by four months, from 36 months to 32. This is the result of the deliberations of the Shaked Committee, which was appointed after the 2013 elections, supposedly to create equality in the share of the military burden shouldered by different populations, haredi, religious and secular on the one hand, men and women on the other.
The committee - Â which was headed by current Justice Minister, Jewish Home's Ayelet Shaked, deliberated a plan to shorten men's service by four months and lengthen women's by four months, from 24 to 28 months. However, it wound up shortening men's service without lengthening women's, for obscure reasons.
The IDF soon discovered that it would face a shortage of about 10,000 soldiers, and began looking for ways to fill the gap with existing female soldiers. Physiological experiments included monitoring how an average young woman functioned inside a Merkava tank, primarily in the two roles that require great physical exertion, Â the loader, who loads shells into the gun; and the driver, who uses a lot of strength to press down on the tank's pedals.
Another element that was examined was the fact that serving inside a tank involves great intimacy among crew members, in that during operational activity, the crew can spend 24 hours or more inside a tank without being able to go out.
As an alternative, the IDF is looking into placing women as operators of heavy engineering equipment, like D9 bulldozers, which often lead a military convoy's path and clear the road of mines and obstacles. There, too, however, a commander and operator often spend a long time inside the cabin without being able to leave. In addition, the senior officer noted that the cable used for towing heavy engineering vehicles weighs 60 kilos (over 130 lb.). He said, however, that a similar problem existed in field intelligence units, which began using an electrical device for erecting observation masts, so that women could cope with the assignment.
The integration of women into combat roles is carried out under intense pressure from the Israel Women's Network, a flagship New Israel Fund (NIF) organization with much clout in the Knesset and media. The NIF's critics see it as a subversive fund posing as a mainstream Zionist one.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
5. Some 250 Hizballah dead in Qalamoun battle. Nasrallah pushes Lebanese army to enter Syrian war
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report May 13, 2015, 1:52 PM (IDT)
Extracts:
http://debka.com/article/24595/Some-250-Hizballah-dead-in-Qalamoun-battle-Nasrallah-pushes-Lebanese-army-to-enter-Syrian-war-
Amid Hizballah's rising war losses, its leader Hassan Nasrallah strongly urged the Lebanese chief of staff Gen. Jean Kahwagi to send his troops into battle over the strategic Qalamoun Mountain, alongside Hizballah and the Syrian army, debkafile's military sources disclose. Nasrallah argued that the time had come for the Lebanese army to take a hand in the fighting, since the Syrian rebels led by Al Qaeda's Syrian arm, the Nusra Front, were shelling the eastern Beqaa Valley of Lebanon from their Syrian strongholds on the mountain that sits athwart the Syrian-Lebanese border. Thousands of jihadis, he said, were seizing land around the northeastern Lebanese villages of Arsal and Nahleh.
Another of Nasrallah's demands was for Gen. Kahwagi to bring out the Lebanese army's heavy artillery to shell rebel Qalamoun concentrations, positions and moving vehicles, because they endangered Lebanese national security.
The Lebanese general gave the Hizballsah chief a flat no. He declared the Lebanese army would not 'slip' into any war inside the Syrian area of Qalamoun where Hizballah and the Syrian army are currently fighting jihadis, but added: 'The army is ready to confront any assault on Lebanese sovereignty and push back any infiltration by militants.'
debkafile's military and counter-terrorism sources don't believe that the Lebanese army chief will be able to hold out for long against the gradual ISIS and Nusra slide into his country. At the moment, the intruders are mostly fleeing Islamists, driven by the Syrian army and Hizballah from their mountain positions and out of the eastern Lebanese border districts close to the battle front.
But although the Syrian army and Hizballah are claiming to have taken strategic hills in the volatile border region last week, the battle is far from over and does not appear to be anywhere near a clear resolution.
Even when Syria and Hizballah do achieve a local gain here or there, fresh ISIS and Nusra forces keep on pouring back - mostly from the north, Â to constantly open up new battlefronts on the Qalamoun mountains. Their commanders have already grasped that no one will stop them slipping back and forth between Syria and Lebaon - both to escape Syrian and Hizballah fire and meanwhile to hit Hizballah's rear strongholds in the Lebanese Beqaa.
Hizballah's death toll in battle is soaring disastrously, Â at least 250 reported in the last few days, including 9 senior commanders.