A Stand For Justice
Ex-CIA officer: Israel spies on US
An example, Giraldi said, is the Chinese Chengdu Jet J-10 that has been built with technologies that originally came from the US.
This is despite the fact that Israel relies heavily on the US for political and military support.
“It should almost be seen as an act of war,” Giraldi emphasized. Please take a few minutes to give a listen to former counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.
Settlers burn land adjacent to outpost
On 8 June 2011 fire burned 20 to 30 dunums (4 dunums equal about 1 acre) of Palestinian land owned by five different families. The land was part of a plot of 50 dunums planted with different kinds of fruit trees and garden plants.
Abbas's Fatah expels ex-Palestinian strong-man
The ousting of Mohammed Dahlan, for years Fatah's strong–man in the Gaza Strip, and the splits it has revealed, could damage the movement's standing in unity talks with its rival faction, Islamist Hamas.
Haaretz exclusive: Secret cables show Israel's battle plan over Palestinian UN bid
"The goal we have set is to have the maximum number of countries oppose the process of having the UN recognize a Palestinian state," Barak wrote to Israel's ambassadors in his cable, which was sent June 2. "The Palestinian effort must be referred to as a process that erodes the legitimacy of the State of Israel... Read on for more. Notice that the local Jewish community will be used like sheep to further the cause of Israel - increasing the likelihood for anti-Semitism. And you had better believe that our government officials will also be in Europe doing this very same thing. Because after all, we are Israel's bitch. Mark my words, kids.
Human Rights Groups Denounce Israeli Destruction of Bedouin Villages
Human rights groups have denounced an Israeli government plan to destroy 35 Bedouin villages that it has declared illegal in the Negev desert.
The move - reportedly planned to enable the building of homes for 10,000 people - threatens the livelihoods of Bedouins who have been living in the area for 60 years.
Police, Palestinians clash at Jerusalem holy site
Also Friday, a Hamas leader said Israel had stepped up a campaign of arrests against members of the Islamic militant group in the West Bank, which Israel controls.
Mushir al–Masri, a Hamas official in the Gaza Strip, said around 100 Hamas members had been arrested by the Israeli military in the last two weeks in the West Bank, including eight of the group's leaders.
European Parliament: East Jerusalem should be Palestinian capital
Jobless Gaza enters 5th year of Israeli blockade
"It is hard to understand the logic of a man–made policy which deliberately impoverishes so many and condemns hundreds of thousands of potentially productive people to a life of destitution," Gunness said.
Israel continues to blockade Gaza, controlling the flow of imports and tightly restricting access to Israeli territory mainly to urgent humanitarian cases, to prevent Hamas militants who are supported by Iran and Syria from obtaining weapons, explosives and ammunition.
Hamas rejects Fayyad as next Palestinian PM
Fatah has nominated Salam Fayyad, the prime minister of the West Bank–based Palestinian Authority, to head the caretaker government.
Obama’s Dilemma — and Ours by Patrick J. Buchanan
We overextended ourselves. We bankrupted ourselves.
We undertook the defense of nations all over the world having little to do with our vital national interests. We fought unnecessary wars. We doled out trillions in foreign aid to ingrates, incompetents, opportunists and thieves.
Palestinians grapple with opposition to UN plan
Top Palestinian and Israeli negotiators were in Washington this week, meeting separately with U.S. officials in search of ways to resume negotiations. There was no word on any breakthrough.
Target: Iran by Philip Giraldi
An ‘article’ by Seymour Hersh that appeared last week in the New Yorker reveals some details of the still classified 2011 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran. To put it succinctly, there is no actual evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapon program. None. Hersh’s article elicited a response from a number of anonymous White House sources who disputed the article’s conclusions, suggesting very clearly that the Obama Administration embraces the Iranian threat narrative, if only to be able to cite Tehran as the reason for the repeated American failures in the region. Hersh also reported that the NIE had been delayed for four months because the White House had wanted a harsher judgment on Iran’s likely intentions. The intelligence community, having been burned once over Iraq, refused to comply. Read on for the legislation put forth by Israel-firsters on Capitol Hill.
AIPAC Pushes Hard for War With Iran
The overarching problem is the Israel lobby’s subversion of American governance through election fraud, the evasion of tax regulations and laws regulating foreign lobbies, and the systematized, ongoing infiltration of operatives into key government posts to advance the interests of a foreign state. Unfortunately for AIPAC, the Americans gathering to challenge it cross party lines. Whether they wear American flag pins on their suit lapels or Birkenstocks over wool socks is of ever declining significance. Thank God for that. But Americans need to get in the know and take action at a quicker pace, before it's too late.
Activists cry foul over FBI probe
The apparent targets, all vocal and visible critics of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South America, deny any ties to terrorism. They say the government, using its post-9/11 focus on terrorism as a pretext, is targeting them for their political views....
All 23 of the activists invoked their right not to testify before a grand jury, defying U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, whose office is spearheading the investigation. Patrick Fitzgerald, now a stoolie to the neocons, rather than a prosecutor thereof. Sad.
US activists prepare to break Israel's blockade on Gaza
Other passengers on the boat besides Wright include Alice Walker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author; Hedy Epstein, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor; Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK; and former CIA analyst Ray McGovern.
Did Kissinger Urge Egypt to Attack Israel?
Lebanon PM: New government to liberate land under occupation of 'Israeli enemy'
Eastern Europe new battleground in Mideast rift
With the stakes so high, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans visits soon to Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, while envoys are also working hard in the Czech Republic and Slovakia to make their case for opposing the Palestinian initiative in the expected U.N. vote.
"60 Minutes" Reports on Jerusalem
Notice again that these Jewish settlers are American, and also witness the settler crash his car into the Palestinian kid then speed away. Lovely, lovely people. And we are handing that nation billiions of dollars. Many settler charities are tax deductible here in the States, to round out their swindling of American taxpayers.
EU in Kosovo says Turk, Israeli trafficked organs
Organ trafficking is evidently becoming a common thing in Israel.
EU: Palestinian state vote could be 'dangerous'
Concerned about the possibility of Palestinian riots in September, Israeli police conducted a drill Tuesday simulating large–scale disturbances. Hundreds of police in riot gear took part.
Bentzi Sau, commander of the police Central District, told reporters that police were aware that a unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians "could cause disturbances of the kind we've seen in neighboring Arab countries."
Jewish American Teenage Hero Lucas Koerner takes on two World Powers
Israel's hand will ultimately be forced into respecting human rights and international laws, but not because an American President or the U.S. Congress will force it into complying, because they won't. They lack the moral courage to stand up to Tel Aviv. It will, in fact, be forced by courageous Jewish heroes like Lucas Koerner and Rae Abileah who will be joined by hundreds of thousands of peace-loving Israelis
YouTube - Irish Rugby Players for Irish Ship to Gaza
Excellent.
Fighter-jet engines 'stolen from Israeli base'
Air force officials quoted in the Maariv newspaper said the stolen parts were eight engines from F–15 and F–16 fighter jets which were taken from Tel Nof air base.
On Shavuot, Women Asked To Walk a Longer Kotel Route
why then, should Jewish women today have to walk separately from men to the Kotel to pray this year on Shavuot, which begins tonight? Actually, if certain Haredi authorities had it their way, not only would women walk a different route through the Old City of Jerusalem, but they wouldn’t go to the Kotel tonight at all.
And again.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Risks Taking Over Milan's Central Piazza
Pro–Palestinian activists have posted an online plea against the event, and have threatened to organize a rally against it on June 18. "We do not want Milan to become the stage for Zionist imperialism's propaganda," they wrote.
Israel holds drill for next Gaza-bound flotilla
The Israeli military says it's holding a drill ahead of the next Gaza–bound flotilla with pro–Palestinian activists who could try to breach Israel's naval blockade of the territory.
‘... and an unshakable commitment to the security of Israel’ — RT
a bipartisan group of US senators wants to prove that American exceptionalism is alive and well by demanding the US recognize the results of the war of 1967 as legitimate.
Syrians flee as troops mass, West concern grows
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday said 2,400 people had already crossed into Turkey.
Israel’s ‘Mr. Security’ Goes Rogue
In a series of semi-public talks with academics, journalists and a Knesset committee, Dagan has been arguing since January that Iran is further from gaining a nuclear weapon than Israel’s leaders claim and that the notion of attacking Iran’s nuclear installations, a cornerstone of Benjamin Netanyahu’s defense strategy, is “stupid.” He says that an attack wouldn’t succeed in eliminating Iran’s dispersed, heavily fortified nuclear sites. It would, however, spark a regional war which could threaten Israel’s existence. Moreover, he says, issuing military threats in order to deter Iran and stiffen Western resolve has the perverse effect of spurring Iran to speed up its efforts, in self-defense.
Read more: http://www.forward.com/articles/138492/#ixzz1Q337ki5s
Thank you for your honesty and cojones, Mr. Dagan. While you are looking out for your country, I am looking out for mine.
New Square: Where Tradition And the Rebbe Rule
Among other things, New Square residents must walk streets strictly divided by gender, with women on one side and men on the other, as Yiddish signs posted on telephone poles lining those streets dictate. Women are not allowed to drive
....This is not New Square’s first turn in the spotlight in connection with a scandal. In January 2001, President Bill Clinton commuted the sentences of four New Square officials who had been convicted earlier in a multi-million dollar federal Pell Grant scandal. This was shortly after the village overwhelmingly voted for Clinton’s wife in the November 2000 Senate campaign.
What? Guess where this takes place? Yes, good old America. Who owns this place? Wait, I thought we were in danger of Sharia Law here?
The Republicans Heart Netanyahu
Republicans see an opportunity to seize on the distance between a recalcitrant, right-wing Israeli regime and a liberal Democratic American president for their own political gain. What’s more, the party’s base is increasingly dominated by the conservative Christian Zionists, whose love for Israel is, according to their interpretation of Scripture, commanded by the Almighty.
American Diplomacy 101 by Philip Giraldi
It seems that Rohrabacher and some fellow wingnuts to include Ileana Ros Lehtinen, the committee chairman, have a soft spot in their hearts for MEK because it is an enemy of the Mullah regime in Tehran. They have tried a number of times to get it delisted as a terrorist organization. Not coincidentally, the congressmen who are fond of MEK are also passionate supporters of Israel. My enemy’s enemy…
Debate Rages over US Withdrawal
"I would hope that (the withdrawal) is very small," the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, told the Financial Times this week. "I would hope that it is 3,000. We need another fighting season (against the Taliban)." McCain wants to keep our troops over there so that they can protect Israel. McCain: Iraq troop pullout bad for Israel
Iran and the Issue of Nuclear Weapons
Israeli politicians are addicted to the Iran threat. Iran serves, alongside the Palestinians, as the latter day ruthless anti-Semite who would destroy the Jews. Zionists seem to need this kind of “existentialist” enemy. This is the equivalent of the Islamic fundamentalist taking the place of the hateful communist as the great enemy that the United States also seems to need. The Israeli lobby is more influential in formulating U.S. foreign policy toward Iran than all of the nation’s intelligence services put together.
The No-Longer Temporary Occupation
Netanyahu’s speech has left the peace process dead in the water and presents Israelis with a harsh reality they had been ignoring: Permanent occupation which can only be maintained through a form of apartheid governance. His theoretical framework sent a clear message that Israel not only requires permanent occupation for its continued existence, but also, in fact, desires it because of religious, cultural and security concerns.
Why Google Earth Pixelates Israel
Israel's low–resolution e–presence can be traced back to the 1997 National Defense Authorization Act. Tucked inside the 2,870–page bill is a two–bullet point section titled "SEC. 1064. PROHIBITION ON COLLECTION AND RELEASE OF DETAILED SATELLITE IMAGERY RELATING TO ISRAEL" (page 2653). Below, the full–text:
Report: Suspected Israeli spy arrested in Egypt was traveling to Libya
A former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces with dual American-Israeli citizenship, Grapel reportedly travelled to several parts of Egypt, and was given the task of gauging the public's reaction to the policies of the Egyptian high military council.
Lebanon gets Hezbollah-led cabinet after 5-month lag
Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced Monday a long–delayed government dominated by Iranian–backed Hezbollah and its allies, which is likely to cause alarm among Western powers at a time of regional turmoil.
Key US lawmaker urges aid cut-off for Lebanon
A key US lawmaker called Monday for cutting all US aid to Lebanon's new government, in which Hezbollah and its allies hold the majority, and to any Palestinian government in which Hamas is a partner.
"The US should immediately cut off assistance to the Lebanese government as long as any violent extremist group designated by the US as foreign terrorist organizations participates in it," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros–Lehtinen, a Republican and frequent White House critic. Ros-Lehtinen is one of Israel's top shills on Capitol Hill.
The Missing Headlines Israelists Schumer, Lieberman, Chertoff turning U.S. into Islamophobic police state
In an interview last year with a Jewish radio talk show in New York, Senator Schumer said he believed that HaShem(an Orthodox Jewish term for “God”) gave him the name “Schumer” — which means “guardian” — so that he could fulfill his “very important” role in the U.S. Senate as a “guardian of Israel.” Presumably, Schumer’s God-given role also includes turning the country he is actuallypaid to represent — the United States — into an Islamophobic police state.
Iran urges world community to pressure Israel into joining Non-Proliferation Treaty
"The world community should put pressure on the Zionist regime (Israel) to join the NPT and allow inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said.
Backing Away from September
A Jerusalem Post article quotes senior Palestinian Authority officials saying that after a visit this week to Washington by Saeb Erekat and Nabil Abu Rudaineh, two top PA negotiators, the Palestinians are rethinking their strategy. It’s also clear that pressure from the administration is the decisive factor.
“We are under pressure from the Americans and some Europeans to postpone the plan to ask for UN recognition in September,” the official told The Jerusalem Post. “They are even threatening to impose financial sanctions on us if we don’t comply.”
As predicted, the US acts as Israel's bitch.
Hebron: "Vacations" from the Occupation
Pentagon Sees Libya Military Costs Soar - FT
U.S. military operations in Libya are expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the initial $750 million outgoing defense secretary Robert Gates estimated last month, the Financial Times reported on its website Thursday, citing figures it obtained. And for what? And is not Syria's Assad doing exactly the same thing Ghaddafi was allegedly doing to his people? And the US takes no action against Syria. Why? Because Israel prefers Assad.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Headlines for June 2 - June 8
A Stand For Justice
The cover-up of Israel’s crime against the USS Liberty crewmen continues
Despite the official Israeli story of mistaken identity, two Israeli pilots radioed base and clearly identified the ship as American. They were ordered to attack the ship anyway, both refused. The pair was immediately arrested upon returning to base.
Supervisor insists roads not holding up
* Adopted a resolution to declaring June 8 "Remember the USS Liberty Day," and ordered that flags be flown at half staff that day to honor the memories of the 34 men who died and 172 wounded June 8, 1967, when the ship was torpedoed by Israeli forces during the six day Arab-Israeli war.
Re-open the USS Liberty Case 44 years after attack, US Politicians still cover for Israel
According to the ‘Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on the USS Liberty’, this accidental air and naval attack lasted two hours “during which time unmarked Israeli aircraft dropped napalm canisters on the Liberty’s bridge, and fired 30mm cannons and rockets, causing 821 holes, more than 100 of which were rocket size; survivors estimate 30 or more sorties were flown over the ship by a minimum of 12 attacking Israeli planes which were jamming all five American emergency radio channels.”
This ‘accident’ happened after only eight, yes eight, hours of aerial surveillance, on the Liberty, which had unmistakable American markings.
Letter: Lest we forget
June 8 is the 44th anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty during the 1967 Six-Day War. With bombs, napalm and torpedoes, 34 Americans were killed, 171 wounded and the lightly armed ship was damaged beyond repair.
USS Liberty hero dies without seeing justice
With the encouragement of his wife, Mary Ann, John Hrankowski dedicated much of his personal time to telling Americans about the Liberty and the US cover-up that continues to this day.
He was one of the most active and committed members of the Liberty Veteran’s Association.
Cooper: US, Israel shove USS Liberty under rug
All of the facts about the attack on the USS Liberty need to be aired in public before a congressional panel. It is astounding that Congress has found time to conduct hearings into just about everything under the sun but our elected representatives have not been able to delve into the sneak attack on a U.S. naval vessel.
It is time for the voices of the Liberty's dead to be heard.
Attack on ship not forgotten
For the last two decades, the Liberty survivors and some current high-ranking military and U.S. government officials have asserted the attack was intentional, and have been embroiled in a battle of words with supporters who claim the attack was a case of "mistaken identity." Many have continuously lobbied for a U.S. congressional investigation into the attack and the subsequent cover-up, but without success.
June 8, 1967 - Americans have no idea what happened on this date
It's when Israel killed 34 Americans in an attack by air and by sea that lasted for 75 minutes.
Report: 14 Palestinians shot dead in Syrian refugee camp
Palestinian security guards reportedly killed 14 Palestinians Monday in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. According to witnesses, an angry crowd of mourners began to charge toward leaders of Palestinian factions, prompting their security guards to open fire.
Egypt and Hamas reopen Rafah crossing with Gaza
The Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt reopened on Wednesday after a four-day closure caused by a dispute between Cairo and Gaza's Hamas rulers over travel arrangements, officials said.
Gen. Keane Keen on Attacking Iran
It was like waving a red flag before a four-star bull. “What’s your question?” he barked.
I asked: “Why do you join with those neoconservatives who have such difficulty distinguishing between the strategic needs of Israel on the one hand and those of the U.S. on the other? Why do you keep claiming the Iranians ‘are acquiring nuclear weapons,’ when you know that this is not true. How can you keep a straight face in telling us that Iran is our ‘main strategic enemy?’ That is also not true, and you know it.” God love ya, Mr. McGovern.
US Spying Detects No Iranian Nukes
The former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) said in a new published report that he had not seen “a shred of evidence” that Iran was “building nuclear-weapons facilities and using enriched materials.”....El Baradei’s remarks are contained in an article by Hersh titled “Iran And The Bomb,” published in the June 6 issue of The New Yorker magazine.
Hersh points out that the last two U.S. National Intelligence Estimates (N.I.E.s) on Iranian nuclear progress “have stated that there is no conclusive evidence that Iran has made any effort to build the bomb since 2003.”....Hersh quotes W. Patrick Lang, a retired Army intelligence officer and former ranking Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) analyst on the Middle East as saying that after the disaster in Iraq, “Analysts in the intelligence community are just refusing to sign up this time for a lot of baloney.” Thank God for that, Mr. Lang. Kudos to our intel community.
Hamas shuts Egyptian border crossing
The ruling Hamas militant group has closed the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt to protest what it says are repeated delays at the crossing since Egypt permanently opened it last week.
Israeli prime minister Israeli prime minister is misguided
Although Israel was founded under a U.N. resolution and agreed to loyally uphold the principle of the U.N. charter, it continuously ignores U.N. resolutions, including the call for termination of illegal settlements and return to pre-1967 war boundaries — the same war during which the Israeli Navy and Air Force sank the USS Liberty with the loss of 34 U.S. sailors and the wounding of 174 for which there has never been an accounting to the American people, as promised
Palestinians agree to attend Mideast conference
The Palestinians on Saturday accepted a French invitation to attend a conference in Paris aimed at reviving peace talks with Israel, as their strategy to bypass negotiations and seek U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state appeared to be unraveling.
Settlers from Acion Destroy Roof on Farmer’s House
On May 17, settlers near Acion Settlement destroyed the roof over two rooms of Mohammed Saleh Abu Swai’s home. Mohammed is a farmer who primarily cultivates olive trees. Just two days before this destruction he had come to see and fertilize his trees.
Settlers Cut Down 21 Grape Trees near Beit Ummar
On June 1, settlers cut down 21 grape trees in a Palestinian farmer’s vineyards close to the Bet’Ayn Settlement near Beit Ummar. The farmers said the destruction happened during the night. The field is some distance from the village; therefore, it cannot be monitored every hour. These settlers from Bet’Ayn, according to the people of the village, have a reputation of being aggressive toward the farmers in the area.
Settlers injure Palestinian with Stones
In the old city in Hebron, two boys, ages 14 and 15, residents of Beit Hadassah
Settlement, threw multiple stones, some as large as 5 inches, at Palestinians
walking past in the market place. One nine year old boy was struck with two
stones causing a head injury that splattered the sidewalk and storefront with
blood.
Path to Palestinian Unity Revealed: The Untold Story of the Deal that Shocked the Middle East by Robert Fisk
President Obama virtually dismissed the Palestinian unity initiative. But 1967 borders means that Hamas is accepting Israel and the ‘resistance’ initiative means an end to Gaza rockets on Israel. International law and UN resolutions mean peace can be completed and a Palestinian state brought into being. That, at least, is the opinion of both Palestinian sides. The world will wait to see if Israel will reject it all again.
UN agency report shows West Bank economy not flourishing
The report's findings challenge assertions that the Palestinian economy is growing, helped by the removal of Israeli roadblocks and other movement restrictions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech to the U.S. Congress last month that the Palestinian economy was booming.
Rafah border crossing still shut Palestinians
Settlers try to burn down mosque: Palestinians
The attackers lit tyres inside the mosque in Al–Mughayyir village, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Ramallah, which damaged prayer mats inside the building.
They also spraypainted on the walls anti–Arab slogans and the words Alei Ayin, the name of a nearby settlement outpost which was demolished by Israeli police last week in an operation that sparked fierce clashes with the settlers.
Palestinians storm shut Egypt crossing: witnesses
"We have not been notified of any reason for the closure, passengers are angry,"
Phil Giraldi Spills Beans on Israeli Espionage in America
An Israeli company was caught monitoring a Department of Defense telecommunications system to obtain classified information, while other Israeli entities targeted avionics, missile telemetry, aircraft communications, software systems, and advanced materials and coatings used in missile re-entry. The GAO concluded that Israel “conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the United States of any US ally.”.....It would be nice to think that the Pentagon wants to keep the maintenance in American hands to preserve jobs during these tough economic times, but the Defense Department has never cared about US workers before when the issue is Israel.The real reason for the standoff is that Lockheed-Martin and the Pentagon both know that Israel will steal whatever it can if it gains access. It would then use the technology to market its own products at a price below that of US defense contractors.
The result would be a triple whammy for Uncle Sam Extorting billions each year from the American taxpayers evidently isn't enough for Israel.
The USS Liberty
Iran sends submarines to Red Sea in move that could anger Israel
Americans Demand Justice Department Regulate AIPAC as Israeli Foreign Agent [Video, Documents]
According to 2010 civil court filings AIPAC obtained classified annual U.S. arms transfer data, secret U.S. policy accords with Saudi Arabia, classified signals intelligence flows that were used in lobbying Congress, National Security Decision Directives, Justice Department investigation files and troves of other government classified information. Petitioners argue that AIPAC is trafficking classified U.S. government secrets for the same reason its parent organization laundered overseas funds into the U.S. during the 1960s–to serve the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs–where AIPAC's founder worked until 1951.
Wow. Read on.
Israeli Firm’s Trade With Iran Proves Awkward for Activists Pushing Sanctions
Adding to the drama is the fact that the owners of Ofer Brothers have close, personal connections to the top echelon of Israel’s political, military and economic leadership. After one of the founding brothers, Sammy Ofer, died June 3, Netanyahu issued a statement calling him “a true Zionist.”
Guest column: Netanyahu lied to Congress yet drew applause
Netanyahu began by declaring that "America has no better friend than Israel." Congress stood and applauded.
That's the same Israel that attacked the USS Liberty in international waters and tried to sink it with all hands aboard in 1967, and then lied about it. The same Israel that prompted the FBI to declare Israel the second most aggressive nation mounting espionage operations in the U.S., and the Justice Department head of internal security to say, "those of us who worked in the espionage area regarded Israel as being the second most active foreign intelligence service in the United States." China was first. Thank you, Ron Estes, for speaking out, my hat's off to you, Sir.
Is Israel Really A Staunch Ally
And, lest we forget, Israel’s unprovoked June 8, 1967, attack, in neutral waters, on the USS Liberty by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats, killing 34 U.S. sailors and extensively damaging our flag-flying ship.
With “staunch allies” like this, who needs enemies?
Israeli troops battle protesters in Syria, 20 dead
Israeli troops on Sunday battled hundreds of pro–Palestinian protesters who tried to burst across Syria's frontier with the Golan Heights, killing a reported 20 people and wounding scores more in the second outbreak of deadly violence in the border area in less than a month.
About Israel & 9/11: Caller is Correct, Politician is Wrong
Wow. Listen to Congressman Garamendi lie about the real reason for 911: our support for Israel. The 911 Commission did include that fact in its report. And also it was the reason given by the mastermind of 911, Khaled S. Mohammed. Watch the rest of this video which includes footage of the 911 Commission, among other things.
The Tie that Binds by Philip Giraldi
Completely frustrated by his experience as peace negotiator, George Mitchell resigned shortly before Netanyahu appeared in Washington to attend the AIPAC conference and also to lecture President Obama. Obama’s eagerly awaited speech on the Middle East delivered the night before Netanyahu’s arrival was actually reviewed by the Israeli Prime Minister before it was given, demonstrating clearly whose foot was on whose neck. Netanyahu reportedly responded angrily to any mention of the 1967 borders in a phone conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the speech was delayed for forty minutes while the president and his staff worked in other rewrites demanded by the Israeli Prime Minister. Another great article by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.
Annual NYC Parade Celebrates Israel
The thousands of marchers who stepped off at 57th Street late Sunday morning included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, followed later by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and U.S. Sens. Kristen Gillibrand and Charles Schumer.
US, France seek consensus on Mideast peace meeting
He pointed out that the Palestinians have embraced the proposal, while acknowledging that Israelis have said only that they are studying it.
Lebanon seals off Israel border ahead of planned demonstrations
Fear is driving Israelis to obtain foreign passports
Freedom for Palestine by OneWorld.
Proceeds from the single will go to UK Charity War on Want for projects in Palestine.
Israeli PM orders restraint if Arabs rush border
Laughable.
Seymour Hersh U.S. Could Be Headed for Iraq Redux Veterans Today
Israeli defense minister: Syrian regime doomed
Ehud Barak says Assad, who has launched a deadly crackdown on the Syrian opposition, has lost his legitimacy.
Gaza, the most Facebook friendly place on earth
Per capita, says Saidam, the largest number of Facebook users in the world is in Gaza.
"That's one thing people don't know," he says. Per capita, the largest number of video conferencing in the world is also in the Palestinian territories. "The legislative council used to meet through video conferencing in the West Bank and Gaza," says Saidam.
Deference is a two-way street
My friends keep telling me that Israel must show more deference to the suggestions and wishes of the United States because, after all, the United States is the only friend that Israel has in the Mideast. How very correct.
I would however like to remind these same friends that the United States must show full deference to Israel.
Really? And you call yourself an American?
Israeli left-wing leader: IDF used 'excessive force' in Naksa Day protests
Uri Avneri, former MK and activist with Gush Shalom left-wing organization, said Sunday that the IDF used excessive force against the protesters in the Golan Heights. "The trigger-happy behavior stands out in particular when compared to the softness with which violent settlers are treated," he said.
Palestinians cancel Naksa Day march to Israel-Lebanon border
The organizers say that Sunday's planned march marking the 1967 Arab-Israeli war's anniversary would be replaced by strikes across all 12 of Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps.
Israel's Netanyahu thanks France for intervening in Libya
Meeting visiting French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, Netanyahu noted that Gaddafi had 'was never a friend of Israel or the Jewish people and Israel will not be sorry to see him disappear from the map.'
Could Obama Veto Palestine's Application to the United Nations
Palestine is a member state of the League of Arab States and of the Organization of Islamic Conference (O.I.C). When the International Court of Justice in The Hague—the World Court of the United Nations System—conducted its legal proceedings on Israel’s apartheid wall on the West Bank, it invited the State of Palestine to participate in the proceedings. In other words, the International Court of Justice recognized the State of Palestine.
What Is Really Happening in New Square?
This incident came to mind after the recent events in New Square in which eighteen-year-old Shaul Spitzer, a yeshiva student and attendant to the community’s grand rabbi, attempted to firebomb the house of a dissident member of the community. He ended up inflicting third-degree burns on over 50% of the body of Aron Rottenberg, whose home was the target of the attack. Rottenberg’s crime: he prayed at the wrong synagogue. Instead of the main synagogue, which belongs to grand rabbi David Twersky, Rottenberg attended services at a synagogue a short distance outside the village.
Sounds like something that Islamic extremists would do. If it in fact was perpetrated by Islamic extremists, this story would have been plastered all over the news by now. Not so.
Weiner admits to lying about underwear photo
Weiner, who is Jewish and an ardent pro-Israel lawmaker, said none of the relationships had ever become physical, nor had he met any of the women.
DE BORCHGRAVE: Netanyahu’s conundrum
ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan is a dagger in Mr. Netanyahu’s body politic. And Mr. Dagan is not alone. Several former intelligence chiefs are lined up with him. They also know firsthand how anxious Mr. Netanyahu is to detract from Palestinian pressure for their own state in the West Bank and Gaza – by bombing Iran ‘s nuclear installations.
As Mr. Dagan put it, “This would mean regional war and in that case, you would give Iran the best possible reason to continue its nuclear program.”...
Mr. Dagan, Yuval Diskin, head of Shin Bet, the internal security agency, and Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the military chief of staff, all stepped down this year. Mr. Dugan made clear he and his retiring colleagues served as a brake on the gung-ho Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
According to Israeli media reports, a week before retiring, Mr. Dagan tried to send a message to the Israeli public to warn about Mr. Netanyahu’s plans for an attack on Iran . But military censorship blocked any reporting of Mr. Dagan’s views. No sooner officially retired than he evaded the censors Really.
Glenn Beck: Israel never shot protesters like the Syrians - an outright lie
Ex-Israeli spymaster takes swipe at Netanyahu
Just days after his retirement, an Israeli newspaper quoted him as saying Israel "should not hurry" to attack Iran. Last month, he was quoted as saying a military strike on Iran would be "stupid."
'Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within two months' it is claimed as UN atomic watchdog reveals concerns
Amano said the U.N. agency had received 'further information related to possible past or current undisclosed nuclear-related activities that seem to point to the existence of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme'.
The Japanese later told a news conference, without disclosing the source of the information
I bet we all can guess from which nation they received this new 'information', hmm? Starts with an 'I', ends in 'L'.
Israeli Stealth Ships in Raids on Iran
Last week Richard Silverstein, an American blogger who specialises in breaking Israeli defence secrets, claimed Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, used Ofer Group cargo ships to smuggle its agents into Iran.
Last year Mossad agents allegedly assassinated Mahmoud al-Mabhuh, a senior Hamas militant, in his Dubai hotel room. It is now believed some of the agents left Dubai hidden in one of Ofer’s ships.
Archbishop Tutu Stands For Justice Against Apartheid Israel
Video - Seymour Hersh: Despite Intelligence Rejecting Iran as Nuclear Threat, U.S. Could Be Headed for Iraq Redux
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against occupation
On the West Bank, Christians organised a religious service for "peace and justice" at a military checkpoint near Bethlehem, which also denounced the continuing occupation.
Why are the Libyan Rebels seeking Israel's support?
"The main point was that the future Libyan regime would be moderate and anti-terrorist and will be concerned with justice for the Palestinians and security for Israel,"
Weiner repeatedly lied (about Israel and Palestine– does anyone care)
Here are five of those lies: There is no Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Goldstone Report was not based on the laws of war, Israel is at war with 20 neighbors, American progressives should support the absence of free speech in Israel when it comes to its character as a Jewish state, and Egypt is an Islamic state.
State Annuls Attempted Sale of Public School to New Square-Based Yeshiva
The commissioner of the New York State Education Department has annulled the sale of a New York elementary school to a New Square Orthodox yeshiva, criticizing the local school board for failing to take steps to get the best price for the property.
The rejection of the sale is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the largely non-Jewish parents of children in the East Ramapo Central School District and the Orthodox majority on the district’s board of trustees, members of religious communities that send children to private yeshivas.
'More Israeli Arabs would have been killed in 2000 riots had I been in charge'
Upper Nazareth Mayor says his town would never be a mixed Arab-Jewish city and that a mosque would never be built despite the fact that 16 percent of its residents are Arab.
East Jerusalem: Sharing our house with settlers - video
How Israel's slow ethnic cleansing proceeds. How many of those tourists were Americans (future Israeli settlers)? Oops, look at the very last few seconds as a woman tourist with an American accent assails the Palestinian whose land was taken over by Israeli settlers, calling them a 'murderer'. Disgusting racism. But then, that's what one would expect from people who support supremacism. These Palestinians are actually getting off easy at the moment as compared to what has happened to others. Settlers can be violent. And they act with impunity. Thus does Israel's pillage and plunder of Palestine continue.
Progressive Democrats Of America Endorses New Flotilla Against Israel
Shavuot 2011: obscenities as words of Torah
"Death to the Arabs, death to the leftists," they chanted. "The Temple will be rebuilt, the mosque will be destroyed." "Kahane lives, Mohammed is dead." "Itbach al-Arab" ("Death to the Arabs" in Arabic ). Thus they elevate Jerusalem as their chief sin: May their tongues cleave to their palates.
Ukraine professors defend Palestinian engineer
Israel would not immediately comment on the incongruities concerning the professor's name or the purported military academy.
Vlasov, an expert in civilian electrical and mineral processing systems, said he had no connection to the military, never sent any of his students to a military academy and has never even seen a missile.
"This is all lies, there isn't a single word of truth in it," Vlasov, 80, said in a telephone interview. "I have never lectured at any military academy and never had anything to do with anything military. I have only seen missiles on TV." Israel never lets the truth get in the way of its BS.
Do the American people support the 'special relationship?' Stephen M. Walt
a survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League in 2005 found that 78 percent of Americans believed that Washington should favor neither Israel nor the Palestinians. A 2010 survey by the Brookings Institution found similar results: although 25 percent of Americans thought the United States should "lean toward Israel" in its efforts to resolve the conflict, a healthy 67 percent believed the United States should "lean toward neither side." I'm glad somebody besides myself drove this point home. Americans by and large want the US to take no side in that conflict, according to numerous polls over the years. Yet Congress does not reflect that. We have a serious problem here. The Congress does not reflect the will of the people. And that needs to change, folks.
The cover-up of Israel’s crime against the USS Liberty crewmen continues
Despite the official Israeli story of mistaken identity, two Israeli pilots radioed base and clearly identified the ship as American. They were ordered to attack the ship anyway, both refused. The pair was immediately arrested upon returning to base.
Supervisor insists roads not holding up
* Adopted a resolution to declaring June 8 "Remember the USS Liberty Day," and ordered that flags be flown at half staff that day to honor the memories of the 34 men who died and 172 wounded June 8, 1967, when the ship was torpedoed by Israeli forces during the six day Arab-Israeli war.
Re-open the USS Liberty Case 44 years after attack, US Politicians still cover for Israel
According to the ‘Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Attack on the USS Liberty’, this accidental air and naval attack lasted two hours “during which time unmarked Israeli aircraft dropped napalm canisters on the Liberty’s bridge, and fired 30mm cannons and rockets, causing 821 holes, more than 100 of which were rocket size; survivors estimate 30 or more sorties were flown over the ship by a minimum of 12 attacking Israeli planes which were jamming all five American emergency radio channels.”
This ‘accident’ happened after only eight, yes eight, hours of aerial surveillance, on the Liberty, which had unmistakable American markings.
Letter: Lest we forget
June 8 is the 44th anniversary of the attack on the USS Liberty during the 1967 Six-Day War. With bombs, napalm and torpedoes, 34 Americans were killed, 171 wounded and the lightly armed ship was damaged beyond repair.
USS Liberty hero dies without seeing justice
With the encouragement of his wife, Mary Ann, John Hrankowski dedicated much of his personal time to telling Americans about the Liberty and the US cover-up that continues to this day.
He was one of the most active and committed members of the Liberty Veteran’s Association.
Cooper: US, Israel shove USS Liberty under rug
All of the facts about the attack on the USS Liberty need to be aired in public before a congressional panel. It is astounding that Congress has found time to conduct hearings into just about everything under the sun but our elected representatives have not been able to delve into the sneak attack on a U.S. naval vessel.
It is time for the voices of the Liberty's dead to be heard.
Attack on ship not forgotten
For the last two decades, the Liberty survivors and some current high-ranking military and U.S. government officials have asserted the attack was intentional, and have been embroiled in a battle of words with supporters who claim the attack was a case of "mistaken identity." Many have continuously lobbied for a U.S. congressional investigation into the attack and the subsequent cover-up, but without success.
June 8, 1967 - Americans have no idea what happened on this date
It's when Israel killed 34 Americans in an attack by air and by sea that lasted for 75 minutes.
Report: 14 Palestinians shot dead in Syrian refugee camp
Palestinian security guards reportedly killed 14 Palestinians Monday in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria. According to witnesses, an angry crowd of mourners began to charge toward leaders of Palestinian factions, prompting their security guards to open fire.
Egypt and Hamas reopen Rafah crossing with Gaza
The Gaza Strip's border crossing with Egypt reopened on Wednesday after a four-day closure caused by a dispute between Cairo and Gaza's Hamas rulers over travel arrangements, officials said.
Gen. Keane Keen on Attacking Iran
It was like waving a red flag before a four-star bull. “What’s your question?” he barked.
I asked: “Why do you join with those neoconservatives who have such difficulty distinguishing between the strategic needs of Israel on the one hand and those of the U.S. on the other? Why do you keep claiming the Iranians ‘are acquiring nuclear weapons,’ when you know that this is not true. How can you keep a straight face in telling us that Iran is our ‘main strategic enemy?’ That is also not true, and you know it.” God love ya, Mr. McGovern.
US Spying Detects No Iranian Nukes
The former Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) said in a new published report that he had not seen “a shred of evidence” that Iran was “building nuclear-weapons facilities and using enriched materials.”....El Baradei’s remarks are contained in an article by Hersh titled “Iran And The Bomb,” published in the June 6 issue of The New Yorker magazine.
Hersh points out that the last two U.S. National Intelligence Estimates (N.I.E.s) on Iranian nuclear progress “have stated that there is no conclusive evidence that Iran has made any effort to build the bomb since 2003.”....Hersh quotes W. Patrick Lang, a retired Army intelligence officer and former ranking Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) analyst on the Middle East as saying that after the disaster in Iraq, “Analysts in the intelligence community are just refusing to sign up this time for a lot of baloney.” Thank God for that, Mr. Lang. Kudos to our intel community.
Hamas shuts Egyptian border crossing
The ruling Hamas militant group has closed the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt to protest what it says are repeated delays at the crossing since Egypt permanently opened it last week.
Israeli prime minister Israeli prime minister is misguided
Although Israel was founded under a U.N. resolution and agreed to loyally uphold the principle of the U.N. charter, it continuously ignores U.N. resolutions, including the call for termination of illegal settlements and return to pre-1967 war boundaries — the same war during which the Israeli Navy and Air Force sank the USS Liberty with the loss of 34 U.S. sailors and the wounding of 174 for which there has never been an accounting to the American people, as promised
Palestinians agree to attend Mideast conference
The Palestinians on Saturday accepted a French invitation to attend a conference in Paris aimed at reviving peace talks with Israel, as their strategy to bypass negotiations and seek U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state appeared to be unraveling.
Settlers from Acion Destroy Roof on Farmer’s House
On May 17, settlers near Acion Settlement destroyed the roof over two rooms of Mohammed Saleh Abu Swai’s home. Mohammed is a farmer who primarily cultivates olive trees. Just two days before this destruction he had come to see and fertilize his trees.
Settlers Cut Down 21 Grape Trees near Beit Ummar
On June 1, settlers cut down 21 grape trees in a Palestinian farmer’s vineyards close to the Bet’Ayn Settlement near Beit Ummar. The farmers said the destruction happened during the night. The field is some distance from the village; therefore, it cannot be monitored every hour. These settlers from Bet’Ayn, according to the people of the village, have a reputation of being aggressive toward the farmers in the area.
Settlers injure Palestinian with Stones
In the old city in Hebron, two boys, ages 14 and 15, residents of Beit Hadassah
Settlement, threw multiple stones, some as large as 5 inches, at Palestinians
walking past in the market place. One nine year old boy was struck with two
stones causing a head injury that splattered the sidewalk and storefront with
blood.
Path to Palestinian Unity Revealed: The Untold Story of the Deal that Shocked the Middle East by Robert Fisk
President Obama virtually dismissed the Palestinian unity initiative. But 1967 borders means that Hamas is accepting Israel and the ‘resistance’ initiative means an end to Gaza rockets on Israel. International law and UN resolutions mean peace can be completed and a Palestinian state brought into being. That, at least, is the opinion of both Palestinian sides. The world will wait to see if Israel will reject it all again.
UN agency report shows West Bank economy not flourishing
The report's findings challenge assertions that the Palestinian economy is growing, helped by the removal of Israeli roadblocks and other movement restrictions. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech to the U.S. Congress last month that the Palestinian economy was booming.
Rafah border crossing still shut Palestinians
Settlers try to burn down mosque: Palestinians
The attackers lit tyres inside the mosque in Al–Mughayyir village, some 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Ramallah, which damaged prayer mats inside the building.
They also spraypainted on the walls anti–Arab slogans and the words Alei Ayin, the name of a nearby settlement outpost which was demolished by Israeli police last week in an operation that sparked fierce clashes with the settlers.
Palestinians storm shut Egypt crossing: witnesses
"We have not been notified of any reason for the closure, passengers are angry,"
Phil Giraldi Spills Beans on Israeli Espionage in America
An Israeli company was caught monitoring a Department of Defense telecommunications system to obtain classified information, while other Israeli entities targeted avionics, missile telemetry, aircraft communications, software systems, and advanced materials and coatings used in missile re-entry. The GAO concluded that Israel “conducts the most aggressive espionage operation against the United States of any US ally.”.....It would be nice to think that the Pentagon wants to keep the maintenance in American hands to preserve jobs during these tough economic times, but the Defense Department has never cared about US workers before when the issue is Israel.The real reason for the standoff is that Lockheed-Martin and the Pentagon both know that Israel will steal whatever it can if it gains access. It would then use the technology to market its own products at a price below that of US defense contractors.
The result would be a triple whammy for Uncle Sam Extorting billions each year from the American taxpayers evidently isn't enough for Israel.
The USS Liberty
Iran sends submarines to Red Sea in move that could anger Israel
Americans Demand Justice Department Regulate AIPAC as Israeli Foreign Agent [Video, Documents]
According to 2010 civil court filings AIPAC obtained classified annual U.S. arms transfer data, secret U.S. policy accords with Saudi Arabia, classified signals intelligence flows that were used in lobbying Congress, National Security Decision Directives, Justice Department investigation files and troves of other government classified information. Petitioners argue that AIPAC is trafficking classified U.S. government secrets for the same reason its parent organization laundered overseas funds into the U.S. during the 1960s–to serve the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs–where AIPAC's founder worked until 1951.
Wow. Read on.
Israeli Firm’s Trade With Iran Proves Awkward for Activists Pushing Sanctions
Adding to the drama is the fact that the owners of Ofer Brothers have close, personal connections to the top echelon of Israel’s political, military and economic leadership. After one of the founding brothers, Sammy Ofer, died June 3, Netanyahu issued a statement calling him “a true Zionist.”
Guest column: Netanyahu lied to Congress yet drew applause
Netanyahu began by declaring that "America has no better friend than Israel." Congress stood and applauded.
That's the same Israel that attacked the USS Liberty in international waters and tried to sink it with all hands aboard in 1967, and then lied about it. The same Israel that prompted the FBI to declare Israel the second most aggressive nation mounting espionage operations in the U.S., and the Justice Department head of internal security to say, "those of us who worked in the espionage area regarded Israel as being the second most active foreign intelligence service in the United States." China was first. Thank you, Ron Estes, for speaking out, my hat's off to you, Sir.
Is Israel Really A Staunch Ally
And, lest we forget, Israel’s unprovoked June 8, 1967, attack, in neutral waters, on the USS Liberty by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats, killing 34 U.S. sailors and extensively damaging our flag-flying ship.
With “staunch allies” like this, who needs enemies?
Israeli troops battle protesters in Syria, 20 dead
Israeli troops on Sunday battled hundreds of pro–Palestinian protesters who tried to burst across Syria's frontier with the Golan Heights, killing a reported 20 people and wounding scores more in the second outbreak of deadly violence in the border area in less than a month.
About Israel & 9/11: Caller is Correct, Politician is Wrong
Wow. Listen to Congressman Garamendi lie about the real reason for 911: our support for Israel. The 911 Commission did include that fact in its report. And also it was the reason given by the mastermind of 911, Khaled S. Mohammed. Watch the rest of this video which includes footage of the 911 Commission, among other things.
The Tie that Binds by Philip Giraldi
Completely frustrated by his experience as peace negotiator, George Mitchell resigned shortly before Netanyahu appeared in Washington to attend the AIPAC conference and also to lecture President Obama. Obama’s eagerly awaited speech on the Middle East delivered the night before Netanyahu’s arrival was actually reviewed by the Israeli Prime Minister before it was given, demonstrating clearly whose foot was on whose neck. Netanyahu reportedly responded angrily to any mention of the 1967 borders in a phone conversation with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the speech was delayed for forty minutes while the president and his staff worked in other rewrites demanded by the Israeli Prime Minister. Another great article by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.
Annual NYC Parade Celebrates Israel
The thousands of marchers who stepped off at 57th Street late Sunday morning included New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, followed later by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and U.S. Sens. Kristen Gillibrand and Charles Schumer.
US, France seek consensus on Mideast peace meeting
He pointed out that the Palestinians have embraced the proposal, while acknowledging that Israelis have said only that they are studying it.
Lebanon seals off Israel border ahead of planned demonstrations
Fear is driving Israelis to obtain foreign passports
Freedom for Palestine by OneWorld.
Proceeds from the single will go to UK Charity War on Want for projects in Palestine.
Israeli PM orders restraint if Arabs rush border
Laughable.
Seymour Hersh U.S. Could Be Headed for Iraq Redux Veterans Today
Israeli defense minister: Syrian regime doomed
Ehud Barak says Assad, who has launched a deadly crackdown on the Syrian opposition, has lost his legitimacy.
Gaza, the most Facebook friendly place on earth
Per capita, says Saidam, the largest number of Facebook users in the world is in Gaza.
"That's one thing people don't know," he says. Per capita, the largest number of video conferencing in the world is also in the Palestinian territories. "The legislative council used to meet through video conferencing in the West Bank and Gaza," says Saidam.
Deference is a two-way street
My friends keep telling me that Israel must show more deference to the suggestions and wishes of the United States because, after all, the United States is the only friend that Israel has in the Mideast. How very correct.
I would however like to remind these same friends that the United States must show full deference to Israel.
Really? And you call yourself an American?
Israeli left-wing leader: IDF used 'excessive force' in Naksa Day protests
Uri Avneri, former MK and activist with Gush Shalom left-wing organization, said Sunday that the IDF used excessive force against the protesters in the Golan Heights. "The trigger-happy behavior stands out in particular when compared to the softness with which violent settlers are treated," he said.
Palestinians cancel Naksa Day march to Israel-Lebanon border
The organizers say that Sunday's planned march marking the 1967 Arab-Israeli war's anniversary would be replaced by strikes across all 12 of Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps.
Israel's Netanyahu thanks France for intervening in Libya
Meeting visiting French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, Netanyahu noted that Gaddafi had 'was never a friend of Israel or the Jewish people and Israel will not be sorry to see him disappear from the map.'
Could Obama Veto Palestine's Application to the United Nations
Palestine is a member state of the League of Arab States and of the Organization of Islamic Conference (O.I.C). When the International Court of Justice in The Hague—the World Court of the United Nations System—conducted its legal proceedings on Israel’s apartheid wall on the West Bank, it invited the State of Palestine to participate in the proceedings. In other words, the International Court of Justice recognized the State of Palestine.
What Is Really Happening in New Square?
This incident came to mind after the recent events in New Square in which eighteen-year-old Shaul Spitzer, a yeshiva student and attendant to the community’s grand rabbi, attempted to firebomb the house of a dissident member of the community. He ended up inflicting third-degree burns on over 50% of the body of Aron Rottenberg, whose home was the target of the attack. Rottenberg’s crime: he prayed at the wrong synagogue. Instead of the main synagogue, which belongs to grand rabbi David Twersky, Rottenberg attended services at a synagogue a short distance outside the village.
Sounds like something that Islamic extremists would do. If it in fact was perpetrated by Islamic extremists, this story would have been plastered all over the news by now. Not so.
Weiner admits to lying about underwear photo
Weiner, who is Jewish and an ardent pro-Israel lawmaker, said none of the relationships had ever become physical, nor had he met any of the women.
DE BORCHGRAVE: Netanyahu’s conundrum
ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan is a dagger in Mr. Netanyahu’s body politic. And Mr. Dagan is not alone. Several former intelligence chiefs are lined up with him. They also know firsthand how anxious Mr. Netanyahu is to detract from Palestinian pressure for their own state in the West Bank and Gaza – by bombing Iran ‘s nuclear installations.
As Mr. Dagan put it, “This would mean regional war and in that case, you would give Iran the best possible reason to continue its nuclear program.”...
Mr. Dagan, Yuval Diskin, head of Shin Bet, the internal security agency, and Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the military chief of staff, all stepped down this year. Mr. Dugan made clear he and his retiring colleagues served as a brake on the gung-ho Mr. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
According to Israeli media reports, a week before retiring, Mr. Dagan tried to send a message to the Israeli public to warn about Mr. Netanyahu’s plans for an attack on Iran . But military censorship blocked any reporting of Mr. Dagan’s views. No sooner officially retired than he evaded the censors Really.
Glenn Beck: Israel never shot protesters like the Syrians - an outright lie
Ex-Israeli spymaster takes swipe at Netanyahu
Just days after his retirement, an Israeli newspaper quoted him as saying Israel "should not hurry" to attack Iran. Last month, he was quoted as saying a military strike on Iran would be "stupid."
'Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within two months' it is claimed as UN atomic watchdog reveals concerns
Amano said the U.N. agency had received 'further information related to possible past or current undisclosed nuclear-related activities that seem to point to the existence of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme'.
The Japanese later told a news conference, without disclosing the source of the information
I bet we all can guess from which nation they received this new 'information', hmm? Starts with an 'I', ends in 'L'.
Israeli Stealth Ships in Raids on Iran
Last week Richard Silverstein, an American blogger who specialises in breaking Israeli defence secrets, claimed Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, used Ofer Group cargo ships to smuggle its agents into Iran.
Last year Mossad agents allegedly assassinated Mahmoud al-Mabhuh, a senior Hamas militant, in his Dubai hotel room. It is now believed some of the agents left Dubai hidden in one of Ofer’s ships.
Archbishop Tutu Stands For Justice Against Apartheid Israel
Video - Seymour Hersh: Despite Intelligence Rejecting Iran as Nuclear Threat, U.S. Could Be Headed for Iraq Redux
Thousands rally in Tel Aviv against occupation
On the West Bank, Christians organised a religious service for "peace and justice" at a military checkpoint near Bethlehem, which also denounced the continuing occupation.
Why are the Libyan Rebels seeking Israel's support?
"The main point was that the future Libyan regime would be moderate and anti-terrorist and will be concerned with justice for the Palestinians and security for Israel,"
Weiner repeatedly lied (about Israel and Palestine– does anyone care)
Here are five of those lies: There is no Israeli occupation of the West Bank, the Goldstone Report was not based on the laws of war, Israel is at war with 20 neighbors, American progressives should support the absence of free speech in Israel when it comes to its character as a Jewish state, and Egypt is an Islamic state.
State Annuls Attempted Sale of Public School to New Square-Based Yeshiva
The commissioner of the New York State Education Department has annulled the sale of a New York elementary school to a New Square Orthodox yeshiva, criticizing the local school board for failing to take steps to get the best price for the property.
The rejection of the sale is the latest development in an ongoing dispute between the largely non-Jewish parents of children in the East Ramapo Central School District and the Orthodox majority on the district’s board of trustees, members of religious communities that send children to private yeshivas.
'More Israeli Arabs would have been killed in 2000 riots had I been in charge'
Upper Nazareth Mayor says his town would never be a mixed Arab-Jewish city and that a mosque would never be built despite the fact that 16 percent of its residents are Arab.
East Jerusalem: Sharing our house with settlers - video
How Israel's slow ethnic cleansing proceeds. How many of those tourists were Americans (future Israeli settlers)? Oops, look at the very last few seconds as a woman tourist with an American accent assails the Palestinian whose land was taken over by Israeli settlers, calling them a 'murderer'. Disgusting racism. But then, that's what one would expect from people who support supremacism. These Palestinians are actually getting off easy at the moment as compared to what has happened to others. Settlers can be violent. And they act with impunity. Thus does Israel's pillage and plunder of Palestine continue.
Progressive Democrats Of America Endorses New Flotilla Against Israel
Shavuot 2011: obscenities as words of Torah
"Death to the Arabs, death to the leftists," they chanted. "The Temple will be rebuilt, the mosque will be destroyed." "Kahane lives, Mohammed is dead." "Itbach al-Arab" ("Death to the Arabs" in Arabic ). Thus they elevate Jerusalem as their chief sin: May their tongues cleave to their palates.
Ukraine professors defend Palestinian engineer
Israel would not immediately comment on the incongruities concerning the professor's name or the purported military academy.
Vlasov, an expert in civilian electrical and mineral processing systems, said he had no connection to the military, never sent any of his students to a military academy and has never even seen a missile.
"This is all lies, there isn't a single word of truth in it," Vlasov, 80, said in a telephone interview. "I have never lectured at any military academy and never had anything to do with anything military. I have only seen missiles on TV." Israel never lets the truth get in the way of its BS.
Do the American people support the 'special relationship?' Stephen M. Walt
a survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League in 2005 found that 78 percent of Americans believed that Washington should favor neither Israel nor the Palestinians. A 2010 survey by the Brookings Institution found similar results: although 25 percent of Americans thought the United States should "lean toward Israel" in its efforts to resolve the conflict, a healthy 67 percent believed the United States should "lean toward neither side." I'm glad somebody besides myself drove this point home. Americans by and large want the US to take no side in that conflict, according to numerous polls over the years. Yet Congress does not reflect that. We have a serious problem here. The Congress does not reflect the will of the people. And that needs to change, folks.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Headlines for May 26 - June 1
A Stand For Justice
Israel Prepping to Block Next Gaza Flotilla
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel prefers a diplomatic move to thwart the flotilla expected at the end of June, but if necessary would exercise force against anyone who tries to disobey the navy's orders and head to Gaza's shore.
Egypt permanently opens Gaza border crossing
Rami Arafat, 52, was among the earliest arrivals. He said he hoped to catch a flight out of Cairo on Sunday to Algeria for his daughter's wedding.
"All we need is to travel like humans, be treated with dignity, and feel like any other citizens of the world who can travel in and out freely,'' Arafat said. He said he believed the relaxing of travel restrictions "will guarantee more support from all Arabs and Palestinians for the new Egyptian regime.''
Free at last, free at last.
Arrests made at Jerusalem march
Gaza flotilla organizers mark raid anniversary
"The Gaza shore has to be free. That's why we are sailing there," said Vangelis Pisias, a Greek organizer, said at a news conference on the Mavi Marmara, a ferry that was boarded by Israeli commandos before dawn on May 31, 2010. Nine activists died in the botched commando operation, with each side accusing the other of starting the violence
Jewish worshippers, soldiers clash in West Bank
The Israeli military says soldiers have forcibly removed dozens of Jewish worshippers who refused to leave a holy site inside a Palestinian city in the West Bank.
An estimated 1,600 worshippers entered the city of Nablus early Monday for nighttime prayers at a site believed to be the tomb of the biblical Joseph. The visit was coordinated with the military and Palestinian security forces.
UN: Israel should end eviction of Palestinians from their homes
Israel should end the forced eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the occupied Palestinian territories, the UN humanitarian emergency coordinator said Tuesday
Top Palestinian negotiator: Israel destroying two-state solution
One Year from Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Another on the Horizon
The United States government refused to conduct an investigation into the death of American citizen Dogan, instead stating that the U.S. would rely on Israel’s investigation into its own actions. The United States even refused to cite Dogan’s death in the recently released State Department’s annual Human Rights report on Israel, the first time the violent death of an American citizen in the West Bank or Gaza has not been acknowledged in this report. This is what happened when Israel attacked the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, killing 34 Americans and wounding scores more. The US did nothing. Same with when Israel killed Rachel Corrie in 2003. Israel kills Americans with impunity.
'Spain will recognize Palestinian state on 1967 lines'
The Palestinian Authority announced on Thursday that Spain has decided to recognize a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines before September. A spanish diplomat told Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath that Spain would support making the state of Palestine a UN member. Excellent news.
Settlers burn ancient olive trees in Tel Rumeida
The fire affected sixteen ancient olive trees, some more than a thousand years
old, in an area of almost two dunum (one-half acre). The soldiers from the post
nearby yelled at the CPTers to leave the field, but CPTers called out to them
that they were on land belonging to the Abu Haikel family, who had invited them
to be there. When the CPTers continued to take pictures, the soldiers took no
further action.
CPT releases video about Israeli intelligence incursion in At-Tuwani
On Monday May 23, Israeli intelligence entered At-Tuwani, escorted by about fifteen soldiers. In the operation the Israeli military invaded a local leader's house, demanded that villagers stop their nonviolent resistance and threatened violent retaliation if the Palestinians persist asserting their rights to the land.
Obama pushes Europe not to support Palestinians' U.N. statehood bid
A week after ratcheting up pressure on Israel's government to restart peace talks with Palestinians, President Obama launched a campaign to persuade European leaders not to endorse a separate Palestinian bid for statehood. But his appeal to Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, won only a noncommittal response. The United States ought to stop doing Israel's bidding, heed the wonderous words in George Washington's Farewell address.
Hamas: Russia pledges to back Palestinian bid for state recognition
A partner of the United States, the EU and the United Nations in the Middle East "quartet", Moscow has made a point of calling for the inclusion of Hamas in diplomacy, hosting its leaders and saying isolating it is counterproductive.
Arab League to seek U.N. seat for Palestinian state
The Arab League's peace process committee, meeting in Doha, said it would request membership for the state of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly's meeting in New York in September.
Abbas sees no hope for talks and is firm on U.N. path
The Palestinian president said on Saturday there were "no shared foundations" for peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seeking U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood was his only option.
Obama's new security staff may approve attack on Iran
The conclusion is that between the end of June and Gates' retirement, and the end of September and Mullen's retirement, the danger that Netanyahu and Barak will aim at a surprise in Iran is especially great, especially since this would divert attention from the Palestinian issue. As the Supreme Court explained to Moshe Katsav's lawyers, some plans for summer vacations might be canceled.
Bad News From The BBC - Part 1: 'Replete With Imbalance And Distortion'
One of the main headlines on the BBC news homepage earlier this month read, 'Violence erupts at Israel borders'. Israeli soldiers had shot dead at least 12 protesters and injured dozens more. BBC 'impartiality' decreed that the brutal killings were presented almost as an act of nature, a volcanic eruption that simply happened.
Free software campaigner Richard Stallman cancels Israel lectures due to Palestinian pressure
The funding for his trip came from the Palestinians who invited him to lecture for them, Stallman wrote in a letter explaining the cancellation. He said that they were not pleased that he had been scheduled to lecture at Israeli universities as well, and so withheld funding for his trip.
Why did I disrupt
Do you know that our Congress gave 29 standing ovations to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he spoke in the Capital on Tuesday, May 24? I couldn't watch this hero's welcome for a man who supports the continued building of illegal settlements, won't lift the siege of Gaza, and refuses to negotiate with the new Palestinian unity government. During the talk, when Netanyahu was praising young people rising up for democracy in the Middle East, and I took my cue to stand up from my seat in the Capitol Gallery, unfurl a banner, and shout, "No More Occupation! Stop Israeli War Crimes! Equal Rights for Palestinians!"
Immediately, I was tackled, gagged and violently shoved to the floor by other members of the audience, many of whom were still wearing their badges from the AIPAC conference this past weekend. Keep at it. Don't ever let these bastards win.
Prayer, politics collide on midnight pilgrimage
Nablus was a militant hotbed in the years of the Palestinian uprising last decade. The city's Palestinians and the residents of nearby settlements, considered hard-line even by many other settlers, view each other with deep animosity.
To secure the Jewish worshippers, the military takes up positions in nearby buildings. Keep those settler psychos in ISRAEL. Keep kicking the hornet's nest and you WILL get stung, geniuses.
NYT’s Friedman doubts sincerity of Netanyahu’s standing ovations
"You know, as far as American Jews, you know – you know, to me, the question, Fareed, is yes, Bibi Netanyahu, because of political reasons and campaign donations and AIPAC's influence, can get standing ovations in the U.S. Congress anytime they want, seven days a week, 24/7. How many standing ovations do you think he could get at the student government at the University of Missouri? At Stanford? At Harvard? At the University of Virginia? At the University of Texas? If you went to those student governments, they're the future. They're the future of voters. They're the future people who will maintain the strategic relationship with Israel. And there, I can tell you, as anyone who goes to college campuses knows, that people don't get Israel, what Israel is doing right now. They – some are alienated. Some – more – and this is a bigger part, more just – you know, I don't know. It's messy. I don't want to get involved in this at all."
What Bibi Gains by Misrepresenting Obama's Middle East Policy
Why on earth would Bibi Netanyahu choose to be so boorish and provocative? Because he can be. He has the U.S. Congress in his pocket, a fact made obvious by the applause tsunami that attended his speech to a joint session (and by the fact that an astonishing 68 Senators and 286 Representatives attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee banquet the night before he spoke
Donor Bread (Money) and Congressional Circuses
TV anchor under fire for 'Arab discrimination' comment during Netanyahu's Congress speech
Dozens of viewers complained about a comment added by Yonit Levy of Channel 2 television after her simultaneous translation of Netanyahu's statement that out of 300 million Arabs in our region, "less than one half of one percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel."
Dozens of viewers complained about a comment added by Yonit Levy of Channel 2 television after her simultaneous translation of Netanyahu's statement that out of 300 million Arabs in our region, "less than one half of one percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel."
'The smallest minds and cowardliest hearts': Is Congress clapping for apartheid?
Coldplay endorses 'Freedom for Palestine' single on Facebook page
British music giants Coldplay have endorsed an upcoming musical collaboration called "Freedom for Palestine," released as a single by the War on Want and One World foundations. Excellent.
Canada takes strong pro-Israel line at G8 summit
Canadians better wise up - you are living in an(other) Israeli-occupied territory.
Israeli Culture Minister storms out of film, calls it too pro-Palestinian
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat ,who attended the opening of a film festival in Israel's south, left before the screening began, claiming the film presents a one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ignores the suffering of the residents of the south of Israel.
The Book of Netanyahu by Philip Giraldi
Great American Patriots
What makes this more remarkable still is that this foreign leader whom they were cheering so boisterously and continuously just completed a public, ugly conflict with the American leader and has a long record of demonstrated indifference to American interests; yet the super-patriots of the American Right sided so brazenly and publicly with this foreign leader over their own country's President.
Roadside bomb in Lebanon wounds 6 UN peacekeepers
A roadside bomb ripped through a U.N. convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding six of them in the first such attack since 2008, officials said.
Inside The United States' Secret Sabotage Of Iran
in the last year, much has become known about intelligence operations in Iran, says Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who is now an analyst with the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution.
"There's little doubt that there's a covert war under way against Iran," he says. "There are at least two players in it: the United States and Israel."
Israel minister: Strike on Iran could be necessary
Chicken Little at it again.
‘Land Swaps’: Is There Enough Land To Swap?
“You could find the equivalent of 2.5% of the territories, but when people in Israel talk about it, they are talking about keeping 6% to 10%. Finding that kind of land inside Israel just can’t be done,” said Tel Aviv University geographer Gideon Biger, editor of the “Encyclopedia of International Boundaries.”...
Swapping areas populated by Arabs is, however, already an accepted principle by many in Israel. Yisrael Beiteinu, the third-largest political party in the Knesset, is proposing freeing up land for swaps and strengthening the Jewish majority in Israel by incorporating Arab areas close to the Green Line, such as the city of Umm al-Fahm, into a future Palestinian state.
"What's yours is ours, and what's theirs is yours". That's some generosity. What a bunch of shysters.
Head to Head / Arabeh Mayor Omar Nasser, do you agree with Netanyahu that Arabs live better here than elsewhere?
Is there a democratic country in the world where there are unrecognized villages? In Israel there are. Is there a country in the world where there are laws that allow for admissions committees to prevent citizens from living in certain communities? In Israel there are. Is there a country with a true democracy where a bill like the Nakba Law can be passed or where citizenship can be revoked, including citizenship of tens of thousands of Palestinians from East Jerusalem? Is there a democratic state that rules over another people as Israel does over the Palestinians?
Waging War Gets Easier by Philip Giraldi
The authorization also expands the understanding of what constitutes an “enemy” since anyone can be so designated. The new rule will be that an enemy is anyone so identified by the president because of his or her “hostility” towards the United States. That also means that there will be no judicial process for those accused and they can safely be whisked off to Guantanamo Prison for further processing or not as the case might be. The new law is not yet in place but there is every indication that the president will sign it. Its first victim is likely to be suspected Hezbollah official Ali Mussa Daqduq even though Hezbollah had nothing to do with 9/11. Five Republican senators have already demanded that Daqduq be tried at Guantanamo rather than in a federal court. Hezbollah too? Well, we are Israel's bitch.
As Bibi Slouches Toward September
he had an ugly head-butt with President Obama at the White House, but this just reinforces his street cred, solidifies his coalition and dispirits his critics. Besides, while the run-in ruffled feathers in the administration, it was Obama who ended up running to AIPAC to clear the air.
For icing on the cake, he put Democrats on the defensive. They were forced to play catch-up, with Harry Reid publicly rebuking Obama and congressional Democrats leaping to their feet every few sentences throughout Bibi’s grant-no-quarter speech so as not to appear disloyal.
Who says Israel doesn't have any control over America? What's this lobby you speak of?... Quite interesting the last few paragraphs. So you finally fear the retribution, do you? After years of making sure America is dragged into your BS, NOW the chickens are coming home to roost. And Americans, like me a few years ago when I first caught wind of the truth of all of this are going to be PISSED. Good luck with it.
Don’t Make Us Choose
No one wants to choose between the President and the Prime Minister, between America’s interest and Israel’s. No matter who is in the White House, no matter who is in charge of the government in Jerusalem, Jews here like to see consensus, a smooth connection, the enunciation not just of shared values, but a shared approach to geopolitical challenges.
Really?
FM warns against involvement in Gaza flotilla
"I strongly urge those wishing to deliver humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip to do so through established channels," Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on Sunday.
David Cameron resigns as patron of the Jewish National Fund
The JNF was originally set up to buy land in Palestine to establish Jewish settlements before the creation of the state of Israel. Now it is a global charity which describes itself as the "caretakers of the land and people of Israel", specialising in planting forests. Critics say it expropriated land belonging to Palestinians and has obliterated pre-1948 Arab villages by planting forests and parks. The JNF is involved in the demolition of Bedouin villages in the Negev desert as part of an afforestation plan.
Blair: Obama anxious about Israel's fate
Blair described Obama's initiative – rejected by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu – as "an attempt to fill a vacuum which he sees as dangerous, particularly dangerous for Israel in the run–up to September," when the assembly is expected to take up the issue of Palestinian statehood during the U.N.'s annual meeting.
Republicans Use Israel To Attract Jewish Voters — And Jewish Money
At the recent annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, pro-Israel activists found themselves courted both by Republicans critical of Obama’s Israel policy and by Democratic lawmakers seeking to distance themselves from the president.
Who Cares in the Middle East What Obama Says? By Robert Fisk
There was an interesting linguistic collapse in the president's language over those critical four days. On Thursday 19 May, he referred to the continuation of Israeli "settlements". A day later, Netanyahu was lecturing him on "certain demographic changes that have taken place on the ground". Then when Obama addressed the American Aipac lobby group (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on the Sunday, he had cravenly adopted Netanyahu's own preposterous expression. Now he, too, spoke of "new demographic realities on the ground." Who would believe that he was talking about internationally illegal Jewish colonies built on land stolen from Arabs in one of the biggest property heists in the history of "Palestine"? A great read by seasoned journalist Robert Fisk.
South Hebron Hills Reflection: Healing the Trees
I know in my head that Israeli settlers who live across the valley from At-Tuwani sometimes sneak down at night and chop down the villagers’ olive trees. But seeing the wounded trees myself cuts more deeply. The breaks are jagged, branches twisting off the trunk, the silver-green leaves curling in the dust. Ten trees have been hacked off, an attempt to chop down Palestinian life in the South Hebron Hills.
Israel Prepping to Block Next Gaza Flotilla
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel prefers a diplomatic move to thwart the flotilla expected at the end of June, but if necessary would exercise force against anyone who tries to disobey the navy's orders and head to Gaza's shore.
Egypt permanently opens Gaza border crossing
Rami Arafat, 52, was among the earliest arrivals. He said he hoped to catch a flight out of Cairo on Sunday to Algeria for his daughter's wedding.
"All we need is to travel like humans, be treated with dignity, and feel like any other citizens of the world who can travel in and out freely,'' Arafat said. He said he believed the relaxing of travel restrictions "will guarantee more support from all Arabs and Palestinians for the new Egyptian regime.''
Free at last, free at last.
Arrests made at Jerusalem march
Gaza flotilla organizers mark raid anniversary
"The Gaza shore has to be free. That's why we are sailing there," said Vangelis Pisias, a Greek organizer, said at a news conference on the Mavi Marmara, a ferry that was boarded by Israeli commandos before dawn on May 31, 2010. Nine activists died in the botched commando operation, with each side accusing the other of starting the violence
Jewish worshippers, soldiers clash in West Bank
The Israeli military says soldiers have forcibly removed dozens of Jewish worshippers who refused to leave a holy site inside a Palestinian city in the West Bank.
An estimated 1,600 worshippers entered the city of Nablus early Monday for nighttime prayers at a site believed to be the tomb of the biblical Joseph. The visit was coordinated with the military and Palestinian security forces.
UN: Israel should end eviction of Palestinians from their homes
Israel should end the forced eviction of Palestinians from their homes in the occupied Palestinian territories, the UN humanitarian emergency coordinator said Tuesday
Top Palestinian negotiator: Israel destroying two-state solution
One Year from Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Another on the Horizon
The United States government refused to conduct an investigation into the death of American citizen Dogan, instead stating that the U.S. would rely on Israel’s investigation into its own actions. The United States even refused to cite Dogan’s death in the recently released State Department’s annual Human Rights report on Israel, the first time the violent death of an American citizen in the West Bank or Gaza has not been acknowledged in this report. This is what happened when Israel attacked the USS Liberty on June 8, 1967, killing 34 Americans and wounding scores more. The US did nothing. Same with when Israel killed Rachel Corrie in 2003. Israel kills Americans with impunity.
'Spain will recognize Palestinian state on 1967 lines'
The Palestinian Authority announced on Thursday that Spain has decided to recognize a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines before September. A spanish diplomat told Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath that Spain would support making the state of Palestine a UN member. Excellent news.
Settlers burn ancient olive trees in Tel Rumeida
The fire affected sixteen ancient olive trees, some more than a thousand years
old, in an area of almost two dunum (one-half acre). The soldiers from the post
nearby yelled at the CPTers to leave the field, but CPTers called out to them
that they were on land belonging to the Abu Haikel family, who had invited them
to be there. When the CPTers continued to take pictures, the soldiers took no
further action.
CPT releases video about Israeli intelligence incursion in At-Tuwani
On Monday May 23, Israeli intelligence entered At-Tuwani, escorted by about fifteen soldiers. In the operation the Israeli military invaded a local leader's house, demanded that villagers stop their nonviolent resistance and threatened violent retaliation if the Palestinians persist asserting their rights to the land.
Obama pushes Europe not to support Palestinians' U.N. statehood bid
A week after ratcheting up pressure on Israel's government to restart peace talks with Palestinians, President Obama launched a campaign to persuade European leaders not to endorse a separate Palestinian bid for statehood. But his appeal to Britain's prime minister, David Cameron, won only a noncommittal response. The United States ought to stop doing Israel's bidding, heed the wonderous words in George Washington's Farewell address.
Hamas: Russia pledges to back Palestinian bid for state recognition
A partner of the United States, the EU and the United Nations in the Middle East "quartet", Moscow has made a point of calling for the inclusion of Hamas in diplomacy, hosting its leaders and saying isolating it is counterproductive.
Arab League to seek U.N. seat for Palestinian state
The Arab League's peace process committee, meeting in Doha, said it would request membership for the state of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly's meeting in New York in September.
Abbas sees no hope for talks and is firm on U.N. path
The Palestinian president said on Saturday there were "no shared foundations" for peace talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seeking U.N. recognition of Palestinian statehood was his only option.
Obama's new security staff may approve attack on Iran
The conclusion is that between the end of June and Gates' retirement, and the end of September and Mullen's retirement, the danger that Netanyahu and Barak will aim at a surprise in Iran is especially great, especially since this would divert attention from the Palestinian issue. As the Supreme Court explained to Moshe Katsav's lawyers, some plans for summer vacations might be canceled.
Bad News From The BBC - Part 1: 'Replete With Imbalance And Distortion'
One of the main headlines on the BBC news homepage earlier this month read, 'Violence erupts at Israel borders'. Israeli soldiers had shot dead at least 12 protesters and injured dozens more. BBC 'impartiality' decreed that the brutal killings were presented almost as an act of nature, a volcanic eruption that simply happened.
Free software campaigner Richard Stallman cancels Israel lectures due to Palestinian pressure
The funding for his trip came from the Palestinians who invited him to lecture for them, Stallman wrote in a letter explaining the cancellation. He said that they were not pleased that he had been scheduled to lecture at Israeli universities as well, and so withheld funding for his trip.
Why did I disrupt
Do you know that our Congress gave 29 standing ovations to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he spoke in the Capital on Tuesday, May 24? I couldn't watch this hero's welcome for a man who supports the continued building of illegal settlements, won't lift the siege of Gaza, and refuses to negotiate with the new Palestinian unity government. During the talk, when Netanyahu was praising young people rising up for democracy in the Middle East, and I took my cue to stand up from my seat in the Capitol Gallery, unfurl a banner, and shout, "No More Occupation! Stop Israeli War Crimes! Equal Rights for Palestinians!"
Immediately, I was tackled, gagged and violently shoved to the floor by other members of the audience, many of whom were still wearing their badges from the AIPAC conference this past weekend. Keep at it. Don't ever let these bastards win.
Prayer, politics collide on midnight pilgrimage
Nablus was a militant hotbed in the years of the Palestinian uprising last decade. The city's Palestinians and the residents of nearby settlements, considered hard-line even by many other settlers, view each other with deep animosity.
To secure the Jewish worshippers, the military takes up positions in nearby buildings. Keep those settler psychos in ISRAEL. Keep kicking the hornet's nest and you WILL get stung, geniuses.
NYT’s Friedman doubts sincerity of Netanyahu’s standing ovations
"You know, as far as American Jews, you know – you know, to me, the question, Fareed, is yes, Bibi Netanyahu, because of political reasons and campaign donations and AIPAC's influence, can get standing ovations in the U.S. Congress anytime they want, seven days a week, 24/7. How many standing ovations do you think he could get at the student government at the University of Missouri? At Stanford? At Harvard? At the University of Virginia? At the University of Texas? If you went to those student governments, they're the future. They're the future of voters. They're the future people who will maintain the strategic relationship with Israel. And there, I can tell you, as anyone who goes to college campuses knows, that people don't get Israel, what Israel is doing right now. They – some are alienated. Some – more – and this is a bigger part, more just – you know, I don't know. It's messy. I don't want to get involved in this at all."
What Bibi Gains by Misrepresenting Obama's Middle East Policy
Why on earth would Bibi Netanyahu choose to be so boorish and provocative? Because he can be. He has the U.S. Congress in his pocket, a fact made obvious by the applause tsunami that attended his speech to a joint session (and by the fact that an astonishing 68 Senators and 286 Representatives attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee banquet the night before he spoke
Donor Bread (Money) and Congressional Circuses
TV anchor under fire for 'Arab discrimination' comment during Netanyahu's Congress speech
Dozens of viewers complained about a comment added by Yonit Levy of Channel 2 television after her simultaneous translation of Netanyahu's statement that out of 300 million Arabs in our region, "less than one half of one percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel."
Dozens of viewers complained about a comment added by Yonit Levy of Channel 2 television after her simultaneous translation of Netanyahu's statement that out of 300 million Arabs in our region, "less than one half of one percent are truly free, and they're all citizens of Israel."
'The smallest minds and cowardliest hearts': Is Congress clapping for apartheid?
Coldplay endorses 'Freedom for Palestine' single on Facebook page
British music giants Coldplay have endorsed an upcoming musical collaboration called "Freedom for Palestine," released as a single by the War on Want and One World foundations. Excellent.
Canada takes strong pro-Israel line at G8 summit
Canadians better wise up - you are living in an(other) Israeli-occupied territory.
Israeli Culture Minister storms out of film, calls it too pro-Palestinian
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat ,who attended the opening of a film festival in Israel's south, left before the screening began, claiming the film presents a one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ignores the suffering of the residents of the south of Israel.
The Book of Netanyahu by Philip Giraldi
Great American Patriots
What makes this more remarkable still is that this foreign leader whom they were cheering so boisterously and continuously just completed a public, ugly conflict with the American leader and has a long record of demonstrated indifference to American interests; yet the super-patriots of the American Right sided so brazenly and publicly with this foreign leader over their own country's President.
Roadside bomb in Lebanon wounds 6 UN peacekeepers
A roadside bomb ripped through a U.N. convoy carrying Italian peacekeepers in southern Lebanon on Friday, wounding six of them in the first such attack since 2008, officials said.
Inside The United States' Secret Sabotage Of Iran
in the last year, much has become known about intelligence operations in Iran, says Bruce Riedel, a former CIA official who is now an analyst with the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution.
"There's little doubt that there's a covert war under way against Iran," he says. "There are at least two players in it: the United States and Israel."
Israel minister: Strike on Iran could be necessary
Chicken Little at it again.
‘Land Swaps’: Is There Enough Land To Swap?
“You could find the equivalent of 2.5% of the territories, but when people in Israel talk about it, they are talking about keeping 6% to 10%. Finding that kind of land inside Israel just can’t be done,” said Tel Aviv University geographer Gideon Biger, editor of the “Encyclopedia of International Boundaries.”...
Swapping areas populated by Arabs is, however, already an accepted principle by many in Israel. Yisrael Beiteinu, the third-largest political party in the Knesset, is proposing freeing up land for swaps and strengthening the Jewish majority in Israel by incorporating Arab areas close to the Green Line, such as the city of Umm al-Fahm, into a future Palestinian state.
"What's yours is ours, and what's theirs is yours". That's some generosity. What a bunch of shysters.
Head to Head / Arabeh Mayor Omar Nasser, do you agree with Netanyahu that Arabs live better here than elsewhere?
Is there a democratic country in the world where there are unrecognized villages? In Israel there are. Is there a country in the world where there are laws that allow for admissions committees to prevent citizens from living in certain communities? In Israel there are. Is there a country with a true democracy where a bill like the Nakba Law can be passed or where citizenship can be revoked, including citizenship of tens of thousands of Palestinians from East Jerusalem? Is there a democratic state that rules over another people as Israel does over the Palestinians?
Waging War Gets Easier by Philip Giraldi
The authorization also expands the understanding of what constitutes an “enemy” since anyone can be so designated. The new rule will be that an enemy is anyone so identified by the president because of his or her “hostility” towards the United States. That also means that there will be no judicial process for those accused and they can safely be whisked off to Guantanamo Prison for further processing or not as the case might be. The new law is not yet in place but there is every indication that the president will sign it. Its first victim is likely to be suspected Hezbollah official Ali Mussa Daqduq even though Hezbollah had nothing to do with 9/11. Five Republican senators have already demanded that Daqduq be tried at Guantanamo rather than in a federal court. Hezbollah too? Well, we are Israel's bitch.
As Bibi Slouches Toward September
he had an ugly head-butt with President Obama at the White House, but this just reinforces his street cred, solidifies his coalition and dispirits his critics. Besides, while the run-in ruffled feathers in the administration, it was Obama who ended up running to AIPAC to clear the air.
For icing on the cake, he put Democrats on the defensive. They were forced to play catch-up, with Harry Reid publicly rebuking Obama and congressional Democrats leaping to their feet every few sentences throughout Bibi’s grant-no-quarter speech so as not to appear disloyal.
Who says Israel doesn't have any control over America? What's this lobby you speak of?... Quite interesting the last few paragraphs. So you finally fear the retribution, do you? After years of making sure America is dragged into your BS, NOW the chickens are coming home to roost. And Americans, like me a few years ago when I first caught wind of the truth of all of this are going to be PISSED. Good luck with it.
Don’t Make Us Choose
No one wants to choose between the President and the Prime Minister, between America’s interest and Israel’s. No matter who is in the White House, no matter who is in charge of the government in Jerusalem, Jews here like to see consensus, a smooth connection, the enunciation not just of shared values, but a shared approach to geopolitical challenges.
Really?
FM warns against involvement in Gaza flotilla
"I strongly urge those wishing to deliver humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip to do so through established channels," Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird said on Sunday.
David Cameron resigns as patron of the Jewish National Fund
The JNF was originally set up to buy land in Palestine to establish Jewish settlements before the creation of the state of Israel. Now it is a global charity which describes itself as the "caretakers of the land and people of Israel", specialising in planting forests. Critics say it expropriated land belonging to Palestinians and has obliterated pre-1948 Arab villages by planting forests and parks. The JNF is involved in the demolition of Bedouin villages in the Negev desert as part of an afforestation plan.
Blair: Obama anxious about Israel's fate
Blair described Obama's initiative – rejected by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu – as "an attempt to fill a vacuum which he sees as dangerous, particularly dangerous for Israel in the run–up to September," when the assembly is expected to take up the issue of Palestinian statehood during the U.N.'s annual meeting.
Republicans Use Israel To Attract Jewish Voters — And Jewish Money
At the recent annual gathering of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, pro-Israel activists found themselves courted both by Republicans critical of Obama’s Israel policy and by Democratic lawmakers seeking to distance themselves from the president.
Who Cares in the Middle East What Obama Says? By Robert Fisk
There was an interesting linguistic collapse in the president's language over those critical four days. On Thursday 19 May, he referred to the continuation of Israeli "settlements". A day later, Netanyahu was lecturing him on "certain demographic changes that have taken place on the ground". Then when Obama addressed the American Aipac lobby group (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on the Sunday, he had cravenly adopted Netanyahu's own preposterous expression. Now he, too, spoke of "new demographic realities on the ground." Who would believe that he was talking about internationally illegal Jewish colonies built on land stolen from Arabs in one of the biggest property heists in the history of "Palestine"? A great read by seasoned journalist Robert Fisk.
South Hebron Hills Reflection: Healing the Trees
I know in my head that Israeli settlers who live across the valley from At-Tuwani sometimes sneak down at night and chop down the villagers’ olive trees. But seeing the wounded trees myself cuts more deeply. The breaks are jagged, branches twisting off the trunk, the silver-green leaves curling in the dust. Ten trees have been hacked off, an attempt to chop down Palestinian life in the South Hebron Hills.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Headlines for May 19 - May 25
A Stand For Justice
Official: Palestinian PM suffered heart attack
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad suffered a heart attack while visiting the U.S. and is recovering at a Texas hospital, a spokesman said Monday.
Egypt to open Rafah crossing permanently
Egypt will open its only crossing with the Gaza Strip this weekend, the Cairo military government announced Wednesday, significantly easing a four–year blockade on the Hamas–ruled territory but setting up a potential conflict with Israel.
Palestinians more skeptical about Mideast talks
Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said it's best for the Palestinians to keep quiet and let Netanyahu do the talking.
"We accept two states based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps ... and we want Mr. Netanyahu to say this sentence," Erekat said. "We hope to hear it in front of Congress, at AIPAC, in Hebrew, in Arabic, in Chinese, in any language."
HEBRON/AL-KHALIL:Soldiers throw sound bombs in market as shopkeepers close up for evening; several people injured
Although many settler youth were in town for the Israeli Lag Baomer holiday, all witnesses who saw the sound bombs thrown from the roofs in disparate areas of the market said that soldiers had thrown them. No demonstrations or gatherings of any kind were happening in the market at the time. The last shopkeepers were closing their stores, and a few Old City residents were returning to their homes.
Obama tells Israel: Go back to 1967 borders
Israel rejects Obama peace plan, Palestinians cagey
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to fly to Washington just hours after Obama's speech, immediately called on the White House to guarantee Israel would not have to withdraw to the 1967 lines.
He urged Obama to commit to the assurances laid out in 2004 by then president George W. Bush, who said "new realities on the ground," meant a "full and complete return" to the 1967 borders was "unrealistic."
"Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of US commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both houses of Congress," Netanyahu's statement said.
Netanyahu lectures Obama in Oval Office
Lectured like an insolent child for daring to cross Israel.
Obama to aides: Netanyahu will never do what it takes to achieve Mideast peace
In what seems to be a response to Netanyahu's comments, Obama aides told the New York Times that the U.S. president did not believe Netanyahu will ever be willing to make the kind of concessions that would lead to a peace deal.
World backs Obama Palestinian plan as Israel digs in heels
As Obama's vision was welcomed by the European Union, the United Nations, Russia, the Palestinians and parts of the Arab world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly rejected it as "unrealistic".
Without talks, Palestinians to head to UN: Abbas
The Israeli leader, who addressed Congress on the last day of a trip to Washington, said he was willing to make "painful compromises" for peace.
But he ruled out a division of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the possibility of using the borders that existed before 1967 as a basis for peace negotiations. Then evidently there won't be any 'painful compromises' on the part of Israel. There never are.
Israel rejects total pullback to 1967 borders
Distinguished Panel will Question Military Aid to Israel
Nakba day: we waited 63 years for this
This is the shared experience we commemorate every year on Nakba Day: the year-long expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that began in 1947 and continued straight through 1948 into the terrible snowstorm winters of 1949, creating what is now the world's largest refugee population.
Harsh West Bank 'honor killing' brings tougher law
"Such a tragic event managed to send a message that change is needed," said rights campaigner Hanan Ashrawi. "We have traction and we are going to move."
...Arafat's widow, Suha, said that when she lived in the Gaza Strip with her husband in the 1990s, she used to hide women feeling threatened by male relatives and would help smuggle them to safer areas.
Palestinians: Netanyahu peace outline unacceptable
Nabil Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Netanyahu's insistence on keeping key parts of the territories the Palestinians want for their state is a "declaration of war against the Palestinians."
Center for Constitutional Rights Launches Case Seeking U.S. Knowledge of and Role in Deadly Israeli Attack on Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza
said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney, Katherine Gallagher. “A U.S. citizen was killed and the U.S. has not conducted an independent investigation into his killing in international waters by a foreign military. Indeed, the State Department did not even mention the killing of Furkan Doğan in its recently released Human Rights report on Israel. We need to know what our government is doing to protect us – and hold those to account who harm U.S. citizens.” If the killers are Israelis, our govenrment does NOTHING.
Face to face, Netanyahu rejects Obama on borders
On Thursday, Netanyahu was informed shortly before Obama's speech of its contents by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to U.S. officials. Netanyahu sought in vain to get the border language removed from the speech, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic exchange.
Some Questions for Bibi by Philip Giraldi
Speaking of attacking, you rocketed, strafed, and torpedoed a US Naval vessel the USS Liberty in international waters in 1967, killing 34 of the crew and injuring 174. The attack was both unprovoked and brutal, intended to sink the ship and kill everyone on board. You claim it was an accident but have never given American investigators access to your government records. It sounds like a cover-up and many Americans are wondering whether you will ever come clean on what happened that day. Will you ever open up your records relating to the Liberty? Excellent questions by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.
NAKBA 201 50,000 Palestinians Crash Israeli Border Veterans Today
This is a historic event similar to the freedom marches America used to have in the 1960s civil rights movement — the spirit is so great. This is a momentous historic event of NAKBA and the need to be liberated because of the Arab and Islamic awakening and this is part of that awakening. It’s amazing — I’ve been to a lot of demonstrations — nothing like this. Nothing like this has occurred on the question of Palestine for the past 63 years.
Bibi to Congress: No compromise on Jerusalem, refugees or Jordan River presence
Netanyahu received a warm reception from Congress, including more than two dozen standing ovations, and made a forceful case highlighting the commonalities between Israel and America and explaining Israel’s security challenges. He talked about the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and said the Palestinian Authority must end its agreement with Hamas, which he called “the Palestinian version of al-Qaida.”
The Israeli prime minister had an informal delivery, cracking several jokes and twice turning around to address Vice President Joe Biden. When a heckler interrupted Netanyahu at one point, Congress tried to drown her out with a standing ovation, much as the pro-Israel crowd at the annual banquet of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee did the previous evening for the Jewish state's leader. Our own president doesn't get this many ovations when he speaks to Congress. Netanyahu is the real leader of Congress, and he knows it. Israel's wishes trump the wishes of the American people, 2/3 of whom want the US to take no side in that conflict.
Abbas Says Netanyahu's Congress Speech Full of 'Falsehoods'
Obama to AIPAC: Israelis, Palestinians should negotiate a new border
In his speech Sunday, Obama said he told Netanyahu at their White House meeting two days earlier that “The march to isolate Israel internationally -- and the impulse of the Palestinians to abandon negotiations -- will continue to gain momentum in the absence of a credible peace process and alternative.”
Israeli intelligence, backed by military, threatens villagers in At-Tuwani
On Monday May 23, Israeli intelligence entered At-Tuwani, escorted by about fifteen soldiers. In the operation the Israeli military invaded a local leader's house, demanded that villagers stop their nonviolent resistance and threatened violent retaliation if the Palestinians persist asserting their rights to the land.
CPT releases video of Palestinian testimonies about settler attack in Tuba
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has released a video of Palestinian testimonies about the recent settler invasion of the village of Tuba. On 16 May, shortly before midnight, Israeli settlers invaded Tuba, damaged property, and stole and injured several sheep belonging to the Ali Awwad family.
Palestinians condemn latest Israel settlement plan
Palestinian officials Friday condemned an Israeli plan to build 1,550 housing units on annexed land around Jerusalem, authorized the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for talks in Washington. Peace? The Israelis thought they said PIECE, as in - another PIECE of Palestine. They don't mind if they do.
Palestinians to proceed with UN recognition bid
"I don't think we can talk about a peace process with a man who says the 1967 lines are an illusion, that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, undivided, and he does not want a single (Palestinian) refugee to go back," Erekat said. "What is left to negotiate about?"
Palestinians seek Arab consultation on Obama speech
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Arab League Saturday to convene a discussion of President Barack Obama's vision for peace with Israel, a Palestinian official said.
Obama's 'Jewish state' reference jars Palestinians
Most difficult for Palestinians is Obama's call to recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, essentially requiring the Palestinians to accept that most refugees will be denied the "right of return" to what is now Israel.
Perhaps for this reason, the Palestinians have remained largely quiet about the substance of Obama's speeches, seemingly content to watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clash with the U.S. administration over Israel's future borders.
OBSTRUCTIONIST ISRAELI RIGHT DISDAINS ANY TALK OF PEACE
Netanyahu's Israel is on course to become a pariah state
Closer to home, Deutsche Bahn's withdrawal from the project to lay a railway line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem should have caused a shock. But here, we prefer to avoid reality.
Israeli Right Mocks Obama's Rapid Submission To Netanyahu
Benny Katzover, longtime leader of the West Bank settlement movement, said that the speech didn’t just represent a victory for Israel, but it was also a great statement of support to the concept of settlement and to the "entrenchment of Jewish presence" in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Golan.
Jewish Protester Disrupts Netanyahu During Congressional Address
During the Joint Session of Congress while Prime Minister Netanyahu was speaking, Rae Abileah stood up from the gallery and shouted “Stop Israeli War Crimes.” Yay Rae!
The President Goes AIPACing
If you are not Jewish, the goal of Israeli society is to render you a second class citizen and, eventually, expel you altogether. In terms of democracy, this makes Israel as democratic as, say, Alabama circa 1950. As a nation, the United States has left that era behind. So tell me, where are the shared values?
Netanyahu's Congress speech could set Middle East peace back another 18 years
Taking advantage of his New York accent while addressing Congress on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an eloquent speech offering only more obstacles to a lasting and just peace in the Middle East. He not only failed to provide a vision for the peace process in a changing Middle East, but also introduced new terms and phrases that will probably hamper any peace efforts in the future.
Netanyahu to outline peace vision in speech to Congress
Israeli leaders have long regarded AIPAC as a valuable advocacy group in the United States and have frequently attended its annual conventions.
Listing a membership of 100,000, the group has worked with Congress and the White House on securing foreign aid for Israel and legislation to strengthen what it describes as the vital U.S.-Israel relationship.
Muslims rush to restore torched Egypt church
The 26–year–old is one of a vast group of mostly Muslim craftsmen tasked with restoring St Mary's Church in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba after militants set it on fire on May 7.
The Onion’s quick swipe at the “Israel Lobby”
“I love this piece because it captures perfectly how the system works in the U.S. when it comes to talking about Israel,” Walt’s co-author John J. Mearsheimer, a political science professor at University of Chicago, wrote in an email. “Criticize Israel and the lobby will smear you and try to destroy your career, even if your criticism is smart and well-intentioned. While the piece is humorous, it is also a sad commentary on what blind support for Israel is doing to large portions of the American Jewish community.”
Obama, Tell Netanyahu – Don’t Mess With Flotilla to Gaza by Ray McGovern
We, the passengers and crew of “The Audacity of Hope,” sailing to Gaza together with the 2nd International Freedom Flotilla, represent ordinary Americans determined to speak to the aspirations of the 1.5 million ordinary Gazans yearning to be free.
Ukrainians Cling to Belief That Demjanjuk Is Innocent
That Israeli court conviction was secured by eyewitness testimony. Three former prisoners positively — and, it turns out, erroneously — identified Demjanjuk as “Ivan the Terrible.”
Lots of Rhetoric – But Very Little Help By Robert Fisk
Well, this weekend is Netanyahu's weekend and the Israeli settlements – more were flagged only hours before Obama spoke – will go on as before. And by the time Obama ends up swearing eternal loyalty to the Israelis, the Arabs will forget yesterday's posturing. And the reference to the "Jewish state" was obviously intended to make Netanyahu happy. Last time I went there, there were hundreds of thousands of Arabs who lived in Israel, all of them with Israeli passports. They didn't get a reference from Obama. Or maybe I was just imagining.
US agenda on Israel is not one of peace - author
According to writer William Engdahl, the global community is now witnessing the most significant change in US-Israeli relations since the recognition of the Israeli state.
Protestor who disrupted Netanyahu in Congress attacked, hospitalized, arrested The Electronic Intifada
Rae Abileah a CODEPINK activist who disrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in the United States Congress this morning was physically attacked, hospitalized and then arrested from hospital according to reports.
Egypt says Obama speech will help Palestinians
But the Egyptian ambassador said Obama missed an opportunity to address other key issues including Israel's continued settlement activities, water, ending the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the return of refugees "which is a critical issue," and the Palestinian demand for East Jerusalem as its capital.
DePaul students vote by large margin to ban Sabra hummus
Congress Claps for Apartheid Stephen M. Walt
Netanyahu's central message yesterday was an emphatic rejection of a genuine two-state solution. While professing to be willing to make major sacrifices for the sake of peace, his lengthy list of preconditions made it abundantly clear that he thinks Israel is entitled to rule the Palestinian population in perpetuity-even when it becomes numerically larger than Israel's Jewish citizens -- and that the United States should back this effort no matter what. And even though the only alternatives to a two-state solution are 1) further ethnic cleansing, 2) a binational, one-state democracy, or 3) permanent apartheid, Congress is just fine with that.
Close attention to Obama's latest words on Israel
Analysis: Obama jolt unlikely to spark peace talks
President Barack Obama is trying to shock the moribund Israeli–Palestinian peace process to life, but there is little chance the patient can be resuscitated anytime soon.
My Political Rupture With AIPAC By MIKE GRAVEL
Political positions and decisions within AIPAC were and continue to be profoundly influenced by the Israeli government. And AIPAC, in turn, profoundly influences our government.
The Enemy of My Enemy . . .
Then there’s his position on foreign assistance. Ron Paul has raised the specter of the “Israel Lobby,” voted against condemning the United Nations for its scurrilous Goldstone Report on the 2008 Gaza war, and declared America should be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians. Rand Paul simply says sorry, we can’t afford the aid. “We can’t give away money to any country, even to our allies,” he told me.
Obama eases Israeli anger on Mideast peace vision
Obama's speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) also served as a reminder his peace formula could cost him support among Jewish and pro–Israel voters and donors as he runs for re–election in 2012. Some prospective Republican presidential challengers have already accused him of betraying Israel, Washington's closest ally in the region.
...While Obama won the Jewish vote overwhelmingly in 2008, some prominent Jewish Americans were rethinking their support for his re–election after this week's events.
Some Israelis have never felt entirely comfortable with Obama, unnerved by his early attempts to reach out to Iran and his support for Arab revolutions that have unsettled Israel.
Oh dear.
Obama vows to stand up to Hezbollah over 'assassination'
"Iran continues to support terrorism across the region, including providing weapons and funds to terrorist organizations," Obama said in a speech to the pro–Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"So we will continue to work to prevent these actions, and will stand up to groups like Hezbollah who exercise political assassination, and seek to impose their will through rockets and car bombs," Obama said. Obama basically stating: 'we will continue to be Israel's bitch'.
Ron Paul to Obama: Stop Dictating to Israel
Patriotic Americans to Israel: stop dictating to America.
Obama and the Israel Lobby
US Politicians Kowtow to a Foreign Leader
Yet, as I am not the first to point out, there was nothing new in what the President said about the 1967 borders. That didn’t matter to Obama’s critics, however: so quick were they to pick up the latest party line from Tel Aviv that they didn’t even bother to acknowledge this, but were only concerned with echoing every jot and tittle of the Israeli position. Not since the heyday of the old Communist Party USA, when the Daily Worker was adept at not only defending but anticipating the line handed down by the Kremlin, have we seen such a phenomenon: the kowtowing before a foreign leader by American politicians.
“Bibi” Votes Republican by Patrick J. Buchanan
Obama, however, was lectured like some schoolboy in the Oval Office in front of the national press and a worldwide TV audience.
And two days later, he trooped over to the Israeli lobby AIPAC to walk back what he had said that had so infuriated Netanyahu.
“Bibi” then purred that he was “pleased” with the clarification. Who owns this place, folks?
Immigration Reform Is Our Jewish Responsibility
We have already started to strengthen our ties with the Latino community, the fastest-growing minority in the United States. As this strategic alliance of mutual support forms, immigration is a natural connector. At some point, however, dialogue alone will not be enough; true partnership will depend on concrete joint action.
Strange how Israel's immigration system, ie the barring of those that actually owned the land, doesn't bother these same people badly enough to act. But they want to make sure that America rewards lawbreaking with 'amnesty'. It's hypocrisy and BS. These non-Jews wouldn't be allowed to immigrate to Israel.
Israel and the Right
For most traditional conservatives of Reagan’s era, support for Israel did not necessarily mean unconditional support for absolutely everything Israel did. This is generally not true of the neoconservatives. If the US condemned Israel for attacking Iraq in 1981, it was not a shock that by the time the neoconservative Bush administration came to power two decades later America and Israel would more often begin to share the same enemies.
Judge awards $300M in each of 2 suicide bombings
The other award was made to American citizen Seth Haim, his father and his brother. They were injured in the 1995 bombing of a bus in the Gaza Strip by the Iranian–supported Shaqaqi Faction of the Palestine Islamic Jihad.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said he was making the awards – which will be difficult, perhaps impossible, for the families to collect – in the interest of deterring future terrorist attacks.
Israel in a Post-American Era by Patrick J. Buchanan
And what happened Sunday on the 63rd anniversary of Israel’s independence and the Palestinian “nakba,” or “catastrophe,” where 700,000 fled or were driven into exile, is perhaps the most ominous portent of all.
Palestinian protesters approached the fence separating Lebanon and Israel and climbed the fence on the Israeli-occupied Golan heights to come and reclaim Palestinian lands. Fifteen to 20 were shot to death and scores were wounded by Israeli troops.
'Israel pushing Obama into war with Iran'
Morris said it was worrying that Obama's National Security Advisor Tom Donilon has called on the Washington Institute for Near East Affairs to take stronger actions against Iran.
NSA Tom Donilon Addresses The Washington Institute (AIPAC spin-off Think Tank)
Speaking before an audience of more than 400 policymakers, diplomats, journalists, and members of the Institute’s board of trustees, he offered a behind-the-scenes look at the operation against Usama bin Laden, reiterated the White House’s commitment to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability, and discussed the depth and breadth of the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship. The WINEP is a part of Israel's lobby in the US.
Republicans Use Israel To Attract Jewish Voters — And Jewish Money
While a majority of AIPAC members and activists, according to a former staffer, are Democrats — as are most members of the Jewish community — strong supporters of the group are more likely to make political decisions based on the candidate’s views on Israel.
AIPAC Hits Capitol Hill With Hard Line Message on Palestinian Authority
AIPAC delegates, as they embark on lobbying meetings on Tuesday, will ask their representatives to support resolutions in the House and Senate that reaffirm the American opposition to a unilateral Palestinian move at the U.N. and threaten the P.A. with cutting American aid if it moves forward with the Hamas unity agreement.
More resolutions on behalf of Israel that have no import for the vast majority of Americans. Who owns Congress?
Bibi and Obama Now Set To Battle for Congress, Public Opinion
Guess who won? Who got the 25 standing ovations? Not Obama.
Congress Wielding Foreign Aid Budget in Effort to Influence Shape of New Middle East
The discussion over foreign aid to the Middle East is being conducted against the backdrop of increasing calls for austerity and against reluctance among lawmakers to approve any new budgetary expense. And while Israel, with an annual aid package of $3 billion, has been reassured that American funding is safe, its neighbors in the region are faced with both economic and political hurdles in Congress when seeking a share of foreign aid from the United States.
...Israel enjoys other foreign aid perks, including the ability to spend parts of the military aid in Israel rather than use it all to purchase American-made defense goods. It also enjoys early disbursement of the aid that enables Israel to earn interest on the funds throughout the year.
Calls for budget cuts, an Israeli diplomat dealing with the issue said, has caused some alarm among pro-Israel activists, but “we were assured very quickly that our aid is safe,” the diplomat said.
As jobless Americans lose their homes, go hungry and as schools close all over the country, so long as Israel has its billions. Israel, with its prosperous economy...
Bibi Rides Again by Philip Giraldi
Benjamin Netanyahu reacts furiously to the mention of 1967, berating Hillary Clinton over the phone before the speech, seeking to have the date removed. Interestingly, Netanyahu’s intervention means he received a copy of the speech before it was given I found that fact interesting too.
Was Obama's speech too tough on Israel Republican criticism mounts.
Several GOP presidential contenders slammed Mr. Obama’s comments on Israel. “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus,” said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, in a statement. “He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace.”
Congressional Republicans picked up similar themes.
Should USAID Use Public Funds For Religious Entities Overseas?
t the agency has come under scrutiny in the past for using taxpayer dollars to fund religious projects overseas. In 1988, the Washington Jewish Week reported that USAID was funding Orthodox Jewish and Catholic religious institutions overseas. The American Civil Liberties Union took the issue to court and won on both the district and federal appeals court levels.
Palestinian UN bid enters unknown territory
Robbie Sabel, an international law expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said a U.N. vote on the borders, though not binding, "would give them (the Palestinians) impressive political support for their position that Israel should withdraw to the 1967 lines," he said.
Gabriela Shalev, Israel's former U.N. ambassador, said such a declaration would change little on the ground at first, but that Israel could be in an increasingly difficult diplomatic position if most countries in the world consider it to be occupying a sovereign state. She contended it would "definitely be an obstacle to the peace process."
...Obama has warned the Palestinians twice in recent days against unilateral moves.
"The United States will stand up against efforts to single Israel out at the United Nations or in any international forum," he told the pro–Israel lobbying group AIPAC in a speech in Washington on Sunday.
However, the U.S. would clearly want to avoid being put in the position of having to veto Palestinian statehood.
Oh the US has vetoed peace all along at the UN Security Council each and every time any resolution is proposed that criticizes Israel. Without fail. We are, after all, Israel's bitch.
Strauss-Kahn’s Journey From Acceptance to Sex Scandal
During those meetings, he wondered if an old statement he made to a French Jewish newspaper would come back to haunt him. In 2003, he told Tribune Juive that he wakes up every morning wondering how he could be useful to Israel — a remark he now calls a “stupidity.”
I'm sorry, which country was he trying to get elected to serve?
UC Debates Free Speech Vs. Federal Protection
should Jews make a federal case out of it?
That question has been hanging since last year, when the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights expanded its coverage to include Jews among those protected by Title VI of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Dubnov is answering the question in a markedly different way than one of his colleagues at UC’s Santa Cruz campus, where a faculty member’s complaint about anti-Israel activities has set off a federal probe.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/137927/#ixzz1O48wEF1H
Read the rest of the article to find out what the real problem these people are having: the harsh criticism of Israel. Suddenly it's now 'anti-Semitism', and they want to shut everyone up. Let them do it, let the rest of this country see the fascists for what they are. Then maybe we can do something about it. You're in America, folks. And if you don't like freedom of speech, then don't let the door hit you in the ass. These people are literally trying to stop Americans from criticizing Israel (because it makes them 'uncomfortable'. Are you an AMERICAN or are you an ISRAELI?).
Scant Response to Video of a Violent Israeli Prison Night Search
Viewers could see the jail, silent as prisoners slept. Then, Masada operatives ran in, holding loaded weapons. Prisoners resisted, throwing unidentifiable objects; the operatives threatened tear gas if orders were not obeyed, and they shot ammunition — the nature of which has never been revealed — into prisoners’ tents in the dark. A prisoner injured in his leg is shown asking for medical attention but not receiving any and trying to treat himself. A wounded Ashkar is shown lying on the ground. The TV report said that Masada operatives deviated from plans to handcuff and search prisoners and extended the operation to wings of the prison that were not part of the plan.
Ultra-Orthodox Group Affirms Abuse Cases Go First To Rabbi
One of America’s leading ultra-Orthodox groups has reaffirmed that its followers must consult a rabbi before going to law enforcement authorities with suspicions of sexual abuse committed by community members.
Wow.
The Modern Orthodox Case for Gender Segregation on Public Buses
The practice of gender segregation on public buses in Israel has received new and unexpected support from American Modern Orthodoxy.
I thought only Muslims treated their women like crap, or so we have been told...
Netanyahu: Militant Islam threatening the world
Israel's prime minister, in an address to Congress on Tuesday, held out the threat of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying the only time Iran halted its nuclear program was when it feared such an attack. Sorry Bibi, but militant Zionism (backed by hundreds of nukes) with its visions of Greater Israel, and its total control over both houses of Congress, is a greater threat.
Top Jewish Americans ponder support for Obama
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, wrote an open letter to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, calling on it to cancel a scheduled address by Obama to the lobby group on Sunday.
Many in US-Israel lobby wary of Obama peace push
"Most of us are very disappointed in Obama's comments," Cheryl Rosenbaum, an AIPAC delegate from Glenview, Illinois, a suburb outside of Obama's hometown Chicago, told AFP.
"I need a safe and secure Israel," she said,
...AIPAC will use its clout to burnish the US–Israel relationship, and pressure lawmakers in some 500 meetings Tuesday to pledge that they have Israel's back. Hey that's nice. But the rest of Americans want a safe and secure AMERICA. And AMERICA'S interests ought to come FIRST.
Russia: Israel's military attaché arrested while receiving secret information
Russia said on Thursday it expelled Israel's military attache last week after catching the diplomat spying.
Former Netanyahu Aide Leaked Secret Nuclear Project with U.S.
The leak, published by several media organizations last July, asserted that the United States and Israel had reached substantive understandings in secret talks on the civilian nuclear issue. Washington was furious and demanded an investigation into the source of the leak. Netanyahu complied, and the culprit eventually proved to be Arad.
The secret talks took place in June 2010, shortly after Obama infuriated Israel by backing a resolution on a nuclear-free Middle East at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. A month later, reports on the secret talks appeared simultaneously in Haaretz, on Channel 2 television and on Army Radio. According to these reports, the United States had given Israel unequivocal guarantees that its "strategic capabilities" in the nuclear field would be preserved and strengthened.
Activists Decry Probe Revealed by Found FBI Papers
Kelly said agents went through thousands of files at his house, emptied drawers and cabinets and took away boxes of materials. When his partner was recently looking through a file cabinet, she came across the FBI documents, Kelly said.
FBI spokesman Steve Warfield said most of the papers appeared to be legitimate FBI documents and were left behind by mistake. It may happen to these activists now. But who will it be next, hmm?
Israel Pushing Obama Toward War with Iran
Israeli attaché expelled from Russia over spying allegations
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that Leiderman had been expelled. He was caught “red-handed after he received classified information from a Russian citizen in Moscow on May 12,” it said. The ministry expressed its protest and declared the Israeli citizen persona non grata over activities “incompatible with his diplomatic status.” He was given 48 hours to leave Russia.
Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel - WSJ.com
One top Democratic fund-raiser, Miami developer Michael Adler, said he urged Obama campaign manager Jim Messina to be "extremely proactive" in countering the perception in the Jewish community that Mr. Obama is too critical of Israel.
Soldiers detain and abuse 14-year-old boy; new documentary describes Israeli
Gerry O'Sullivan, a former member of the Ecumenical Accompaniers in Hebron and
friend of CPT's Hebron team, recently created a documentary about the arrests
and imprisonment of minors in the Hebron area titled, "Stolen Children; Stolen
Lives." It is available in two parts on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zaeERjVReE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9mDscNEws4&feature=related
Russia sabotaged Iran nuclear programme: report
The leaked documents, which were not immediately available on either the Yediot or Wikileaks websites, purportedly detail talks between the head of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission and then–US ambassador to Israel Richard Jones.
Official: Palestinian PM suffered heart attack
Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad suffered a heart attack while visiting the U.S. and is recovering at a Texas hospital, a spokesman said Monday.
Egypt to open Rafah crossing permanently
Egypt will open its only crossing with the Gaza Strip this weekend, the Cairo military government announced Wednesday, significantly easing a four–year blockade on the Hamas–ruled territory but setting up a potential conflict with Israel.
Palestinians more skeptical about Mideast talks
Chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said it's best for the Palestinians to keep quiet and let Netanyahu do the talking.
"We accept two states based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps ... and we want Mr. Netanyahu to say this sentence," Erekat said. "We hope to hear it in front of Congress, at AIPAC, in Hebrew, in Arabic, in Chinese, in any language."
HEBRON/AL-KHALIL:Soldiers throw sound bombs in market as shopkeepers close up for evening; several people injured
Although many settler youth were in town for the Israeli Lag Baomer holiday, all witnesses who saw the sound bombs thrown from the roofs in disparate areas of the market said that soldiers had thrown them. No demonstrations or gatherings of any kind were happening in the market at the time. The last shopkeepers were closing their stores, and a few Old City residents were returning to their homes.
Obama tells Israel: Go back to 1967 borders
Israel rejects Obama peace plan, Palestinians cagey
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, due to fly to Washington just hours after Obama's speech, immediately called on the White House to guarantee Israel would not have to withdraw to the 1967 lines.
He urged Obama to commit to the assurances laid out in 2004 by then president George W. Bush, who said "new realities on the ground," meant a "full and complete return" to the 1967 borders was "unrealistic."
"Prime Minister Netanyahu expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of US commitments made to Israel in 2004, which were overwhelmingly supported by both houses of Congress," Netanyahu's statement said.
Netanyahu lectures Obama in Oval Office
Lectured like an insolent child for daring to cross Israel.
Obama to aides: Netanyahu will never do what it takes to achieve Mideast peace
In what seems to be a response to Netanyahu's comments, Obama aides told the New York Times that the U.S. president did not believe Netanyahu will ever be willing to make the kind of concessions that would lead to a peace deal.
World backs Obama Palestinian plan as Israel digs in heels
As Obama's vision was welcomed by the European Union, the United Nations, Russia, the Palestinians and parts of the Arab world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly rejected it as "unrealistic".
Without talks, Palestinians to head to UN: Abbas
The Israeli leader, who addressed Congress on the last day of a trip to Washington, said he was willing to make "painful compromises" for peace.
But he ruled out a division of Jerusalem, the return of Palestinian refugees, and the possibility of using the borders that existed before 1967 as a basis for peace negotiations. Then evidently there won't be any 'painful compromises' on the part of Israel. There never are.
Israel rejects total pullback to 1967 borders
Distinguished Panel will Question Military Aid to Israel
Nakba day: we waited 63 years for this
This is the shared experience we commemorate every year on Nakba Day: the year-long expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians that began in 1947 and continued straight through 1948 into the terrible snowstorm winters of 1949, creating what is now the world's largest refugee population.
Harsh West Bank 'honor killing' brings tougher law
"Such a tragic event managed to send a message that change is needed," said rights campaigner Hanan Ashrawi. "We have traction and we are going to move."
...Arafat's widow, Suha, said that when she lived in the Gaza Strip with her husband in the 1990s, she used to hide women feeling threatened by male relatives and would help smuggle them to safer areas.
Palestinians: Netanyahu peace outline unacceptable
Nabil Shaath, an aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Netanyahu's insistence on keeping key parts of the territories the Palestinians want for their state is a "declaration of war against the Palestinians."
Center for Constitutional Rights Launches Case Seeking U.S. Knowledge of and Role in Deadly Israeli Attack on Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza
said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney, Katherine Gallagher. “A U.S. citizen was killed and the U.S. has not conducted an independent investigation into his killing in international waters by a foreign military. Indeed, the State Department did not even mention the killing of Furkan Doğan in its recently released Human Rights report on Israel. We need to know what our government is doing to protect us – and hold those to account who harm U.S. citizens.” If the killers are Israelis, our govenrment does NOTHING.
Face to face, Netanyahu rejects Obama on borders
On Thursday, Netanyahu was informed shortly before Obama's speech of its contents by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to U.S. officials. Netanyahu sought in vain to get the border language removed from the speech, the officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic exchange.
Some Questions for Bibi by Philip Giraldi
Speaking of attacking, you rocketed, strafed, and torpedoed a US Naval vessel the USS Liberty in international waters in 1967, killing 34 of the crew and injuring 174. The attack was both unprovoked and brutal, intended to sink the ship and kill everyone on board. You claim it was an accident but have never given American investigators access to your government records. It sounds like a cover-up and many Americans are wondering whether you will ever come clean on what happened that day. Will you ever open up your records relating to the Liberty? Excellent questions by former CIA counterterrorism officer, Philip Giraldi.
NAKBA 201 50,000 Palestinians Crash Israeli Border Veterans Today
This is a historic event similar to the freedom marches America used to have in the 1960s civil rights movement — the spirit is so great. This is a momentous historic event of NAKBA and the need to be liberated because of the Arab and Islamic awakening and this is part of that awakening. It’s amazing — I’ve been to a lot of demonstrations — nothing like this. Nothing like this has occurred on the question of Palestine for the past 63 years.
Bibi to Congress: No compromise on Jerusalem, refugees or Jordan River presence
Netanyahu received a warm reception from Congress, including more than two dozen standing ovations, and made a forceful case highlighting the commonalities between Israel and America and explaining Israel’s security challenges. He talked about the threat of Iran’s nuclear program and said the Palestinian Authority must end its agreement with Hamas, which he called “the Palestinian version of al-Qaida.”
The Israeli prime minister had an informal delivery, cracking several jokes and twice turning around to address Vice President Joe Biden. When a heckler interrupted Netanyahu at one point, Congress tried to drown her out with a standing ovation, much as the pro-Israel crowd at the annual banquet of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee did the previous evening for the Jewish state's leader. Our own president doesn't get this many ovations when he speaks to Congress. Netanyahu is the real leader of Congress, and he knows it. Israel's wishes trump the wishes of the American people, 2/3 of whom want the US to take no side in that conflict.
Abbas Says Netanyahu's Congress Speech Full of 'Falsehoods'
Obama to AIPAC: Israelis, Palestinians should negotiate a new border
In his speech Sunday, Obama said he told Netanyahu at their White House meeting two days earlier that “The march to isolate Israel internationally -- and the impulse of the Palestinians to abandon negotiations -- will continue to gain momentum in the absence of a credible peace process and alternative.”
Israeli intelligence, backed by military, threatens villagers in At-Tuwani
On Monday May 23, Israeli intelligence entered At-Tuwani, escorted by about fifteen soldiers. In the operation the Israeli military invaded a local leader's house, demanded that villagers stop their nonviolent resistance and threatened violent retaliation if the Palestinians persist asserting their rights to the land.
CPT releases video of Palestinian testimonies about settler attack in Tuba
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has released a video of Palestinian testimonies about the recent settler invasion of the village of Tuba. On 16 May, shortly before midnight, Israeli settlers invaded Tuba, damaged property, and stole and injured several sheep belonging to the Ali Awwad family.
Palestinians condemn latest Israel settlement plan
Palestinian officials Friday condemned an Israeli plan to build 1,550 housing units on annexed land around Jerusalem, authorized the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left for talks in Washington. Peace? The Israelis thought they said PIECE, as in - another PIECE of Palestine. They don't mind if they do.
Palestinians to proceed with UN recognition bid
"I don't think we can talk about a peace process with a man who says the 1967 lines are an illusion, that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel, undivided, and he does not want a single (Palestinian) refugee to go back," Erekat said. "What is left to negotiate about?"
Palestinians seek Arab consultation on Obama speech
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked the Arab League Saturday to convene a discussion of President Barack Obama's vision for peace with Israel, a Palestinian official said.
Obama's 'Jewish state' reference jars Palestinians
Most difficult for Palestinians is Obama's call to recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, essentially requiring the Palestinians to accept that most refugees will be denied the "right of return" to what is now Israel.
Perhaps for this reason, the Palestinians have remained largely quiet about the substance of Obama's speeches, seemingly content to watch Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clash with the U.S. administration over Israel's future borders.
OBSTRUCTIONIST ISRAELI RIGHT DISDAINS ANY TALK OF PEACE
Netanyahu's Israel is on course to become a pariah state
Closer to home, Deutsche Bahn's withdrawal from the project to lay a railway line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem should have caused a shock. But here, we prefer to avoid reality.
Israeli Right Mocks Obama's Rapid Submission To Netanyahu
Benny Katzover, longtime leader of the West Bank settlement movement, said that the speech didn’t just represent a victory for Israel, but it was also a great statement of support to the concept of settlement and to the "entrenchment of Jewish presence" in the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Golan.
Jewish Protester Disrupts Netanyahu During Congressional Address
During the Joint Session of Congress while Prime Minister Netanyahu was speaking, Rae Abileah stood up from the gallery and shouted “Stop Israeli War Crimes.” Yay Rae!
The President Goes AIPACing
If you are not Jewish, the goal of Israeli society is to render you a second class citizen and, eventually, expel you altogether. In terms of democracy, this makes Israel as democratic as, say, Alabama circa 1950. As a nation, the United States has left that era behind. So tell me, where are the shared values?
Netanyahu's Congress speech could set Middle East peace back another 18 years
Taking advantage of his New York accent while addressing Congress on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an eloquent speech offering only more obstacles to a lasting and just peace in the Middle East. He not only failed to provide a vision for the peace process in a changing Middle East, but also introduced new terms and phrases that will probably hamper any peace efforts in the future.
Netanyahu to outline peace vision in speech to Congress
Israeli leaders have long regarded AIPAC as a valuable advocacy group in the United States and have frequently attended its annual conventions.
Listing a membership of 100,000, the group has worked with Congress and the White House on securing foreign aid for Israel and legislation to strengthen what it describes as the vital U.S.-Israel relationship.
Muslims rush to restore torched Egypt church
The 26–year–old is one of a vast group of mostly Muslim craftsmen tasked with restoring St Mary's Church in the Cairo suburb of Imbaba after militants set it on fire on May 7.
The Onion’s quick swipe at the “Israel Lobby”
“I love this piece because it captures perfectly how the system works in the U.S. when it comes to talking about Israel,” Walt’s co-author John J. Mearsheimer, a political science professor at University of Chicago, wrote in an email. “Criticize Israel and the lobby will smear you and try to destroy your career, even if your criticism is smart and well-intentioned. While the piece is humorous, it is also a sad commentary on what blind support for Israel is doing to large portions of the American Jewish community.”
Obama, Tell Netanyahu – Don’t Mess With Flotilla to Gaza by Ray McGovern
We, the passengers and crew of “The Audacity of Hope,” sailing to Gaza together with the 2nd International Freedom Flotilla, represent ordinary Americans determined to speak to the aspirations of the 1.5 million ordinary Gazans yearning to be free.
Ukrainians Cling to Belief That Demjanjuk Is Innocent
That Israeli court conviction was secured by eyewitness testimony. Three former prisoners positively — and, it turns out, erroneously — identified Demjanjuk as “Ivan the Terrible.”
Lots of Rhetoric – But Very Little Help By Robert Fisk
Well, this weekend is Netanyahu's weekend and the Israeli settlements – more were flagged only hours before Obama spoke – will go on as before. And by the time Obama ends up swearing eternal loyalty to the Israelis, the Arabs will forget yesterday's posturing. And the reference to the "Jewish state" was obviously intended to make Netanyahu happy. Last time I went there, there were hundreds of thousands of Arabs who lived in Israel, all of them with Israeli passports. They didn't get a reference from Obama. Or maybe I was just imagining.
US agenda on Israel is not one of peace - author
According to writer William Engdahl, the global community is now witnessing the most significant change in US-Israeli relations since the recognition of the Israeli state.
Protestor who disrupted Netanyahu in Congress attacked, hospitalized, arrested The Electronic Intifada
Rae Abileah a CODEPINK activist who disrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech in the United States Congress this morning was physically attacked, hospitalized and then arrested from hospital according to reports.
Egypt says Obama speech will help Palestinians
But the Egyptian ambassador said Obama missed an opportunity to address other key issues including Israel's continued settlement activities, water, ending the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the return of refugees "which is a critical issue," and the Palestinian demand for East Jerusalem as its capital.
DePaul students vote by large margin to ban Sabra hummus
Congress Claps for Apartheid Stephen M. Walt
Netanyahu's central message yesterday was an emphatic rejection of a genuine two-state solution. While professing to be willing to make major sacrifices for the sake of peace, his lengthy list of preconditions made it abundantly clear that he thinks Israel is entitled to rule the Palestinian population in perpetuity-even when it becomes numerically larger than Israel's Jewish citizens -- and that the United States should back this effort no matter what. And even though the only alternatives to a two-state solution are 1) further ethnic cleansing, 2) a binational, one-state democracy, or 3) permanent apartheid, Congress is just fine with that.
Close attention to Obama's latest words on Israel
Analysis: Obama jolt unlikely to spark peace talks
President Barack Obama is trying to shock the moribund Israeli–Palestinian peace process to life, but there is little chance the patient can be resuscitated anytime soon.
My Political Rupture With AIPAC By MIKE GRAVEL
Political positions and decisions within AIPAC were and continue to be profoundly influenced by the Israeli government. And AIPAC, in turn, profoundly influences our government.
The Enemy of My Enemy . . .
Then there’s his position on foreign assistance. Ron Paul has raised the specter of the “Israel Lobby,” voted against condemning the United Nations for its scurrilous Goldstone Report on the 2008 Gaza war, and declared America should be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians. Rand Paul simply says sorry, we can’t afford the aid. “We can’t give away money to any country, even to our allies,” he told me.
Obama eases Israeli anger on Mideast peace vision
Obama's speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) also served as a reminder his peace formula could cost him support among Jewish and pro–Israel voters and donors as he runs for re–election in 2012. Some prospective Republican presidential challengers have already accused him of betraying Israel, Washington's closest ally in the region.
...While Obama won the Jewish vote overwhelmingly in 2008, some prominent Jewish Americans were rethinking their support for his re–election after this week's events.
Some Israelis have never felt entirely comfortable with Obama, unnerved by his early attempts to reach out to Iran and his support for Arab revolutions that have unsettled Israel.
Oh dear.
Obama vows to stand up to Hezbollah over 'assassination'
"Iran continues to support terrorism across the region, including providing weapons and funds to terrorist organizations," Obama said in a speech to the pro–Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
"So we will continue to work to prevent these actions, and will stand up to groups like Hezbollah who exercise political assassination, and seek to impose their will through rockets and car bombs," Obama said. Obama basically stating: 'we will continue to be Israel's bitch'.
Ron Paul to Obama: Stop Dictating to Israel
Patriotic Americans to Israel: stop dictating to America.
Obama and the Israel Lobby
US Politicians Kowtow to a Foreign Leader
Yet, as I am not the first to point out, there was nothing new in what the President said about the 1967 borders. That didn’t matter to Obama’s critics, however: so quick were they to pick up the latest party line from Tel Aviv that they didn’t even bother to acknowledge this, but were only concerned with echoing every jot and tittle of the Israeli position. Not since the heyday of the old Communist Party USA, when the Daily Worker was adept at not only defending but anticipating the line handed down by the Kremlin, have we seen such a phenomenon: the kowtowing before a foreign leader by American politicians.
“Bibi” Votes Republican by Patrick J. Buchanan
Obama, however, was lectured like some schoolboy in the Oval Office in front of the national press and a worldwide TV audience.
And two days later, he trooped over to the Israeli lobby AIPAC to walk back what he had said that had so infuriated Netanyahu.
“Bibi” then purred that he was “pleased” with the clarification. Who owns this place, folks?
Immigration Reform Is Our Jewish Responsibility
We have already started to strengthen our ties with the Latino community, the fastest-growing minority in the United States. As this strategic alliance of mutual support forms, immigration is a natural connector. At some point, however, dialogue alone will not be enough; true partnership will depend on concrete joint action.
Strange how Israel's immigration system, ie the barring of those that actually owned the land, doesn't bother these same people badly enough to act. But they want to make sure that America rewards lawbreaking with 'amnesty'. It's hypocrisy and BS. These non-Jews wouldn't be allowed to immigrate to Israel.
Israel and the Right
For most traditional conservatives of Reagan’s era, support for Israel did not necessarily mean unconditional support for absolutely everything Israel did. This is generally not true of the neoconservatives. If the US condemned Israel for attacking Iraq in 1981, it was not a shock that by the time the neoconservative Bush administration came to power two decades later America and Israel would more often begin to share the same enemies.
Judge awards $300M in each of 2 suicide bombings
The other award was made to American citizen Seth Haim, his father and his brother. They were injured in the 1995 bombing of a bus in the Gaza Strip by the Iranian–supported Shaqaqi Faction of the Palestine Islamic Jihad.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said he was making the awards – which will be difficult, perhaps impossible, for the families to collect – in the interest of deterring future terrorist attacks.
Israel in a Post-American Era by Patrick J. Buchanan
And what happened Sunday on the 63rd anniversary of Israel’s independence and the Palestinian “nakba,” or “catastrophe,” where 700,000 fled or were driven into exile, is perhaps the most ominous portent of all.
Palestinian protesters approached the fence separating Lebanon and Israel and climbed the fence on the Israeli-occupied Golan heights to come and reclaim Palestinian lands. Fifteen to 20 were shot to death and scores were wounded by Israeli troops.
'Israel pushing Obama into war with Iran'
Morris said it was worrying that Obama's National Security Advisor Tom Donilon has called on the Washington Institute for Near East Affairs to take stronger actions against Iran.
NSA Tom Donilon Addresses The Washington Institute (AIPAC spin-off Think Tank)
Speaking before an audience of more than 400 policymakers, diplomats, journalists, and members of the Institute’s board of trustees, he offered a behind-the-scenes look at the operation against Usama bin Laden, reiterated the White House’s commitment to prevent Iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability, and discussed the depth and breadth of the U.S.-Israel strategic relationship. The WINEP is a part of Israel's lobby in the US.
Republicans Use Israel To Attract Jewish Voters — And Jewish Money
While a majority of AIPAC members and activists, according to a former staffer, are Democrats — as are most members of the Jewish community — strong supporters of the group are more likely to make political decisions based on the candidate’s views on Israel.
AIPAC Hits Capitol Hill With Hard Line Message on Palestinian Authority
AIPAC delegates, as they embark on lobbying meetings on Tuesday, will ask their representatives to support resolutions in the House and Senate that reaffirm the American opposition to a unilateral Palestinian move at the U.N. and threaten the P.A. with cutting American aid if it moves forward with the Hamas unity agreement.
More resolutions on behalf of Israel that have no import for the vast majority of Americans. Who owns Congress?
Bibi and Obama Now Set To Battle for Congress, Public Opinion
Guess who won? Who got the 25 standing ovations? Not Obama.
Congress Wielding Foreign Aid Budget in Effort to Influence Shape of New Middle East
The discussion over foreign aid to the Middle East is being conducted against the backdrop of increasing calls for austerity and against reluctance among lawmakers to approve any new budgetary expense. And while Israel, with an annual aid package of $3 billion, has been reassured that American funding is safe, its neighbors in the region are faced with both economic and political hurdles in Congress when seeking a share of foreign aid from the United States.
...Israel enjoys other foreign aid perks, including the ability to spend parts of the military aid in Israel rather than use it all to purchase American-made defense goods. It also enjoys early disbursement of the aid that enables Israel to earn interest on the funds throughout the year.
Calls for budget cuts, an Israeli diplomat dealing with the issue said, has caused some alarm among pro-Israel activists, but “we were assured very quickly that our aid is safe,” the diplomat said.
As jobless Americans lose their homes, go hungry and as schools close all over the country, so long as Israel has its billions. Israel, with its prosperous economy...
Bibi Rides Again by Philip Giraldi
Benjamin Netanyahu reacts furiously to the mention of 1967, berating Hillary Clinton over the phone before the speech, seeking to have the date removed. Interestingly, Netanyahu’s intervention means he received a copy of the speech before it was given I found that fact interesting too.
Was Obama's speech too tough on Israel Republican criticism mounts.
Several GOP presidential contenders slammed Mr. Obama’s comments on Israel. “President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus,” said former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, in a statement. “He has disrespected Israel and undermined its ability to negotiate peace.”
Congressional Republicans picked up similar themes.
Should USAID Use Public Funds For Religious Entities Overseas?
t the agency has come under scrutiny in the past for using taxpayer dollars to fund religious projects overseas. In 1988, the Washington Jewish Week reported that USAID was funding Orthodox Jewish and Catholic religious institutions overseas. The American Civil Liberties Union took the issue to court and won on both the district and federal appeals court levels.
Palestinian UN bid enters unknown territory
Robbie Sabel, an international law expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said a U.N. vote on the borders, though not binding, "would give them (the Palestinians) impressive political support for their position that Israel should withdraw to the 1967 lines," he said.
Gabriela Shalev, Israel's former U.N. ambassador, said such a declaration would change little on the ground at first, but that Israel could be in an increasingly difficult diplomatic position if most countries in the world consider it to be occupying a sovereign state. She contended it would "definitely be an obstacle to the peace process."
...Obama has warned the Palestinians twice in recent days against unilateral moves.
"The United States will stand up against efforts to single Israel out at the United Nations or in any international forum," he told the pro–Israel lobbying group AIPAC in a speech in Washington on Sunday.
However, the U.S. would clearly want to avoid being put in the position of having to veto Palestinian statehood.
Oh the US has vetoed peace all along at the UN Security Council each and every time any resolution is proposed that criticizes Israel. Without fail. We are, after all, Israel's bitch.
Strauss-Kahn’s Journey From Acceptance to Sex Scandal
During those meetings, he wondered if an old statement he made to a French Jewish newspaper would come back to haunt him. In 2003, he told Tribune Juive that he wakes up every morning wondering how he could be useful to Israel — a remark he now calls a “stupidity.”
I'm sorry, which country was he trying to get elected to serve?
UC Debates Free Speech Vs. Federal Protection
should Jews make a federal case out of it?
That question has been hanging since last year, when the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights expanded its coverage to include Jews among those protected by Title VI of the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act. Dubnov is answering the question in a markedly different way than one of his colleagues at UC’s Santa Cruz campus, where a faculty member’s complaint about anti-Israel activities has set off a federal probe.
Read more: http://forward.com/articles/137927/#ixzz1O48wEF1H
Read the rest of the article to find out what the real problem these people are having: the harsh criticism of Israel. Suddenly it's now 'anti-Semitism', and they want to shut everyone up. Let them do it, let the rest of this country see the fascists for what they are. Then maybe we can do something about it. You're in America, folks. And if you don't like freedom of speech, then don't let the door hit you in the ass. These people are literally trying to stop Americans from criticizing Israel (because it makes them 'uncomfortable'. Are you an AMERICAN or are you an ISRAELI?).
Scant Response to Video of a Violent Israeli Prison Night Search
Viewers could see the jail, silent as prisoners slept. Then, Masada operatives ran in, holding loaded weapons. Prisoners resisted, throwing unidentifiable objects; the operatives threatened tear gas if orders were not obeyed, and they shot ammunition — the nature of which has never been revealed — into prisoners’ tents in the dark. A prisoner injured in his leg is shown asking for medical attention but not receiving any and trying to treat himself. A wounded Ashkar is shown lying on the ground. The TV report said that Masada operatives deviated from plans to handcuff and search prisoners and extended the operation to wings of the prison that were not part of the plan.
Ultra-Orthodox Group Affirms Abuse Cases Go First To Rabbi
One of America’s leading ultra-Orthodox groups has reaffirmed that its followers must consult a rabbi before going to law enforcement authorities with suspicions of sexual abuse committed by community members.
Wow.
The Modern Orthodox Case for Gender Segregation on Public Buses
The practice of gender segregation on public buses in Israel has received new and unexpected support from American Modern Orthodoxy.
I thought only Muslims treated their women like crap, or so we have been told...
Netanyahu: Militant Islam threatening the world
Israel's prime minister, in an address to Congress on Tuesday, held out the threat of a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities, saying the only time Iran halted its nuclear program was when it feared such an attack. Sorry Bibi, but militant Zionism (backed by hundreds of nukes) with its visions of Greater Israel, and its total control over both houses of Congress, is a greater threat.
Top Jewish Americans ponder support for Obama
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, wrote an open letter to the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, calling on it to cancel a scheduled address by Obama to the lobby group on Sunday.
Many in US-Israel lobby wary of Obama peace push
"Most of us are very disappointed in Obama's comments," Cheryl Rosenbaum, an AIPAC delegate from Glenview, Illinois, a suburb outside of Obama's hometown Chicago, told AFP.
"I need a safe and secure Israel," she said,
...AIPAC will use its clout to burnish the US–Israel relationship, and pressure lawmakers in some 500 meetings Tuesday to pledge that they have Israel's back. Hey that's nice. But the rest of Americans want a safe and secure AMERICA. And AMERICA'S interests ought to come FIRST.
Russia: Israel's military attaché arrested while receiving secret information
Russia said on Thursday it expelled Israel's military attache last week after catching the diplomat spying.
Former Netanyahu Aide Leaked Secret Nuclear Project with U.S.
The leak, published by several media organizations last July, asserted that the United States and Israel had reached substantive understandings in secret talks on the civilian nuclear issue. Washington was furious and demanded an investigation into the source of the leak. Netanyahu complied, and the culprit eventually proved to be Arad.
The secret talks took place in June 2010, shortly after Obama infuriated Israel by backing a resolution on a nuclear-free Middle East at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. A month later, reports on the secret talks appeared simultaneously in Haaretz, on Channel 2 television and on Army Radio. According to these reports, the United States had given Israel unequivocal guarantees that its "strategic capabilities" in the nuclear field would be preserved and strengthened.
Activists Decry Probe Revealed by Found FBI Papers
Kelly said agents went through thousands of files at his house, emptied drawers and cabinets and took away boxes of materials. When his partner was recently looking through a file cabinet, she came across the FBI documents, Kelly said.
FBI spokesman Steve Warfield said most of the papers appeared to be legitimate FBI documents and were left behind by mistake. It may happen to these activists now. But who will it be next, hmm?
Israel Pushing Obama Toward War with Iran
Israeli attaché expelled from Russia over spying allegations
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday confirmed that Leiderman had been expelled. He was caught “red-handed after he received classified information from a Russian citizen in Moscow on May 12,” it said. The ministry expressed its protest and declared the Israeli citizen persona non grata over activities “incompatible with his diplomatic status.” He was given 48 hours to leave Russia.
Jewish Donors Warn Obama on Israel - WSJ.com
One top Democratic fund-raiser, Miami developer Michael Adler, said he urged Obama campaign manager Jim Messina to be "extremely proactive" in countering the perception in the Jewish community that Mr. Obama is too critical of Israel.
Soldiers detain and abuse 14-year-old boy; new documentary describes Israeli
Gerry O'Sullivan, a former member of the Ecumenical Accompaniers in Hebron and
friend of CPT's Hebron team, recently created a documentary about the arrests
and imprisonment of minors in the Hebron area titled, "Stolen Children; Stolen
Lives." It is available in two parts on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zaeERjVReE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9mDscNEws4&feature=related
Russia sabotaged Iran nuclear programme: report
The leaked documents, which were not immediately available on either the Yediot or Wikileaks websites, purportedly detail talks between the head of Israel's Atomic Energy Commission and then–US ambassador to Israel Richard Jones.
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