The demonstrations that have flared up across Syria came out of nowhere, without warning. This level of quiet coordination suggests the hand of the Muslim Brotherhood. Oddly, it seems that Iran is willing to sacrifice its ally, Assad’s regime, in favor of the Brotherhood. This may not be a bad trade: Assad is an independent ruler who has closed Iran’s access to Lebanon on more than one occasion. The Muslim Brotherhood, isolated by the West, would be a much more loyal ally for Tehran.

After shooting demonstrators, Assad blamed the deaths on provocateurs. Though  this may be true, the explanation looks like a ruse, which is highly unusual for Assad or his father, who have never been shy about using firearms, or even artillery, against protesters.

Notwithstanding Obama’s rhetoric about the Brotherhood’s moderation, it harshly criticizes Assad for refusing to lend his country as a launching pad for terrorist attacks on Israel.

On the positive side, a Muslim Brotherhood takeover of Syria would leave Israel with the Golan Heights. On the negative side, it would leave the Brotherhood with 1,400 Scud-type missiles.

Responding to a petition by the ultra-left ACRI group, the Petah Tikva court forced the Mossad to confirm that the security service had abducted a certain Gazan while he was traveling in Ukraine. The announcement jeopardized security cooperation with Ukraine.

Bizarrely, a legendary security service which has never had any qualms about abducting foreign citizens in other countries respected a misinformed decision by a judge whose competence in intelligence matters is somewhat below zero.

The abductee’s wife knew the Israeli prison he is held in. Someone apparently decided to honor his rights and inform her. Predictably, she took the matter up to the media.