Mar. 31, 2009
ALAN BAKER , THE JERUSALEM POST
One of the most intractable issues facing Israel, its government and general public is the real nature of the relationship with the Diaspora. Is this a relationship of reciprocal, mutually benefitting and interdependent interests? Is it a vital relationship without which neither could realize their respective and most basic endeavors? Or alternatively, could each exist independently and follow its own narrow interests? These questions are challenging and touch upon the very nature of the linkage between State of Israel and the Jewish people in the Diaspora.
One delicate yet vital component of this relationship that repeatedly threatens to cast a schism between the two, is the ongoing peace-negotiating process on issues of central concern to Judaism - specifically concerning the fate of Jerusalem and withdrawal from territory. (read full article)
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Middle East still not ready for democracy
Jewish World Review March 23, 2009 / 27 Adar 5769
By Barry Rubin
Democracy is a great idea; open elections are ideally the best way to choose governments; dialogue with everyone is wonderful in theory. But in the Middle East, unfortunately, as a policy this would be a disaster.
It is not Western policy but local conditions which are going to determine whether there will be democracy in the Arabic-speaking world. In my book, The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), I analyze both the debate and the existing groups. The assessment must be pessimistic. (read full article)
By Barry Rubin
Democracy is a great idea; open elections are ideally the best way to choose governments; dialogue with everyone is wonderful in theory. But in the Middle East, unfortunately, as a policy this would be a disaster.
It is not Western policy but local conditions which are going to determine whether there will be democracy in the Arabic-speaking world. In my book, The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), I analyze both the debate and the existing groups. The assessment must be pessimistic. (read full article)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A Japanese View of the Palestinians
By Yashiko Sagamori
If you are so sure that “Palestine, the country, goes back through most of recorded history”, I expect you to be able to answer a few basic questions about that country of Palestine:
1. When was it founded and by whom?
2. What were its borders?
3. What was its capital?
4. What were its major cities?
5. What constituted the basis of its economy?
6. What was its form of government?
7. Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat?
8. Was Palestine ever recognized by a country whose existence, at that time or now, leaves no room for interpretation?
9. What was the language of the country of Palestine?
10. What was the prevalent religion of the country of Palestine?
11. What was the name of its currency? Choose any date in history and tell what was the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian monetary unit against the US dollar, German mark, GB pound, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date.
12. And, finally, since there is no such country today, what caused its demise and when did it occur?
(read full article)
If you are so sure that “Palestine, the country, goes back through most of recorded history”, I expect you to be able to answer a few basic questions about that country of Palestine:
1. When was it founded and by whom?
2. What were its borders?
3. What was its capital?
4. What were its major cities?
5. What constituted the basis of its economy?
6. What was its form of government?
7. Can you name at least one Palestinian leader before Arafat?
8. Was Palestine ever recognized by a country whose existence, at that time or now, leaves no room for interpretation?
9. What was the language of the country of Palestine?
10. What was the prevalent religion of the country of Palestine?
11. What was the name of its currency? Choose any date in history and tell what was the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian monetary unit against the US dollar, German mark, GB pound, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date.
12. And, finally, since there is no such country today, what caused its demise and when did it occur?
(read full article)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Umm el-Fahm and liberal democracy
Mar 26, 2009 21:41 | Updated Mar 27, 2009 21:21
By CAROLINE GLICK
Tuesday's riots in Umm el-Fahm and the debate which accompanied them are emblematic of one of the greatest challenges facing not only Israel, but much of the Western world today. Far-Right Jewish Israeli political activists held a peaceful demonstration in the radical Arab-Islamist dominated city of Umm el-Fahm in the Galilee under heavy police protection. Thousands of Arab Israelis supported by far-Left Jewish Israeli political activists reacted with violent rioting. And the media blamed the violence on the peaceful Jewish Israeli demonstrators.(read full article)
By CAROLINE GLICK
Tuesday's riots in Umm el-Fahm and the debate which accompanied them are emblematic of one of the greatest challenges facing not only Israel, but much of the Western world today. Far-Right Jewish Israeli political activists held a peaceful demonstration in the radical Arab-Islamist dominated city of Umm el-Fahm in the Galilee under heavy police protection. Thousands of Arab Israelis supported by far-Left Jewish Israeli political activists reacted with violent rioting. And the media blamed the violence on the peaceful Jewish Israeli demonstrators.(read full article)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Israel`s Christian Friends
Michael Freund - Mar 25, 2009
The Jerusalem Post
Tucked away in the southeastern corner of Virginia, the city of
Virginia Beach is about the last place one would expect to find a
bastion of passionate pro-Israel sentiment.
With its seemingly endless miles of sand, waves and sun, the sprawling
resort town, known as the proud host of the annual East Coast Surfing
Championships, seems more well-suited to fun and games than to waging a
war of ideas on behalf of the Jewish state. Yet it is precisely in this
most unexpected of locales that one of Israel`s staunchest allies and
defenders can be found: Rev. Pat Robertson`s Christian Broadcasting
Network, or CBN. (read full article)
The Jerusalem Post
Tucked away in the southeastern corner of Virginia, the city of
Virginia Beach is about the last place one would expect to find a
bastion of passionate pro-Israel sentiment.
With its seemingly endless miles of sand, waves and sun, the sprawling
resort town, known as the proud host of the annual East Coast Surfing
Championships, seems more well-suited to fun and games than to waging a
war of ideas on behalf of the Jewish state. Yet it is precisely in this
most unexpected of locales that one of Israel`s staunchest allies and
defenders can be found: Rev. Pat Robertson`s Christian Broadcasting
Network, or CBN. (read full article)
Friday, March 20, 2009
I am not Jewish but... - JPost.com
From a speech by Rupert Murdoch:
"In this new century, the "West" is no longer a matter of geography. The West is defined by societies committed to freedom and democracy. That at least is how the terrorists see it. And if we are serious about meeting this challenge, we would expand the only military alliance committed to the defense of the West to include those on the front lines of this war. That means bringing countries such as Israel into NATO." (read full article)
"In this new century, the "West" is no longer a matter of geography. The West is defined by societies committed to freedom and democracy. That at least is how the terrorists see it. And if we are serious about meeting this challenge, we would expand the only military alliance committed to the defense of the West to include those on the front lines of this war. That means bringing countries such as Israel into NATO." (read full article)
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Exposed: How Palestinian Fixers Manipulate their Media Bosses - Honest Reporting
March 18, 2009
"FIXING" THE FOREIGN PRESS
While one refers to the "foreign press" in Israel, most employees are local Israelis or Palestinians who are hired for their language skills, access and local knowledge. Sometimes it isn't enough just to monitor only the news stories and critique the media. The hiring practices of the media organizations can also impact significantly on what news is reported and how decisions are made as to the information reaching Western audiences.
It isn't only the personal attitudes or potential bias of a journalist influencing the final article or television report. Other media professionals can also have a major bearing on the construction and direction of a story. (read full article)
"FIXING" THE FOREIGN PRESS
While one refers to the "foreign press" in Israel, most employees are local Israelis or Palestinians who are hired for their language skills, access and local knowledge. Sometimes it isn't enough just to monitor only the news stories and critique the media. The hiring practices of the media organizations can also impact significantly on what news is reported and how decisions are made as to the information reaching Western audiences.
It isn't only the personal attitudes or potential bias of a journalist influencing the final article or television report. Other media professionals can also have a major bearing on the construction and direction of a story. (read full article)
Friday, March 13, 2009
TEAM OBAMA'S ANTI-ISRAEL TURN
By JOHN BOLTON
March 13, 2009
THE Obama administration is increasingly fixed on resolving the "Arab-Israeli dispute," seeing it as the key to peace and stability in the Middle East. This is bad news for Israel - and for America.
In its purest form, this theory holds that, once Israel and its neighbors come to terms, all other regional conflicts can be duly resolved: Iran's nuclear-weapons program, fanatical anti-Western terrorism, Islam's Sunni-Shiite schism, Arab-Persian ethnic tensions. (read full article)
March 13, 2009
THE Obama administration is increasingly fixed on resolving the "Arab-Israeli dispute," seeing it as the key to peace and stability in the Middle East. This is bad news for Israel - and for America.
In its purest form, this theory holds that, once Israel and its neighbors come to terms, all other regional conflicts can be duly resolved: Iran's nuclear-weapons program, fanatical anti-Western terrorism, Islam's Sunni-Shiite schism, Arab-Persian ethnic tensions. (read full article)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Myths and Facts About Two Jerusalems
The Illegal Annexation of East Jerusalem
As reported by the guardian.co.uk on March 7, 2009
"A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government using settlement expansion ... 'actively pursuing the illegal annexation' of East Jerusalem."
March 8, 2009 | Eli E. Hertz
Palestinian Arabs, supported by the EU and the U.S. have nurtured a myth that historically there were two Jerusalems - an Arab 'East Jerusalem' and a Jewish 'West Jerusalem.' This brief will attempt to reveal the ignorance of those who claim they are the keepers of international law. (read full article)
As reported by the guardian.co.uk on March 7, 2009
"A confidential EU report accuses the Israeli government using settlement expansion ... 'actively pursuing the illegal annexation' of East Jerusalem."
March 8, 2009 | Eli E. Hertz
Palestinian Arabs, supported by the EU and the U.S. have nurtured a myth that historically there were two Jerusalems - an Arab 'East Jerusalem' and a Jewish 'West Jerusalem.' This brief will attempt to reveal the ignorance of those who claim they are the keepers of international law. (read full article)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Can We Give To Gaza Without Giving To Hamas? Forbes.com
Claudia Rosett, 03.05.09, 12:00 AM EST
New U.S. and U.N. money for Palestine goes into a black hole.
If stuffing billions worth of aid into the Palestinian territories could end Islamist terrorism out of Gaza, it might be worth the money. That seems to be President Obama's gamble, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jetting to a donors' conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this past Monday, to chip in $900 million on behalf of U.S. tax payers. All told, more than 70 countries, cheered on by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, pledged a whopping total of $4.5 billion in fresh aid to the Palestinians. (read full article)
New U.S. and U.N. money for Palestine goes into a black hole.
If stuffing billions worth of aid into the Palestinian territories could end Islamist terrorism out of Gaza, it might be worth the money. That seems to be President Obama's gamble, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton jetting to a donors' conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, this past Monday, to chip in $900 million on behalf of U.S. tax payers. All told, more than 70 countries, cheered on by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, pledged a whopping total of $4.5 billion in fresh aid to the Palestinians. (read full article)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Our World: Kadima's strategy for success - JPost.com
Mar 2, 2009 21:02 | Updated Mar 3, 2009 10:00
By CAROLINE GLICK
Provoked by the Palestinians' escalating missile campaign, on Sunday evening the Ashkelon Parents Association voted not to send their children to school on Monday.
Ever since the outgoing Kadima government ended Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on January 20, the Palestinians have steadily stepped-up their missile war against Israel. Over the weekend the IDF acknowledged that six weeks later, daily Palestinian missile barrages against Israel have returned to pre-Operation Cast Lead levels. Moreover, the IDF warned that over the past six weeks, Hamas and its sister terror groups have rebuilt their missile arsenals both through imports of Iranian arms from Egypt and through local production lines. They have also brought in fairly advanced anti-aircraft missiles capable of shooting down IAF helicopters.
(read full article)
By CAROLINE GLICK
Provoked by the Palestinians' escalating missile campaign, on Sunday evening the Ashkelon Parents Association voted not to send their children to school on Monday.
Ever since the outgoing Kadima government ended Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on January 20, the Palestinians have steadily stepped-up their missile war against Israel. Over the weekend the IDF acknowledged that six weeks later, daily Palestinian missile barrages against Israel have returned to pre-Operation Cast Lead levels. Moreover, the IDF warned that over the past six weeks, Hamas and its sister terror groups have rebuilt their missile arsenals both through imports of Iranian arms from Egypt and through local production lines. They have also brought in fairly advanced anti-aircraft missiles capable of shooting down IAF helicopters.
(read full article)
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