Israeli Arab MK defends Gaza rockets
Posted: 11 Apr 2011 07:52 AM PDT
Firas Press quotes Maariv as reporting that Israeli MK Haneen Zoabi said that Gaza armed groups have a right to fire rockets at Israel - her country.
She said, "Those who live under siege and hardship will do everything for their freedom and Israel understands that."
Zoabi was on the flotilla that included the Mavi Marmara last summer.
Would any democracy in the world tolerate a member of their parliament publicly supporting war against their own country?
Elder of Ziyon
Showing posts with label anti Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anti Israel. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Muslim Brotherhood Yearns for War vs Israel
The war on the tiny Jewish state has begun. The anti-tank missile attack on the Jewish school bus was but a taste. The barbarians worry not -- they expect no interefence from the thumbsucker in chief. While the Muslim Brotherhood takes down the little Satan and all US allied Muslim nations, the President Moe is taking down the Big Satan.
Savage missile blitz from Gaza sends a million Israelis to shelters
Before dawn Saturday, April 9, Hamas inflicted its heaviest missile blitz yet on southern Israel. - acting now on guidelines from the Lebanese Hizballah. More than a dozen heavy Grad missiles were aimed at seven Israeli cities injuring 10 civilians. One exploded in the sand dunes of Palmahim, aimed at Israel's nuclear research reactor at Nahal Soreq, More missiles landed south of Kiryat Gat, Ofakim, Beersheba and Ashkelon. Sirens sent people running for cover in Gedera and Gan Yavneh. The two Iron Dome systems deployed last week intercepted six of the Grad missiles fired at Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod. The IDF responded by targeting three senior Hamas commanders in an air strike in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younes.
debkafile reported Friday night, April 8: More than 60 Hamas and Jihad Islami mortar shells and missiles hit Israeli towns, villages and farms on the Israeli side of the Gaza border Friday April 8 and injured a civilian. This heightened Israeli fury over Hamas's attack on a school bus Thursday, April 7, using a sophisticated Cornet anti-tank missile for the first time. A 16-year old boy was critically wounded. This attack was followed by 50 Palestinian rockets and mortar rounds, a blitz which had not abated by Friday night despite constant Israeli counteraction.
debkafile discloses a less obvious motive behind the mounting violence: Hamas is trying to establish new rules for the conflict on advice and directives coming from its Lebanese ally, Hizballah, to step up its barrage on Israel by 25 percent. The IDF is forced to respond to the resulting escalation in kind.
Our intelligence sources report that Hamas was advised by Hizballah to blitz Israel into relinquishing the 500-meter deep security strip the IDF established inside the Gaza border when Palestinian fire on Israel continued after it was temporarily reduced by the 2009 Cast Lead operation.
Hizballah leaders are telling Hamas they should be able to bring their forward and firing positions right up to the Israeli border, a convenience enjoyed by HIzballah on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier ever since 2000 when Israel quit southern Lebanon.
The IDF is fighting to hold on to this buffer zone to keep Palestinian terrorists back from breaching the border for direct attacks in Israel. The soldiers keep Palestinian gunmen from accessing this strip of land and impose restrictions on Gazan farmers seeking to till their fields in a strip which covers 15 percent of the enclave's arable land. (Farmers of the Eshkol district on the other side of the border are regularly targeted for attack.)
Hamas is threatening to raise the cross-border violence until Israeli troops pull back to the border. Its anti-tank missile attack on the school bus Thursday was the opening shot of its battle for the buffer zone.
The IDF's tactics for countering Hamas aggression remain unchanged, except in scale: In the last 48 hours, Israeli helicopters, mortars, tanks and naval units have been pounding the Gaza Strip while Hamas releases barrages of dozens of missile and mortar attacks on villages and towns - practically without pause. Israeli civilians were told to stay close to bomb shelters in the days to come. Schools, road traffic, public transport and businesses will function intermittently.
Israeli military planners are still playing the familiar tit-for-tat game which never in the past stopped the aggression from Gaza. Nevertheless, debkafile's military sources point to some notable differences in the current round.
The Iron Dome system designed in Israel to intercept short-range rockets was experimentally deployed in the important towns of Beersheba and Ashkelon this week. Friday, the system intercepted three missiles aimed at Ashkelon, although it caught only one of several Thursday.
The IDF importantly demonstrated it is fully capable of launching another major military campaign in the Gaza Strip. The broad scale of its land, sea and air reprisals since Thursday, April 7, was intended to remind Hamas and its allies, especially the Iranian-backed Jihad Islami, of the devastation wrought the enclave they rule by Israel's 2009 Cast Lead operation.
A possible Cast Lead II was in the air after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday during a visit to Prague: Attacks on children cross a red line. Those who carry out such attacks should know that their blood is on their heads."
On the other side of the ledger, the new rulers of Egypt are in the process of unraveling Hosni Mubarak's peace relations with Israel – as debkafile has reported – and engaging in rapprochement with the Gaza and Damascus centers of the two radical Palestinian organizations.
Since the Israeli government has not adjusted its policies to the new developments, its military tactics are operating in a vacuum and will have little deterrent effect. The current upsurge of Hamas-Jihad aggression will therefore go on.
debkafile's military experts maintain that the tactics of massive firepower without ground operations have run their course. There is no way to wipe out the increasingly sophisticated heavy weapons arsenal Hamas has been allowed to amass from the air. So the half a million Israeli civilians of the Western Negev and the southern coastal towns must continue to live under their shadow instead of having normal lives. Often, many cannot make it to work and schools, places of business and traffic can operate only intermittently.
Since Thursday, IDF operations have been sweeping across a broad front in the Gaza Strip from the old air field at Dahaniyeh in the south up to the northern fringes of Gaza City.
In the south, Khan Younes and Deir al Balakh took the severest beating. The former went dark Thursday night after Israeli airborne and surface missiles knocked out the local electricity grid. In Deir Balakh, a Hamas base built deliberately near a hospital took an airborne rocket, a signal that all such facilities would no longer be immune from attack.
In the Gaza City region, Israeli helicopters, tanks and naval ships bombed two main Hamas military installations – Abu Jerad and Rantisi.
The Palestinians reported 10 killed, including the commander of missile operations at the Shati refugee camp, and scores wounded, thereupon loosing off 50 missiles and mortar rounds – as usual, against civilian locations. In Ashkelon, Iron Dome intercepted its first missile Thursday, but missed the rest – scoring a partial success
For the first time in three years, Hamas appealed to Cairo to broker a ceasefire. Israeli did not bother to respond since the rulers of Gaza have violated every agreed ceasefire in the past. Hamas reached out to the new Egyptian regime following its moves towards a rapprochement and a Palestinian diplomatic initiative.
debkafile's intelligence sources disclose that last week, the head of Egypt's intelligence services Maj. Gen. Mourad Mowafi visited Damascus. He obtained permission from Syria's beleaguered president Bashar Assad to meet Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshaal and Abdullah Ramadan Salah of the Palestinian Jihad Islami and hand them an invitation to visit Cairo.
He then informed them that the new Egyptian leaders are willing to help negotiate Hamas' reconciliation with Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah on the following basis: Hamas would accept the two-state solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict but Egypt would not press for the second part of the formula endorsed by Washington and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, namely that "the two states live alongside each other in peace and security."
This amended formula would leave Hamas and the other radical Palestinian organizations free to continue their violent campaign of "resistance" against Israel while making peace with the rival Fatah and gaining a Palestinian state on the West Bank.
These days, Hamas is sure it is on a win-win course and has little to fear from stepping up its war on Israel until it gets what it wants.
Savage missile blitz from Gaza sends a million Israelis to shelters
Before dawn Saturday, April 9, Hamas inflicted its heaviest missile blitz yet on southern Israel. - acting now on guidelines from the Lebanese Hizballah. More than a dozen heavy Grad missiles were aimed at seven Israeli cities injuring 10 civilians. One exploded in the sand dunes of Palmahim, aimed at Israel's nuclear research reactor at Nahal Soreq, More missiles landed south of Kiryat Gat, Ofakim, Beersheba and Ashkelon. Sirens sent people running for cover in Gedera and Gan Yavneh. The two Iron Dome systems deployed last week intercepted six of the Grad missiles fired at Beersheba, Ashkelon and Ashdod. The IDF responded by targeting three senior Hamas commanders in an air strike in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younes.
debkafile reported Friday night, April 8: More than 60 Hamas and Jihad Islami mortar shells and missiles hit Israeli towns, villages and farms on the Israeli side of the Gaza border Friday April 8 and injured a civilian. This heightened Israeli fury over Hamas's attack on a school bus Thursday, April 7, using a sophisticated Cornet anti-tank missile for the first time. A 16-year old boy was critically wounded. This attack was followed by 50 Palestinian rockets and mortar rounds, a blitz which had not abated by Friday night despite constant Israeli counteraction.
debkafile discloses a less obvious motive behind the mounting violence: Hamas is trying to establish new rules for the conflict on advice and directives coming from its Lebanese ally, Hizballah, to step up its barrage on Israel by 25 percent. The IDF is forced to respond to the resulting escalation in kind.
Our intelligence sources report that Hamas was advised by Hizballah to blitz Israel into relinquishing the 500-meter deep security strip the IDF established inside the Gaza border when Palestinian fire on Israel continued after it was temporarily reduced by the 2009 Cast Lead operation.
Hizballah leaders are telling Hamas they should be able to bring their forward and firing positions right up to the Israeli border, a convenience enjoyed by HIzballah on the Lebanese-Israeli frontier ever since 2000 when Israel quit southern Lebanon.
The IDF is fighting to hold on to this buffer zone to keep Palestinian terrorists back from breaching the border for direct attacks in Israel. The soldiers keep Palestinian gunmen from accessing this strip of land and impose restrictions on Gazan farmers seeking to till their fields in a strip which covers 15 percent of the enclave's arable land. (Farmers of the Eshkol district on the other side of the border are regularly targeted for attack.)
Hamas is threatening to raise the cross-border violence until Israeli troops pull back to the border. Its anti-tank missile attack on the school bus Thursday was the opening shot of its battle for the buffer zone.
The IDF's tactics for countering Hamas aggression remain unchanged, except in scale: In the last 48 hours, Israeli helicopters, mortars, tanks and naval units have been pounding the Gaza Strip while Hamas releases barrages of dozens of missile and mortar attacks on villages and towns - practically without pause. Israeli civilians were told to stay close to bomb shelters in the days to come. Schools, road traffic, public transport and businesses will function intermittently.
Israeli military planners are still playing the familiar tit-for-tat game which never in the past stopped the aggression from Gaza. Nevertheless, debkafile's military sources point to some notable differences in the current round.
The Iron Dome system designed in Israel to intercept short-range rockets was experimentally deployed in the important towns of Beersheba and Ashkelon this week. Friday, the system intercepted three missiles aimed at Ashkelon, although it caught only one of several Thursday.
The IDF importantly demonstrated it is fully capable of launching another major military campaign in the Gaza Strip. The broad scale of its land, sea and air reprisals since Thursday, April 7, was intended to remind Hamas and its allies, especially the Iranian-backed Jihad Islami, of the devastation wrought the enclave they rule by Israel's 2009 Cast Lead operation.
A possible Cast Lead II was in the air after Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Thursday during a visit to Prague: Attacks on children cross a red line. Those who carry out such attacks should know that their blood is on their heads."
On the other side of the ledger, the new rulers of Egypt are in the process of unraveling Hosni Mubarak's peace relations with Israel – as debkafile has reported – and engaging in rapprochement with the Gaza and Damascus centers of the two radical Palestinian organizations.
Since the Israeli government has not adjusted its policies to the new developments, its military tactics are operating in a vacuum and will have little deterrent effect. The current upsurge of Hamas-Jihad aggression will therefore go on.
debkafile's military experts maintain that the tactics of massive firepower without ground operations have run their course. There is no way to wipe out the increasingly sophisticated heavy weapons arsenal Hamas has been allowed to amass from the air. So the half a million Israeli civilians of the Western Negev and the southern coastal towns must continue to live under their shadow instead of having normal lives. Often, many cannot make it to work and schools, places of business and traffic can operate only intermittently.
Since Thursday, IDF operations have been sweeping across a broad front in the Gaza Strip from the old air field at Dahaniyeh in the south up to the northern fringes of Gaza City.
In the south, Khan Younes and Deir al Balakh took the severest beating. The former went dark Thursday night after Israeli airborne and surface missiles knocked out the local electricity grid. In Deir Balakh, a Hamas base built deliberately near a hospital took an airborne rocket, a signal that all such facilities would no longer be immune from attack.
In the Gaza City region, Israeli helicopters, tanks and naval ships bombed two main Hamas military installations – Abu Jerad and Rantisi.
The Palestinians reported 10 killed, including the commander of missile operations at the Shati refugee camp, and scores wounded, thereupon loosing off 50 missiles and mortar rounds – as usual, against civilian locations. In Ashkelon, Iron Dome intercepted its first missile Thursday, but missed the rest – scoring a partial success
For the first time in three years, Hamas appealed to Cairo to broker a ceasefire. Israeli did not bother to respond since the rulers of Gaza have violated every agreed ceasefire in the past. Hamas reached out to the new Egyptian regime following its moves towards a rapprochement and a Palestinian diplomatic initiative.
debkafile's intelligence sources disclose that last week, the head of Egypt's intelligence services Maj. Gen. Mourad Mowafi visited Damascus. He obtained permission from Syria's beleaguered president Bashar Assad to meet Hamas' political leader Khaled Meshaal and Abdullah Ramadan Salah of the Palestinian Jihad Islami and hand them an invitation to visit Cairo.
He then informed them that the new Egyptian leaders are willing to help negotiate Hamas' reconciliation with Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah on the following basis: Hamas would accept the two-state solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict but Egypt would not press for the second part of the formula endorsed by Washington and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, namely that "the two states live alongside each other in peace and security."
This amended formula would leave Hamas and the other radical Palestinian organizations free to continue their violent campaign of "resistance" against Israel while making peace with the rival Fatah and gaining a Palestinian state on the West Bank.
These days, Hamas is sure it is on a win-win course and has little to fear from stepping up its war on Israel until it gets what it wants.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Washington Post Simply Repeats Hamas Lies
Tahar al-Nounou, a spokesman for Hamas's government in Gaza, said that no one had fired rockets from the area targeted by Israel on Tuesday. "The Palestinian government condemns strongly the awful crime that was committed by the Zionist occupation this afternoon,'' he said in Gaza.
See also Meryl Yourish's excellent comparison of AP's reporting of this incident versus the Fogel massacre.
See also Meryl Yourish's excellent comparison of AP's reporting of this incident versus the Fogel massacre.
J Street is not a pro-Israel Organization
“J Street’s opposition to the Rothman-Austria letter has only increased the willingness of members to sign on. It begs the question of what are J Street’s goals,” said one congressional staffer. “If J Street’s goals are to have fewer people sign onto the letter, they’ve already failed.”
J-Street's opposition to the letter also shows how hypocritical the group is. They oppose the letter in part because it isn't balanced - it shows a "biased ...picture" and doesn't mention the other side of supposed PA moves to end incitement.
Yet J-Street supported the one-sided, anti-Israel Security Council resolution on the settlements. It had no problem with bias then! To J-Street, the only party that has to compromise, and the only party that needs to be pressured by the US, is Israel. Not exactly how friends of Israel act!
Not only that, but the letter is correct. The PA continues to incite through its own media, as abundantly documented by Palestinian Media Watch. J-Street's refusal to acknowledge that shows, once again, that it is not a "pro-Israel" organization.
The good news is that Congress has caught onto J-Street's facade.
(h/t My Right Word)
Elder of Ziyon
J-Street's opposition to the letter also shows how hypocritical the group is. They oppose the letter in part because it isn't balanced - it shows a "biased ...picture" and doesn't mention the other side of supposed PA moves to end incitement.
Yet J-Street supported the one-sided, anti-Israel Security Council resolution on the settlements. It had no problem with bias then! To J-Street, the only party that has to compromise, and the only party that needs to be pressured by the US, is Israel. Not exactly how friends of Israel act!
Not only that, but the letter is correct. The PA continues to incite through its own media, as abundantly documented by Palestinian Media Watch. J-Street's refusal to acknowledge that shows, once again, that it is not a "pro-Israel" organization.
The good news is that Congress has caught onto J-Street's facade.
(h/t My Right Word)
Elder of Ziyon
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Poland and Israel EI Version
"There is no more reliable and loyal adherent of your stance and aspiration for a better and a fairer world order in the European Union than Poland."
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, 9 April 2008
"We cannot pretend that Iran's behavior is normal and that a terrorist is a freedom fighter. You have a real friend in Europe and it is important that both countries will strengthen each other's image."
- Prime Minister Tusk at a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 23 February 2011
"The Jewish people are an indelible part of Polish history, and Poland is an indelible part of Jewish history ... Our deep bilateral cooperation is based on common values and a shared history, as well as on the aspiration to a common future in which we want to achieve the same goals."
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Tusk, 23 February 2011
Last month witnessed the launch of the first Polish-Israeli governmental forum held in occupied Jerusalem. The biannual dialogue accelerates an existing partnership between the two countries which includes trade agreements, joint military training exercises and arms deals under an ongoing "Polonization of Israeli Technology" drive.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk's 55-strong delegation included the ministers of education, health, foreign affairs and defense, as well as senior intelligence, culture, environment and finance ministry representatives. All met their counterparts in the Israeli government.
Both states signed deals for the Israeli military to train Polish special forces as well as pilots of Poland's fleet of 48 Lockheed Martin F-16 war planes. Further agreements included developing joint water and sustainable energy resource management projects; ongoing cultural cooperation with Polish "Year in Israel" events; research and development in health and medicine; Polish lobbying for an upgrade of relations between the EU and Israel; a deal on sharing access to national libraries; and initiatives to be taken between 2011 to 2013 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Holocaust in Poland.
Corporate crime
Poland is Israel's freshest market for seeking legitimacy in Europe and one of its most lucrative. Israeli companies violating international law have found a green zone in the Eastern European country.
The firm ASBUD, for example, listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, is majority-owned by Ashtrom, Shikun and Binui Group and STR Development & Construction Group. While having built housing complexes in the neighborhoods of Konstancin, Tarchomin and Piaseczno in Warsaw, Ashtrom also supplies construction materials for checkpoints for the Israeli Ministry of Defense and is building housing units in the illegal settlement of Nof Zion in occupied East Jerusalem (Profile of Ashtom Group, Who Profits from the Occupation?). Meanwhile, Shikun and Binui Group subsidiary Solel Boneh is expanding the illegal colony of Ramot in occupied East Jerusalem (Profile of Housing and Construction Holding Co., Who Profits?).
Egged, Israel's oldest and largest bus company, bought Poland's Mobilis in 2006. Egged Israel is a stakeholder in the Jerusalem light rail project linking illegal settlements to occupied Jerusalem, and also runs bus services between illegal settlements in the West Bank. In Poland, Egged's operations cover urban bus routes in Warsaw, Krakow and Bydgoszcz as well as suburban services, totaling some 240 buses ("Mobilis Sp. z o. o. przjmuje spółki PKS północnego mazowsza," Ostroł ęka 25 June 2010).
Israeli water company Eden Springs Ltd. is the second-largest distributor of bottled water in Poland. Eden's parent company Mayanot Eden sells mineral water from the Salukia spring in the occupied Golan Heights -- Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967 -- and also has a bottling plant in Katzrin, an Israeli colony also in the occupied Golan (Profile of Eden Springs, Who Profits?).
Last December, the Polish Ministry of Defense signed a $16 million deal with Israel's Elbit Systems to provide multi-sensor monitoring and surveillance systems for the Polish army ("Elbit Systems Awarded $16M Contract by Polish Military," StreetInsider.com, 20 December 2010). Elbit is responsible for reinforcing Israel's wall in the occupied West Bank (the route of which was declared unlawful by the International Court of Justice in 2004) by providing surveillance systems for it. Elbit also manufactures the Hermes 450 armed drone, a pilotless aircraft that was Israel's weapon of choice during its winter 2008-09 assault on Gaza, when it was used to fire on and kill civilians.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
J Street Founder Suggests Jews to Leave Israel
From Lori Lowenthal Marcus at The American Thinker:
"Maybe, if this collective Jewish presence" -- that is, the Jewish State in the Middle East -- "can only survive by the sword, then Israel really ain't a good idea." So said Daniel Levy, one of J Street's founders, at the 2011 J Street Conference. You can hear him, and the lack of any objection from even one of the 2000-strong audience, here, at 1:26:15 on the J Street Conference video, on J Street's own website.
Are we there yet? Is this clear statement by one of J Street's founders -- that if the Arabs will force Israel to defend herself, then the Jews should abandon the Middle East -- enough to prove that J Street is not "pro-Israel" at all? Is this confession enough to enable (or force) people to see that it is this belief: that the Jews are simply wrong to defend themselves ever, including against Gazan terrorism or a nuclear Iran, that constitutes the foundation of J Street?
Elder of Ziyon
"Maybe, if this collective Jewish presence" -- that is, the Jewish State in the Middle East -- "can only survive by the sword, then Israel really ain't a good idea." So said Daniel Levy, one of J Street's founders, at the 2011 J Street Conference. You can hear him, and the lack of any objection from even one of the 2000-strong audience, here, at 1:26:15 on the J Street Conference video, on J Street's own website.
Are we there yet? Is this clear statement by one of J Street's founders -- that if the Arabs will force Israel to defend herself, then the Jews should abandon the Middle East -- enough to prove that J Street is not "pro-Israel" at all? Is this confession enough to enable (or force) people to see that it is this belief: that the Jews are simply wrong to defend themselves ever, including against Gazan terrorism or a nuclear Iran, that constitutes the foundation of J Street?
Elder of Ziyon
Thursday, March 10, 2011
EI Does not Discuss Arab Turmoil
Benjamin Netanyahu's advisers conceded last week that the Israeli prime minister is more downcast than they have ever seen him. The reason for his gloominess is to be found in Israel's diplomatic and strategic standing, which some analysts suggest is at its lowest ebb in living memory.
Netanyahu's concern was evident at a recent cabinet meeting, when he was reported to have angrily pounded the table. "We are in a very difficult international arena," the Haaretz newspaper quoted him telling ministers who wanted to step up settlement-building. "I suggest we all be cautious."
A global survey for Britain's BBC published on Monday will have only reinforced that assessment: Israel was rated among the least popular countries, with just 21 percent seeing it in a positive light.
A belated realization by Netanyahu that he has exhausted international goodwill almost certainly explains -- if mounting rumors from his office are to be believed -- his mysterious change of tack on the peace process.
After refusing last year to continue a partial freeze on settlement-building, a Palestinian pre-requisite for talks, he is reportedly preparing to lay out an initiative for the phased creation of a Palestinian state.
Such a move would reflect the Israeli prime minister's belated recognition that Israel is facing trouble on almost every front.
The most obvious is a rapidly deteriorating political and military environment in the region. As upheaval spreads across the Middle East, Israel is anxiously scouring the neighborhood for potential allies.
Unwisely, Israel has already sacrificed its long-standing friendship with Turkey. With the ousting of Hosni Mubarak, Netanyahu can probably no longer rely on Egyptian leaders for help in containing Hamas in Gaza. Israel's nemesis in Lebanon, Hizbzllah, has strengthened its grip on power. And given the popular mood, Jordan cannot afford to be seen aiding Israel.
Things are no better in the global arena. According to the Israeli media, Washington is squarely blaming Netanyahu for the recent collapse of peace talks with the Palestinians.
It is also holding him responsible for subsequent developments, particularly a Palestinian resolution presented to the United Nations Security Council last month condemning Israeli settlements. The White House was forced to eat its own words on the issue of settlements by vetoing the resolution.
The timing of the US veto could not have been more embarrassing for US President Barack Obama. He was forced to side publicly with Israel against the Palestinians at a time when the US desperately wants to calm tensions in the Middle East.
Over the weekend, reports suggested that Netanyahu had been further warned by US officials that any peace plan he announces must be "dramatic."
Then, there are the prime minister's problems with Europe. Netanyahu was apparently shaken by the response of Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, when he called to chastise her for joining Britain and France in backing the Palestinian resolution at the UN. Instead of apologizing, she is reported to have berated him for his intransigence in the peace process.
Traditionally, Germany has been Israel's most accommodating European ally.
The loss of European support, combined with US anger, may signal difficulties ahead for Israel with the Quartet, the international group also comprising Russia and the United Nations that oversees the peace process.
The Quartet's principals are due to hold a session next week. Netanyahu's officials are said to be worried that, in the absence of progress, the Quartet may lean towards an existing peace plan along the lines of the Arab League's long-standing proposal, based on Israel's withdrawal to the 1967 borders.
In addition, Israel's already strained relations with the Palestinian Authority are likely to deteriorate further in coming months. The PA has been trying to shore up its legitimacy since the so-called Palestine Papers were leaked in January, revealing that its negotiators agreed to large concessions in peace talks.
A first step in damage limitation was the resolution at the UN denouncing the settlements. More such moves are likely. Most ominous for Israel would be a PA decision to carry out its threat to declare statehood unilaterally at the UN in September. In that vein, Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, said on Saturday that he expected an independent Palestinian state to become a permanent member of the UN.
The other prospect facing the PA -- of collapse or being swept away by street protests -- would be even more disastrous. With the PA gone, Israel would be forced to directly reoccupy the West Bank at great financial cost and damage to its international image. Palestinians could be expected to launch a civil rights campaign demanding full rights, including the vote, alongside Israelis.
It is doubtless this scenario that prompted Netanyahu into uncharacteristic comments last week about the danger facing Israel of sharing a single "binational state" with the Palestinians, calling it "disastrous for Israel." Such warnings have been the stock-in-trade not of the Greater Israel camp, of which Netanyahu is a leading member, but of his political opponents on the Zionist left as they justify pursuing variants of the two-state solution.
Netanyahu reportedly intends to unveil his peace plan during a visit to Washington, currently due in May. But on Monday Ehud Barak, his defense minister, added to the pressure by warning that May was too late. "This is the time to take risks in order to prevent international isolation," he told Israel Radio.
But, assuming Netanyahu does offer a peace plan, will it be too little, too late?
Few Israeli analysts appear to believe that Netanyahu has had a real change of heart.
"At this point it's all spin designed to fend off pressures," Yossi Alpher, a former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, wrote for the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue website Bitterlemons. "The object of the exercise is to gain a day, or a week, or a month, before having to come up with some sort of new spin."
Indications are that Netanyahu will propose a miserly interim formula for a demilitarized Palestinian state in temporary borders. The Jerusalem Post reported that in talks with Abbas late last year Netanyahu demanded that Israel hold on to 40 percent of the West Bank for the foreseeable future.
His comments on Tuesday that Israel's "defense line" was the Jordan Valley, a large swath of the West Bank, that Israel could not afford to give up suggest he is not preparing to compromise on his hardline positions.
His plan accords with a similar interim scheme put forward by Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu's far-right foreign minister and chief political rival on the right.
Palestinians insist on a deal on permanent borders, saying Israel would use anything less as an opportunity to grab more land in the West Bank. At the weekend Abbas reiterated his refusal to accept a temporary arrangement.
Herb Keinon, an analyst for the right-wing Jerusalem Post, observed that there was "little expectation" from Netanyahu that the Palestinians would accept his deal. The government hoped instead, he said, that it would "pre-empt world recognition of a Palestinian state" inside the 1967 borders.
Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East (Pluto Press) and Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.
A version of this article originally appeared in The National, published in Abu Dhabi.
Electronic Intifada
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Anti-Semitism as Recorded from NPR
Back in January, I wrote a post about MEAC, an Islamic website promoting Muslim Brotherhoood ideology "Your Future: 'A Servant of Islam' - Atlas Shrugs." The site was set up in a sting operation by investigative journalist James O'Keefe to see if NPR was receptive to Islamic jihadists and whether they would accept a five-million-dollar donation from a "Muslim Brotherhood" group. O'Keefe's people told NPR that their funding came from the Muslim Brotherhood, and both National Public Radio senior executive Ron Schiller and Betsy Liley, NPR’s director of institutional giving, warmly welcomed them and practically prostrated themselves at "MEAC's" feet.
Worse, Schiller went on to smear Christians, Republicans, Jews and tea partiers (of course). So not only did they welcome the Muslim Brotherhood blood money, but National Public Radio senior executive, Ron Schiller, referred to Christians and tea partiers as "the radical, racist, Islamophobic."
“The current Republican Party, particularly the Tea Party, is fanatically involved in people’s personal lives and very fundamental Christian – I wouldn’t even call it Christian. It’s this weird evangelical kind of move.”
It is beyond the pale that this quisling would call Christians as radical and extreme to a group that defines the most radical, extreme ideology on the planet. Think about that.
“Just Islamophobic, but really xenophobic, I mean basically they are, they believe in sort of white, middle-America gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary." Schiller is the scary one. Accompanying this seditious manipulation of the people's trust is the grotesque expression of Jew-hatred. It is horrible. The contempt he expresses for his Jewish donors is particularly rich, as if the Jews deserve the contempt they receive in the media. It so .......... nazi-ish. Breathtaking. There should be no issue with de-funding the NPR of our taxpayer dollars now.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
US May Rebuke Israel at UN
bama is brash in his respect for Islamic anti-semitism. He was raised on it. His hatred of Israel and his history of forging antisemitic alliances is meticulously detailed in my book, The Post-American Presidency: The Obama Administration's War on America. Now it is yielding stinking, rotting, poisonous fruit.
Jews living in the Jewish homeland are not settlers; their homes are not "settlements."
In sharp reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council Foreign Policy
The U.S. informed Arab governments Friday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal.
But the Palestinian's rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesdy of Arab representativs and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution Friday, according officials familar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospects that the Obama adminstration may cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council.
Still, the U.S. offer signaled a renewed willingness to seek a way out of the current impasse, even if it requires breaking with its key ally and joining others in the council in sending a strong message to Israel to stop its construction of new settlements. The Palestinian delegation, along with the council's Arab member Lebanon, have asked the council's president this evening to schedule a meeting on Friday. But it remained unclear whether the Palestinian move today is simply a negotiating tactic aimed at extracting a better deal from the United States.
Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, outlined the new U.S. offer in a closed door meeting on Tuesday with the Arab Group, a bloc of Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East. In exchange for scuttling the Palestinian resolution, the United States would support the council statement, consider supporting a U.N. Security Council visit to the Middle East, the first since 1979, and commit to supporting strong language criticizing Israel's settlement policies in a future statement by the Middle East Quartet.
The U.S.-backed draft statement -- which was first reported by Al Hurra -- was obtained by Turtle Bay. In it, the Security Council "expresses its strong opposition to any unilateral actions by any party, which cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community, and reaffirms, that it does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity, which is a serious obstacle to the peace process." The statement also condemns "all forms of violence, including rocket fire from Gaza, and stresses the need for calm and security for both peoples."
U.S. officials were not available for comment, but two Security Council diplomats confirmed the proposal. The Arab Group was scheduled to meet this afternoon to formulate a formal response to the American offer. Council diplomats said that the discussions were fluid and that there was still the possibility that the U.S. draft would be subject to further negotiations. They said it was also not yet certain that the U.S. offer would satisfy the Arab Group, and that the U.S. may be forced to veto the Palestinian resolution.
U.S. officials argue that the only way to resolve the Middle East conflict is through direct negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians. For weeks, the Obama administration has refused to negotiate with the Palestinians on a resolution condemning the settlements as illegal, signaling that they would likely veto it if it were put to a vote. The Palestinians were planning to put the resolution to a vote later this week. But Security Council statements of the sort currently under consideration are voted on the bases of consensus in the 15-nation council.
The United States has , however, been isolated in the 15-nation council. Virtually all 14 other member states are prepared to support the Palestinian resolution, according to council diplomats. A U.N. Security Council resolution generally carries greater political, and legal force, than a statement from the council's president.
The U.S. concession comes as the Middle East is facing a massive wave of popular demonstrations that have brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and are posing a challenge to governments in Algeria, Bahrain, and Iran.
Atlas Shrugs
Jews living in the Jewish homeland are not settlers; their homes are not "settlements."
In sharp reversal, U.S. agrees to rebuke Israel in Security Council Foreign Policy
The U.S. informed Arab governments Friday that it will support a U.N. Security Council statement reaffirming that the 15-nation body "does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity," a move aimed at avoiding the prospect of having to veto a stronger Palestinian resolution calling the settlements illegal.
But the Palestinian's rejected the American offer following a meeting late Wednesdy of Arab representativs and said it is planning to press for a vote on its resolution Friday, according officials familar with the issue. The decision to reject the American offer raised the prospects that the Obama adminstration may cast its first ever veto in the U.N. Security Council.
Still, the U.S. offer signaled a renewed willingness to seek a way out of the current impasse, even if it requires breaking with its key ally and joining others in the council in sending a strong message to Israel to stop its construction of new settlements. The Palestinian delegation, along with the council's Arab member Lebanon, have asked the council's president this evening to schedule a meeting on Friday. But it remained unclear whether the Palestinian move today is simply a negotiating tactic aimed at extracting a better deal from the United States.
Susan E. Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, outlined the new U.S. offer in a closed door meeting on Tuesday with the Arab Group, a bloc of Arab countries from North Africa and the Middle East. In exchange for scuttling the Palestinian resolution, the United States would support the council statement, consider supporting a U.N. Security Council visit to the Middle East, the first since 1979, and commit to supporting strong language criticizing Israel's settlement policies in a future statement by the Middle East Quartet.
The U.S.-backed draft statement -- which was first reported by Al Hurra -- was obtained by Turtle Bay. In it, the Security Council "expresses its strong opposition to any unilateral actions by any party, which cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community, and reaffirms, that it does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity, which is a serious obstacle to the peace process." The statement also condemns "all forms of violence, including rocket fire from Gaza, and stresses the need for calm and security for both peoples."
U.S. officials were not available for comment, but two Security Council diplomats confirmed the proposal. The Arab Group was scheduled to meet this afternoon to formulate a formal response to the American offer. Council diplomats said that the discussions were fluid and that there was still the possibility that the U.S. draft would be subject to further negotiations. They said it was also not yet certain that the U.S. offer would satisfy the Arab Group, and that the U.S. may be forced to veto the Palestinian resolution.
U.S. officials argue that the only way to resolve the Middle East conflict is through direct negotiations involving Israel and the Palestinians. For weeks, the Obama administration has refused to negotiate with the Palestinians on a resolution condemning the settlements as illegal, signaling that they would likely veto it if it were put to a vote. The Palestinians were planning to put the resolution to a vote later this week. But Security Council statements of the sort currently under consideration are voted on the bases of consensus in the 15-nation council.
The United States has , however, been isolated in the 15-nation council. Virtually all 14 other member states are prepared to support the Palestinian resolution, according to council diplomats. A U.N. Security Council resolution generally carries greater political, and legal force, than a statement from the council's president.
The U.S. concession comes as the Middle East is facing a massive wave of popular demonstrations that have brought down the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt and are posing a challenge to governments in Algeria, Bahrain, and Iran.
Atlas Shrugs
Monday, January 31, 2011
Egyptian Protesters Dump Israel Peace Treaty
Hundreds of people across America marched in solidarity, praying for freedom cravers (and those brutalized Coptic Christians slaughtered by the Muslims) in Egypt. Many good people stand in solidarity with those seeking to live free. Here are some scenes down the block, in front of the UN, in New York City -- Saturday. "Long live the Egyptian intifada." And "Down with the Camp David Peace Accords!" That screams volumes.
Friday, January 21, 2011
SFO BART Hates Israel Loves Terrorists
San Francisco BART has rejected our pro-Israel bus ads. BART claims that my ad "violates content neutral guidelines." But the anti-Israel annihilationist ads supporting jihad that are currently running do not "violate centent neutral guidelines."
Pamela: I have received the following response from BART. Please call me to discuss. Thank you. Scott.
Based on our review of the proposed advertisement and discussion with BART legal counsel, the subject ad violates BART's content neutral guidelines.
BART guidelines allow point of view ads, but prohibit ads that demean or disparage groups protected against discrimination, or contain images of firearms or violence. These prohibitions apply to all ads, both commercial and noncommercial. On the basis of these guidelines, the proposed ads cannot be approved in their current form. Appropriate modifications may bring them into compliance and will be reviewed upon resubmittal.
Electronic Intifada is running the BART hate ad (below), 10 December 2010. This is the same Palestinian blogger that outed Barack Hussein Obama as an anti-semite back in March 2007 (and there is more here).
Pamela: I have received the following response from BART. Please call me to discuss. Thank you. Scott.
Based on our review of the proposed advertisement and discussion with BART legal counsel, the subject ad violates BART's content neutral guidelines.
BART guidelines allow point of view ads, but prohibit ads that demean or disparage groups protected against discrimination, or contain images of firearms or violence. These prohibitions apply to all ads, both commercial and noncommercial. On the basis of these guidelines, the proposed ads cannot be approved in their current form. Appropriate modifications may bring them into compliance and will be reviewed upon resubmittal.
Electronic Intifada is running the BART hate ad (below), 10 December 2010. This is the same Palestinian blogger that outed Barack Hussein Obama as an anti-semite back in March 2007 (and there is more here).
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Stuxnet Product of US and Israel
The New York Times is reporting in Sunday's editions that the Stuxnet computer worm was tested at Israel's Dimona nuclear facility (Hat Tip: NY Nana).
Behind Dimona’s barbed wire, the experts say, Israel has spun nuclear centrifuges virtually identical to Iran’s at Natanz, where Iranian scientists are struggling to enrich uranium. They say Dimona tested the effectiveness of the Stuxnet computer worm, a destructive program that appears to have wiped out roughly a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges and helped delay, though not destroy, Tehran’s ability to make its first nuclear arms.
“To check out the worm, you have to know the machines,” said an American expert on nuclear intelligence. “The reason the worm has been effective is that the Israelis tried it out.”
Though American and Israeli officials refuse to talk publicly about what goes on at Dimona, the operations there, as well as related efforts in the United States, are among the newest and strongest clues suggesting that the virus was designed as an American-Israeli project to sabotage the Iranian program.
...
The worm itself now appears to have included two major components. One was designed to send Iran’s nuclear centrifuges spinning wildly out of control. Another seems right out of the movies: The computer program also secretly recorded what normal operations at the nuclear plant looked like, then played those readings back to plant operators, like a pre-recorded security tape in a bank heist, so that it would appear that everything was operating normally while the centrifuges were actually tearing themselves apart.
The attacks were not fully successful: Some parts of Iran’s operations ground to a halt, while others survived, according to the reports of international nuclear inspectors. Nor is it clear the attacks are over: Some experts who have examined the code believe it contains the seeds for yet more versions and assaults.
“It’s like a playbook,” said Ralph Langner, an independent computer security expert in Hamburg, Germany, who was among the first to decode Stuxnet. “Anyone who looks at it carefully can build something like it.” Mr. Langner is among the experts who expressed fear that the attack had legitimized a new form of industrial warfare, one to which the United States is also highly vulnerable.
Officially, neither American nor Israeli officials will even utter the name of the malicious computer program, much less describe any role in designing it.
...
By the accounts of a number of computer scientists, nuclear enrichment experts and former officials, the covert race to create Stuxnet was a joint project between the Americans and the Israelis, with some help, knowing or unknowing, from the Germans and the British.
The project’s political origins can be found in the last months of the Bush administration. In January 2009, The New York Times reported that Mr. Bush authorized a covert program to undermine the electrical and computer systems around Natanz, Iran’s major enrichment center. President Obama, first briefed on the program even before taking office, sped it up, according to officials familiar with the administration’s Iran strategy. So did the Israelis, other officials said. Israel has long been seeking a way to cripple Iran’s capability without triggering the opprobrium, or the war, that might follow an overt military strike of the kind they conducted against nuclear facilities in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007.
Two years ago, when Israel still thought its only solution was a military one and approached Mr. Bush for the bunker-busting bombs and other equipment it believed it would need for an air attack, its officials told the White House that such a strike would set back Iran’s programs by roughly three years. Its request was turned down.
Now, Mr. Dagan’s statement suggests that Israel believes it has gained at least that much time, without mounting an attack. So does the Obama administration.
For years, Washington’s approach to Tehran’s program has been one of attempting “to put time on the clock,” a senior administration official said, even while refusing to discuss Stuxnet. “And now, we have a bit more.”
...
Dr. Cohen said his sources told him that Israel succeeded — with great difficulty — in mastering the centrifuge technology. And the American expert in nuclear intelligence, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Israelis used machines of the P-1 style to test the effectiveness of Stuxnet.
The expert added that Israel worked in collaboration with the United States in targeting Iran, but that Washington was eager for “plausible deniability.”
Read the whole thing.
Heh.
Labels: Dimona nuclear reactor, Iranian nuclear program, Natanz, Stuxnet
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:17 AM
You might like:
* Different Types of Law (eHow)
* Dead nuclear scientist headed Iran's response team to Stuxnet (this site)
* Interview with Egyptian Christian Copt :: Israel Matzav (this site)
* Gabrielle Giffords was shot because she is Jewish (this site)
(Selected for you by our sponsor )
5 Comments:
At 4:35 AM, Blogger bacci40 said...
now this i can buy
the idea that israel alone created the worm, made no sense at all
At 4:49 AM, Blogger NY Nana said...
Shavua Tov, Carl
Thanks for the hat tip. Quite an article, and that al-NYT was actually not going after Israel, but seemingly decent, was nearly a bigger surprise than the co-operation between Israel and the USA with Hussein approving.
I am imagining the Iranians sitting there freaking out!
G-d bless Israel!
At 4:53 AM, Blogger Daniel said...
Why didn't the US do it?
At 6:13 AM, Blogger biorabbi said...
Fascinating article. It appears to have been a joint CIA-Mossad operation in the high-tech sphere with help from England and, curiously, Germany though their industrial know how.
What piqued my interest is that Stuxnet may not have finished its mission of rotary destruction. I think it's also smart for Israel and Washington to continue to leak out details as this will help dissent in Iran. How does it look if Iran's program cannot be protected by their regime?
The outgoing head of Mossad is a hero of mine. Job well done indeed!
At 11:02 AM, Blogger Sparky the Wonder Dog said...
"President Obama, first briefed on the program even before taking office, sped it up, according to officials familiar with the administration’s Iran strategy. So did the Israelis..."
silver lining
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Name: Carl in Jerusalem
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Behind Dimona’s barbed wire, the experts say, Israel has spun nuclear centrifuges virtually identical to Iran’s at Natanz, where Iranian scientists are struggling to enrich uranium. They say Dimona tested the effectiveness of the Stuxnet computer worm, a destructive program that appears to have wiped out roughly a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges and helped delay, though not destroy, Tehran’s ability to make its first nuclear arms.
“To check out the worm, you have to know the machines,” said an American expert on nuclear intelligence. “The reason the worm has been effective is that the Israelis tried it out.”
Though American and Israeli officials refuse to talk publicly about what goes on at Dimona, the operations there, as well as related efforts in the United States, are among the newest and strongest clues suggesting that the virus was designed as an American-Israeli project to sabotage the Iranian program.
...
The worm itself now appears to have included two major components. One was designed to send Iran’s nuclear centrifuges spinning wildly out of control. Another seems right out of the movies: The computer program also secretly recorded what normal operations at the nuclear plant looked like, then played those readings back to plant operators, like a pre-recorded security tape in a bank heist, so that it would appear that everything was operating normally while the centrifuges were actually tearing themselves apart.
The attacks were not fully successful: Some parts of Iran’s operations ground to a halt, while others survived, according to the reports of international nuclear inspectors. Nor is it clear the attacks are over: Some experts who have examined the code believe it contains the seeds for yet more versions and assaults.
“It’s like a playbook,” said Ralph Langner, an independent computer security expert in Hamburg, Germany, who was among the first to decode Stuxnet. “Anyone who looks at it carefully can build something like it.” Mr. Langner is among the experts who expressed fear that the attack had legitimized a new form of industrial warfare, one to which the United States is also highly vulnerable.
Officially, neither American nor Israeli officials will even utter the name of the malicious computer program, much less describe any role in designing it.
...
By the accounts of a number of computer scientists, nuclear enrichment experts and former officials, the covert race to create Stuxnet was a joint project between the Americans and the Israelis, with some help, knowing or unknowing, from the Germans and the British.
The project’s political origins can be found in the last months of the Bush administration. In January 2009, The New York Times reported that Mr. Bush authorized a covert program to undermine the electrical and computer systems around Natanz, Iran’s major enrichment center. President Obama, first briefed on the program even before taking office, sped it up, according to officials familiar with the administration’s Iran strategy. So did the Israelis, other officials said. Israel has long been seeking a way to cripple Iran’s capability without triggering the opprobrium, or the war, that might follow an overt military strike of the kind they conducted against nuclear facilities in Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007.
Two years ago, when Israel still thought its only solution was a military one and approached Mr. Bush for the bunker-busting bombs and other equipment it believed it would need for an air attack, its officials told the White House that such a strike would set back Iran’s programs by roughly three years. Its request was turned down.
Now, Mr. Dagan’s statement suggests that Israel believes it has gained at least that much time, without mounting an attack. So does the Obama administration.
For years, Washington’s approach to Tehran’s program has been one of attempting “to put time on the clock,” a senior administration official said, even while refusing to discuss Stuxnet. “And now, we have a bit more.”
...
Dr. Cohen said his sources told him that Israel succeeded — with great difficulty — in mastering the centrifuge technology. And the American expert in nuclear intelligence, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Israelis used machines of the P-1 style to test the effectiveness of Stuxnet.
The expert added that Israel worked in collaboration with the United States in targeting Iran, but that Washington was eager for “plausible deniability.”
Read the whole thing.
Heh.
Labels: Dimona nuclear reactor, Iranian nuclear program, Natanz, Stuxnet
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:17 AM
You might like:
* Different Types of Law (eHow)
* Dead nuclear scientist headed Iran's response team to Stuxnet (this site)
* Interview with Egyptian Christian Copt :: Israel Matzav (this site)
* Gabrielle Giffords was shot because she is Jewish (this site)
(Selected for you by our sponsor )
5 Comments:
At 4:35 AM, Blogger bacci40 said...
now this i can buy
the idea that israel alone created the worm, made no sense at all
At 4:49 AM, Blogger NY Nana said...
Shavua Tov, Carl
Thanks for the hat tip. Quite an article, and that al-NYT was actually not going after Israel, but seemingly decent, was nearly a bigger surprise than the co-operation between Israel and the USA with Hussein approving.
I am imagining the Iranians sitting there freaking out!
G-d bless Israel!
At 4:53 AM, Blogger Daniel said...
Why didn't the US do it?
At 6:13 AM, Blogger biorabbi said...
Fascinating article. It appears to have been a joint CIA-Mossad operation in the high-tech sphere with help from England and, curiously, Germany though their industrial know how.
What piqued my interest is that Stuxnet may not have finished its mission of rotary destruction. I think it's also smart for Israel and Washington to continue to leak out details as this will help dissent in Iran. How does it look if Iran's program cannot be protected by their regime?
The outgoing head of Mossad is a hero of mine. Job well done indeed!
At 11:02 AM, Blogger Sparky the Wonder Dog said...
"President Obama, first briefed on the program even before taking office, sped it up, according to officials familiar with the administration’s Iran strategy. So did the Israelis..."
silver lining
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
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Name: Carl in Jerusalem
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Anti-U.S./Anti-Israel Leftists Protest NYC (January 2011)
Have our police been told to be hands-off with the ‘palis’ and the Marxists. Something’s not right.
Even though I’ve been documenting the assaults & harassment of photographers, I continue to be disappointed by how the police ignore the blatant harassment that borders on assault.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Italy: Copts of Milano Rally Turns Against Israel Supporters
I have long called out for action to aid and support the oppressed and subjugated Coptic Christian community in Egypt. So this is most distressing to report .......Atlas reader Paolo was at a Coptic Christian rally in Italy against Islamic genocide of Coptic Christians:
Today January 9th 2011 in the Duomo Square, Milano, Italy, a rally was held by the Copts of Milano along with some supporting Italian organizations; among them there were the Northen Ligue, the "Amo l'Italia - I love Italy", Magdi Allam's party, and ADI (Amici di Israele - Friends of Israel).
Near the end of the gathering, the people from ADI put on their shoulders the Israeli flag. The Copts reacted violently refusing the presence of the Israeli flags. The police had to intervene to separate them and oblige the ADI people to leave the gathering.
Monday, January 3, 2011
CBC Bias Exposed
Open Letter to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
1/1/11
There was a short newscast on CBC 1 Radio news I heard today 1 January at 6 PM.
The lead item was about a Palestinian who died during a protest in the West Bank.
This same day 21 Christians were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a Church in Egypt.
Why was the non-deliberate death of the Palestinian more important than the 21 Christian Copts murdered in Egypt?
A. It can’t be the number of deaths, since many more died in Egypt.
B. It can’t be the religion of the victims, since Canada has many more Christians than Moslems.
C. It can’t be that it was accidental, since every day the world is perfused with accidental deaths during military and police actions.
D. It can’t be because it occurred in disputed territory, since we almost never hear about single deaths in Kashmir (Hindu Vs. Muslim), Cyprus (Turkish Muslim Vs. Greek Christian), Sudan (Arab Muslim Vs Black African), etc.
E. In fact, the only reason left for putting this item in the lead is because of the perpetrator of the death, Israel – even when it’s accidental.
Could it be possible that Israel is selected out for preferential negative news whenever possible?
Within this brief newscast, there was enough time to mention the unfounded accusation of media-savvy Palestinians that Israel had used a special new more toxic and evil form of tear gas. To be balanced, the CBC said Israel has denied this.
If I say that the CBC is secretly funded by the Muslim Brotherhood, will you also air this, and then deny it?
Why is the CBC so willing to broadcast all rumours that portray Israel in a bad light?
It’s a funny thing you know, the Palestinian issue has Muslims Vs Israelis, the Kashmir problem is Muslims Vs Hindus, Cyprus is Muslims Vs Greeks, Darfur is Muslims Vs. Black Africans, Egypt is Muslims Vs. Christian Copts. Muslims are killing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and virtually every other trouble spot. Oh yes, let’s not forget the various Muslim terror plots in Europe, USA and Canada.
Is this escalating worldwide series of events not worth the attention of the CBC?
Of course not, let’s lead off the CBC news with one accidental death caused by Israel.
After all, you’re the CBC, and we know for sure the CBC couldn’t possibly be running a bigoted propaganda vendetta against one small country or one small religion.
Now, that wouldn’t be Canadian, would it?
Yours truly,
(I’m sorry I can’t sign it, because Al Qaeda has put out a hit list on Canadian Coptic Christians. I guess that news isn’t important enough for the CBC either.)
1/1/11
There was a short newscast on CBC 1 Radio news I heard today 1 January at 6 PM.
The lead item was about a Palestinian who died during a protest in the West Bank.
This same day 21 Christians were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a Church in Egypt.
Why was the non-deliberate death of the Palestinian more important than the 21 Christian Copts murdered in Egypt?
A. It can’t be the number of deaths, since many more died in Egypt.
B. It can’t be the religion of the victims, since Canada has many more Christians than Moslems.
C. It can’t be that it was accidental, since every day the world is perfused with accidental deaths during military and police actions.
D. It can’t be because it occurred in disputed territory, since we almost never hear about single deaths in Kashmir (Hindu Vs. Muslim), Cyprus (Turkish Muslim Vs. Greek Christian), Sudan (Arab Muslim Vs Black African), etc.
E. In fact, the only reason left for putting this item in the lead is because of the perpetrator of the death, Israel – even when it’s accidental.
Could it be possible that Israel is selected out for preferential negative news whenever possible?
Within this brief newscast, there was enough time to mention the unfounded accusation of media-savvy Palestinians that Israel had used a special new more toxic and evil form of tear gas. To be balanced, the CBC said Israel has denied this.
If I say that the CBC is secretly funded by the Muslim Brotherhood, will you also air this, and then deny it?
Why is the CBC so willing to broadcast all rumours that portray Israel in a bad light?
It’s a funny thing you know, the Palestinian issue has Muslims Vs Israelis, the Kashmir problem is Muslims Vs Hindus, Cyprus is Muslims Vs Greeks, Darfur is Muslims Vs. Black Africans, Egypt is Muslims Vs. Christian Copts. Muslims are killing in Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and virtually every other trouble spot. Oh yes, let’s not forget the various Muslim terror plots in Europe, USA and Canada.
Is this escalating worldwide series of events not worth the attention of the CBC?
Of course not, let’s lead off the CBC news with one accidental death caused by Israel.
After all, you’re the CBC, and we know for sure the CBC couldn’t possibly be running a bigoted propaganda vendetta against one small country or one small religion.
Now, that wouldn’t be Canadian, would it?
Yours truly,
(I’m sorry I can’t sign it, because Al Qaeda has put out a hit list on Canadian Coptic Christians. I guess that news isn’t important enough for the CBC either.)
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Turkish Naval Genocide
The cheering Muslim nazis swarming a Mediterrean port awaiting the arrival of the jihad death ship evokes the chants inspired by the Muslim Hitler, Haj Amin al-Husseini, in Bosnia and Berlin.
Thousands Greet Turkish Protest Ship; Chant "Death to Israel"
Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists greeted the Gaza flotilla ship Mavi Marmara as it returned to Istanbul Sunday after undergoing repairs at a Mediterranean port. The crowds waved Palestinian and Turkish flags and chanted "Allah is great!" One of the event organizers called for "death to Israel," saying they will fight till their last breath until they take over Jerusalem. (Ynet News)
More on the Jewish genocide warships here. This is the height of tragicomedy. Turkey should apologize for this genocidal mission.
See Also: Israel Says It Will Not Apologize to Turkey over Flotilla Incident
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday that his country will not apologize to Turkey over the deaths of nine Turkish activists aboard an aid flotilla headed for Gaza in May. "The one who needs to apologize is the Turkish government for supporting terror regarding the IHH (a Turkish charity tied to the flotilla), Hamas and Hizbullah," he said. "There will be no apology, and if there is one, we are expecting it from Ankara and not vice versa." Israel has maintained that its troops used force only after they were attacked by those on board one boat. (CNN)
Back on June 5th, I reported that Ground Zero mosque muslim supremacist Imam Rauf was a "prominent figure" in "The Perdana Organization." They funded the genocidal Jew-hating terrorist group behind the murderous attack on Jewish soldiers on the warship flotilla. Rauf is behind the funding IHH? Provoking, funding, encouraging a second holocaust? Where is he getting his $100 million for the Islamic supremacist mega mosque looking down on the mass burial ground at the World Trade Center, and why is Ayatollah Bloomberg calling any investigation into Imam Terror's shady funding "un-American"? It's anti-American not to.
More in the Imam unmosqued NY Post
The imam behind a proposed mosque near Ground Zero is a prominent member of a group that helped sponsor the pro-Palestinian activists who clashed violently with Israeli commandos at sea ......
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a key figure in Malaysian-based Perdana Global Peace Organization, according to its Website.
Perdana is the single biggest donor ($366,000) so far to the Free Gaza Movement, a key organizer of the six-ship flotilla that tried to break Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip Monday.
IHH launched those genocidal ships, and Fox News reported last month that IHH has links to terrorist groups, including Hamas and Al Qaeda.
The organization was described in federal court documents as playing a role in the Millennium terrorist plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport. Additionally, the Turkish charity was described in a recent report by the Israeli-based Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center as being a "radical Islamic organization with an anti-Western orientation," and that "besides its legitimate philanthropic activities, it supports radical Islamic networks, including Hamas, and that at least in the past, even global jihad networks."
The State Department and Department of Treasury can designate persons, groups and foreign countries as sponsoring or being terrorists. The State Department has a list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda, that are designated by the secretary of state. ...
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Ahmadinejad and Chavez are Bonding
In case any of you haven't figured out why all of Latin America is turning against us, Caroline Glick puts the continent in order.
Whereas in Turkey, the media failed only to report on the significance of the singular trend of Islamization of Turkish society, the media have consistently ignored the importance for Israel of three trends that made Latin America's embrace of the Palestinians against Israel eminently predictable.
Those trends are the rise of Hugo Chavez, the regional influence of the Venezuela-Iran alliance, and the cravenness of US foreign policy towards Latin America and the Middle East. When viewed as a whole they explain why Latin American states are lining up to support the Palestinians. More importantly, they tell us something about how Israel should be acting.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Barack Obama, Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:29 AM
You might like:
* Melted Chocolate with Fleur de Sel Bruschetta (MarthaStewart.com)
* Chavez: Yes, we've started a nuclear program (this site)
* Newsweek notices Yoram Ettinger (this site)
* Update on Haifa fire (this site)
(Selected for you by our sponsor )
2 Comments:
At 5:55 AM, Blogger MUSHI said...
sorry carl, i will have to desagree here...
being latin-american, and Argentinean specially, i can afirm you, that Argentina as most of latin american countries were always well, not anti israeli but close to that.
you just have to look for history books, and will find that Argentina, as Chile and Brazil gladly gave assylum to nazi criminals after WWII, watch how they voted in the U.N, watch how they acted in the international arena and you will see, that this is not an actual problem.
now, the thing is that with "Crazy" chavez and his contacts with Iran and hizballah, it's getting worse every day...
At 12:21 PM, Blogger mariagmartinc said...
Well, being venezuelan I think governments aren't people. Most venezuelans are quite foreign to the conflict, neither pro- nor anti-Israel, and any extreme position would feel wrong to them. When Chavez has openly called Israel a criminal state and called her government murderers, venezuelans haven't exactly stood up to applaud. Also, they're particularly unhappy about the alliance with Iran and Cuba and Russia and North Korea.
Things might be different in Argentina, or Uruguay, or Brazil, but I'd expect the people from countries who mostly vote right (and some that don't) to at least not support anti-Israel measures. From my experience, governments are anything but representative.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Why Obama Hates Israel
Obama’s Israel problem can be traced to the fact that he subscribes to the merits of none of these factors. The media drumbeat that clamored for his election did its best to suppress the implications of the fact that Obama was spiritually reared not in the mode of traditional Christians but in a church that was a unabashed exponent of black liberationist theology – that the Bible was the “white man’s religion” (Malcolm X’s phrase) and needed to be redefined as an instrument that would advocate the overthrow of oppressors of the black man. As they saw it, the Bible justified racism, slavery, segregation, economic discrimination and other societal ills. Such a Bible is not to be used as a proof text for Jewish rights anywhere, and the “real Jews,” according to the hard-core theologians are the oppressed blacks overcoming the persecution of the new “Egyptians,” the Americans. No wonder Obama had to throw Reverend Wright under the bus; the real question is how he could have sat in those pews for 20 years listening to this claptrap, unless he himself believed at least some of it.
Thus, Obama does not naturally see America as a force for good in the world, the only nation that spreads liberty and freedom to oppressed nations. His default position is that the US is an imperialist nation, a colonizer that has exploited the Third World, and even increased the suffering of millions. That is why Obama has seen fit to go around the globe apologizing for American misdeeds (Africa, Asia, Arabia, South America) without even acknowledging the life-saving, civilizing benefits of American interventions, and why the disdain he feels towards Israel is also directed at allies such as Britain or Canada. No prior president ever ridiculed, as Obama has, the notion of “American exceptionalism,” that the US is different than other nations and uniquely suited to exporting virtues like freedom, liberty, individual rights and democracy. The “shared values” that have always bound America and Israel are perceived by Obama as contrived, hypocritical, phony and arrogant – if anything, they are grounds to downgrade the relationship, as he has done.
Consequently, it seems clear that President Obama sees Israel as a strategic albatross, not an ally. His outreach to the Muslim world is complicated, if not impaired, by the America-Israel relationship that he inherited and that has been a staple of American foreign policy for decades. The Cold War is long over, and itself was founded on a bi-polar view of the world in which America was the natural leader of the free world, a locution that this president likely finds troublesome and rejects. Israel exists, in Obama’s strategic view of global affairs, only as an irritant – and the alliance is a relic of the past that has to be rolled back.
Nothing in the Israeli narrative resonates with Obama and so his dislike for Israel is ill-concealed, and reflected in his policies and attitudes. Indeed, Obama’s discomfort with the narrative and foundational principles of Israel mirrors his discomfort with the narrative and foundational principles of the United States.
Rabbi Pruzansky
Thus, Obama does not naturally see America as a force for good in the world, the only nation that spreads liberty and freedom to oppressed nations. His default position is that the US is an imperialist nation, a colonizer that has exploited the Third World, and even increased the suffering of millions. That is why Obama has seen fit to go around the globe apologizing for American misdeeds (Africa, Asia, Arabia, South America) without even acknowledging the life-saving, civilizing benefits of American interventions, and why the disdain he feels towards Israel is also directed at allies such as Britain or Canada. No prior president ever ridiculed, as Obama has, the notion of “American exceptionalism,” that the US is different than other nations and uniquely suited to exporting virtues like freedom, liberty, individual rights and democracy. The “shared values” that have always bound America and Israel are perceived by Obama as contrived, hypocritical, phony and arrogant – if anything, they are grounds to downgrade the relationship, as he has done.
Consequently, it seems clear that President Obama sees Israel as a strategic albatross, not an ally. His outreach to the Muslim world is complicated, if not impaired, by the America-Israel relationship that he inherited and that has been a staple of American foreign policy for decades. The Cold War is long over, and itself was founded on a bi-polar view of the world in which America was the natural leader of the free world, a locution that this president likely finds troublesome and rejects. Israel exists, in Obama’s strategic view of global affairs, only as an irritant – and the alliance is a relic of the past that has to be rolled back.
Nothing in the Israeli narrative resonates with Obama and so his dislike for Israel is ill-concealed, and reflected in his policies and attitudes. Indeed, Obama’s discomfort with the narrative and foundational principles of Israel mirrors his discomfort with the narrative and foundational principles of the United States.
Rabbi Pruzansky
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