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.

---