Headlines for October 14 - October 20

A Stand For Justice


Israeli air strike kills 2 militants in Gaza Strip



Israeli army shoots teenage boy in Gaza
Israeli forces have shot yet another Palestinian teenager near the Gaza Strip's border with Israel for collecting rubble often used as building material.


MKs seek ban on East Jerusalem Arabs guiding in the city
A bill sponsored by MK Gideon Ezra (Kadima ) and seven other Knesset members proposes to ban residents of East Jerusalem from serving as tour guides in the city, potentially putting hundreds out of work. Ezra, who said he was temporarily freezing work on the bill so as not to damage the negotiations with Palestinians, said in the introduction to the bill he believed Palestinian residents of Jerusalem should not be certified guides because they did not represent Israel's national interest well enough "and in an appropriate manner.".....


The bill proposes that a guide leading a group of over 11 people, or traveling in more than one vehicle, must be a citizen of Israel. Most Arab residents of East Jerusalem have residency status but not citizenship, and so would be banned from guiding a majority of the tourist groups.

"Israel has valuable tourism sites," the text of the proposed bill reads. "Oftentimes there are disagreements on the manner of the presentation of these sites historically, religiously, culturally and more. The city of Jerusalem, with its many historic sites, is an example of a site about which there are such disagreements. Some of the residents of Israel, like those in East Jerusalem, often have 'dual loyalty,' since they vote in elections of the Palestinian Authority.


Shepherd made homeless, livelihood threatened, son in prison.



Turks accuse Israel of war crimes at int'l court
Turkish lawyers representing pro–Palestinian activists filed a complaint Thursday with the International Criminal Court accusing Israel of committing war crimes in May when its troops raided a boat trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.




PLO chief: We will recognize Israel in return for 1967 borders
Abed Rabbo continued, "It is important for us to know where are the borders of Israel and where are the borders of Palestine. Any formulation the Americans present – even asking us to call Israel the 'Chinese State' – we will agree to it, as long as we receive the 1967 borders. We have recognized Israel in the past, but Israel has not recognized the Palestinian state."


Israel settlers start fires amid West Bank harvest
Thick black smoke billows from the olive grove under the gaze of Israeli soldiers as Palestinian farmers use branches to try to beat out the fires lit by Jewish settlers.

It's olive harvest time in the occupied West Bank.

The firebombers swooped down from Havat Gilad, a wildcat Jewish settlement unauthorised even by the Israeli government.

Every American should read this. These are the Israeli equivalent of Hamas, just as capable of murder and other crimes but with one main difference: the Israeli government supports them, and so does ours (and the US taxpayer dollars never stop flowing).


America's Poor Where Poverty Is Rising In America
Thanks to the recession, 2009 was one of the worst years for poverty in America in more than half a century. The total number of Americans living in poverty hit 43.6 million, the highest level in 51 years and the national poverty rate rose to 14.3 percent from 13.2 percent, according to data released last month by the Census Bureau. All of that money we pour into the Middle East in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and more, could be better spent here at home.


t r u t h o u t Israel Seals Unprecedented Weapons Deals With the US
Preceding the October 7 signing of the Lockheed contract, Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, told The Washington Post on October 6 that "incentives" were offered to Israel to extend its so-called moratorium on the illegal settlement colonies in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem to keep the Palestinian Authority in direct talks. Oren told the Post that the Obama administration had come up with "a number of suggestions, incentives if you would, to the Israelis that would enable the government to maybe pass a limited extension of two or three months."

It was unclear whether the Lockheed contract was specifically offered as one of the incentives, but Oren added that the purchase agreement was "an event of great strategic and historic significance," and that it would "serve the common interests" of the US and Israel.

In late July 2010, the US House Appropriations Sub-Committee on Defense increased funding for Israeli missile defense programs to its highest level ever - approving $422.7 million for next year's budget - and adding $95.7 million to the original White House funding request for the long-range Arrow interceptor project and the medium-range David's Sling, according to sources quoted by the Jerusalem Post. "The lion's share - $108.8m. - will go to the Arrow 3 system, which the US signed off on after some initial hesitation," the Jerusalem Post reported. The funding also includes $205 million for the short-range missile interceptor program (dubbed "The Iron Dome") initially approved by President Barack Obama last Spring.

This defense spending package is more than double that of last year's. And that's just a fraction of the total aid that American taxpayers shell out to Israel (and its neighbors to keep the peace) each year. Americans would be shocked, and outraged, especially given the fact that more and more Americans are in POVERTY. Our money is funding a people whose economy is actuallly DOING WELL, and the government is committing war crimes ('settlements' in occupied territory) and has been since its inception.


Across the U.S., Long Recovery Looks Like Recession
At the current rate of job creation, the nation would need nine more years to recapture the jobs lost during the recession. And that doesn’t even account for five million or six million jobs needed in that time to keep pace with an expanding population All of that money we pour into the Middle East in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and more, could be better spent here at home.


Water Crisis in Palestine Is Worsening
According to current statistics by Amnesty International, Israel takes 80% of the water in the Mountain aquifers in the north (one of many water sources available to Israel, including the state's full access to the Jordan River, which runs inside the occupied West Bank); while Palestinians in the West Bank are left with just the remaining 20% of that one aquifer, and are prohibited from accessing water from the Jordan river altogether.


Israel takes center stage in Illinois election campaign
Forget the financial crisis; in the Ninth Congressional District of Illinois, it is Israel that has taken center stage in the election campaign. A Jewish candidate has been trying to convince the mostly Jewish voters that his Jewish opponent has not done enough to protect the Jewish interest. Don't read this if you have high blood pressure.


With statehood, Palestine ready to end all claims
The Palestinians are ready to end all historic claims against Israel once they establish their state in the lands Israel occupied in the 1967 Mideast War, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday, addressing a long–standing Israeli demand.




Palestinians weighing alternatives to peace talks
The Palestinians will study alternatives to peace talks with Israel in the coming days, a top PLO official said Saturday, after Israel gave the green light to build 238 new houses for Jews on war–won land Palestinians seek for their state.




Israel rebuked at United Nations. Will Security Council take action?
Israel’s approval last week of 238 new Jewish housing units in Arab East Jerusalem provoked widespread condemnation in a United Nations Security Council session Monday focused on the stalemated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.


Leading rabbi encourages IDF soldiers to use Palestinian human shields
"According to true Jewish values, your lives come before those of the enemy, whether he is a soldier or a civilian under protection. Therefore, you are forbidden from endangering your own life for the sake of the enemy, not even for a civilian," Shapira declared.


New east Jerusalem homes approved



Israel says Hamas has anti-aircraft missiles
Netanyahu gave no evidence to support his claim, and aides would not discuss details about the missiles.




East Jerusalem housing approval irks Palestinians



Carter in Syria: Israel Must Fully Lift Gaza Blockade
"The blockade is one of the most serious human rights violations on Earth and it must be lifted fully," said Carter from Syria.

Besides Carter, the Elders delegation includes former Irish president Mary Robinson and former UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. While in Gaza, the group described Israel's blockade as an "illegal collective punishment" and "an impediment to peace."


Families of Gaza flotilla victims accuse Israel of war crimes in The Hague
Turkish lawyers representing pro-Palestinian activists filed a complaint Thursday with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accusing Israel of committing war crimes in May when its troops raided a boat trying to break Israel's blockade of Gaza.

It was unclear whether the prosecutor would agree to pursue the case or whether the court has jurisdiction. But the filing reignited an issue that has severely strained Israel's relations with Turkey, previously its strongest ally in the Muslim world, and keeps Israel on the defensive over its much-criticized Gaza blockade.
Anti-Israel protest in Turkey, AP, June 6, 2010

Pro-Palestinian Turks demonstrating against Israel in Ankara, Turkey on June 6, 2010
Photo by: AP

A delegation representing some 300 activists and a Turkish nongovernment organization submitted the complaint to the prosecutor's office in The Hague seeking an investigation into the May 31 raid.


US 'disappointed' at Israel's settlement move
The United States said Friday it was "disappointed" with Israel's plans for 238 new settler homes in east Jerusalem, saying it undermined US efforts to revive Middle East peace talks.




Did Canada's support for Israel cost it a seat on UN Security Council?
In January 2010, Canada was the only country to reduce its financial contributions to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides education, health care and emergency aid to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza, cutting $18 million in aid, as reported by the Ma'an News Agency.


With Allies Like These
Israeli Sephardic leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in his weekly Saturday night sermon said that non-Jews exist to serve Jews.

“Goyim were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world; only to serve the People of Israel,” he said during a public discussion of what kind of work non-Jews are allowed to perform on Shabbat.


No Knesset majority for loyalty oath for Jews and non-Jews
Edelstein and Elkin, both immigrants from the former Soviet Union, told Neeman at the meeting that they won't support the bill in its new form, as it discriminates between Jews born in Israel and Jews who immigrate under the Law of Return. That would undermine the point of the Law of Return, which was to treat any Jew who moves here as the equal of someone born here, they argued


This Peaceful Position Takes Courage
While Israel often gets a lot of negative publicity for its brutal treatment of Palestinians and the inherent racism within its society, there is a growing core of Israeli human rights activists who are challenging government policy -- and paying a high price for their courage.


Report: Suspect in Dubai Hamas assassination arrested in Canada



Arab League urges world leaders to boycott OECD conference in Jerusalem
The Arab League sent letters to world leaders on Sunday calling for a boycott of this week's international tourism conference in Jerusalem hosted by Israel.


US supports terrorism: Turkish PM
Erdogan touched on Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed nine Turkish human rights activists on May 31 and condemned the US "double standards," noting that Washington openly "supported the Israeli state terrorism," despite its claims that it supports peace, Turkey's Milliyet newspaper reported on Saturday.


New Loyalty Oath Unusual in Asserting Religion
It adds the words “as a Jewish and democratic state,




The Iran Report by Philip Girald
How about a White House-issued statement calling itself an NIE that says something like this: "Even though we have no hard evidence that Iran has a nuclear arms program we have decided that since Tehran has not been completely forthcoming on some aspects of its nuclear energy program it might be intending to develop a weapon. The White House is under constant pressure from Israel and its supporters in congress and the media to do something about the threat from Iran, so we have asked the CIA to prepare a document that will enable us to bomb Iran if we decide it is politically expedient to do so. Or alternatively not to bomb Iran if we decide not to do so because, in our judgment, the voters cannot stomach another war. The decision on what to do about Iran will be based on what happens in midterm elections next month and on a White House assessment of what has to be done to insure the re-election of President Obama. That might require a new war or maybe not, but rest assured that it will have nothing to do with the genuine threat that Iran might actually pose and nothing to do with any balance of power in the world or vital American national interests. It will all come down to appeasing the Israel Lobby and managing the election cycle. Thank you." Right on, Phil. Sad.


It’s the Palestinians’ Fault
You get the picture. Israel is now essentially saying: we will partially obey international law for 60 days (and then go back to violating it), as long as you sign away basic human rights–refugees and their descendants returning to homes they were expelled from and equality for all–forever. And media, both in the U.S., in Israel and around the world, are adopting Israel’s framing of the issue.



Turkish PM says will not talk with Netanyahu



Director Mike Leigh cancels Israel trip in protest
Leigh, the award–winning director of "Naked" and "Secrets & Lies," was to participate in a film festival next month. He is Jewish.

Writing to the school sponsoring the event, Leigh said he opposed Israel's policies on Gaza, but called the loyalty oath the "last straw."




'Ahmadinejad visit proves Lebanon has joined axis of extreme nations'
Israel's stance, which has been clearly expressed over recent days, is that Ahmadinejad's visit proves that Lebanon is becoming more extreme, on its way to becoming an Iranian outpost. "Lebanon has joined the axis of extreme nations which object to the peace process and support terror," said a senior Israeli official involved in preparations for the two-day visit.


Obama's Sinking Jewish Numbers--Is It Israel?
It does not mean that Jewish voters do not care about Israel, said David Harris, president and CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Coalition, but rather that Jewish voters feel comfortable with the level of support for Israel demonstrated by most candidates, Democrats and Republicans.

In other words, they know they're going to get an Israel-kowtower in Congress, so they don't have to worry.


Israel Is a Campaign Issue, but How Big?
“Jewish voters need to be comfortable that their candidates support Israel, and once they are sure of that, they move on to other issues,”




New York Candidates Court Hasidic Vote
While the true strength of the famous ultra-Orthodox voting blocs is up for debate, the Hasidic lifestyle, which calls for large families and private yeshiva education, leads its adherents to rely on significant infusions of government financial support. Relationships between community leaders and political leaders are based largely on the ability of the former to deliver bloc votes to the latter, and are seen as essential to keeping the aid flowing in the opposite direction.

“They don’t want to be on the outside,” New York Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf said of the New York Hasidic leadership. “They’ll pick the winner. Why? Because they don’t want to be denied aid.”.......“Education, and how government can alleviate the financial burden on a typical Jewish family sending five or six children to yeshivas, is probably the issue of paramount importance to the community,”





Read that a few times.


Occupation and Withdrawal
The central fact is that overwhelmingly suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland [bold mine-DL]. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide-terrorist campaign—over 95 percent of all the incidents—has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.


Going After Iran (Again) by Philip Giraldi
Quite a lot to digest. One does not have to be an apologist for Iran to note that the editorial is a whole lot of innuendo wrapped in speculation. In reality, Iran has not attacked any neighbor or triggered any war either directly or by proxy while it has been Israel that has been doing all the attacking.


US, Israel agree Iran prime threat to Mideast
"While today's strategic dialogue covered many subjects, it is clear that Iran is among the greatest challenges we face today in the Middle East," said the statement, which was released by the State Department in the names of Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon. Israel=the tail that wags the American dog.


Musharraf's 'fish, duck and wine' lunch with Israeli MPs in London
Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is stated to have shared a lunch with a couple of members of Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, at a Chinese restaurant in Kensington area of central London a few days ago.


Ahmadinejad, near Israel border, says Zionists mortal



Israeli Policies are Manifestly Evil: Philip Giraldi
Most intelligence officers believe that Israel, which was conducting a massive and illegal spy operation inside the U.S. aimed at Arabs living here, knew at least parts of the 9/11 conspiracy. It did not share that information and it is also clear that leading Israeli politicians welcomed the attacks because they made Washington a totally committed ally in full agreement with the Israeli view of Islamic terrorism.


Without Protest or Funding, Columbia Opens Center for Palestine Studies
Unlike Israel Studies, which has expanded rapidly with support from wealthy Jewish donors, "Palestine studies" as an autonomous field of research has no ready–made set of foundations and donors to back it


turkey Iran sanctions affecting banking decisions
Turkey said Wednesday that U.S. and EU sanctions have led to hesitation by Turkish banks on doing business with Iran. But Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan told reporters in Washington that he expects overall Turkish trade with Iran to increase.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/10/20/1678148/turkey-iran-sanctions-affecting.html#ixzz13VZqdsTM


Pro-Israel groups deny role in Cyprus bill
A report last week in Congressional Quarterly said the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee lobbied for the nonbinding resolution passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 28 by voice vote.....The Congressional Quarterly story cast what it said was pro-Israel support for the resolution as part of deteriorating Israel-Turkey relations in the wake of the 2009 Gaza war and Israel's deadly May 31 raid on a Turkish-flagged aid flotilla attempting to breach Israel's blockade of Gaza.


It's the Occupation, Stupid - By Robert A. Pape
Israelis have their own narrative about terrorism, which holds that Arab fanatics seek to destroy the Jewish state because of what it is, not what it does. But since Israel withdrew its army from Lebanon in May 2000, there has not been a single Lebanese suicide attack. Similarly, since Israel withdrew from Gaza and large parts of the West Bank, Palestinian suicide attacks are down over 90 percent.




Foreign Policy Does Not Flow From the Will of the People
To the extent that a consensus on Israel exists on the right, it is something that has been fashioned by conservative political and intellectual leaders over decades, and it is something that has been reinforced through a steady diet of slanted or incomplete news coverage, government propaganda, and the constantly repeated claim that Israel is a reliable ally.......One side has effectively dominated the public discussion of the issue for decades, not because they happen to be telling the public what it already wants to hear, but because they have been trying to shape public opinion for decades


4 men are convicted in NY synagogue-bombing plot
The FBI assigned Hussain in 2008 to infiltrate a mosque in Newburgh, about an hour north of New York. After meeting Cromitie, he told him he was a representative of a Pakistani terror organization that was eager to finance a holy war on U.S. soil.




At Lebanon border, Ahmadinejad predicts Israel demise

"The whole world knows that the Zionists are going to disappear," he said Thursday to thunderous applause before a frenzied crowd in Hezbollah's bastion of Bint Jbeil, some four kilometres (two miles) from the Israeli border.

"The occupying Zionists today have no choice but to accept reality and go back to their countries of origin," he added.




Ahmadinejad in Lebanon: A Mideast Doctrine in Ruins
The Bush Administration may have hoped that its own invasion of Iraq and Israel's attacks on Lebanon in 2006 and Gaza in late 2008 would strike decisive blows against Iran and its allies and turn the regional dynamic in favor of the U.S. But in all three places, Iran's influence was actually strengthened


Building to destroy the peace process
The only explanation for the government's approval of 240 new housing units in East Jerusalem is that it was an attempt to sabotage the efforts to renew direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.


ADL's demonization of student activism denounced



U.S. lawmakers: Lebanon's embrace of Ahmadinejad may affect military aid
In August, two key Democrats, Representatives Nita Lowey and Howard Berman, announced they were holding up $100 million that had been approved for Lebanon's army but not yet spent. At the time, lawmakers said they were blocking U.S. funding due to a deadly border clash between Lebanon and Israel.


My Amazing and Disturbing Experiences in Israel Veterans Today
“Boy, you guys are really something – having served the military of our country (remember – they were AMERICAN citizens)
and then investing your time in a ‘feeling for duty’ to Israel”.

They answered proudly and without hesitation: ” Oh no – we haven’t served in the United States military – there’s no way”. Then they both broke out in a cynical mocking laughter. So if there is any doubt where their loyalties lie – consider their unabashed answer of contemptuous scorn for the notion of patriotically serving in uniform for America I don't agree with Mr. Cortina's inability to distinguish between Jews and Israelis but if true, his account of his travels is interesting.

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