Headlines for March 11 - March 17

A Stand For Justice


UN humanitarian chief warns of disaster if Gaza siege continues
"If those tunnels were blocked, however undesirable they may be, and however undesirable the effect they're having on the Gazan society and Gazan economy, the situation without the tunnels would be completely unsustainable," said Holmes, who visited the region for four days earlier this month.


“This is Starting to Get Dangerous”
“The vice president told his Israeli hosts that since many people in the Muslim world perceived a connection between Israel’s actions and US policy, any decision about construction that undermines Palestinian rights in East Jerusalem could have an impact on the personal safety of American troops fighting against Islamic terrorism.”


Poodle Biden Gets Kicked by Patrick J. Buchanan
Israeli and U.S. interests often run parallel, but they are not the same. Israel is concerned with a neighborhood. We are concerned with a world of 300 million Arabs and a billion Muslims. Our policies cannot be the same.
If they are, we will end up with all of Israel’s enemies, who are legion, and only Israel’s friends, who are few.



Pentagon vs. Israel?
"Not surprisingly, what Biden told Netanyahu reflected the importance the administration attached to Petraeus's Mullen briefing: 'This is starting to get dangerous for us,' Biden reportedly told Netanyahu. 'What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.'


Palestinians Should Now Declare Their Independence
This is a great article that gives you a history of what happened to the Palestinians in a nutshell, by The Independent UK


Gaza swimmers hope to make splash at Asia games
"I'm very happy because I will represent Palestine,"


The Petraeus Briefing: Biden’s Embarrassment Is Not The Whole Story
UPDATE: A senior military officer denied Sunday that Petraeus sent a paper to the White House.


Israeli Raids Target Children
Fundamentalist settler groups held an opening ceremony for a synagogue constructed against the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which was seen as a provocation to the Palestinian community in the area........ "arresting, detaining and imprisoning Palestinian children is in direct violation of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child."


Women in charge in West Bank's key district
At 35, Leila Ghanem is the first woman to become a Palestinian governor, the latest in a group of trailblazing women leaders who are slowly winning acceptance in this traditional society....."Yet one more taboo has been broken,"


US Israel criticism ignites firestorm in Congress
The Obama administration's fierce denunciation of Israel last week has ignited a firestorm in Congress and among powerful pro–Israel interest groups who say the criticism of America's top Mideast ally was misplaced.



U.S. affirms bond with Israel as Palestinians riot
"We have come to throw stones because that's all we have and the situation in Jerusalem is dangerous," one demonstrator said during a confrontation at an Israeli military checkpoint.



Mitchell Mideast travel in flux amid U.S.-Israel row
In a sign the administration may be trying to appear more even–handed, the State Department said it was "deeply disturbed" by unspecified Palestinian comments about Israel's consecration of an ancient synagogue in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City, a tinderbox site in the conflict. "We call upon Palestinian officials to put an end to such incitement,"


Israeli troops, Palestinians clash near Jerusalem
Five Palestinians were injured later Saturday in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank, Palestinian medics said. Residents of a village near Nablus said they tried to prevent settlers from bathing in a water cistern they depend on for agriculture.



Israeli leader urges calm over row with Washington
"Israel and the U.S. have mutual interests," Netanyahu told the Cabinet, then pointedly added, "but we will act according to the vital interests of the state of Israel."
And the US should act according to ITS vital interests. So, why doesn't it?


Biden: Bond with Israel ‘unbreakable’ but U.S. will note missteps
"Every time progress is made, it's been made when the rest of the world knows there's no space between the United States and Israel when it comes to Israel's security, none -- no space," the vice president said.


AT-TUWANI VIDEO AND ARTICLE: Israeli soldiers attacking and arresting Palestinian shepherds



US envoy cancels Mideast trip amid US-Israel feud
Washington notified Israel early Tuesday that envoy George Mitchell had put off his trip. The visit will be rescheduled at an undetermined time, officials on both sides said.



Israeli envoy sees "historic crisis" with U.S.- report
Israeli–U.S. relations have hit a 35–year low over a West Bank settlement plan that threatens to derail peacemaking efforts with the Palestinians, Israel's envoy to Washington was quoted as saying on Monday


Petraeus Confirms Link Between Israel-Palestine and U.S. Security
Petraeus’ willingness to publicly — and in uniform with all those decorations on his chest — make the connection between Israeli treatment of the Palestinians and the spread of “anti-American sentiment” and the deterioration of the U.S. position in the region — a connection which, of course, is completely evident to any casual observer of Middle East — marks what can only be considered a major breakthrough in the debate over the relationship between the United States and Israel.


Israeli apology gets cool reception in Washington
Even after Netanyahu's apology Sunday, the U.S. condemnation showed no sign of easing.
Speaking on NBC television, President Barack Obama's chief political adviser, David Axelrod, called Israel's action an "affront" and an "insult."



Israel vows more settlement building despite crisis with US
Israeli troops wounded 10 Palestinians on Monday as they opened fire on dozens of students hurling stones at a West Bank checkpoint to protest against Israel's actions in east Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and witnesses said.



"Insulted" by Israel, U.S. scrambles to save talks
In Washington, the Anti–Defamation League, which lobbies for Israel with U.S. lawmakers, called Clinton's remarks on the diplomatic debacle a "gross over–reaction."
"We are shocked and stunned at the administration's tone and public dressing down of Israel," the ADL's Abraham Foxman said.


Netanyahu defies U.S. over Jerusalem settlement
The U.S. criticism of Israel prompted a backlash on Monday from U.S. lawmakers and pro–Israel lobby groups who urged the Obama administration to tone down its rhetoric.



Netanyahu voices regret in settlement row with U.S.
Writing in the left–leaning Haaretz newspaper, commentator Aluf Benn said Netanyahu has reached "the moment of truth."
He said Netanyahu must choose between political cooperation with the right and his need for U.S. support in curbing Iran's nuclear program the West says is aimed a producing nuclear weapons, an allegation Iran denies.



White House: Israel construction plan an 'insult'
President Barack Obama's chief political adviser says the Israelis' action was both an "affront" and an "insult."


Deputy FM tells U.S.: Israel won't make any more concessions
According to Ayalon, the United States' condemnation on the matter was due to the timing of the announcement and not the content of the issue.



Biden says Palestinians deserve 'viable' state
Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Palestinians deserve a "viable" independent state with contiguous territory, seeking to reassure them of U.S. support after Israel announced plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem.



U.S. gave Israel green light for East Jerusalem construction
Israel essentially received an American green light for approving even more building plans in East Jerusalem.


Clinton: Israel must prove commitment to peace
the lack of a direct formal reply from Israel forced the cancellation of special Mideast peace envoy George Mitchell's planned visit to the region, the State Department said


Report: Petraeus Warns Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mullen that Israel Is Jeopardizing US Security Interests



Dark Clouds Behind Survey’s Silver Lining
That sort of millennial Christian theo-politics got a big boost in the course of the Bush presidency and the war on terror, precisely the years in which Gallup shows Republican sympathy for Israel soaring. President Bush repeatedly portrayed America’s struggles against Islamic extremism as a war of good against evil, in which Israel’s enemies were hardly, if at all, distinguishable from America’s. Israel and its most vocal American defenders welcomed Bush’s embrace


Jews Displaced From Arab Lands Finally Recognized
In April 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a nonbinding resolution urging that every reference to Palestinian refugees raised in international forums be matched by a similarly explicit reference to the uprooting of Jewish communities from Arab countries. Say, I wonder which group was behind that legislation?


Two IDF soldiers charged with using 9-year-old 'human shield' in Gaza war



We Can’t Afford to Give Up on the United Nations
Like it or not, the U.N. does matter. Successive Israeli governments have predicated peace negotiations on the terms of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. For all the trouble getting agreement from Russia and China, the Security Council is the venue for promoting multilateral Iran sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency is the authority to monitor Iranian compliance. And the secretary-general embodies one-quarter of the Mideast Quartet that drives Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. The supreme irony here is that Israel is and has been in violation of many UN resolutions for decades, has never signed on to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and opened up to inspection its nuclear weapons program, and was found in violation of international law at the ICJ in 2004 for building its wall and settlments on occupied Palestinian territory. Yet, they haven't had to comply with any law, nor have they been punished for non-compliance. Israel and its supporters are the worst supremacists and hypocrites this world has ever seen. One set of rules for them, and one set of rules for everyone else.


Jewish Lobby Sits Out Vote On Armenian Genocide
This year, no major Jewish groups lobbied for or against the resolution. As Jess Hordes, Washington director of the Anti-Defamation League, put it, “Inevitably, for some people the enthusiasm isn’t as great as it was in the past, because of concerns about Turkey’s policy on Israel.”....In the wake of the committee vote, there are signs that Turkey’s leaders are reassessing the strategy of distancing themselves from American Jews against the backdrop of chilling ties with Israel. Erdogan has now included a meeting with Jewish leaders as part of his scheduled April visit to Washington.

Would siding with Turkey on this issue help shift Turkey back to a more positive approach toward Israel?



Joe Biden: I am a Zionist



Israel’s threatening message to Biden and Obama



Why Israel jailed me for ‘talking too much’
Israel has taken this opportunity to crack down on Palestinians who advocate nonviolent protests against the Israeli West Bank segregation barrier and charged them based on questionable or false evidence. ....Critics in America say the solution is for a Palestinian Gandhi to emerge from within our society. This seems increasingly untenable when unarmed teens and real life Palestinian Gandhis such as Bassem Abu Rahma are killed by an occupying army that regularly meets nonviolence with violence.


SANDS OF U.S.-ISRAELI RELATIONS CONTINUE TO SHIFT
Since the beginning of the Obama administration, the Netanyahu administration's position has been to announce more and more settlements, thus eating up land that either belongs to Palestinians or that would be part of a Palestinian state.




Why Bibi Humiliated Biden
three developments seem to have emboldened Netanyahu


US-Israel Showdown?
"AIPAC calls on the Administration to take immediate steps to defuse the tension with the Jewish State. ... The Administration should make a conscious effort to move away from public demands and unilateral deadlines directed at Israel."
Abe Foxman of the Anti–Defamation League, a knee–jerk defender of everything Israel does, accused the US of a "gross overreaction" to the Israeli insult


Unfriendly Fire
Contrary to the spin generated in some quarters, the Obama administration has gone out of its way to support Israel and the Netanyahu government. As the Forward has reported, cooperation between the two nations is flourishing — the Obama administration has worked hard to bolster Israel’s qualitative military edge, which had eroded during the final year of the presidency of George W. Bush. America continues to do the heavy lifting required to fend off unfair criticism of Israel in unfriendly venues. And American Jews continue to pour money, resources and energy into ensuring Israel’s future.


Corrie's sister to Haaretz: U.S. encouraged family to sue Israel
"My father served in the military in Vietnam and was responsible for bulldozer operations," Simpson added. "He said there is no way that what happened to Rachel would have happened on his watch."


'I saw Israeli bulldozer kill Rachel Corrie'
Within weeks of her death, the Israel Defence Forces accused Ms Corrie and the ISM of behaviour that was "illegal irresponsible and dangerous". In 2004, Lawrence Wilkerson, an aide to the then US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, wrote to the Corries saying Israel had failed to carry out the "thorough, credible, and transparent" investigation promised at the time by Israel's Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.



Rightists prepare banner denouncing Obama as 'PLO agent'



Egypt arrests Israeli journalist along the border
Egyptian security officials arrested an Israeli journalist as he tried to sneak across the porous Israeli–Egyptian border with African migrants, his newspaper reported Monday.



Why is the EU failing to comply with its international law obligations over Israel?
If you lived on a street where a neighbour frequently and flagrantly broke the law, you would want something done about it, especially if that neighbour took part of your garden, replaced the fence with a 30ft wall, cut down your trees and redirected your water supply. Suppose the authorities to whom you complained merely denounced the illegalities and took no action? You might think that this situation is inconceivable. But that is precisely what has been happening to the Palestinians for the best part of 60 years.


Knesset to Biden: For Smooth Relations, Free Pollard
With impeccable timing, a broadly representative group of Israeli Knesset members sent a joint letter to Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday and asked him to work to free confessed spy Jonathan Pollard from federal prison in honor of the Passover holiday and “as an expression of the good relations and friendship between our two peoples.” It was signed by party whips or representatives of eight of the nine Jewish parties in the Knesset


Israeli FM reportedly boycotts Brazil's President Lula
Mr Lieberman was reportedly upset that Mr Lula refused to visit the grave of the founder of the Zionist movement.
Mr Lula also opposes sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program
Oh dear.


Foxman: Don't blame the Jews
Eytan Gilboa, a political science professor at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan and a specialist on US-Israeli relations, said the government needed to frontally counter this argument because it risked eroding support for Israel among the US public.
Notice the knee-jerk reaction by Foxman to label this as anti-Jewish (read, anti-Semitic).


Spy Takes US/Israeli Secrets to Grave
Extensive evidence now exists that Begin’s preference for Reagan led the Israelis to join in a covert operation with Republicans to contact Iranian leaders behind Carter’s back, interfering with the President’s efforts to free the 52 American hostages before the November 1980 elections.
David Kimche could have been a key witness to these events. Ben-Menashe identified the Israeli spymaster as a middleman between Begin and CIA veterans who initially supported former CIA Director George H.W. Bush, who ran against Reagan before ending up as his vice presidential choice.


Analysis: US hamstrung on Israeli settlements
Through a year of ragged relations, the Obama administration had moved from stark demands that Israeli end all settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, to praise for the Netanyahu government for agreeing to a temporary suspension of settlement activity – except in east Jerusalem.



Taboo Thwarts Candor on Israel/Iran
Israel: Elephant Not Allowed in the Room


Gates appeals to Saudis to back sanctions on Iran
With China apparently the strongest holdout to sanctions among the five veto–wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council, the Americans have turned to their Saudi allies to persuade China to reconsider.
Washington hopes the Saudis could guarantee China stable oil supplies in the event of disruption from Iran. And the Saudis in turn probably want progress on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, progress which we cannot obtain because of Israeli intransigence with respect to illegal settlements. This is a supreme irony since it is Israel that is behind this whole Iran-sanctions push.


Subservient Superpower by Philip Giraldi
The real indication of whether or not the White House will or can begin to break the chains that bind will come at the end of this week when AIPAC holds its annual conference. AIPAC is keenly aware of the need to pull the American colossus back in line and will do so by playing the evil Iran card over and over again and by demanding obeisance from a long line of politicians and media pundits. The AIPAC lovefest will conclude with an address by Hillary Clinton next Monday.


Biden steers past spat over Israel settlement plan
Addressing a key Israeli security concern, Biden also said the U.S. is "determined to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons."


Arab world says hopes in Obama are dwindling
the mistrust has already hurt U.S. policy. U.S. allies Saudi Arabia and Gulf nations have rejected U.S. pressure to make diplomatic gestures to Israel to encourage it in the peace process, citing its hard line on settlements.
It could bleed over into other realms, such as U.S. attempt to isolate Iran, which Washington and its allies accuse of seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the claims.


Jerusalem Pitches Goldstone Report as a Threat to U.S. Military and its Allies
So far, based on the voting on the Feb. 26 U.N. resolution, many of the countries other than America toward whom Israel is aiming this argument seem unpersuaded. I wonder why that is?


Does anyone else find it odd that Israel is the most visited foreign country by US politicians?
I like Ron Paul’s solution to this issue: You guys want to grab other people’s land and blow each other up? Fine. But do it on your own dime and stop dragging us into your stupidity. We have enough of our own problems. We don’t need your help and we’d really like it if you’d stop calling us for help. Amen.


Knesset to Biden For Smooth Relations, Free Pollard
With impeccable timing, a broadly representative group of Israeli Knesset members sent a joint letter to Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday and asked him to work to free confessed spy Jonathan Pollard from federal prison in honor of the Passover holiday and “as an expression of the good relations and friendship between our two peoples.” It was signed by party whips or representatives of eight of the nine Jewish parties in the Knesset




Israeli Crackdown Puts Liberal Jews on the Spot
The government of Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to shut down Israel's premier human rights organizations, including B'Tselem, the New Israel Fund (NIF) and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. It is busy expelling or excluding peace activists and foreign nationals from the Palestinian territories.


Poll: Half of Israeli high schoolers oppose equal rights for Arabs
Nearly half of Israel's high school students do not believe that Israeli-Arabs are entitled to the same rights as Jews in Israel, according to the results of a new survey released yesterday. The same poll revealed that more than half the students would deny Arabs the right to be elected to the Knesset.


Deafening silence from corporate media (on silent IDF dinner protest)
Americans who solely read and watch corporate, mainstream media don’t know—about Goldstone, about the crimes of Israel, about why it is that there is a fundraiser on behalf of a foreign army in New York City, or that hundreds of people, including many Jews, were outraged enough to demonstrate against it.


Israel crisis: US must keep up the pressure



Promoting Israel As a ‘Cultural Hotbed’ Isn’t Always a Winner
Oscar nominations are only one element in Israel’s attempt to market itself as a world-leading cultural hotbed. Other elements include the adaptations of popular Israeli TV formats on American networks, which range from psychological dramas like HBO’s “In Treatment” to game shows and sitcoms, and the sponsoring of Israeli performing and visual arts.


Jordan's Abdullah: Israel trying to rid Jerusalem of Arabs



Brazil President in West Bank: I dream of a free Palestine



The Break on Palestine
Barack Obama abetted the Israeli drive to bury the Goldstone Report by allowing his government to say it was "one-sided and deeply flawed" and also the subject of "grave concerns."........Palestinians. There has been a danger, after all, over several months, that Palestinian protesters, aided by Israelis who sympathize with their cause, would crystallize into a movement essentially non-violent in orientation and catch the conscience of America and the world. The fear of Netanyahu and the Israeli right is that the Palestinian cause will indeed become a non-violent mass movement. Israel has taken strong measures against that possibility, especially in the last few months An interesting read.


'Government knew of Jewish terrorist's plan to open fire on Shfaram bus'
Newly discovered footage of a terrorist attack perpetrated by an Israel Defense Forces soldier in the Arab town of Shfaram five years ago indicates that authorities were aware of plans to commit the attack, a lawyer representing Israeli Arabs suspected of taking part in the subsequent lynching of the gunman said Sunday.



Hebron: Young men disappearing from the Old City



'U.S. administration is ignoring a host of Palestinian provocations'
Republican Whip Cantor (R-VA) called the U.S. reaction to the Israeli announcement "irresponsible."


U.S. TELLS ISRAEL: “YOU ARE UNDERMINING AMERICA, ENDANGERING TROOPS”
the extent of Israeli involvement in areas that had taken the “special relationship” into an area of disaster for the United States. This is what was discovered: Read on.


Capital Anglos mobilize against practice of spitting at Christians
One cleric said told a European news site that the spitting was "almost a daily experience."

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