‚Francop‘ second German ship caught with Hizbullah-bound weapons

JPost, BENJAMIN WEINTHAL — The Francop, the German-owned vessel seized early Wednesday by the Israel Navy that was carrying weapons destined for Syria and Hizbullah, is the second German-owned ship found carrying Hizbullah-bound arms in the past month.

Asked about the Iranian rockets found on the Francop, a representative from shipping company Gerd Bartels told The Jerusalem Post, „I am sorry but I cannot give an answer.“ Gerd Bartels is based in Neu Wulmstorf, near Hamburg. The ship had been leased by a Cypriot company and was flying an Antiguan flag.

In early October, the Hansa India, owned by the Hamburg-based Leonhardt and Blumberg company, was seized by the US Navy in Suez Bay.

Zu wem stehen die Götter?

„The Jury on German Chancellor Merkel’s New Government is Still Out“

The Jewisch Week, by Benjamin Weinthal — After the  re-election  of  German Chancellor Angela Merkel in late September, Robert B. Goldmann argued on this page that  Chancellor Merkel is „good for the Jews“ and she stands unwaveringly „on Israel’s side.“ 

Goldmann is right to praise  Merkel’s condemnation of the Vatican for readmitting the Shoah- denying Bishop Robert Williamsom into the Catholic Church as well as her genuine commitment to Holocaust education.

Gleis 17 des Bahnhofs Grünewald!

Frau Katajun Amirpur besuchen Sie mal das Gleis 17 des Bahnhofs Grünewald. Vielleicht kämen Sie auf die Idee einen authentischen Bericht für die Mullahs zu schreiben und vieles nicht mehr ignorieren…

Analysis: Why German media ignore Ashkenazi

JPost, by BENJAMIN WEINTHAL — German media’s ignoring of IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi’s visit to Germany is a sign of the internal contradictions of the so-called German-Israeli „special relationship.“

Dr. Alexander Brenner, a former head of the 12,000-member Berlin Jewish community and an ex-diplomat in Israel and the former Soviet Union, expressed disbelief on Tuesday about the feeble German coverage of Ashkenazi.

„Extremely strange“ is how Brenner termed the paltry coverage.

That there was scant coverage in the German press on Tuesday after Ashkenazi’s robust speech the previous day defending the IDF at the Holocaust memorial located on platform 17 of the Grünewald train station suggests a lack of reception for his core message: „The IDF, the protector of the Jewish nation, is not a warmongering military, but a defensive military,“ he said.

While Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly stressed that Iran’s calls to obliterate Israel are a dire threat to the existence of the Jewish state, many German media outlets write that Iran’s statements are empty political rhetoric or the result of faulty translation.

A Forsa Institute poll earlier this year showed that during the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, roughly 75 percent of Germans considered Israel to be an „aggressive state.“

More here…

Die Geschäfte laufen weiter…

und Berlin schickt ein „Zwischenbericht“ nach New York:

„it would not make sense in terms of the world community to ban“ trade with Iran.“!

J’lem: Send Iranian smuggling case to UN

JP. by Benjamin Weinthal — BERLIN – After US Marines seized seven shipping containers filled with 7.62-mm. bullets on an Iranian-chartered German ship earlier this month, allegedly bound for either the Syrian army or Hizbullah, Israeli officials have asked the German government to submit the case to the UN for a review of sanctions violations, according to German media reports.

A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed to The Jerusalem Post by e-mail that „Germany notified the sanctions committee of the United Nations promptly and confidentially“ regarding the seizure of the ammunition.

The „decisive lead [on the shipment] came from Israeli intelligence agencies.“

The cartridges can be used for Kalashnikov rifles, the Der Spiegel newsweekly reported.

More here…

Siemens sieht sich in USA benachteiligt

Siemens hat in Los Angeles einen Großauftrag für Hochgeschwindigkeitsbahnen nicht bekommen – aus politischen Gründen?

Der Tagesspiegel, von Benjamin Weinthal — Geschäftsbeziehungen des deutschen Siemens-Konzerns im Iran scheinen der Firma bei Großaufträgen in den USA zu schaden. Ende September vergab die Verkehrsbehörde der Stadt Los Angeles (LA MTA) einen 300-Millionen-Dollar-Auftrag für den Bau von 100 Hightech-Zügen an die italienische Firma Ansaldo-Breda (AB). Siemens gilt als stärkster Konkurrent von Ansaldo-Breda. Nach Auskunft des Bürgermeisters von Los Angeles spielte die Verbindung von Siemens zum Iran eine Rolle bei der Entscheidung gegen das Unternehmen. Im Rahmen einer bevorstehenden Auftragsverlängerung zwischen LA MTA und Ansaldo-Breda hatte LA MTA überlegt, den Auftrag neu auszuschreiben, weil die Züge verspätet geliefert worden waren. mehr hier….

FDP, Menschenrechte & eine Warnung!

Wo im Iran die Homosexuellen im Namen der Scharia (des islamischen Gesetzes) hingerichtet werden, ist Israel – als einziger demokratischer Staat im Nahen Osten – ein gelobtes Zufluchtsland für diese Gruppe…

Deshalb soll der FDP bewusst sein, worauf sie sich – bei ihrem traditionsbedingten „kritischen Dialog“ und „Business as Usual“ – mit den Mullahs einlässt. Denn Mullahs sind nicht nur eine (Nuklear-) politische Gefahr für den Nahen Osten, sondern auch für die Würde der Menschen, insbesondere der Homosexuellen, Andersdenkenden und -gläubige…

Ein Bericht nach den Wahlen in Deutschland von  BENJAMIN WEINTHAL AND HERB KEINON in JPost, 28.09.09… „Israel welcomes Merkel’s win in vote“…

Israel on Monday night warmly welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s reelection victory on Sunday, even as some officials expressed reservations regarding Guido Westerwelle, the man expected to be her next foreign minister. „Israel congratulates Angela Merkel on her victory in the general elections,“ Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday night in a statement.

Ein Buch der Analyse und Prophezeiung: „Under a Mushroom Cloud: Europe, Iran and the Bomb“ von Emanuele Ottolenghi

Barbara Kelley / WSJ

WSJ, By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL — The dearth of academics, journalists and policy makers focusing on the dangers of European-Iranian economic relations puts Emanuele Ottolenghi in a lonely place—but all the more significant for that.

In „Under a Mushroom Cloud: Europe, Iran and the Bomb,“ Mr. Ottolenghi not only lays out the scope of Iran’s military aims, but reveals Tehran’s codependence with European industry and provides concrete prescriptions for how continental leaders can stop Iran from developing a nuclear bomb.

To appreciate the depth of Mr. Ottolenghi’s analysis, consider that he wrote his book before the June 12 Iranian election and the turbulence that followed.

He correctly identifies Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the „last word“ in Iran, and captures what should now be common knowledge: that „a country that treats its citizens brutally and threatens its neighbors cannot be trusted with nuclear weapons.“

But even in the wake of Mr. Khamenei’s bloody crackdown, European trade with Iran is a topic one dares not broach in Rome or Berlin when discussing how to bring Iran to its knees.