April 2011

Congressmen and Senators Urge Obama to Press Abbas on Palestinian Incitement Against I srael

01 April 2011
A bipartisan congressional letter condemning Palestinian incitement of violence against Israel has garnered 46 signatures from members of both houses of Congress. The letter, circulated by Representatives Steve Rothman (Democrat) and Steve Austria (Republican)) urges President Obama to pressure the Palestinian Authority to eradicate terrorist elements, join peace negotiations with the Israelis and root out "all vestiges of incitement." Twenty-seven senators also endorsed a companion letter in the upper chamber.

Iran and Hizbullah Silence in the Face of U.S Support for the Syrian Regime / Shimon Shapira

March 29, 2011
As bloody riots threaten Bashar Assad’s regime and the minority Alawite rule, the silence of Iran and Hizbullah, Syria’s closest allies, is striking.

Iran is following developments in Syria with concern, and through its silence is supporting Syria’s massive use of force, which it had earlier criticized in other countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Bahrain.

Judge R.Goldstone Has Second Thoughts on Blaming Israel for War Crimes / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Judge Goldstone published an article in Washington Post, April 1, in which he admitted that claims of Israel's Gaza War crimes should be reconsidered.

He accuses Israel for the wrong conclusions included in his famous report, because Israel refused to cooperate.

He totally ignores the reasons Israel refused to cooperate:
First, the UN Human Rights Council was biased against Israel, accusing Israel of war crimes even before the investigation commission was nominated.

Israeli Arabs Would Not Give Up Their Israeli ID For a Palestinian One

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4050815,00.html

Read in the following article what Israeli- Aras prefer on polls.

The Legitimacy of the ILLegitimate / DR.Israel Bar- Nir

Explaining the rationale behind the US getting involved in a war or in a military kinetic action (whatever that means) in Libya, the US Secretary of State has argued that Muammar Qaddafi has “lost the legitimacy to rule” Libya and has “lost the confidence of his own people.” This raises an interesting question, as noted in the magazine Commentary: whenever did Qaddafi have the legitimacy to rule or the confidence of his own people? How and by what means did Qaddafi gain that legitimacy? Or the confidence of the people for that matter?

The Palestinian UN Gamble - Irresponsible and ILL - Advised / Alan Baker

April 3, 2011
The Palestinian leadership has announced its intention to abandon the negotiation process and to unilaterally seek a UN resolution that will impose a solution upon Israel. Facing a possible veto in the Security Council, the Palestinians are aiming to impose a UN resolution through the General Assembly "Uniting for Peace" procedure, which they hope will be supported by the UN member states.

First Gaza, Then the World / Ben Dror Yemini

Note: this article was published in January 2009, but it is still actual today.
The confrontation in the Gaza Strip is not between Hamas and Israel, but rather between Al Qaeda, Iran and radical Islam, and the free world

Goldstone's Article and Retraction Reaction / Ray Cook

03 Apr 2011
As I foretold yesterday, Goldstone’s retraction is being dissed by the usual suspects.

The Jpost:

Senior Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Shaath on Sunday said that Judge Richard Goldstone apparently succumbed to pressure because he could not longer bear the terror directed against him, apparently referring to the way Goldstone was ostracized by his native South African and other world Jewish communities.

What Palestinians are Saying Online / Jonathan Schanzer

During the past decade, Washington has repeatedly failed to gauge the extent of Palestinian anti-peace sentiments with devastating consequences. The July 2000 Camp David summit triggered the worst wave of Palestinian violence since 1948 (euphemized as the "al-Aqsa Intifada"); the Palestinian parliamentary elections of January 2006 led to a victory for the Hamas Islamist group. Now that President Obama has announced his ambitious timeline for Israeli-Palestinian peace, could the administration be rushing headlong into yet another diplomatic failure?

World Jewish Congress Leaders Call on UN to Rescind Goldstone Report

World Jewish Congress leaders call on UN to rescind Goldstone report after its author retracts parts of it
04 April 2011

American - Backed Egyptian "Moderate" (next president?)Threatens War on Israel / Prof. B.Rubin

Everything has been so predictable. Designated "moderate" and U.S.-backed Egyptian leader Muhammad ElBaradei has made a profoundly shocking statement that should change U.S. policy overnight, show how disastrous Obama Administration policy was, and mark the beginning of the coming electoral defeat for the president.

But presumably nothing will change.

ElBaradei, a presidential candidate, said the following:

“If Israel attacked Gaza we would declare war against the Zionist regime."

And he's the moderate! In other words:

Watching the Pro - Israel Academic Watchers / Prof. Leslie Wagner

Although anti-Israeli activity on campus was evident in the 1980s and 1990s, the resolutions at the notorious World Conference against Racism in Durban in August 2001 led to an upsurge in such efforts and also to the founding of three academic watch organizations in 2002. The largest of these organizations is the U.S.-based Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, which is run by the academic community itself. Campus Watch, also U.S.-based, is part of the well-established Middle East Forum and focuses on the anti-Israeli biases of Middle East courses and the academics who teach them.

Why the Contemporary Media is so Bad / Prof. B.Rubin

04 Apr 2011
A reader asks me: But why is media reporting so bad (obviously with many honorable exceptions). I first wrote on this topic back in 1974. Then, however, the problems were traditional ones: the need to write and publish quickly (of course, a process sped up by new technologies), lack of familiarity with other countries and cultures, and so on.

But in the last decade or so, there has been a whole new layer of problems that can be summed up as follows:

A. Ignorance, partly due to the decline of the American educational system.

Vive Le Quebec Libre / DR.Emmanuel Navon

Vive le Québec libre
6 April 2011
Last week, Montréal University (l’Université du Québec à Montréal, or UQÀM) made me feel good: After I delivered my lecture there, I was surrounded by four bodyguards that rushed me through a backdoor and then into a car that drove off speedily. What fun: I felt like a head of State kept away from the mob or like James Bond narrowly escaping a Soviet trap. Alas for my ego, the true reason for this drama is that I am Israeli.

The Middle East Score so far this year / Prof.B.Rubin

April 7, 2011
The Middle East Score So Far This Year: Iran and Brotherhood, 8; Hamas, 6, U.S., -11
Events in the Middle East have moved so quickly that one almost needs a daily scorecard to keep up. This article will try to give a basic picture of what has, and hasn’t, changed.

Have Iran and revolutionary Islamists gained in recent months? Yes, since Islamism is advancing at the expense of declining Arab nationalism as well as other reasons.

Kenneth Roth, UK Guardian:"Gaza: the Stain Remains on Israel's Record," /DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Kenneth Roth is executive director of the Human Rights Watch organization. He published his respond to Richard Goldstone's article on the UK Guardian.

Mr. Roth does not think Judge Goldstone's statement that "Israel did not intentionally target civilians," makes a difference.

According to Mr. Roth this statement has no relevance to the "deliberate destruction of civilian buildings and infrastructure," by Israel.

European Jewish Congress Campaigns for Withdrawal of EU Endorsement of Goldstone Report

07 April 2011
In light of the European Jewish Congress’ (EJC) recent lobbying attempts to members of the European Parliament to rescind a resolution passed early last year that called for the implementation of the Goldstone Report, the EJC has received several letters of support from members of the EU's assembly. Letters were sent to EP members in the wake of the retraction of various accusations against Israel by former South African judge Richard Goldstone in a recent op-ed in the ‘Washington Post’.

Who Won't Talk? The Palestinian Authority, Not Israel / Prof.B.Rubin

April 9, 2011
There’s a wonderful line in the great film, “Arsenic and Old Lace” in which the main character, played by Carey Grant, learns that his relatives are all quite insane. He remarks, “Insanity doesn’t just run in my family. It gallops!” So it is with anti-Israel bias in the New York Times.

The effort to make Israel look bad is simply ridiculous. But even in this context, the following lead paragraph caught my eye:

Chapter 6 - The Population of the Land of Israel under the Crusader Rule / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Chapter 6: The Population of the Land of Israel under Crusader Rule (1099 – 1260/1290) – Eastern-Christians Formed the Largest Ethno-Religious Group

Introduction

Who Will Be Egypt's Next President / Prof.B.Rubin

There are twenty candidates running for Egypt’s presidency. Most are not serious candidates but can split the vote for various blocs. I think the winner will be the radical nationalist Amr Moussa, which isn’t great but is better than an Islamist regime.

Arms Ship in Nigeria Reveals Iran's Penetration to West Africa / DR.Jacques Neriah

7 April 2011
Since the Khomeini revolution, Iran has invested heavily in strengthening its diplomatic, economic, and security ties with Western African countries, especially with Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, and Nigeria.

Hamas Is Moving Towards War With Israel / Prof. B.Rubin

April 7, 2011
Share Two events show us that an emboldened Hamas in the Gaza Strip is moving toward war with Israel.

Take A Look in the Mirror / Ben Dror Yemini

Editor's Note: published February 25, 2011 but still actual today
Only two days ago the European foreign ministers concluded the tenth meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council. Their concluding statement contained no mention of apartheid. But there were complaints about the unequal treatment of the Arab minority. Even the Bedouins were mentioned.

Israel's Requirements for Defensible Borders / Dore Gold

Editor's Note: There are also other views in Israel
April 5,2011
Israel's Requirements for Defensible Borders
In a Rapidly Changing Middle East
Prepared Statement before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.

Are Gazans Starving or Thriving? Ray Cook

11 Apr 2011
A telling post by Elder of Ziyon today “World Bank calls health of PalArab children “outstanding”.

In this post the Elder examines two conflicting reports; one from the Lancet, the venerable British medical journal, the other is from the World Bank.

The Lancet would be the last place to find anti-Israel bias, right? Apparently not.

The Elder tells us that the BBC reported in 2009:

The Lancet medical journal report highlights how 10% of Palestinian children now have stunted growth.

Members of U.S Congress Push for UN Cancelation of Goldstone Report

12 April 2011
Legislation calling on the United Nations to rescind the Goldstone Report is circulating in both houses of Congress. A resolution, introduced at the Senate last week by the Democrat senator from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, and her republican colleague James Risch from Idaho, calls on the UN Human Rights Council to "reflect the author’s repudiation of the Goldstone report’s central findings, rescind the report, and reconsider further Council actions with respect to the report’s findings."

The Iranian Armageddon / Alan Caruba

In the months and years leading up to the beginning of World War Two, all the parties knew full well Hitler’s intention to start a war. When he struck a deal with Stalin to divide Poland, the die was cast. The invasion came in September 1939. Previously, diplomats had met with the Nazis to offer them the former Czechoslovakia and turned a blind eye to other provocative events.

World War Two was preceded by Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” that spelled out his plans for Europe’s Jews and the torrent of lies that led to war and the genocide that became known as the Holocaust.

Ambitious Turkey / Daniel Pipes

April 12, 2011
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu grandiloquently proclaimed a few days ago that, "If the world is on fire, Turkey is the firefighter. Turkey is assuming the leading role for stability in the Middle East."

Gül warmly greets Ahmadinejad.

The European Union: Challenges for Israeli Diplomacy / Tamas Berzi

April 14, 2011
Britain, France, and Germany have expressed an interest in obtaining a united European Union position on the recognition of a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, with a provision for land swaps. Should the Palestinians proceed with their plan to seek a UN General Assembly resolution stating that the Palestinian Authority constitutes a state and its borders should be based on the 1967 lines, the question of how the European Union will vote will be critical.

Consequence of Palstinian Unilateral Declaration of Statehood / Ray Cook

13 Apr 2011
The unspoken consequence of a Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood
It looks as if the Palestinian Authority, aided and abetted by the UN, is on a fast track to declaring statehood in September this year.

The BBC reports :

The government in the West Bank is largely ready to govern a Palestinian state, the United Nations has said.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has successfully built some institutions and public services required for a future state, the UN said in a report.

Why Did Goldstone Change His Mind? Jonathan D.Halevi

April 14, 2011
Judge Richard Goldstone says that if he had known then what he knows today in light of the investigation conducted by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), his final report would have been totally different. However, at the time the members of the UN fact-finding mission were gathering evidence, they preferred to ignore a huge amount of easily available information. When such information was brought to their attention, they dismissed it as unreliable or meaningless.

Goldstone's Repentance - A Study in Irrelevancy / DR.Israel Bar - Nir

The libelous document known as “The Goldstone Report” made headlines when it was published in September of 2009. It was regarded as the new Gospel by traditional anti Israeli organizations and individuals. The Emeritus South African Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, for example, saw it as “an historic attempt at seeking and speaking the truth”, while the Human Rights Watch - HRW organization described Goldstone as “A Man of Unmatched Reputation for Fairness and Integrity”.

Loving the Libel / Ben Dror Yemini

Apr 16, 2011

The central claim of the Goldstone report is that Israel intentionally killed civilians. Killing for the sake of killing. There’s a lot of nonsense in the report’s nearly 600 pages. But in my opinion it was not by chance that this claim received the most publicity.

The Silent Extermination of Iraq's "Christian Dogs" / Raymond Ibrahim

April 19, 2011
Last week an Iraqi Muslim scholar issued a fatwa that, among other barbarities, asserts that "it is permissible to spill the blood of Iraqi Christians." Inciting as the fatwa is, it is also redundant. While last October's Baghdad church attack which killed some sixty Christians is widely known—actually receiving some MSM coverage—the fact is, Christian life in Iraq has been a living hell ever since U.S. forces ousted the late Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Sanctions on Iran Achieve (almost ) Nothing / Prof.B.Rubin

18 Apr 2011
It's becoming an open secret--though not open enough--that the U.S.-led, UN-approved sanctions on Iran are having no serious strategic effect and only a limited economic effect on the country.

The reasons are clear:

1. To get the sanctions through the UN, the U.S. government basically told Russia, China, and Turkey that it would ignore their violations.

2. Iran has shifted its trade patterns eastward and southward generally, to Asia and the Middle East, including a very successful smuggling effort through the Gulf Arab states.

Judge Goldstone Shouldn't Be the Only One to Reconsider / David Harris

April 17, 2011
Lots of attention has deservedly been paid to Judge Richard Goldstone's "aha moment," when he realized that he hadn't quite got his damning UN report on Gaza right.

Of course, the damage to Israel's good name had already been done many times over, so the jurist's words in the Washington Post, however welcome, were far too late to put the anti-Israel genie back in the bottle.

But Goldstone shouldn't be the only one looking at himself in the mirror and asking how he managed to get it so wrong and at such cost.

Egypt:Disturbing Foreign Policy Trends / DR.Jacques Neriah

New Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby Reveals Distrubing Foreign Policy Trends
April 17, 2011

The State of the "Peace Process," An Enlightened Mass Media Viewpoint / Prof.B.Rubin

Mass media editorials are worth analyzing not because they influence government policy—they don’t—but because they reflect current thinking in elements of the elite and sometimes precisely what high government officials are thinking.

I Witness a Terrible Example of Israeli Apartheid / Ray Cook

21 Apr 2011
Yesterday, near the Kotel/Western Wall in Jerusalem I was shocked to see several hundred Ethiopian Jews openly celebrating an ancient Passover ritual.

The entire plaza near the Davidson Center was thronged with very well-behaved and very polite African Israelis.

I took several photos which I hope to post when I return home.

How appalling that the Israeli authorities seemed to be totally sanguine to see all these black people mingling with the dominant ‘white’ Israelis in a clear breach of the Apartheid laws.

The Secret is Out:The "Right of Return" Not Negotiable / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

The New York Times published a new White House Plan to solve the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. The Plan includes: A Palestinian state without the right of return, Jerusalem as the capital of 2 states, and securing Israel' future safety.

The Palestinian leaders respond was: The right of return not negotiable. Nabil Shaath, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, declared:
"We oppose any US peace plan which wants us to waive one of the most basic rights and that is the right of return for refugees."

What Will Happen on the "peace Process"? Prof.B.Rubin

Why It Will Fail, Why It Will Do Harm
There is confusion on two points regarding the Israel-Palestinian "peace process."
April 22, 2011
First, will the Europeans give unilateral recognition to a Palestinian state without any commitments at all to Israel. There are conflicting voices in Britain, France, and elsewhere about what these states intend. The fact that such recognition conflicts with every commitment they have made to Israel for twenty years doesn't seem to figure in their
debates.

Goldstone's Resounding Reversal Latest from the UN / Trevor Norwitz

Expert Analysis: Goldstone's Resounding Reversal Latest from the United Nations
April 24, 2011
The following article by Trevor Norwitz, a prominent attorney practicing and teaching law in New York, and the author of a widely circulated critical analysis of the Goldstone Report, is based on his remarks at the UN Watch conference on Israel, human rights and international law, held in Geneva on April 5-6, 2011.

The Goldstone Reconsideration and Israel’s Vindication

Trevor Norwitz

Watching the Pro- Israeli Academic Watchers / Prof.Leslie Wagner

Although anti-Israeli activity on campus was evident in the 1980s and 1990s, the resolutions at the notorious World Conference against Racism in Durban in August 2001 led to an upsurge in such efforts and also to the founding of three academic watch organizations in 2002. The largest of these organizations is the U.S.-based Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, which is run by the academic community itself. Campus Watch, also U.S.-based, is part of the well-established Middle East Forum and focuses on the anti-Israeli biases of Middle East courses and the academics who teach them.

Justice for Palestine / Prof. Efraim Karsh

"To a man with a hammer," Mark Twain famously quipped, "everything looks like a nail." To a propagandist, everything looks like a poll.

No sooner had my latest New York Times op-ed piece, The Palestinians, Alone, been published than my mailbox was swamped with polls of all hues aimed at proving the depth of Arab compassion for the Palestinians.

Syria:Who is the Opposition and When is The Moment of Truth / Prof.B.Rubin

24 Apr 2011
There’s a bit of a mystery regarding Syria. First, who is the opposition? Second, what will happen?

Having been the first to warn about the threat and power of Islamists in Egypt, I think that’s earned me some credibility to say that Syria may well be a different case. There is a possibility of an Islamist takeover and of an ethnic conflict in Syria, make no mistake, but a number of factors suggest that those things might not happen.

Syria Could Soon Join UN Human Rights Council / David Harris

Code Red: Syria Could Soon Join UN Human Rights Council
David Harris, AJC Executive Director
April 24, 2011
No, this isn't a bad joke.
The very same Syria that today is mowing down its own people in the streets could well be elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council on May 20th.

Here's how it works:

Melanie Phillips - Israel Must Get Onto the Front Against its Delegitimisers / Ray Cook

24 Apr 2011
On Friday night I had the privilege of being at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem to listen to Melanie Phillips address a group of visiting Americans from Kehillath Jeshurun.
The American group come regularly from Manhattan led by Rabbi Lookstein. They are strong supporters of Israel.

Melanie Phillips had been invited to speak to them after dinner, a difficult task in a hall where the acoustics were poor and Ms Phillips had to speak without electronic aids as it was Shabbat.

Nevertheless, Phillips’ message was loud and clear.