IDF to the People of Israel on Chanukah

Three of Israel's top generals delivered messages to the people of Israel on Chanukah. They were messages of concern, of serious and deliberate thought. Israel is at an important time in its history and amazingly enough, more than 61 years into our history, still in danger. During one of Israel's happiest holidays, it was, as Gabi Ashkenazi pointed out, a "somber" message indeed.

Here's what they had to say:

IDF Chief of Staff Lieut-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi said “The situation can change. It can be in these days or in the days to come. We harbor no illusions and we are sober.”

"Whether it is a matter of months or years,” said Maj-Gen Yoav Galant, Head of Southern Command, “we see the ill-boding clouds in more than one place. We need to utilize the time that we now have in order to prepare – for war or for smaller threats.”

Military Intelligence Chief Maj-Gen Amos Yadlin said “Syria, Iran and Hizbullah have the ability to threaten Gush Dan [Tel Aviv area]. Our enemies do not rest for a moment. Even the lecture hall we are in is now under threat of steep-trajectory fire from three different fronts.Taking Damascus out of the circle of hostility and ending its support for terror will reduce the threat on Israel. In 2009 Iran accumulated enough uranium for building its first bomb at the enrichment facility at Natanz, but at a level of enrichment that is lower than that needed [for a nuclear bomb]."

Statement from PM Netanyahu's Bureau on UK's Arrest Warrant

Statement from PM Netanyahu's Bureau

(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views with utmost gravity the attempt to issue an arrest warrant in Great Britain against Opposition Leader MK Tzipi Livni.

The Prime Minister said this morning (Tuesday), 15.12.09: "We will not agree to a situation in which Ehud Olmert, Ehud Barak and Tzipi Livni will be summoned to the defendant's bench. We will not agree that IDF commanders and soldiers, who – heroically and in a moral fashion – defended our citizens against a brutal and criminal enemy, will be condemned as war criminals. We reject this absurdity outright."

Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed National Security Adviser Prof. Uzi Arad to deliver a clear message on this issue to British Ambassador Tom Phillips. Accordingly, Dr. Arad spoke with Ambassador Phillips and made it clear to him that the Government of Israel expects the British Government to act against this immoral phenomenon which is trying to impair Israel's right to self-defense.

John Demjanyuk - May the Sins of your life haunt you forever

I know that going to many sites is just going to annoy me. Why? Why did I bother reading the CNN posting about the Demjanyuk trial? I can't answer that...but I will answer the many, many comments that spoke of a frail man, a poor, hunted man...and other comments that border on, and even cross all lines of decency into the realm of anti-Semitic.

So, here is my view:

I have no mixed feelings, no hesitation, no doubts. That this man escaped justice for a quarter of a century does not mean he is innocent. He is old and he is frail...well, his victims never got the chance to be either.

I want to see him stand trial...and if he can't stand...let him sit there.

I want to see the trial continue - even if the man drops dead in the middle.

I want to see the evidence spoken out loud; his crimes detailed.

I want him to be sentenced to spend the rest of his cursed life in prison - in bed, in a chair, I don't care.

No mercy...no forgiveness? It's a question - and my answer is - as much as he showed his victims.

I want to thank those who offered intelligent comments above...and shame on those who used this forum to spout yet more anti-Semitic drivel (rmartin, for example).

If to save his own life, he had to help murder 27,000 people (and I believe, actually, the number is 29,000, not 27,000...than his life should have been forfeited. He had no right to life by choosing to kill others.

You do the crime...you do the time...whether it was last week or last century. May John Demjanyuk never have a sleep-filled night in this world or in the next. May he be haunted by his crimes and know that long after he is dust...the children of those who survived will curse his memory and dedicate their lives to preventing others from committing similar crimes.