News from AIPAC

www.aipac.org February 26, 2008
Iran Accelerates Its Nuclear Program

Ten-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured in Rocket Attack

Ahmadinejad: Israel a "Savage Animal"

Treasury Freezes Assets of Syrian President's Cousin

Federal Judge: Iran Must Pay Terror Victim's Family

Israeli Team Enters U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame


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Iran Accelerates Its Nuclear Program
A top Iranian official on Sunday said the Islamic Republic has started using new centrifuges that speed up its ability to enrich uranium, a key step toward developing nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported. "We are running a new generation of centrifuges," said Javad Vaidi, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Vaidi's announcement confirmed reports earlier this month that Iran is using centrifuges that can enrich uranium at more than twice the speed of the machines that now form the backbone of its illicit nuclear program. Iran has rebuffed multiple binding U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding it suspend its atomic work and faces more stringent sanctions as a result of its non-compliance. Click here to learn more about efforts to sanction Iran.

Ten-Year-Old Boy Seriously Injured in Rocket Attack
A 10-year-old Sderot boy was seriously wounded on Monday when a barrage of Qassam rockets struck the courtyard where he and his eight-year-old sister were playing, The Jerusalem Post reported. The attack marks the second time in as many weeks that Israeli children have suffered serious injuries as a result of Hamas rocket attacks. An eight-year-old boy's legs were partially severed after a Qassam rocket exploded in Sderot, severely wounding him and his older brother earlier this month. "Those striking at Israeli children will find themselves dealing with an Israel compelled to defend itself," the Israeli prime minister's office said in a statement. "We will not tolerate these attacks and will take the necessary steps to prevent them." Click here to learn more about how Hamas is intensifying its attacks against the Jewish state.

Ahmadinejad: Israel a "Savage Animal"
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week lashed out at Israel in a strongly worded attack, describing the Jewish state as a "dirty microbe" and a "savage animal," Agence France Presse reported. "World powers have created a black and dirty microbe named the 'Zionist regime' and have unleashed it like a savage animal on the nations of the region," he told a rally in the southern city of Bandar Abbas. Ahmadinejad's charges come days after Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, predicted that the terrorist army Hizballah would destroy Israel in the near future. The European Union issued a statement saying that the comments by Iranian leaders directed at Israel were "unacceptable, damaging and uncivilised." Iran has consistently refused to recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state in the Middle East.

Treasury Freezes Assets of Syrian President's Cousin
The Treasury Department recently announced that it has frozen the assets of Syrian President Bashar Assad's cousin, Rami Makhluf. "Rami Makhluf has used intimidation and his close ties to the Assad regime to obtain improper business advantages at the expense of ordinary Syrians," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "The Assad regime's cronyism and corruption has a corrosive effect, disadvantaging innocent Syrian businessmen and entrenching a regime that pursues oppressive and destabilizing policies, including beyond Syria's borders, in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories." The Syrian regime has long interfered in Lebanon's political system and sponsored terrorism throughout the Middle East.

Federal Judge: Iran Must Pay Terror Victim's Family
A federal judge on Monday said that Iran must pay more than $33 million to the family of a U.S.-born Israeli diplomat killed in a 1992 terror attack, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said Iran was responsible for the truck bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Argentina that killed 29 people, including David Ben-Rafael, who was born in the United States before he emigrated to Israel. While Hizballah claimed responsibility for the attack, Iran helped the terrorist group by financing and organizing its activities. The State Department has repeatedly labeled Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism. Click here to learn more about the terrorist army Hizballah.


Israeli Team Enters U.S. Basketball Hall of Fame
Israel's championship-winning basketball team Maccabi Tel Aviv is to be honored for its accomplishments at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in the United States, the Web site Israel21c.org reported. The exhibition opens in May and will coincide with Israel's 60th birthday. Maccabi Tel Aviv, which won multiple championships in Israel and Europe, will be the first Israeli team to be presented in an exhibition at the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Hall of Fame sees millions of visitors every year who come to honor the greats of the basketball world. Part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv display will remain as a permanent exhibition in the Hall of Fame, a testament to the strength and competitiveness of Israeli sports worldwide.