A Stand For Justice
U.S. Congress United in its Support of Israel, says Republican Minority Whip
U.S. Republicans and Democrats differ on nearly every issue in the U.S. Congress but are united in their support of Israel, Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA) told a congregation of U.S. Jews on Saturday. Behold the treason.
Palestinian village to be encircled by barrier
The barrier, running much of the length of the West Bank, has already disrupted lives in many Palestinian towns and villages in its path. But it threatens to outright smother Walajeh: The community of about 2,000 on the southwest edge of Jerusalem is to be completely encircled by a fence cutting it off from most of its open land, according to an Israeli Defense Ministry map.
This wall, built on Palestinian territory, is illegal under international law. The US prevents justice from being upheld in this case, and most others dealing with Israel's violations of international law.
Woman killed, five injured near Gaza City
In a separate incident, two Palestinians were injured by Israeli artillery fire near a Gaza refugee camp.
Israeli bulldozers raze 6 east Jerusalem buildings
Israeli bulldozers destroyed six buildings, including at least three homes, in contested east Jerusalem on Tuesday, resuming the demolition of Palestinian property after a halt aimed at encouraging peace talks.
Palestinian homes bulldozed as Israeli freeze on demolitions appears to end
Approval was given on Monday for 32 new homes in the Jewish neighbourhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, East Jerusalem, which is exempt from the freeze. A further 48 housing units should be approved next week.
It's official: Israel has gotten away with it -- again
Over a month after the deadly raid, and after an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress signed onto an American-Israel Public Affairs Committee letter that expressed "strong support for Israel's right to defend itself," the Obama administration is letting Israel get away scot-free. Israel will continue with the status quo of occupation and blockade while the prospects for a Palestinian state continue to whither away.
Obama says Israel unlikely to surprise US with Iran attack
"I think the relationship between the US and Israel is sufficiently strong that neither of us try to surprise each other," he said, when asked if he was concerned Israel could catch the US off guard with an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israel didn't give us any warning when they attacked USS Liberty.
Strong Russian remarks on Iran please Washington
A major goal of U.S. President Barack Obama's "reset" of relations with Moscow has been winning Russian backing for a tougher international line toward Iran. Did it have anything to do with the recent spy exchange between US and Russia, mewonders? I think so.
Settler released hours after arrested over killing of Palestinian youth
Israel Police on Sunday arrested a resident of the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar, for his alleged involvement in the shooting death of a Palestinian teenager whose body was found near Ramallah two months ago.
The 37-year-old suspect was released without restrictions a few hours after he was detained
Palestinian villagers battle plans to wall them in
"It is the only village in the West Bank that will be completely surrounded by the wall," says Willow Heske, of the Oxfam humanitarian group, which is helping villagers make their voices heard.
Obama tells Abbas he is committed to Palestinian state
Netanyahu doubts Mideast peace deal possible by 2012
"There's only been one time that Iran actually stopped the program and that was when it feared U.S. military action," Netanyahu said.
"So when the president [Obama] says that he's determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and that all options are on the table, I think that's the right statement of policy."
Netanyahu: Only US military threats can stop Iran from making nukes
Netanyahu signals no extension of settlement freeze
Israel says won't let Libyan aid ship reach Gaza
Israel: Gaza aid ship diverts to Egypt
U.S. conservatives form new pro-Israel lobby group
The Emergency Committee for Israel presents a potent combination of Republican Party neoconservatives and Evangelical Christians. The new group’s board includes Weekly Standard Editor William Kristol and Gary Bauer, a former Republican presidential candidate who leads the group American Values, as well as Rachel Abrams, a conservative writer and activist. The neocons are back in full force.
Petraeus, Palin, Boot and the Power of Israel
Case against soldier who fired shots in Silwan closed
After 13 witnesses subpoenaed, State Prosecutor's Office decides not to try haredi Nahal soldier who wounded two Palestinians in east Jerusalem. Left-wing organizations petition ruling, say 'it was point-blank shooting at unarmed civilians'
US Treasury Grants Tax Exemptions to Funders of Illegal Israeli Settlements
A New York Times investigation revealed Tuesday that the U.S. Treasury is helping to promote illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank by granting tax exemptions to U.S. groups that funnel money into them. These specific settlements aren't only illegal under international law, but also under Israeli law. Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory are a violation of article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention; war crimes. The US government has been aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes for decades, even war crimes against US citizens.
Abbas: No point in direct talks with Israel now
Mahmoud Abbas sounded determined not to return to the table unless Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commits to an internationally mandated settlement freeze and agrees to pick up talks where they left off under the Israeli leader's predecessor in December 2008. ....Netanyahu hasn't agreed to either demand, and has so far curbed but not frozen settlement activity. He insists negotiations should be held without any preconditions.
Exposed: The Truth About Israel's Land Grab In The West Bank
Jewish settlers, who claim a divine right to the whole of Israel, now control more than 42 per cent of the occupied West Bank, representing a powerful obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state, a new report has revealed.
'US will attack Iran if it must'
There is wide support in Congress for using all means to keep Iran from becoming a nuclear power, “through diplomatic and economic sanctions if we possibly can, through military actions if we must,” visiting US Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said Wednesday in Jerusalem.
These traitors must be stopped.
Presbyterians: End Israel aid over settlements
Church delegates approved the report by an 82 percent vote during the church's general assembly in Minneapolis. It's meant as a comprehensive guide to the denomination's more than 2 million members on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
Netanyahu In 2001: 'America Is A Thing You Can Move Very Easily'
Israel bans Gaza woman from studying human rights in West Bank
Israel's New 'Video Game' Executions
MK Ben-Ari: Sink Libyan Ship
The ship, he said, was “a threat to Israel's independence. In order to prevent a flood of hundreds of ships and thousands of refugees gathering on our borders, the ship must be sunk.
Israeli Military Finds Flotilla Killings Justified
Israel exonerates itself. No kidding?
Ireland seeks to block Israel access to data on EU citizens
Ireland is seeking to stop a European Union initiative that would enable Israel to receive sensitive information about European citizens, due to concerns about the use that Israel would make of this information, the Irish minister for justice said over the weekend.
Israeli academics hit back over bid to pass law that would criminalise them
the petition as hysterical and an attempt to silence contrary opinions. While the vast majority of the signatories do not support an academic boycott of Israel, they have joined forces over what they regard as the latest assault on freedom of expression in Israel. The petition states: "We have different and varied opinions about solving the difficult problems facing Israel, but there is one thing we are agreed on – freedom of expression and academic freedom are the very lifeblood of the academic system." Israel is not a democracy. It's a sham.
Woods Hole movie screen goes dark CapeCodOnline.com
"Films about Palestine are no more troubling than anything else, but it hit a nerve with some members on the board," Panish said. "I'm surprised because this is a small community of people in Woods Hole with the same ideals and it's been going on for a year and a half. This is an infringement on free speech." More fascism on display by Israel-supporters.
Children's group boycotts Israel
The emergency motion was proposed by international secretary Paul Bemrose, who said it had been prompted by the deaths of nine Turkish activists on the Gaza flotilla.
Vodka Ad Too Sexy For Brooklyn Hasidic Community
Imagine the national outrcy if it were Muslims that had or wanted to have those ads banned?
The Hypocrisy of Preaching Nonviolence to Palestinians
critics US too low-key on Islamic radicalism talk
President Barack Obama has argued that words matter, and administration officials have said that the use of inflammatory descriptions linking Islam to the terror threat feed the enemy's propaganda and may alienate moderate Muslims in the U.S.
By the way, the WINEP, mentioned in this article, is part of AIPAC, the Israeli lobby. Notice the Associated Press laps up this puff piece largely drawing from WINEP. THe AP is often a mouthpiece for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
Obama Should Keep Bush's Word, But Bibi Needn't Keep Olmert's?
In effect, the Israeli right doesn’t want Israel to have negotiate its relations with its neighbors on its own. It wants America to impose a solution. Of course JINSA wouldn’t put it that way. JINSA is a neocon (pro-Israel) 'thinktank'.
Israel’s Nukes Harm US National Interests by John Mearsheimer
there’s no accountability for Israel on any issue. You don’t need opacity. If I went to the Middle East, and visited Israel, and I was killed, somebody shot me, do you think there would be any accountability? Seriously. If any of you went to the Middle East and were killed, do you think there would be accountability? There wouldn’t be. This is how outrageous this situation is. Just think about the [USS] Liberty, think about Rachel Corrie, think about this Turkish-American who was just killed on the flotilla.
The Israel-Turkey Imbroglio
Castro: War on Iran 'Imminent'
Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro warned on Monday that a US-Israeli attack on Iran is "imminent" and predicted that this could trigger a global nuclear war
Scott Horton Interviews Lawrence Wilkerson
"I think there’s a very clear-cut case that Wurmser was not only working for Rumsfeld and Feith and the Pentagon, but he was also working for Israel. I think Feith was working for Israel too." Several more neocons who deliberately deceived Americans into going to war with Iraq.
The Unchallenged Power of the Israel Lobby
I quote Mr. Tenet here:
“All this weighed heavy on my mind as I walked beneath the awning that leads to the West Wing and saw Richard Perle exiting the building just as I was about to enter. Perle is one of the godfathers of the neoconservative movement and, at the time, was head of the Defense Policy Board, an independent advisory group attached to the Secretary of Defense. Ours was little more than a passing acquaintance. As the doors closed behind him, we made eye contact and nodded. I had just reached the door myself when Perle turned to me and said, 'Iraq has to pay a price for what happened yesterday. 'They bear responsibility.' (Italics added).
Perle is one of the neocons responsible for deliberately deceiving Americans into going to war with Iraq.
Obama: 'I Have Met Israel and It Is "Us"'
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu set up another illegal Jewish settlement, this time on the White House lawn. And, it appears, President Obama has agreed to serve as its armed guard. And again.
Wealthy Reap Rewards While Those Who Work Lose
Apart from the newly unemployed, about 39 million people in the U.S. are chronically poor and do not have enough food to eat, according to the U.S. Census and U.S. Department of Agriculture. And yet, we continue to pour billions of dollars to Israel to fund its state based on religious supremacism - a state which by the way has not suffered the same economic fate from which America is suffering.
Hebron ‘dance protest’ against Israeli soldiers and settlers
Over 100 Palestinians together with international solidarity activists gathered in Hebron this Saturday to protest against the closure of Shuhada street. As a response to the infamous YouTube video of soldiers dancing near the illegal settlement of Tel-Rumeida, some protesters staged a dance protest: three dancers took the role of soldiers and searched and “arrested” three Palestinians.
Hezbollah says it has list of targets in Israel
A senior official with the militant Hezbollah group said Sunday they have a list of military targets inside Israel to strike in any future war.
CNN fires veteran editor for Mideast over Tweet
CNN has fired a senior editor for Middle East news after she published a Twitter message that said she respected a Lebanese Shi'ite cleric branded a terrorist by the United States, U.S. and British media said on Thursday.
Have sympathy for Israeli Jewish terrorists (such as Begin, Sharon, and more), and you'll get accolades and opportunities.
"Christian-Zionism" Is Trouble for Israel and the USA
These people are not real Christians. They are impostors.
'Unprecedented police brutality' at East Jerusalem protest
Every weekend, Israeli protesters demonstrate alongside the Arab locals against settler activity in the Arab neighborhood. The demonstrators decry the settlers' takeover of several homes in the area.
'Obama warns Erdogan international Gaza flotilla probe bad for Turkey'
United States President Barak Obama warned Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that an international probe into Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla could have negative consequences for Turkey, British Arabic-language daily al-Hayat reported Saturday. What? Now who would give Obama that idea?
Obama Yields to Bibi, Plus Me vs. Petraeus
David Makovsky, who works for the AIPAC cutout, the Washington Institute for Near East Peace, explained what's going on in today's Washington Post. "As we get closer to the midterm elections, if there was a gap, it's narrowing.... I think the blowup in March between Obama and Netanyahu has led each side to realize that they've gone too far, and they've got to dial it down."
'Many Jewish Neighborhoods in J’lem Will Remain in Israel'
Israel is waiting for Palin
Look at what’s happening: The prime minister of Israel is holding the president of the United States at bay, bending him to his will, because he’s got the Republicans behind him.
Bringing Judaism Out of the Home, and Into the Public Square
American Jews, of course, have long been champions of the strict separation of church and state. Individuals and communal institutions have successfully fought against school prayer, displays of religious symbols on public property and state funding for religious programs. This work is crucial in protecting against the privileging of certain religious groups over others, as well as in protecting religious organizations from state control. I just can't get over the irony and hypocrisy of the above excerpt. Jewish groups have fought to keep religion, mostly Christianity, out of government, but yet the state of Israel is a state based on religious supremacy,and a state that many of these same Jews make sure receives billions in American taxpayer aid. Unbelievable.
Passing of Shiite cleric Fadlallah spells trouble for Lebanon
Notwithstanding his fiery Friday sermons targeting Israel and the United States, the Iraqi-trained Fadlallah opposed the concept of velayat-e-faqih, which puts an Iranian mullah at the pinnacle of Shiite theology and politics. He also condemned Al Qaeda and so-called honor killings of Muslim women, stances that led many Westerners to see Fadlallah, a man Washington labelled a terrorist, as a kind of moderate.
Lieberman's settlement bars Russian-Israeli families from buying homes
"The biggest problem is that if you accept 10 families in which the mother isn't Jewish, then soon there will be 30 children, and tomorrow your son could fall in love with the good-looking girl next door. It's a real problem," Heiman said
Slandering the Good Guys: Some Basic Facts About IHH
Before speakers from the Mavi Marmara were scheduled to speak in New York about what happened on May 31st, local politicians began to put forth the rhetoric of their Israeli handlers, using slanderous language to demonize the victims of Israel's illegal act of war. And most recently, 87 US senators have urged President Obama to launch an investigation of whether or not IHH should be added to the US list of foreign terrorist organizations.
The Israel Project to N.Y. Times: Expose Anti-Israel NGOs, Too — Like the New Israel Fund
A little before midnight on Monday, July 5, the New York Times posted on its website its lengthy, deeply reported investigative piece on U.S. tax-exempt donations that go to fund settlement activity in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the right-wing American charities that channel those donations, including some that seemed in the Times piece to flirt with or outright violate IRS rules.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Headlines for July 1 - July 7
A Stand For Justice
Al Khalil/Hebron: Israeli Border Police Destroy Vegetable Fields in Al Baqa'a Valley
Israeli border police destroyed several Palestinian fields in Al Baqa'a Valley just east of Hebron on July 6, 2010, directly impacting the livelihood of more than one hundred Palestinians.
.Israel steps up forced evictions of West Bank Palestinians
Amnesty International has urged the Israeli authorities to halt forced evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank after a recent spate of military eviction orders were served on Palestinians in the northern Jordan Valley
Growing Consensus: Israel Abusing Its Status as ‘Indispensable’ US Ally
Sen. Lieberman: US ready to strike Iran if it must
Although US officials often say no option should be taken off the table in relation to Iran's nuclear program, this is one of the few times an official of Lieberman's standing has explicitly used the term "military action" while in Israel.
Lieberman is one of Israel's top agents on Capitol Hill.
UN General Assembly cancels session on Gaza flotilla
Sen. Lieberman says force may be needed in Iran
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman says there is a broad consensus in Congress that military force can be used if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Lieberman = agent of Israel.
Obama set to sign Iran sanctions bill: W.House
Israeli FM Stokes Tensions With Turkey
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman angrily responded to comments made by his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in a Turkish newspaper. Davutoglu called for Israel to either apologize for the killing of Turkish civilians on the Mavi Marmara aid ship or, failing that, to permit an international investigation.
Lieberman insisted that neither of these options was acceptable, and once again chastised Turkey for what he called major policy changes.
Palestinian PM meets Israeli minister
The Palestinian prime minister said he pressed demands including a halt to Israeli army incursions in Palestinian West Bank towns in a rare high–level meeting with the Israeli defense minister on Monday.
Obama denies any Israel, US rift
The leaders sat close together in the Oval Office Tuesday and staged a prolonged handshake for the cameras, seeking to put to rest a tense, closed–door encounter at the White House in March.
The lobby put the screws to Obama,no doubt, resulting in his total turnaround in behavior.
Rights Group Files FOIA Requests Regarding Israel Attack on Flotilla Delivering Aid to Gaza Center for Constitutional Rights
Yesterday, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed eight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the United States government’s knowledge of, and actions in relation to, the May 31, 2010 attack by Israel on a flotilla of six vessels in international waters seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and U.S. policy towards the blockade of Gaza, which has entered its fourth year
Turkey and Israel try fence-mending after ship raid
Turkey wants Israel apology
Turkey's foreign minister was quoted on Monday as saying that Ankara would cut ties with Israel unless it apologized or accepted an international inquiry into its deadly raid on a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza.
Abbas: No direct talks without progress on borders and security
'Obama warns Erdogan international Gaza flotilla probe bad for Turkey'
Obama backs Israel on nuclear conference
Obama also agreed to work with Israel to oppose any efforts to single out the Jewish state at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in September.
German parliament expected to pass motion urging Israel to end Gaza blockade
"The living conditions of the civilian population of Gaza must be urgently improved," said the German motion, adding that the blockade - which the government has already said should be ended - was counterproductive and did not help to make Israel safer.
Israel ministers reject bill to foil settlement freeze
Peace or piece? Israel chooses to take another piece of Palestine.
Israeli settlements cover 42 percent of West Bank
Jewish settlements control more than 42 percent of the West Bank, and much of that land was seized from Palestinian landowners in defiance of an Israeli Supreme Court ban, an Israeli human rights group said Tuesday.
Report: Secret document affirms U.S.-Israel nuclear partnership
According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies, despite the fact that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Gaza gets chocolate but no cement as embargo eases
If you have cash to spare in Gaza, you can treat your children to new varieties of chocolate Israel has just let in for the first time in a few years, or splash out on new tableware it allowed into the territory this week.
If you need cement and steel to rebuild a home destroyed by war, you'll have to wait a bit longer.
Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West Bank
HaYovel is one of many groups in the United States using tax-exempt donations to help Jews establish permanence in the Israeli-occupied territories — effectively obstructing the creation of a Palestinian state, widely seen as a necessary condition for Middle East peace. The result is a surprising juxtaposition: As the American government seeks to end the four-decade Jewish settlement enterprise and foster a Palestinian state in the West Bank, the American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax breaks on donations to support them......The Internal Revenue Service declined to discuss donations for West Bank settlements. State Department officials would comment only generally, and on condition of anonymity Settlements in occupied territory are a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions. In short, this is the financing of war crimes. This is a lengthy and unusually frank look at American money funneling into settlements.
Gazans: We were used as 'human shields'
Another Palestinian testified that "IDF soldiers cuffed me and three of my brothers and for three days had us walk ahead of them, and made sure we did so at gunpoint. They used us as human shields by ordering us to go into houses ahead of them.
"After we'd go out, they would send in the (bomb-sniffing) dogs and only then would they go inside."
2,700 houses to be built as soon as West Bank settlement freeze ends
And again.
Israel eases Gaza closure, but restrictions remain
because Israel will continue to ban most travel and exports and restrict the import of desperately needed construction materials, the new rules are unlikely to restore the territory's devastated economy or allow rebuilding of all that was destroyed in last year's war.
Israeli army: Gaza war troops to be disciplined
Around 1,400 Gazans, many of them civilians, were killed in three weeks of fierce urban fighting and aerial bombardments. Thirteen Israelis were killed. A report commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, a charge Israel rejects.
The Associated Press has truly become an arm of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. This is merely a(nother) dog and pony show put on by Israel.
US to press Binyamin Netanyahu to extend freeze on settlements
Despite the moratorium, building in settlements has continued in the past seven months thanks to loopholes and violations. Preparations are under way for a construction boom this autumn.
Despite Rift, Israel Gets More U.S. Aid Than Iraq
More than any other nation, including war-torn Iraq, Israel gets the most U.S. aid, according to the Feds.
Judge grants ex-Israeli spy US asylum
'Oh ok, as long as he was good for Israel, he can stay.'
Blair to receive US peace medal
"Freedom, liberty and justice are the values which I try to apply to my work on governance in Africa and on preparing the Palestinians for statehood.
Report: Abbas agrees to Israeli control over Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem
Clinton: U.S. to contribute $150 million to Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation
The State Department on Saturday said Clinton's announcement of the anticipated contribution helps commemorate the 1.1 million victims who perished at the Nazi death camp, and demonstrates the U.S. administration's commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education. We're looking at unemployment here that rivals that of the Great Depression, is this really necessary? Did American perpetrate the Holocaust?
Ben-Eliezer meets with Turkish FM in effort to resolve bilateral crisis
Why are so many Israelis arrested over illegal arms deals worldwide?
With Obama meeting scheduled, Israel eases Gaza import limits
Israel on Monday announced a major change in the way it will manage the country's controversial blockade of the Gaza Strip , a move Israeli officials hope will ease tensions with the Obama administration on the eve of a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .
So the easing of the blockade will be reversed once the dog and pony show is over?
No Israel visit for Dustin Hoffman
Jewish actor Dustin Hoffman halted arrangements to attend the Jerusalem Film Festival in the wake of the Gaza flotilla clash, one of the organisers has claimed.
Report: Turkey may expand Israeli flights ban
Polish court orders Mossad spy suspect extradited
A Polish court on Wednesday ordered the extradition to Germany of an Israeli man suspected of being a Mossad agent involved in the slaying of a Hamas operative.
IDF objector sprays 'Free Gaza' graffiti on Warsaw Ghetto wall
One of the activists was conscientious objector Yonatan Shapira, an Israel Air Force pilot who authored the Pilot’s Letter – a 2003 statement signed by 27 Israeli pilots who publicly refused to fly missions over the Palestinian territories. Shapira was subsequently ousted from reserve duty and also lost his job as a commercial pilot
Israel's Foes Embrace New Resistance Tactics
Lieberman no-show at US Embassy's 4th of July party
Lieberman's absence from the event marking the 234th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence may stem from his strained relations with the Obama Administration.
JA adopts plan aimed at securing Jewish future
“The main danger facing the Jewish world today is a weakening of the connection of young Jews to their People and to the State of Israel,” said Sharansky, who led the new strategic planning process along with Board of Governors Chairman Richard Pearlstone. “Our new plan deals directly with this issue.” How ironic.
Israeli judge Learn from Nazis
Israel has learned from the Nazis alright.
EU foreign ministers accept Israeli invitation to visit Gaza
Israel's recent offer to let foreign dignitaries into the Palestinian territory followed an earlier pledge to relax its economic embargo on Gaza.
Both moves came in the wake of international outrage sparked by Israel's late-May attack on a flotilla bringing in aid to the enclave, which resulted in nine dead.
The General, the Journalist, and the Power of Israel
It indicates that Gen. David Petraeus, who just replaced Gen. McChrystal as commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, has frankly assessed that the intimate U.S. relationship with Israel is costing U.S. lives in the Middle East. But he’s concerned that his views may cost him politically and so uses buddies in the media to conceal them.
Seven European Ships Will Join 2nd Gaza Aid Flotilla
The European Campaign to Lift Gaza Siege announced recently that seven European vessels will join the second Gaza aid Freedom Flotilla to break the Israeli blockade, Algerian Press Service (APS) reported.
What to read this Fourth of July weekend by Stephen M. Walt
This year, I recommend you spend a few minutes reading George Washington's Farewell Address, originally published in September 1796. Read the whole thing. Our first president has many wise things to tell us today, but none is more telling than his trenchant advice on the conduct of foreign policy Beware of the evils of the passionate attachment (in present times, this would be the attachment to Israel).
Petraeus emails show general scheming with journalist to get out pro-Israel storyline
Very interesting.
US questions its unwavering support for Israel
"This is starting to get dangerous for us. What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace," Biden told Netanyahu. Americans need to get Congress back from chokehold of the Israeli lobby.
'Israel trying to block U.S.-Saudi Arabia defense contract'
Israel, however, hopes that if the deal goes forward, Saudi Arabia will receive fewer advanced versions of the F-15 than those possessed by Israel, which seeks to maintain its air force's superiority. "Today these planes are against Iran, tomorrow they might turn against us," the source said.
Palestinian who planned Munich attack dies in Syria
A former leader of the Black September Palestinian guerrilla group, Abu Daoud said he planned the Munich hostage–taking in which 11 Israelis died. But Abu Daoud, who did not take part in the attack, said he was not directly responsible for the deaths. "I didn't kill anybody and I didn't order anybody's killing," Abu Daoud told Reuters 1999 after publishing memoirs in which he boasted of planning the abduction.
Executive Privilege by Philip Giraldi
the right of Americans to associate freely, guaranteed by the first amendment, can be limited by Congress and the White House if they disapprove of or criminalize the group you are associating with. The Supreme Court is curiously siding with the executive and legislature and denying that it has any right to uphold the constitution, which becomes, by that standard, truly just a piece of paper. The government can call anything a security threat and can proceed without restraint. Libertarians were dismayed by the ruling, but the Israel Lobby’s Anti Defamation League called the ruling "right on target.".....Lieberman, of course, has a particular passion for Israel and it is reasonable to assume that his ultimate intention might be to use the cyberwarfare justification combined with anti-terror legislation to shut down internet sites that provide news and commentary critical of the Benjamin Netanyahu government. Note Giraldi's comments on the bill to 'shut down the internet' in the face of 'danger' proposed by one of Israel's top agents, Lieberman.
Israel: Hezbollah storing weapons inside villages
The rare publication of what seemed to be detailed intelligence material appeared aimed at demonstrating Israel's reach and preparing public opinion for possible strikes inside villages and the attendant civilian casualties if a future round of fighting erupts.
Me, General Petraeus & The Lobby
Why the panic? Why the rush to consult neocon Max Boot? Why the nervousness?
General Petraeus’s leaked emails about Israel
In a gaffe that hasn't yet attracted the same amount of press as Stanley McChrystal's bizarre interview with Rolling Stone, Petraeus accidentally leaked an email exchange of his -- with the belligerent, neoconservative, pro-Israeli columnist Max Boot -- to an activist named James Morris, who then passed it on to the blogger Philip Weiss:
Neocons, Likud Conquer DC, Again
The clout of Washington’s neoconservatives and the political fear induced by Israel’s Likud hardliners were on display again with recently released e-mails in which Gen. David Petraeus grovels before a key neocon and in White House meetings at which President Obama pandered to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Bibi's Trifecta: Reach Out to Turkey, Boost Fuad, Diss Lieberman
some influential American Jewish organizations are following Yvet’s lead on Turkey. They’re giving its envoys a cold shoulder and flooding the internets with bad stuff about Turkey, including sophomoric nastiness as well as criticism of behavior that they used to be the first to defend. This could be a case of American Jewish freelancing, using a sledge hammer while Israel approaches it with a scalpel. Or it could be that Bibi is using them as his own sledge hammer, getting them all worked up against those mean Turks as a little show of force while he quietly negotiates.
Israel and the Infinite Limits of US Patience : No Woodshed for Netanyahu
It may be in the interests of the US to restrain Israel but this is almost certainty not going to happen. The reason why is shown by the strange story of the attempt by General David Petraeus, now commander in Afghanistan, previously head of Central Command and America's most prestigious general, to put on the record the fact that US support for Israeli actions in the Middle East was endangering the safety of US troops. He reiterated this in written testimony before Congress in March.
But no sooner had General Petraeus done so than he was swiftly rowing back. The explanation for General Petraeus's swift turnaround suggests that he wants to keep open the option of running for the presidency as Republican candidate in 2012 and does not intend to alienate Jewish voters or militant neocons
Analysis: A critical US-Israel issue is left open
the hard–liners in Netanyahu's coalition government will probably not be won over. They have no interest in answering Palestinian demands for a freeze on settlement building in return for direct peace talks.
And that's still the critical issue between the U.S. and Israel, one neither Netanyahu nor Obama addressed after their fifth meeting since Obama took office 17 months ago.
Military official: Iran did not send radar to Syria
Israel’s Stealth Foreign Minister
While Lieberman on June 29 again completely rejected the goal of a negotiated agreement on a Palestinian state by 2012, as urged by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, Barak has begun speaking out in recent months about the clock ticking against Israel.
American Opinion On Israel - And The Congress's
Interesting.
Islamo-fascism, Judaeo-fascism, Bapto-fascism, and Why We Need More Bars
The wheels are squeaking on the tumbrel methinks. At a recent conclave held by AIPAC, unease arose, reasonably enough, over eroding American support for Israel. What apparently did not arise was any indication of understanding of why support is eroding.
Analysis: President now working with the PM, not against him
the difference in Obama's tone on Tuesday, compared to the last time they met the press in the Oval Office in May 2009, was striking.....Rather than bash Netanyahu for various plans in the works to build in Jerusalem, as he directed his secretary of state to do in March following Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, this time Obama praised the Israeli government for "working through layers of various governmental entities and jurisdiction" and showing "restraint over the last several months." Translation: the Israeli lobby put the screws to Obama and it worked.
Epstein hopes Gazans will be ‘free to pursue their lives in dignity’
In 2003 I went to the Israeli-occupied West Bank for the first time and have been back there five times since, most recently with the Gaza flotilla. I have tried unsuccessfully four times to enter Gaza, but permission has repeatedly been denied. They say that I am a “security risk”! An 86-year-old woman! Hedy Epstein is a very brave individual.
Hebron - Freedom Flotilla release
Tear gas and rubber
bullets are a common response from the Israeli army; the CPT teams in
Palestine witness their brutality on a weekly basis. The only difference
now is that Israel is turning it's "security measures" against the
international community.
Senators Raise Prospect of US Attack on Iran
Sen. Graham was even more blunt in his support for launching the war on Israel’s behalf, saying that “the Congress has Israel’s back.” Passionate attachment, right there.
In Israel, Subsidies Not to Learn
I would note that such “schools” are in the same tradition as the Muslim madrassas so often criticized in the Western media. But about Israel most of our media is silent.
Does Israel Make Us Safer?
The history of Israel and its relationship with the U.S. is infinitely complex, but there’s one damning fact that’s ignored as often as The Question: There was not a single act of Arab terrorism against Americans before 1968, when the U.S. became the chief supplier of military equipment and economic aid to Israel.
Histories Again Collide On the Hills of Jerusalem
Siyam also criticizes Elad’s role in bringing Jewish residents to Wadi Hilwah, claiming that Elad has a “transfer agenda” in that it wishes to see Palestinians leave Wadi Hilwah. “Elad is using all methods in order to make a Jewish majority in Wadi Hilwah,” he claimed, questioning the morality of some of the methods used to acquire properties, including the Absentee Property Law, according to which Israel can seize the property of Arabs who fled to enemy countries after the 1948 and 1967 wars.
Labor Minister, Ex-Gen. 'Fuad' Ben-Eliezer: Time's Up. World Is Tired of Us. Bibi Must Decide
The next morning, when I went down to breakfast, there was a very senior representative of one of the Western delegations standing a few meters from me, between the tomatoes and the cucumber. “A gang of animals,” he said about us. The world has changed disks and we haven’t caught on yet.
Fury as Methodists vote to boycott Israel
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council said the Methodists’ annual conference should “hang its head in shame” for passing a policy which calls for a boycott of goods from “illegal” Israeli West Bank settlements and blames Israeli occupation as the “key hindrance” to Middle East peace. Oh dear.
Iran moves radar to Syria: US official
Iran has moved radar to Syria that could provide early–warning against a possible surprise Israeli air attack against Tehran's nuclear sites, a US defense official said on Friday.
Sean Hannity Displays His True Colors - Blue and White (Israeli Flag) When Caller Mentions USS Liberty
Sean Hannity evidently went full throttle into 'defend Israel' mode and proceeded to repeat the Israeli propaganda regarding that incident, rather than stick up for the AMERICAN (sailors) that were viciously attacked.
Peoplehood Vs Israel
If that is true, then the “for us or against us” crowd is harming Israel’s interests in the long run, too. Because while the Jewish community may be tighter, more unified and more supportive of Israel as a result of excluding those whose views are too treyf, one thing is for sure: It will definitely be smaller.
Guns belonging to Israel PM's security detail 'missing'
Four guns went missing and were believed to have been stolen from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security detail after American Airlines lost luggage containing the weapons, NBC reported.
Bikini Models Protest Vodka Ad Ban in Brooklyn Hasidic Jewish Communities
Dozens of bikini-clad women and upset New York residents congregated outside New York City's public transit headquarters on Tuesday to protest the transport authority’s recent decision to ban a popular Georgi Vodka ad campaign, which features models donning sexy swimsuits, from appearing on buses that travel through certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn that are primarily populated by Hasidic Jewish communities I thought only the Islamists were the ones offended by women's unclothed bodies?
Al Khalil/Hebron: Israeli Border Police Destroy Vegetable Fields in Al Baqa'a Valley
Israeli border police destroyed several Palestinian fields in Al Baqa'a Valley just east of Hebron on July 6, 2010, directly impacting the livelihood of more than one hundred Palestinians.
.Israel steps up forced evictions of West Bank Palestinians
Amnesty International has urged the Israeli authorities to halt forced evictions of Palestinians in the West Bank after a recent spate of military eviction orders were served on Palestinians in the northern Jordan Valley
Growing Consensus: Israel Abusing Its Status as ‘Indispensable’ US Ally
Sen. Lieberman: US ready to strike Iran if it must
Although US officials often say no option should be taken off the table in relation to Iran's nuclear program, this is one of the few times an official of Lieberman's standing has explicitly used the term "military action" while in Israel.
Lieberman is one of Israel's top agents on Capitol Hill.
UN General Assembly cancels session on Gaza flotilla
Sen. Lieberman says force may be needed in Iran
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman says there is a broad consensus in Congress that military force can be used if necessary to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Lieberman = agent of Israel.
Obama set to sign Iran sanctions bill: W.House
Israeli FM Stokes Tensions With Turkey
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman angrily responded to comments made by his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu in a Turkish newspaper. Davutoglu called for Israel to either apologize for the killing of Turkish civilians on the Mavi Marmara aid ship or, failing that, to permit an international investigation.
Lieberman insisted that neither of these options was acceptable, and once again chastised Turkey for what he called major policy changes.
Palestinian PM meets Israeli minister
The Palestinian prime minister said he pressed demands including a halt to Israeli army incursions in Palestinian West Bank towns in a rare high–level meeting with the Israeli defense minister on Monday.
Obama denies any Israel, US rift
The leaders sat close together in the Oval Office Tuesday and staged a prolonged handshake for the cameras, seeking to put to rest a tense, closed–door encounter at the White House in March.
The lobby put the screws to Obama,no doubt, resulting in his total turnaround in behavior.
Rights Group Files FOIA Requests Regarding Israel Attack on Flotilla Delivering Aid to Gaza Center for Constitutional Rights
Yesterday, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed eight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the United States government’s knowledge of, and actions in relation to, the May 31, 2010 attack by Israel on a flotilla of six vessels in international waters seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and U.S. policy towards the blockade of Gaza, which has entered its fourth year
Turkey and Israel try fence-mending after ship raid
Turkey wants Israel apology
Turkey's foreign minister was quoted on Monday as saying that Ankara would cut ties with Israel unless it apologized or accepted an international inquiry into its deadly raid on a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza.
Abbas: No direct talks without progress on borders and security
'Obama warns Erdogan international Gaza flotilla probe bad for Turkey'
Obama backs Israel on nuclear conference
Obama also agreed to work with Israel to oppose any efforts to single out the Jewish state at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference in September.
German parliament expected to pass motion urging Israel to end Gaza blockade
"The living conditions of the civilian population of Gaza must be urgently improved," said the German motion, adding that the blockade - which the government has already said should be ended - was counterproductive and did not help to make Israel safer.
Israel ministers reject bill to foil settlement freeze
Peace or piece? Israel chooses to take another piece of Palestine.
Israeli settlements cover 42 percent of West Bank
Jewish settlements control more than 42 percent of the West Bank, and much of that land was seized from Palestinian landowners in defiance of an Israeli Supreme Court ban, an Israeli human rights group said Tuesday.
Report: Secret document affirms U.S.-Israel nuclear partnership
According to Army Radio, the U.S. has reportedly pledged to sell Israel materials used to produce electricity, as well as nuclear technology and other supplies, despite the fact that Israel is not a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Gaza gets chocolate but no cement as embargo eases
If you have cash to spare in Gaza, you can treat your children to new varieties of chocolate Israel has just let in for the first time in a few years, or splash out on new tableware it allowed into the territory this week.
If you need cement and steel to rebuild a home destroyed by war, you'll have to wait a bit longer.
Tax-Exempt Funds Aid Settlements in West Bank
HaYovel is one of many groups in the United States using tax-exempt donations to help Jews establish permanence in the Israeli-occupied territories — effectively obstructing the creation of a Palestinian state, widely seen as a necessary condition for Middle East peace. The result is a surprising juxtaposition: As the American government seeks to end the four-decade Jewish settlement enterprise and foster a Palestinian state in the West Bank, the American Treasury helps sustain the settlements through tax breaks on donations to support them......The Internal Revenue Service declined to discuss donations for West Bank settlements. State Department officials would comment only generally, and on condition of anonymity Settlements in occupied territory are a violation of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Conventions. In short, this is the financing of war crimes. This is a lengthy and unusually frank look at American money funneling into settlements.
Gazans: We were used as 'human shields'
Another Palestinian testified that "IDF soldiers cuffed me and three of my brothers and for three days had us walk ahead of them, and made sure we did so at gunpoint. They used us as human shields by ordering us to go into houses ahead of them.
"After we'd go out, they would send in the (bomb-sniffing) dogs and only then would they go inside."
2,700 houses to be built as soon as West Bank settlement freeze ends
And again.
Israel eases Gaza closure, but restrictions remain
because Israel will continue to ban most travel and exports and restrict the import of desperately needed construction materials, the new rules are unlikely to restore the territory's devastated economy or allow rebuilding of all that was destroyed in last year's war.
Israeli army: Gaza war troops to be disciplined
Around 1,400 Gazans, many of them civilians, were killed in three weeks of fierce urban fighting and aerial bombardments. Thirteen Israelis were killed. A report commissioned by the U.N. Human Rights Council accused Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, a charge Israel rejects.
The Associated Press has truly become an arm of the Israeli Foreign Ministry. This is merely a(nother) dog and pony show put on by Israel.
US to press Binyamin Netanyahu to extend freeze on settlements
Despite the moratorium, building in settlements has continued in the past seven months thanks to loopholes and violations. Preparations are under way for a construction boom this autumn.
Despite Rift, Israel Gets More U.S. Aid Than Iraq
More than any other nation, including war-torn Iraq, Israel gets the most U.S. aid, according to the Feds.
Judge grants ex-Israeli spy US asylum
'Oh ok, as long as he was good for Israel, he can stay.'
Blair to receive US peace medal
"Freedom, liberty and justice are the values which I try to apply to my work on governance in Africa and on preparing the Palestinians for statehood.
Report: Abbas agrees to Israeli control over Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem
Clinton: U.S. to contribute $150 million to Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation
The State Department on Saturday said Clinton's announcement of the anticipated contribution helps commemorate the 1.1 million victims who perished at the Nazi death camp, and demonstrates the U.S. administration's commitment to Holocaust remembrance and education. We're looking at unemployment here that rivals that of the Great Depression, is this really necessary? Did American perpetrate the Holocaust?
Ben-Eliezer meets with Turkish FM in effort to resolve bilateral crisis
Why are so many Israelis arrested over illegal arms deals worldwide?
With Obama meeting scheduled, Israel eases Gaza import limits
Israel on Monday announced a major change in the way it will manage the country's controversial blockade of the Gaza Strip , a move Israeli officials hope will ease tensions with the Obama administration on the eve of a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .
So the easing of the blockade will be reversed once the dog and pony show is over?
No Israel visit for Dustin Hoffman
Jewish actor Dustin Hoffman halted arrangements to attend the Jerusalem Film Festival in the wake of the Gaza flotilla clash, one of the organisers has claimed.
Report: Turkey may expand Israeli flights ban
Polish court orders Mossad spy suspect extradited
A Polish court on Wednesday ordered the extradition to Germany of an Israeli man suspected of being a Mossad agent involved in the slaying of a Hamas operative.
IDF objector sprays 'Free Gaza' graffiti on Warsaw Ghetto wall
One of the activists was conscientious objector Yonatan Shapira, an Israel Air Force pilot who authored the Pilot’s Letter – a 2003 statement signed by 27 Israeli pilots who publicly refused to fly missions over the Palestinian territories. Shapira was subsequently ousted from reserve duty and also lost his job as a commercial pilot
Israel's Foes Embrace New Resistance Tactics
Lieberman no-show at US Embassy's 4th of July party
Lieberman's absence from the event marking the 234th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence may stem from his strained relations with the Obama Administration.
JA adopts plan aimed at securing Jewish future
“The main danger facing the Jewish world today is a weakening of the connection of young Jews to their People and to the State of Israel,” said Sharansky, who led the new strategic planning process along with Board of Governors Chairman Richard Pearlstone. “Our new plan deals directly with this issue.” How ironic.
Israeli judge Learn from Nazis
Israel has learned from the Nazis alright.
EU foreign ministers accept Israeli invitation to visit Gaza
Israel's recent offer to let foreign dignitaries into the Palestinian territory followed an earlier pledge to relax its economic embargo on Gaza.
Both moves came in the wake of international outrage sparked by Israel's late-May attack on a flotilla bringing in aid to the enclave, which resulted in nine dead.
The General, the Journalist, and the Power of Israel
It indicates that Gen. David Petraeus, who just replaced Gen. McChrystal as commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, has frankly assessed that the intimate U.S. relationship with Israel is costing U.S. lives in the Middle East. But he’s concerned that his views may cost him politically and so uses buddies in the media to conceal them.
Seven European Ships Will Join 2nd Gaza Aid Flotilla
The European Campaign to Lift Gaza Siege announced recently that seven European vessels will join the second Gaza aid Freedom Flotilla to break the Israeli blockade, Algerian Press Service (APS) reported.
What to read this Fourth of July weekend by Stephen M. Walt
This year, I recommend you spend a few minutes reading George Washington's Farewell Address, originally published in September 1796. Read the whole thing. Our first president has many wise things to tell us today, but none is more telling than his trenchant advice on the conduct of foreign policy Beware of the evils of the passionate attachment (in present times, this would be the attachment to Israel).
Petraeus emails show general scheming with journalist to get out pro-Israel storyline
Very interesting.
US questions its unwavering support for Israel
"This is starting to get dangerous for us. What you're doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace," Biden told Netanyahu. Americans need to get Congress back from chokehold of the Israeli lobby.
'Israel trying to block U.S.-Saudi Arabia defense contract'
Israel, however, hopes that if the deal goes forward, Saudi Arabia will receive fewer advanced versions of the F-15 than those possessed by Israel, which seeks to maintain its air force's superiority. "Today these planes are against Iran, tomorrow they might turn against us," the source said.
Palestinian who planned Munich attack dies in Syria
A former leader of the Black September Palestinian guerrilla group, Abu Daoud said he planned the Munich hostage–taking in which 11 Israelis died. But Abu Daoud, who did not take part in the attack, said he was not directly responsible for the deaths. "I didn't kill anybody and I didn't order anybody's killing," Abu Daoud told Reuters 1999 after publishing memoirs in which he boasted of planning the abduction.
Executive Privilege by Philip Giraldi
the right of Americans to associate freely, guaranteed by the first amendment, can be limited by Congress and the White House if they disapprove of or criminalize the group you are associating with. The Supreme Court is curiously siding with the executive and legislature and denying that it has any right to uphold the constitution, which becomes, by that standard, truly just a piece of paper. The government can call anything a security threat and can proceed without restraint. Libertarians were dismayed by the ruling, but the Israel Lobby’s Anti Defamation League called the ruling "right on target.".....Lieberman, of course, has a particular passion for Israel and it is reasonable to assume that his ultimate intention might be to use the cyberwarfare justification combined with anti-terror legislation to shut down internet sites that provide news and commentary critical of the Benjamin Netanyahu government. Note Giraldi's comments on the bill to 'shut down the internet' in the face of 'danger' proposed by one of Israel's top agents, Lieberman.
Israel: Hezbollah storing weapons inside villages
The rare publication of what seemed to be detailed intelligence material appeared aimed at demonstrating Israel's reach and preparing public opinion for possible strikes inside villages and the attendant civilian casualties if a future round of fighting erupts.
Me, General Petraeus & The Lobby
Why the panic? Why the rush to consult neocon Max Boot? Why the nervousness?
General Petraeus’s leaked emails about Israel
In a gaffe that hasn't yet attracted the same amount of press as Stanley McChrystal's bizarre interview with Rolling Stone, Petraeus accidentally leaked an email exchange of his -- with the belligerent, neoconservative, pro-Israeli columnist Max Boot -- to an activist named James Morris, who then passed it on to the blogger Philip Weiss:
Neocons, Likud Conquer DC, Again
The clout of Washington’s neoconservatives and the political fear induced by Israel’s Likud hardliners were on display again with recently released e-mails in which Gen. David Petraeus grovels before a key neocon and in White House meetings at which President Obama pandered to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Bibi's Trifecta: Reach Out to Turkey, Boost Fuad, Diss Lieberman
some influential American Jewish organizations are following Yvet’s lead on Turkey. They’re giving its envoys a cold shoulder and flooding the internets with bad stuff about Turkey, including sophomoric nastiness as well as criticism of behavior that they used to be the first to defend. This could be a case of American Jewish freelancing, using a sledge hammer while Israel approaches it with a scalpel. Or it could be that Bibi is using them as his own sledge hammer, getting them all worked up against those mean Turks as a little show of force while he quietly negotiates.
Israel and the Infinite Limits of US Patience : No Woodshed for Netanyahu
It may be in the interests of the US to restrain Israel but this is almost certainty not going to happen. The reason why is shown by the strange story of the attempt by General David Petraeus, now commander in Afghanistan, previously head of Central Command and America's most prestigious general, to put on the record the fact that US support for Israeli actions in the Middle East was endangering the safety of US troops. He reiterated this in written testimony before Congress in March.
But no sooner had General Petraeus done so than he was swiftly rowing back. The explanation for General Petraeus's swift turnaround suggests that he wants to keep open the option of running for the presidency as Republican candidate in 2012 and does not intend to alienate Jewish voters or militant neocons
Analysis: A critical US-Israel issue is left open
the hard–liners in Netanyahu's coalition government will probably not be won over. They have no interest in answering Palestinian demands for a freeze on settlement building in return for direct peace talks.
And that's still the critical issue between the U.S. and Israel, one neither Netanyahu nor Obama addressed after their fifth meeting since Obama took office 17 months ago.
Military official: Iran did not send radar to Syria
Israel’s Stealth Foreign Minister
While Lieberman on June 29 again completely rejected the goal of a negotiated agreement on a Palestinian state by 2012, as urged by the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, Barak has begun speaking out in recent months about the clock ticking against Israel.
American Opinion On Israel - And The Congress's
Interesting.
Islamo-fascism, Judaeo-fascism, Bapto-fascism, and Why We Need More Bars
The wheels are squeaking on the tumbrel methinks. At a recent conclave held by AIPAC, unease arose, reasonably enough, over eroding American support for Israel. What apparently did not arise was any indication of understanding of why support is eroding.
Analysis: President now working with the PM, not against him
the difference in Obama's tone on Tuesday, compared to the last time they met the press in the Oval Office in May 2009, was striking.....Rather than bash Netanyahu for various plans in the works to build in Jerusalem, as he directed his secretary of state to do in March following Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Israel, this time Obama praised the Israeli government for "working through layers of various governmental entities and jurisdiction" and showing "restraint over the last several months." Translation: the Israeli lobby put the screws to Obama and it worked.
Epstein hopes Gazans will be ‘free to pursue their lives in dignity’
In 2003 I went to the Israeli-occupied West Bank for the first time and have been back there five times since, most recently with the Gaza flotilla. I have tried unsuccessfully four times to enter Gaza, but permission has repeatedly been denied. They say that I am a “security risk”! An 86-year-old woman! Hedy Epstein is a very brave individual.
Hebron - Freedom Flotilla release
Tear gas and rubber
bullets are a common response from the Israeli army; the CPT teams in
Palestine witness their brutality on a weekly basis. The only difference
now is that Israel is turning it's "security measures" against the
international community.
Senators Raise Prospect of US Attack on Iran
Sen. Graham was even more blunt in his support for launching the war on Israel’s behalf, saying that “the Congress has Israel’s back.” Passionate attachment, right there.
In Israel, Subsidies Not to Learn
I would note that such “schools” are in the same tradition as the Muslim madrassas so often criticized in the Western media. But about Israel most of our media is silent.
Does Israel Make Us Safer?
The history of Israel and its relationship with the U.S. is infinitely complex, but there’s one damning fact that’s ignored as often as The Question: There was not a single act of Arab terrorism against Americans before 1968, when the U.S. became the chief supplier of military equipment and economic aid to Israel.
Histories Again Collide On the Hills of Jerusalem
Siyam also criticizes Elad’s role in bringing Jewish residents to Wadi Hilwah, claiming that Elad has a “transfer agenda” in that it wishes to see Palestinians leave Wadi Hilwah. “Elad is using all methods in order to make a Jewish majority in Wadi Hilwah,” he claimed, questioning the morality of some of the methods used to acquire properties, including the Absentee Property Law, according to which Israel can seize the property of Arabs who fled to enemy countries after the 1948 and 1967 wars.
Labor Minister, Ex-Gen. 'Fuad' Ben-Eliezer: Time's Up. World Is Tired of Us. Bibi Must Decide
The next morning, when I went down to breakfast, there was a very senior representative of one of the Western delegations standing a few meters from me, between the tomatoes and the cucumber. “A gang of animals,” he said about us. The world has changed disks and we haven’t caught on yet.
Fury as Methodists vote to boycott Israel
The Board of Deputies and the Jewish Leadership Council said the Methodists’ annual conference should “hang its head in shame” for passing a policy which calls for a boycott of goods from “illegal” Israeli West Bank settlements and blames Israeli occupation as the “key hindrance” to Middle East peace. Oh dear.
Iran moves radar to Syria: US official
Iran has moved radar to Syria that could provide early–warning against a possible surprise Israeli air attack against Tehran's nuclear sites, a US defense official said on Friday.
Sean Hannity Displays His True Colors - Blue and White (Israeli Flag) When Caller Mentions USS Liberty
Sean Hannity evidently went full throttle into 'defend Israel' mode and proceeded to repeat the Israeli propaganda regarding that incident, rather than stick up for the AMERICAN (sailors) that were viciously attacked.
Peoplehood Vs Israel
If that is true, then the “for us or against us” crowd is harming Israel’s interests in the long run, too. Because while the Jewish community may be tighter, more unified and more supportive of Israel as a result of excluding those whose views are too treyf, one thing is for sure: It will definitely be smaller.
Guns belonging to Israel PM's security detail 'missing'
Four guns went missing and were believed to have been stolen from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security detail after American Airlines lost luggage containing the weapons, NBC reported.
Bikini Models Protest Vodka Ad Ban in Brooklyn Hasidic Jewish Communities
Dozens of bikini-clad women and upset New York residents congregated outside New York City's public transit headquarters on Tuesday to protest the transport authority’s recent decision to ban a popular Georgi Vodka ad campaign, which features models donning sexy swimsuits, from appearing on buses that travel through certain neighborhoods in Brooklyn that are primarily populated by Hasidic Jewish communities I thought only the Islamists were the ones offended by women's unclothed bodies?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Headlines for June 24 - June 30
A Stand For Justice
Children in West Bank facing worse conditions than in Gaza
Israel's restrictions on Palestinian access to and development of agricultural land – in an area where almost all families are herders - mean that thousands of children are going hungry and are vulnerable to killer illnesses like diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Sinking Ship - The attack on the Gaza relief flotilla jeopardizes Israel itself. By John J. Mearsheimer
It is easy to see why. Because the United States gives Israel so much support and U.S. politicians routinely laud the “special relationship” in the most lavish terms, people around the globe naturally associate the United States with Israel’s actions. Unfortunately, this makes huge numbers of people in the Arab and Islamic world furious with the United States for supporting Israel’s cruel treatment of the Palestinians. That anger in turn helps fuel terrorism against America. Remember that the 9/11 Commission Report, which describes Khalid Sheik Muhammad as the “principal architect of the 9/11 attacks,” concludes that his “animus toward the United States stemmed not from his experiences there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.” Osama bin Laden’s hostility toward the United States was fuelled in part by this same concern.
An absolutely superb piece by Mearsheimer. If you're American (like me), please read it.
Gaza aid victims shot more than once - report
Forensic reports have found that all but two of the nine Turks killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship last month were shot more than once.
Israel police arrest Hamas man set for expulsion
Policemen arrested Mohammed Abu Teir in east Jerusalem for ignoring a court order to vacate his home, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Abu Teir was taken to a police compound in downtown Jerusalem and will appear in court Thursday, he said, and any further decision on if and when the Palestinian lawmaker will be expelled will be made by the court.
Palestinian family fears Gaza expulsion
The Helou family is so worried about getting expelled to Gaza by Israeli authorities that they’re all but trapped in Jenin.
They couldn’t even leave to get their disabled son the best possible surgery to let him walk.
Some 20,000 Palestinians in the West Bank live under the same fear, because they hold residency papers from the Gaza Strip and Israeli authorities refuse to allow their papers to be updated – though they have lived in the West Bank for years.
US Approves New Iran Sanctions
The pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs committee (AIPAC) praised the sanctions, saying they “provide the best hope that political and economic measures can peaceably persuade Iran to end its illicit nuclear program before it is too late.”
AIPAC is pulling the strings.
Palestinians seek new partner: American Jews
"I think it's a mistake to ignore these institutions and communities by saying that they are against us, and that we should not talk to them," Abbas told The Associated Press. "No, we should sit with them, and we should try to convince them by talking to them."
And there's nobody better for the job than Mahmoud Abbas. It's too bad that those extremists in the pro-Israeli camp will never accept a word he says.
Rival Hamas, UN summer camps compete over children
The U.N. says it hopes to help shield Gaza's children against the lure of militancy, a task that's getting harder in the impoverished territory. Educators say today's children are more vulnerable than the previous generation, having witnessed war with Israel last year, internal Palestinian fighting and the violent Hamas takeover in 2007, followed by an Israeli–Egyptian blockade that has virtually cut Gaza off from the outside world
Razing of Palestinian homes in E. Jerusalem approved despite 250 shortfalls in plan
Fearing expulsion, Palestinians stay home
Racing Palestinian girls speed into record books
It's another step for Palestinian women who have been claiming more positions of influence in a still very much male–dominated society. This year, the first female Palestinian governor was appointed to oversee the West Bank district of Ramallah. The mayor of the district's main city is a woman, as are four ministers in the Palestinian Cabinet.
G-8 'fully believes' Israel will attack Iran, says Italy PM
Abbas: Israel must not expel Hamas politicians from Jerusalem
Abbas warned that expelling the politicians to the West Bank would set a dangerous precedent and would create new obstacles for peace.
U.S. frustrated with Netanyahu over stalled proximity talks
Indictment: Settlers attacked Arabs in Tel Aviv
Two youths from West Bank settlements charged with attacking Arab brothers with knifes; spitting, cursing their Russian friend for 'hanging out with Arabs'
Planning committee to release blueprint outlining takeover of East Jerusalem
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee at the Interior Ministry will publish in the coming weeks a new blueprint program for development in Jerusalem that will include plans to expand Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Most of the land earmarked for this expansion is privately owned by Arabs. If the plan is approved, after objections to it are heard, it will grant official approval to an urban plan for the Israeli takeover of East Jerusalem. Wow.
Methodist Church to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements
The Methodist Church has today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, and to encourage Methodists across Britain to do the same.
Israel Foreign Minister: 'No Chance' For Palestinian State By 2012
The comments by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman drew swift Palestinian condemnations and could put Israel at odds with the international community, which has set a 2012 target for brokering a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
UN urges Israel to rethink East Jerusalem construction plans
The United Nations late Wednesday called Israel's plan to demolish Arab homes in East Jerusalem for the purpose of settlement construction "unhelpful" and "contrary to international law."
HEBRON/AL-KHALIL: Settlers destroy Palestinian crops and slash water piles in the
The family lives between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and a set of
prefabricated housing, installed about five years ago, called Havat Gal.
The father of one of the children in the family said that he is often afraid
to go to work because settlers in the area have threatened to kidnap his
children.
Israel: We will not apologize to Turkey over Gaza flotilla deaths
Foreign Ministry officials said Saturday that Israel would not apologize to Turkey for the deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists who were killed during the Israel Navy's raid on the Turkish-flagged 'Freedom Flotilla' ship earlier this week.
Israel's Likud backs West Bank settlement growth
Israel's right–wing Likud party backed on Thursday the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, with an eye to a building spurt when a building moratorium expires in September.
Double crossers.
Iran cancels aid ship to Gaza: report
"In order to deprive the Zionist regime of any excuse, the aid collected for the oppressed people of Gaza will be delivered to them by other means without mentioning the name of Iran."
US Military Chief: Doesn’t Trust Iran but Israel, US “in Synch”
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of U.S. Joint Chief of Staffs, returned home from Israel and said that although he has “no reason to trust” Iran, Israel knows that attacking the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites would be "incredibly destabilizing.”.....Mullen’s visit to Israel Sunday was the 15th time he has met with IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi since taking office in 2007. He said that he considers Chief of Staff Ashkenazi a “personal friend” and that he always tries to share Israel’s view of threats against the country.
Is Benjamin Netanyahu Rational? by Philip Giraldi
Israel appears to have little concern about doing whatever is necessary to drag the United States down with it if that is what is required. It is we Americans who should be fearful. Each American should be very concerned about what Bibi is actually thinking, particularly as our Congress and media have already been bought and occupied and we have a president who is so unsure of the support of his own party that he is afraid to face down an Israeli prime minister. I encourage my fellow Americans to heed (former CIA) Philip Giraldi's words.
War crimes suit filed against Barak, Livni in Belgium
After similar circumstances last week prompted the last-minute cancellation of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to Paris, another court case was filed against the Barak and a series of other senior Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead.
IDF draws up new Gaza war doctrine
Ahead of a potential new conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF has drawn up plans to evacuate entire Palestinian villages and refugee camps from areas of conflict in the event of an Israeli incursion, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Is this the same type of 'evacuation' (expulsion) that the Israelis employed in the 40s?
Gaza: Allow Access to Gilad Shalit
Hamas authorities in Gaza should immediately end the cruel and inhuman treatment of Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit of Israel and allow him to communicate with his family and receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Human Rights Watch said today.
British trade union calls for boycott
One of Britain’s largest trade unions passed a motion at its annual conference in Bournemouth last week accusing Israel of lying over the Gaza flotilla incident and has called for a complete boycott of Israel and for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, it was confirmed on Thursday.
Peres to Austrian chancellor: Terror groups overtook Gaza flotillas
President Shimon Peres on Thursday told visiting Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann that the aid flotillas to the Gaza Strip have been taken over by terrorist groups "seeking provocation and conflict." Note to Peres: I don't think anyone (besides the US) is buying it.
Report: Lieberman changes policy, invites European diplomats to Gaza
Earlier Thursday, the Council of Europe parliamentarians called on Israel to completely end its siege of the Gaza Strip, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an ease of the land blockade, which it imposed in 2007.
Something tells me that a whitewash is in the making, in order to ease the international pressure with respect to Gaza.
Jon Voight to Obama: You are Harming Israel and Promoting anti-Semitism
Maybe Jon Voight could better serve ISRAEL'S interests by MOVING THERE. This here is AMERICA.
YouTube - Israelis Enjoy Massacre (Shocking)
Palestinian boycott of Israeli settlement goods starts to bite
Israeli factories based in settlements on the West Bank have been forced to cut back production as a growing Palestinian boycott movement begins to take effect.
Palestinian Children Beaten by Israeli Soldier
Barak: Clear mines from Israel-US ties
The defense minister told reporters that "the Americans expect to see an Israel which takes its security seriously, but also takes risks to stop the lack of progress and isolation. A real advancement of a political move will give Israel the freedom of action to carry out the military actions required for its security.
US says Gaza flotillas 'irresponsible'
Turkey closes airspace to some Israeli flights
Turkey has closed its airspace to some Israeli military flights following a deadly raid on a Gaza–bound aid ship, the Turkish prime minister and officials said Monday. An official said civilian commercial flights were not affected.
Hamas says asked by US to keep silent on talks
The Hamas figure told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the Americans fear discussing the talks publicly would "rouse the Jewish lobby and other pressure groups in the US and cause them to pressure the administration to suspend all talks with Hamas."
New Australian PM supportive of Israel
Julia Gillard was elected unopposed in a Labor Party caucus meeting Thursday after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agreed to a leadership ballot triggered by a slump in the polls.......Rudd, a staunch supporter of Israel, recently had come under fire from Jewish leaders for expelling an official from the Israeli Embassy in Canberra over the Dubai passports affair. Gillard stayed largely silent on the controversial affair. Australia has its own version of AIPAC, the powerful Israeli lobby.
US: Turkey must show commitment
Turkey's crime? It dared stand up to Israel.
Sidelining Conflict
Welcome to “The Team,” a 30-part television drama that began broadcasting on the Palestinian Ma’an Network on June 11, the first day of the World Cup.
American Jews Who Reject Zionism Say Events Aid Cause
Until Theodore Herzl created the modern Zionist movement early in the 20th century, the biblical injunction to return to Israel was widely understood as a theological construct rather than a pragmatic instruction.
Most Orthodox Jewish leaders before the Holocaust rejected Zionism, saying the exile was a divine punishment and Israel could be restored only in the messianic age. The Reform movement maintained that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality.
Exclusive: Leaked documents show PA undermined Turkey's push for UN flotilla probe
The Palestinian Authority attempted to neutralize a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, leaked UN and Palestinian Authority documents obtained by The Electronic Intifada show. Israel's 31 May attack killed nine Turkish citizens, including a dual US-Turkish citizen, and injured dozens of others aboard the Mavi Marmara in international waters.
Sen. Kerry in Israel: Praise for Israel, Worried over Iran
. Kerry previously has visited Syria and Gaza in an effort to win backing for a regional peace summit, even though the United States considers Syria a country that supports terrorism.
New York Times reporter calls Zionist terrorism ‘romantic’
"What’s amazing here is not only does Solomon neglect to challenge Livni’s characterization of her parents’ membership in a terrorist group as 'freedom fight[ing],' Solomon herself volunteers further assistance in the whitewash," he opines.
Duss points out that, at the time of Irgun's attacks, the Times itself referred to the group's activities as "terrorism."
Jewish Groups Turn a Cold Shoulder To Turkey, as Turks Refuse To Budge
Jewish groups, who until recent months defended the Israeli-Turkish alliance, are now taking on the task of portraying the Erdogan government as supporting terrorist and extremist regimes. As the Jewish groups turn, so too does the US Congress.
Obama meets Saudi King Abdullah at White House
Report: US warships stationed off Iranian coast
The chart, published by Stratfor and obtained by the Zero Hedge financial blog, shows that over the last few weeks a naval carrier -- the USS Harry S Truman -- has been positioned in the north Indian Ocean, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into the Persian Gulf. The carrier joins the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was already located in the area. The chart is dated June 23, 2010.
'The U.S. will have to confront Iran or give up the Middle East'
Amitai Etzioni, professor of International Relations at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., believes the only option available to contain Iran's atomic ambitions is a series of assaults on its non-nuclear facilities. Amitai Etzioni naturally has ties to Israel (he served in the Haganah, the Jewish terror organization).
Punishing Turkey by Philip Giraldi
The Gaza flotilla has been handled by the mainstream media in precisely that fashion – blaming the victim with a unanimity that overwhelms both justice and fairness. No humanity, no mention of the deliberate attempt to starve Gaza most recently endorsed by alleged United States Senator from New York Charles Schumer who said "strangle them economically." Or, if one prefers the wisdom of Representative Eliot Engel, also from New York, the flotilla was "filled with hate-filled provocateurs bent on violence." Punishing Turkey - all because of Israel.
Hezbollah not interested in dialogue with US
Hezbollah's deputy chief said Monday his group is not interested in a dialogue with Washington until the U.S. changes its Mideast policy, which he said is totally biased in favor of Israel.
Congress faces grim numbers in new Gallup poll
Here's something that might help President Obama feel better about his dismal poll numbers: The public is even more unhappy with Congress. A new Gallup poll finds just 20 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, among the lowest ratings ever recorded for the House and Senate ahead of a midterm election. Maybe they ought to try representing OUR interests for a change.
CIA's Panetta: Iran has enough uranium for 2 bombs
Asked about a potential Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Panetta said he thinks Israel is giving the U.S. room on the diplomatic and political fronts.
Chavez: Israel and US 'empire' are enemies
"Someday the genocidal state of Israel will be put in its place, in the proper place and hopefully a real democratic state will be born," Chavez said Saturday. "But it has become the murderous arm of the Yankee empire – who can doubt it? – which threatens all of us."
Palin: Obama administration selling out Israel
Who chooses to take the side of a foreign nation over their own? It's treason.
Erekat Voices Frustration With Israel’s Unwillingness To Play ‘End Game’
while Netanyahu has endorsed the two-state solution, his expectations that Jerusalem remains united under Israeli control, that the Palestinian entity is demilitarized and without control of its electromagnetic field or airspace, that settlements remain and that Palestinians recognize the Jewish character of Israel, indicate that he is not serious. “And after that,” Erekat said, “after he finishes all these conditions, he addresses me and tells me: ‘Come here, boy, we know what’s best for you. Come without conditions.’ So he gives himself the right to dictate.”
Iran says Egypt barring Gaza aid ship from Suez Canal
The Iranian Red Crescent said on Sunday that in addition to restrictions imposed by Israel, Egypt had barred a Gaza-bound aid ship from entering the Suez Canal, leading to the trip being postponed.
Kagan explains Barak remarks
"I am troubled by the fact that you hold up Barak as a judicial role model," Grassley said. "He's been described as creating a degree of judicial power undreamed of by most U.S. justices."
ISRAEL 'PLOTS TEHRAN RAID'
Preparations are underway to launch the military attack from Azerbaijan and Georgia, reports our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej, quoting military sources.
Chances of Israeli Bombing Increase
Congresswoman Raises Red Flag on Hezbollah-Cartel Nexus on U.S. Border
AIPAC is no doubt behind this effort..
Infrastructure Minister warns Hezbollah: Israel will fight for its gas fields
Lebanon parliament speaker Nabih Berri earlier this month urged his government to start exploring its offshore natural gas reserves, claiming that otherwise Israel would claim the resources.
Will mainline American Protestants give Palestinian Christians a voice?
B'nai B'rith has issued a statement criticizing the recommendations of the Middle East Study Committee of the Presbyterian Church USA. These recommendations include possibly withholding US military aid to Israel in order to encourage it to abide by international law as well as an endorsement of the important Kairos Document, recently put forth jointly by the leaders of the Palestinian Christian community.
Barred from Jerusalem for Crime of Being Palestinian
At the age of 33, he has suddenly become, to use his own word, "stateless". His only "crime" has been to spend several years in the US doing an electrical engineering PhD, completing post-doctoral research funded by a division of the US Army, acquiring high-tech work experience with the sole purpose of bettering his future career prospects in the Holy Land, and being a little homesick.
Ministers reject bill to prevent discrimination in state schools
The bill had been submitted before the Ashkenazi parents in the ultra-Orthodox community of Immanuel were given a two-week jail term for refusing a court order to send their daughters to school with girls of Sephardi, or Middle Eastern, origin. On Sunday, the court ordered the parents released from jail immediately, after a deal was reached to see the girls integrated in classes for the remaining three days of the school year.
On Gaza, an About-Face That Was Overdue
Israel’s policy failed to achieve its stated goals. It didn’t bring down the Hamas government, and it didn’t help free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Instead, the siege seems to have strengthened Hamas and has damaged Israel’s image.
THE REAL SEAN HANNITY
a man called into Hannity’s radio talk show on Friday June 25th, and politely informed him he was disappointed that Hannity showed a bit too much biased obsequiousness, often referring to Israel as “Americas greatest ally” and refusing to admit any inequities. The caller pointed out that it was Israeli fighter jets which bombed the U.S.S Liberty and killed American sailors, and that nearly all, if not all, those aboard the vessel claimed it was an obviously intentional act.
However, Hannity would not even consider the man’s statements as objectively inquisitive and instead began insinuating that the caller was a “conspiracy theorist.” The sober disappointment could be heard in the caller’s voice as he respectfully requested that Hannity just research the incident.
In Brooklyn, Passengers Aboard the Flotilla Ship Give Eyewitness Accounts
Al-Awda spokesman David Letwin denounced the State Department’s decision to deny a visa to ex-Turkish parliamentarian Ahmet Faruk Unsal, who was also scheduled to speak. It was, he said, “an effort to shut down discussion, intimidate people and make it harder for them to be heard.” He noted that Unsal had visited the United States frequently in the past.
Will The NY Times Ever Retract Michael Oren’s Falsehoods?
Nearly a month after publishing Israeli Ambassador the US Michael Oren’s apologia for the flotilla massacre, the NY Times has yet to correct two of the most glaring lies Oren made
Venezuela's Chavez meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad, vows to fight US 'imperialism'
This Is What Jewish Democracy Looks Like
The 1982 congress actually voted to end the WZO’s role in building settlements in the territories, but the WZO’s then-chairman, Likudnik Arye Dulzin, declared the session out of order and adjourned. A revote was held the next morning, after Hadassah had been pressured into switching sides to oppose the resolution, thus sinking it......With the Israeli left reduced to a rump, the numbers must mean that most of the Diaspora delegates were voting against most of the Israelis. Who says Peter Beinart was wrong?
Children in West Bank facing worse conditions than in Gaza
Israel's restrictions on Palestinian access to and development of agricultural land – in an area where almost all families are herders - mean that thousands of children are going hungry and are vulnerable to killer illnesses like diarrhoea and pneumonia.
Sinking Ship - The attack on the Gaza relief flotilla jeopardizes Israel itself. By John J. Mearsheimer
It is easy to see why. Because the United States gives Israel so much support and U.S. politicians routinely laud the “special relationship” in the most lavish terms, people around the globe naturally associate the United States with Israel’s actions. Unfortunately, this makes huge numbers of people in the Arab and Islamic world furious with the United States for supporting Israel’s cruel treatment of the Palestinians. That anger in turn helps fuel terrorism against America. Remember that the 9/11 Commission Report, which describes Khalid Sheik Muhammad as the “principal architect of the 9/11 attacks,” concludes that his “animus toward the United States stemmed not from his experiences there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel.” Osama bin Laden’s hostility toward the United States was fuelled in part by this same concern.
An absolutely superb piece by Mearsheimer. If you're American (like me), please read it.
Gaza aid victims shot more than once - report
Forensic reports have found that all but two of the nine Turks killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship last month were shot more than once.
Israel police arrest Hamas man set for expulsion
Policemen arrested Mohammed Abu Teir in east Jerusalem for ignoring a court order to vacate his home, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. Abu Teir was taken to a police compound in downtown Jerusalem and will appear in court Thursday, he said, and any further decision on if and when the Palestinian lawmaker will be expelled will be made by the court.
Palestinian family fears Gaza expulsion
The Helou family is so worried about getting expelled to Gaza by Israeli authorities that they’re all but trapped in Jenin.
They couldn’t even leave to get their disabled son the best possible surgery to let him walk.
Some 20,000 Palestinians in the West Bank live under the same fear, because they hold residency papers from the Gaza Strip and Israeli authorities refuse to allow their papers to be updated – though they have lived in the West Bank for years.
US Approves New Iran Sanctions
The pro-Israel lobby American Israel Public Affairs committee (AIPAC) praised the sanctions, saying they “provide the best hope that political and economic measures can peaceably persuade Iran to end its illicit nuclear program before it is too late.”
AIPAC is pulling the strings.
Palestinians seek new partner: American Jews
"I think it's a mistake to ignore these institutions and communities by saying that they are against us, and that we should not talk to them," Abbas told The Associated Press. "No, we should sit with them, and we should try to convince them by talking to them."
And there's nobody better for the job than Mahmoud Abbas. It's too bad that those extremists in the pro-Israeli camp will never accept a word he says.
Rival Hamas, UN summer camps compete over children
The U.N. says it hopes to help shield Gaza's children against the lure of militancy, a task that's getting harder in the impoverished territory. Educators say today's children are more vulnerable than the previous generation, having witnessed war with Israel last year, internal Palestinian fighting and the violent Hamas takeover in 2007, followed by an Israeli–Egyptian blockade that has virtually cut Gaza off from the outside world
Razing of Palestinian homes in E. Jerusalem approved despite 250 shortfalls in plan
Fearing expulsion, Palestinians stay home
Racing Palestinian girls speed into record books
It's another step for Palestinian women who have been claiming more positions of influence in a still very much male–dominated society. This year, the first female Palestinian governor was appointed to oversee the West Bank district of Ramallah. The mayor of the district's main city is a woman, as are four ministers in the Palestinian Cabinet.
G-8 'fully believes' Israel will attack Iran, says Italy PM
Abbas: Israel must not expel Hamas politicians from Jerusalem
Abbas warned that expelling the politicians to the West Bank would set a dangerous precedent and would create new obstacles for peace.
U.S. frustrated with Netanyahu over stalled proximity talks
Indictment: Settlers attacked Arabs in Tel Aviv
Two youths from West Bank settlements charged with attacking Arab brothers with knifes; spitting, cursing their Russian friend for 'hanging out with Arabs'
Planning committee to release blueprint outlining takeover of East Jerusalem
The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee at the Interior Ministry will publish in the coming weeks a new blueprint program for development in Jerusalem that will include plans to expand Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem. Most of the land earmarked for this expansion is privately owned by Arabs. If the plan is approved, after objections to it are heard, it will grant official approval to an urban plan for the Israeli takeover of East Jerusalem. Wow.
Methodist Church to boycott goods from illegal Israeli settlements
The Methodist Church has today voted to boycott all products from Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories, and to encourage Methodists across Britain to do the same.
Israel Foreign Minister: 'No Chance' For Palestinian State By 2012
The comments by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman drew swift Palestinian condemnations and could put Israel at odds with the international community, which has set a 2012 target for brokering a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
UN urges Israel to rethink East Jerusalem construction plans
The United Nations late Wednesday called Israel's plan to demolish Arab homes in East Jerusalem for the purpose of settlement construction "unhelpful" and "contrary to international law."
HEBRON/AL-KHALIL: Settlers destroy Palestinian crops and slash water piles in the
The family lives between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and a set of
prefabricated housing, installed about five years ago, called Havat Gal.
The father of one of the children in the family said that he is often afraid
to go to work because settlers in the area have threatened to kidnap his
children.
Israel: We will not apologize to Turkey over Gaza flotilla deaths
Foreign Ministry officials said Saturday that Israel would not apologize to Turkey for the deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists who were killed during the Israel Navy's raid on the Turkish-flagged 'Freedom Flotilla' ship earlier this week.
Israel's Likud backs West Bank settlement growth
Israel's right–wing Likud party backed on Thursday the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, with an eye to a building spurt when a building moratorium expires in September.
Double crossers.
Iran cancels aid ship to Gaza: report
"In order to deprive the Zionist regime of any excuse, the aid collected for the oppressed people of Gaza will be delivered to them by other means without mentioning the name of Iran."
US Military Chief: Doesn’t Trust Iran but Israel, US “in Synch”
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of U.S. Joint Chief of Staffs, returned home from Israel and said that although he has “no reason to trust” Iran, Israel knows that attacking the Islamic Republic's nuclear sites would be "incredibly destabilizing.”.....Mullen’s visit to Israel Sunday was the 15th time he has met with IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi since taking office in 2007. He said that he considers Chief of Staff Ashkenazi a “personal friend” and that he always tries to share Israel’s view of threats against the country.
Is Benjamin Netanyahu Rational? by Philip Giraldi
Israel appears to have little concern about doing whatever is necessary to drag the United States down with it if that is what is required. It is we Americans who should be fearful. Each American should be very concerned about what Bibi is actually thinking, particularly as our Congress and media have already been bought and occupied and we have a president who is so unsure of the support of his own party that he is afraid to face down an Israeli prime minister. I encourage my fellow Americans to heed (former CIA) Philip Giraldi's words.
War crimes suit filed against Barak, Livni in Belgium
After similar circumstances last week prompted the last-minute cancellation of Defense Minister Ehud Barak's trip to Paris, another court case was filed against the Barak and a series of other senior Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead.
IDF draws up new Gaza war doctrine
Ahead of a potential new conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the IDF has drawn up plans to evacuate entire Palestinian villages and refugee camps from areas of conflict in the event of an Israeli incursion, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Is this the same type of 'evacuation' (expulsion) that the Israelis employed in the 40s?
Gaza: Allow Access to Gilad Shalit
Hamas authorities in Gaza should immediately end the cruel and inhuman treatment of Staff Sgt. Gilad Shalit of Israel and allow him to communicate with his family and receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Human Rights Watch said today.
British trade union calls for boycott
One of Britain’s largest trade unions passed a motion at its annual conference in Bournemouth last week accusing Israel of lying over the Gaza flotilla incident and has called for a complete boycott of Israel and for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador, it was confirmed on Thursday.
Peres to Austrian chancellor: Terror groups overtook Gaza flotillas
President Shimon Peres on Thursday told visiting Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann that the aid flotillas to the Gaza Strip have been taken over by terrorist groups "seeking provocation and conflict." Note to Peres: I don't think anyone (besides the US) is buying it.
Report: Lieberman changes policy, invites European diplomats to Gaza
Earlier Thursday, the Council of Europe parliamentarians called on Israel to completely end its siege of the Gaza Strip, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an ease of the land blockade, which it imposed in 2007.
Something tells me that a whitewash is in the making, in order to ease the international pressure with respect to Gaza.
Jon Voight to Obama: You are Harming Israel and Promoting anti-Semitism
Maybe Jon Voight could better serve ISRAEL'S interests by MOVING THERE. This here is AMERICA.
YouTube - Israelis Enjoy Massacre (Shocking)
Palestinian boycott of Israeli settlement goods starts to bite
Israeli factories based in settlements on the West Bank have been forced to cut back production as a growing Palestinian boycott movement begins to take effect.
Palestinian Children Beaten by Israeli Soldier
Barak: Clear mines from Israel-US ties
The defense minister told reporters that "the Americans expect to see an Israel which takes its security seriously, but also takes risks to stop the lack of progress and isolation. A real advancement of a political move will give Israel the freedom of action to carry out the military actions required for its security.
US says Gaza flotillas 'irresponsible'
Turkey closes airspace to some Israeli flights
Turkey has closed its airspace to some Israeli military flights following a deadly raid on a Gaza–bound aid ship, the Turkish prime minister and officials said Monday. An official said civilian commercial flights were not affected.
Hamas says asked by US to keep silent on talks
The Hamas figure told the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper that the Americans fear discussing the talks publicly would "rouse the Jewish lobby and other pressure groups in the US and cause them to pressure the administration to suspend all talks with Hamas."
New Australian PM supportive of Israel
Julia Gillard was elected unopposed in a Labor Party caucus meeting Thursday after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agreed to a leadership ballot triggered by a slump in the polls.......Rudd, a staunch supporter of Israel, recently had come under fire from Jewish leaders for expelling an official from the Israeli Embassy in Canberra over the Dubai passports affair. Gillard stayed largely silent on the controversial affair. Australia has its own version of AIPAC, the powerful Israeli lobby.
US: Turkey must show commitment
Turkey's crime? It dared stand up to Israel.
Sidelining Conflict
Welcome to “The Team,” a 30-part television drama that began broadcasting on the Palestinian Ma’an Network on June 11, the first day of the World Cup.
American Jews Who Reject Zionism Say Events Aid Cause
Until Theodore Herzl created the modern Zionist movement early in the 20th century, the biblical injunction to return to Israel was widely understood as a theological construct rather than a pragmatic instruction.
Most Orthodox Jewish leaders before the Holocaust rejected Zionism, saying the exile was a divine punishment and Israel could be restored only in the messianic age. The Reform movement maintained that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality.
Exclusive: Leaked documents show PA undermined Turkey's push for UN flotilla probe
The Palestinian Authority attempted to neutralize a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel's deadly attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, leaked UN and Palestinian Authority documents obtained by The Electronic Intifada show. Israel's 31 May attack killed nine Turkish citizens, including a dual US-Turkish citizen, and injured dozens of others aboard the Mavi Marmara in international waters.
Sen. Kerry in Israel: Praise for Israel, Worried over Iran
. Kerry previously has visited Syria and Gaza in an effort to win backing for a regional peace summit, even though the United States considers Syria a country that supports terrorism.
New York Times reporter calls Zionist terrorism ‘romantic’
"What’s amazing here is not only does Solomon neglect to challenge Livni’s characterization of her parents’ membership in a terrorist group as 'freedom fight[ing],' Solomon herself volunteers further assistance in the whitewash," he opines.
Duss points out that, at the time of Irgun's attacks, the Times itself referred to the group's activities as "terrorism."
Jewish Groups Turn a Cold Shoulder To Turkey, as Turks Refuse To Budge
Jewish groups, who until recent months defended the Israeli-Turkish alliance, are now taking on the task of portraying the Erdogan government as supporting terrorist and extremist regimes. As the Jewish groups turn, so too does the US Congress.
Obama meets Saudi King Abdullah at White House
Report: US warships stationed off Iranian coast
The chart, published by Stratfor and obtained by the Zero Hedge financial blog, shows that over the last few weeks a naval carrier -- the USS Harry S Truman -- has been positioned in the north Indian Ocean, not far from the Strait of Hormuz, which leads into the Persian Gulf. The carrier joins the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was already located in the area. The chart is dated June 23, 2010.
'The U.S. will have to confront Iran or give up the Middle East'
Amitai Etzioni, professor of International Relations at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., believes the only option available to contain Iran's atomic ambitions is a series of assaults on its non-nuclear facilities. Amitai Etzioni naturally has ties to Israel (he served in the Haganah, the Jewish terror organization).
Punishing Turkey by Philip Giraldi
The Gaza flotilla has been handled by the mainstream media in precisely that fashion – blaming the victim with a unanimity that overwhelms both justice and fairness. No humanity, no mention of the deliberate attempt to starve Gaza most recently endorsed by alleged United States Senator from New York Charles Schumer who said "strangle them economically." Or, if one prefers the wisdom of Representative Eliot Engel, also from New York, the flotilla was "filled with hate-filled provocateurs bent on violence." Punishing Turkey - all because of Israel.
Hezbollah not interested in dialogue with US
Hezbollah's deputy chief said Monday his group is not interested in a dialogue with Washington until the U.S. changes its Mideast policy, which he said is totally biased in favor of Israel.
Congress faces grim numbers in new Gallup poll
Here's something that might help President Obama feel better about his dismal poll numbers: The public is even more unhappy with Congress. A new Gallup poll finds just 20 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, among the lowest ratings ever recorded for the House and Senate ahead of a midterm election. Maybe they ought to try representing OUR interests for a change.
CIA's Panetta: Iran has enough uranium for 2 bombs
Asked about a potential Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Panetta said he thinks Israel is giving the U.S. room on the diplomatic and political fronts.
Chavez: Israel and US 'empire' are enemies
"Someday the genocidal state of Israel will be put in its place, in the proper place and hopefully a real democratic state will be born," Chavez said Saturday. "But it has become the murderous arm of the Yankee empire – who can doubt it? – which threatens all of us."
Palin: Obama administration selling out Israel
Who chooses to take the side of a foreign nation over their own? It's treason.
Erekat Voices Frustration With Israel’s Unwillingness To Play ‘End Game’
while Netanyahu has endorsed the two-state solution, his expectations that Jerusalem remains united under Israeli control, that the Palestinian entity is demilitarized and without control of its electromagnetic field or airspace, that settlements remain and that Palestinians recognize the Jewish character of Israel, indicate that he is not serious. “And after that,” Erekat said, “after he finishes all these conditions, he addresses me and tells me: ‘Come here, boy, we know what’s best for you. Come without conditions.’ So he gives himself the right to dictate.”
Iran says Egypt barring Gaza aid ship from Suez Canal
The Iranian Red Crescent said on Sunday that in addition to restrictions imposed by Israel, Egypt had barred a Gaza-bound aid ship from entering the Suez Canal, leading to the trip being postponed.
Kagan explains Barak remarks
"I am troubled by the fact that you hold up Barak as a judicial role model," Grassley said. "He's been described as creating a degree of judicial power undreamed of by most U.S. justices."
ISRAEL 'PLOTS TEHRAN RAID'
Preparations are underway to launch the military attack from Azerbaijan and Georgia, reports our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej, quoting military sources.
Chances of Israeli Bombing Increase
Congresswoman Raises Red Flag on Hezbollah-Cartel Nexus on U.S. Border
AIPAC is no doubt behind this effort..
Infrastructure Minister warns Hezbollah: Israel will fight for its gas fields
Lebanon parliament speaker Nabih Berri earlier this month urged his government to start exploring its offshore natural gas reserves, claiming that otherwise Israel would claim the resources.
Will mainline American Protestants give Palestinian Christians a voice?
B'nai B'rith has issued a statement criticizing the recommendations of the Middle East Study Committee of the Presbyterian Church USA. These recommendations include possibly withholding US military aid to Israel in order to encourage it to abide by international law as well as an endorsement of the important Kairos Document, recently put forth jointly by the leaders of the Palestinian Christian community.
Barred from Jerusalem for Crime of Being Palestinian
At the age of 33, he has suddenly become, to use his own word, "stateless". His only "crime" has been to spend several years in the US doing an electrical engineering PhD, completing post-doctoral research funded by a division of the US Army, acquiring high-tech work experience with the sole purpose of bettering his future career prospects in the Holy Land, and being a little homesick.
Ministers reject bill to prevent discrimination in state schools
The bill had been submitted before the Ashkenazi parents in the ultra-Orthodox community of Immanuel were given a two-week jail term for refusing a court order to send their daughters to school with girls of Sephardi, or Middle Eastern, origin. On Sunday, the court ordered the parents released from jail immediately, after a deal was reached to see the girls integrated in classes for the remaining three days of the school year.
On Gaza, an About-Face That Was Overdue
Israel’s policy failed to achieve its stated goals. It didn’t bring down the Hamas government, and it didn’t help free captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Instead, the siege seems to have strengthened Hamas and has damaged Israel’s image.
THE REAL SEAN HANNITY
a man called into Hannity’s radio talk show on Friday June 25th, and politely informed him he was disappointed that Hannity showed a bit too much biased obsequiousness, often referring to Israel as “Americas greatest ally” and refusing to admit any inequities. The caller pointed out that it was Israeli fighter jets which bombed the U.S.S Liberty and killed American sailors, and that nearly all, if not all, those aboard the vessel claimed it was an obviously intentional act.
However, Hannity would not even consider the man’s statements as objectively inquisitive and instead began insinuating that the caller was a “conspiracy theorist.” The sober disappointment could be heard in the caller’s voice as he respectfully requested that Hannity just research the incident.
In Brooklyn, Passengers Aboard the Flotilla Ship Give Eyewitness Accounts
Al-Awda spokesman David Letwin denounced the State Department’s decision to deny a visa to ex-Turkish parliamentarian Ahmet Faruk Unsal, who was also scheduled to speak. It was, he said, “an effort to shut down discussion, intimidate people and make it harder for them to be heard.” He noted that Unsal had visited the United States frequently in the past.
Will The NY Times Ever Retract Michael Oren’s Falsehoods?
Nearly a month after publishing Israeli Ambassador the US Michael Oren’s apologia for the flotilla massacre, the NY Times has yet to correct two of the most glaring lies Oren made
Venezuela's Chavez meets with Syrian President Bashar Assad, vows to fight US 'imperialism'
This Is What Jewish Democracy Looks Like
The 1982 congress actually voted to end the WZO’s role in building settlements in the territories, but the WZO’s then-chairman, Likudnik Arye Dulzin, declared the session out of order and adjourned. A revote was held the next morning, after Hadassah had been pressured into switching sides to oppose the resolution, thus sinking it......With the Israeli left reduced to a rump, the numbers must mean that most of the Diaspora delegates were voting against most of the Israelis. Who says Peter Beinart was wrong?
Monday, July 5, 2010
Rep. Pete King to Dems: 'put our relationship with Israel above their relationship with Obama'
Long Island Rep. Pete King says House Dems forced to choose between Israel and Obama - NYPOST.com Rep. Pete King says President Obama's weak Mideast policy is forcing House Democrats to make the difficult choice of either supporting Obama or supporting Israel. "I hope they put our relationship with Israel above their relationship with Obama," King (R-LI) said yesterday.
Do Americans fully understand the treason within that statement?
Do Americans fully understand the treason within that statement?
Friday, July 2, 2010
Headlines for June 17 - June 23
A Stand For Justice
Long Island Rep. Pete King says House Dems forced to choose between Israel and Obama - NYPOST.com
Rep. Pete King says President Obama's weak Mideast policy is forcing House Democrats to make the difficult choice of either supporting Obama or supporting Israel.
"I hope they put our relationship with Israel above their relationship with Obama," King (R-LI) said yesterday. Do Americans fully understand the treason within that statement?
Mayor defends plan to raze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
The office of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Tuesday defended plans to demolish Palestinian houses in the city's eastern sector to make way for a tourist center, after Defense Minister Ehud Barak lashed out at authorities over the project.
Report: German government to demand sea aid to Gaza
Poll: Most Palestinians want peace with Israel
The majority of Palestinians support a peace agreement with Israel and believe that the Palestinian Authority should use non-violent means to achieve their political goals, a new Fafo poll revealed.
Top Ten Myths about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
A superb and concise look at the top myths employed Israel's defenders. Well worth the read.
Turkey set to freeze ties with Israel: report
It also reported that military deals, including plane and tank modernisation and missile projects, worth $7.5 billion, were to be frozen. Military cooperation, including joint exercises and pilot training, would also be halted, as would intelligence sharing, the Star said.
Push To Sanction Backers of Gaza Flotilla Gains Steam in U.S.
Jewish groups, working with congressional leaders, are pressing to designate one of the main organizers of the humanitarian flotilla that sought to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza as a terrorist group.....meanwhile, New York-area Congress members and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New York are also urging the administration to deny visas to passengers on the Mavi Marmara who have been invited to speak in the United States about what they experienced........For Jewish groups, going after the IHH is one of three main goals set forth in the aftermath of the incident, alongside gaining U.S. support for Israel’s attempts to avoid an international investigation and fighting Israel’s public relations war in American media. Afraid the truth will get out?
Human Rights Groups say Israel's 'Easing of Blockade' Does Not Go Far Enough
The UN has been trying to import construction materials for the past 18 months to repair schools damaged in the Gaza war of 2008-9 and to construct new buildings to accommodate Gaza's exploding population. Israel has refused on the grounds that the materials could fall into the hands of Hamas and be used to make weapons or build underground bunkers.
U.N. agency calls for full lifting of Gaza blockade
Israeli authorities must stop demolitions of Palestinian homes
Amnesty International has called on the Israeli authorities to end house demolitions which leave thousands of Palestinians living in daily fear of eviction from their homes....."The Israeli authorities are putting Palestinians in an impossible situation. Whatever choice they make, they face homelessness.
Israel bars German minister from Gaza
Niebel, who arrived in Israel earlier Saturday, had hoped to visit a sewage treatment plant being financed with German development aid....Niebel said that Israel's latest announcement on easing the Gaza blockade was "not sufficient" and that Israel must "now deliver" on its pledge.
Jerusalem revives plan to raze Palestinian homes
Back in March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to hold up the plan so authorities could consult with Palestinians who would lose their homes – a delay that appeared to be aimed at fending off criticism from the U.S. And now that Obama has been reduced back down to the kowtow bow (to Israel), the Israelis resume their Nazi-like ways.
No need for aid flotillas, says Blair
“If we implement this policy so that the things that people are trying to bring in by flotilla you can bring in through the legitimate existing crossings, do it that way,” Blair urged in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. “That is the more sensible way to do that,” he said, amid reports that one or two ships may seek to sail from Lebanon to challenge the naval blockade in the next few days.
Iran says UN sanctions show double standard
The Supreme National Security Council said that U.S. and other nuclear–armed powers have punished Iran with the sanctions even though it doesn't have nuclear weapons, while at the same time they support Israel, which is widely believed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal.
Netanyahu Vows to ‘Tighten’ Gaza Blockade
Hours after the Israeli government announced that it was intending to issue a new “banned goods” list for the Gaza Strip, focused on placating international demands to allow more food and humanitarian goods into the tiny enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a pledge that the move would actually “tighten” the blockade. That didn't last long.
Reports: IAF Landed at Saudi Base, US Troops near Iran Border
The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday, while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran.
Israel loosens chokehold on Gaza
Israel has said before that it would be willing to allow in cement under international supervision. But it took the direct intervention of U.N. chief Ban Ki–moon to get in cement last month for a single U.N. housing project, following years of delay.
Watch what Israel does not what it says.
Israeli Blockade 'Eased' Only in English, but U.S. Media Eat It Up
corporate news coverage in the United States omitted an important aspect of the story that undermines the narrative that Israel is "easing" its blockade of Gaza. The Israeli daily Ha'aretz (6/17/10) reports:
The prime minister's office announced on Thursday that the security cabinet had agreed to relax Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, but as it turns out, no binding decision was ever made during the cabinet meeting.
Israel drafting new list of goods banned from Gaza
Chris Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees, agreed. "We need deeds on the ground, not words," he told The Associated Press. "We have to see the blockade lifted, because the blockade is illegal."
Israel cannot put Gaza responsibility on Egypt: Mubarak
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday rejected what he said were Israeli attempts to escape responsibility towards the blockaded Gaza Strip and place it on Egypt.
Report: Lebanon forbids launch of Gaza-bound flotilla
Earlier Sunday, Haaretz reported that Israel had initiated diplomatic efforts designed to prevent the departure of at least one vessel, carrying 50 to 70 Lebanese women and food aid. Israel has been in touch with the UN, United States, France, Spain and Germany. It has also been speaking with the Vatican because the ship is expected to include several dozen Catholic nuns.
Israel to UN: We reserve the right to stop Lebanon Gaza-bound flotilla
Earlier Friday the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah said that it would not take part in Gaza-bound aid missions so as not to give a pretext for Israel to attack Lebanon.
Israel adds Turkish organizers of Gaza flotilla to terror watch list
Canada: Israel's new defender
At a time when many countries are becoming more critical of Israel's policies, Canada seems to be moving in the opposite direction. A general reluctance to engage in open debate about the Palestinian issue is exacerbated by pro-Israel groups' efforts to shut down discussion and the federal government's unprecedented penchant for defending Israeli actions. Canada has fallen victim to its own Israeli lobby. Shame.
Barak: Israel needs 'daring initiative' to thwart international isolation
Why not try acting in a legal and ethical way instead of trying to cover up for more and more crimes?
Lawmakers warn Turkey of payback over Iran, Israel policies
"There will be a cost if Turkey stays on its present heading of growing closer to Iran and more antagonistic to the state of Israel," Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, told a news conference. "It will bear upon my view and I believe the view of many members of Congress on the state of the relationship with Turkey." What other nation's lawmakers are doing this besides ours? Why is that, you figure?
Former Spanish PM: If Israel goes down, we all go down
Aznar went on to state that Israel's right to exist should not be questioned as it was established by a United Nations decision, and added that as a nation with "deeply rooted democratic institutions," Israel is the only Western country that exists under constant threat of attack, whether it be from its neighboring countries or Iran. Aznar is a very deluded man. I wonder what the Israelis have on him..
Unofficial Bob Dylan website bans Israelis in wake of Gaza flotilla
One of the largest fan sites dedicated to Bob Dylan songs, dylanchords, has recently blocked Israeli IP users access over the Israel Defense Forces' raid on the Gaza –bound Freedom Flotilla two weeks ago.
Knesset to hold session on Armenian genocide
On Wednesday, several U.S. congressmen from both parties announced that they were reconsidering their own positions on whether Turkey's treatment of the Armenians during World War I should be labeled genocide. At a press conference, the congressmen expressed concern over Ankara's deepening ties with Iran at the expense of those with its traditional ally Israel. Why that's a heck of a coincidence? Capitol Hill recently did the same thing. I wonder if that's becasue Capitol Hill is the second branch of the Israeli Knesset? Methinks so.
Army mulls charging soldier for Gaza war killings
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, which first reported the killings, said the soldier is believed to have opened fire without provocation on a group of some 30 civilians, killing Riyeh Abu Hajaj, 64, and her daughter Majda Abu Hajaj, 37, from the Juhr al–Dik village south of Gaza City.
Calls for NDP MP to resign after Israel comments
Earlier this month, Davies was interviewed at a rally in Vancouver and asked if she believes the occupation in Israel began in 1948 or 1967. After hesitating, she answered:
"Forty-eight. I mean, it's the longest occupation in the world. But I mean, I'm not going to argue numbers. It's too long, right?" She went on to say, "I mean, this is the longest occupation in the world. People are suffering. I've been to the West Bank in Gaza twice so I've seen for myself what's going on." A reminder: Canada's Israel lobby is about second to ours. Davies spoke the truth. For that, she is now the victim of the latest witchhunt. She should not have apologized.
Israel Caves Under Flotilla Pressure
US signals better relations with Israel
Lawrence of Cyberia Putting Names To Faces
A brief introduction to the nine people shot dead on 31 May 2010, by Israeli soldiers who attacked the Turkish vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara, as it attempted to transport humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Poignant look at the people Israel killed aboard the Turkish ship.
Twitterers paid to spread Israeli propaganda Internet warfare team unveiled Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times
The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems.
Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel.
Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilised soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict.
They Call a Man a Robber if ‘e Stuffs ‘is Marchin’ Clobber by Philip Giraldi
The people who were seized in the act of international piracy and were lucky enough not to be shot had all their personal possessions confiscated by the Israeli Army. A number of them have now discovered debit card deductions, credit card purchases, and the use of their cell phones.
Swedish dockers block Israeli cargo in Gaza protest
Chuck Schumer, Helen Thomas, & the Media A tale of two statements
As Thomas was shamed away from her career, Schumer was applauded for supporting the “economically strangling” blockade of Gaza. Not only are Schumer’s words offensive, they are also ironic, not to mention illogical. In advocating “economically strangling” policies, Schumer is supporting a ghettoized, open-air prison classified by the Geneva Conventions as “collective punishment.” While Helen Thomas is condemned for her insensitivity towards collective punishment incurred in Poland and Germany during the Holocaust, Senator Schumer can advocate for the literal and figurative starvation of Gaza.
Elton John aside, Israelis feel growing isolation
Many in Israel blame the country's public diplomacy mechanism for not explaining itself properly and for being outmaneuvered in the media, but Bergman said this largely misses the point. "The problem is not with the marketing. The problem is with the product and the product is damaged. You can't market occupation," Bergman said, referring to Israel's 43 years of control over the Palestinians.
Israel comment spurs calls for lawmaker’s resignation
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has joined a growing list of politicians calling for the resignation of a senior member of Parliament who questioned Israel's right to exist.
Palestinian Jerusalemites go work abroad and get residency revoked upon return
Obama sets meetings with Saudi, Israeli leaders
YouTube - Israeli soldiers ate chocolate while shooting children
U.S. targets bank, shipping in new Iran sanctions
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman said he expects Congress to finish shortly legislation tightening U.S. sanctions on Iran that will include provisions affecting the supply of refined petroleum products to Tehran, and add to sanctions on its financial sector.
Lieberman is one of Israel's main agents in Congress.
Gaza: End of the Siege?
Ex-Mossad Chief Strike Iran Now
Israel should launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent arch-foe Iran from going nuclear, a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency said on Monday.
Israel warns UN over Lebanon to Gaza aid bid
Lebanon permits Gaza-bound ship to sail to Cyprus
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said the ship named "Julia" is now docked at the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli and can set sail once it is cleared by port authorities there. He said it would be allowed to sail to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and not directly to Gaza because Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war and Lebanon views Gaza as Israeli controlled.
Report: Egypt refuses to stop Iranian ships
Egypt rejected Israel's request not to assist the Iranian ships slated to sail to the Gaza Strip in the coming days, Kuwaiti paper al-Dar reported on Friday. The report was not confirmed by any official Egyptian elements.
Report: U.S., Israeli warships cross Suez Canal toward Red Sea
According to the report, thousands of Egyptian soldiers were deployed along the Suez Canal guarding the ships' passage, which included a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest school ruling
Peter King Calls For U.S. Removal From UN Human Rights Council
Though Congressman King does not have an exceptionally large identifiable Jewish constituency, he nevertheless has been a most outspoken and passionate defender of Israel and the role it plays as America’s greatest ally....Today, Mr. King introduced, the America Stands with Israel Act. This legislation reaffirms America’s support for Israel by calling for the removal of the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council and prohibiting the use of American taxpayer dollars to fund a U.N. investigation into the flotilla incident. King is a traitor to America.
Ultra-Orthodox parents evading jail-time in segregated school row to spend Shabbat at home
The parents of Ashkenazi (European) descent at the all girls' school have refused to let their daughters study with classmates of Middle Easten and North African descent, known as Sephardim.
YouTube - Ron Paul Exposes Israeli Agent Nancy Pelosi
Global Poll Shows Muslims Leery of US and Obama
The surveys were taken before Israel's deadly May 31 clash with a flotilla of boats trying to break the blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, which sparked widespread condemnation of Israel.
Syria: Israel raid on Gaza flotilla raises risk of Mideast war
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday that Israel is being run by a "pyromaniac government", warning that its raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip had increased the risks of war in the region.
Report: Hezbollah prepares retaliation for potential Nasrallah assassination
Giving Peace Advice to Terrorist Can Be Illegal
Civil liberties advocates said they also feared repercussions for U.S.-based critics of the Israeli government, who might be charged with aiding Hamas, which Washington has designated as a terrorist group. One such critic is former President Jimmy Carter, whose private Mideast diplomatic efforts have included contact with Hamas.
The ruling "threatens our work and the work of many other peacemaking organizations that must interact directly with groups that have engaged in violence," said Carter, whose organization filed arguments with the court.
Lebanon: Israel fully responsible for any attack
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations warned the world body last week that the Jewish state was entitled to use "all necessary force" to stop the Lebanese activists' boats.
The Critic of My Friend is My Enemy Stephen M. Walt
The fact that the ADL was in effect protecting another country against the charge of genocide is more than a little ironic, but who ever said that political organizations had to be ethically consistent? Once relations between Israel and Turkey began to fray, however -- fueled primarily by Turkish anger over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians -- the ADL and AIPAC withdrew their protection and Congressional defenders of Israel began switching sides, too. .......The neocons have turned from friends of Turkey to foes for one simple reason: Israel.....whether a state is democratic or not matters little for the neocons; what matters for them is whether a state backs Israel or not Great article.
Muslim Student Group May Face Suspension at Irvine
“I think the university has taken an important step that will be precedent-setting, that not only deals with free speech issues but talks about the kind of campus climate that is expected,” said Shalom Elcott, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Orange County.
Report: Germany rejects Israeli call to halt probe into Mossad role in Dubai killing
The German government has said it will not intervene to stop an investigation into a suspected Mossad spy linked to the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai, despite pressure from Israel, a German newspaper reported on Saturday.
Fighting Talk: The New Propaganda by Robert Fisk
So an "occupation" becomes a "dispute". Thus a "wall" becomes a "fence" or "security barrier". Thus Israeli acts of colonization of Arab land, contrary to all international law, become "settlements" or "outposts" or "Jewish neighborhoods". It was Colin Powell, in his starring, powerless appearance as Secretary of State to George W Bush, who told US diplomats to refer to occupied Palestinian land as "disputed land" - and that was good enough for most of the US media
Amnesty slams new jailing of Israeli whistle-blower
Amnesty International accused Israel Friday of subjecting nuclear whistle–blower Mordechai Vanunu to "inhuman" treatment by sending him back to jail.
US warns citizens against participating in Gaza flotillas
Minority Man - Dor Guez Examines Arab Christians in Lod
“The Monayer Family” is extracted from a bigger one-man exhibition, “Georgiopolis,” which ran at Israel’s Petach Tikva Museum of Art earlier this year. The exhibition focused on the largely untold history of Lod’s Christian Arab community, many of whose members were segregated in ghettos or expelled by the Hagana after the city was occupied during the 1948 War of Independence.
Case filed over Gaza assault
A war-crimes complaint has been filed in a Belgian court against 14 Israeli officials including Ehud Barak, the defence minister.
The silent expulsion
Citizens of Israel can leave the country for any length of time, and their citizenship and all their rights are theirs in perpetuity. But when it comes to Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, Israel applies draconian regulations whose covert intent is to bring about the expulsion of as many Palestinians as possible from their home city.
Balkan summit condemns Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla
Turkey and 12 other southeastern European countries on Wednesday denounced the recent Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza, which left eight Turks and one Turkish American dead.
Israeli minister hits back: Erdogan is the enemy, not Turkey
"We have not remained silent against this piracy and injustice, and we will not do so, and we will seek solutions within the framework of international law," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara. Erdogan's crime? He has dared to stand up to Israel in light of its crimes in Gaza, and now with regard to the flotilla incident.
Israel’s Sex-Segregated Buses Riding High
Critics say that these routes — around 60 in number — are anything but beautiful. They claim that the segregation they practice is religious coercion at its worst because if non-haredim refuse to comply with the separation of the sexes, violence sometimes results. I suppose the Muslims make them do it?
Israel’s Flotilla Raid Commission Is Criticized for Its Scope and Its Members
The Flotilla Probe
Critically, the panel’s narrow mandate won’t permit it to answer all the questions that need answering. It won’t be allowed to interview military personnel other than the army chief of staff; that means it can’t provide credible answers to the burning question of who attacked first. It won’t look seriously into the government decision-making processes leading up to the fiasco. It will examine the legality of Israeli actions leading up to the ship’s capture, but apparently not the underlying legality (nor the effectiveness) of the blockade that the raid sought to enforce.
Male-Only Voting in Crown Heights Prompts Complaints
And again.
Diving Into the Gene Pool: New Research on the Origins of the Tribe
The bottom line: Jews aren’t strangers who stumbled into the Holy Land. And neither are the Palestinians.
33 Greeks to sue Israeli officials over Gaza flotilla raid
According to flotilla participants, Israel violated Greek criminal law as well as international treaties when it stopped the ships by force outside of Israel's territorial waters.
Will We Defend Israel?
Ed Koch clearly has a passionate attachment to Israel and he should do the rest of us Americans a favor, and move there.
Long Island Rep. Pete King says House Dems forced to choose between Israel and Obama - NYPOST.com
Rep. Pete King says President Obama's weak Mideast policy is forcing House Democrats to make the difficult choice of either supporting Obama or supporting Israel.
"I hope they put our relationship with Israel above their relationship with Obama," King (R-LI) said yesterday. Do Americans fully understand the treason within that statement?
Mayor defends plan to raze Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem
The office of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Tuesday defended plans to demolish Palestinian houses in the city's eastern sector to make way for a tourist center, after Defense Minister Ehud Barak lashed out at authorities over the project.
Report: German government to demand sea aid to Gaza
Poll: Most Palestinians want peace with Israel
The majority of Palestinians support a peace agreement with Israel and believe that the Palestinian Authority should use non-violent means to achieve their political goals, a new Fafo poll revealed.
Top Ten Myths about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
A superb and concise look at the top myths employed Israel's defenders. Well worth the read.
Turkey set to freeze ties with Israel: report
It also reported that military deals, including plane and tank modernisation and missile projects, worth $7.5 billion, were to be frozen. Military cooperation, including joint exercises and pilot training, would also be halted, as would intelligence sharing, the Star said.
Push To Sanction Backers of Gaza Flotilla Gains Steam in U.S.
Jewish groups, working with congressional leaders, are pressing to designate one of the main organizers of the humanitarian flotilla that sought to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza as a terrorist group.....meanwhile, New York-area Congress members and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater New York are also urging the administration to deny visas to passengers on the Mavi Marmara who have been invited to speak in the United States about what they experienced........For Jewish groups, going after the IHH is one of three main goals set forth in the aftermath of the incident, alongside gaining U.S. support for Israel’s attempts to avoid an international investigation and fighting Israel’s public relations war in American media. Afraid the truth will get out?
Human Rights Groups say Israel's 'Easing of Blockade' Does Not Go Far Enough
The UN has been trying to import construction materials for the past 18 months to repair schools damaged in the Gaza war of 2008-9 and to construct new buildings to accommodate Gaza's exploding population. Israel has refused on the grounds that the materials could fall into the hands of Hamas and be used to make weapons or build underground bunkers.
U.N. agency calls for full lifting of Gaza blockade
Israeli authorities must stop demolitions of Palestinian homes
Amnesty International has called on the Israeli authorities to end house demolitions which leave thousands of Palestinians living in daily fear of eviction from their homes....."The Israeli authorities are putting Palestinians in an impossible situation. Whatever choice they make, they face homelessness.
Israel bars German minister from Gaza
Niebel, who arrived in Israel earlier Saturday, had hoped to visit a sewage treatment plant being financed with German development aid....Niebel said that Israel's latest announcement on easing the Gaza blockade was "not sufficient" and that Israel must "now deliver" on its pledge.
Jerusalem revives plan to raze Palestinian homes
Back in March, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to hold up the plan so authorities could consult with Palestinians who would lose their homes – a delay that appeared to be aimed at fending off criticism from the U.S. And now that Obama has been reduced back down to the kowtow bow (to Israel), the Israelis resume their Nazi-like ways.
No need for aid flotillas, says Blair
“If we implement this policy so that the things that people are trying to bring in by flotilla you can bring in through the legitimate existing crossings, do it that way,” Blair urged in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. “That is the more sensible way to do that,” he said, amid reports that one or two ships may seek to sail from Lebanon to challenge the naval blockade in the next few days.
Iran says UN sanctions show double standard
The Supreme National Security Council said that U.S. and other nuclear–armed powers have punished Iran with the sanctions even though it doesn't have nuclear weapons, while at the same time they support Israel, which is widely believed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal.
Netanyahu Vows to ‘Tighten’ Gaza Blockade
Hours after the Israeli government announced that it was intending to issue a new “banned goods” list for the Gaza Strip, focused on placating international demands to allow more food and humanitarian goods into the tiny enclave, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a pledge that the move would actually “tighten” the blockade. That didn't last long.
Reports: IAF Landed at Saudi Base, US Troops near Iran Border
The Israeli Air Force recently unloaded military equipment at a Saudi Arabia base, a semi-official Iranian news agency claimed Wednesday, while a large American force has massed in Azerbaijan, which is on the northwest border of Iran.
Israel loosens chokehold on Gaza
Israel has said before that it would be willing to allow in cement under international supervision. But it took the direct intervention of U.N. chief Ban Ki–moon to get in cement last month for a single U.N. housing project, following years of delay.
Watch what Israel does not what it says.
Israeli Blockade 'Eased' Only in English, but U.S. Media Eat It Up
corporate news coverage in the United States omitted an important aspect of the story that undermines the narrative that Israel is "easing" its blockade of Gaza. The Israeli daily Ha'aretz (6/17/10) reports:
The prime minister's office announced on Thursday that the security cabinet had agreed to relax Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, but as it turns out, no binding decision was ever made during the cabinet meeting.
Israel drafting new list of goods banned from Gaza
Chris Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA, the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees, agreed. "We need deeds on the ground, not words," he told The Associated Press. "We have to see the blockade lifted, because the blockade is illegal."
Israel cannot put Gaza responsibility on Egypt: Mubarak
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday rejected what he said were Israeli attempts to escape responsibility towards the blockaded Gaza Strip and place it on Egypt.
Report: Lebanon forbids launch of Gaza-bound flotilla
Earlier Sunday, Haaretz reported that Israel had initiated diplomatic efforts designed to prevent the departure of at least one vessel, carrying 50 to 70 Lebanese women and food aid. Israel has been in touch with the UN, United States, France, Spain and Germany. It has also been speaking with the Vatican because the ship is expected to include several dozen Catholic nuns.
Israel to UN: We reserve the right to stop Lebanon Gaza-bound flotilla
Earlier Friday the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah said that it would not take part in Gaza-bound aid missions so as not to give a pretext for Israel to attack Lebanon.
Israel adds Turkish organizers of Gaza flotilla to terror watch list
Canada: Israel's new defender
At a time when many countries are becoming more critical of Israel's policies, Canada seems to be moving in the opposite direction. A general reluctance to engage in open debate about the Palestinian issue is exacerbated by pro-Israel groups' efforts to shut down discussion and the federal government's unprecedented penchant for defending Israeli actions. Canada has fallen victim to its own Israeli lobby. Shame.
Barak: Israel needs 'daring initiative' to thwart international isolation
Why not try acting in a legal and ethical way instead of trying to cover up for more and more crimes?
Lawmakers warn Turkey of payback over Iran, Israel policies
"There will be a cost if Turkey stays on its present heading of growing closer to Iran and more antagonistic to the state of Israel," Rep. Mike Pence, R-Indiana, told a news conference. "It will bear upon my view and I believe the view of many members of Congress on the state of the relationship with Turkey." What other nation's lawmakers are doing this besides ours? Why is that, you figure?
Former Spanish PM: If Israel goes down, we all go down
Aznar went on to state that Israel's right to exist should not be questioned as it was established by a United Nations decision, and added that as a nation with "deeply rooted democratic institutions," Israel is the only Western country that exists under constant threat of attack, whether it be from its neighboring countries or Iran. Aznar is a very deluded man. I wonder what the Israelis have on him..
Unofficial Bob Dylan website bans Israelis in wake of Gaza flotilla
One of the largest fan sites dedicated to Bob Dylan songs, dylanchords, has recently blocked Israeli IP users access over the Israel Defense Forces' raid on the Gaza –bound Freedom Flotilla two weeks ago.
Knesset to hold session on Armenian genocide
On Wednesday, several U.S. congressmen from both parties announced that they were reconsidering their own positions on whether Turkey's treatment of the Armenians during World War I should be labeled genocide. At a press conference, the congressmen expressed concern over Ankara's deepening ties with Iran at the expense of those with its traditional ally Israel. Why that's a heck of a coincidence? Capitol Hill recently did the same thing. I wonder if that's becasue Capitol Hill is the second branch of the Israeli Knesset? Methinks so.
Army mulls charging soldier for Gaza war killings
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, which first reported the killings, said the soldier is believed to have opened fire without provocation on a group of some 30 civilians, killing Riyeh Abu Hajaj, 64, and her daughter Majda Abu Hajaj, 37, from the Juhr al–Dik village south of Gaza City.
Calls for NDP MP to resign after Israel comments
Earlier this month, Davies was interviewed at a rally in Vancouver and asked if she believes the occupation in Israel began in 1948 or 1967. After hesitating, she answered:
"Forty-eight. I mean, it's the longest occupation in the world. But I mean, I'm not going to argue numbers. It's too long, right?" She went on to say, "I mean, this is the longest occupation in the world. People are suffering. I've been to the West Bank in Gaza twice so I've seen for myself what's going on." A reminder: Canada's Israel lobby is about second to ours. Davies spoke the truth. For that, she is now the victim of the latest witchhunt. She should not have apologized.
Israel Caves Under Flotilla Pressure
US signals better relations with Israel
Lawrence of Cyberia Putting Names To Faces
A brief introduction to the nine people shot dead on 31 May 2010, by Israeli soldiers who attacked the Turkish vessel M.V. Mavi Marmara, as it attempted to transport humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Poignant look at the people Israel killed aboard the Turkish ship.
Twitterers paid to spread Israeli propaganda Internet warfare team unveiled Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times
The passionate support for Israel expressed on talkback sections of websites, internet chat forums, blogs, Twitters and Facebook may not be all that it seems.
Israel’s foreign ministry is reported to be establishing a special undercover team of paid workers whose job it will be to surf the internet 24 hours a day spreading positive news about Israel.
Internet-savvy Israeli youngsters, mainly recent graduates and demobilised soldiers with language skills, are being recruited to pose as ordinary surfers while they provide the government’s line on the Middle East conflict.
They Call a Man a Robber if ‘e Stuffs ‘is Marchin’ Clobber by Philip Giraldi
The people who were seized in the act of international piracy and were lucky enough not to be shot had all their personal possessions confiscated by the Israeli Army. A number of them have now discovered debit card deductions, credit card purchases, and the use of their cell phones.
Swedish dockers block Israeli cargo in Gaza protest
Chuck Schumer, Helen Thomas, & the Media A tale of two statements
As Thomas was shamed away from her career, Schumer was applauded for supporting the “economically strangling” blockade of Gaza. Not only are Schumer’s words offensive, they are also ironic, not to mention illogical. In advocating “economically strangling” policies, Schumer is supporting a ghettoized, open-air prison classified by the Geneva Conventions as “collective punishment.” While Helen Thomas is condemned for her insensitivity towards collective punishment incurred in Poland and Germany during the Holocaust, Senator Schumer can advocate for the literal and figurative starvation of Gaza.
Elton John aside, Israelis feel growing isolation
Many in Israel blame the country's public diplomacy mechanism for not explaining itself properly and for being outmaneuvered in the media, but Bergman said this largely misses the point. "The problem is not with the marketing. The problem is with the product and the product is damaged. You can't market occupation," Bergman said, referring to Israel's 43 years of control over the Palestinians.
Israel comment spurs calls for lawmaker’s resignation
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has joined a growing list of politicians calling for the resignation of a senior member of Parliament who questioned Israel's right to exist.
Palestinian Jerusalemites go work abroad and get residency revoked upon return
Obama sets meetings with Saudi, Israeli leaders
YouTube - Israeli soldiers ate chocolate while shooting children
U.S. targets bank, shipping in new Iran sanctions
U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman said he expects Congress to finish shortly legislation tightening U.S. sanctions on Iran that will include provisions affecting the supply of refined petroleum products to Tehran, and add to sanctions on its financial sector.
Lieberman is one of Israel's main agents in Congress.
Gaza: End of the Siege?
Ex-Mossad Chief Strike Iran Now
Israel should launch a pre-emptive strike to prevent arch-foe Iran from going nuclear, a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency said on Monday.
Israel warns UN over Lebanon to Gaza aid bid
Lebanon permits Gaza-bound ship to sail to Cyprus
Lebanese Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi said the ship named "Julia" is now docked at the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli and can set sail once it is cleared by port authorities there. He said it would be allowed to sail to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus and not directly to Gaza because Lebanon and Israel are technically in a state of war and Lebanon views Gaza as Israeli controlled.
Report: Egypt refuses to stop Iranian ships
Egypt rejected Israel's request not to assist the Iranian ships slated to sail to the Gaza Strip in the coming days, Kuwaiti paper al-Dar reported on Friday. The report was not confirmed by any official Egyptian elements.
Report: U.S., Israeli warships cross Suez Canal toward Red Sea
According to the report, thousands of Egyptian soldiers were deployed along the Suez Canal guarding the ships' passage, which included a U.S. aircraft carrier.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest school ruling
Peter King Calls For U.S. Removal From UN Human Rights Council
Though Congressman King does not have an exceptionally large identifiable Jewish constituency, he nevertheless has been a most outspoken and passionate defender of Israel and the role it plays as America’s greatest ally....Today, Mr. King introduced, the America Stands with Israel Act. This legislation reaffirms America’s support for Israel by calling for the removal of the U.S. from the United Nations Human Rights Council and prohibiting the use of American taxpayer dollars to fund a U.N. investigation into the flotilla incident. King is a traitor to America.
Ultra-Orthodox parents evading jail-time in segregated school row to spend Shabbat at home
The parents of Ashkenazi (European) descent at the all girls' school have refused to let their daughters study with classmates of Middle Easten and North African descent, known as Sephardim.
YouTube - Ron Paul Exposes Israeli Agent Nancy Pelosi
Global Poll Shows Muslims Leery of US and Obama
The surveys were taken before Israel's deadly May 31 clash with a flotilla of boats trying to break the blockade of Hamas-controlled Gaza, which sparked widespread condemnation of Israel.
Syria: Israel raid on Gaza flotilla raises risk of Mideast war
Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday that Israel is being run by a "pyromaniac government", warning that its raid on a humanitarian aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip had increased the risks of war in the region.
Report: Hezbollah prepares retaliation for potential Nasrallah assassination
Giving Peace Advice to Terrorist Can Be Illegal
Civil liberties advocates said they also feared repercussions for U.S.-based critics of the Israeli government, who might be charged with aiding Hamas, which Washington has designated as a terrorist group. One such critic is former President Jimmy Carter, whose private Mideast diplomatic efforts have included contact with Hamas.
The ruling "threatens our work and the work of many other peacemaking organizations that must interact directly with groups that have engaged in violence," said Carter, whose organization filed arguments with the court.
Lebanon: Israel fully responsible for any attack
Israel's ambassador to the United Nations warned the world body last week that the Jewish state was entitled to use "all necessary force" to stop the Lebanese activists' boats.
The Critic of My Friend is My Enemy Stephen M. Walt
The fact that the ADL was in effect protecting another country against the charge of genocide is more than a little ironic, but who ever said that political organizations had to be ethically consistent? Once relations between Israel and Turkey began to fray, however -- fueled primarily by Turkish anger over Israel's treatment of the Palestinians -- the ADL and AIPAC withdrew their protection and Congressional defenders of Israel began switching sides, too. .......The neocons have turned from friends of Turkey to foes for one simple reason: Israel.....whether a state is democratic or not matters little for the neocons; what matters for them is whether a state backs Israel or not Great article.
Muslim Student Group May Face Suspension at Irvine
“I think the university has taken an important step that will be precedent-setting, that not only deals with free speech issues but talks about the kind of campus climate that is expected,” said Shalom Elcott, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Orange County.
Report: Germany rejects Israeli call to halt probe into Mossad role in Dubai killing
The German government has said it will not intervene to stop an investigation into a suspected Mossad spy linked to the assassination of a Hamas official in Dubai, despite pressure from Israel, a German newspaper reported on Saturday.
Fighting Talk: The New Propaganda by Robert Fisk
So an "occupation" becomes a "dispute". Thus a "wall" becomes a "fence" or "security barrier". Thus Israeli acts of colonization of Arab land, contrary to all international law, become "settlements" or "outposts" or "Jewish neighborhoods". It was Colin Powell, in his starring, powerless appearance as Secretary of State to George W Bush, who told US diplomats to refer to occupied Palestinian land as "disputed land" - and that was good enough for most of the US media
Amnesty slams new jailing of Israeli whistle-blower
Amnesty International accused Israel Friday of subjecting nuclear whistle–blower Mordechai Vanunu to "inhuman" treatment by sending him back to jail.
US warns citizens against participating in Gaza flotillas
Minority Man - Dor Guez Examines Arab Christians in Lod
“The Monayer Family” is extracted from a bigger one-man exhibition, “Georgiopolis,” which ran at Israel’s Petach Tikva Museum of Art earlier this year. The exhibition focused on the largely untold history of Lod’s Christian Arab community, many of whose members were segregated in ghettos or expelled by the Hagana after the city was occupied during the 1948 War of Independence.
Case filed over Gaza assault
A war-crimes complaint has been filed in a Belgian court against 14 Israeli officials including Ehud Barak, the defence minister.
The silent expulsion
Citizens of Israel can leave the country for any length of time, and their citizenship and all their rights are theirs in perpetuity. But when it comes to Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, Israel applies draconian regulations whose covert intent is to bring about the expulsion of as many Palestinians as possible from their home city.
Balkan summit condemns Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla
Turkey and 12 other southeastern European countries on Wednesday denounced the recent Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza, which left eight Turks and one Turkish American dead.
Israeli minister hits back: Erdogan is the enemy, not Turkey
"We have not remained silent against this piracy and injustice, and we will not do so, and we will seek solutions within the framework of international law," Erdogan told reporters in Ankara. Erdogan's crime? He has dared to stand up to Israel in light of its crimes in Gaza, and now with regard to the flotilla incident.
Israel’s Sex-Segregated Buses Riding High
Critics say that these routes — around 60 in number — are anything but beautiful. They claim that the segregation they practice is religious coercion at its worst because if non-haredim refuse to comply with the separation of the sexes, violence sometimes results. I suppose the Muslims make them do it?
Israel’s Flotilla Raid Commission Is Criticized for Its Scope and Its Members
The Flotilla Probe
Critically, the panel’s narrow mandate won’t permit it to answer all the questions that need answering. It won’t be allowed to interview military personnel other than the army chief of staff; that means it can’t provide credible answers to the burning question of who attacked first. It won’t look seriously into the government decision-making processes leading up to the fiasco. It will examine the legality of Israeli actions leading up to the ship’s capture, but apparently not the underlying legality (nor the effectiveness) of the blockade that the raid sought to enforce.
Male-Only Voting in Crown Heights Prompts Complaints
And again.
Diving Into the Gene Pool: New Research on the Origins of the Tribe
The bottom line: Jews aren’t strangers who stumbled into the Holy Land. And neither are the Palestinians.
33 Greeks to sue Israeli officials over Gaza flotilla raid
According to flotilla participants, Israel violated Greek criminal law as well as international treaties when it stopped the ships by force outside of Israel's territorial waters.
Will We Defend Israel?
Ed Koch clearly has a passionate attachment to Israel and he should do the rest of us Americans a favor, and move there.
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