French Police Raid Toulouse Terrorist Suspect's Home

By Susan Duclos

[Update] Suspect dies after police burst into his apartment and he jumps out the window after a 31 hour plus standoff, via CNN. [End Update]

On March 19, 2012, Findalis from Monkey in the Middle posted a piece here describing a massacre which Rabbi Sandler of Kiryat Yovel in Jerusalem and his sons Aryeh, 6, and Gavriel, 3.5, were murdered in Toulouse Monday morning, as was 8 year-old Miriam Monsonegro, daughter of the director of Ozar HaTorah Toulouse, Yaacov Monsonego. Two other children were fighting for their life at the time of that report.

Three French soldiers have also been murdered over the course of the last 10 days, allegedly by the same suspect or group.

The French media has identified the shooter as Mohammed Merah, a French national of Algerian descent. Merah has traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan and called himself a mujahedeen, or freedom fighter, and had been under surveillance by the French domestic intelligence service for several years, according to The New York Times.

Early Wednesday morning police surrounded the suspects residence where he barricaded himself in the building leading to a standoff with negotiators attempting to talk him into surrendering.

BBC reports that several of Merah's relatives have been detained and his brother has been arrested in another part of Toulouse.

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant, who was at the scene, told media that Merah has a Kalashnikov, a mini-Uzi 9mm machine pistol and several handguns.

Just hours before French police raided a suspect's house in Toulouse on Wednesday, FRANCE 24's Ebba Kalondo spoke to a man claiming to be the gunman. (Video below H/T The Jawa Report)



BBC also reports the motive behind the murders:

According to the French authorities, he said he had sought to avenge Palestinian children and to attack the French army because of its foreign interventions.

He had described himself as an Islamist warrior and member of the al-Qaeda network.

French news channel BFM TV said he was linked to Forsane Alizza (Knights of Pride), an Islamist group banned last month in France.

Merah claims the murders were filed and "would be posted online shortly."

According to the video above, Merah has warned of further terrorist attacks to come.

The funerals of the three French children and a teacher who were shot outside a Jewish school have taken place in Jerusalem.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will later attend a memorial service for the three soldiers killed in the two attacks last week.

Story developing...

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Video- New ad: Whose back does Obama have?

By Susan Duclos

Today the Emergency Committee for Israel released a 60-second ad highlighting a disturbing election-year pattern of behavior by Obama. First in 2008, and again this week, he has appeared before crowds of pro-Israel Americans to make promises about his commitment to Israel's security. Each time, he has voided those promises at the first opportunity.

Video below:



he Emergency Committee for Israel is committed to mounting an active defense of the US-Israel relationship by educating the public about the positions of political candidates on this important issue, and by keeping the public informed of the latest developments in both countries.

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Transcript And Video- PM Netanyahu's Speech at AIPAC Policy Conference 2012

By Susan Duclos

The Israel Prime Minister's office website provides the transcript of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to AIPAC in Washington (As prepared for delivery). Below that is the video of Netanyahu’s speech.

Transcript below:

Thank you. Todah rabah.

Thank you very much.

Sara and I want to thank you for that wonderful reception. This applause that could be heard as far away as Jerusalem . Jerusalem – the eternal and united capital of Israel.

Thank you Howard, Rosy, Michael, and thank you all the leadership of AIPAC. Thank you for everything that you do.

I know that more than a half of the members of Congress are in attendance here tonight. I deeply appreciate your being here.

Michael, you said that when I spoke last May, in Congress, you – the members of congress – stood up to applaud the State of Israel.

Now I ask for another applause. Now I ask the 13,000 supporters of Israel who are here tonight to stand up and applaud you for standing up for Israel. Democrats and Republicans alike, I salute your unwavering support to the Jewish state

I want to send a special message to a great friend of Israel who is not here tonight: Senator Mark Kirk, the co-author of the Kirk-Menendez Iran Sanctions Act.

Senator Kirk, I know you're watching this tonight. Please get well soon. America needs you; Israel needs you.

I send you wishes for a speedy recovery. So get well and get back to work.

I also want to recognize Yossi Peled, who is here tonight. Yossi, would you please stand up.

Yossi was born in Belgium. His parents hid him with a Christian family during the Holocaust, World War II. His father and many other members of his family were murdered at Auschwitz.

His mother survived the Holocaust, returned to reclaim Yossi, and brought him to Israel. He became one of Israel's bravest and greatest generals. And today, he serves as a minister in my cabinet.

Yossi's life is the story of the Jewish people – the story of a powerless and stateless people who became a strong and proud nation, able to defend itself.

And ladies and gentlemen, Israel must always reserve the right to defend itself.

I want to recognize Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Michael, you're doing an outstanding job. Thank you for all you do for our country. And thank you for everything you are doing for the friendship between Israel and the United States.

I also want to recognize Ambassador Dan Shapiro, the United States' Ambassador to Israel. President Obama is right, your Hebrew is improving, though it is not on par with Michael Oren's. Dan, we appreciate your efforts to strengthen the alliance between America and Israel.

Are there any students here tonight?

Is there anyone here from Florida?

from New York?

from Wisconsin? -- that's important. I'll tell you about it later

from California?

You're the future, and thank you all for ensuring the future of the great alliance between Israel and the United States.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight, I'd like to talk to you about a subject that no one has been talking about recently…: Iran.

Every day, I open the newspapers and read about these redlines and these timelines. I read about what Israel has supposedly decided to do, or what Israel might do.

Well, I’m not going to talk to you about what Israel will do or will not do, I never talk about that. But I do want to talk to you about the dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran. I want to explain why Iran must never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

President Obama has reiterated his commitment to prevent that from happening. He stated clearly that all options are on the table, and that American policy is not containment.

Well, Israel has exactly the same policy -- We are determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons; we leave all options on the table; and containment is definitely not an option.

The Jewish state will not allow those who seek our destruction to possess the means to achieve that goal.

A nuclear armed Iran must be stopped.

Amazingly, some people refuse to acknowledge that Iran’s goal is to develop nuclear weapons. You see, Iran claims to do everything it's doing, that it’s enriching uranium to develop medical isotopes.

Yeah, that's right.

A country that builds underground nuclear facilities, develops intercontinental ballistic missiles, manufactures thousands of centrifuges, and that absorbs crippling sanctions, is doing all that in order to advance…medical research.

So you see, when that Iranian ICBM is flying through the air to a location near you, you’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s only carrying medical isotopes.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then what is it?

That’s right, it's a duck. But this duck is a nuclear duck. And it’s time the world started calling a duck a duck.

Fortunately, President Obama and most world leaders understand that the claim that Iran's goal is not to develop nuclear weapons is simply ridiculous.

Yet incredibly, some are prepared to accept an idea only slightly less preposterous: that we should accept a world in which the Ayatollahs have atomic bombs.

Sure, they say, Iran is cruel, but it's not crazy. It’s detestable but it’s deterrable.

My friends,

Responsible leaders should not bet the security of their countries on the belief that the world’s most dangerous regimes won’t use the world’s most dangerous weapons.

And I promise you that as Prime Minister, I will never gamble with the security of the State of Israel.

From the beginning, the Ayatollah regime has broken every international rule and flouted every norm. It has seized embassies, targeted diplomats. It sends its own children through mine fields; it hangs gays and stones women; it supports Assad's brutal slaughter of the Syrian people; it is the world's foremost sponsor of terrorism: it sponsors Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and terrorists throughout the Middle East, Africa, even South America.

Iran's proxies have dispatched hundreds of suicide bombers, planted thousands of roadside bombs, and they fired over twenty thousand missiles at civilians.

Through terror from the skies and terror on the ground, Iran is responsible for the murder of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans.

In 1983, Iran's proxy Hezbollah blew up the Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 240 US Marines. In the last decade, it's been responsible for murdering and maiming American soldiers in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Just a few months ago, it tried to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States in a restaurant just a few blocks from here. The assassins didn’t care that several Senators and Congressmen would have been murdered in the process.

Now this is real chutzpa: Iran accuses the American government of orchestrating 9/11, and that's as brazen as denying the Holocaust, and they do…

Iran calls for Israel's destruction, and they work for its destruction – each day, every day, relentlessly.

I say all his to make one point clear -- This is how Iran behaves today, without nuclear weapons. Think of how they will behave tomorrow, with nuclear weapons. Iran will be even more reckless and a lot more dangerous.

There's been plenty of talk recently about the costs of stopping Iran. I think it's time we started talking about the costs of not stopping Iran.

A nuclear-armed Iran would dramatically increase terrorism by giving terrorists a nuclear umbrella. Let me try to explain what that means, a nuclear umbrella.

It means that Iran's terror proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas will be emboldened to attack the United States, Israel, and other countries because they will be backed by a power that has atomic bombs. So the terrorism could grow tenfold.

A nuclear-armed Iran could choke off the world’s oil supply and could make real its threat to close the Straits of Hormouz.

If you're worried about the price of oil today, imagine how high oil prices could get once a nuclear-armed Iran starts blackmailing the world.

If Iran gets nuclear weapons, it would set off a mad dash by Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and others to acquire nuclear weapons of their own. The world's most volatile region would become a nuclear tinderbox waiting to go off. And here's the worst nightmare of all, with nuclear weapons, Iran could threaten all of us with nuclear terrorism.

It could put a nuclear device in a ship heading to any port or in a truck parked in any city, anywhere in the world.

I want you to think about what it would mean to have nuclear weapons in the hands of those who lead millions of radicals who chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

When you think about that m you'll reach a simple conclusion: for the sake of our prosperity, for the sake of our security, for the sake of our children, Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons!

Of course, the best outcome would be if Iran decided to abandon its nuclear weapons program peacefully. No one would be happier than me and the people of Israel if Iran dismantled its program.

But so far, that hasn't happened. For fifteen years, I've been warning that a nuclear-armed Iran is a grave danger to my country and to the peace and security of the entire world.

For the last decade, the international community has tried diplomacy. It hasn't worked.

For six years, the international community has applied sanctions. That hasn't worked either.

I appreciate President Obama's recent efforts to impose even tougher sanctions against Iran. These sanctions are hurting Iran's economy, but unfortunately, Iran's nuclear program continues to march forward.

Israel has waited patiently for the international community to resolve this issue. We've waited for diplomacy to work. We've waited for sanctions to work. None of us can afford to wait much longer.

As Prime Minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the shadow of annihilation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Some commentators would have you believe that stopping Iran from getting the bomb is more dangerous than letting Iran have the bomb. They say that a military confrontation with Iran would undermine the efforts already underway; that it would be ineffective; and that it would provoke an even more vindictive response by Iran.

I’ve heard these arguments before. In fact, I've read them before -- In my desk, I have copies of an exchange of letters between the World Jewish Congress and the United States War Department.

Here are the letters:

The year was 1944. The World Jewish Congress implored the American government to bomb Auschwitz. The reply came five days later. I want to read it to you.

"Such an operation could be executed only by diverting considerable air support essential to the success of our forces elsewhere…

and in any case, it would be of such doubtful efficacy that it would not warrant the use of our resources…"

And, my friends, here’s the most remarkable sentence of all, and I quote:

"Such an effort might provoke even more vindictive action by the Germans."

Think about that – "even more vindictive action" -- than the Holocaust.

My Friends,

2012 is not 1944. The American government today is different. You heard it in President Obama's speech yesterday.

But here's my point:

The Jewish people are also different. Today we have a state of our own. And the purpose of the Jewish state is to defend Jewish lives and to secure the Jewish future.

Never again will we not be masters of the fate of our very survival. Never again.

That is why Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, by itself, against any threat.

My Friends,

We deeply appreciate the great alliance between our two countries. But when it comes to Israel's survival, we must always remain the masters of our fate.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Israel's fate is to continue to be the forward position of freedom in the Middle East. The only place in the Middle East where minorities enjoy full civil rights; the only place in the Middle East where Arabs enjoy full civil rights; the only place in the Middle East where Christians are free to practice their faith; the only place in the Middle East where real judges protect the rule of law.

And as Prime Minister of Israel, I will always protect Israel's democracy – always. I will never allow anything to threaten Israel's democratic way of life. and most especially, I will never tolerate any discrimination against women.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This week, we will read how one woman changed Jewish history.

In Synagogues throughout the world, the Jewish people will celebrate the festival of Purim. We will read how some 2,500 years ago, a Persian anti-Semite tried to annihilate the Jewish people.

And we will read how that plot was foiled by one courageous woman – Esther.

In every generation, there are those who wish to destroy the Jewish people.

In this generation, we are blessed to live in an age when there is a Jewish state capable of defending the Jewish people.

And we are doubly blessed to have so many friends like you, Jews and non-Jews alike, who love the State of Israel and support its right to defend itself.

So as I leave you tonight I thank you for your friendship. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for standing up for the one and only Jewish state.

Thank you all and happy Purim.

Video below:





Related:

Israel’s Channel 2: U.S. Officials Believe Netanyahu Has Already Decided to Strike Iran

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The Idiocy Of Tom Friedman And His Anti-Semitic Cheerleaders

By Susan Duclos

Right up front, I am an American and I am Jewish, albeit a non-practicing Jew. I support Israel, our ally.

With that said, I do not claim to speak for all Americans nor all American Jews. I leave it to polling organizations to take the temperature of the public and give us snap shots of public opinion on topics of interest.

Anti-Semitism- The belief or behavior hostile toward Jews just because they are Jewish. It may take the form of religious teachings that proclaim the inferiority of Jews, for instance, or political efforts to isolate, oppress, or otherwise injure them. It may also include prejudiced or stereotyped views about Jews.

Browsing political news as I do every morning to see what catches my interest, my eye caught a Washington Post headline by Jennifer Rubin, which stated "Tom Friedman, hitting rock bottom."

I knew I shouldn't have clicked because in my opinion all Friedman's pieces are rock bottom, but my fingers have a mind of their own sometimes, so click I did.

Today’s Tom Friedman’s column has set off a firestorm. Now, he says and writes many wrong-headed things, about China and other dictatorial regimes, primarily. But today he hits rock bottom:

I sure hope that Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, understands that the standing ovation he got in Congress this year was not for his politics. That ovation was bought and paid for by the Israel lobby. The real test is what would happen if Bibi tried to speak at, let’s say, the University of Wisconsin. My guess is that many students would boycott him and many Jewish students would stay away, not because they are hostile but because they are confused.

You see, in Friedman’s eyes, the entire U.S. Congress is bought and paid for by a cabal of Jews.

Yep, I knew I shouldn't have clicked the damn link.

Rubin goes on to quote aides and advisers of both Republican and Democratic members of Congress, who were not happy with Friedman's accusations.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats alike were fuming. A senior GOP adviser e-mailed me: “Bibi’s standing ovation in Congress was bought and paid for by the American taxpayers who overwhelmingly support Israel. They vote, they pay our salaries and they stand with Israel. Statements to the contrary can be chalked up to frustrated leftists who can’t understand why they stand alone.”

A Senate aide on the other side of the aisle put it this way: “Today, Tom Friedman did a cheap imitation of [Steven] Walt and [John] Mearsheimer as he charged that the ‘Israel lobby’ bought a congressional ovation for Bibi. If Friedman did actual reporting rather than opining from his anti-Israel perch at the Times, he would have learned that, in an otherwise polarized Congress, there is genuine, bipartisan support for Israel that reflects America’s heartland.”

Back to Memeorandum I went to see the discussions surround the Rubin piece and sure enough the predictable anti-Semitic liberal cheerleaders are out there waving their pom poms.

Before getting into the others that have torn Friedman a new one over his anti-Semitic rhetoric, let me say Tom Friedman has the right to his opinions and enjoys the First Amendment and the right of free speech. He can say anything he wants. His anti-Semitic cheerleaders can also say anything they want because they enjoy the same right of free speech.

So do the rest of us.

Those anti-Semitic liberal cheerleaders don't appreciate being called anti-Semites, in fact, they take offense at the term.

Too bad.

Supporters of Israel don't appreciate their anti-Semitic rhetoric either but we have to see the drivel liberals spew about Israel constantly anyway, so they will just have to deal with being called whatever we call them just as we have to deal with their ignorant rants against Israel.

Elliot Abrams refers to a February 2011 Gallup finding which shows that "about two-thirds of Americans have a favorable opinion of Israel (68%).

More from Gallup:

Republicans continue to be Israel's strongest U.S. supporters: 80% sympathize more with the Israelis in the conflict, substantially higher than the 57% of independents and Democrats sharing this view. A similar pattern is seen by political ideology, ranging from 74% among conservatives to 49% among liberals -- with liberals the least supportive of Israel of any group Gallup measured.

Over the past decade, Republicans have consistently shown greater support than Democrats for Israel; however, the partisan gap has widened, with Republicans becoming even more supportive between 2001 and 2003 and since 2009. Independents' support for Israel also increased to around 60% in recent years, up from 42% in 2001. At the same time, Democrats' support for Israel has been fairly flat.

On to another boneheaded statement by Friedman, one of which is addressed by Jonathan Neumann over at American Thinker:

"America's role," Friedman laments, "is to just applaud whatever Israel does, serve as its ATM and shut up." Since Friedman is unfamiliar with nuance, perhaps we might fill in the gaps: there is a difference between applauding "whatever" an ally does and taking into account, as Romney put it (in an interview Friedman himself quotes), "what our allies think is best." This is, of course, in contrast to the prevailing policy of mistreating our allies and, at best, remaining silent about our adversaries. Judging by his column -- which complains of Israel's American friends but says nothing of how the friends of the Palestinian Arabs are "loving them to death" -- Friedman endorses this current posture.

Meanwhile, the childish notion that Israel views America as its ATM ignores two critical realities: first, the purpose of aid to Israel -- much of which takes the form of loan guarantees -- is variegated, and includes paying off war debts, buying American military wares, bolstering missile defense, funding Israel's unparalleled intelligence contributions to the US, paying for its security expertise, and supporting what is for the US effectively a permanent aircraft carrier without a single American soldier, as well as a significant economic partner. Second, it dismisses Israel's real view of America: as an indispensable friend, without whose support, incidentally, it could not make any territorial or strategic concessions.

More on Israel's contributions to America comes from the LA Times back in October 2011:

Today, Israeli contributions to U.S. national interests cover a broad spectrum. Through joint training, exercises and exchanges on military doctrine, the United States has benefited in the areas of counter-terrorism, intelligence and experience in urban warfare. Increasingly, U.S. homeland security and military agencies are turning to Israeli technology to solve some of their most vexing technical and strategic problems.

This support includes advice and expertise on behavioral screening techniques for airport security and acquisition of an Israeli-produced tactical radar system to enhance force protection. Israel has been a world leader in the development of unmanned aerial systems, both for intelligence collection and combat, and it has shared with the U.S. military the technology, the doctrine and its experience regarding these systems. Israel is also a global pacesetter in armored vehicle protection, defense against short-range rockets, and the techniques and procedures of robotics, all of which it has shared with the United States.

In missile defense, the United States has a broad and multifaceted partnership with Israel. Israel's national missile defenses — which include the U.S. deployment in Israel of an advanced X-band radar system and the more than 100 American military personnel who man it — will be an integral part of a larger missile defense spanning Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf to help protect U.S. forces and allies.

Israeli-developed defense equipment, some of which benefited from generous U.S. aid, now used by the U.S. military include short-range unmanned aircraft systems that have seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan; targeting pods on hundreds of Air Force, Navy and Marine strike aircraft; a revolutionary helmet-mounted sight that is standard in nearly all frontline Air Force and Navy fighter aircraft; lifesaving armor installed in thousands of MRAP armored vehicles used in Iraq and Afghanistan; and a gun system for close-in defense of naval vessels against terrorist dinghies and small-boat swarms. Moreover, U.S. and Israeli companies are working together to produce Israel's Iron Dome — the world's first combat-proven counter-rocket system.

Little known and rarely acknowledged by anti-Semites like Friedman and his cheerleaders, is that Israel is highly respected as as innovator in medicine, which not only benefits America but benefits people across the world.

Examples of Medical Devices and Equipment Pioneered in Israel:

Aesthetic Medicine	* ESC Medical Systems Ltd. – electro-optic medical devices applying proprietary pulsed light technology, for non-invasive treatment of skin cancer, benign lesions, as well as for treatment of varicose veins, skin rejuvenation and hair removal. * SOL-GEL Technologies Ltd. – glass microcapsules containing UV absorbers increase sunblocking by allowing admixture of otherwise incompatible ingredients to maximize photostability and efficacy, and form a layer on but without chemicals contacting the skin.
Autoclaves	* Tuttnauer Co. Ltd. in Jerusalem – is a world leader in steam and gas autoclaves of all sizes for sterilizing medical instruments for clinics, hospitals and laboratories.
Cardiology	Cardiac stents are implanted in blood vessels during angioplasty to keep occluded vessels from re-closing: * InStent with American partner, Medtronic/beStent line and the crimper. * Medinol with American partner, Boston Scientific/Nir cardiac stent line market leader. * Angiosonics Inc. – a catheter-delivered ultrasound for thrombolysis, a non-invasive therapeutic ultrasound in the heart; early studies have shown that it could break up clots in peripheral vessels. * Laser Industries – a Sharplan holmium/yag laser for unblocking multiply-occluded coronary vessels.
Dental Medicine	* Perio – biodegradable chip with slow release chlorhexidine to treat gum disease – from the Hadassah Faculty of Dental Medicine, sold to Israel Chemicals. * CAPTEK – gold, platinum, palladium metal composite for aesthetic, high strength dental crowns and bridges that reduce plaque by 10% on natural teeth.
Diagnostics Cardiology	* BioSense Ltd., CARTA & NOGA systems – hardware-software non-fluoroscopic intrabody navigation and 3-D mapping system, hailed as the missing, real-time link between diagnostics and therapeutics.
Diagnostics Genetics	* ASI – APPLIED SPECTRAL IMAGING – Cytogenetics and pathology have been revolutionized by SKYTM (Spectral karyotyping), SkyVision, and the SpectraCube™ to sort chromosomes, cells or tissues in colors reflecting genetic abnormalities.
Diagnostics Mammo- graphy	* Trans-Scan – T-Scan devices which significantly improve mammography diagnostic accuracy with no additional radiation. * SophisView Technology Ltd. (SVT) – MACOM 4000 and MAPP 4000 digitized mammography which enhance sub-millimeter details.
Diagnostics Neurology	* Medis-El – Nuritor, an advanced, compact and portable analog/digital EEG * Mindsense Ltd – kits for detecting mental illnesses. * Imexco General Ltd. – Neuritor, a computerized neurological brain-monitor for the acquisition & analyses of multichannel EEG/ECG signals in real time. * Riemed Ltd. – Intra-View, a new generation of transcranial Doppler including intracranial, extracranial, peripheral vascular and intraoperative simultaneous investigation of two cerebral sites.
Diagnostics Ophthal- mology	* MedEye Medical Imaging Ltd. – AngioVision for retinal diagnosis, digital angiographic acquisition and viewing systems. * Talia Technology – Retina Thickness Analyzer (RTA), a combined electro-optical laser and conventional optical instrument for the non-invasive measurement of ocular pathologies. It’s Laser Slit has been marketed since 1996. * Shapiro Instruments (Israel), Subsidiary of Shapiro-Evans Perceptions Ltd. (UK) – Innovative optometric examinations using simple technology, but sophisticated philosophy.
Diagnostics Respiration	* Delve Medical Ltd. – an electronic stethoscope with phonocardiograph instrumentation to receive and digitally process body sounds, filter out interfering noises, and graphically present the sounds on a display screen.
Diagnostics Sleep Distur- bances	* Diagnostic Sleep Laboratory Ltd. – diagnostic equipment for sleep recordings (respiration, ECG, movements).
Emergency Medicine	* First Care (Jerusalem) – bandage that enables self-application to wounds; can also block arterial flow and increase distal hemostatic pressure. * Mennen Medical Ltd. – “Cathlab” patient monitoring equipment for critical care. * Wais Med – “Bone Injection Gun” (B.I.G.™), treats emergency patients with drugs and other fluids by intraosseous infusion, directly into the bone marrow.
Endoscopy	* CBF Medical – Ciliary Beat Frequency monitor attaches to a standard endoscope, to optically measure the frequency waves of ciliary cells as new diagnostic for mucociliary function in respiratory disease and tubal infertility.
Gerontology - Osteoporosis	* Myriad Ultrasound Systems – SoundScan Compact and SoundScan 2000 bone quantitative sonometers which detect subtle changes in bone quality, as in osteoporosis and other bone diseases. * Sunlight Ultrasonic’s Omnisense – the only sonometer providing multiple sites skeletal bone density assessment.
Healing Wounds	* LMS or CHAI (“life” in Hebrew) – the USFDA-approved Sure-Closure Skin-Stretching system, replacing costly skin grafts or flaps to close large wounds and avoid disfiguring scars; newer applications focus on polymer technology, a medium for graft storage and a first-ever wound gel for dermal ulcers and chronic wounds. * SPM RECOVERY – sealed chamber to apply ozone/oxygen mixture and bacterial medium to infectious wounds, post-surgical wounds, trophic ulcers, decubitus, and burns.
Healing Scars	* SIL-K – silicone sheeting from Kibbutz Degania, which has USFDA approval, eases intense pain after scar-tissue removal operations.
Medical Gases	* Oridion (originally Spegas) – pioneered infra-red measurement of carbon dioxide exhaled by patients at all points of care. u Elrad Analytical Systems – systems which monitor gases in patients during medical treatment.
Medical Lasers	* Optomedic Medical Technologies – the Kaplan PenduLaser, a carbon dioxide surgical laser system. * Hadassah-based Nanomed with US-based Summit – a unique movable arm delivery system for cold action excimer laser for intra-ocular surgery. * Nanonics Lithography – the breakthrough Near Field Optics, which can focus laser beams at a tenth of a micron. * A number of companies have developed a broad range of innovative optical glass rods as active media for solid state medical lasers and high intensity luminescence (replacing gas and dye media).
Neona- tology	* NurtureLife the Patir incubator in Jerusalem – a device for checking the amount of milk an infant drinks during breast-feeding. * Hisense Ltd. – 200 $US monitor called Babysense, sends out an alarm if a baby stops breathing while asleep, as happens in SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). * SPO Medical Equipment Ltd. – Long Life, an early warning monitor, which senses lowered breathing and pulse levels and could prevent SIDS.
Obstetrics	* Medco Electronic Systems Ltd. – Femo, a non-invasive fetal ECG and fetal heart rate monitoring system with true beat to beat variability, which prevents unnecessary C-section deliveries. * Cybro Medical – an optical and non-invasive fetal monitor based on pulse oximetry complementary to the ECG to reduce unnecessary C-section deliveries.
Organ Trans- plantation	* Vital Medical – the Tissue Vitality Analyzer (TVA), expected to save lives and millions of dollars by detecting failed organs before implantation.
Pain Control	* Titan Electronics – a compact, pocket-sized, battery-powered Transcutanous Electronic Nerve Stimulation (TENS) stimulator to relieve menstrual pain.
Radiology & Medical Imaging	* InSight Therapeutics and GEMS – new joint venture TxSonics produce state-of-the-art devices for image guided therapies. * UltraGuide 1000 – new add-on device for ultrasound-assisted interventional procedures. * Real-time Radiography Readout (R3) Ltd. – a joint venture of YISSUM (the Research Development Company of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) and T.T.I. (Target Technologies Israel) Ltd. * X-Medica – new concepts in filmless digital X-ray, for the next generation of medical imaging.
Rehabili- tation	* NESS (“miracle” in Hebrew) – a USFDA-approved glove-like device that aids therapy in restoring function to paralyzed hands and arms.
Telemedicine & Portable Medical Technology	* Card Guard with a Hewlett-Packard UK alliance – provides software-hardware systems for Cardiology/Portable ECG, Pulmonology/SpiroPhone Transtelephonic Spirometer, and Ob/Gyn/Portable Fetal-Maternal Monitoring Device. * Imexco General produces “CardioScope” – a pocket cardiological diagnostic ECG monitor, with storage, printer, and transmission capabilities. * TzamalCare – innovative remote controlled systems, Infu-Tech and Infu-Net diffused infrared wireless transmitters and readers to monitor and control infusion therapy from a remote station.
Thermo- regulation	* MTRE Advanced Technology – ALLON 2000 returns and maintains normothermia of core body temperature into trauma management, during surgery and post-op. * Medisim – Up-Grade gives quick, accurate, digital readout of body temperature.
Urology	* Influence – a device to treat urinary incontinence. * Medispec Ltd. and Direx – devices for treating kidney stones, gallstones and various prostate disorders.
Vascular Systems	* Opgal Medical Systems, a division of Opgal Optronics Industries Ltd. in Karmiel – the IVA-2000 Thermal Imaging System for real-time thermal images of blood flow through exposed coronary arteries, without ingesting toxic contrast materials or exposure to radiation. * OrSense Ltd., a start-up – Hemosense, an infrared-based bloodless blood test of hemoglobin and hematocrit. * Vascular Technologies Ltd. – award-winning device attaches to a standard catheter to indicate correct insertion of an infusion needle into a vein.

Unlike Elliot Abrams and Rep. Steven Rothman, a New Jersey Democrat, I do not think Friedman owes anyone but the poor saps that trust his opinion and apology because once again, he is entitled to his opinion and to state it.

Just as I won't apologize for my opinion that Friedman and his anti-Semitic cheerleaders are deliberately ignorant and/or intellectually dishonest about Israels many contributions to America and the world.

Thankfully people that think like Friedman are in the minority in this wonderful country.

Click image to enlarge

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