Headlines for 09-12-07

Kouchner against meddling between Palestinians and Israelis


U.S.-proposed Mideast conference should tackle all issues: AL official A senior official of the Arab League (AL) said Wednesday that the U.S.-proposed international conference on Mideast peace should tackle all issues


U.S. says Palestinian leader "a man of peace"


Small Israeli force enters Gaza after rocket strike


Blair calls for expanding Palestinian forces


Israel resists Palestinians on peace talks


Saudis question Middle East talks


Remembering Sabra and Shatila We might have accepted evidence of a few murders; even dozens of bodies, killed in the heat of combat. Bur there were women lying in houses with their skirts torn torn up to their waists and their legs wide apart, children with their throats cut, rows of young men shot in the back after being lined up at an execution wall. There were babies - blackened babies babies because they had been slaughtered more than 24-hours earlier and their small bodies were already in a state of decomposition - tossed into rubbish heaps alongside discarded US army ration tins, Israeli army equipment and empty bottles of whiskey. ......When is a massacre not a massacre? When the figures are too low? Or when the massacre is carried out by Israel?s friends rather than Israel's enemies?


U.S. officials confirm Israel strike on Syria "They saw a weapons flow," one official said, referring to weapons caches intended for Hezbollah, which fired thousands of rockets into Israel during a 36-day conflict last year.


Rice to head to Jerusalem, Ramallah September 18-20


Israel keeps up blackout on mystery Syria air strike


UN experts enter Lebanon battle camp The group visited Nahr al-Bared refugee camp to assess damage to buildings of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) inside the shantytown still off-limits to civilians and the media, Hoda Samra said.


For Ramadan, a show of mercy in Gaza And as part of an ongoing public relations blitz to prove to the world that the Islamist movement has brought stability in the wake of its violent June seizure of Gaza, they wanted everyone to see.


Report: Israel spots nuclear installations in Syria Washington official says Israeli surveillance shows possible Syrian nuclear installation stocked by North Korea, Israeli Arab newspaper claims target of alleged raid last week was Syrian missile base financed by Iran Suurrre.


Whose Human Rights Matter? NYT on Hezbollah and Israeli Attacks On Civilians The Times' news judgment also fails to reflect the civilian death toll on each side. Human Rights Watch estimated that Israel killed about 900 Lebanese civilians, out of about 1,200 total Lebanese deaths, while Hezbollah killed 43 Israeli civilians along with about 80 Israeli military personnel. It is difficult, then, to avoid the conclusion that Israeli lives are considered significantly more important by the Times than Lebanese lives.


Bethlehem Pastor Seeks Baptist Support for Palestine Though the move may initially raise eyebrows ? given that many evangelicals are strong supporters of Israel ? the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, senior pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, said he hopes to reach out to U.S. Baptists for support after attending the fourth annual Human Rights Defenders Policy forum last week at The Carter Center in Atlanta.


The 25th Anniversary of the Massacre at Sabra-Shatilla I am sorry to report that today in Lebanon, the families of the victims of the Massacre daily sink deeper into the abyss. No where on earth do the Palestinians live in such filth and squalor. ?Worse than Gaza!? a journalist recently in Palestine exclaims.


Advocacy Corner the Jewish Policy Center has organized a panel of experts -- including Daniel Pipes, Cliff May and David Horowitz, and moderated by radio commentator Michael Medved -- to address "The Fight Against Radical Islam and the New Anti-Semitism on Campus." The event will take place at 7 p.m.Wednesday, Sept. 19, at Temple Beth Hillel/Beth El in Wynnewood.


Israel, China form strategic forum


Senate letter presses Rice on Mideast Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) are soliciting colleagues' signatures for a letter to the U.S. secretary of state. The letter has the support of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.



From politics to philanthropy, time of transition for U.S. Jews the most pronounced and alarming development was the mainstream frontal assault on the pro-Israel activism of Jewish organizations, led by Carter in conjunction with the November release of his book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.".....Carter also took aim at the pro-Israel lobby and Jewish organizations, accusing them of conspiring to stifle debate over America's foreign policy. Plenty of fringe figures have pressed this argument in the past, but suddenly this past year a former president of the United States was leading the charge, with several other respectable figures right behind him.


Israel snubs Tony Blair in new envoy role


MySpace Teen Flies To West Bank For Palestinian Man Now at 18 years-of-age, She obviously can legaly fly alone anywhere she wants. Lester was at the airport ready to fly and there wasn't a thing her parents could do to stop it from happening.


U-M Press resumes distributing controversial book Joel Kovel, the author of "Overcoming Zionism" and a distinguished professor of social studies at Bard College, said he didn't hear of problems with the book until the pro-Israel group, Stand With Us-Michigan, attacked it in an August newsletter. Encouraging supporters and members to call U-M, the group described the book as a polemic against Israel and a "collection of anti-Israel propaganda, misquotes, and discredited news stories."


AIPAC lobbies for Iran sanctions About 100 top AIPAC activists lobbied Congress to pass Iran sanctions bills.