“Peaceful” Stone-Throwers

I was recently asked about an incident that had allegedly occurred in Gaza that put Israel in a bad light. The person who asked the question has been consistently critical of Israel. At that point, I hadn't been aware of the incident, and I still haven't checked the facts. But my immediate response was to ask my friend what he knew exactly. As it emerged, he knew about as much as I did - zilch. He'd heard in the media that Israel had acted in some inappropriate way and someone wasn't happy about it and that was good enough for him. Apprarently some people naturally expect Israel to be the oppressive aggressor.

Here's an article from CAMERA that highlights media "savvy":

Fox News Channel's coverage from the West Bank on a Friday in mid-July left some viewers a little puzzled. First, the station broadcast footage of Palestinians hurling rocks toward Israeli troops. A minute later, a Fox correspondent in Israel, Reena Ninan, told viewers that the demonstrators were actually "peace activists." And after another minute, she relayed the Palestinian claim that Israel used "extreme force" when it fired tear gas because the protesters did not even throw stones — just before the footage of Palestinian stone-throwers again appeared on television screens...Read more


Asia Times Online:

Has it all come to this? The wars and invasions, the death and destruction, the exile and torture, the resistance and collapse? In a world of shrinking energy reserves, is Iraq finally fated to become what it was going to be anyway, even before the chaos and catastrophe set in: a giant gas pump for an energy-starved planet? Will it all end not with a bang, but with a gusher? The latest oil news out of that country offers at least a hint of Iraq's fate...Iraq on track to its true destiny

DAMASCUS - Attacks on six churches in Iraq early this month and the targeting of Christians across the country have served as a microcosm of the difficulties facing Christians in the Middle East today. Migration, whether forced or to pursue a better life and employment opportunities elsewhere, has seen Christian numbers in the Middle East drop dramatically....Middle East Christians hit the road


Lori's links and comments:

Netanyahu: ‘Jews Can Buy in East Jerusalem; Arabs Can Buy in West Jerusalem” ,

Blair hails Israeli/Palestinian Start up,

US May Allow Building in Return for Setting Borders,

Israel to U.S.: Keep Out of Jerusalem,

Jews to Reclaim Land in Jordan? ,

Qatar Sheikh Funds Hamas to Buy Jerusalem Buildings,

Islamist Movement: The Temple Will Never be Rebuilt,

Iraq wants urgent water talks with Turkey, Syria,

Erdogan to make surprise trip to Syria,

Aly Gomaa’s WMDs,scroll down

Understanding Russia,

Russia & China warn US: Israeli attack on Iran means world war,

Russia set to build up its naval facilities in Syria , "Russia has reportedly been involved in talks to establish naval facilities in Yemen, Syria and Libya, among other countries in the Mediterranean."

Landmark Decision in Iraq

...For years, Kurdish officials and Baghdad’s central government have fought over the right do develop oil in the north of Iraq. As Iraq’s federalists struggled to come up with a national oil policy, Kurdish officials entered into contracts with foreign firms seeking to strike it rich in the northern part of the country. After Baghdad drew up its policy, the national oil industry said that Kurdistan’s contracts were null and void, claiming that the individual state had no authority to sell these contracts without federal approval. As a result, no oil has been pumped from Iraq’s Kurdish regions...Read More

Please note that the term Christian in the following article is sometimes used loosely:

Palestinian and other Arab Christians are a perennial political football, especially with Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the Holy Land.. Seen by some as the epitome of what happens to minorities under Islamist rule when their shops are firebombed in Hamas-ruled Gaza, they are also continually used by the Western media to show how the Israeli security fence divides those in Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Even as their community shrinks, they seem to get more and more attention. They were a centerpiece of Jimmy Carter’s Palestine: Peace not Apartheid...Israel's Christian Beneficiaries


A Jewish couple with five children had tried to make a reservation by email at the Haus Sonnenhof hotel in the Tyrolean village of Serfaus, in western Austria...'No Jews' policy employed at Austria hotel


In early April, Vice President Biden was asked if the administration was concerned that Israel might strike at Iran's nuclear facilities. "I don't believe Prime Minister Netanyahu would do that," Mr. Biden replied. "I think he would be ill advised to do that."...Obama's Signal to Israel: Submit


Saudi media quotes top Iranian official as confirming Revolutionary Guard has recently deployed anti-aircraft missile batteries in Persian Gulf following reports of imminent US-Israeli attack on country's nuclear facilities...Tehran preparing for attack on its nuclear sites


From Joel Rosenberg:

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER HINTS: VOTE FOR AHMADINEJAD

THE POPE VISITS THE EPICENTER: “I am certain that this will be a continuation of the dialogue between Judaism and Christianity in the spirit of the Prophets,” says President Peres


Lori's links:

Sheikh attacks Israel, Pope walks out,

Vatican vowed to stop missionary activity to Jews,

Chief Rabbi to Pope: Tell the world Jews belong in Israel,

Benedict XVI, the first pope to enter the mosque of the Dome of the Rock,

Statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Sharm el-Sheikh,

Jordan's King Abdullah woos Assad in peace push,

UN Security Council calls for a Palestinian state,

'Iran deploys missiles in Persian Gulf',

Ahmedinajad to Iran/Syria delegates: We should look for new world order,

Killing Civilians: A Muslim View ,

Jordan king woos Syria in Mideast peace push,

Netanyahu: Peace talks to begin 'soon',

Boo's new Middle East Policy,

A growing divergence between J'lem and Washington? ,

Signs Point Toward ‘Cataclysmic’ War in Middle East,

Boo to visit Russia ,

Russia plays up its international role – especially in Mideast peace,

Russia, Japan looking to resolve disputes through economic ties,

Russia waits for U.S. proposals on stored nuclear warheads,

Gas deal between Turkey and European Union breaks Russian stranglehold ,

Angel or Demon? In the Vatican, Boo Is Both ,

Colombian president's ally arrested,

UAE ruler replaces top posts in cabinet reshuffle,

Iraq arrests minister's brother,

Turkey's prime minister reshuffles his Cabinet,

EU talks with Cuban foreign minister,

zerbaijani Foreign Minister Meets with U.S. Secretary of State,

Are You a Christian Zionist?

This is an excellent article!

Around the world, the mantra is heard with increasing volume. "Down with the Zionist Satan!" "Zionism is illegal … and racist and imperialist!" Within intellectual circles, books, articles and tracts are carrying the same message. And it's not only the Israeli settlers who are targeted. Those who support modern Israel are equally blamed by the same groups. A growing number of churches believe that Christian support for Israel as a divinely ordained nation is naïve and destructive...Read More


From Joel Rosenberg:

REPORT FROM AIPAC: Iran priority #1, but Netanyahu, Peres say Israel ready for “final peace” agreement

NETANYAHU COMING TO WASHINGTON ON MAY 18: New ambassador appointed


From FrontPageMag:

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, addressing the Palestinian Youth Parliament last week, rejected Israel's identity as a Jewish state, mocking the idea. Bringing the audience to smiles and cheers, Abbas said with a grin that as far as he is concerned Israel can call itself "the Zionist Republic, the Hebrew, the National, [or] the Socialist [Republic]."... The "Good" Palestinian Rejects Israel

In Praise of Extraordinary Activists


From CAMERA:

One oft-cited principle of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Churches is a commitment to the “free and responsible search for truth and meaning.” Unfortunately, the preaching of Rev. Tim Kutzmark, who leads the UUA church in Reading, Massachusetts, fails to meet this standard. His commentary about the conflict is free, but not responsible...UUA Pastor Remembers the Holocaust, Ignores the Hate


Lori's links and comments:

EU, Canada in free trade talks,

Egypt: Israeli nukes 'greatest threat',

Jordan, Egypt agree on outlines of Arab vision for Mideast peace,

As the US retreats, Iran fills the void,

Rahm Emanuel: Thwarting Iran easier with Israeli-Palestinian talks, "...Clinton warned Israel that it risks losing Arab support for combating threats from Iran if it rejects peace negotiations with the Palestinians."

AIPAC delegates to push two-state solution,

US' Biden urges Israel to support two-state solution,

Israel Outraged at 'Biased' UN Report on Gaza Operation,

Lieberman Gives Iran Three Months - Or Else,

Gates: 'No grand bargain' with Iran ,

Boo whitewashing reality of Islamic threat,

Israeli president: Iran threatens US, Europe,

Khameini publicly rebukes Ahmadinejad,

Iran's Ahmadinejad cancels trip to three Latin American countries,

Without Russian air defense system, Iran a sitting duck,

Russia's Medvedev welcomes new U.S. stance on missile defense ,

Russia amassing ships off Georgian shore,

Armenia officially pulls out of NATO-led drills in Georgia,

Turkey's military facing showdown with PM,

Pope heads to Mid-East as Pilgrim of Peace,

China to hold large-scale military drills in second half of 2009,

NKorea accuses US of plotting war,

EU wants 'Internet G12' to govern cyberspace,

Walking in the Messiah's Footsteps: Israel Opens Jesus Trail,

Shekel Gains on Dollar, Euro

Joel Rosenberg: EPICENTER CONFERENCE

A pity I'm living Down Under, half a world away. I'd love to attend this one!

RELEASE: EPICENTER CONFERENCE SET FOR APRIL 4 IN SAN DIEGO

Headlines and articles:

The toughest challenge Americans face in dealing with Vladimir Putin's Russia is that we insist on complicating the obvious. Putin's schemes are plain as day, but we insist on polishing up his motives... Doubting Russia

The economic downturn we are now experiencing has rippled throughout the world. The news is not good and yet, every cloud, even this cloud, does have a silver lining. And while they are few in number, there are a few positive changes that have occurred specifically because of this colossal calamity. The number one change is worth discussing... A Silver Lining in the Clouds Over Iran

Senator Barack Obama judged Ahmadinejad worthy of a healthy dialogue. It was a point on which Obama was not shy in his pursuit of the 2008 presidential nomination. To the raised eyebrow of his main competitor for the nomination—Senator Clinton—Obama implored America to talk to the Iranian madman, to give peace a chance, to not overreact to the Iranian threat...Deadly Naievete

Lori's news links:

China prepares to buy up foreign oil companies

Thousands Dance and Pray around Old Temple Gates

Amnesty denying Israel the right to defend itself

Israel calls Iran nuclear plant test 'bad news' for whole world

Iran's nuclear chief to announce "good news" on April 9

France and Italy sign nuclear deal

UAE orders military planes worth $2.9bn

'Turkey ready to play role in Iran-US relations'

Russia to focus on upgrading its nuclear arsenal

Russia says M.East Quartet may meet March 1