Israel's Secret Staging Ground

BY MARK PERRY | MARCH 28, 2012

In 2009, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. embassy in Baku, Donald Lu, sent a cable to the State Department's headquarters in Foggy Bottom titled "Azerbaijan's discreet symbiosis with Israel." The memo, later released by WikiLeaks, quotes Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev as describing his country's relationship with the Jewish state as an iceberg: "nine-tenths of it is below the surface."

Why does it matter? Because Azerbaijan is strategically located on Iran's northern border and, according to several high-level sources I've spoken with inside the U.S. government, Obama administration officials now believe that the "submerged" aspect of the Israeli-Azerbaijani alliance -- the security cooperation between the two countries -- is heightening the risks of an Israeli strike on Iran.

In particular, four senior diplomats and military intelligence officers say that the United States has concluded that Israel has recently been granted access to airbases on Iran's northern border. To do what, exactly, is not clear. "The Israelis have bought an airfield," a senior administration official told me in early February, "and the airfield is called Azerbaijan."

Senior U.S. intelligence officials are increasingly concerned that Israel's military expansion into Azerbaijan complicates U.S. efforts to dampen Israeli-Iranian tensions, according to the sources. Military planners, I was told, must now plan not only for a war scenario that includes the Persian Gulf -- but one that could include the Caucasus. The burgeoning Israel-Azerbaijan relationship has also become a flashpoint in both countries' relationship with Turkey, a regional heavyweight that fears the economic and political fallout of a war with Iran. Turkey's most senior government officials have raised their concerns with their U.S. counterparts, as well as with the Azeris, the sources said.

The Israeli embassy in Washington, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, were all contacted for comment on this story but did not respond.

The Azeri embassy to the United States also did not respond to requests for information regarding Azerbaijan's security agreements with Israel. During a recent visit to Tehran, however, Azerbaijan's defense minister publicly ruled out the use of Azerbaijan for a strike on Iran. "The Republic of Azerbaijan, like always in the past, will never permit any country to take advantage of its land, or air, against the Islamic Republic of Iran, which we consider our brother and friend country," he said. (Following the publication of this article, an Azeri spokesman denied that his government had granted Israel access to Azeri airbases.)

But even if his government makes good on that promise, it could still provide Israel with essential support. A U.S. military intelligence officer noted that Azeri defense minister did not explicitly bar Israeli bombers from landing in the country after a strike. Nor did he rule out the basing of Israeli search-and-rescue units in the country. Proffering such landing rights -- and mounting search and rescue operations closer to Iran -- would make an Israeli attack on Iran easier.

"We're watching what Iran does closely," one of the U.S. sources, an intelligence officer engaged in assessing the ramifications of a prospective Israeli attack confirmed. "But we're now watching what Israel is doing in Azerbaijan. And we're not happy about it."

Israel's deepening relationship with the Baku government was cemented in February by a $1.6 billion arms agreement that provides Azerbaijan with sophisticated drones and missile-defense systems. At the same time, Baku's ties with Tehran have frayed: Iran presented a note to Azerbaijan's ambassador last month claiming that Baku has supported Israeli-trained assassination squads targeting Iranian scientists, an accusation the Azeri government called "a slander." In February, a member of Yeni Azerbadzhan -- the ruling party -- called on the government to change the country's name to "North Azerbaijan," implicitly suggesting that the 16 million Azeris who live in northern Iran ("South Azerbaijan") are in need of liberation.

And this month, Baku announced that 22 people had been arrested for spying on behalf of Iran, charging they had been tasked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to "commit terrorist acts against the U.S., Israeli, and other Western states' embassies." The allegations prompted multiple angry denials from the Iranian government.

European Jewish Parliament (EJP) condemns the murder of innocent Jews in France

The European Jewish Parliament (EJP) expresses its shock and deep sadness following the deadly anti-Semitic attack which occurred this morning against the Jewish School, Ozar Hatorah in Toulouse, France, killing Rabbi Jonathan Sandler and his two children Aryeh, 3, and Gabriel, 6 and the daughter of Ozar Hatorah's Director, Miryam Monsonégo, 8. EJP strongly condemns these barbaric acts of brutal murder of a Jewish teacher and of young innocent children, on their way to school.

EJP extends its sincere condolences and solidarity to the victims' families and is praying for the recovery of a 17 year old adolescent who is between life and death in Hospital.

EJP solemnly urges the French Authorities to do everything in its power to identify, arrest and bring to Justice those who spilt Jewish blood today in the streets of Toulouse and to take all necessary measures to assure these attacks will never happen again. In light of the brutal attack EJP held an emergency conference call, in which French Members of the European Jewish Parliament shared their concerns and coordinated course of action.

Israel must fight to keep neo-Nazis out of Greece's government

As a new immigrant from Greece to Israel, I could not have been happier when the Greece-Israel relationship started warming up about a year ago. In the wake of the break-down of relations between Israel and Turkey, Greece and Israel started to see each other as natural allies in the Middle East. But the embrace of neo-Nazis into the political mainstream, a truly disturbing development in the Greek political arena, forced me to recognize the gap that still exists between the countries and their political cultures, the lack of Greek sensitivity to anti-Semitism, as well as the need to constantly assess the sincerity of those who claim to be our friends.

Until three weeks ago George Karatzaferis, leader of the nationalist party LAOS (Popular Orthodox Rally) was part of the three party coalition government formed in November 2011. What is less well-known outside of Greece is that Karatzaferis is a politician infamous for his anti-Semitic outbursts and comments denying the Holocaust, someone who infamously proclaimed during Israel’s 2008 Cast Lead operation that "the Jew smells blood." Regarding the 9/11 attacks he has alleged that “4,000 Jews working in the Twin Towers did not go to work on the day of the attack," and he has referred to “all these tales of Auschwitz and Dachau" on live television.

Although Karatzaferis the demagogue is now out of government, two other LAOS MPs were invited to join the party of Antonis Samaras, the leader of the Nea Demokratia mainstream right-wing party and leader of the opposition, who is widely expected to become prime minister after the general elections due in late April 2012. One of these two MPs, Makis Voridis, resigned from the government when LAOS pulled out but the current Greek Prime Minister Papadimos himself opted not to accept Voridis' resignation and kept him on in his government.

As a Jew and an Israeli, I feel it is my duty and obligation to share with you Voridis’ background and political career. A former leading figure in Greece's neo-Nazi youth group, Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn), Voridis has a long history of Holocaust denial, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, including physical threats to Jewish families and leading groups of thugs against immigrants and leftists. Over the last couple of weeks he has smoothed over his thuggish past by describing it as "right-wing activism". As a student at the elite Athens College high school, alma mater of current Prime Minister Papadimos, former Prime Minister Papandreou, Samaras and myself, Voridis formed the fascist student group “Free Students” that painted the walls with swastikas and saluted each other with using the Nazi-era greeting "Heil Hitler."

During school elections, Voridis would violently threaten not only the Jewish students who opposed his fascist group, but also their families. After graduation, Voridis formed a fascist group in the Law School of Athens and became active in neo-Nazi youth groups. In the 1990s, following the footsteps of his mentor, Jean Marie LePen, he formed the National Front, an anti-immigrant party. His party's motto was "Red card for immigrants." A few years ago, he joined LAOS and was elected to parliament. He soon became the darling of the Greek media, due to his extensive family connections, his debating skills and his charisma in front of the cameras.

Although less charismatic, the second of the two LAOS MPS, Adonis Georgiadis, also has a long history of anti-Semitism. This includes attacking Jews through his television show and being named as a prosecution witness against the leaders of the Greek Jewish community who are on trial for the defamation of Kostas Plevris, a self-proclaimed Nazi and anti-Semite whose book was described by the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece as a "defamatory, anti-Semitic book in which Jews are called 'subhuman' and are directly threatened with annihilation." Plevris himself went on trial for incitement, but was acquitted, and then he sued the leaders of the Jewish community. Plevris is also the father of Thanassis Plevris, another LAOS member of the parliament.

Samaras legitimized a neo-Nazi and an anti-Semite of the worst kind when he invited Voridis to join his party. Letters of protest by Jewish organizations received a lukewarm response from Samaras. Israel has not publicly protested, probably in an attempt not to “rock the boat" of its newly-found friendship with Greece. Perhaps it has done so through private channels.

The co-option of far right-wingers into a Greek government or its opposition is a dangerous precedent. As Israelis and Jews, we need to protest against any kind of neo-Nazi participation in the governments of friendly nations, just as we did when Kurt Waldheim was elected President of Austria, and when the party of Jörg Haider, the long-time leader of the Austrian Freedom Party, joined the government.

Bearing in mind the storms battering the Greek state and economy, and an underlying current of anti-Semitism that has deep roots in the country, my fear is that a dangerous nationalism is on the rise in Greece. The desire of politicians to appeal to populist conspiracies and racism in the lead up to the general elections in a month’s time and afterward will lead to neo-Nazis holding a balance of power and by then, it will be too late to stop them. The time to stop them is now.

Sabby Mionis was born in Athens and moved to Israel in 2006. Founder of Capital Management Advisors and active in Greek business life, he is a former president of Keren Hayesod (the United Israel Appeal) in Athens and now serves as on the UIA Executive and is co-founder of the Israel Center for Better Childhood.

Εβραϊκές Απόκριες: ΠΟΥΡΙΜ

Israel a haven for Arabs

Op-ed: Under Israel, Arabs enjoy life that many in neighboring countries can only dream of

David Ha'ivri

Published: 02.16.12, 18:30 / Israel Opinion

Anti-Israel propagandists claim that Israel is an apartheid state that discriminates against Palestinians on a racist basis. They repeat this accusation over and over like some kind of mantra, in order to make it stick to the image of Israel, regardless of the truth.

There are a number of questions that should be asked of the PR wizards who invented this line of assault:

1. Are the Palestinians a distinct race? If not, how could they be victims of racism? (The same can be asked about Israelis: are they a race? If not, how can they be perpetrators of racism?)

2. Does Israel have any security threat coming from Arabs both inside and outside the borders of Israel? And if so, does Israel have a right to protect itself?

3. Do people in all countries, communities and neighborhoods around the world enjoy the same standard of living, freedoms and rights?

4. Do Arab residents of Israel really have it that bad?

The “Palestinian Apartheid” issue has been used बीdemagogue Arab leaders (and others) as a distraction from real pressing issues for ages। Citizens of Israel’s neighboring countries have been indoctrinated for decades to believe that the Jewish state is their biggest threat and the core of all of their worries, while in fact they have been abused and oppressed by men like Gaddafi, Assad, Arafat and others. Over the past year, those living under Arab regimes have begun demanding their basic rights and freedoms. Some are realizing that Israel is not the real cause of their hardships.

In Israel (West Bank area included,) Arab residents enjoy the kind of freedom and security that many in neighboring countries can only dream of - but they generally expect Israel to be better than others. The fact that Arabs are being oppressed, beaten and slaughtered by dictators in Arab countries is of no consolation to Israeli Arabs who are delayed at security checkpoints.

But are security checkpoints a sign of racism or a real security need brought about by terrorists who have come from largely Arab population areas and tried to transport bombs and weapons into largely Jewish population areas? There are security checks at all major airports throughout the world. Are they a form of racism, or a similarly necessary response to a known threat?

Apartheid wall?

Israel has constructed a security separation barrier meant to obstruct the transit of terrorists and their weapons. Anti-Israel propagandists call the security barrier an “apartheid wall.” My question is: how could it be defined as an apartheid wall if there are both Jews and Arabs who live on both sides of the wall? My family and I, along with hundreds of thousands of other Israelis, live on the east side of the wall.

Non-Jewish Israelis - members of Christian, Muslim and Druze faiths (all considered Arabs) - serve in Israel's army and parliament. Members of each of these communities have served as judges in Israeli courts, officers in Israel's police force and other respected positions. Those who fulfill their civil obligations are rewarded with all of the same benefits as Jewish Israelis.

Very few Muslim or Arab countries have Jewish residents at all, due to the great expulsion of Jews from Arab lands that paralleled the founding of the State of Israel in 1948. Most, if not all, Arab countries have laws forbidding Jews to own land or have other basic rights. Even those Arabs who have signed treaties with Israel - Egypt, Jordan and the PA - do not provide rights for Jews in their countries (not that this is very surprising in light of the fact that rights even to Arabs in those countries are very limited.)

All this boils down to two core points. First, Arabs under Israel might very well have a better standard of living than what is available in neighboring Arab regimes. Second, Israel is forced to deal with constant security threats. In an ongoing effort to keep the country safe from terror, some inconvenience is caused to the population. Jews and non-Jews alike are checked at entrances to shopping centers, public institutions and even hospitals.

David Ha'ivri is the director of the Shomron Liaison Office. He and his wife Mollie live in Kfar Tapuach, Shomron with their eight children. You can follow him on Twitter @haivri