To the President Obama

Dear President Obama,
In recent years we often felt for my efforts in defense of Israel. This commitment continues unabated forever. We know that the best friend of Israel is the United States of America, land of freedom and courage. And we love freedom, and Courage, like all the Israelis. For this reason we ask you to confirm its commitment made during the AIPAC with President Shimon Peres. The United States of America and throughout the Western world must support Israel in its path for the affirmation of freedom and peace. The Israelis say their commitment and need peace for nearly four thousand years, facing all the enemies that history has imposed on them by the Egyptians to the Iranians.
For this reason we ask you to intervent officially.

הנשיא אובמה היקר,
בשנים האחרונות אנו לעתים קרובות חש על מאמצי ההגנה של ישראל. מחויבות זו ממשיכה ללא הפוגה לנצח. אנו יודעים כי חברו הטוב ביותר של ישראל הוא ארצות הברית של אמריקה, ארץ החופש ואומץ. ואנחנו אוהבים חופש, אומץ, כמו כל הישראלים. מסיבה זו אנו מבקשים ממך לאשר את מחויבותה עשה במהלך איפא"ק עם נשיא המדינה שמעון פרס.ארצות הברית של אמריקה ברחבי העולם המערבי צריך לתמוך בישראל בדרכה לאישור של חירות ושלום. הישראלים אומרים את מחויבותם ואת הצורך בשלום במשך כמעט 4,000 שנים, מול כל האויבים, כי ההיסטוריה המוטלות עליהם על ידי המצרים לאיראנים.
מסיבה זו אנו מבקשים ממך להתערב באופן רשמי.

Annulla modifiche

From the Hebrew press

Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press 4 Mar 2012 Haaretz Yediot Aharonot Globes Jerusalem Post Ma'ariv Yisrael Hayom

(Israel Government Press Office) Yediot Aharonot comments on the situation in Syria. The author says: "As it seems now, the moment of truth will arrive only in the form of a political solution, i.e. only when the President and his cohorts conclude that it is dangerous to remain in Syria and agree to accept political asylum without being tried," and notes that Bashar Assad has already spurned several such offers. Ma'ariv refers to 'Israeli Apartheid Week' that was recently held on college campuses around the world and contends that "The international apartheid week was not only mendacious but it enabled those who have genuine contempt for human rights to continue with their actions." The author asserts that "When it comes to Israel, the rules are flexible. Thus, educating children to grow up and blow themselves up in public places is not a crime against humanity; neither is using them as human shields. Firing rockets at civilian cities? Also not. Denying the Holocaust or denying the right of Israel and its residents to exist? We can disagree on that too. What can I say to you, opponents of apartheid, wherever you are – if this is not racism, then I don't know what is." Yisrael Hayom says that both the Israeli and American leaderships "have stated unequivocally that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable," and believes "The argument is over where to draw the red line." The author suggests that some of the tension between Jerusalem and Washington stems from the fact that, in light of the two nations' respective capabilities, a purely Israeli attack would have to come much sooner than an American one, given the pace at which Iran is hardening and fortifying its nuclear facilities. The paper asserts that if either ally accepts the other's red line, it will have given up its ability to decide independently when to launch an attack and adds: "This, in a nutshell, is the heart of the controversy." The author speculates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would agree to the White House's desire to give diplomacy one more chance as long as the Prime Minister believes that there is substance to an American threat to use force if talks fail. Haaretz discusses the inflammatory remarks made by former minister Shlomo Benizri upon his early release from prison last week, and points out that contrary to his statements to the parole board only a few months ago, Benizri now denies all offenses attributed to him. The editor believes that Benizri’s current claim that he was framed “shines a dubious light on one of the most important conditions for shortening a prisoner's term: that the prisoner realizes the criminal nature of his act.” The Jerusalem Post criticizes the Histadrut trade union organization for the intense spate of recent strikes it declared and the plethora of new disputes it intends to implement in the near future, and points out that the most immediate victims of the strikes are the workers laid off as a result of cancelled orders. The editor declares that “Legislation limiting the ability to shut down essential services without warning and without polling all union members is a must," and calls for union leaders to be made personally accountable “for the harm they recklessly wreak.” [Semadar Peri, Lilach Sigan and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]

Gli Attacchi Gemelli agli aeroporti di Vienna e Roma Fiumicino

Twin Attacks at the Airports of Vienna and Rome (Dec. 27, 1985)

On December 27, 1985 El-Al's security system was put to test, as two terrorist cells from Abu Nidal's Damascus-based organization simultaneously attacked crowds of El-Al passengers at the airports of Vienna and Rome. Background 13 people lost their lives and 76 were injured in the attack in Rome. Three terrorists were killed, and one was wounded and captured. In the attack in Vienna 3 people were killed and 44 were injured. When the Israeli security guards returned fire, the terrorists retreated, seized a vehicle outside the terminal and began to escape. The security guards and the local police force gave chase, and as a result, one terrorist was killed, and two were wounded and captured.

The events in Rome At 09:10 a.m. on Dec. 27, 1985 four terrorists attacked El-Al's ticket counters at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome. The terrorists opened machine gun fire from three directions and threw hand grenades at El-Al passengers from the bar opposite the airline's counters. Approximately 60 people were in the area of the bar at the time. The counters opened half an hour before and were crowded with passengers. Dozens of passengers also filled the adjacent Trans World Airlines (TWA) counters, which handled two other flights. 13 people were killed in the attack, and 76 were injured. Three of the perpetrators were killed by Israeli security staff, who returned fire towards the sources of the shooting. One terrorist was captured wounded. The incident took place over 15-20 seconds overall. The events in Vienna On the same day, Dec. 27, 1985, El-Al's ticket counters at Vienna International Airport were also attacked by terrorists. Three passengers (two Austrians and one Israeli) were killed, and 44 were injured in this attack. 133 outbound passengers were registered to the El-Al flight from Vienna to Tel Aviv. At the time of the attack, 09:10 a.m., approximately 60 El-Al passengers were in the terminal. Three terrorists ascended a staircase, threw four or five hand grenades from above into the terminal, and then shot bursts of gunfire. Two security guards closest to the staircase immediately returned fire towards the terrorists and prevented them from ascending any further. As the gunfight continued, the terrorists retreated, descended the staircase and exited the terminal, reaching the car park. One of the terrorists seized a Mercedes vehicle from its fleeing owner, collected the other two perpetrators and quickly drove off, seeking to leave the airport. The Israeli security guards gave chase and asked Austrian policemen, who were sitting in several cars in the area, to drive after the terrorists' vehicle. The security guards shot at the terrorists, who returned fire and threw a hand grenade at the pursuers during the chase. The terrorists missed the airport exit, reached a dead end and had to turn back. Being wounded, they lost control of the vehicle and stopped. The Austrian policemen with service dogs captured the terrorists. 19 shots were found to have hit the Mercedes. One terrorist was killed, and two were captured wounded. The incident, from its beginning until the end of the chase, took place over approximately 60 seconds. Final remarks The conclusions drawn from the events in Rome and Vienna led to the development of the security doctrine, which is meant to minimize and prevent attacks against travelers to Israel. Notably, the reaction of the Israeli security guards in both incidents was very quick, and in Vienna especially it contributed to swift handling of the event with a relatively low number of casualties. As the gunfight continued, the terrorists retreated

רומא - Rome

http://www.shabak.gov.il/English/History/Affairs/Pages/AttacksattheAirports1985.aspx