July 2010

Are the Palestinians Descendants of Jews who Converted to Islam / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Introduction

The Arab- Palestinian narrative, which is widely known in the world, due to an extensive propaganda, is that the present Jews are not the descendants of the ancient Jews who lived in the land of Israel 2,000 years ago, but descendants of coverts. Since they are Jews by religion, but not by ethnicity, they have no rights for a state on this land, and the Arabs who have lived year for generations are the true owners of this land.

Who in Turkey Knows the Value of the Now-Dead Alliance with Israel / Prof.B.Rubin

Who in Turkey Knows the Value of the Now-Dead Alliance with Israel? The Foreign and Defense Ministries

Kurdish terrorists attacking Turkey? The military uses drones made in Israel to defend the country.

Turkish Regime's Domestic Headaches leads to Demagogic Desperation / Prof.B.Rubin

I’ve written a lot about Turkey’s policy behavior and here want to add some details that have been generally absent from the coverage. For my main article on this issue, see HERE.
A number of domestic factors have made the Islamist-oriented regime frightened for its political future and the outcome of the June 2011 elections.

Israeli Arabs between Palestanization and Islamism / Barak M.Seener

Israeli Arabs increasingly affiliate with the Palestinians and at the same time are undergoing a rapid increase of Islamization. This creates ripple effects between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians, both of whom have tapped into the regional Islamization to challenge the existence of Israel through terrorism. Thus the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has evolved from a territorial dispute to a religious-ideological one that is intractable.

A Turkish Intellectual's Open Letter to Prome Minister Erdogan /

A liberal Turkish intellectual has written a powerful open letter to the leader of Turkey's Islamist regime. So great is the fear of the increasingly repressive government that this person is remaining anonymous but I know the individual as someone of great integrity. And I also know that many of his compatriots share many, most, or all of these views.

Read this article as the voice of the Turkish majority which is going to turn this regime out of office in the next elections:

A Terrorist World View Singnals What Our World View Should Be / Prof.B.Rubin

A dozen words spoken at his trial by Faisal Shahzad, the Times Square would-be bomber, are worth studying very carefully. When asked why he targeted American civilians in the streets of New York, Shahzad replied:

"Well, the [American] people select the government. We consider them all the same."

Hamas Attacks UN Summer Camp / Prof.B.Rubin

Hamas Attacks UN Summer Camp For Not Being a Terrorist Training Camp
Hamas has twice violently attacked UN summer camps in the Gaza Strip in order to destroy them and intimidate kids from attending them. The goal is to force young people to go to Hamas summer camps where they will be given military and ideological training to teach them to be future terrorists.

The UN actually condemned the attacks and the Hamas regime for fomenting them.

A Fatal Blow to Peace / Ben Dror Yemini

Pursuing Israeli evacuation from Jewish J'lem areas isn't pursuing peace.

Too many, in their naïveté, think that US President Barak Obama’s recent pressure on Israel has left it with only two options – progressing towards peace or continuing construction in Jerusalem. This is a grave mistake. The president’s demands on Israel, precisely from the perspective of promoters of painful compromise, pose a deadly threat to chances of achieving an agreement.

UN Double Standards:UN Summer Camp in Gaza Attacked Again and Human Crimes / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

The Hamas government of Gaza is not interested in UN summer camps for the children of Gaza. The UN is welcomed to provide the citizens of Gaza with the social, economic and health services the Hamas government Should provide its citizens with. But, the UN is not encouraged to influence the children of Gaza in any western way by showing them how children all over the world are spending their summer.

The Hamas government has its own summer camps. However, in those camps children are not spending time on sports and other activities other children all over the world are engaged with.

Israel is the Victim of Anti- Semitism:Jews are always the Scapegoat of the World / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, is under an international campaign held by Arab states and the PA and Hamas to demonize Israel by false accusations and bringing to its de-legitimation.
(http://www.rslissak.com/content/privileged-slander-why-media-laps-anti-i...) )

Humanitarian Show / Ben Dror Yemini

Additional humanitarian aid flotillas from Lebanon, Iran and the West are en route to the Gaza Strip. But the plight of the Turks, Iranians and the Palestinians in Lebanon is worse. Even in Stockholm and Glasgow amidst the festivities. Here are the facts.

How the U.S Has Benefited from its Allaiance with Israel / Gil Ehrenkranz

This article reviews Israel's value as an American ally since 1967. It highlights the actions taken by Israel on behalf of the United States, including accommodating U.S. national interests at the expense of Israeli interests. The article explores the myth of Holocaust guilt as the primary reason for Israel's creation and contrasts the actions of other regional U.S. allies with those of Israel. The steadily declining tangible support for U.S. policies by American allies in the twenty-first century has served to magnify Israel's importance to the United States.

The Disease of "Post- Zionism"/ Prof.Yoav Gelber

Some Basic Issues of the Zionist/Post-Zionist Controversy

Post-Zionism and Anti Zionism

From its beginning, Zionism has provoked various adversaries whose common
denominator was their objection to Jewish nationalism or, at least, to its
linkage with the Land of Israel. Orthodox and liberal Jews regarded
Zionism as a panicked response to anti-semitism, imitation of European
nationalism and distortion of Judaism.s true essence and image. Marxists
claimed it was reactionary and endangered .the world of tomorrow. in which

West Says:We've Helped Poor Gazans. Hamas Says:You Have Given Us Gaza / Prof.B.Rubin

West Says: We've Helped Poor Gazans! Hamas Says: You've Given Us Gaza, Now on to More Wars, Seizing the West Bank, and Wiping Out Israel

Here is what President Barack H. Obama said after his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

"We believe that there is a way to make sure that the people of Gaza are able to prosper economically, while Israel is able to maintain its legitimate security needs in not allowing missiles and weapons to get to Hamas."

Non - Violent Terrorists? No, Non- Violent Terrorist Sympathizers / Prof.B.Rubin

Here we go again with the quarterly (perhaps monthly) article about how Israel's enemies are turning to non-violence. This one, by Charles Levinson in the Wall Street Journal, is far better than most. Indeed, to his credit, it reminds us of one of the attributes of good reporting: it is balanced and honest enough to give the reader sufficient information to question the thesis the author presents.

The article begins:

An Open Letter to Abu- Mazen,Chairman of the PA / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

I am sorry to tell you Mr. Abu Mazen, Chairman of the PA, that most Israelis do not believe you are sincere about a 2 state solution.

Like at least 62% Israelis, I supported the Oslo agreement and believed it opened a new era in Israeli- Palestinian relations. Like many others, I became disillusioned. The terror, the incitement against Israelis and Jews did not stop.

Obama's New Approach / Prof. Eytan Gilboa

US president realizes his tough approach to Israel was counterproductive

Even if the Obama and Netanyahu photos and statements following their meeting do not fully reflect what was said in the Oval Office, they convey important messages for our region and for US citizens, who in four months will cast their ballots in the Congress elections.

Another False-Moderation-0f -Palestinian Leadership Hoax / B.Rubin

Doesn't the West ever learn?

Step 1: Al-Hayat reports that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas offers to give Israel the Jewish Quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem and the Western Wall of the Jewish Temple to Israel in a peace agreement.

Step 2: Media covers this extensively as great concession and proof that the Palestinian Authority wants peace.

Step 3: PA spokesman denies it.

And I happen to know for a fact that this story wasn't true.

Over and over and over and over and over again.

The Forgotten Minority(Kurds in Syria)/ Jonathan Spyer

On March 21, 2010, the Syrian security forces opened fire with live ammunition on a crowd of 5,000 in the northern Syrian town of al-Raqqah. The crowd had gathered to celebrate the Kurdish festival of Nowruz. Three people, including a 15-year-old girl, were killed. Over 50 were injured. Dozens of injured civilians were held incommunicado by the authorities following the events. Some remain incarcerated. This incident was just one example of the repression taking place of the largest national minority in Syria - namely, the Syrian Kurdish population.

Two Views on a One State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

A very small but noisy minority of Post – Zionist Israelis joined the Israeli- Arab leadership in Israel and Palestinians in support of a One State Solution. The platform accepted on August 2009 at the Fatah Conference included a one state solution as an alternative to a 2 state solution.

Cecily Hilleary brought in her article "Could One-State Proposal Provide Middle East Peace," published in THE VOICE OF AMERICA, two scholars who argue for and against a one state solution:

Egypt Versus Gaza / Prof.B.Rubin

There is a bit of silver lining, even in the Gaza cloud. It’s this: the Egyptian government, aware that the West won’t help it get rid of the revolutionary Islamist regime there, that Israel cannot do it, and that Hamas won’t v

oluntarily accept subordination to the Palestinian Authority, now understands it has to protect itself from that threat.

Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon:A New Power Keg? Zvi Mazel

Walid Jumblatt, the Lebanese Druze leader who crossed the lines a year ago and left the pro Western coalition to join the Syrian camp, has thrown another bombshell in the political arena. The aim: further exacerbating tensions and conflicts within the Lebanese society. On June 19 he stunned the political community by submitting to the Parliament four law proposals which, if adopted, would grant Palestinian refugees a number of rights - not including citizenship.

Mainstreaming the Extremists:Marginalizing the Moderates / Prof.B.Rubin

Simultaneously, in some far-flung places in the world, several smart people have come up with a horrifying conclusion: radicals are being systematically mainstreamed, real moderates are being declared extremists.

Interview with Zeyno Baran on Moderate Muslims / Prof.B.Rubin

An Interview with Zeyno Baran, senior fellow of the Hudson Institute and editor of The Other Muslims: Moderate and Secular. (Palgrave-Macmillan), 190 p., $21.60

Barry Rubin: Zeyno, you begin your book with this sentence: “The most important ideological struggle in the world today is within Islam.” Can you explain the nature of this struggle and how it is going?

Bad News and Good News / Prof.B.Rubin

Bad News: "peace process," UK, Hamas, Turkey; Good News: Boycotts Fail; U.S. public opinion; True News: Dead Turkish Flotilla Attackers Sought Martyrdom

If you have any belief that there is going to be Israel-Palestinian peace in the near future or that the Palestinian public has been in any way prepared for a two-state solution by its leadership here's a simple point that proves the contrary.

The Origins of Anti - Zionism on the British Left / Colin Shindler

The British Left in the twenty-first century has exhibited high levels of ideological antagonism toward Israel per se. The easy-to-hand explanation is that this is a manifestation of "the new antisemitism." While there is undoubtedly commentary that many would interpret as repeating anti-Jewish stereotypes of the past, this does not explain how the British Left has moved from embracing Israel in 1948 to its present position.

The UK, the Middle East. and Israel / Jonathan Spyer

This article is part of:
A SYMPOSIUM
Several experts report and analyze attitudes within the United Kingdom's civil society regarding the Middle East and Arab-Israeli conflict.

INTRODUCTION

In this symposium, several experts report and analyze attitudes within the United Kingdom’s civil society regarding the Middle East and Arab-Israeli conflict.

NY Times Op-Eds:An Analysis / Prof.B.Rubin

NY Times Op-Eds: An Analysis

I've talked several times about how biased the New York Times editorial and op-ed pages have been against Israel along with their failure to present mainstream Israeli views. The blogger Soccerdad has now documented this point by surveying Times columnists and op-eds during February, March, and April 2010. He has done so in a scholarly manner, summarizing and quoting from each item.

The Meaning of the UK Campaign for an Academic Boycott of Israel / Jonathan Rynhold

The campaign for an academic boycott of Israel is symptomatic of a wider campaign by the extreme Left to delegitimize the State of Israel. Although the extreme Left is a marginal political force in the UK, the boycott campaign gained significant purchase in the much larger moderate Left by blurring its ideological foundations.

Does the Palestinian Leadership still Desire to Eliminate Israel / Prof.B.Rubin

An Arab reader asks: Does the Palestinian leadership still desire to eliminate Israel?

Answer: If we are talking about Hamas, of course yes, there is no doubt about that and shouldn't be. The Palestinian Authority (PA) is a more complex case. Many PA leaders know that they cannot destroy Israel and that the cost of trying would be very high for them. A number of them, in their private thoughts or personal preferences, would like a lasting two-state solution. Prime Minister Fayyad is one of the few who has apparently abandoned this idea in his behavior as well.

Losing the Scent in South Lebanon / Jonathan Spyer

Last week, the IDF released evidence of Hizbullah stockpiling of weaponry in populated civilian areas of southern Lebanon. The IDF material showed an aerial map of the Shi'ite town of El Khiam. The map showed details of a developed military infrastructure woven into the fabric of the town's civilian population.

While the precise details were new, the fact of Hizbullah's use of civilian areas as bases for its military reconstruction after 2006 is by now no longer a major revelation.

UK, Israel and the Middle East Issues / Douglas Murray

This article discusses the anti-Israel campaign in the UK and its attempt to delegitimize and "demonize" Israel, pointing to radical Islamist trends in British society and political life as a central factor.

Correspodence between a German and an Israeli

Enclosed the correspodence between a German who refused to sell products to an Israeli

Dear xxxxx

Dear We are very pleased about your interest in our products.
But I am sorry that we do not sell to Israel.
Please do not take this personal but the political attitude of your government does not meet our today’s standard of handling problems.

Kind regards

xxx

-------------------------------------------------

To:xxx

Your mail was sent to me, I was asked not to respond, but nevertheless I felt obliged to do so.

Obama again Predicts Direct Israel- Palestinian Talks,Is He Wrong Again? Prof.B.Rubin

This article is an updated and revised version of a piece by me published in Pajamas Media. Please credit and link to them.

Last September, President Barack Obama said in a major speech in New York, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas standing nearby, that there would be direct Israel-Palestinian negotiations in Washington by November 2009.

It didn't happen.

Israel is a Normal Country.But Normal Countries are becoming an Endangered Species / Prof.B.Rubin

The latest gimmick in the never-ending discussion over Israel is whether it is a “normal country.” My answer is “yes” with one exception: it is the one country in the world on which people who know absolutely nothing feel free to put forward the most absurd, biased, or outdated views. Yet that is an external, not an internal distinction.

To be frank, the question of whether Israel is a “normal country” is a trick question. As I said, the answer is “yes” but the problem is that the definition of what a normal country is has changed.

Anti-Zionist and Antisemitic Discourse on the Guardian's Comment is free website / Hadar Sela

The British newspaper, the Guardian, has been described as waging a high-priority campaign against Israel in its pages and on its popular website. Does the evidence available--especially regarding the latter--support this opinion, and if so, in what way does this bias express itself, how far-reaching are its effects and consequences, and what--if anything--can be done to counteract it?

Lebanon: Ayatollah Fadlallah's Death and the Expansion of Iranian Hegemony / Shimon Shapira

Home » Radical Islam\Iran » Lebanon: Ayatollah Fadlallah's Death and the Expansion of Iranian Hegemony
Shiite religious leader Sayyed Muhammed Hussein Fadlallah played a leading role in the increasing Islamic radicalization of Lebanese Shiites and laid the foundations for Hizbullah's ideology of violent struggle against the West and Israel. He endowed the need to employ violence with religious sanction.

The Middle East Leader who should be Ignored / Prof.B.Rubin

The BBC has just broadcast a program entitled, “Syria's Bashar al-Assad: A leader who cannot be ignored.” This precisely echoes Syria’s main propaganda theme: it is the center of the Middle East, the leader of the resistance (to Israel and the West), the key to peace and the anvil of war.

The Legal Basis of Israel's Naval Blockade of Gaza / Prof.Ruth Lapidoth

The relations between Israel and Hamas are in the nature of armed conflict. Nowadays no formal declaration of war is needed. Hence the rules of the laws of armed conflict apply. This means that Israel may control shipping headed for Gaza - even when the vessels are still on the high seas.

The rules of naval warfare have not been fully codified in a treaty and are in the nature of binding customary rules. They can be found in the relevant manuals of Western armies (in particular the U.S. and Britain) and in the San Remo Manual prepared by a group of experts.

Middle East:Understanding Regional Political Logic / Prof.B.Rubin

The Middle East Right Now

A reader asks why Egypt insists on tying restrictions on the Iran's nuclear program with putting restrictions on Israel's program, including demanding Israel join the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), that the doors to Israel's Dimona reactor be opened to international inspectors, and that Israel must declare that it has nuclear weapons.

Hizballah Prepares for War Based on Using Civilians as Shields / Prof.B.Rubin

The Israeli army has released for the first time sensitive intelligence data on how Hizballah is digging into southern Lebanon. The deliberate strategy is to store weapons and put defense positions right next to civilian houses. In the event of a war, Israel will have to choose between giving Hizballah a tremendous advantage or killing civilians.

Or as a Lebanese person remarked privately, "Hizballah is painting a big fat target on all the Shi'a down there."

British - Israel Relations seen though Elite Opinionmaker Delegations / Jonathan Cummings

This article discusses visiting delegations of British elite opinionmakers in Israel, how this affects British views of Israel, and whether they create a more supportive environment for Israel in Britain.
INTRODUCTION

Islamic Terror - How Many People were Killed during June 2010 / DR.Yohai Sela

While international institutions around the world continued denouncing Israel during June 2010 for its military operation on May 31 2010 against Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ship of terror, 2,000 Uzbek Muslims were murdered by Kirghiz Muslims in a violent outbreak that included arson, rape and looting. According to several testimonies, the Kirghiz army had an active role in the murderous violence that erupted in Kirghizstan on June 11 2010. Resulting from this harsh violence is an unbearable humanitarian crisis which caused the flight of 400,000 Uzbek Muslims.

The Terrorist"s Daugther Was Cured in Israeli hospital/ Prof.B.Rubin

This is a remarkable story in human terms but there is an extremely important point for understanding the Middle East embedded in it as well.

On June 14, Palestinian terrorists opened fire on a police car travelling on a road, en route from Beersheba to Jerusalem. One policeman, Yeheshua Sofer was killed. Two others were wounded. Sofer was due to be married in three months. It took a month but members of the cell were finally captured. They spoke quite freely about this attack and others they had planned for killing Israelis.

From Blockade to Boycott:The Impact on UK Jewry of reactions to Gaza/ Dave Rich

UK reactions to the Gaza War have left many mainstream Jews in Britain feeling isolated and demonized, while the hardening of attitudes toward Israel allows antisemitic language to seep into anti-Israel discourse. Israel faces a long-term strategic threat from political campaigns to undermine its legitimacy, which are moving from the margins to the mainstream in Britain.

Who Invented the Idea of a Jewish Nation / DR.Shaul Bartal

When and how was the idea of a Jewish Nation invented? Many Palestinian researchers have tried to answer this question. Recently, a book was published. We are talking about the book written by Shlomo Sand, the Tel Aviv University philosophy professor. The uniqueness of his book lies in its rich flowing language presentation of the Palestinian narrative on the formation of the Jewish nation.

The Palestinian Authority Struggles to Sabotage any Chance for Peace / Prof.B.Rubin

Shouldn't this farce teach us a lesson? The leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United States and others have telephoned Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Mahmoud Abbas and begged him, pleaded with him:

Oh, please please--one can imagine them saying--negotiate with Israel so we can give you a state as soon as possible. We will give you a lot of gifts if you do it, so we can then bestow even more goodies on you!

And Abbas says "No!"