Headlines for February 3 - February 9

A Stand For Justice


How About a Clean Break – with Israel? by Philip Giraldi
That Israel is able to control many aspects of America’s relationship with foreign nations is clear and the hubristic Israel Lobby makes virtually no effort to hide what it is doing. On January 18th, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee wrote a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calling on the United States to veto any resolution in the United Nations condemning the Israeli settlements policy......Joined by 15 other senators as cosignatories, Gillibrand maintains fatuously and falsely that any criticism of the settlements "hurts the prospects for a peace agreement and is not in the interest of the United States." In reality, as she well knows, it is US acquiescence in the settlements that damages the US standing in the world.

.....Senator Gillibrand’s excursion into fantasy, Rand Paul’s experience in opening Pandora’s box, and the developing situation in Egypt together illustrate how Israel is a United States national security liability and always has been.

Its leading politicians have even bragged about how the United States does its bidding. This has done extreme damage to the United States, which has initiated at least one war as a result, and has been engaged in what must be described as a nearly continuous and escalating conflict with the entire Muslim world on behalf of Israel. This has trashed America’s reputation and has come at a real cost of trillions of dollars and thousands of lives. The benefit to the American people has been zero.

In accomplishing its strategic objective of making the United States its permanent protector, Israel and its lobby have also corrupted both Congress and the White House and have created a permanent distortion in how Washington sees the world and responds to it. Israel’s enemies, even if they do not threaten the United States in any way, have become America’s enemies.

That Washington will define its own interests in the Middle East largely in terms of whether they are compatible with those of Israel is nothing short of betrayal of the Constitution, which established a national government that would benefit the American people and make them both safe and prosperous. One hesitates to borrow rhetoric from the neoconservatives, but sometimes even they get something right. It is indeed time for a clean break, but this time with Israel. Another great article by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.


PA bans anti-Mubarak protest
The Palestinian Authority has broken up a demonstration supporting anti-government protesters in Egypt, while permitting a smaller protest backing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak - drawing accusations it is picking sides in the Egyptian unrest.


Hamas allows anti-Mubarak protest in Gaza
Hamas security officials allowed hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza to demonstrate Thursday against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in the first such public gathering in the seaside strip since turmoil erupted in neighboring Egypt last week.

Again there's that sentence 'In 2007 Hamas wrested control of the Gaza from the Palestinian Authority. '. This is patently false; a lie. Hamas was democratically elected as the ruling party. These elections were verified by Jimmy Carter who deemed them free and fair.


Masked Israeli settlers chase schoolchil
On the afternoon of 7 February 2011, three Israeli settlers from Havat Ma'on outpost chased a group of 12 Palestinian schoolchildren who were walking home from school. The Israeli military had failed to arrive to escort the schoolchildren, forcing the children to take a longer path without the army's escort.


‘We know that Netanyahu cannot sleep now’
“We know the revolution will change this and that’s that, we see every day what Israel is doing with the Palestinians.”


US to Jewish Leaders: We Won't Recognize Muslim Brotherhod
The White House is seeking to reassure Jewish leaders concerned about the turmoil in Egypt, telling them in a conference call late Wednesday that US policy is not to deal with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Many in the pro-Israel community have been concerned that the waning position of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his regime will empower the Muslim Brotherhood and are fearful that the US could contribute to its rise by viewing the Islamic group as a legitimate Egyptian political player. We don't support freedom or democracy if it displeases Israel or her supporters. This is not lost on the Arab world (and beyond).


Israel's Barak in U.S. for talks amid Egypt crisis
Barak's visit is expected to focus on Egypt, where unprecedented protests against the 30–year rule of President Hosni Mubarak have raised fears the unrest may lead to Islamist radicalization that could threaten Cairo's 1979 peace agreement with Israel and its role in Middle East peace efforts.




Controversy at Rutgers as Activists Attempt To Disrupt Pro-Palestinian Event
“There were many, many rowdy and unruly protesters,” said Daniel Heitner, a Rutgers sophomore and a member of the Rutgers Hillel who volunteered to help with security at the event. Heitner said that he saw a man whom he recognized as a member of the Hillel call the women working at the registration table, who wore hijabs, “terrorists and suicide bombers.”




Mideast allies: 'US go easy on Egypt'



Israeli prime minister says peace can come apart
Israel's prime minister is warning that peace treaties can be canceled, hinting at his concern over the turmoil in Egypt over anti–government protests.




Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is a democratic partner, not Islamist threat - CSMonitor.com
The Muslim Brothers began in the 1930s as a legalist, anti-colonialist, and nonviolent movement that claimed legitimacy for armed resistance in Palestine against Zionist expansionism during the period before World War II. The writings from between 1930 and 1945 of Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Brotherhood, show that he opposed colonialism and strongly criticized the fascist governments in Germany and Italy. He rejected use of violence in Egypt, even though he considered it legitimate in Palestine, in resistance to the Zionist Stern and Irgun terror gangs.


$5 million lawsuit targets Jimmy Carter for ‘attacking Israel’
The plaintiffs alleged in a press release that the 39th US president and Nobel Peace Prize winner "violated the law and, thus, harmed those who purchased the book" by unfairly "attacking Israel." Wow.


Cables: Israel favored Egypt's VP Suleiman
A U.S. diplomat who classified the cable, Luis Moreno, wrote that although he deferred to the Embassy in Cairo for Egyptian succession scenario analysis, "there is no question that Israel is most comfortable with the prospect of" Suleiman.




Police issue arrest warrant for rabbi that supported book which justifies killing non-Jews



Egypt holds gas supply to Israel and Jordan after pipeline explosion
Saboteurs blew up a pipeline that runs through Egypt's Northern Sinai, state television reported on Saturday, disrupting flows to Israel and Jordan after Islamist groups called on militants to exploit the unrest that has rocked the government.


Egypt protests draw biggest crowd yet
"Yesterday, one man in his 60s said: 'We were cowards. We kept quiet all these years, but you've done it.' It's inspiring. It's a rebirth," he said. "I never thought I'd sleep on asphalt with rain on my face and feel happy."




U.S. reexamining its relationship with Muslim Brotherhood opposition group
U.S. officials have acknowledged the political reality that the Muslim Brotherhood is poised to assume at least a share of power should Egypt hold free and fair elections in the coming months.


Ackerman Breaks With J Street – A Sign of Trouble Ahead for Dovish Lobby?
J Street has lost one of its key supporters in Congress, as New York Democrat Gary Ackerman announced he is disassociating himself from the group because of their stance on condemning Israel’s settlement activity in the UN General Assembly.

...Gary Ackerman is one of the top authorities in the House on all things relating to Israel. He chaired the subcommittee on Middle East (and will now be the ranking Democrat on it) and has strong ties with leaders from Israel and Arab countries.




US hatches Mubarak exit strategy as Egypt death toll mounts



WikiLeaks: Israel Long Viewed Egypt VP as Preferred Mubarak Successor
According to an August 2008 cable released by WikiLeaks and published by the Daily Telegraph newspaper on its website, a senior adviser from the Israeli Ministry of Defense told U.S. diplomats in Tel Aviv that the Israelis believe Suleiman would likely serve as "at least an interim president if Mubarak dies or is incapacitated."


HRW: Egypt-Inspired Protests Across Middle East Meet Violent Clampdown
The security forces' clampdown is part and parcel of regular prohibitions on public gatherings in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, the West Bank, and Yemen. These governments curtail free expression and assembly despite the fact that almost all of the region's countries have signed international agreements protecting both rights, Human Rights Watch said.


Everybody’s Talkin’ at Me…
Mike Huckabee is on FOX, speaking from Israel, lamenting Mubarak’s–and Israel’s–betrayal by the US.

Mubarak deserves a defense and we would do well to hear one, if only to temper the giddy rush to celebrate Egypt’s impending chaos; but the Reverend Huck? Here he is now an apologist for Arab despotism. I didn’t hear him mention the plight of Egypt’s Christians, already under siege before the present uprising.


Ideology vs. the National Interest by Patrick J. Buchanan
if free and fair elections are held and the new government of Egypt, in Bush’s words, responds “to the will of the people, and not the will of an elite,” Egypt will become more Islamic, more hostile to us and Israel, and more supportive of Iran. That's really none of our business, that's the business of the Egyptian people. Americans would never stand for anyone meddling in our affairs. Well, they wouldn't provided they knew about it (Israel's overwhelming influence over Capitol Hill. I'm trying to change the fact that most Americans are completely clueless so that maybe we can do something about that).


Three Years Old, J Street Still Struggles For Acceptance
As J Street approaches two significant milestones — the third anniversary of its launch and its second national conference — the group is still spending time and energy defending itself from critics who say that it isn’t sufficiently pro-Israel.

...Asked in a February 1 interview with the Forward whether he still views J Street as pro-Israel, Ackerman responded: “They have done many things that are pro-Israel, but asking to refrain from vetoing a condemnation of Israel is not a pro-Israel action.” He expressed hope that J Street would reconsider its position on the issue.




Why It Makes Sense To Single Out Glenn Beck
In a letter to The Wall Street Journal, Jeffrey Wiesenfeld reminds us that Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch are responsible for News Corporation’s financial support of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and the Anti-Defamation League. These are good men, I’ve been told repeatedly. Friends of the Jews.





Israel's Stakes, Egypt's Streets
Hawks in Netanyahu’s government will almost certainly argue that Jerusalem is wise not to get too deeply involved in a peace process which could require it to make territorial concessions that it might regret tomorrow, in a very different Middle East. Others — myself included — would counter that the very absence of a peace process could encourage the next rulers of Egypt and possibly Jordan to turn their backs on Israel tomorrow.




The Gipper’s Gift: A Pro-Israel GOP
Reagan gave pro-Israel neoconservatives, such as Jeane Kirkpatrick and Elliott Abrams, prominent roles in his administration. Kirkpatrick, in particular, defended Israel from her perch as American ambassador to the United Nations.

...A visit to Israel is now a rite of passage for prospective GOP presidential candidates (which is remarkable given that so few Jews vote in the Republican primaries), with Mitt Romney recently undertaking such a pilgrimage.

Did this Forward author ever get a gander at these 2 recent polls? I guess it doesn't matter what most Americans want as long as Congress is staunchly pro-Israel?


Jewish Groups Clash Over Response to Fox Host’s On-Air Holocaust Rhetoric



Blood and fear in Cairo's streets as Mubarak's men crack down on protests



The American Way of Abandonment by Patrick J. Buchanan
A dictator, yes, but also our man in the Arab world. Yet a few hundred thousand demonstrators in Cairo’s streets caused us to abandon him.

---