December 2011

Nov.29 1947 - UN Resolution:A JEWISH STATE

29 November 1947 - The UN Vote that Established Israel
November 29 2011
November 29 is a significant date in Jewish history. On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution, which adopted the plan for the partition of Palestine, recommended by the majority of the UN Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). 33 states voted in favor of the resolution and 13 against. 10 states abstained.

Egyptian Election Outcome Is Worse Than I Expected / Prof.B.Rubin

November 30, 2011
Since last February I have predicted that the Muslim Brotherhood would win elections in Egypt. People have thought me very pessimistic. Now the votes are starting to come in and…it’s much worse than I thought. But my prediction that the Brotherhood and the other Islamists would gain a slight majority seems to have been fulfilled and then some. According to most reports the Brotherhood is scoring at just below 40 percent all by itself.

Why worse? For two reasons:

Obama Administration Bans Knowledge of Islam / Raymond Ibrahim

November 30, 2011
The Obama administration's censoring of photographs of the late Osama bin Laden, lest they offend Muslims, is one thing; but what about censoring words, especially those pivotal to U.S. security?

The Daily Caller reveals that "the Obama administration has been pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in order to eliminate all references to Islam that some Muslim groups have claimed are offensive."

Hope and Change in Egypt: Naivete and Wishful Thinking in the West / Prof.B.Rubin

December 1, 2011
Much of the mass media seems to be saying, to paraphrase John Lennon and Yoko Ono, “All we are saying is give the Muslim Brotherhood a chance.”

There are three arguments supporting this policy that are worth discussing in large part because the Muslim Brotherhood’s advocates don’t have any others.

The first, which one hears everywhere, is that the Muslim Brotherhood is full of factions that are moderate and hip young people who want real democracy. If this were true it should be easy to prove. Here are some of the ways to do that:

Response to Thomas Friedman Article:"The Arab Awakening and Israel" / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Response to Thomas Friedman's article in the NYT OPINION PAGES Nov.29 2001
Disregard of the facts

I never supported the Likud or B.Netanyahu, but Thomas Friedman is not giving all the facts.

A. "Arab dictators were convenient for Israel."

This is an unjustified accusation. Israel had no saying on the character of the Arab regimes. The Western countries, including the USA, cooperated with those rulers who ruled the Arab states.

Muslim Anti - Semitism, Israel and the Dynamic of Self - Destructive Scapegoating / Richard Landes

December 1st, 2011
Anti-Semitism is everyone's problem, including the Muslims'.

One of my daughters recently wrote to me: “I was speaking to a friend of mine who had been dating a very, very, anti-Israel activist for about a year. We don't usually broach the topic but she asked me if most of the Muslim anti-Semitism in Europe wasn't based on their dislike of what is going on in Israel and not so much on religion.”

Israel's UN Envoy Speech on Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

Israel's UN envoy raises Jewish refugee issue at UN 'Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People'
02 December 2011
At an event at the United Nations on the 64th anniversary of the vote to partition Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state, (International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People), Israel’s Ambassador Ron Prosor told the UN General Assembly that it exacerbated rather than resolved the Middle East conflict with such commemorations.

UN Human Rights Council Condemns Syria - Only Russia, China, Cuba & Ecuador Oppose

Dec 2. 2011
UN Watch takes the floor, urges council to atone for past coddling of Syria; calls on UNESCO to reverse election of Syria to human rights committees
GENEVA, Dec. 2 – UN Watch welcomed today's strong condemnation of Syria by a UN Human Rights Council emergency session, and its establishment of a special rapporteur to monitor abuses there, following a global campaign to create the post by a coalition of prominent democracy dissidents and human rights groups led by UN Watch.

The Middle East Policy Twilight Zone: 4 Examples / Prof.B.Rubin

December 2, 2011
You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That’s the signpost up ahead — your next stop, the Twilight Zone. —Rod Serling

Ah, the gap between Middle East reality and official U.S. government-approved reality. Here are four examples:

Overviewing Shi'a - Sunni Conflicts / Aymenn J.Al - Tamimi

December 2, 2011
As we approach the end of the first year of what has been called the "Arab Spring," it is worth examining the nature of Shi'a (Shiite) -Sunni relations in the Middle East. Indeed, commentators such as Patrick Cockburn have been warning that "since the start of the Arab uprisings this year, Shi'a-Sunni hostility has deepened again wherever the two communities seek to live side by side."

To discuss this issue, a country-by-country survey is useful wherever there are significant Shi'a-Sunni divides in the population.

Muslim Brotherhood Extremist Group / Khaled Abu Toameh

Dec.2 2011
The Obama Administration is making a mistake by endorsing the Muslim Brotherhood as if it were made up of moderates or "good guys" just because they are not blowing things up.

What moderate Arabs and Muslims do not understand is the rush of the Barack Obama Administration to endorse extremist Islamic groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood decision to run in the parliamentary elections under the banner of "Freedom and Justice" does not necessarily mean that the organization has changed its ideology.

On Secretary of State Speech at Brookings Instiution / Prof.B.Rubin

Secretary of Defense Panetta shows how the Obama Administration is Selling Out Israel…and US Interests
December 3, 2011
Charlie: “You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast.”

Fire Spreads Both Ways / Jonathan Spyer

December 4, 2011
Before the Arab upheavals of 2011, the Middle East was dominated by a cold war, pitting US-aligned regional states against a self-designated “Muqawama (resistance) Axis” of states and movements led by Iran. Both these blocs still exist. Both have been in different ways diminished by the ferment currently under way in the Arabic-speaking world.

Middle East Media Sampler for Dec.5, 2011 / Daniel Goldstein

December 5, 2011
1) Actually, the Palestinians admit this themselves

As the statements by Ambassador Gutman and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta make news, there has been some pushback. The AP reports Israel blames Palestinians for deadlock in talks, says leadership’s aim is to boycott Israel:

Obama's Middle East Policy: A Unified Field Theory / Prof.B.Rubin

December 5, 2011
In the history of physics, the “unified field theory” was an attempt to bring together an understanding of all forms of energy in a single explanation. Albert Einstein tried and failed to discover this. I don’t know much about physics but I know about Middle East policy.

So here’s an effort to bring together all of Obama’s regional policy into a single analysis and explaining everything in 1100 words.

Elections In Egypt And The Reprecussions For The Palestinians / Pinhas Inbari

05 December 2011
Last week’s elections in Egypt have showcased a striking phenomenon – the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces and the Muslim Brotherhood partnered up in a move that may develop into a future alliance to rule Egypt.

Muslim Brotherhood: Subverting Free Societies From Within / Raymond Ibrahim

December 5, 2011
The online version of the long-running Arabic journal Ruz al-Yusif carries an exclusive interview with Sheikh Osama al-Qusi entitled, "Former Salafi: Salafis Have Distorted Islam." In the interview, Qusi discusses the "true thoughts" of the various Islamic groups, which "they conceal under a political mask"; he insists they have "distorted and exploited" Islam.

Fatah Elections Detached From Reality / Khaled Abu Toameh

December 6, 2011
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has just announced that he wants to hold new presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2012.

Abbas aides said this week that their Fatah faction has begun preparing for the upcoming elections. They added that Hamas would be allowed to participate in the vote for the second time since 2006.

What is surprising is that Fatah leaders are now reassuring their supporters that this time they will win the elections.

Challenges Facing the States of North Africa / Bruce Maddy - Weitzman

November 3, 2011
Mr. Maddy-Weitzman addressed the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia on November 3, on the implications of the North African upheavals for U.S. and Western national interests.

Mr. Maddy-Weitzman began by describing 2011 as a transformative year but cautioned that the Arab uprisings had produced mixed results, with a final verdict still pending.

Where'd All the Jews Go? Alan Caruba

Dec.5 2011
Jonathan D. Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University wrote a commentary in the December 2 issue of The Wall Street Journal lamenting the “American Jewry’s Data Problem.” It might as well be titled “Where’d all the Jews Go?”

A Changing Middle East: An Insider 's Perspective / Danny Yatom

November 14, 2011
Maj. Gen. Yatom addressed the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia on November 14 about the implications of the current turmoil in the Middle East for Israel's national security and international relations.

Waves of Hate and Love For Israel / Ryan Jones

December 06, 2011
Israel came under concentrated assault on the popular social network Twitter over the weekend, with thousands of posters broadcasting messages with the tag "israelhates."

The "israelhates" tag was at one point attached to 0.15 percent of the millions of worldwide Twitter posts (or tweets) sent over the weekend, making it one of the top Twitter trends for that period. Israel's Channel 2 News ran a report stating that Israel was "under attack" on Twitter.

OECD Report on Life in Israel / Prof.B.Rubin

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. See the GLORIA/MERIA site at www.gloria-center.org.

December 7, 2011
OECD: Israel Fifth in Life Expectancy; Infant Mortality Rate Lowest; Disease Falling; Healthcare Cheaper
An Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report just released says:

--Israeli life expectancy is among the highest in the world (81.6 years in 2009) and fifth among OECD countries

Egypt's Sham Election / Daniel Pipes & Cynthia Farahat

December 6, 2011
According to Egypt's elections committee, the Muslim Brotherhood won 37 percent of the vote of the first round of voting in Egypt; and the Salafis, who promote a yet more extreme Islamist program, won 24 percent, giving them together a jaw-dropping 61 percent of the vote.

One pleased Egyptian voter.

This stunning result prompts two questions: Is this a legitimate or rigged outcome? Are Islamists about to dominate Egypt?

Jordan is Palestine / Mudar Zaharan

Dec.8.2011
Thus far the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has weathered the storm that has swept across the Middle East since the beginning of the year. But the relative calm in Amman is an illusion. The unspoken truth is that the Palestinians, the country's largest ethnic group, have developed a profound hatred of the regime and view the Hashemites as occupiers of eastern Palestine—intruders rather than legitimate rulers.

The 'Angry Arab' Goes Mad / Cinnamon Stillwell & Rima Greene

December 8, 2011
As'ad AbuKahlil—a political science professor at California State University, Stanislaus—spoke last month at a day-long "teach-in" at the University of California, Berkeley titled, "Building Solidarity with the Arab Spring." It consisted of a number of "workshop sessions" at the Valley Life Sciences Building, followed by a "plenary session" at the Multicultural Center, and was co-sponsored by the Arab Resource Organizing Committee, the Berkeley Muslim Students Association PAC, the International Socialist Organization, and the Syrian American Council.

Journalism the Arab World is Not Used To / Khaled Abu Toameh

December 9, 2011 at 5:00 am
Israel is one of the few places in the Middle East where Arab journalists can still practice some form of real journalism without having to worry about their safety.

Over the past few years, several Arab media outlets have popped up in Israel, offering a type of journalism that the Arab world is not used to.

In Israel, they know, government "thugs" do not break the hands of cartoonists and photographers who dare to criticize the government. Nor does Israel arrest a journalist who post on Facebook a comment criticizing the president.

"Life is a Lot Happier When You Don't Hate As Much / Ray Cook

06 Dec 2011
Thus said Kasim “Kaz” Hafeez in the final session of the Politics thread at the Big Tent For Israel in Manchester on November 27th.

Kaz was part of a panel discussing “How to change the narrative in the Muslim community”.

He told an enraptured audience how he had very nearly ended up in a Jihadi training camp; how he was brought up to hate Israel and Jews.

Sharia's Sinisiter Smiles / Raymond Ibrahim

December 8, 2011
The totalitarian nature of Sharia law can only be grasped when one appreciates how thoroughly it permeates and dictates everything in a believer's life—including when and to whom a Muslim may smile.

Popular Islamic TV preacher Sheikh Muhammad Hassan appears in this video clip asserting that, according to Sharia, it is "not at all permissible" for Muslims to smile at non-Muslims, "except in cases of da'wa."

Deception:Betraying the Peace Process / Itamar Marcus &Nan J.Zilberdik

"Deception: Betraying the Peace Process"
Dec. 6, 2011
Just this week an important new book arrived that details in exhaustive fashion the duplicity of the PA, under President Mahmoud Abbas, in speaking to the West of its recognition of Israel while at the same time spreading hate speech and glorifying terrorists at home.

REVISIONISM, REJECTIONISM AND ARAB- ISRAELI PEACE / PROF. IRWIN COTLER.

12/07/2011
The suffering of Jewish refugees from Arab countries must be acknowledged, compensated for their losses.
While serving as a Canadian delegate to the annual inter-parliamentary hearing at the United Nations, I came across an exhibit marking the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The central theme of the exhibit is the Nakba – catastrophe – suffered by the Palestinian people, due to the establishment of the State of Israel.

Israel Calls for End To Special Status of UN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE AGENCY ( UNRWA )

09 December 2011
At a United Nations ministerial meeting on refugees in Geneva, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon has questioned the use of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which exclusively deals with Palestinian refugees. Ayalon argued against the two-tier system whereby Arabs displaced by the fighting in British Mandatory Palestine around the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and their descendants are tended to by UNRWA while other refugees must look collectively to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The Battle Against Anti - Semitism and Anti - Israel on California Campuses

From: The Amcha Initiative
Date: Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 2:50 PM
Subject: AMCHA responds to CSUN President Koester

From: Tammi Benjamin [[email protected]]
To: Jolene Koester [[email protected]]
CC: Leila Beckwith [[email protected]], [email protected], Harold L Hellenbrand , Werner Horn
Date: Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 2:29 PM
Subject: Responding to your letter about anti-Semitic webpages on the CSUN server

Dear President Koester,

The Battle Against Anti - Semitism and Anti - Israel on California Campuses - Part Two

From: "Koester, Jolene"
Date: December 8, 2011 10:31:35 AM PST
To: Tammi Benjamin
Subject: Re: responding to your letter about anti-Semitic webpages on the CSUN server

Too bad.
Jk

Sent from my iPad

Dear President Koester,

Obama Gives A Preview Of How He'll Campaign On Foreign Policy / Prof.B.Rubin

December 9, 2011
“I shot the sheriff
But I didn’t shoot no deputy.” –Bob Marley

As his rare December 8 press conference, President Barack Obama took two questions on the Middle East. His answers give a sense of how he’s going to campaign on the issue. Both answers are deeply flawed but one wonders how many people will understand that.

To paraphrase the song, Obama will say: I shot ben-Ladin, and I also wounded Iran.

The way his election rivals should put it is:

UN Watch's Tribute for Human Rights Day

Dec. 10, 2011
GENEVA, Dec. 10 – Sixty-three years ago today, at a special session in Paris, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Men and women around the world who are denied their basic human rights often seek to mark today's anniversary by calling for freedom. Too often, their efforts are stymied.

Why Newt Gingrich is Wrong about Palestinian Identity / Ray Cook

10 Dec 2011
Newt Gingrich’s leaked comments which describe Palestinian identity as ‘invented’ have a profound importance in the Middle East conflict and these remarks have to be challenged.

One of the reasons that the Gingrich view has to be confronted is that when Jewish peoplehood is questioned by the Palestinians and their cheerleaders on the Left, Muslims and Arabs remain silent in tacit agreement. The Palestinians’ outrage at Gingrich’s remarks are, therefore, hypocritical.

The Mail Online reports Gingrich’s words here.

Obama Foreign Policy: President as Turkey

December 8, 2011
On October 5, 1938, Winston Churchill said in the House of Commons, regarding the Munich agreement in which Britain and France forced Czechoslovakia to cede the strategic Sudetenland to Germany, leading a few months later to that country’s extinction and a year later to World War Two:

“I will begin by saying what everybody would like to ignore or forget but which must nevertheless be stated, namely, that we have sustained a total and unmitigated defeat….”

Viscountess Astor shouted, “Nonsense!”

H.Clinton is wrong about Israeli Democracy / Emmanuel Navon

Dec 11 2011
Hillary Clinton recently expressed concern about the future of Israeli democracy because the Knesset is considering curtailing foreign governments’ funding for Israeli NGOs, and because some rabbis in Israel say they want men and women to seat separately on buses.
Does Hillary realize how hypocritical she is? In the Unites States, NGOs that receive money from foreign governments are considered foreign agents. And why is separate sitting between men and women on “haredi” buses a threat to democracy in Israel but not in New York (a common practice in Clinton’s home state)?

Hard Choices for Hamas With the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood / Pinhas Inbari

December 9 2011
Hamas is abandoning the sinking ship of Syria and many senior cadres have already settled in Gaza. At the same time, Iran has cut its subsidy to Hamas.
Not only is there a need to find new accommodations for Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal and company, but there is also a political price: the need to decrease terror and transform itself from a pro-Iranian/Syrian "muqawama" ("resistance") movement into a typical political party of the Muslim Brotherhood-type that are now in the process of taking control in the Arab world.

What Is Behind the Condemnation of Israel's War against the Hamas / Prof.Efraim Karsh

published 11 January 2009

Israeli citizens are once more targeted by Gaza rockets. Is the world going to blame ISRAEL once more for defending its citizens?
Dec.11 2011

What's Behind Western Condemnation of Israel's War Against Hamas?

Response to Gingrich Statement that Paleainians are an invented nationality / Eli E.Hertz

Palestine is a Geographical Area, Not a Nationality
December 11, 2011
In an interview with Republican Presidential Primary front-runner and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, a former Professor and Historian, he explains his position on the Arab-Israeli conflict and states that the Palestinians are "an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs."

It is time to tell the truth that is based on facts:

Newt Gingrich and the "Invented" Palestinian People / Daniel Pipes

December 10, 2011
The former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives and current Republican presidential candidate said yesterday that "there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire. We have invented the Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs and are historically part of the Arab people, and they had the chance to go many places."

Fact -Checking Newt Gingrich / Prof.B.Rubin

Fact-Checking Newt Gingrich and the Fact-Checkers on the Middle East
December 11, 2011
ABC News “fact-checked” Newt Gingrich’s Middle East statements and some readers asked me to fact-check ABC, so here is my view:

Gingrich said Palestinians are an “invented” people. ABC says: Not true.

I think Gingrich was basically correct, but that point isn’t so significant. There is a strong tendency of contemporary experts to argue that pretty much every nationality is invented including the French, British, Italian, Polish, and German.

Obama Administration Bans Knowledge of Islam / Raymond Ibrahim

The Obama administration's censoring of photographs of the late Osama bin Laden, lest they "offend" Muslims, is one thing; but what about censoring words, especially those pivotal to U.S. security?

Weeks earlier, the Daily Caller revealed that "the Obama administration was pulling back all training materials used for the law enforcement and national security communities, in order to eliminate all references to Islam that some Muslim groups have claimed are offensive."

The Battle Against Anti - Semitism and Anti - Israel on California Campuses / Prof.Tammi Rossman - Benjamin

Dear President Koester (and Chancellor Reed),
While I appreciate your apology (below), I am very disappointed that you have not yet addressed the serious concerns that so many members of the Jewish community have raised regarding Professor David Klein's anti-Semitic webpages.

We continue to believe that these webpages are in violation of CSUN policy and contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students on your campus, and that the University has not only the right but the responsibility of seeing that they are removed from the CSUN server.

Collective Punishment Under Islam / Raymond Ibrahim

December 8, 2011
During a recent altercation in Egypt, a Christian inadvertently killed a Muslim. This incident, according to an AINA report, "turned into collective punishment of all Copts in the majority Christian village." Two Christians "not party to the altercation" were killed; others were stabbed and critically wounded. As usual, "after killing the Copts, Muslims went on a rampage, looting and burning Christian owned homes and businesses."

Sectarian Suspence in Syria / Pinhas Inbari

12 December 2011
The skyline in the rebelling Syrian city of Homs is dominated by a large suffocating black cloud – the result of a major explosion in the gasoline pipeline held by the rebels.

How Is Obama's Middle East Policy Endangers Israel / Prof.B.Rubin

December 12, 2011
Think about this: In the year 2012 the overwhelming majority of Muslims in the Middle East will be governed by radical Islamist regimes that believe in waging jihad on Israel and America, wiping Israel off the map, suppressing Christians, reducing the status of women even more than it is now, and their right as true interpreters of God’s will to govern as dictators. (Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Turkey) President Obama does not see this as a problem.

A Response to 8 Lies about Israel / Ben Dror Yemini

Every generation witnesses new efforts striving to deny us (Jews ) freedom, whether Jewish freedom in the Diaspora or in Israel. Nowadays, a strange coalition has emerged, of Islamists, skinheads and liberal academics, galvanized by the enlightened Chomsky and the benighted Ahmadinejad.