no…it is not in Sweden or Hungary or Indonesia….. The swastikas, the students recalled, seemed to be everywhere: on walls, desks, lockers, textbooks, computer screens, a playground slide — even on a student’s face. A picture of President Obama, with a swastika drawn on his forehead, remained on the wall of an eighth-grade social […]
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Editorials/Pollards-fate-331098
Former CIA director James Woolsey says he would tell US President Obama to
forget that Pollard is a Jew and just release him. Indeed.
Recent revelations of unbridled American espionage against its Western
allies have exposed the hypocrisy and injustice that have kept Jonathan
Pollard in prison for nearly three decades.
Washington has always presented Pollard’s unprecedented life sentence,
including seven years in solitary confinement, as a reasonable response to
Israel’s unmitigated gall for running a spy in the US. Successive American
administrations have consistently maintained a morally superior posture,
posing as the injured party, insisting on perpetuating the excessive
punishment of Israel’s agent.
From: Alan Baker, Attorney, Ambassador (ret’),Former legal counsel of Israel’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs,Former ambassador of Israel to Canada,
Director, Institute for Contemporary Affairs, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs,Director, International Action Division, The Legal Forum for Israel
Dear Secretary Kerry,
After listening to you declare repeatedly over the past weeks that “Israel’s settlements are illegitimate”, I respectfully wish to state, unequivocally, that you are mistaken and ill advised, both in law and in fact.
Pursuant to the “Oslo Accords”, and specifically the Israel-Palestinian Interim Agreement (1995), the “issue of settlements” is one of subjects to be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations. President Bill Clinton on behalf of the US, is signatory as witness to that agreement, together with the leaders of the EU, Russia, Egypt, Jordan and Norway.
Your statements serve to not only to prejudge this negotiating issue, but also to undermine the integrity of that agreement, as well as the very negotiations that you so enthusiastically advocate.
Your determination that Israel’s settlements are illegitimate cannot be legally substantiated. The oft-quoted prohibition on transferring population into occupied territory (Art. 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention) was, according to the International Committee Red Cross’s own official commentary of that convention, drafted in 1949 to prevent the forced, mass transfer of populations carried out by the Nazis in the Second World War. It was never intended to apply to Israel’s settlement activity. Attempts by the international community to attribute this article to Israel emanate from clear partisan motives, with which you, and the US are now identifying.
The formal applicability of that convention to the disputed territories cannot be claimed since they were not occupied from a prior, legitimate sovereign power.
The territories cannot be defined as “Palestinian territories” or, as you yourself frequently state, as “Palestine”. No such entity exists, and the whole purpose of the permanent status negotiation is to determine, by agreement, the status of the territory, to which Israel has a legitimate claim, backed by international legal and historic rights. How can you presume to undermine this negotiation?
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4049/arafat-polonium-poisoning Palestinians renewed their allegations that Israel was responsible for the “assassination” of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. But a thorough reading of the Swiss scientists’ report shows that their findings are inconclusive. Russian scientists who also examined the remains have said there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that Arafat may have died in […]
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/nothing-new-under-the-sun-slaves-of-the-revolution-revisited/
The other day, my wife finally got me to go through some old cartons in our storage room that I had managed to not disturb for more than a decade and a half. While sifting through the boxes I found copies of old articles I had written and published back in the 1980’s. One column in particular struck me that was originally published in The Jerusalem Post on January 27, 1985, entitled “Slaves of the Revolution.” After reading it again after more than a quarter of a century, I realized, sadly, that I could have written the same article today with very few changes and minor updates. For your edification I reproduce said article below.
“Slaves of the Revolution”
“We are still faced with the task of training our youth to rebel against ‘servility within the revolution’ in all its forms – beginning with those Jews who were so much the slaves of the Russian Revolution that they even distributed proclamations calling for pogroms in the name of the revolution, and including the Palestine Communist Party (Jews) of our day, which is acting in alliance with the pogromists (Arabs) of Hebron and Tzefat.”
( Berl Katzenelson: Revolution and Tradition, 1934)
Berl Katzenelson was one of the central figures of Socialist Zionism of the group that spawned the likes of David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. One wonders how he would react were he alive today – in light of above stated views – to Peace Now demonstrators in the center of Hebron demonstrating against the Jews there and for today’s pogromists? How would he react to hearing major leaders of his own Labor Party declare that the fault of a Jew brutally murdered in Hebron lies, not with the Arab pogromists, but with the Jewish victim for having the chutzpa to “provoke” the descendants of the Arab pogromists of 1929 by being in Hebron in the first place?
One wonders how he would perceive the actions of a Jewish Defense Minister who orders Jewish soldiers to prevent, physically if necessary, the public lighting of a Chanukah menorah (Chanukia) on the site of ancient Jewish Shechem in order to avoid the possibility of Arab sensibilities being disturbed – Jewish sensitivities be damned? And what would Berl Katzenelson do today were he to see and hear members of his own Labor Party denounce a lone Jew for maintaining a vigil against the idea of Jews being summarily stoned on the roadways of Eretz Yisrael becoming an acceptable concept?
http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/
http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300140903
The forthcoming publication of a new book co-authored by renowned Middle East specialists Professor Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz, that’s scheduled to appear in February. Here’s the blurb:
“During the 1930s and 1940s, a unique and lasting political alliance was forged among Third Reich leaders, Arab nationalists, and Muslim religious authorities. From this relationship sprang a series of dramatic events that, despite their profound impact on the course of World War II, remained secret until now. In this groundbreaking book, esteemed Middle East scholars Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz uncover for the first time the complete story of this dangerous alliance and explore its continuing impact on Arab politics in the twenty-first century.
Rubin and Schwanitz reveal, for example, the full scope of Palestinian leader Amin al-Husaini’s support of Hitler’s genocidal plans against European and Middle Eastern Jews. In addition, they expose the extent of Germany’s long-term promotion of Islamism and jihad. Drawing on unprecedented research in European, American, and Middle East archives, many recently opened and never before written about, the authors offer new insight on the intertwined development of Nazism and Islamism and its impact on the modern Middle East.”
Professor Rubin adds that the book contains a wealth of material never before published, much of it having only recently become available to researchers. It includes items from Himmler’s diary, the Mufti’s SS speeches, reveals the money paid by Germany to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and sheds light on the refuge given to ex-Nazis by Muslim countries…
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=6277
‘Surrender with your head held high’
On Friday, it seemed as though the P5+1 countries (the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K. and France plus Germany) were on the verge of signing an interim accord to “freeze” Iran’s nuclear program for six months. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry buoyantly cut short his trip to Israel, to fly to the round table in Geneva to celebrate the ostensible breakthrough.
Fortunately, it was not only Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who expressed outrage at what he called “a very bad deal.”
On Saturday morning, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius also came out against the “sucker deal.” And, by nightfall, it became clear that no agreement would be signed during this round of negotiations.
Instead of wasting their time planning the next round, the West would do far better to undergo a history lesson.
Thirty-four years ago, on Nov. 4, 1979, a group calling itself the “Muslim Students Following the Imam’s Line” executed a carefully laid plan to the overtake the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The date was selected for its significance.
Symbolically, it marked the 15-year anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s forced exile by Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and a year since a student demonstration quelled by the shah had left many protesters dead.
http://pjmedia.com/blog/the-terror-boom-right-under-washingtons-nose-were-a-long-long-way-from-defeating-al-qaeda/?print=1
House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen talks to PJM about al-Qaeda, the Sahara, and heads in the sand.
WASHINGTON — The chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa said if the White House doesn’t address the growing scourge of al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists flourishing in North Africa, America will soon see its interests coming under attack from the likes of Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), also past chairwoman of the full committee, said the shortsighted policy stems from President Obama’s “false narrative that al-Qaeda is decimated and on the run.”
“The administration’s foreign policy has ignored this serious and growing threat,” she told PJM. “It’s come from North Africa and it’s become a breeding ground for extremist activities.”
The State Department has conceded AQIM “played a role” in the Sept. 11, 2012, Benghazi attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Last summer, U.S. Africa Command noted that AQIM was inviting Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab to come train and join forces in a chunk of terrorist-controlled territory the size of Texas. The French pushed al-Qaeda out of some of its Mali territory, but the strength of the allied groups remains. At a December hearing about this unholy alliance, Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs Chairman Chris Coons (D-Del.) noted that U.S. policy in the region might not be “forward-leaning enough.”
In late May, members of Congress received the State Department’s country-by-country annual report on international terrorism with warnings about AQIM’s plunge into Mali, Boko Haram’s continued attacks in Nigeria, and Al-Shabaab’s “asymmetric tactics.” That came on the heels of a strategy speech by President Obama that largely advocated a return to pre-9/11 threat thinking, describing the new peril as “more diffuse.”
“While we are vigilant for signs that these groups may pose a transnational threat, most are focused on operating in the countries and regions where they are based,” the president added.
In September, at least 67 were killed when Al-Shabaab launched a brazen, gruesome attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, a location popular with foreigners as well as Kenyans. The mass murder and hostage crisis, captured in chilling detail by Reuters and New York Times combat photographers who lived near the mall, hit home as those in the West realized the horrific scene was possible on any number of similar targets — a world away or in their backyard.
Ros-Lehtinen referenced the recently revealed Al-Shabaab plot against the United Nations compound in Mogadishu and further threats against Kenya — and beyond, as the ambitious terror organization broadens its recruitment and financing sources.
“To fight these attacks the Obama administration has to take its head out of the sand and address the real and growing threat and attack it head on,” she said. “If we don’t admit that there’s a problem and ignore it, we’ll see U.S. interests under attack.”
The congresswoman said the al-Qaeda affiliates’ ability to roam freely through such a large part of Northern Africa — “mostly a lawless region” — allows the groups to set up safe havens and raise funds through kidnapping and arms trafficking.
“This is a largely underemphasized threat to U.S. national security interests,” Ros-Lehtinen said, adding that Washington only seems to pay attention “when a horrific terrorist attack breaks loose.”
http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2013/11/09/obamas-republic-of-lies/
“Access to power,” Plato said in The Republic, “must be confined to men who are not in love with it.” I think that’s pretty good advice, and I wish our masters in Washington were a bit better at following it than they are. It is a curious irony that the burning desire for high office is a disqualifying character trait for the beneficent exercise of high office. But we see corroborative evidence of that irony all around us.
More from Plato: “All goes wrong when, starved for lack of anything good in their own lives, men turn to public affairs hoping to snatch from thence the happiness they hunger for. They set about fighting for power, and this internecine conflict ruins them and their country.” Plato could be pretty obscure, but here he speaks with arresting clarity.
I don’t suppose that President Obama has much occasion to ponder the writings of Plato. That’s probably just as well, since Plato’s fantasy about the abolition of private property and the cultivation of a class of Guardians who ruled through a mixture of coercion and dissimulation might give him ideas—not, I think, that he needs any more than he already has. Pop quiz: Plato or Obama? “If anyone is to practice deception, either on the country’s enemies or on its citizens, it must be the Rulers of the commonwealth, acting for its benefit.”
As it happens, that one is Plato. But it takes a sharp man to tell. I think Obama would find a lot to savor in The Republic. What do you think? “If you like your health-care plan, you will be able to keep your health-care plan. Period.”
That’s what President Obama said, repeatedly [1] (at least 36 times), when selling ObamaCare to a skeptical public. “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. Period”
http://www.americanthinker.com/printpage/?url=http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/../2013/11/the_technion_the_engine_of_a_young_nation.html
The modern day state of Israel celebrated its 65th birthday this year. Throughout this period of time, the nation has faced unremitting challenges to its security and existence. Now American President Barack Obama seems to be telling Iran, a nation that considers Israel an illegitimate nation that should be destroyed, and has been advancing its nuclear program with impunity for many years, that if “you like your nuclear weapons program, you get to keep it.”
At the same time, the American Secretary of State John Kerry, unhappy that Israel is not caving to Palestinian demands, is blaming Israel for an impasse in peace talks, and there are threats of a heavy handed American response that will push for adoption of the Palestinian position in the negotiations in the months to come. With “friends” like these now in office in America, the country that has been Israel’s strongest ally for decades, the ability of Israel to defend itself, and grow and prosper is hardly a settled question for all time.
But Israel has found answers before, and it continues to do so today, regardless of the hostility the nation has faced from abroad. One of the major reasons is a university, the Technion, which arguably is more tied to the current success and to the future of the country, than any other single university’s role for any other country in the world.
I am just back from a short trip to Israel as part of a group of individuals from several states who visited the Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, where we met with Technion students, faculty, researchers, and administrators, as well as executives of various startup companies and more mature companies in the life sciences field, which have adopted Technion-developed technologies for commercial use. To say that the Technion has been critical to Israel’s enormous success in becoming a member of the developed world of nations and a center for entrepreneurship and advanced technology, would not be doing justice to the extent of the connection.
