IDF Takes Control of Israeli Spy Satellite that Watches Iran

 By United with Israel Staff

Three months after Israel successfully launched the Ofek 16 satellite into space, Israel’s Space Administration officially transferred operational control of the cutting-edge spacecraft to the nation’s military.

Ofek 16 helps Israel keep an eye on archenemy Iran, among other regional threats.

Just one week after the spy satellite’s launch, the Ministry of Defense turned on its super-sensitive observation camera and the first pictures were downloaded.

Israel is known as a world leader in advanced optics and the Ofek 16 is equipped with a super high-quality camera developed and manufactured in Israel by Elbit Systems. The in-orbit shakedown testing was finished recently, after which control of the operational satellite was transferred to the IDF’s Intelligence Corps.

“The significant advantage of Ofek is a route that allows greater repetition over Iran … that allows a high-frequency of photography, several times a day, which commercial satellites almost do not allow,” tweeted Dan Harel, an Israeli expert in remote sensing.

Ofek 16 gives the IDF unprecedented access to data about Iran, whose political and military leaders have repeated for years that their goal is the “total annihilation of Israel.”

Not only does the satellite give Israel’s military intelligence agents high resolution photos of Iranian sites including those associated with its illegal military nuclear weapons program, it also provides detailed views of the activities of terror groups supported by Iran around the region in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

On Sunday, officials held a small ceremony handing the “keys” of the satellite to the IDF’s 9900 Intelligence Unit.

IDF Technology Creates ‘Safest Car Seat Ever’

The seat for children is based on the same technology used to keep soldiers in military vehicles safe.

By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel

The Israeli company BabyArk announced Tuesday it has been awarded a €2.5 million grant from the European Union to develop “the safest car seat ever created” for children.

BabyArk knows about safety – the “smart” car seats will be produced based on breakthrough multiple-patented technology developed by Mobius with the goal of reducing the injuries that happen to the 1.3 million children who are involved in motor vehicle crashes each year. Shockingly, the company says car crashes are the leading cause of death and injury among infants where in Europe alone some 700 children are killed yearly on the roads and 80,000 are injured.

“All parents believe their children are their most precious gift but fail to realize that their kids are facing real risk while sitting in a standard car seat,” said Mindel, BabyArk’s CEO, adding that car seat technology hasn’t changed for more than a decade, “resulting in tragic life loss and economic damage.”

The company claims that the BabyArk car seat will increase safety by a factor of four compared to statutory requirements and be twice as safe as the top products currently on the market, while at the same time far superior in terms of usability.

“Our mission is to introduce the most advanced technologies and design to set a new level of safety that will reduce child mortality and injuries significantly,” Mindel said. “Potential users are already showing great interest in BabyArk’s solutions, which aim to revolutionize the traditional safety seat industry.”

Mindel says his company invested heavily in R & D to develop a spring-like energy absorption technology that converts kinetic energy to plastic deformation, meaning dangerous energy is absorbed, thus substantially reducing head trauma and severe infant injuries.

Instead of just strapping it to a seat belt, the BabyArk seat uses a special mechanism to anchor the seat to the vehicle’s frame, based on the same special safety seats developed by Mobius for armored vehicles for the most extreme wartime environments

Hezbollah tunnels reach Israel

The IDF has found another Hezbollah tunnel extending into an

Israeli apple orchard, just 200 meters from Israel's border with

Lebanon. Israeli resident and farmer Levav Weinberg

discusses with host Tracy Alexander.

It’s Time I Break My Silence

Here is a Christian Arab's view of the Israeli army vehemently opposed to the actions of the group Breaking the Silence, who he feels are distorting the truth with suspect testimonies. Read what Yosef Haddad  writes :-

Next week, Harvard University will be hosting the Israeli organization, Breaking the Silence, an organization funded by anti-Israel groups that incites against the State of Israel and defames the IDF. BTS members speak out against the IDF; they “testify” as former soldiers, but they do not tell the entire truth of situations– they distort the truth and they tell partial stories that provide a slanted and partial picture of reality. 

They do this to serve their only purpose: to slander and defame the State of Israel and the IDF. We have so many enemies all around us who want to destroy us and it is the most painful when this defamation comes from within us. BTS will be speaking before the students of Harvard University, one of the most prestigious institutions in the world – a stronghold of future leaders in every field. Many of its students will go in to hold key positions of power and influence. In speaking before the students there, BTS will be shaping the outlook of these future leaders against the State of Israel, against our country. 

I cannot be silent, I must break my silence. I served in the IDF during the Second Intifada. It was a difficult time. I also stood at checkpoints, stood guard, arrested people and fought in the Second Lebanon War. As an Israeli Arab and IDF solider in the Golani Brigade, I served together with other Israelis: Jews of all backgrounds, Druze and Bedouin. We were all equal, we were all brothers fighting side by side and I can testify that I served in the most humane and moral army in the world, with the highest code of ethics and human values. The IDF is an army that faces complex challenges and dilemmas in an explosive region, but it is an army that is level headed and always keeps as its ultimate highest value human life. The IDF is an army that will bend over backwards to save lives and to ensure that innocent individuals are not harmed, even if it means complicating the military operation.

It is possible that there were incidents that did not live up to these standards, but these were the exceptions; they were not the norm and they were not the code by which the IDF is guided. They do not reflect the IDF nor the State of Israel. I am proud to have served under commanders who not only turned me into a better soldier but into a better person. One of the commanders who most impacted me was Israeli Major Roi Klein, who lost his life while trying to save the lives of his soldiers. During the Second Lebanese War, I was badly injured after I was hit by a cornet missile that was fired by Hezbollah. My fellow soldiers saved my life while under attack; they risked their own lives to save mine. After my injury, I received full medical care from the State of Israel until I was completely healed.

I will not let BTS spread untruths and lies against my country. Two days after BTS takes it stand at Harvard University, I will be there to speak to the students with Reservists on Duty. The truth will prevail.

Israel Beach Attacked

Zikim beach on the northern border with Israel was recently closed by security forces and the area was searched.

Following the search, the area returned to routine as IDF forces neutralized the explosive charges left by terrorists

(Does this mean that the terrorists in Gaza are now starting to float explosive devices onto our beaches as well? There was a major gathering in the northern point of the Gaza beach, and it seems like that was used as a diversion or a cover to 'plant' these explosive devices on Zikkm beach.

Have any international media even thought of reporting this.

Journalists Take Note

No, this round of fighting in Gaza did not start with the IDF bombing Hamas targets. Get your headlines correct according to the sequence of events !!!
The sequence of events for journalists:
🔺 Hamas snipers opened fire at #IDF on the border with Gaza, killing a soldier 🔺Israeli forces retaliated against Hamas targets. 🔺Israelis instructed to remain near shelters due to potential attacks. 🔺Gaza terrorists launch rockets

IDF soldiers description of experiences in Gaza

This is a posting from an IDF soldier, Matan Barad, who asks {"Have you ever seen  4,000 people running towards you full of hate and yelling “Allah Akhbar”? 

Gaza - A place with so much meaning.

Words cannot describe the situations my comrades and I have been through.

The first time we got to the border we couldn’t imagine how the next 4 months would be like.

The first thing my officer told us when we started duty is that “the fence is a metaphor … only where the IDF is, is there a border.”

We couldn’t imagine how right he was.

In the past 4 months, my unit took control over the border, it was at this time the most difficult border in Israel.

Israel Independence Day, “Yom Nakba,” prisoner day, USA opening the Embassy in Jerusalem.

You know what was the hardest part of all this?

It’s not the fact we didn’t take off our shoes the past week nor shower. Not the fact we didn’t talk to our friends and family the past week. It’s not the fact we sleep in average 4 hours a night.

Let’s not talk about when was the last time we went home.

It was the fact we did all of this, and at the end of the week, we saw in the media only criticism, on how we kill Innocent Palestinians.

Well, I wanna put things straight. (Since I’m actually here)

Have you ever seen 4,000 people running towards you full of hate and yelling “Allah Akhbar”? Have you ever seen 4,000 people men woman and kids full of hate and anger?

Can a knife kill? A Molotov cocktail? Fire kites? Bomb? AK-47?

Well, that’s a daily threat on the border.

My friends and I felt all the things above.

We SAW 4,000 people run to the fence, WE have been shot at, WE saw a bomb explode that was meant for us, WE saw people run towards us with knives and axes meant to KILL us.

The feeling that goes through your body after all this is indescribable. We have the right to defend our people, family, friends. We know if they pass us they are going for them.

Our last resort is to shoot, we first send papers describing we don’t want this, we send smelly bombs to keep them away. No country in the world does that.

After all this, they keep coming … we shoot.

Every shot you take needs to get approved by 2 different people. Every shot that you take is written down and checked by officials.

The first rule as a sniper is to never close your eyes so you won’t miss a thing.

Sometimes, you see things you will never forget.

All in all, I can assure you at the end of this tour we as a unit don’t regret a shot we took. Every shot we took was to protect the people we love.

=================================================

From an IDF tank soldier at the Gaza border yesterday

Shabbat wasn't great. I spent almost all of it in my tank, sleeping on the border of Gaza. Dinner came at midnight last night and today food never showed up (but we had leftovers). It's been unbearably hot and incredibly boring.

My girlfriend is at her apartment, probably enjoying the beach, my best friend is in Jerusalem having the time of his life, and almost all of my friends were out for the weekend, some marching to share their pride. 

At the same time, many Jews across America are calling me an occupier and a murderer.

Through all of this my officer has been reminding us all how important our jobs are here.

If we weren't here eating shit on Shabbat, there wouldn't be an apartment for my girlfriend to go home to. There wouldn't be a Jerusalem for my friend to enjoy himself in. There wouldn't be a NYC parade to share our pride. There wouldn't be a place for us to call home.

We, the soldiers of Israel, have given up living at home as well as a lot of our freedoms so others can have theirs. We are sleeping in tanks and on the dirt 10 meters from Gaza so no one else has to. We are sitting here in this summer heat so no Jew has to fight for their right to live. We are here so you don't have to be.

To the all the Jews that disagree with the actions of the IDF, you're welcome for keeping you safe on Birthright. You're welcome for protecting your friends on gap years, on summer vacations, on family trips, and every other reason to enjoy this beautiful country we all call home. You're welcome for ensuring we have a home.

I was at the Gaza border, we did all we could to avoid killing

Kinley Tur-Paz May 17, 2018, 

I’m writing this for my good friends, my moral humane friends, and for all those who are concerned and angry over the Palestinians killed and injured on the border with Gaza.

In the biblical Exodus from Egypt, when the Egyptian army drowned in the Red Sea just before overtaking the Israelites, our sages say that God prevented the angels from singing and rejoicing, scolding them with the words “my creations are drowning in the sea and you are singing?!”

I write these words with great caution, and from a sense of mission. I can understand and identify with all of those good and moral Zionists who fear that the many Palestinian victims may be our fault, the result of mistakes made by our side. I’m writing because I am one of the few who was there, in uniform, in the reserves, but I was there. Yes, right there on the fence where the demonstrations are happening. It was last Friday, but I saw it with my own eyes; I was on our side of the fence but I could see and hear and understand everything. I want to testify from my firsthand knowledge, not a theoretical point of view. Because I was there.

I want to testify that what I saw and heard was a tremendous, supreme effort from our side to prevent, in every possible way, Palestinian deaths and injuries.

Of course, the primary mission was to prevent hundreds of thousands of Gazans from infiltrating into our territory. That kind of invasion would be perilous, mortally dangerous, to the nearby communities; would permit terrorists disguised as civilians to enter our kibbutz and moshav communities, and would leave us with no choice but to target every single infiltrator. That’s why our soldiers were directed to prevent infiltration, in a variety of ways, using live ammunition only as a last resort.

The IDF employs many creative means of reducing friction with Gazans and uses numerous methods, most of which are not made public, to prevent them from reaching the fence. In addition, over the past few weeks there have been serious efforts to save the lives of children and civilians who have been pushed to the front lines by the Hamas, who are trying to hide behind them in order to infiltrate and attack Israel.

When there is no alternative, and live ammunition must be used to stop those who storm the fence, the soldiers make heroic and sometimes dangerous efforts not to kill and to only injure those on the other side. The IDF stations senior commanders at every confrontation point to ensure that every shot is approved and backed up by a responsible figure with proper authority. Every staging area has an especially large number of troops in order to make sure that soldiers are not put into life-threatening situations where they will have no choice but to fire indiscriminately.

A situation where thousands of people rush you is frightening, even terrifying. It is extremely difficult to show restraint, and it requires calm, mature professionalism. Sixty-two dead is an enormous number. But I can testify from my first-hand experience, that every bullet and every hit is carefully reported, documented and investigated, in Excel spreadsheets. Literally. I was there and I saw it with my own eyes.

This isn’t the time or place to discuss the situation in general and the desperate plight of the residents of Gaza. I’m not interested in starting a political discussion here, although I do have a clear position. What I’m trying to do is present, for everyone who really wants to listen, the extent of the IDF’s enormous effort to protect Israel’s borders while minimizing injuries and loss of life on the other side.

And despite all this – the situation on the border with Gaza is deteriorating. I hope that we won’t be called up again soon for reserve duty to protect our country. But if we are, we will go with the knowledge that we are serving a morally just cause. We do not rejoice when we must go to war, but we also don’t go like sheep to the slaughter. 

Not anymore.

UN to Blacklist IDF for Child Abuse

Is this a joke or not?  Yes, the earth is flat, right is wrong, left is right. Who is prepared around the world to say "the emperor has no clothes?" It seems only Trump for all his twisting and weaving is calling a spade a bl---dy shovel.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is spearheading a campaign to have Israel included on a UN blacklist of “grave” violators of children’s rights.

NGO Monitor, the watchdog that exposed this scandal, explained that this political agenda is a primary facet of UNICEF’s activities relating to Israel, completely inconsistent with its mandate of “child protection” and its guidelines for neutrality and impartiality.

NGO Monitor said that UNICEF’s partners for this campaign are radical “advocacy” non-governmental organizations (NGOs)., which play an integral role in carrying out UNICEF’s anti-Israel campaign and receive substantial funding from UNICEF to do so.

The UN blacklist consists almost entirely of terror groups and militias from failed states.

“In essence, by pushing for the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) inclusion on the list, UNICEF and its NGO partners are claiming that Israel’s army is equivalent to ISIS [Islamic State], Boko Haram, the Taliban, and Al Qaeda,” 

Several UNICEF partners recommended inclusion of the IDF on the UN blacklist, but absurdly claimed they lacked sufficient evidence to recommend inclusion of the PFLP or the Hamas terror group.

While seeking to besmirch the IDF, UNICEF is simultaneously ignoring real crime committed by the Palestinians.

A key component of the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict campaign is to end the exploitation and use of children as combatants and child soldiers. Although Palestinian armed groups routinely use children in this way, there is little evidence that UNICEF funding is devoted towards exposing or ending this practice.

For more on this nonsense see https://unitedwithisrael.org/un-body-launches-campaign-to-blacklist-idf-for-child-abuse/?

Teenage Provocations

This is what Israeli soldiers have to go through.

Palestinian women caught hitting, pushing and cursing Israeli 

soldiers in order to provoke them to respond on camera. 

The soldiers don't respond.

You will never see this on the news.

IDF Warns World of Iran’s Growing Cyber Threat

As Iran’s technological capabilities improve, the Israeli military is warning of the looming dangers posed by the Islamic Republic’s agents in cyberspace.

The head of Israel’s military command, control, computer, communications and intelligence (C4I) plus cyber division runs one of the most crucial forces in the IDF, one that works 24/7 to defend the country from all attacks through cyberspace.

At the Reuters Cyber Security Summit held in Tel Aviv recently,  the head of the C41 division stated outright that the IDF faces thousands of cyber attacks a day, many of which are orchestrated by Iran, with the help of proxies like the terrorist organization, Hezbollah.

Just five or six years ago, many of the attacks against IDF servers, and Israeli networks in general, were DDOS (denial of service) attacks, where hackers try by sheer quantity of Internet connections to slow or halt operations on systems. Another common tactic was phishing — deceitful attempts to obtain personal information. The threats today are much more sophisticated.

“They are not the state-of-the-art, they are not the strongest superpower in the cyber dimension, but they are getting better and better,” said.the division head

On the other hand, he also said that “Nobody has been able to penetrate our operational systems,” although he did qualify the statement with the words, “as far as we know.”

The C4I division was established in 2015, with the goal of bringing all units dealing with cyber threats under one roof, with a single command structure. It protects systems that control everything, from communications to Iron Dome rockets, all of which communicate with servers that remain hackers’ targets.

This would seem to point to C4I being essentially defensive in nature, it was made clear that responsibilities did not include offensive cyber tactics. However, it is commonly accepted that Israel, working secretly with the United States, developed the Stuxnet virus in 2010 that targeted machines controlling centrifuges in Iran that were being used to enrich uranium for Iran’s nuclear program.

Lies about the IDF must be challenged

Lies about the IDF: IDF veteran Leibel A. Mangel mythbusts

 a Palestinian video purporting to show IDF soldiers 

from his company "killing children in Gaza." 

In fact, no one died and the video was not even from Gaza.

Remembrance Day in Israel

Dear widows and orphans. Remembrance day is here again. This year, just as every year, many citizens will attend heart-rending ceremonies at the country’s cemeteries to honor their loved ones who departed too soon while defending the Zionist dream, the Jewish state.

The citizens of Israel unite on this day behind the screen of sadness, while in the background are the many stories, perhaps too many, of the fallen heroes who gave their lives for their homeland and endangered themselves for all our sakes.

This is a day that brings together all citizens and especially the families of the fallen. They don’t have a real need for such a day because they live the loss every day, every hour, at every important crossroads in their lives; when their children begin their military service, get married, and raise a family; when they are successful, progress in a career, or are sad and in need of support. The void becomes greater and takes on a relentless aspect. Yet nevertheless, Remembrance Day is important. These families receive a warm hug from all the other citizens and from the state.

They should feel that tthey are not alone in their pain. On this day we very clearly transmit our heritage to future generations in the kindergartens, in schools and everywhere else when everyone stands at attention during the memorial siren; in conversations about the fallen soldiers; in the songs about those who are no longer with us, and more.

For the families of the fallen, there are many days of mourning during the year. Even when there is happiness, the emptiness in their lives remains. This elephant is always in the room, and the deep pit that opened up in a moment will never be filled again. We all know that thanks to those loved ones this country exists, and thanks to them most of us can sleep well and without fear. We all know that they sacrificed themselves exactly for these goals, in order to ensure our future in our small land, here in the stormy and turbulent Middle East.

During the past year we gladly did not know war, but we still hear almost every day about the terrorism that strikes everywhere, in Israel and abroad. Soldiers and policemen are still a target, and grief and death still impact us. We hear about how terrorism has spread to many places, even in countries that in the past did not experience such horrifying events in which human beings just murder other human beings, without any logical reason. We unfortunately have already been living with that fear for more than 100 years.

What are we asking for after all? We want to live quietly, to allow our children to live in the Promised Land and raise new generations who will continue in our path. We desire to live in a place in which fear is not connected to wars, death and bloodshed.

We ask to live in peace with our neighbors, and not less importantly – with ourselves. For better or for worse, this is our country. We don’t have another one. That was also the thought of the loved ones, who lost their lives to preserve the little that we have, to protect ourselves and our independence.

May we never know bloody wars anymore, may we live peaceful lives, and may the family of bereavement no longer continue to grow.

We will remember our dear ones. We will remember and will not forget.

Now I have Broken my Silence

The devious activities of the organisation "Breaking the Silence" (BTS) has finally resulted in a backlash. BTS operates with finance from foreign governments trying to undermine the sovereignty of a democratic state.

It has never come out with claims that can be proven. Their claims are always anonymous and and based on hearsay not fact. 

Now the #MyTruth’ Movement Grows Among IDF  and is coming out with facts and sources to counter ther BTS claims.

Following is one letter from an IDF serving soldier.

@yitz_lauterbach

I am writing this in English because I want everyone to understand, not just the Israelis.

Dear Breaking the Silence, I too served as an infantryman in the West Bank, Lebanon, and the disengagement from Gaza. I too served in a unit that was probably the most left-leaning company in the army at the time until I finished my operational training. I have continued to serve Israel in various capacities, abroad and here in Israel, since my discharge in 2007.

I have read your various posts and “testimonies”.  Why did you wait years to tell stories to audiences abroad? Stories that include a lot of hearsay, jumping to conclusions, a lack of knowledge about the incidents in question. The stories you tell seem to have little basis in the reality that I remember.

I remember being told in every briefing that all civilians were to be treated with respect, that in case of a firefight we were to avoid returning fire if there were civvies in the area.

I remember going into Lebanon and running out of food and being told that we were not allowed to touch the food stores in the houses we were in, that rule only being broken after realizing that we physically wouldn't make it back to Israel on foot on a starvation diet (I lost between 10-15 lbs/ 4-8 kg that week).

I remember officers telling soldiers not to sleep on the beds and mattresses or damage anything unnecessarily, this in houses with tank shell holes in them.

I remember the civilians that we would give food to in Hebron until we realized that they were carrying out recon on us and that their brothers would throw rocks at us after they would leave.

Why do you protest against soldiers (your own brothers-in-arms) who carry out missions in extremely complex areas of operations which are 100 percent legal according to international law? 

There is nothing “Nazi-like” about conducting routine checks at checkpoints for explosives and/or weapons, nor is there anything wrong about setting up mobile checkposts in known “hot areas”. There is certainly nothing wrong about arresting members of terror cells in the middle of the night. These are all things that are/ would be done by any sensible military force that would find itself in the same situation.

You are not an organization that wants the IDF to be an ethical force. If you were, you would work with the chain of command in order to find those who do not act according to the ethics and commands of the IDF and punish them, all without garnering media attention and demonizing the entire army. 

You are an organization whose sole purpose is the demonization of Israel in the US and Europe. I can have respect for those who disagree with me but not for those who undermine democracy by running to other countries and telling exaggerated stories about us in order to feed their conscience for something they may have done or witnessed when they were young and no moral backbone.

Now I too have Broken my Silence.