by Daniel Pipes
FrontPageMagazine.com
May 15, 2009
Some of the bravest and most distinguished analysts from the Middle East emphasize that region's culture of cruelty. Kanan Makiya titled his 1994 book about Arabs Cruelty and Silence. Fouad Ajami writes about Beirut being "lost to a new reign of cruelty," about Iraq's "plunder and cruelty and sectarian animus," and about the region's "cruelty, waste, and confusion."
That cruelty, usually at a remove from outsiders, became cinematically vivid on April 22, 2009, when ABC News aired a tape of a prince from the United Arab Emirates sadistically torturing an Afghan merchant he accused of dishonesty. No less instructive were the passive reactions of his government and of American officials. The story reveals much and is worth pondering: (read full article)
Showing posts with label Timely Perspectives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Timely Perspectives. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
READ THIS INCREDIBLE STORY.....AND GASP
In an interview with Member of the
Knesset Dr. Arieh Eldad in the New English Review...
Eldad:
I was instrumental in establishing the Israeli National
Skin Bank, which is the largest in the world. The National
Skin Bank stores skin for every day needs as well as for war
time or mass casualty situations. This skin bank is hosted
at the Hadassah Ein Kerem University hospital in Jerusalem
where I was the chairman of plastic surgery.
This is how I was asked to supply skin for an Arab woman
from Gaza, who was hospitalized in Soroka Hospital in
Beersheba after her family burned her. Usually, such
atrocities happen among Arab families when the women are
suspected of having an affair. We supplied all the needed
Homografts for her treatment. She was successfully treated
by my friend and colleague Prof. Lior Rosenberg, and
discharged to return to Gaza.
She was invited for regular follow up visits to the
outpatient clinic in Beersheba. One day she was caught at a
border crossing wearing a suicide belt. She meant to explode
herself in the outpatient clinic of the hospital where they
saved her life. It seems that her family promised her that
if she did that, they would forgive her.
This is only one
example of the war between Jews and Muslims in the Land of
Israel. It is not a territorial conflict. This is a
civilizational conflict.
Knesset Dr. Arieh Eldad in the New English Review...
Eldad:
I was instrumental in establishing the Israeli National
Skin Bank, which is the largest in the world. The National
Skin Bank stores skin for every day needs as well as for war
time or mass casualty situations. This skin bank is hosted
at the Hadassah Ein Kerem University hospital in Jerusalem
where I was the chairman of plastic surgery.
This is how I was asked to supply skin for an Arab woman
from Gaza, who was hospitalized in Soroka Hospital in
Beersheba after her family burned her. Usually, such
atrocities happen among Arab families when the women are
suspected of having an affair. We supplied all the needed
Homografts for her treatment. She was successfully treated
by my friend and colleague Prof. Lior Rosenberg, and
discharged to return to Gaza.
She was invited for regular follow up visits to the
outpatient clinic in Beersheba. One day she was caught at a
border crossing wearing a suicide belt. She meant to explode
herself in the outpatient clinic of the hospital where they
saved her life. It seems that her family promised her that
if she did that, they would forgive her.
This is only one
example of the war between Jews and Muslims in the Land of
Israel. It is not a territorial conflict. This is a
civilizational conflict.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
The genocide mechanism
April 25, 2009
By ITAMAR MARCUS
Survivors of the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur spoke in Geneva this week at the parallel conference on human rights to counter the UN Durban II event. Listening to them describe how they were systematically demonized by the killers made it clear that genocide does not happen in a vacuum. The hate condition of a population willing and anxious to commit genocide needs nurturing. Genocide must be framed positively to get the necessary broad public support.
Common to the framing of all genocide is a very specific kind of demonization. In Rwanda, the Hutus taught that the Tutsis were cockroaches and snakes. Tutsi women were portrayed as cunning seductresses who used beauty and sexual power to conquer the Hutus. In Bosnia, a fictitious news report said Muslims were feeding Serb children to animals at the Sarajevo zoo. Radio Rwanda repeatedly broadcast a warning that Hutus were about to be attacked by Tutsis, to convince the Hutus that they needed to attack first to protect themselves.(read full article)
By ITAMAR MARCUS
Survivors of the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur spoke in Geneva this week at the parallel conference on human rights to counter the UN Durban II event. Listening to them describe how they were systematically demonized by the killers made it clear that genocide does not happen in a vacuum. The hate condition of a population willing and anxious to commit genocide needs nurturing. Genocide must be framed positively to get the necessary broad public support.
Common to the framing of all genocide is a very specific kind of demonization. In Rwanda, the Hutus taught that the Tutsis were cockroaches and snakes. Tutsi women were portrayed as cunning seductresses who used beauty and sexual power to conquer the Hutus. In Bosnia, a fictitious news report said Muslims were feeding Serb children to animals at the Sarajevo zoo. Radio Rwanda repeatedly broadcast a warning that Hutus were about to be attacked by Tutsis, to convince the Hutus that they needed to attack first to protect themselves.(read full article)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
'World leaders must drop 'land for peace' slogans, stop Iran'
By DAVID HOROVITZ AND AMIR MIZROCH
April 24, 2009
The international community has to "stop speaking in slogans" if it really wants to help the new Israeli government work toward a solution to the Palestinian conflict and help bring stability to the Middle East, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, in his first interview with an Israeli newspaper since taking the job.
"Over the last two weeks I've had many conversations with my colleagues around the world," he said. "Just today, I saw the political adviser to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Chinese foreign minister and the Czech prime minister. And everybody, you know, speaks with you like you're in a campaign: Occupation, settlements, settlers..." (read full article)
April 24, 2009
The international community has to "stop speaking in slogans" if it really wants to help the new Israeli government work toward a solution to the Palestinian conflict and help bring stability to the Middle East, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, in his first interview with an Israeli newspaper since taking the job.
"Over the last two weeks I've had many conversations with my colleagues around the world," he said. "Just today, I saw the political adviser to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Chinese foreign minister and the Czech prime minister. And everybody, you know, speaks with you like you're in a campaign: Occupation, settlements, settlers..." (read full article)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Disgrace at Durban 2
April 22, 2009
Shouldn't the UN be promoting human rights instead of racism as the organization's integrity takes a pounding?
The United Nations enjoys what is known as the "halo effect", whereby, because of its supposed humanitarian focus and promotion of universal values, it is insulated from scrutiny and is regarded as above reproach by the media, which often holds international bodies such as the UN to be a reference and a guiding moral light.
HonestReporting has regularly attempted to redress the balance, focusing on some of the long list of discriminatory actions by the UN against Israel and highlighting shortcomings within the international organization that the media failed to cover.
(read full article)
Shouldn't the UN be promoting human rights instead of racism as the organization's integrity takes a pounding?
The United Nations enjoys what is known as the "halo effect", whereby, because of its supposed humanitarian focus and promotion of universal values, it is insulated from scrutiny and is regarded as above reproach by the media, which often holds international bodies such as the UN to be a reference and a guiding moral light.
HonestReporting has regularly attempted to redress the balance, focusing on some of the long list of discriminatory actions by the UN against Israel and highlighting shortcomings within the international organization that the media failed to cover.
(read full article)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
STATEMENT BY ANNE BAYEFSKY AT THE THIRD SUBSTANTIVE PREPARATORY MEETING OF THE DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE
April 17, 2009
United Nations, Palais des Nations, GENEVA, Switzerland
The eyes of millions of victims of racism, xenophobia and intolerance are upon YOU, the representatives of states and the United Nations. And instead of hope you have given them despair. Instead of truth you have handed them diplomatic double-talk. Instead of combating antisemitism you have handed them a reason for Jews to fear UN-driven hatemongering on a global scale.
The Durban conference – allegedly dedicated to combating racism, antisemitism and other forms of intolerance – will open April 20th on the anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler without agreement on even so much as remembering the Holocaust and the war against the Jews. Your draft words on the Holocaust – the very foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – have been narrowed to the barest mention from previous versions. And if the minor reference survives at all – it will be a testament to your interest in Jews that died 60 years ago, while tolerating and encouraging the murder of Jews in the here and now.
Furthermore, the draft before you demonizes the Jewish state of Israel and then has the audacity to pretend to care about antisemitism in a single word buried among 17 pages. Antisemitism means discrimination against the Jewish people. Since it is evident that almost none of you have the courage to say it, the face of modern antisemitism IS the UN – your – discrimination against Israel, the embodiment of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.
Over and over again we have heard a massive misinformation campaign about the content of these proceedings and the draft before you. We have heard the tale that this draft does not single out Israel, that the hate has been removed, that the fault of the antisemitism at Durban I was that of NGOs while states and the UN were blameless.
Perhaps you think that journalists and victims will not bother to read for themselves the Durban Declaration adopted by some governments. There is only one state mentioned in it – Israel. There is only one state associated with racist practices in it – Israel. And yet the very first thing that this draft before you does is to reaffirm that abomination, abomination for Jews and Arabs living in Israel’s free and democratic society, and for all the victims of racism ignored therein. Lawyers call it incorporation by reference when they hope nobody reads the small print. The propaganda stops here. We have read it. We understand the game. And we decry the ugly effort to repeat the Durban agenda to isolate and defeat Israel politically, as every effort to do so militarily for decades has failed.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Chair of this Preparatory Committee also told us this week that the Durban Declaration in all its aspects is a consensus text. Perhaps they are unfamiliar with the Canadian reservations made in Durban in 2001 which state categorically that the Middle East language was outside the conference’s jurisdiction and not agreed. Perhaps they failed to notice that one of the world’s greatest democracies, the United States, voted with its feet and walked out of the Durban I hatefest? The Durban Declaration has never represented a global consensus among free and democratic nations. When the head of the Islamic conference treats Durban as a bible, in their words, it is more accurately a defamation of religions.
This week you decided which states ought to serve in a leadership role at next week’s conference. Among them are some of the world’s leading practitioners of racism, not those interested in ending it. You have also decided to hand a global megaphone to the President of a state which advocates genocide and denies the Holocaust.
So in a state of shock and dismay we address ourselves not to the human rights abusers that glorify the Durban Declaration or its next incarnation, but to democracies -- and we ask: Will Germany sit on Hitler’s birthday and listen to the speech of an advocate of genocide against the Jewish people and grant legitimacy to the forum which tolerates his presence? What about the United Kingdom, the birthplace of the Magna Carta? Or France that helped to ship last generation’s Jews to crematoriums?
You could have fought racism. You chose instead to fight Jews. You could have promoted the universal standards against racism already in existence. You chose instead to diminish their importance in the name of alleged cultural preferences. You could have protected freedom of expression. You chose instead to undermine it by twisted concepts of incitement. You could have brought victims of racism together in a common cause. You chose instead to pit victims against each other in an ugly struggle for meagre recognition. For those democracies that remain under these circumstances you are ultimately responsible for what can only be called an appalling disservice to real victims of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance around the world.
CONTACT: Anne Bayefsky, +1-917-488-1558 or +41 77 470 5689, anne.bayefsky@touro.edu , +41 78 740 2422, vh@span.ch
April 17, 2009
United Nations, Palais des Nations, GENEVA, Switzerland
The eyes of millions of victims of racism, xenophobia and intolerance are upon YOU, the representatives of states and the United Nations. And instead of hope you have given them despair. Instead of truth you have handed them diplomatic double-talk. Instead of combating antisemitism you have handed them a reason for Jews to fear UN-driven hatemongering on a global scale.
The Durban conference – allegedly dedicated to combating racism, antisemitism and other forms of intolerance – will open April 20th on the anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler without agreement on even so much as remembering the Holocaust and the war against the Jews. Your draft words on the Holocaust – the very foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – have been narrowed to the barest mention from previous versions. And if the minor reference survives at all – it will be a testament to your interest in Jews that died 60 years ago, while tolerating and encouraging the murder of Jews in the here and now.
Furthermore, the draft before you demonizes the Jewish state of Israel and then has the audacity to pretend to care about antisemitism in a single word buried among 17 pages. Antisemitism means discrimination against the Jewish people. Since it is evident that almost none of you have the courage to say it, the face of modern antisemitism IS the UN – your – discrimination against Israel, the embodiment of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.
Over and over again we have heard a massive misinformation campaign about the content of these proceedings and the draft before you. We have heard the tale that this draft does not single out Israel, that the hate has been removed, that the fault of the antisemitism at Durban I was that of NGOs while states and the UN were blameless.
Perhaps you think that journalists and victims will not bother to read for themselves the Durban Declaration adopted by some governments. There is only one state mentioned in it – Israel. There is only one state associated with racist practices in it – Israel. And yet the very first thing that this draft before you does is to reaffirm that abomination, abomination for Jews and Arabs living in Israel’s free and democratic society, and for all the victims of racism ignored therein. Lawyers call it incorporation by reference when they hope nobody reads the small print. The propaganda stops here. We have read it. We understand the game. And we decry the ugly effort to repeat the Durban agenda to isolate and defeat Israel politically, as every effort to do so militarily for decades has failed.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Chair of this Preparatory Committee also told us this week that the Durban Declaration in all its aspects is a consensus text. Perhaps they are unfamiliar with the Canadian reservations made in Durban in 2001 which state categorically that the Middle East language was outside the conference’s jurisdiction and not agreed. Perhaps they failed to notice that one of the world’s greatest democracies, the United States, voted with its feet and walked out of the Durban I hatefest? The Durban Declaration has never represented a global consensus among free and democratic nations. When the head of the Islamic conference treats Durban as a bible, in their words, it is more accurately a defamation of religions.
This week you decided which states ought to serve in a leadership role at next week’s conference. Among them are some of the world’s leading practitioners of racism, not those interested in ending it. You have also decided to hand a global megaphone to the President of a state which advocates genocide and denies the Holocaust.
So in a state of shock and dismay we address ourselves not to the human rights abusers that glorify the Durban Declaration or its next incarnation, but to democracies -- and we ask: Will Germany sit on Hitler’s birthday and listen to the speech of an advocate of genocide against the Jewish people and grant legitimacy to the forum which tolerates his presence? What about the United Kingdom, the birthplace of the Magna Carta? Or France that helped to ship last generation’s Jews to crematoriums?
You could have fought racism. You chose instead to fight Jews. You could have promoted the universal standards against racism already in existence. You chose instead to diminish their importance in the name of alleged cultural preferences. You could have protected freedom of expression. You chose instead to undermine it by twisted concepts of incitement. You could have brought victims of racism together in a common cause. You chose instead to pit victims against each other in an ugly struggle for meagre recognition. For those democracies that remain under these circumstances you are ultimately responsible for what can only be called an appalling disservice to real victims of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance around the world.
CONTACT: Anne Bayefsky, +1-917-488-1558 or +41 77 470 5689, anne.bayefsky@touro.edu , +41 78 740 2422, vh@span.ch
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Campus Leftists Don't Believe in Free Speech
APRIL 18, 2009
Conservative speakers now have bodyguards when they visit universities.
By DAVID HOROWITZ
I arrived in Austin, Texas, one evening recently to give a speech about academic freedom at the university there. Entering the hall where I was to give my speech, I was greeted -- if that's the word -- by a raucous protest organized by a professor and self-styled Bolshevik, Dana Cloud. Forty protesters hoisted placards high in the air and robotically chanted "Down With Horowitz," "Racist Go Home," and "No More Witch-hunts."
Fortunately, a spokesperson for the administration was present to threaten the disrupters with arrest if they continued on this course. (The threat was administered very carefully, with three formal warnings before any action could be taken.) This quieted the crowd enough that I could begin my talk, which proceeded without further serious incident. (read full article)
Conservative speakers now have bodyguards when they visit universities.
By DAVID HOROWITZ
I arrived in Austin, Texas, one evening recently to give a speech about academic freedom at the university there. Entering the hall where I was to give my speech, I was greeted -- if that's the word -- by a raucous protest organized by a professor and self-styled Bolshevik, Dana Cloud. Forty protesters hoisted placards high in the air and robotically chanted "Down With Horowitz," "Racist Go Home," and "No More Witch-hunts."
Fortunately, a spokesperson for the administration was present to threaten the disrupters with arrest if they continued on this course. (The threat was administered very carefully, with three formal warnings before any action could be taken.) This quieted the crowd enough that I could begin my talk, which proceeded without further serious incident. (read full article)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Those Who Ignore History Are Condemned - Somali Piracy in Context
D.L. Adams
Political Islam
On April 6 in an address to the parliament of Turkey, US President Obama said that the relationship between the United States and the "Muslim world" is an important one. "In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical," the president said. During the same address the President stated, "We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country." Mr. Obama neglected to explain in what way(s) Islam has the shaped and improved the United States. The founding fathers of the United States did not share Mr. Obama's appreciation for the "Islamic faith". In fact Jefferson, Adams, JQ Adams, and Benjamin Franklin were all were deeply concerned about the dangers that Islam represented to the new nation. Our ongoing experiences with the 21st century version of the Barbary pirates off the coast of Somalia, most recently today when an American freighter captain was freed from pirate captivity by the US Navy, illustrates a great deal about our prior relations with the "religion of peace" and how our previous leaders reacted. There is little discussion in the mainstream press about the link between Somali Islamism, piracy, and jihad, but the linkage is there nonetheless.(read full article)
Political Islam
On April 6 in an address to the parliament of Turkey, US President Obama said that the relationship between the United States and the "Muslim world" is an important one. "In fact, our partnership with the Muslim world is critical," the president said. During the same address the President stated, "We will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over so many centuries to shape the world for the better, including my own country." Mr. Obama neglected to explain in what way(s) Islam has the shaped and improved the United States. The founding fathers of the United States did not share Mr. Obama's appreciation for the "Islamic faith". In fact Jefferson, Adams, JQ Adams, and Benjamin Franklin were all were deeply concerned about the dangers that Islam represented to the new nation. Our ongoing experiences with the 21st century version of the Barbary pirates off the coast of Somalia, most recently today when an American freighter captain was freed from pirate captivity by the US Navy, illustrates a great deal about our prior relations with the "religion of peace" and how our previous leaders reacted. There is little discussion in the mainstream press about the link between Somali Islamism, piracy, and jihad, but the linkage is there nonetheless.(read full article)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Our World: Iran's Western enablers
Apr 13, 2009 21:19 | Updated Apr 14, 2009 9:02
By CAROLINE GLICK
Egypt's recent actions against Hizbullah operatives are a watershed event for understanding the nature of the threat that Iran constitutes for both regional and global security. For many Israelis, Egypt's actions came as a surprise. For years this country has been appealing to Egypt to take action against Hizbullah operatives in its territory. With minor exceptions, it has refused. Believing that its operatives threatened only us, the Mubarak regime preferred to turn a blind eye.
(read full article)
By CAROLINE GLICK
Egypt's recent actions against Hizbullah operatives are a watershed event for understanding the nature of the threat that Iran constitutes for both regional and global security. For many Israelis, Egypt's actions came as a surprise. For years this country has been appealing to Egypt to take action against Hizbullah operatives in its territory. With minor exceptions, it has refused. Believing that its operatives threatened only us, the Mubarak regime preferred to turn a blind eye.
(read full article)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Our World: Appeasing child killers
Apr 6, 2009 21:28 | Updated Apr 7, 2009 10:34
By CAROLINE GLICK
We were not supposed to see Shlomo Nativ's name in the newspapers. At least, we weren't supposed to know who he was for several years. He was just a 13-year-old boy. He was loved by his family and friends. He had brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents. His life was not our business. And, to a certain extent, now that it is over, it still shouldn't concern us.
What should concern us is his death. Nativ was murdered last Thursday at the hands of a Palestinian ax murderer just a few meters from his home in Bat Ayin. And his death should interest us for what it teaches us, first of all about the nature of the Middle East and Israel's place in it. (read full article)
By CAROLINE GLICK
We were not supposed to see Shlomo Nativ's name in the newspapers. At least, we weren't supposed to know who he was for several years. He was just a 13-year-old boy. He was loved by his family and friends. He had brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents. His life was not our business. And, to a certain extent, now that it is over, it still shouldn't concern us.
What should concern us is his death. Nativ was murdered last Thursday at the hands of a Palestinian ax murderer just a few meters from his home in Bat Ayin. And his death should interest us for what it teaches us, first of all about the nature of the Middle East and Israel's place in it. (read full article)
A Note from Anna Kolodner, Executive Director of The David Project
April 6, 2009
All those concerned about the continued vilification of Israel by the international community, and particularly the United Nations, should be alarmed by the Durban 2 'antiracism' conference, scheduled for 20-24 April 2009.
In the name of 'anti-racism,' the first Durban conference in 2001 degenerated into a relentless and blatant anti-Semitic and Israel-bashing event, particularly by non-governmental organizations. Under the guidance of Libya, Iran and Cuba, the second conference appears to be even worse, with recommendations that the international community prohibit free speech and criticism of religion. Fortunately, pressure from the US and European countries seems to have forced changes in the conference document, but it is unclear whether these countries will or should attend.
As in the past, The David Project has mobilized to create a unique, online portal on the topic. www.durban2facts.org is the definitive place to go for materials discussing the background of the Durban conferences, the 'Durban Strategy' of isolating Israel on the model of apartheid-era South Africa, and the current status of the 2009 conference's draft declaration. These materials, viewable online or in PDF format, will be updated as necessary. For those with little time, we have devised an easy-to-read one-page summary. We have also included links to online resources, videos and relevant articles.
We hope you find this resource helpful and that you share it with others.
Happy Passover,
All those concerned about the continued vilification of Israel by the international community, and particularly the United Nations, should be alarmed by the Durban 2 'antiracism' conference, scheduled for 20-24 April 2009.
In the name of 'anti-racism,' the first Durban conference in 2001 degenerated into a relentless and blatant anti-Semitic and Israel-bashing event, particularly by non-governmental organizations. Under the guidance of Libya, Iran and Cuba, the second conference appears to be even worse, with recommendations that the international community prohibit free speech and criticism of religion. Fortunately, pressure from the US and European countries seems to have forced changes in the conference document, but it is unclear whether these countries will or should attend.
As in the past, The David Project has mobilized to create a unique, online portal on the topic. www.durban2facts.org is the definitive place to go for materials discussing the background of the Durban conferences, the 'Durban Strategy' of isolating Israel on the model of apartheid-era South Africa, and the current status of the 2009 conference's draft declaration. These materials, viewable online or in PDF format, will be updated as necessary. For those with little time, we have devised an easy-to-read one-page summary. We have also included links to online resources, videos and relevant articles.
We hope you find this resource helpful and that you share it with others.
Happy Passover,
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Giving the Diaspora a say
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)
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)
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)
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