IDF Completes Preparations For Easter

Galilee Institute Security Report:
IDF Completes Security Preparations & Prays For Quiet Easter

Sources: IDF Spokesperson and other security sources

The IDF and the Coordinator of Government Activities in Judea & Samaria have concluded their anti-terror preparations for the April Christian holiday season.

The Israeli security establishment has announced its readiness to facilitate the observance of all Christian religious ceremonies scheduled to take place during this holiday period and will allow for comfortable, quick and efficient passage through checkpoints for the Christian population that seeks to travel and celebrate.

As a result of these painstaking anti-terror preparations:

-Thousands of Christian residents of Judea and Samaria will be able to pass into the rest of Israel for family visits.

-Hundreds of Christians from the Gaza Strip will be permitted to enter Judea and Samaria and Israel's home front for the purpose of religious ceremonies and family visits.

-Christian Clergymen will be able to pass freely through crossings between Judea and Samaria and Israel's home front.

-1,000 Palestinian workers from the region of Judea and Samaria will be permitted to pass into northern Israel for the cucumber and almond picking-season.

-Israeli citizens will be allowed to pass into Jericho and Bethlehem in order to participate in religious ceremonies.

-Entry of Israeli citizens into the Gaza Strip for holiday visits will be authorized according to specific security assessments.

The IDF Spokesperson adds that the Israeli security forces will continue to operate tirelessly and vigorously in order to ensure the safety of all the citizens of the State of Israel while preserving the freedom of religion for all sects of the population.

TODAY IN IDF HISTORY

6/4/2007

59 years ago, today: "Nachshon Operation" - Ben Gurion signals to 1500 combat soldiers to break the way to Jerusalem

In early 1948 David Ben Gurion commands a concentrated force of 1500 soldiers to break the way into the besieged Jerusalem. The operation, called "Operation Nachshon", was a turning point in the Independence War: this was the first time that the defense forces were commanded to conquer an area that was defined as Arab territory.

With the British about to leave, it became imperative for the Jews to gain control of the territory that had been assigned to the Jewish State. Such a move would enable the Jews to have a foothold when the Arabs would invade.

To this end, an operational plan ("Plan D") was devised. This plan would be carried out in stages which would be adapted to the manner and rate of the British troop withdrawal.

The first objective of Plan D was to open the road to Jerusalem, to this end Operation Nachshon was devised. The name "Operation Nachshon" was derived from the biblical personage Nachshon Ben Aminadav who was the first to jump into the Red Sea when the Jews fled Egypt.

Operation Nachshon was a first in many respects. It was the first major Haganah operation and it was the first time that a "brigade force" was employed. Before this the Haganah had operated in company-size only.

The brigade force, comprised of three battalions and numbering 1,500 men, was and specifically organized for this operation. These men were armed with Czech weapons that had been smuggled into the country on April 1 at a hidden airstrip in the south. These weapons were covertly issued to Haganah members who were desperate for arms.

Two significant operations preceded Operation Nachshon: the first took place in Ramle. The Haganah blew up the headquarters of Hassan Salame (the commander of the Mufti's Army of Salvation). This attack prevented Salame's forces from thwarting Haganah preparations on the coastal plain. In the second operation, Haganah forces took over the village of Castel, an Arab village which stood between Jerusalem and Kyriat Anavim and blocked the entrance to Jerusalem.

Operation Nachshon itself began on April 6 in the Latrun area with Haganah forces taking over the Wadi al-Sarrar camp, Arab Hulda and Deir Muheisin. Parallel to this, the village of Beit Machsir in the region of Bab el Wad was attacked by Palmach forces, thus clearing the mountain road to Jerusalem. Sixty Palmach trucks drove up to Jerusalem carrying supplies. On 7 and 8 April Arab forces undertook reprisal operations, primarily in the area of Motza. The battle for Castel was fierce. For six days the Arab and Jewish forces battled fiercely. The Jewish forces were pushed back.

In a dramatic reverse, Abd el Kader el-Husseini, who had returned from Damascus to fight, was killed in battle. This proved to be the undoing of the Arab forces on April 10 immediately thereafter retreated. Supplies could now reach Jerusalem safely and by April 20, five convoys of reserves and additional troops reached the city. This condition however, lasted only a short period of time. Immediately thereafter supplies could no longer easily reach the city and convoys had to turn back, as the road to Jerusalem became impassable once again. This precipitated the siege of Jerusalem.

Israel & US Conclude Joint Military Exercise

Source: IDF Spokesperson

A joint command exercise of the IDF and US armed forces, known as 'Juniper Cobra 2007,' has come to a close.

The exercise entailed simulations of missile defense systems and computerized simulations of aerial defense.

According to authorities from both militaries, the exercise acts as a bridge for cooperation and is essential for mutual drawing of conclusions. "'Juniper Cobra 07', strives to enhance cooperation capabilities, understanding, and joint operation between the IDF and the United States Armed Forces," explained one of the exercise judges.

"It took place as part of an agreement between Israel and the US; having joint exercises on a regular basis. It should be noted that the preparation for the exercise took over a year, and is not a reaction to any of the occurrences in the region."

"Since we began carrying out the exercise, in 2001, it has become increasingly intense, extensive, and better than in previous years," noted a senior source at the Israel Air Force.

Observers from both militaries expressed their approval of the results of the exercise.

Additionally, they were content with the sharing of data and knowledge, and the cooperative studies which took place.

The exercise was lead by the Anti-Aircraft unit of the IAF, and represents another link in the chain of close cooperative operations between the armed forces of both of the nations.

More on 'Juniper Cobra 2007'

U.S., Israel hone missile defenses
THAAD makes Juniper Cobra debut
By Barbara Opall-RomePosted :

TEL AVIV, Israel - Hundreds of U.S. and Israeli missile defenders supported by virtual sea- and air-based forces are honing joint war-fighting skills in an ongoing computer simulated exercise here on the shores of the Med.

Conducted discreetly at bases throughout Israel, the Juniper Cobra drill is a biannual event involving front-line missile interceptors, command-and-control technologies and battle management systems of both nations.

Led by the Israel Air Force’s 167th Air Defense Artillery Brigade and the U.S. Army V Corps’ 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, this year’s drill marked the debut participation of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system and associated support elements, sources here said.

In addition to simulated THAAD and Patriot PAC-3 capabilities, U.S. forces used actual data from the U.S. Navy’s Aegis combat system, with its SPY-1D phased array search-and-track radar. Israeli systems linked into the distributed simulation drill were the latest Block 3 versions of the Arrow weapon system and the Israel Air Force’s upgraded versions of the Patriot PAC-2 system.

Unlike the three previous Juniper Cobras, no live missiles will be shot down in this year’s event because of logistical constraints associated with last summer’s Lebanon war and the transformation of units within U.S. European Command, officials here said.

“We had a lot of equipment tied up in the transformation of our 69th Air Defense Artillery Brigade in Germany. Also, our planning kept getting deferred as a result of the Lebanon conflict, and we ran out of time to plan a large live-fire operation,” said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, U.S. Army public affairs officer for Juniper Cobra 2007.

Kageleiry said, however, that the scaled-back computer simulation has proved valuable in advancing the primary purpose of Juniper Cobra, which is to improve the allies’ ability to cooperate against common threats.

“It’s all about interoperability… and the more we train together and exchange ideas, the readier we’ll be in any future scenario that may require joint or coalition operations,” she said.

An Israeli defense official said he looked forward to resuming live-fire interoperability drills in the next Juniper Cobra, tentatively planned for spring 2009. However, he said Israel’s Ministry of Defence and the military were satisfied by the “high level of cooperation and sharing of data” demonstrated by U.S. counterparts in this year’s drill.

The official said the two sides used the Coalition Network secure communications system to share data instantaneously among participating land-based forces and virtual sea- and air-based forces.

“In many respects, this year’s dynamic simulation allowed us to harmonize our technologies, tactics and procedures more efficiently than they might have been through live-fire exercises,” the official said. “We focused on critical aspects of command and control and decision-making in very extreme situations that we might not have been able to do had massive amounts of hardware been involved.”

Neither the Israeli defense official nor the American public affairs officer was willing to describe specific scenarios incorporated into the exercise. Nevertheless, sources associated with the planning of the event indicated that this year’s Juniper Cobra involved salvo attacks of increasingly sophisticated, maneuvering missiles, some of which were equipped with unconventional warheads.

“We try to plan for the kind of things that could happen in warfare, and that includes the full spectrum of threats,” Kageleiry confirmed.

The ongoing drill marks the fourth bilateral Juniper Cobra event since the two nations began joint missile defense training in 2001.

E-mail bopallrome@defensenews.com.

Fore more on 'Juniper Cobra 2007' please see the United States Army website:

http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/03/21/2349-usareur-units-participate-in-juniper-cobra-2007/

Terrorist Attack Thwarted by Female Soldier

Source: IDF Spokesperson

A female soldier thwarted a terrorist attack against IDF forces last week at the Harawah Checkpoint. The female terrorist, who was armed with a knife, was stopped and when questioned by authorities as to her intentions, the woman drew the knife she was carrying.

The incident ended with no injuries to the terrorist or to the soldiers guarding the check-post. After an initial investigation by IDF forces, it was discovered the female terrorist planned on killing an IDF soldier manning the check-post.

The arresting soldier, Corporal Shani Kohen, age 19, is a soldier in the Tauz battalion, a part of the Military Police. She was the first to notice the suspicious Palestinian woman. "I told her not to approach me", she remembered. "I asked her a few questioned and she refused to answer and began approaching me. She was nervous, shaking and called out to me to come near her. I understood something was amiss.

At that point I told the security officers to keep an eye on her." The Palestinian woman then began running towards the troops, drawing the knife.

The Corporal reacted quickly. She directed her weapon, aiming at the female terrorist. "A Palestinian man, whom we had been checking before her, began interfering, and positioned himself between the troops and the Palestinian woman. He then shouted 'Don't hurt her' and explained to us she was mentally unwell", she explained.

"At that moment, I didn't really digest what had happened. I remembered the operational training I partook in and quickly implemented what I had learnt." Shani credits the positive outcome of this incident to the immense operational training she received. "They taught us how to operate and behave during incidents such as this although it is certainly different during the actual event."

"You try to do your possible best. I believe that every one of us could do this just as well."

Passover in the IDF

"In every generation each individual must consider himself as though he personally had gone forth from Egypt."

These words from the Passover 'Haggaddah' demand that every person from the nation of Israel remembers that which came to pass in the history of the nation in Egypt. However, according to the Haggaddah, remembrance alone is insufficient. Every person who this obligation pertains to is required to perform the following acts as well: having the traditional Passover meal, and telling the story of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Additionally, there is an obligation to ensure that no remnant of leavened flour remains in their possession.

How, then, are these traditions kept in the IDF? The answer is simple, much like at home, but on a slightly different scale. The preparations for the festival demand an incredible amount of manpower, and the process does not begin a number of days before the festival, but almost half a year beforehand. As Regiment Commander Rabbi Shlomo Perets, the Head of Traditional Dietary Issues of the IDF explains. "We require that all military rabbis stay in their units, and orchestrate the traditional Passover meal. In addition to the military rabbis, we bring in soldiers from Jewish studies seminary. They were called up yesterday (Wednesday), and have been trained to organize the meal as well."

The main focus of the Rabbinate's attention was on the kitchens that were to be prepared for the festival. "There are hundreds of kitchens?[from] the largest kitchen which is capable of sitting hundreds of people, to the smallest place where only four soldiers eat-the 'pillbox'," explains Regiment Commander Rabbi Peretz. Aside from the elements vital to the meal, the soldiers and commanders of the army also enjoyed special treats such as the Nile Perch, Cod, and Passover cookies with filling.

In addition to taking part in the preparations directly associated with the festival food, and arrangements for the Passover meal, IDF soldiers also volunteered. A program for refurbishment and painting of houses for the elderly and the needy also took place; helping them with their own Passover needs. However, the lonely soldiers and the new immigrants were not forgotten. This year, as in previous years, there will be a communal Seder for the lonely soldiers who will have no other place to dine aside from their bases. The number of participants in this event ranges from 300-400 soldiers.

However, this year is not identical to its predecessors. Due to the fact that the holiday starts on Monday night, the way in which the festival is prepared for must evolve. In general, the Military Rabbinate ensures that all of the military kitchens are ready for Passover two days before the festival. This year, such an arrangement is rendered impractical by the fact that this would require that the kitchens would be prepared on the Sabbath. Therefore, the units which are distanced from the centers for the distribution of festival goods have permission from the Rabbinate to have their kitchens prepared as of last Thursday.

The combined effort of all departments taking part in this operation is incredible. To make it easier to grasp, Regiment Commander Rabbi Perets noted, "unlike in war, where defeating the enemy by 80% is still considered victory-we do not see things in such a manner. If we prepare 99.9% of the military kitchens for the festival, but have missed an outpost or pillbox, we have failed. There is constant awareness of all aspects [of preparation], in order to ensure that we reach every place needed."

*During the festival, the IDF will open a number of its exercise areas for touring. Please verify that any entries into such areas are coordinated with the IDF and the Environment Protection Society.

Any unverified entry into these areas nationwide is illegal and endangers those touring.

Contact details: Southern Israel - 08-9902926/7, Central Israel - 02-5305511, Northern Israel - 04-6979007.

The IDF wishes all a happy holiday!

Work with us, visiting Israeli urges

Retired IDF General speaks in Jacksonville, addressing past and present issues.

By JESSIE-LYNNE KERR, The Times-Union

A retired Israeli general who is a member of the Knesset, the

country's parliament, cautioned a Jacksonville audience Sunday that people on both sides of the globe should be prepared to sacrifice to save the values shared by Americans and Israelis.

Retired Israeli Defense Forces Gen. Efraim Eitam was a guest of the Medical Enterprise Development Group, or M-EDG, a Jacksonville-based medical products company whose division, the Florida-Israel Biomedical Initiative, is dedicated to U.S. commercialization of Israel's biomedical devices and products.

In his talk to an invited audience of civic, business and military dignitaries at the Hyatt Regency Riverfront Hotel, Eitam spoke of his more than 30 years of military experience in the IDF, fighting those who would wish his country would be wiped off the map.

He commanded the Israeli forces in southern Lebanon in 1998-99, commanded an elite commando unit in the Entebbe rescue mission in 1976 and was awarded the medal of valor for courage under fire in the Yom Kippur War.

He told of how his mother lived through the Holocaust in Europe and his father, born in China, survived a Japanese prison camp to make their way to Israel where they found each other.

"Nothing in Israel can be taken for granted," Eitam said. "Out of the Holocaust, we found the will and the power to build the State of Israel.

"He cautioned that "the voices coming from Iran to destroy Israel with weapons of mass destruction" should not be ignored, or children in the future will ask where people were to save them from another holocaust.

He condemned what he called extreme elements in Islamic society, saying that during World War II, the Japanese kamikaze, or suicide pilots, hit military targets. "But to kill children and to kill women and to kill just for killing?"

He said Muslim extremists were "using the name of God for the horrible idea that people can be destroyed."

Eitam praised the Judeo-Christian tradition, saying it gives people a moral clarity of the way to treat the value of life.

"If we do what God wants us to do," he said, "we can do many things that seem impossible."He noted that the United States has never been intimidated.

"With the purity of beliefs that we share," Eitam said, "there can be no enemy that we can't defeat."

jessie-lynne.kerr@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4374

For more - please see http://www.gogalil.com/eitam.html

Analyst touts links with Israel

March 31, 2007

By SUSAN D. BRANDENBURG

Shorelines correspondent

Mike Cohen glanced at the blinking red light on his PDA, his personal digital assistant.

"What used to be measured in eons is now measured in seconds," he said. "I hold the world in my hand - maps, numbers, names, countries, war zones - it's all communicated instantly on this little instrument - a cell phone that originated in Israel."

Cohen is a veteran political strategist, security analyst and is involved as a reservist in international communications strategies for the Israeli Defense Forces. In 2002, Cohen was assigned to Israel's National Emergency Response & Negotiation Team when Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity was occupied by terrorists. As an expert on international terrorism and the use of electronic information distribution systems by official security services, Cohen was also invited to testify before the 9/11 Commission in Washington.

He spoke at Beach United Methodist Church Tuesday night as the guest of M-EDG, a Jacksonville Beach-based medical enterprise group that has established the Florida-Israel Biomedical Initiative. He gave a presentation entitled America & Israel, Christians & Jews, Jacksonville & Jerusalem: The Amazing Direct Cutting Edge Connections.

"America is the first world power in history to look upon all as equals," said Cohen. "There has always been a spiritual connectivity between our peoples, and we have blessed each other in many practical ways as well."

He said Israel was the birthplace not only of cell phones, but of the pentium chip, digital cards, voice mail and the pill-cam, a new medical diagnostic tool that involves swallowing a capsule containing a tiny camera.

In addition to emphasizing the historic and ongoing spiritual relationship between Christians and Jews, Cohen talked of the wide-ranging economic potential of combining Israeli technology and American marketing capabilities in the Florida-Israel Biomedical Initiative.

"These people in Jacksonville Beach have revolutionized the way Israel does business in America," he said. "They came to Israel in November and began building a strong financial network that will enhance the economy of both of our countries."

"It's exciting!" declared Nancy Allen of Ponte Vedra Beach. "I had no idea all of that technology came out of Israel." Allen, of Hand in Hand Geriatric Care Management, joined with Chaplain John Dawson of Christian Compassion Ministries, Melissa Middlebrooks of Beach United Methodist Church and Jane Hart of Hart-Felt Ministries to provide a brief musical program prior to Cohen's presentation.

As a behind-the-scenes expert who has served for 22 years as an IDF officer in an elite special forces unit and in wide-ranging advisory capacities under five Israeli prime ministers, Cohen talked of the explosive situation in the Middle East today.

The jihad declared by Islamic factions in the Middle East, he said, is aimed at "the Saturday people" [Jews] first, then "the Sunday people" [Christians]. Talking of the biblical reference to Israel as a "light unto the nations," Cohen predicted that as Israel rises or falls, so will the free world.

On the current Iranian nuclear capabilities and the threat posed to Israel and the United States, Cohen said that, in his opinion, the capabilities are already in place.

"I think everybody in this country should hear Dr. Cohen's message," Richard Martin of Deerwood said following the presentation. "It's urgently important."

"I'm a retired soldier," said Bill Womble, a resident of Jacksonville Beach. "I see it from a soldier's point of view. Dr. Cohen and I have much in common."

Womble's wife, Carol, called Cohen's presentation "eye-opening."

"I was especially touched at the JerUSAlem emblem he had up on the screen ... and I never knew until tonight that the presidential seal had a Star of David on it."

Noting that the world is in a crisis of vision and decision, Cohen quoted Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

He concluded that there are five components that will help the free world achieve a clear vision and eventual victory over terrorism: 1) Prayer. 2) Knowledge. "Don't believe what you hear, even from me," he said. "Discover the truth for yourself." 3) Communication. "Speak up for what you believe," he said. "Call and write your senators and congressmen; write letters to the editor; do whatever you can to effect change." 4) Love offerings; charitable giving, and 5) Tourism and investment in Israel.

"Come to Israel," he urged the audience. "The world is in that little place."

Cohen, founder and senior research analyst of the Galilee Institute, also invited the public to visit www.gogalil.com for updated Israeli-related news. For more information on the Florida-Israel Biomedical Initiative, visit www.m-edg.com.

This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/033107/neS_8922121.shtml.

© The Florida Times-Union