Saturday, October 15, 2011

Headlines for July 14 - July 20

A Stand For Justice


Economic gaps widening in affluent Israel
A month ago, Israel's central bank raised its official 2011 growth forecast to 5.2 percent, more than twice the International Monetary Fund's estimate released in June for real GDP growth for advanced economies. Unemployment in Israel has fallen to 5.8 percent, its lowest level in decades.

The current government "has had significant economic achievements," Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz boasted in a television interview on Tuesday. Why are we going broke giving Israel billions of our taxpayer dollars and other perks?


Top CIA Officer: Israel Will Probably Attack Iran in Sept.
Baer added that Netanyahu is "also hoping to draw the United States into the conflict, and in fact there's a warning order inside the Pentagon to prepare for conflict with Iran."

The retired senior CIA officer predicted a scenario in which Israel would attack the Natanz nuclear facility as well as "a couple of others to degrade their capabilities."

"The Iranians will strike back were they can and that will be in Basra and in Baghdad," where the US has a diminished troop presence, Baer said, adding "we've started to look at Iran's targets in Iraq and across the border."


Israel aircraft raid Gaza for fourth day in row



Amid Murdoch Scandal, Some Fear Pro-Israel Media Voice Will Be Muted
Murdoch’s sudden massive reversal of fortune – with 10 top former staffers and executives under arrest in Britain for hacking into the phones of public figures and a murdered schoolgirl, and paying off the police and journalists – has supporters of Israel worried that a diminished Murdoch presence may mute the strongly pro-Israel voice of many of the publications he owns.

...“Murdoch said he didn’t see what the Palestinians’ problem was and James said it was that they were kicked out of their f—ing homes and had nowhere to f—ing live,” the account in The Guardian said. Murdoch chided his son for using foul language in the prime minister’s home.
Rupert Murdoch is a Christian Zionist and is thus a staunch Israel-supporter. And his Fox News network reflects that. I am not heartbroken in the least at the news of this scandal. Ladies and gentlemen, Karma is served.


Jewish settlers are terrorising Palestinians, says Israeli general
A senior Israeli army commander has warned that unchecked "Jewish terror" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank threatens to plunge the territory into another conflict.


New Israeli strikes on Gaza, rocket fire at Israel



Wife battering, sexual abuse get attention in Gaza
Its lone women's safe–house, opened two months ago, has had eight clients, all guarded by police from the Islamist Hamas movement that runs the enclave and enforces a conservative though not radical Muslim religious code.

..."In 2010 there was no record of killing under the motive of family honor and this is a positive development," said Huda Naeem, a Hamas lawmaker who backed the safe house as a way station for women at risk within their own families.


Jailed Palestinian leader asks millions to protest
He called on Palestinians in the occupied territories as well as those in other countries to "peacefully march in their millions during the week of voting in the U.N."

Barghouti said the sight of protesters waving the black, red, green and white Palestinian flag worldwide would strengthen the Palestinian cause.


Israeli air strike wounds Gaza gunman: medics
Palestinian medics said they recovered the body of a man in his twenties killed in a separate air strike on Thursday against tunnels dug beneath Gaza's border with Egypt. Israel says the tunnels are used to smuggle weapons


Israel ready to talk in Jerusalem, Ramallah
Speaking to Arabic–language television station Al–Arabiya, Netanyahu also denied that Israel wanted to see Syrian President Bashar al–Assad remain in power, and acknowledged that he had held secret peace talks with Damascus in the past. Yet he won't stop building the settlements on Palestinian land. Nobody is fooled.


Israel 'wounds seven' in Gaza raid: Palestinians
Adham Abu Selmiya, spokesman for the Hamas–run medical services in the Gaza Strip, said four children and three adults suffered moderate injuries in air strikes in the northern Beit Hanun area.


Israel 'violates rights' of young Palestinians: study
Nineteen of the minors interviewed by B'Tselem also described being "treated violently" and "threatened during the interrogation," while 23 said they were prevented from using the bathroom, eating or drinking for hours at a time.

Under the military justice system, judges normally order a minor to be held in custody until the end of proceedings, the report said.

"As a result, many minors prefer to enter into a plea bargain, in which they confess to the charges against them... fearing that, if a trial is held, they would be kept in jail during the long period of time that it takes to complete the trial," it said.


In West Bank, settler violence seen on the rise
Scorched hillsides and charred olive groves near Nablus pinpoint the latest acts of arson by hardline Jewish settlers against Palestinians who say they are ever more the victims of such attacks in the West Bank.

"The olive tree is the only source of income for farmers," said Mohammad Zeban, a Palestinian farmer, lamenting the damage inflicted on hundreds of olive trees by a recent fire near the village of Huwara. "They want to annihilate us."

...In footage captured by a Palestinian earlier this month with a camera provide by B'Tselem, soldiers appear to do very little to stop settlers pelting the village of Asira with rocks.
Imagine if the Palestinian forces rounded up the settlers for throwing rocks, much like the Israeli army rounds up the Palestinian kids for throwing rocks? Imagine the uproar in Israel and the US media. It would spark military action against the Palestinians. But it's ok if Israel imprisons CHILDREN for THROWING ROCKS. Mm k.


French boat to Gaza sails to Egypt: Greek coastguard
A French yacht carrying activists hoping to run the Israeli blockade on Gaza has sailed to Egypt after a troubled stay in Greece, the Greek coastguard said late on Saturday.


French boat 'to reach Gaza on Tuesday': organisers
A French yacht carrying pro–Palestinian activists which set sail from a Greek island at the weekend, is expected to reach the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, organisers said


Turkish PM wishes to visit Gaza
Turkey's prime minister said on Tuesday he was considering visiting the Hamas–run Gaza Strip, a move likely to anger Israel amid diplomatic efforts to overcome already strained bilateral ties.


Three settlers of Havat Ma'on attack Internationals in Meshakha valley, South Hebron Hills
On 18 July 2011 around 6:35 pm three settlers attacked two members of Operation Dove and one member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) with clubs and stones in the Meshakha valley outside of At-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. The settlers were observed coming out of the outpost of Havat Ma'on covering their faces with scarves then running with clubs in their hands toward two Palestinian shepherds who were grazing their sheep in a valley nearby.


Israel's Lieberman calls NGOs 'terrorists'
An Israeli rights group on Sunday accused Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of "incitement and hate" after he referred to a number of leftist NGOs as "terror organisations."


Spain tells Abbas it backs efforts for Palestinian state



Confidential: New biography says Hollywood producer worked as Israeli spy, arms dealer
"When the Israelis were first informed of the investigation by Assistant Secretary of State Richard W. Murphy earlier this year, they apparently were not aware of the export licensing requirements for Krytrons," Time wrote. "Prime Minister Shimon Peres last week told a U.S. television interviewer that Israel's close relationship with the U.S. obviates any need to smuggle out sensitive technology."

Indeed, LAKAM itself was closed in 1986 following revelations that it had recruited an American naval researcher, Jonathan Pollard, to spy for Israel against the United States, causing the largest crisis in the history of U.S.–Israeli relations.


Arabs to seek full Palestinian upgrade at U.N.: draft
Palestinian analyst Talal Okal said the Arab League and Palestinians were aware of the obstacles they faced, including a U.S. veto, but had chosen to push forward because, with peace talks frozen, they saw no other diplomatic solution.


Syria recognises Palestinian state
The Syrian foreign ministry said Monday that Damascus recognises a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital within the borders in effect prior to the 1967 Six–Day War.


Israel plans hundreds more Jewish settler homes
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to hold peace talks with Israel unless it completely freezes settlement activity. He has instead focused efforts on a unilateral bid for statehood recognition from the United Nations in September.


EU presses Israel, Palestinians ahead of UN vote
"The position on recognition is one that we will decide on if necessary come September, but it is far preferrable for talks to resume."


Israelis, Palestinians march for Palestinian state
Some 1,000 Israelis and Palestinians gathered in east Jerusalem on Friday for a protest march to support the Palestinian bid for United Nations recognition.


Hezbollah warns Israel over Med gas
Last week, Lebanon's Foreign Minister Adnan Mansur said the maritime border as proposed by Israel posed a threat to regional security.

The proposed frontier cuts through Lebanon's economic zone, he said, adding that Beirut would "turn to the United Nations."


Abbas ready to bypass opposition to Palestinian declaration
"Our goal is to go to the Security Council. If we fail we will go to the General Assembly,"


UN bid will not affect peace process: Abbas



Ex-Nazi camp guard Demjanjuk faces new probe: report



Israeli and Palestinian Activists Gloomy Over Peace



Noam Sheizaf: Worrying About Israeli Democracy
The meaning is clear: Almost anything said about the immoral nature of the occupation and the need not to cooperate with it could be seen as a violation of the law. A parent who wishes to withdraw his kid from a school trip to Hebron — a recently declared initiative by the Ministry of Education — could be sued for damages. An actor who publicly refuses an invitation to perform in the territories could also get in trouble. And, of course, an NGO that calls for a settlement boycott could be stripped of its tax license.




New Beitar Jerusalem Owner Affiliated With Dovish Group
In recent years, Beitar has been penalized by the league for fans’ anti-Arab slurs toward opposing players.

The team has never had an Arab player. In 2009, after fans complained, the team’s captain apologized for saying that he would like an Arab to join Beitar.




We Can’t Say This
No attempt to threaten or censor can hide the fact that, for 44 years, Israel has ruled another people with its own legitimate, national aspirations, and it is in everyone’s interests, including those of the United States, to negotiate an end to this impasse.




Watch: Israeli Officer Points Loaded Gun at Unarmed Palestinian



Dozens of Israeli law professors protest 'unconstitutional' boycott law



Flotilla activists to be deported: Israel



Jews: Argentina and Iran both failed in bomb probe



Christian Zionists unite in D.C. to express support for Israel
The prime minister encouraged the conference attendees to not only think of Israel as an ally of the Unites States, but as indistinguishable from it This is the main problem with Israel-supporters. And it's why when I say I don't support Israel, they call me a traitor. They do not see Israel and the United States as two separate entities. It's why they feel the US should fight Israel's enemies (Iraq, now Iran). It's why the US Congress works tirelessly on their behalf - due to the efforts of the powerful Israeli lobby.


Former US official derides Palestinian UN effort
Bolton is in Israel along with other members of the Friends of Israel Initiative, a group founded last year by former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.



Silver and Koch Spar Over Weiner Seat
Koch recently called on Jews to defect to the GOP to send a message of disapproval to President Barack Obama over his handling of relations with Israel.

Silver conceded that Jews may be unhappy with the president’s stance, but insisted that sending a Republican to Congress from the heavily Democratic district would only make things worse.

“What we need is more Democrats who will go to bat for Israel, notwithstanding what a president may think,” Silver told the News.

It's always about Israel.


Apparently, We Are All Belarusians
On Tuesday the Tom Lantos Human Rights Hearing convened to discuss what to do about the Syrian regime, which may or may not be engaging in wholesale repression depending on who you believe. Lantos is dead, but while he lived he was considered a major conduit for illegal passage of classified information to the Israeli government. It is nice to see that his spirit lives on in the 112th Congress, particularly as Syria is a front line state that is considered an enemy by Tel Aviv. The Lantos meeting is co-sponsored by Congressman Frank Wolf of Virginia, who is a major recipient of AIPAC funding.


New Man in Tel Aviv by Philip Giraldi
Now some of us old fashioned types have long believed that an American ambassador is supposed to represent US interests, but that is apparently no longer the case, at least when Israel is involved. Even assuming that Obama is dissimulating just a tad to burnish his pro-Israeli credentials, the assertion that Israel’s security is job number one should be producing some indigestion somewhere in the media or punditocracy, but, alas, I cannot find it.


Erekat: Palestinians planning 'massive' diplomatic push for state recognition
I'm surprised that the US Congress hasn't yet made it ILLEGAL to support Palestinian statehood. Maybe they'll use sanctions to try and thwart it, minions of Israel that they are.


Iran 'ready to cooperate' over attack on Argentine Jews
Israel has pointed the finger at the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah for carrying out the attacks, which the Jewish state believes were masterminded by Tehran.


Report: Deadly NZ quake uncovers Israeli spy ring
The Fairfax newspaper group, which didn't state how it obtained the information, said one of the Israelis who died was carrying at least five passports. Israel was involved in a huge diplomatic row with New Zealand a few years back over a passport-stealing operation on the part of Israeli operatives.


MPs to vote on bill probing 'anti-Israeli' NGOs
"This evil initiative, with its anti–democratic message, harms the democracy of the state of Israel,"


Murdoch faces calls for break-up of media empire



Israeli navy takes over Gaza-bound French ship



US Republican hopeful backs right to ban synagogues
Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain on Sunday said US communities that want to ban synagogues have a right to do so, as he backed opponents of a synagogue being built in Tennessee.

"Judaism is both a religion and a set of laws –– Talmudic laws. That's the difference between any one of our traditional religions where it's just about religious purposes," Cain told Fox News Sunday. Imagine if he had said that? The uproar. It's only ok to do this to Muslims, evidently.


Israel suspends Arab lawmaker for joining Gaza flotilla



Dignitaries Visit Israel To Fight Palestinian Statehood Bid
A group of dignitaries including a former prime minister and a Nobel Peace Prize winner came to Israel to pledge to fight the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition at the United Nations.

The group came as part of the Friends of Israel Initiative, which seeks to rally international support for Israel.

The world should collectively give Israel the bird. They have no right to deny statehood to anyone. They themselves illegally declared nationhood (on another people's land) back in 1948.


Neocons Fume Over US Boat to Gaza By Ray McGovern
It certainly appears that the Likudniks, the U.S. neocons and some of the “Harvards” are running scared as Israel’s growing extremism and anti-Muslim bigotry becomes harder to perfume over with every passing day.





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