A Stand For Justice
2 militants dead in Israeli raid in West Bank
Israeli troops in the West Bank killed two senior Hamas militants, and a settler leader struck a rock–wielding Palestinian youth with his car Friday in disputed east Jerusalem as tensions rose over stalled peace talks.
Third world America
The National Association of Counties estimates that local governments will eliminate roughly half a million employees in the next fiscal year, with public safety, public works, public health, social services, and parks and recreation hardest hit by the cutbacks. A July survey by the association of counties, the National League of Cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors of 270 local governments found that 63 per cent of localities are cutting back on public safety and 60 per cent are cutting public works. Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
Syria: Israel-U.S. fighter jet deal destabilizes region
Last month, a ministerial panel headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak made a final decision to purchase 20 new F-35 fighter jets, despite opposition from a number of senior defense officials over the high cost of the deal.
The entire deal will be funded by American military. Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
A record 30% of unemployed out of work at least a year
Put another way, a hefty share of the long-term unemployed — 71% — were out of work at least a year in August, up from 48% a year earlier, BLS figures show. Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
US Backs PM: Israel is Jewish State
Meanwhile, Israel plans to request next week that the US extend its $3 billion security package for another few years, but the state is also preparing for the possibility that the latter will cut the package by a billion, Ynet has learned.
Next week officials from the State Department are scheduled to arrive in Israel in order to receive a briefing on its economic standing and reforms.
Over the past few years, due to Israel's relatively buoyant economy, the state has not generally had to make use of US security in order to raise funds, but the Finance Ministry prefers to continue receiving it. Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
US Cities Face Half a Trillion Dollars of Pension Deficits
Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
Senior citizens brace for Social Security freeze
The government is expected to announce this week that more than 58 million Social Security recipients will go through a second straight year without an increase in monthly benefits. This year was the first without an increase since automatic adjustments for inflation started in 1975. Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
10,000 wait in line at Cal Expo in bid to save their homes
Hey I know, let's send Israel a few more billion.
Ahmadinejad makes a show of strength in Lebanon
Israeli lawmaker Arieh Eldad, from the ultranationalist National Union Party, went so far as to suggest that Israel assassinate the Iranian leader when he visits the border area.
Arab summit fails to address issues
Abbas sought Arab backing for possible fall back options in case troubled talks with Israel collapse, including urging the US to unilaterally recognise a Palestinian state.
The Arab Summit gave US mediators another month to keep the talks from collapsing, a deadline that comes just after the US midterm elections.
“Why Is the U.S. Government Deaf to What Has Been Done to My Son?” Asks Father of an American Murdered on the Gaza Flotilla
"Up to this moment, I still do not understand why the United States government is deaf to what has been done to my son, an American citizen. I urge the U.S. government to act to defend the rights of my son. I also would like to know why the U.S. voted against the Gaza Flotilla Report of the UN Fact Finding Mission at the Human Rights Council last week, as that report included information about the execution of my son, " said Dogan
Israeli Troops Accused of Shooting Children in Gaza
At least 10 Palestinian children have been shot and wounded by Israeli troops in the past three months while collecting rubble in or near the "buffer zone" created by Israel along the Gaza border, in a low-intensity offensive on the fringes of the blockaded Palestinian territory.....Last month a 91-year-old man and two teenage boys were killed while harvesting olives outside the official zone when Israeli troops fired shells. Forty-three goats also died in the attack.
Israelis, Palestinians signal deal on settlements
Israel indicated it, too, was edging toward a compromise. The country's ambassador to Washington confirmed for the first time that the U.S. is offering "incentives" for Israel to extend a just–expired settlement slowdown
How Will Jews React to ‘Budrus’?
A Film Highlighting Non-violent Resistance to Israeli Policies, and Israel’s Tough Response, To Get U.S. Premiere, With Jewish Support.
Abbas to Arab League: Israel has violated all agreements
Chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat quoted Abbas as telling Arab leaders attending the summit that Israel has also scrapped the PA’s political, legal, functional and security authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian dream city hits snag from Israel
"I'm really glad the road is there to prevent them from building that city," she said, speaking in English, "and yay for us that we have established those communities so that the problem exists." [says an Israeli settler]
Netanyahu asking Palestinians to cede right of return
Netanyahu knows full well that any Palestinian leader who recognizes Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people also acknowledges that the Palestinians do not have any rightful place there. In other words, it is tantamount to an up-front concession on the right of return.
Obama’s Letter, Netanyahu’s Rejection, and Media’s Non-response
Israeli PM offers conditional settlements freeze
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said for the first time that he would extend the settlement restrictions in the West Bank – if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the Jewish national homeland.
The idea, while innocuous to Israel's supporters, is widely seen as undermining the rights of Arab Israelis, and was immediately rejected by the Palestinians. But it could signal that Netanyahu is willing to bend and save a U.S.–led peace effort in exchange for a different concession.
In Global Hunt for Hit Men, Tantalizing Trail Goes Cold
The findings raised hopes of nabbing one of the orchestrators of the hit, possibly providing proof for accusations by Dubai police that Israel's intelligence agency Mossad was behind it.......And despite an initial burst of tough talk from various governments, some international investigators are concerned that politics may be hampering cooperation from some governments that support Israel.....Two suspects, traveling with forged passports, appeared to have fled to the U.S. shortly after the killing.....But the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has since said it doesn't have records of the two suspects in its system.
Push To Amend Civil Rights Act Forces Basic Questions About Jewish Identity
Now, two Jewish lawmakers are trying to amend the law, in order to have it include protection for Jewish students on college campuses. In the process, they are taking on a heavy historical question: Are the Jews of America part of a religion, or are they an ethnic group?.....the driving force behind this proposed legislation is the Zionist Organization of America, and the events triggering it took place at the University of California, Irvine, where tensions between Jewish and pro-Palestinian students have run high......In addition to incidents at UC, Irvine, ZOA also pointed to other campuses at which anti-Israel activity has left Jewish students feeling harassed. The Specter-Sherman bill mentions several incidents at other universities, as well, including the University of California’s Berkeley campus, where a student holding a pro-Israel sign was pushed and injured. At the University of North Dakota, anti-Semitic slurs were shouted at a Jewish student.
Soon criticism of Israel will be illegal, if the Zionists have their way. Already, the FBI is- under the auspices of the new definition of terrorism- rounding up people in the US for pro-Palestinian activity. Let the fascism of Israel and its supporters be fully known to the American people - so that we all finally DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
Critics: Israel loyalty oath undermines pluralism
Netanyahu's government is also smarting over harsh international criticism over a deadly naval raid on a Gaza–bound flotilla and suspicions that Israeli agents killed a Palestinian militant in Dubai after stealing the identities of some of its own citizens.
Nationalists are promoting a bill that would shut down groups that provide information that could be used to support war crimes allegations against Israel in court cases raised in other countries. Another would impose fines and entry bans on supporters of an anti–Israel boycott.
Earlier this month, controversy erupted after a high school principal used of an unapproved textbook that presents the Palestinian grief over Israel's 1948 creation. Palestinians mourn it as the "nakba" – the catastrophe – because hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from homes in what is now Israel. The principal faces possible disciplinary action.
Another bill that has drawn criticism recently would deny state funding to groups that mourn the "nakba."
Fascism.
Israel To Iran: Time’s Up
Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz called Monday for a naval blockade of Iran within two to six months, saying sanctions have failed to convince the Islamic republic to abandon its nuclear weapons program. THey'll do and say anything at this point to get the US to fight yet another war on their behalf.
Slumdog movie star turns defiant Palestinian girl
The Indian actress who starred in "Slumdog Millionaire" has moved from the slums of Mumbai to the squalid refugee camps of the West Bank in a new film: the story of a defiant Palestinian girl who wants to fight against Israel in a coming of age story with a Mideast twists.
"Miral," directed by award–winning artist Julian Schnabel and with cameos by Willem Dafoe and Vanessa Redgrave, stands apart for more than its star power.
Due for U.S. release in December, it's also likely to give Western audiences–some perhaps more used to movies depicting Arabs as violent Islamic militants–a compassionate view of the Palestinians.
"The ordinary American who knows nothing about Palestine and knows nothing about our cause–it will be the first time he will sit and watch this story," said Yasmine al–Massri, a 31–year–old Paris–based Palestinian actress who plays Pinto's mother.
Slain US activist's parents seek justice in Israel
The Corries have lobbied U.S. officials to pressure Israel to reopen the investigation into Rachel's death. And if the Supreme Court doesn't rule in their favour, the Corries say the will resume lobbying U.S. officials.
Settlers, Palestinians clash over olive harvest
Nasser, a carpenter from the village of Jit, took a day off on Sunday to pick olives from his 30 olive trees which provide him with oil for the entire season. He was shocked to discover a pianful sight when he reached his plot. "I saw that all my trees had been shaved," he said. "There's not one fruit left on any of the trees."
Nasser has no doubts as to who is behind the act. "The Havat Gilat settlers emptied them (the trees) completely."
Nasser is not alone. Farmers of the neighboring villages also found there was nothing left of their crop of hundreds of thousands of olives. Hundreds of trees have been stripped of their fruit.
IOC president invites Israel, Palestine for talks
The president of the International Olympic Committee has invited Israeli and Palestinian sports officials to meet at IOC headquarters to discuss travel restrictions on Palestinian athletes.
Jacque Rogge has expressed concern over travel obstacles facing Palestinian athletes, saying they should be granted free movement regardless of politics.
Jordan Valley joins list of peace obstacles
The Palestinians say they can't give up an inch of the fertile valley, which makes up a quarter of the West Bank and would be one of the few largely undeveloped territories of their crowded future state, a place to build new cities and settle refugees.
With an eye to the future, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad broke ground Monday on an agroindustrial park in the valley that, with funding and technical help from Japan, is to create 10,000 Palestinian jobs one day and transform the sleepy area into an economic hub.
Two Palestinians killed, four families made homeless.
Israel's Other "Peace" Plan Arm-Twisting Obama
CPT Serious Incident Report and Reflection
This particular incident speaks not only to the Israeli police’s lack of impartiality, but also to the reality that settlers’ accusations supersede preserving the educational environment of Palestinian children. The entry of soldiers into educational institutions signifies to children that schools are not safe places for them, thus creating further barriers to education.
French, Spanish FMs: Lieberman violated every rule of diplomacy
During a dinner meeting on Sunday, Lieberman told France's Bernard Kouchner and Spain's Miguel Angel Moratinos to "solve your own problems in Europe before you come to us with complaints. Maybe then I will be open to accepting your suggestions."
Dubai police: Suspect in Hamas assassination arrested abroad
In Monday's comments, Tamim said the suspect is not believed to be European.
"The suspect who was arrested played a key role in the killing, but we were informed by the ambassador ... that they did not wish to release the information," Tamim told the Abu Dhabi government-owned daily.
Gaza teens brave IDF fire to collect salvaged building materials
Every day dozens of people come to the ruins of the industrial zone and the settlements, such as Elei Sinai, in wagons drawn by donkeys or horses. One of the teens, who was shot on August 25, told Defence for Children that in recent months soldiers also shot and killed one of the donkeys and three of the horses.
J Street Board Sticks With Ben-Ami After Soros Flap
Video: The Two State Solution Is Effectively Dead
Short clip of John Mearsheimer, coauthor of The Israeli Lobby, giving the lowdown on Israel's future.
The Israeli Loyalty Oath: What is Netanyahu Up To?
Israel's loyalty oath: Discriminatory by design
The question that lies behind this is why, and why now? Are these the actions of a nation prepared to make a historical compromise, end occupation and live in peace with its neighbourhood? If they are and we are all wildly misinterpreting this, why alienate and incite the very people who could have helped by their example bring a historic settlement about, people who have accepted the existence of Israel, who have never in their history taken up arms against it? This applies to Christian as well as Muslim.
Russia to pay Iran $800 mln for shelved S-300 deal
Iran had criticised Russia for abandoning the deal, which the United States and Israel had urged Moscow to drop because of fears Tehran could use the missiles to protect nuclear facilities they suspect are part of a weapons programme.
Bagels and Ballots — Friday
Responding to MitzVote’s questionnaire, California’s Democratic incumbent Sen. Barbara Boxer responds to our questionnaire. “When it comes to Iran, nothing should be taken off the table,” she wrote. (The San Francisco Chronicle)
Six More Years by Philip Giraldi
. The White House has promised Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu that it will pursue a hard line on Iran and has offered a complete surrender over the issue of settlements if Israel can come to some jury-rigged peace agreement with the Palestinians, possibly landing the United States in the middle of yet another conflict in the Persian Gulf. And to ice the cake there is fear-mongering that occasionally even exceeds the frenetic output of the Bush Administration.
Joseph Sobran, Antiwar Prophet, RIP
The Israeli/Likud lobby today is still dominant mainly because of its fanatical support from tens of millions of Christian Zionist evangelicals and the military-industrial complex.
Goldwater on the Israel Lobby
Kolbe: Is the Israeli lobby too powerful?
Goldwater: God, yes, way too powerful.
Kolbe: Has that had some detrimental effects on what comes out of Congress?
Goldwater: Yes. See, we have no treaty with Israel, but we have pledged ourselves to go to war if she has to go to war. And there are some of the actions that some of the Israeli groups take that, at times, I’ve felt would hasten that day when we have to live up to our promise. I can understand the feeling, but I’m getting awfully tired of the great influence they have and there’s no question about it.
Poll: 76% of American Jews think Arabs want to destroy Israel
If diplomacy fails, 59% would support military action against Iran to stop its nuclear program, while 35% would oppose it. 70% will support Israeli preventive strike, while 26% would oppose it.
With Emanuel and Axelrod Gone, Will the Jews Have Access to Obama?
the two individuals now running the policy in the White House -- National Security Council staffers Daniel Shapiro and Dennis Ross -- are sensitive to Jewish concerns.
“Rahm was not running Middle East policy,” Diament said. “Dennis Ross and Dan Shapiro are still there.”
Sarah Palin says if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, it could lead to Armageddon or World War III
"We have to realize that, at the end of the day, a nuclear weapon in that country's hands is not just Israel's problem or America's problem — it is the world's problem," Palin said of Iran.
Sarah Palin would appear to be a nitwit.
Chinese warplanes refueled in Iran en route to Turkey
Iran indirectly supported a secret military drill between the Turkish and Chinese air forces that took place in September, sparking concerns in the United States, daily Hürriyet reported Monday
They Hate Us for Our Occupations
In 2004, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld commissioned a task force to study what causes Terrorism, and it concluded that "Muslims do not 'hate our freedom,' but rather, they hate our policies": specifically, "American direct intervention in the Muslim world" through our "one sided support in favor of Israel"; support for Islamic tyrannies in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia; and, most of all, "the American occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan" (the full report is here). Now, a new, comprehensive study from Robert Pape, a University of Chicago political science professor and former Air Force lecturer, substantiates what is (a) already bleedingly obvious and (b) known to the U.S. Government for many years: namely, that the prime cause of suicide bombings is not Hatred of Our Freedoms or Inherent Violence in Islamic Culture or a Desire for Worldwide Sharia Rule by Caliphate, but rather. . . . foreign military occupations.
US man suspected of trying to spy for Israel
In June 2006, Doxer e-mailed a foreign country's consulate in Boston with his offer to help. Court papers indicated the country was Israel because at one point he identified himself as a Jewish American who wanted "to help our homeland and our war against our enemies." A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to confirm or deny that it was Israel.
The Media's Construction of the 'Ground Zero Mosque'
CNN featured virulent Islamophobes on a number of occasions. Geller—who has called for the destruction of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, one of Islam’s holiest sites, and whose website depicted Muhammad with the face of a pig (FAIR Blog, 8/18/10)—appeared on the network twice (5/26/10, 8/17/10) to talk about her opposition to the project. Many are bile-spewing Israel-supporters, not surprisingly.
Venezuela Community in Eye of Storm As Chavez Assails Israel
“A Palestinian community lives here with us, which we adore and love, and there are also Jews that live here who we love, as well,” he said then. “But I wish the Jewish community would declare themselves against this barbarism. Do it. Don’t you strongly denounce any act of persecution and the Holocaust? What do you think we are looking at [in Gaza]? Put your hand on your heart, and be fair.”
Why defense spending won't go down much Stephen M. Walt
Q. How can you tell when William Kristol is giving bad policy advice?
A. His lips are moving. Or he's typing. Or he's writing an open letter for a bunch of hawks to sign. Or launching some new letterhead organization.
I refer, of course, to Kristol's recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (co-authored with the presidents of the the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute). The basic theme is that the world is very, very dangerous, and so the United States should not cut a nickel from its defense budget, even though we already spend more than the rest of the world combined, have most of the world's major powers on our side, and possess a robust nuclear deterrent. So even though the country is also facing massive budget deficits, at least partly due to policies that Kristol has previously promoted, we need to build a wall around the defense budget and make sure it doesn't get shrunk. At all.
Mr. Walt is the other author of the Israeli lobby.
The Real Israel Lobby
Neocon Bill Kristol attempting to further the lie that Americans support Israel. IF it were true, then there wouldn't be a need for AIPAC, WINEP, CAMERA, Honestreporting.com and many more lobbies, PACs, thinktanks, watchdogs : all dedicated to making sure the media and representatives toe the Israeli line. None of that would be necessary if the majority of Americans supported Israel. In fact, they don't according to a recent poll by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. My condolences to the Israel firsters (which includes the neocons).
Israel, Hurt by Belly-Dance Video, Fears Delegitimization - TIME
Israel's latest mortification, now playing on YouTube, features a Palestinian woman in modest Islamic dress, captive, blindfolded and standing stock still while an Israeli soldier undulates against her, trilling his fingers like the belly dancer he pretends to be as he grins at his friend who holds the camera. This follows the infamous Facebook posting of a female soldier beaming beside blindfolded and bound Palestinian men — her prisoners — in a photo album titled "IDF — The best time of my life." .......The need to nurture U.S. support against Iran was only one reason Netanyahu came around to the Obama Administration's bid for talks
Hero's welcome in Lebanon for Iranian leader
"We fully support the resistance of the Lebanese people against the Zionist regime and we want full liberation of occupied territory in Lebanon, Syria and Palestine,"
Helen Thomas on being anti-Semitic: 'Baloney!'
In a radio interview, former White House correspondent Helen Thomas acknowledges she touched a nerve with remarks about Israel that led to her retirement. But she says the comments were "exactly what I thought," even though she realized soon afterward that it was the end of her job.
"I hit the third rail. You cannot criticize Israel in this country and survive," Thomas told Ohio station WMRN–AM in a sometimes emotional 35–minute interview that aired Tuesday
Israel Is Spying In And On The U.S.? Part 1
Palestinian Oktoberfest Entices Israeli Jews
This past weekend thousands of Palestinians, foreigners and a few Israelis flocked there for an Oktoberfest celebration where, as-per Oktoberfest tradition, beer flowed freely. For some of the Israelis who went the event was reminiscent of the days, before the First Intifada, when they regularly traveled to Palestinian areas to eat and drink.
Bagels & Ballots: The Governator Jumps In
The American Jewish Committee published a survey on Jewish voters is out, and it looks like Barack Obama is losing Jewish support because of his Israel policy. 61% of Jewish voters see the issue as “very important” in choosing mid-term congressional candidates, making it the sixth-highest concern.
Rick Sanchez Latest To Be Immediately Fired After Comments Hostile to Jews
Before Sanchez there was Octavia Nasr, CNN’s senior editor of Middle East affairs, who was sacked in June for publicly praising — via Twitter — a Muslim cleric associated with Hezbollah. And before her there was Helen Thomas, the 90-year-old veteran White House correspondent who lost her job this past summer when she said that Israelis should “get the hell out of Palestine” and go back to Poland and Germany. In her case, she quit, but there was little chance of her staying on in her job after the uproar began.
Negotiator: Iran to show proof of US nuclear aid to Israel
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