It never ceases to amaze me how the nations of this world presume to be telling Israel what to do. No other country would allow this. I wonder how France would respond to a call for it to give some of its territory to Germany or England...
EU paper on solving Mideast conflict worries Israel
By Barak Ravid
Israeli officials are deeply concerned over an internal European Union document outlining the EU's plans for advancing an Israeli-Palestinian deal in 2009. Inter alia, it calls for increased pressure on Israel to reopen Palestinian institutions in Jerusalem, including Orient House, which formerly served as the Palestinian Authority's headquarters in the city...
Read the rest of the article HERE
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Frankly, I'm a little (pleasantly) surprised at President Bush's comments to Olmert. Let's hope Olmert takes the comments to heart - for his own sake. I would not want to be in his shoes if he concedes territory to Syria. Remember Arial Sharon?
Bush Tells Olmert "Foolish to Give-Away Golan"
Dec. 1….(Israel Today) When US President George W. Bush met with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week he urged Olmert to reconsider his ill-conceived rush to surrender the Golan Heights to Syria. That according to diplomatic sources briefed on the White House meeting between the two outgoing leaders. The sources told Ha'aretz that Bush pointedly asked Olmert, "Why do you want to give Syrian President Bashar Assad the Golan for nothing?" Olmert reportedly responded that the surrender of the Golan would "not be for nothing. It's an exchange for a change in the region's strategic alignment." Bush then suggested that Olmert was foolish for taking Assad at his word, to which the Israeli leader had no reply. Israeli commentators believe Olmert is eager to score a major diplomatic victory before leaving office in February, and sees a hasty peace deal with Syria as the most viable option.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Israel Must Resist the Coming Obama-Clinton Onslaught
By Seth Swirsky
Upon taking office, President Obama will push hard for the ridiculous (for Israel) “Saudi Peace Initiative”, which asks for Israel to give up land it won in the 1967 war, in return for peace with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors yet to make peace with Israel.
Hilary Clinton was chosen to be Secretary of State NOT for how she will deal with France or (fill in the country) but for how to push the Saudi “plan” in order to make a Palestinian State.
But, the Palestinians do not want a state: they want Israel. The election of Bibi Netanyahu would be important because he would say “no” to the Saudi “plan”, which is just another euphemism for diminishing the size of the already minute Israel.
Israel gave back southern Lebanon, and in return, it got back a war (in 2006). Israel “gave back” Gaza and in return, it takes rockets on its cities daily.
Obama’s #1 priority upon taking office will be putting the Saudi plan into play, using the more-trusted Hillary Clinton to sell it. Bibi (again, if elected) MUST NOT be a buyer. The world, for the most part, doesn’t like Jews and that’s what Israel represents. Israel cannot, for the sake of good PR from the world, give away land that soldiers fought and died for in order to make Israel safer. It’s why Bibi will likely win: Israelis sense that Obama, with his worldwide popularity, is going to come knocking soon, asking –maybe demanding — more Israeli “concessions” for peace that Israel must resist.
The Palestinians should be the ones making concessions (taking out of their charter, their desire to end Israel’s existence, would be a great place to start!). President George W. Bush, had it correct when taking a hands off approach to the Arab-Israeli problem, as he realized that Israel doesn’t have a problem with Palestinians, but the other way around. He realized there is no ‘cycle of violence’, just Palestinians bent on killing innocent Israelis.
Watch out Israel: Obama’s coming with Hillary (and Bill) as his cover. Israel has seen that no peace with the Palestinians comes about when they give back swaths of land won in war.
Beware Obama-Clinton and their coming push to accept the Saudi “plan”: it’s a disaster for Israel and Bibi knows it.
Article from Political Mavens
Upon taking office, President Obama will push hard for the ridiculous (for Israel) “Saudi Peace Initiative”, which asks for Israel to give up land it won in the 1967 war, in return for peace with the Palestinians and other Arab neighbors yet to make peace with Israel.
Hilary Clinton was chosen to be Secretary of State NOT for how she will deal with France or (fill in the country) but for how to push the Saudi “plan” in order to make a Palestinian State.
But, the Palestinians do not want a state: they want Israel. The election of Bibi Netanyahu would be important because he would say “no” to the Saudi “plan”, which is just another euphemism for diminishing the size of the already minute Israel.
Israel gave back southern Lebanon, and in return, it got back a war (in 2006). Israel “gave back” Gaza and in return, it takes rockets on its cities daily.
Obama’s #1 priority upon taking office will be putting the Saudi plan into play, using the more-trusted Hillary Clinton to sell it. Bibi (again, if elected) MUST NOT be a buyer. The world, for the most part, doesn’t like Jews and that’s what Israel represents. Israel cannot, for the sake of good PR from the world, give away land that soldiers fought and died for in order to make Israel safer. It’s why Bibi will likely win: Israelis sense that Obama, with his worldwide popularity, is going to come knocking soon, asking –maybe demanding — more Israeli “concessions” for peace that Israel must resist.
The Palestinians should be the ones making concessions (taking out of their charter, their desire to end Israel’s existence, would be a great place to start!). President George W. Bush, had it correct when taking a hands off approach to the Arab-Israeli problem, as he realized that Israel doesn’t have a problem with Palestinians, but the other way around. He realized there is no ‘cycle of violence’, just Palestinians bent on killing innocent Israelis.
Watch out Israel: Obama’s coming with Hillary (and Bill) as his cover. Israel has seen that no peace with the Palestinians comes about when they give back swaths of land won in war.
Beware Obama-Clinton and their coming push to accept the Saudi “plan”: it’s a disaster for Israel and Bibi knows it.
Article from Political Mavens
Friday, November 21, 2008
Resurgent Center-Right in Israel
FrontPageMagazine.com Friday, November 21, 2008
With Israel’s parliamentary elections set for February 10, the latest polls show the Center-Right bloc well ahead of its Center-Left rival. In one, reported on Thursday, the lead stood at 64 Members of Knesset to 56, but in effect was much larger because the 56 included 11 MKs from Arab parties that stand no chance of being included in a governing coalition. The lead is also, likely, even larger in effect given that polls are reliably skewed to the Left.
This lead has opened up over the past three weeks as Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu, whose party is traditionally the largest (though not in the 2006 elections, when it flopped) on the Right, has showcased some high-profile new additions and particularly Benny Begin, Dan Meridor, and Moshe Yaalon.
Read the full article HERE
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Who is Rahm Emmanuel?
By John Perazzo
FrontPageMagazine.com Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Two days after defeating John McCain, Barack Obama made his first appointment as president-elect when he named 49-year-old Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff. Formerly an aide to Bill Clinton and currently the Democratic Representative for Illinois’ 5th congressional district, Emanuel has suddenly become a figure of great interest to the American public.
Read it HERE
****************
Durban II: An Early Test
By Joseph Klein
FrontPageMagazine.com Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Less than three months after Barack Obama will be sworn in as the next president of the United States, he will have to decide whether or not to participate in a replay of the ignominious hatefest known as the United Nations Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The follow-up to that conference, the Durban Review of the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland during April of 2009 (“Durban II”).
Read it HERE
***********
Also:
Israel worried about possible German sub sale to Egypt
Obama to Abbas: I'll support peace talks
Al-Qaeda 'awakens' in Iraq
FrontPageMagazine.com Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Two days after defeating John McCain, Barack Obama made his first appointment as president-elect when he named 49-year-old Rahm Emanuel to be his chief of staff. Formerly an aide to Bill Clinton and currently the Democratic Representative for Illinois’ 5th congressional district, Emanuel has suddenly become a figure of great interest to the American public.
Read it HERE
****************
Durban II: An Early Test
By Joseph Klein
FrontPageMagazine.com Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Less than three months after Barack Obama will be sworn in as the next president of the United States, he will have to decide whether or not to participate in a replay of the ignominious hatefest known as the United Nations Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa in 2001. The follow-up to that conference, the Durban Review of the United Nations World Conference Against Racism, is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland during April of 2009 (“Durban II”).
Read it HERE
***********
Also:
Israel worried about possible German sub sale to Egypt
Obama to Abbas: I'll support peace talks
Al-Qaeda 'awakens' in Iraq
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
U.N. Masquerade
By Benny Avni
New York Post Tuesday, November 18, 2008
THE Saudi king won much praise last week for convening talks at the United Nations ostensibly meant to promote peace and "religious tolerance." He even snagged a private audience with President Bush.
But if you take a close look at King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud's agenda, some of it is hardly praiseworthy. In fact, if he gets any traction at the UN (or anywhere else), it'll mark a giant step backward for both peace and tolerance.
Indeed, behind Abdullah's Kumbaya facade was a downright scary agenda: Essentially, he wants the world's moral blessing to restrict any and all speech about Islam, its adherents and regimes that promote them - except, of course, that which is approved by official censors. He also wants to throw the UN's moral weight behind punishments meted out to those who violate such restrictions, even if he doesn't say that explicitly.
Meanwhile, Abdullah failed to make even the slightest gesture toward softening his own regime's brutal intolerance of other religions and cultures. Some parley on "religious tolerance."
Consider one key draft resolution at the event. Introduced jointly by the Philippines and Pakistan, it openly seeks to limit press freedoms. Sure, as read by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, the language pays lip service to the notion of freedom of expression.
But the document then goes on to emphasize the "special duties and responsibilities necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others, protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals."
Translation: Don't even think of publishing those Danish cartoons or anything even close to them. And forget about questioning authorities in places like, say, Riyadh.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a dominant UN voting bloc, plans an additional resolution, to be voted on tomorrow in the General Assembly, that would openly frown on any speech that is considered defamatory toward religion.
But it's not like the censors - and, specifically, their efforts to establish Islam as a dominant, superior religious and political force - need encouragement.
Last month, an appellate court in Afghanistan sentenced a student, Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, to 20 years in prison for distributing "blasphemous" material regarding the role of women in Islamic societies. Arrested a year earlier, Kambakhsh was accused of downloading material from the Internet and passing it to other students, according to a recent State Department report on international religious freedom.
Mohammad Shafeeq was cited in the same State Department report. He was sentenced to death in Pakistan in June for blasphemy after he allegedly defiled the Quran and used derogatory language to refer to the Prophet Mohammad. His arrest in 2006 was based on a complaint by local religious leaders.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is among the worst of the bunch. In May, the Saudi government charged a lawyer and businessman, Ra'if Bedawi al-Shammary, with "setting up an electronic site that insults Islam." The prosecution asked for a five-year prison sentence and an $800,000 fine.
What exactly did Shammary do? His online writings detailed abuses by the religious police and questioned the government's interpretation of Islam. As a result of the charges against him and several physical threats, Shammary and his family were forced to flee the country.
Meanwhile, conference participants showed just how tolerant they were: Famously "moderate" Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad directly challenged Jewish sensibilities by suggesting that Jerusalem was not holy to Judaism.
King Abdullah insists that everyone refer to him as "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" - that is, the biggest of the big-cheese Muslims. To that title, he now hopes to add a new one: Brave King of the Muslim Moderates.
Indeed, some of his back-stabbing brothers at home, I'm told, are already sharpening their knives - labeling him a traitor for merely suggesting that a dialogue with other religions is possible. And pressure at home, his backers say, is limiting just how far Abdullah can go in reaching out to non-Muslims.
That might be believable, however, if the king took just one small step toward curbing Arab/Muslim hostility toward non-Muslims or easing restrictions on free expression. Seeking greater support for sanctions on speech is not exactly a sign of moderation.
In the end, the Saudi UN p.r. coup may end up encouraging repression and intolerance around the world.
Until he makes significant changes at home, let no one be fooled by his stunts.
New York Post Tuesday, November 18, 2008
THE Saudi king won much praise last week for convening talks at the United Nations ostensibly meant to promote peace and "religious tolerance." He even snagged a private audience with President Bush.
But if you take a close look at King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud's agenda, some of it is hardly praiseworthy. In fact, if he gets any traction at the UN (or anywhere else), it'll mark a giant step backward for both peace and tolerance.
Indeed, behind Abdullah's Kumbaya facade was a downright scary agenda: Essentially, he wants the world's moral blessing to restrict any and all speech about Islam, its adherents and regimes that promote them - except, of course, that which is approved by official censors. He also wants to throw the UN's moral weight behind punishments meted out to those who violate such restrictions, even if he doesn't say that explicitly.
Meanwhile, Abdullah failed to make even the slightest gesture toward softening his own regime's brutal intolerance of other religions and cultures. Some parley on "religious tolerance."
Consider one key draft resolution at the event. Introduced jointly by the Philippines and Pakistan, it openly seeks to limit press freedoms. Sure, as read by Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, the language pays lip service to the notion of freedom of expression.
But the document then goes on to emphasize the "special duties and responsibilities necessary for the respect of the rights or reputations of others, protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals."
Translation: Don't even think of publishing those Danish cartoons or anything even close to them. And forget about questioning authorities in places like, say, Riyadh.
Meanwhile, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, a dominant UN voting bloc, plans an additional resolution, to be voted on tomorrow in the General Assembly, that would openly frown on any speech that is considered defamatory toward religion.
But it's not like the censors - and, specifically, their efforts to establish Islam as a dominant, superior religious and political force - need encouragement.
Last month, an appellate court in Afghanistan sentenced a student, Sayed Parwez Kambakhsh, to 20 years in prison for distributing "blasphemous" material regarding the role of women in Islamic societies. Arrested a year earlier, Kambakhsh was accused of downloading material from the Internet and passing it to other students, according to a recent State Department report on international religious freedom.
Mohammad Shafeeq was cited in the same State Department report. He was sentenced to death in Pakistan in June for blasphemy after he allegedly defiled the Quran and used derogatory language to refer to the Prophet Mohammad. His arrest in 2006 was based on a complaint by local religious leaders.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is among the worst of the bunch. In May, the Saudi government charged a lawyer and businessman, Ra'if Bedawi al-Shammary, with "setting up an electronic site that insults Islam." The prosecution asked for a five-year prison sentence and an $800,000 fine.
What exactly did Shammary do? His online writings detailed abuses by the religious police and questioned the government's interpretation of Islam. As a result of the charges against him and several physical threats, Shammary and his family were forced to flee the country.
Meanwhile, conference participants showed just how tolerant they were: Famously "moderate" Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad directly challenged Jewish sensibilities by suggesting that Jerusalem was not holy to Judaism.
King Abdullah insists that everyone refer to him as "The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" - that is, the biggest of the big-cheese Muslims. To that title, he now hopes to add a new one: Brave King of the Muslim Moderates.
Indeed, some of his back-stabbing brothers at home, I'm told, are already sharpening their knives - labeling him a traitor for merely suggesting that a dialogue with other religions is possible. And pressure at home, his backers say, is limiting just how far Abdullah can go in reaching out to non-Muslims.
That might be believable, however, if the king took just one small step toward curbing Arab/Muslim hostility toward non-Muslims or easing restrictions on free expression. Seeking greater support for sanctions on speech is not exactly a sign of moderation.
In the end, the Saudi UN p.r. coup may end up encouraging repression and intolerance around the world.
Until he makes significant changes at home, let no one be fooled by his stunts.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Saudi king to U.N. assembly: Time for peace-loving religious dialog
Yesterday, a two-day conference sponsored by Saudi Arabia opened at the United Nations in New York. Its aim: to promote dialog between the religions of the world and, in the process, to help "improve the image of Islam as a religion that favors dialog over violence." Addressing heads of state and other international delegates at the U.N. yesterday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud delivered the keynote speech of the so-called Culture of Peace Conference to the U.N. General Assembly. The gathering is being "seen as part of the Saudi monarch's efforts to promote a more moderate brand of Islam in a kingdom that has been accused of breeding extremism" ever since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the U.S. "By sponsoring interfaith events, King Abdullah may also be hoping to advance the debate over radicalism within the kingdom."
Read it HERE
Israel welcomes Saudi King's peace proposal
Read it HERE
Israel welcomes Saudi King's peace proposal
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Iran says new missile tested successfully
Iran has successfully test-fired a new generation of long range surface-to-surface missile using solid fuel, making them more accurate than its predecessors, the defense minister announced Wednesday.
Mostafa Mohammed Najjar said on state television that the Sajjil was a high-speed missile manufactured at the Iranian Aerospace department of the Defense Ministry. He said it had a range of about 1,200 miles.
At that range it could reach Greece and Bulgaria in southeastern Europe, as well as easily strike arch-foe Israel...
Read the full article HERE
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Meanwhile, back in the US...."The Religious Left Celebrates":
Has the Millennium arrived? Maybe Barak Obama's election to the presidency is giving the Religious Left at least a foretaste of it. After stewing with anger across 8 years in the wilderness, liberal prelates are shouting Hosanna in expectation of spiritual enlightenment during the Obama reign.
"We at the National Council of Churches urge all Americans to come together to uphold you with our hands, our hearts and our prayers," the NCC's chief, Michael Kinnamon wrote his congratulatory letter to Obama. The NCC, previously the voice of America's premier religious denominations, once truly walked in the corridors of power. It has never fully accepted its transition from mainline to sideline in America's religious demographic. As recently as 1995, the NCC was invited to the White House to "pray" for President Clinton as he was resisting the new Republican Congress. No doubt, the NCC is praying that its White House visitation rights will soon be restored...
Read it HERE
Pres elect Obama will certainly be tested by the likes of Iran. Israel and the West are heading for interesting times.
Mostafa Mohammed Najjar said on state television that the Sajjil was a high-speed missile manufactured at the Iranian Aerospace department of the Defense Ministry. He said it had a range of about 1,200 miles.
At that range it could reach Greece and Bulgaria in southeastern Europe, as well as easily strike arch-foe Israel...
Read the full article HERE
****************************
Meanwhile, back in the US...."The Religious Left Celebrates":
Has the Millennium arrived? Maybe Barak Obama's election to the presidency is giving the Religious Left at least a foretaste of it. After stewing with anger across 8 years in the wilderness, liberal prelates are shouting Hosanna in expectation of spiritual enlightenment during the Obama reign.
"We at the National Council of Churches urge all Americans to come together to uphold you with our hands, our hearts and our prayers," the NCC's chief, Michael Kinnamon wrote his congratulatory letter to Obama. The NCC, previously the voice of America's premier religious denominations, once truly walked in the corridors of power. It has never fully accepted its transition from mainline to sideline in America's religious demographic. As recently as 1995, the NCC was invited to the White House to "pray" for President Clinton as he was resisting the new Republican Congress. No doubt, the NCC is praying that its White House visitation rights will soon be restored...
Read it HERE
Pres elect Obama will certainly be tested by the likes of Iran. Israel and the West are heading for interesting times.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Lessons of Kristallnacht
By Deborah Weiss
FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, November 10, 2008
Read the article HERE
FrontPageMagazine.com | Monday, November 10, 2008
November 9, 2008 marked the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht. It was a night of terror which constituted the commencement of the Holocaust. It was a horrible night, but it was merely a foreshadow of the doom yet to come. This anniversary should not merely commemorate the horrible events that took place in 1938. Rather, it should serve as a warning that we must learn the lessons of history lest we repeat our mistakes; we must take our enemies’ words seriously, and we must not be complacent in the face of evil.
Read the article HERE
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Election 2008 - A New Day
An important contribution from Crossroad covering the future President of the most powerful nation in the world - Barack Hussein Obama.
Read it HERE
Read it HERE
A Must-See Pro-Israel Film
By Phyllis Chesler
The Jewish Press Thursday, November 06, 2008
An increasing number of Jews, including Israeli Jews, say Israel has no real leaders and that few Diaspora Jewish organizational heads will sacrifice their cushy positions for Israel - a country rendered repulsive by more than 40 years of lethal Saudi and Soros-funded propaganda and by the internal corruptions that plague all nations but are particularly dangerous to Jews when they behave this way in a Jewish state.
Read the article HERE
The Jewish Press Thursday, November 06, 2008
An increasing number of Jews, including Israeli Jews, say Israel has no real leaders and that few Diaspora Jewish organizational heads will sacrifice their cushy positions for Israel - a country rendered repulsive by more than 40 years of lethal Saudi and Soros-funded propaganda and by the internal corruptions that plague all nations but are particularly dangerous to Jews when they behave this way in a Jewish state.
Read the article HERE
Monday, November 3, 2008
Three new articles from FrontPage Mag plus a new King in Israel?
The feral antipathy towards Israel, the concerted bid to leverage it out of the community of nations, accounts for the obstinate reluctance on the part of Western academics, intellectuals, professionals, churchmen and journalists to examine the true history of the region, which would expose the Palestinian claim to plenary proprietorship as largely fraudulent while buttressing the Jewish and Israeli title to rightful occupancy. As Joan Peters has shown in her scrupulously researched seven-year study From Time Immemorial, examining census reports and internal memoranda during the British Mandate, perhaps a majority of the “original” Palestinian inhabitants were relative newcomers to the territory in question, having migrated into the Holy Land from the surrounding Arab countries, mainly from what was then known as Greater Syria (i.e., Syria and Lebanon) when still part of the Ottoman empire, and afterward during the post-Balfour period.
A Mid-East Fiction
One of the perks of being Israeli is that people in far-off places seem to take an interest in your problems. For instance, Queen’s University and York University of Canada are planning a conference for June 1, 2009, on “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace.” There’s already a website that’s issuing a call for papers and setting forth the “vision” of the conference.
Canada Conference Plans Israel’s Demise
When voters go to the polls on November 4th, they will choose not only a new presidential administration, but also the candidate's circles of influence. In the case of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, this includes Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said professor of Arab studies and director of the Middle East Institute of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Obama's Middle East Studies Mentors
And finally at Israel National News, a very interesting viewpoint from an historian:
Historian: Conditions Are Ripe for a King of Israel
A Mid-East Fiction
One of the perks of being Israeli is that people in far-off places seem to take an interest in your problems. For instance, Queen’s University and York University of Canada are planning a conference for June 1, 2009, on “Israel/Palestine: Mapping Models of Statehood and Paths to Peace.” There’s already a website that’s issuing a call for papers and setting forth the “vision” of the conference.
Canada Conference Plans Israel’s Demise
When voters go to the polls on November 4th, they will choose not only a new presidential administration, but also the candidate's circles of influence. In the case of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, this includes Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said professor of Arab studies and director of the Middle East Institute of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
Obama's Middle East Studies Mentors
And finally at Israel National News, a very interesting viewpoint from an historian:
Historian: Conditions Are Ripe for a King of Israel
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