|
|
Friday, March 31, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
|
Eitan has Pollard document, spy´s wife says
The head of Israel’s Pensioner Party has a document that could win Jonathan Pollard’s release, according to the wife of the convicted spy.
Rafi Eitan “has in his personal possession a document, a major bargaining chip in negotiations for Jonathan’s release,” Esther Pollard wrote Thursday in the online version of Ma’ariv. “He has held the only copy of it for 21 years. The recovery of this document would be invaluable to the Americans, as it would permit them to finally wrap up the case once and for all.” Eitan was the Mossad official who handled Pollard 20 years ago, before the former U.S. Navy analyst pleaded guilty to spying for Israel and was sentenced to life.
Former U.S. intelligence officials who support Pollard’s life sentence cite as one justification Israel’s failure to return all the documents he stole, a charge Israel vehemently denies. Eitan shocked Israel by winning seven seats in this week’s elections, running on a pensioners’ rights platform.
Kosher deli appeal in Abramoff sentencing
One of the letters that successfully sought leniency for lobbyist Jack Abramoff noted that he ran a kosher deli, at a loss.
A letter from Nathan Lewin, a prominent Washington lawyer who is an Orthodox Jew, appealed to the Florida judge who sentenced Abramoff this week by saying that the disgraced lobbyists ran Stacks “at great personal sacrifice.”
Paul Huck, the federal judge, apparently took to heart 262 letters appealing for leniency, sentencing Abramoff to the minimum five years and 10 months for his role in a fraudulent scheme to purchase a casino boat. Stacks and another kosher enterprise Abramoff ran, Archives, closed last year as his role in a separate cash-for-legislation scandal in Washington emerged; he has yet to be sentenced in that case.
Washington Post columnist Al Kamen suggested that Abramoff’s friends avoid the kosher-restaurant argument, noting that Stacks food was not up to par: Knishes were “microwaved so much that the potato filling was liquefied,” he recalled. That could persuade a judge to order “summary execution, not leniency,” Kamen wrote.
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 11:02 PM Permanent Link
0 comments
 
03-30-06 - Suicide bomber kills 3 Israelis in West Bank Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, part of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, claimed the bombing and said it was in response to Israeli attacks.
03-30-06 - Israeli Arabs in landmark protests two days after polls Lod was the scene of the notorious Plan Dalet operation led by later defence minister Moshe Dayan in the 1948 Arab Israeli war in which some 80 Palestinian civilians were killed, prompting most of the rest of the town's Arab residents to flee...."It's not just Lieberman, it's the so-called moderate parties too," said Qadri Wasal of the Arab Israeli extra-parliamentary political movement Sons of the Land. "This was all our land in 1948 and they took it away."
03-30-06 - Israeli planes target rocket sites in Gaza: military Earlier, Israeli planes carried out a further airstrike on a launch site used by militants to fire rockets into Israel. No casualties were reported. Artillery gunners also shelled open areas in the northern Gaza strip in response to recent rocket fire, which killed two Israelis earlier this week.
03-30-06 - NDP urges Ottawa to redirect cancelled funding for Palestinian aid
03-30-06 - Seven people hurt in gas blast in Israeli city
03-30-06 - American volunteer believes Hebron attack was ?planned? The American has been working for several months in Hebron?s H2 district and says he is well known by the settlers and has been the target of violence and verbal abuse in the past. Members of the Tel Rumeida Project accompany Palestinian children to shield them from settler violence
03-30-06 - Israeli Army forbids tree planting Shortly after the planting commenced 25 Israeli soldiers and 12 police came on
the scene, declaring the area a "closed military zone" and giving the
Palestinians notice that they would be arrested in ten minutes if they did not
leave.
03-30-06 - A just peace or no peace Do policymakers in Washington and Europe ever feel ashamed of their scandalous double standards?..we have not heard a single demand of the Israeli parties that took part in this week's elections, though some advocate the complete removal of the Palestinians from their lands
03-30-06 - Hamas fury over West's funding threats "That surprises us that the Western societies are refusing the results of a democratic process that all observers agreed went on in a good manner,"
03-30-06 - Palestinian Official Criticizes U.S. He also said the United States is spending $3 billion a year "to expand settlements and to confiscate our rights and our land," he said, referring to U.S. aid to Israel....."Is the Canadian state willing to starve the Palestinian people while the Israelis are committing major crimes against Palestinian industry, Palestinian society, the Palestinian economy, occupying their land?" he said. "Is this is a moral principle according to which Israel should be blessed and supported by the Canadian government and people?" Canada has come under the heavy influence of its burgeoning Israeli lobby. It has become another Israeli-occupied territory. My condolences.
03-30-06 - Quartet warns Hamas government aid will be hit The statement omitted previous warnings against "unilateral actions" which referred indirectly to Israeli settlement expansion and the West Bank security barrier.
03-30-06 - House considers university funding One directs the education secretary ?to take into account the degree to which activities of centers, programs, and fellowships at institutes of higher education advance national interests, generate and disseminate information, and foster debate on U.S. foreign policy from diverse perspectives.? This sounds like an earlier bill that was to ensure that federally-funded university curricula was sufficiently pro-Israel or the funding would be cut. Now it's been cloaked in more 'patriotic' language. Be warned.
03-30-06 - Fisk paints a Middle East in crisis Robert Fisk says that in his three decades of reporting from the Middle East for British newspapers, he's never seen it more dangerous, and that he's certain another major crisis, possibly even another September 11, is coming.
03-30-06 - Inquest date set on shot filmaker James Miller was shot while filming in Gaza in 2003. An Israeli investigation in April 2005 cleared a soldier of misusing his firearm.
03-30-06 - Abbas congratulates Olmert on election victory Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has telephoned Israeli interim-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to congratulate him on his election victory this week
03-30-06 - World Vision supports food security in Palestinian villag According to the World Bank, more than 43% of all Palestinians live under the poverty rate of US$2.1/ day. One third of all Palestinian families do not have food security, and an additional 40% are vulnerable to food insecurity.
03-30-06 - Al-Assad's interview with PBS: Syria's position is very clear Al-Assad: I will tell you. There was something like we did. I will go back to our experience. I think both sides have to recognize the UN and the Security Council resolutions. This is the solution. According to those resolutions, you have an Israeli state and a Palestinian state. So it is a very good idea. Both of them will have a state but through Security Council resolutions. Whole interview is worth reading. I saw it as it aired on PBS.
03-30-06 - Exposé on Jewish role in US policy is disowned After a furious outcry from prominent American Jews, Harvard has removed its logo from the study and disowned any responsibility for the views put forward in the working paper, released two weeks ago....Yesterday it confirmed that Stephen Walt, the co-author of The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy, will be stepping down in June as academic dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government to become an ordinary professor. Which again proves some of the points of the study.
03-30-06 - What Was CPT Doing in Iraq? You probably know Jonathan Kuttab he is an evangelical Palestinian, born in Bethlehem, and has been working for justice for the Palestinians in nonviolent ways for a couple decades now
03-30-06 - Hamas seeks access to Palestinian investment fund
03-30-06 - Galilee Bishop Speaks for Justice, Friendship and Peace I have the pride of introducing myself as a Palestinian. I am a proud Palestinian.
03-30-06 - Caspar Weinberger, aide to Reagan and Jonathan Pollard nemesis, dies Weinberger authored a 40-page, classified assessment of the damage Pollard's actions caused to U.S. interests. A four-page version, which was not classified, compared Pollard to other well-known spies. In the unclassified version, Weinberger said it was difficult to conceive a greater harm to national security than what Pollard had caused. He said Pollard "both damaged and destroyed policies and national assets which have taken many years, great effort and enormous national resources to secure."
03-30-06 - Paper on Israel lobby raises hackles, but fails to gain traction in Congress Off the record, Jewish officials here reverse that equation, saying their support for the Iraq war was necessary in order to curry favor with a White House that was hell-bent on war. In fact, the adventure unsettled many Israeli and Jewish officials because of concerns that the principal beneficiary would be Iran. Outright bullshit. These groups have only recently backpeddled from their stance on the Iraq war due to the fact that it isn't the 'cakewalk' that neocons such as Paul Wolfowitz asserted that it would be.
03-30-06 - Palestinian minister off to bad start: Bolton In a further sign of how the United States aims to isolate Hamas, Bolton said Washington had decided to redefine the duties of U.S. Major-General Keith Dayton, whoe was appointed last November to oversee Israeli-Palestinian security coordination efforts John Bolton's neocon 'strategery' earned him the job of ambassador to the UN. The only problem is, it would appear that he is doing the bidding of Israel therein, 99% of the time, thus earning the new title of ISRAEL's ambassador to the UN.
03-30-06 - 'Sharon studied my map before stroke' Israel would retain the large settlement blocs, Jordan Valley, all of Jerusalem - including the Old City and the rest of east Jerusalem - and holy sites such as Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, said Schneller. "Jerusalem will remain united," he said. That is a recipe for disaster. Israel does not own the West Bank or E. Jerusalem - it is occupied territory. Israel has been in violation of international law by building settlements and by building its wall such that it confiscates large swaths of land therein.
03-30-06 - S Africa to urge Hamas to accept Israel South Africa, which under apartheid was a close ally of Israel
03-30-06 - Art Exhibit by Watchdog Group Banned in Beersheva The group, Machsom Watch, monitors IDFsoldiers behavior toward Palestinian Authority Arabs at Yesha checkpoints. Turner said Thursday he would not allow the group to hold the exhibit on city property.
03-30-06 - Land Day: Arab MK threatens 'another intifada' The demonstration was in protest of "Israeli policy to demolish Arab houses in Lod and Ramla, and expropriating Arab lands under false pretenses." The protestors were angered that some 1,800 Lod homes are slated for demolition.
03-30-06 - European Union mission visits Gaza Strip; says food crisis is 'serious' due to Israeli closures Though Israel re-opened al-Mintar crossing after an emergency meeting last week brokered by American representatives, experts and UN officials say it is still functioning well below full capacity, and that not enough goods are being allowed in or out.
03-30-06 - Frost & Sullivan Accolade for NICE System's Technology Innovation in Homeland Aviation Security Frost & Sullivan's 2005/2006 Excellence in Technology Award in the field of homeland aviation security is conferred on Israel-based NICE Systems Ltd. In presenting this award, Frost & Sullivan commends the suite of advanced, innovative airport video surveillance systems developed by the company's digital video security solutions division - NiceVision
03-30-06 - Jews join letter against 'anti-terror' bill The petition presented this week to the act's principal sponsor, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), says the act "would punish and isolate the Palestinian people for exercising their right to vote."
03-30-06 - Israeli Electorate Rebukes Bush American neoconservatives have close, long-standing alliances with Israel's right-wing Likud Party. Like the neocons, the Likud believe in military solutions. In their policy papers, neocons set out a strategy for U.S.-Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. Many experts are of the opinion that Bush's invasion of Iraq was the opening gun of implementing this strategy.
03-30-06 - Curb your enthusiasm This week Palestinian children were being shot and killed in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian political activists arrested (there is now more than 9,000 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails), Palestinian crops and farms were being destroyed, Palestinians thrown out of their houses in Jerusalem, huge new checkpoints created at Kalandia that has made an insurmountable barrier between Palestinians within the West Bank, and with the continuation of the apartheid wall taking more land from villages.
03-30-06 - US professors accused of being liars and bigots over essay on pro-Israeli lobby Prof Mearsheimer said the storm of protest proved one of its arguments - that the strength of the pro-Israel lobby stifled debate on US foreign policy. Indeed. When the ever-abused charge of 'anti-Semite!' is leveled, then you know you've hit on something.
03-30-06 - Images that will terrorise Israel Oh God forbid Israel's image suffers, nevermind the starving Palestinians.
03-30-06 - US open to Israel's unilateral move on border "I would note that if you are going to have a negotiation, though, you have to have partners, and the Palestinian government that has just been sworn in does not accept the concept of a negotiated solution." Evidently Condi hasn't read this, or, she's a puppet of the Israeli lobby. Methinks the latter is the more appropriate conclusion.
03-30-06 - Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East Concerned about Report Authored by Two Prominent American Professors This organization is Christian Zionist in nature, not surprisingly.
03-30-06 - Presbyterians hear Jewish, Muslim Middle East views "We are being used by the extremist hate mongers on both sides to destroy each other," he said. "What you folks can do in this room?quit wishing for a wishing bone and have some backbone to stand up for justice and right and for your own religion."
03-30-06 - Good Times Roll at Alon USA With the purchase from Good Time Stores, Alon USA appears to be following a similar path. Once this deal is completed, Alon USA's retail operations will include 222 convenience stores throughout the Southwest
03-30-06 - Hillel e-mail links GW law student to terrorism Sophomore Seth Weinstein said he provided the information contained in the original e-mail about Kiblawi. On Wednesday night, he was with Bob Turk, a U.S. director of the Jewish Defense League, who said "there's no way" Kiblawi can deny the accusations, because his organization "has the papers to prove them." They would not discuss where their information about Kiblawi came from, other than to say some of it was given to them by an unnamed employee of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Since when does the Department of Homeland Security turn over documents to the JDL, an organization whose members have plotted acts of terrorism?
posted by Somebody @ 11:04 AM Permanent Link
0 comments
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
|
Jews join letter against ‘anti-terror’ bill
More than 300 organizations and businesses, including about a dozen small Jewish groups, signed a letter opposing the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.
The petition presented this week to the act’s principal sponsor, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), says the act “would punish and isolate the Palestinian people for exercising their right to vote.”
The letter, drafted by the U.S. Committee to End the Occupation, is signed by Jewish Voice for Peace, Tikkun, and Bubbes & Zaydes for Peace in the Middle East, among other groups. The act, strongly backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was drafted in the wake of the electoral victory of Hamas, a terrorist group.
It would severely limit assistance to the Palestinians and restrict contacts between the United States and the Palestinian Authority. The act has garnered the support of almost 200 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and more than 50 senators.
Arab Americans slam Dems
Arab American groups criticized Sen. Charles Schumer for allegedly denigrating Arabs.
Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, was quoted last week in the New York Observer as defending his opposition to a now-scuttled deal that would have allowed a Dubai company to manage six U.S. ports. “Let’s say skinheads had bought a company to take over our port. I think the outcry would have been the same,” Schumer said.
The Arab American Institute described Schumer’s remarks as deplorable.
“Sen. Schumer’s brazen remark runs contrary to the Democratic Party’s principles of inclusion and diversity,” it said in a statement. “The senator owes Arab Americans an apology.” Schumer’s office did not respond to JTA calls for comment.
ADL: Assad aids Holocaust denial
The Anti-Defamation League accused Syria’s president of giving “aid and comfort” to Holocaust deniers.
Appearing on the “Charlie Rose” show on PBS recently, Bashar Assad repeatedly refused to say whether he thought the Nazis murdered 6 million Jews, but said that “what is going on in Palestine” is the same as what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust.
“Assad’s evasiveness, together with his odious comparison of the Holocaust to Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians, shows that this is a leader intent on encouraging those who attempt to diminish or ignore the Nazi campaign of genocide against Jews,” Abraham Foxman, the ADL’s national director, said in a statement.
The comments come after the president of Iran, a close ally of Syria, made several comments denying the Holocaust.
House considers university funding
A bill in Congress would establish a board to advise the government on whether federally funded international relations programs benefit U.S. interests.
Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Congress and the American Jewish Committee, have strongly backed the higher education funding bill before the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Two of its elements would address a perceived pro-Arab tilt in some federally funded programs.
One directs the education secretary “to take into account the degree to which activities of centers, programs, and fellowships at institutes of higher education advance national interests, generate and disseminate information, and foster debate on U.S. foreign policy from diverse perspectives.”
Another would establish the board to advise whether the programs are meeting “national needs.”
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 11:23 PM Permanent Link
0 comments
03-29-06 - Five missiles fired at southern Israel
03-29-06 - Palestinian cabinet is sworn in
03-29-06 - Christian heads in Israel, PA warn against unilateral moves The leaders of the Christian faith in Israel and the Palestinian territories expressed concern over the possibility that the newly elected Israeli government will continue its unilateral withdrawal from the territories:
03-29-06 - Israelis have at last endorsed the gradual return of a stolen inheritance
03-29-06 - Hamas warns of return to violence Hamas warned yesterday that if the new Israeli government did not begin peace negotiations and end the confiscation of Palestinian land it would revert to "armed resistance" to the occupation of the West Bank.
03-29-06 - Arab Leaders Adjourn Annual Summit The summit repeated its plan to provide $55 million a month to the Palestinian Authority, despite Western pressure to close up funding for the Hamas-led government. But most Arab countries have failed to follow through on their pledges since the plan was adopted in 2002, and Wednesday's resolutions contained no language pressing them to pay up.
03-29-06 - Canada halts aid to Palestinian Authority
03-29-06 - Hamas would win any conflict with Israel: Iran
03-29-06 - Palestinian family calls for support to fight eviction in Jerusalem Local sources report that the Jewish National Fund and Israeli Police are forcefully removing the Palestinian Ozlan family from their home in Silwan, East Jerusalem
03-29-06 - Israel must completely withdraw from Palestinian territories: Meshaal
03-29-06 - Result could spell end of US role in pushing for peace the Bush Administration has time and again shown itself reluctant to get involved and certainly does not intend to challenge Israel
03-29-06 - Palestinian farmers receive olive tree seedlings from Canadian Gift Catalogue How long before the Israeli settlers or soldiers uproot them, I wonder?
03-29-06 - Hamas: Israeli Policies Remain Hostile Mashaal said all the top Israeli parties refuse the following Palestinian demands: to give up Arab parts of Jerusalem, to withdraw to the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, to grant Palestinian refugees the right of return, and to dismantle main Jewish settlements.
03-29-06 - Pullout Won't Bring Palestinian State Soon Palestinians fear Israel's unilateral imposition of borders will destroy any hope of establishing a viable, contiguous state, mostly because of Israeli plans to maintain and expand large West Bank settlement blocs.
03-29-06 - United States Must Address Control of its Middle East Policies by Israeli Lobby by Paul Findley Former Ambassador George W. Ball said Congress behaves like trained poodles, jumping through hoops held by lobbyists for Israel. The lobby marshals great resources to defeat its critics and reward supporters. Senators Charles Percy and Adlai Stevenson and Representatives Paul "Pete" McCloskey, Cynthia McKinney, Earl Hilliard and I are among those defeated at the polls by candidates heavily financed by pro-Israel forces. With hardly a murmur of protest, Congress recently approved resolutions saluting the prime minister of Israel for building high walls and fences that keep Palestinians penned up on their own land like cattle.
03-29-06 - Abbas calls for 'negotiated peace' with Israel
03-29-06 - Radical haredim: Zionists aided Nazis Throughout the leaflet, the Zionists are described as an evil and satanic force that abused haredi children before and after the establishment of Israel.
03-29-06 - Man Sentenced for Bush Assassination Plot The jury in the three-week trial saw a videotaped confession Abu Ali gave to the Saudis in which he said he joined al-Qaida because he hated the United States for its support of Israel. Our support for Israel also motived one of the plotters of 911
03-29-06 - U.S. cuts off contacts with Hamas-led government "I weep about the suffering of the Palestinians," Bush said, but added the Hamas-led government had to make a choice. Actions speak louder than words.
03-29-06 - Ex-Spymaster Gains in Israeli Election Asked about Pollard on Wednesday, Eitan said, "I would very much like to see this man go free."
03-29-06 - AIPAC trial delayed Judge T.S. Ellis III did not explain his order Monday postponing the trial from April 25 to May 23.
03-29-06 - Israeli poll deepens Palestinian gloom They argue that they would never be able to create a viable state out of the land that Mr Olmert would leave them
03-29-06 - Bush must now focus on the West Bank Kadima's plans thus go against the larger US interests in countering terrorism in the Middle East, which include creating a viable Palestinian state and a negotiated settlement over Jerusalem
03-29-06 - .S. Likely to Back Olmert's Border Plan as 'Road Map' Shelved
03-29-06 - Europeans greet result with hope, but Arabs sceptical
03-29-06 - The New York Times Covers Up Discrimination Against Palestinian Citizens of Israel
03-29-06 - Hamas condemns U.S. rejection of Quartet dialogue
03-29-06 - The Media and the Middle East No other issue has been the victim of such treachery like the Middle East discourse in the West, and particularly that concerning Palestine and Israel.
03-29-06 - Ballistic Missile Defense: Israel BMD plan As with previous Israeli tenders, the U.S.-Israeli consortia participating in the SRBMD tender want their systems to be eligible for U.S. government funding for the proposed project, Globes said. The U.S. Congress has already approved $133 million for the Arrow program in the coming fiscal year, including $10 million for defense against short-range missiles.
03-29-06 - Israel/Palestine issues will loom large at GA At the other end of the spectrum, the Presbytery of San Francisco in California is asking the GA to "reaffirm" the 216th Assembly's decision regarding divestment. "The occupation of the West Bank continues unabated, taking more land and isolating Palestinians from one another and their livelihood, undercutting the possibility of a viable economy," the presbytery says in its rationale.
03-29-06 - Dutch Glass Barriers to Israel for Inspecting or "Killing" Palestinians
03-29-06 - Church leaders in UK gather for peace in the Middle East
03-29-06 - U.S. Consulate to review P.A. encounters American consular officials in Jerusalem must review any request for a meeting between U.S. and Palestinian Authority officials.
03-29-06 - Presbyterian Church May Reconsider Divestment The church has since received letters of protests and even arson threats from people disagreeing with what they view as an unfair targeting of Israel in what is a bilateral conflict
03-29-06 - Roed-Larsen to ask for new UN resolution on Lebanon According to the sources, Larsen proposed three possible solutions to the Shebaa Farms dispute: a Lebanese-Syrian agreement, international arbitration, or an Israeli withdrawal.
03-29-06 - Belgium demands EU guideline on issuing visa to Hamas
03-29-06 - IDF to probe death of Palestinian shepherdess shot by soldier An investigation on the scene raised the suspicion that the soldier violated the army's rules of engagement. The shooting occurred during daylight hours, at a time when soldiers ostensibly can discern a woman shepherd herding her flock Nothing will come of this, judging by Israel's track record on these matters. In fact, they have a habit of rewarding soldiers that empty their clips into schoolgirls that are already on the ground.
03-29-06 - Israel's Election Europe is not beholden to any individual European government?s objection to meeting with Hamas - oh, come to think of it, most of those have quietly faded away, amid continuing blather about how best to funnel ever more money to the Palestinians despite their choice of terrorists as leaders My but the folks over at JINSA have adopted an amateurish and downright immature tone in their latest article. Then, that's what one would come to expect from neocons.
03-29-06 - Crowley, Israeli Official Meet "I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to make sure the safety of Israel remains a top priority," Crowley said at the end of the meeting.
03-29-06 - Jews who fled Arab countries take campaign to European Union Jews who fled Arab countries following the creation of the State of Israel have taken their demands for restitution to the European Union.
03-29-06 - Russia likely to sell arms to Palestine in long-term
03-29-06 - Arab-Americans Tell Corzine Of Candidate's 'Political Lynching'
03-29-06 - Israeli army sorry for fake voting The Israeli army apologized after a photo-op of soldiers voting turned out to be a sham
03-29-06 - A nation like ours The Boston Globe's resident Israel-apologist Jeff Jacoby's SECOND response to the report about the Israeli lobby by the two professors. Americans would NOT be so supportive of Israel if they knew the truth about Isreal's sordid history and grave human rights violations. That the American media is complicit in this is one of the POINTS OF THE STUDY.
03-29-06 - The Iraq War is Going Very Well - For Israel
03-29-06 - Bookstore owners defend kids' book Local bookstore owners, impassioned defenders of free speech, are loaning out copies of a controversial book of interviews with Palestinian and Israeli children after the Toronto public school board restricted access to it.
03-29-06 - Advisors block CoE Caterpillar divestment
03-29-06 - Kentucky lawmakers pressed on religion A letter signed by leaders of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Federation of Louisville mentioned bills authorizing the posting of the Ten Commandments and the motto ?In God We Trust? at the state capitol How much time do they spend on Israel? I ask because some feel that to be anti-Israel is to be anti-Semitic. Conversely, one could make the same argument that our government spends the same amount of time if not more on legislation for the state of Israel. This legislation seemingly has no real beneficial effects for the majority of the citizens of America.
03-29-06 - Author Will Continue To Write
posted by Somebody @ 6:32 AM Permanent Link
0 comments
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
|
U.S. Consulate to review P.A. encounters
American consular officials in Jerusalem must review any request for a meeting between U.S. and Palestinian Authority officials.
The new directive, which applies to U.S. officials worldwide, comes as Hamas assumes control of the Palestinian Authority this week. Hamas is listed in the United States as a terrorist group, and any meeting with its officials is banned by U.S. law.
Additionally, it’s Bush administration policy not to deal with the group until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the department had not decided yet whether to ban contact with non-Hamas Palestinians who are Cabinet members or employed by Hamas-run ministries.
Canada also announced Wednesday that it would cut funding to the Palestinian Authority and end contacts with its Cabinet.
AIPAC trial delayed
The judge in the classified-information case against two former AIPAC staffers delayed the trial for a month.
Judge T.S. Ellis III did not explain his order Monday postponing the trial from April 25 to May 23.
However, he also postponed his ruling on whether to dismiss the charges, which had been due Friday, until April 25.
In hearing arguments for dismissal last Friday, Ellis said the constitutional implications of the government’s charges against Steve Rosen, the former foreign policy director for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and Keith Weissman, AIPAC’s former Iran analyst, were weighty enough to merit serious consideration of the dismissal motion.
The charges are based on a never-used statute dating to World War I that makes it a crime for civilians to retain or disseminate classified information.
Lawyers for the defendants say it unconstitutionally inhibits free speech.
FBI stopped Hezbollah smugglers
The FBI broke up a ring that tried to smuggle Hezbollah operatives into the United States.
In testimony Tuesday to Congress on the FBI’s budget request, director Robert Mueller said most recent reports on terrorist smuggling do not pan out.
However, he identified one that did: “This was an occasion in which Hezbollah operatives were assisting others with some association with Hezbollah in coming to the United States,” Mueller said. “That was an organization that we dismantled and identified those persons who had been smuggled in. And they have been addressed as well.”
Mueller did not elaborate further, except to say that the ring had attempted to smuggle the operatives into the United States from Mexico.
Israeli army sorry for fake voting
The Israeli army apologized after a photo-op of soldiers voting turned out to be a sham.
In a statement, the army said it is sorry it had not made clear that the voting Sunday at a naval base in northern Israel was not real, the BBC reported.
Those responsible for staging the vote were reprimanded for acting in violation of the army’s rules and code of ethics, the statement said
Kentucky lawmakers pressed on religion
Jewish officials in Kentucky said state lawmakers spent too much time on religion in the current session.
A letter signed by leaders of the Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Federation of Louisville mentioned bills authorizing the posting of the Ten Commandments and the motto “In God We Trust” at the state capitol; a governor’s prayer breakfast at which only Christians spoke; and a church group’s survey asking legislators whether they had professed faith in Jesus. The letter was sent to Kentucky legislators.
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 10:55 PM Permanent Link
0 comments
03-28-06 - Three killed in Mid-East violence Israeli medics said the two casualties were Bedouin Arab shepherds....Samer Freihat, 24, was hit by an Israeli bullet after clashes broke out in the village of Yamun, near Jenin, Palestinian medics said.
03-28-06 - US rebuffs Hamas offer of dialogue
03-28-06 - All settlements beyond barrier to go: Olmert And so the barrier was used for a land grab after all. Who would've guessed it?
03-28-06 - All Israeli parties commit crimes against Palestinians: Hamas
03-28-06 - Olmert claims victory in Israel
03-28-06 - Egypt Leader to Urge Israel on Peace Talks
03-28-06 - Palestinians see little change
03-28-06 - Emergency Funding Needed for Lutheran World Federation's August Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem Augusta Victoria Hospital, located on the Mount of Olives, serves patients in the Occupied Palestinian Territories regardless of race, gender, political or religious affiliation, ethnic origin or nationality. Augusta Victoria provides emergency medical services as well as unique services such as kidney dialysis, cancer treatment, and head-neck surgery. It is currently the only specialized center for pediatric dialysis, and the only radiation oncology treatment center for Palestinians.
03-28-06 - Hamas wins parliament's approval
03-28-06 - Dershowitz Calls For Unbiased Talk On Israel Question Dershowitz is hardly an individual that could give an unbiased talk about Israel.
03-28-06 - 'Israel Lobby' Study Attracts More Abuse The NY Sun is unrelenting in its crusade against the study of the Israeli Lobby by the college professors.
03-28-06 - 'We're on the eve of World War III' according to Meir Amit, a former director of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency.
....Amit urged Western nations to "unite and work together. Unfortunately, the world is not uniting. China and Russia are problems. This should be taken into consideration."
03-28-06 - Maze of checkpoints separates sisters
03-28-06 - Speakout: MEMRI's systematic distortions MEMRI claims to be an independent nonpartisan research institution. One of the co-founders of the organization, Yigal Carmon, is a retired Israeli military intelligence Colonel. Checking the MEMRI website, I found it served up blatant, unbalanced propaganda and was littered with inflammatory articles aimed to incite hate and bigotry toward any person whom MEMRI considers anti-Israeli or anti-Zionist.
03-28-06 - Harvard Study Critical of Israel Lobby Unjustly Lambasted The article is neither ignorant nor anti-semitic. It is a review of previously published information and opinion that is familiar to all who have followed events in the Middle East. It presents a view of the US and Israel that people such as Alan Dershowitz and Ruth Wisse oppose, and for which they will go to great lengths to delegitimize, in the name of defending Israel and Jews, against unjust attacks
03-28-06 - Storm intensifies over Israel Lobby paper ?What was once a non-partisan policy institute is now part of the pro-Israel chorus,? the professors wrote, taking aim at Brooking?s Saban Centre for Middle East Studies and in particular its main donor, Haim Saban, an Israeli-American businessman, and its director, Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to Israel.
03-28-06 - Dershowitz pledges to defend Israeli generals Internationally renowned criminal lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, has pledged to defend
"in any court of law
" Israeli army officers threatened with legal proceedings when travelling outside their country, especially in the UK. Naturally.
03-28-06 - At lively hearing in AIPAC case, judge hints he could dismiss case Ellis gave the sides until this Friday to submit additional arguments, but the smiles around the defense table suggested they had fared better than expected at the hearing.
03-28-06 - Iran, Mideast, Lebanon on agenda for Rice-Chirac talks Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon and Syria, are all likely to be raised when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has talks with French President Jacques Chirac on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.
03-28-06 - Hamas: US not interested in peace in Mideast
03-28-06 - THOUSANDS OF OLIVE TREES TO BE PLANTED IN LAND DAY DEMONSTRATIONS
03-28-06 - US urges Hamas to recognize Israel
03-28-06 - Palestinian refugees in Lebanon: Long standing suffering The land area occupied by the 12 Palestinian official refugee camps in Lebanon has remained mostly unchanged since 1948 despite the Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon having swelled from an estimated 100,000 in 1949 to over 400,000 at the present time.
03-28-06 - British Government tells delegation not to meet with Hamas
03-28-06 - NY theater under fire for postponing Mideast play
03-28-06 - Israel?s Artillery: Palestinian's House Decoration
03-28-06 - Arabs renew peace offer to Israel
posted by Somebody @ 7:27 PM Permanent Link
0 comments
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
03-27-06 - Palestinian militant killed by Israeli army in Gaza Strip
03-27-06 - Palestinians furious over new checkpoint restrictions The Israeli military said that as of Wednesday, Palestinians would be banned from crossing the Qalandiya checkpoint on the main road connecting the city of Ramallah to Arab neighbourhoods of east Jerusalem.
03-27-06 - The lonesome death of Rachel Corrie Rachel Corrie went to Gaza to draw attention to the plight of the Palestinians, whose voice is seldom heard in her country, the US. That she herself should be silenced - first by an Israeli bulldozer, next by a New York theatre cancelling a play created from her words - is a testimony to the power of her message.
03-27-06 - EU, Arab, lawmakers warn of chaos if aid cut to PA Cutting aid to the Palestinians, on top of Israel's refusal to hand over tax revenue, could lead to chaos as the local economy cannot meet the population's basic needs, European and Arab lawmakers said on Monday.
03-27-06 - Fearing riots, Israel bars Jews from Temple Mount Israeli police have barred Jews from entering Jerusalem's Temple Mount/Al Aqsa mosque compound after fears that Jewish extremists would incite riots there ahead of general election.
03-27-06 - Hamas presents gov't to parliament Hamas called yesterday for talks with Western powers to try to reach a "just peace" in the Middle East but showed no sign of softening its stance on Israel as it presented its government to the Palestinian Parliament.
03-27-06 - Hamas urges talks on "just peace" in Mideast Haniyeh peppered his speech with language that could be seen by some foreign powers as more conciliatory.
03-27-06 - Middle East elections limit U.S. peace role Professor Shibley Telhami of the Brookings Institution said the United States would not publicly take a position on the expansion of settlements, which the Palestinians oppose, but would tacitly give a "yellow light" to such a plan.
03-27-06 - Palestinians cull chickens to contain H5N1 bird flu Palestinian agriculture officials began poisoning 15,000 chickens in the Gaza Strip on Monday following an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.
03-27-06 - Military force can't destroy our atomic program: Iran Soltaniyeh said that after Israel bombed Iraq's nuclear power plant at Osirak in 1981, then Iraqi-leader Saddam Hussein bombed Iran's Bushehr plant. The Security Council then passed a resolution condemning the attacks and making it illegal for countries to strike nuclear facilities.
But Soltaniyeh said those U.N. documents were "just pieces of paper" today to the United States and Israel.
A retired U.S. Air Force colonel and well-known war gaming expert told the conference the United States was under increasing pressure to use military force to destroy Iran's atomic sites and would make a decision on this option soon.
03-27-06 - US rebuffs Hamas offer of dialogue
03-27-06 - From 1997: Fulbright Called for U.S. Defense Pact With Israel But Was Labeled Anti-Semite This article from 1997 describes Senator Fulbright's version of the Harvard study of the Israeli lobby. Same s$#t, different decade.
03-27-06 - Israeli couple jailed over computer virus The Haephratis tried to market the virus to Israel's defense agencies .. who in turn said, 'No thanks, we've already got some!'....
03-27-06 - Check Point Loses Match Point With the possible exception of the Holy See, there's no country in the world less likely to attack the U.S. or aid terrorists than Israel. Evidently the author doesn't know about this incident, or perhaps this one.
03-27-06 - Academic Israeli path goes astray By Boston Herald editorial staff
This editorial from the Boston Globe follows closely the one by Jeff Jacoby in the same edition from yesterday's news.
03-27-06 - Shanghai's help for Jews hailed (Foxman of the ADL) added there were three reasons for the group's tour of the country....."And the last is to strengthen the relationship between China and Israel," he said.
Thus does the Israeli lobby take root in China.
03-27-06 - Hamas seeks $170 million per month from Arabs
03-27-06 - Israelis Rally Around Idea of Separation Thirty-nine years of occupation has taken a great toll, placing millions of Palestinians under the occupier's gun while Jewish settlers living just down the road enjoy full rights. A rare moment of honesty for the Associated Press. Wait 'til CAMERA sees it.
03-27-06 - Water reservoirs benefit farmers in Jordan Valley
03-27-06 - Hebron Update: 14-20 March 2006 A CPT intern joined Israeli activists, EAPPI, and farmers from Beit Ummar and
Saafa to plant 500 olive trees near Beit Ein where more than 1500 trees had been
uprooted the year before
03-27-06 - Olmert on verge of winning his border battle Israelis are expected to elect a government today that plans for the first time to set the final borders of the Jewish state - ending years of expansionism but still holding on to significant parts of the occupied territories.
03-27-06 - Palestinian militant refused bail
03-27-06 - HIAS: Keep immigration policies humanitarian Is this a policy they would support for Israel ? Be consistent, please.
03-27-06 - Palestinian rights advocate blocked from U.S. The U.S. State Department blocked a Palestinian human-rights advocate from entering the United States
03-27-06 - An Open Letter to President Jimmy Carter
03-27-06 - Rachel Corrie's Words Workshop officials said that given the controversial political nature of the play that they felt a need to either rewrite(!) ?My Name? to provide a more balanced context or to hold off on performing it until they could present it alongside another yet to be written piece that focused on testimonies of Israeli victims of terror.
03-27-06 - ATK, Boeing partnering on Israeli missile-defense system Alliant Techsystems Inc. said Monday it has signed on to help Boeing Co. in its pursuit of a contract for Israel's short-range ballistic missile defense system, designed to protect the country from short-range missiles and long-range artillery.
posted by Somebody @ 6:41 AM Permanent Link
0 comments
Monday, March 27, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
|
HIAS: Keep immigration policies humanitarian
The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society wants the Senate to include provisions in border protection policies that are “consistent with American humanitarian policies and effective against illegal migration.”
In a release issued Monday, when the Senate’s Judiciary Committee resumed its consideration of proposed changes, HIAS said the legislation should provide an opportunity for hard-working immigrants already in the United States to come out of hiding and “regularize their status” if they can satisfy reasonable criteria.
The group also called for programs to make citizenship more available and to encourage the integration of newcomers into Americans society.
Palestinian rights advocate blocked from U.S.
The U.S. State Department blocked a Palestinian human-rights advocate from entering the United States.
Lawyer Raji Sourani was not given a visa to visit the United States on a March 24-30 trip, though he had meetings arranged with top U.S. officials, the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights said in a statement. The U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem is requiring Sourani to obtain an Israeli police certificate before it will process his application.
The State Department said it’s still considering the case.
“We are aware of Mr. Sourani’s prominence and interest in his case,” a statement said. “Once Mr. Sourani has completed the visa application process, we are prepared to expedite his application.”
http://jta.org
posted by Somebody @ 10:51 PM Permanent Link
0 comments
03-26-06 - Palestinian youth killed by Israeli fire
03-26-06 - 3 Palestinians wounded in Israeli airstrike in Gaza Two policemen were also injured in the attack
03-26-06 - Settlers attack Palestinian olive farmers A group of around a dozen settlers wielding iron bars assaulted the farmers who were sleeping in a tent near the settlement of Sussya, close to the Palestinian city of Hebron. The farmers had been camped out after extremist settlers had uprooted dozens of their trees last week.
03-26-06 - Child, man injured by army explosive in Tubas A local source in in Tubas reported that the explosive went off as a group of children found it and were playing with it unknowing its nature.
03-26-06 - Israel army to cut local links with Palestinians The Israeli army will end all coordination with local representatives of the Palestinian Authority once a Hamas-dominated government is sworn in on Wednesday, an officer told AFP
03-26-06 - Palestinians yearn for peace: Haniya
03-26-06 - France: Anti-Israel acts like anti-Semitism the focus on anti-Semitism created an "imbalance" in the approach to fighting all racism, and added that, if the recommendation became law, the umbrella groups the International Federation for Human Rights would be punished because it viewed Israel's treatment of Israeli Arabs as "discriminatory". Jewish groups in France, however, supported the recommendation.
03-26-06 - Palestinians, U.S. citizen complain of Hebron settler violence
03-26-06 - Arab ministers reject Israeli border move "This fulfills Israel's expansionist greed and renders impossible (all plans) to establish a sovereign and independent Palestinian state,"
03-26-06 - Kalandiya to become sole W. Bank-Israel crossing The Kalandiya checkpoint just north of Jerusalem will become an exclusive crossing into Israel a military source said Sunday.
03-26-06 - Hamas cabinet in confidence vote Hamas leaders say recognising Israel would mean accepting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.
03-26-06 - Gaza farmers refuse to cull chickens in bird flu battle Farmers in the Gaza Strip where poultry have been hit by a bird flu outbreak are refusing to cull their chickens before receiving financial compensation.
03-26-06 - Tax authority keeps car despite death of elderly Palestinian owner Nearly all Israeli authorities, including the National Insurance Institute and Israel Broadcast Authority, erect similar roadblocks in East Jerusalem in an attempt to collect debts. In many cases these roadblocks are erected illegally by inspectors that aren't authorized to do so.
03-26-06 - Notice at Kalandia Checkpoint: Al Ram is Now Israel By restricting Palestinian access in this way, the Israelis have effectively annexed the village minus its West Bank residents to Israel. cutting it off from the rest of the West Bank. The restriction will also cement the illegal annexation of occupied East Jerusalem.
03-26-06 - Israel reopens key commercial crossing on Gaza border
03-26-06 - Olmert sees talks with US on Israel's borders Olmert's plan is vehemently opposed by the Palestinians, who outnumber Israeli settlers 10-to-one in the West Bank.
03-26-06 - Israel embraces Italian neo-fascist The Israeli newspaper Haaretz quoted foreign ministry sources as citing three main reasons for the Israeli decision to court Fini, who is known for his anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim views...another reason for the Israeli government?s embrace of Fini seems to lie in his anti-Arab, especially anti-Palestinian, stance
03-26-06 - Abbas urges next Israeli government to cooperate
03-26-06 - Saddam Asks Arab League to Back Insurgents After dividing Iraq, the United States will carve up Saudi Arabia, Syria and Sudan, then establish a Palestinian homeland in Jordan and western Iraq, the letter said. That would let the U.S. control oil in the Arab world and Israel take over the West Bank, emptied of Palestinians, it said.
03-26-06 - Rickman's peace play heads to London the Playhouse Theatre in London has welcomed the production with open arms
03-26-06 - Palestinian Workers Right: Medical Confidentiality
03-26-06 - Israeli right nips at Kadima Russian immigrants who came to Israel after 1989 have a tendency to vote right-wing - anything that smacks of socialism brings back memories of Red Square.
03-26-06 - America takes side of Israel The Boston Globe's resident Israel-apologist, Jeff Jacoby, alleges that America's foreign policy is so pro-Israel because the American people are so pro-Israel. That may be true. But this still does not disprove the Harvard study about the Israeli lobby. For, if our media is pro-Israel (which the Harvard report alleges, as do many other organizations and this writer), then Americans will never have a chance to hear another side of the story, and thus could never be anything BUT pro-Israel - which is the point. Pro-Israeli media 'watchdogs' such as CAMERA, honestreporting.com and countless other pro-Israeli organizations see to it that you will never see the Palestinians as anything other than barbaric jihadis. I know that this is not the case. And I am not the only one. We are the only nation in the world that is so ardently pro-Israel. And we are also the only nation in the world whose pro-Israeli lobby is so powerful. Coincidence?
03-26-06 - Latin leaders balk at US 'wall' Some may not like it but I'd be willing to bet that this proposed wall follows the US borders and does not cut deep into others' territory.
03-26-06 - "We are no against the Jews .. civilians should be spared" -- Haniah
03-26-06 - Hamas urged to recognize Israel within 6 to 12 months Israel will carry out unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank unless the Hamas-led Palestinian government recognizes Israel within six to 12 months, a Kadima party's candidate for Israeli parliamentary elections said here on Sunday
03-26-06 - ISRAEL DOES NOT SEE MISSILE STRIKES AS THREAT Israeli military commanders said more than 90 percent of missiles fired from the Gaza Strip do not strike any Israeli target. They said about 50 percent of the missiles land within the Gaza Strip.
03-26-06 - Parrish's planner reflects visit to refugee camp "We think of Syria as a horrible and frightening country, but the Syrians treated the Palestinians better than the other countries we visited."
03-26-06 - Kuwait, Palestine Praise King Abdullah's Initiative The Palestinian foreign ministers for his part described King Abdullah's initiative as positive and expressed hope that it would contribute to improving the situation in Iraq and achieving Iraqis' interests.
03-26-06 - 3 injured in blast in Israeli town Meanwhile, Israeli police sources said that the explosion appeared to be caused by criminals rather than Palestinian militants.
03-26-06 - Israeli public will have to pay The fact that Israeli tax payers were forced to shoulder the entire NIS 8.5 billion (about USD 1.8 billion) price tag for the Gaza pullout bodes extremely poorly for the notion that any American administration will foot the bill for another unilateral move. First off, Israelis only recently asked again to get the money for the Gaza pullout and Negev settlement development area. So, it hasn't been ruled out. C'mon, this is Israel we're talking about here. And as for the fence, we certainly have paid for it. "While soldiers from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) overrun church properties, the U.S. taxpayer is paying for much of the $8 billion wall. " Why should we be paying ANYONE to leave illegal settlements (and for a wall that cuts into occupied territory) that should not have been built in the first place, is the question."
03-26-06 - Beilin to Jaffa Arabs: This is your home The tour came in response to an earlier tour by rightists, who offered compensation to Jaffa Arabs in order to encourage them to leave.
posted by Somebody @ 12:23 AM Permanent Link
0 comments
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Does 'America take the side of Israel'?
|
The Boston Globe`s resident Israel-apologist, Jeff Jacoby, alleges that America`s foreign policy is so pro-Israel because the American people are so pro-Israel.
In short, solidarity with Israel is an abiding feature of American public opinion. Because the American people are pro-Israel, the American government is pro-Israel. And because Americans so strongly support Israel in its conflict with the Arabs, American policy in the Middle East is committed to Israel's defense.
That may be true. But it still does not disprove the recent Harvard study about the Israeli lobby - which would appear to be what Jacoby is trying to discredit in his article. For, if our mainstream media is pro-Israel (which the Harvard report alleges, as do many other organizations, and this writer), then Americans will never have a chance to hear another side of the story, and thus could never be anything BUT pro-Israel - which is exactly one of the points of the study.
Pro-Israeli media `watchdogs` such as CAMERA, honestreporting.com and countless other pro-Israeli organizations by way of their tireless lobbying efforts see to it that you will never see the Palestinians as anything other than barbaric jihadis. But I know that this propaganda campaign is not based on fact. And I am not the only one.
We are the only nation in the world that is so ardently pro-Israel. And we are also the only nation in the world whose pro-Israeli lobby is so powerful.
Coincidence? I think not.
posted by Somebody @ 11:56 PM Permanent Link
0 comments
03-25-06 - Palestinian child shot and injured by Israeli forces near Hebron
03-25-06 - Palestinians get $2 mln in World Bank bird flu aid The World Bank will donate $2 million to help Palestinians contain an outbreak of the deadly avian flu in the Gaza Strip, a bank official said on Saturday.
03-25-06 - UN calls for urgent bird flu aid for Palestinians The Gaza Strip is already labouring under a severe shortage of basic necessities brought on by an Israeli closure of its sole trade route for much of the year.
03-25-06 - Israeli warplanes strike central, northern Gaza Strip
03-25-06 - United Nations Study: Palestinian land has been divided into separate 'ghettos' enclosed by Wall
03-25-06 - Iran, Syria blast Israel over nuclear programme Top officials from Syria and Iran, close allies under severe pressure from the international community, stood together to denounce Israel's nuclear programme as a threat to the Middle East.
03-25-06 - Kuwait, Gulf assure Hamas of aid without specifics
03-25-06 - Abbas hints he'll bring down new government if Palestinian interests are harmed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hinted on Saturday that he was prepared to bring down Hamas' incoming government if the group's anti-Israel policies hurt the Palestinian people.
03-25-06 - Shots Fired at the Vehicles of the Acting Mayor of Qalqilya and the Mayor of Birzeit In the ongoing security chaos in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), gunmen fired shots at the cars of the acting mayor of Qalqilya and the mayor of Birzeit, causing extensive damage to both vehicles.
03-25-06 - Rights forum seeks removal of pro-Israeli adviser With the new post, Bethlehem, a former adviser to Ariel Sharon, will be responsible for advising Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on a host of several controversial issues such as Guantanamo Bay, the occupation of Iraq and the legality of any pre-emptive strike against Iran..."We are appalled that the Foreign Office is employing someone who has a very distinct bias in favour of Israel,"
03-25-06 - Israeli bulldozers raze Tulkarem olive trees
03-25-06 - Israel destroys Palestinian water sources in Jordan Valley, plan to seize entire area
03-25-06 - Arabs poised for Palestinian isolation after Israel election
03-25-06 - Israel culls 1.2 million poultry for bird flu
03-25-06 - Hebron Team Rejoices in the Release of Their Colleagues in Baghdad We are humbled by the statements of support from the Muslim community around the
world in acknowledging CPT's work in Palestine and Iraq and in their continual
calls for the release of our teammates.
03-25-06 - N.J. Dems Dump Arab-American Candidate Democrats pulled an Arab-American candidate from their election ticket on Saturday amid a furor over comments he made four years ago that some interpreted as sympathetic to Palestinian suicide bombers.
03-25-06 - Changing Mood Motivates Israelis at Polls Unless there's a dramatic upset, a last-minute Palestinian attack ? or the pollsters have wholly misread the changed Israeli political landscape ? it appears Olmert could only be denied the premiership if right-wing and religious parties opposed to territorial concessions form a "blocking majority" of 61 seats. For now, they seem short of that threshold.
03-25-06 - Of Israel, Harvard and David Duke The Washington Post reports on the study of the Israeli lobby, albeit on page B05. Gives a fairly balanced report as well, save for the title. Evidently someone felt the need to play the David Duke card in an attempt to add negative connotations to this report before anyone even had a chance to read the article.
03-25-06 - In Bil'in's Struggle, Our Own The residents of Bil'in have depended on this land for farming and harvesting olives for generations
03-25-06 - Editorial: Honest debate on the Mideast The Capital Times, which has long supported a two-state solution and tends to share the views of Jimmy Carter with regard to the peace process, does not accept the narrow character of the debate about Middle East policy that is found in most U.S. media. We want to encourage a broader debate. So we will continue to welcome contributions from writers whose interpretations of what is happening in the region will differ sometimes radically from one another.
03-25-06 - EU monitors extend 2 more office-hours at Rafah crossing
03-25-06 - Not racists but landed with raw deal ANYONE who criticises Israel is likely, sooner or later, to be accused of being anti-Semitic
03-25-06 - Qurei meets Hamas leaders
03-25-06 - Poll: 68% of American Christians would refuse to live in same building as an American Jew
03-25-06 - Christian in Hamas govt resigns Hamas sources confirmed that Abu Eita had tendered his resignation and blamed both local and US-led international pressure.
03-25-06 - Ethics reform stalling in Congress But GOP leaders are at odds over proposed limits on privately funded travel. See also Pro-Israel Activists Block Travel Reform
03-25-06 - Bush makes the ultimate commitment to Israel
03-25-06 - The Israel Lobby Honestly, these things are fairly well known to Washington insiders and those who pay close attention. But the paper is significant exactly because what it says is quite true, and as a result of this it is difficult for respectable, objective sources to publish this kind of information. Because the influence of the lobby is not openly discussed the net effect is that there is a powerful and often hidden warping of both our foreign policy and news reporting.
03-25-06 - Economic boom belies Israeli poverty Israeli Arabs and ultra-orthodox Jews, who tend to have large single-income families, are strongly represented among the poor
03-25-06 - Crunch election will set seal on the new shape of Israel Ariel Sharon, pushed Israel towards unilateral disengagement. He said he would build on Hill E1 as a mark of his right-wing credentials - despite the fierce opposition of the United States - but in fact quietly did nothing....Two weeks ago, Israeli bulldozers broke ground for a new police station for 'North' Maale Adumim
03-25-06 - Slain American became a peace activist after 9/11
03-25-06 - Arab-Israeli pupils refuse to stand for anthem
03-25-06 - Facts of Israeli occupation hamper critics of Loewenstein's viewpoint
03-25-06 - How much is a Palestinian child worth?
03-25-06 - In Dark Times, Blame the Jews Playing the anti-Semite card - again, this tactic is pointed out in the study of the Israeli lobby in its effectiveness as a tool to silence critics of this lobby and of Israel.
03-25-06 - Palestinian Rights Face Israeli Backlash
posted by Somebody @ 11:29 AM Permanent Link
0 comments
Saturday, March 25, 2006
03-24-06 - Deadly bird flu spreads in Gaza Strip
03-24-06 - Israel Drops Bid To Curb Palestinian Refugee Body Sources said that Israel is in dire need of reliable international bodies to deliver increased humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population. Those sources cited Jerusalem's desire to maintain stability in the West Bank and Gaza and avoid being forced to assume responsibility for the welfare of the Palestinians if the U.N. agency were forced to leave...A State Department official confirmed that Israeli diplomats in fact discussed with UNRWA officials the possibility of extending the organization's mandate in order to serve the nonrefugee population in the West Bank and Gaza...Pro-Israel lobbyists appear to be following Jerusalem's lead, as support among Jewish groups for immediate congressional action against UNRWA has decreased. Oops, that well-orchestrated smear campaign of UNRWA by the Jewish Telegraph Agency from last week may have been in haste. Read on in the article about Kirk's legislation. Israel's unlawful occupation of the Palestinian Territories has created one of the biggest humanitarian disasters of our time.
03-24-06 - Abbas says he proposed secret talks with Israelis In an interview with Israel's Haaretz newspaper published on Friday, Abbas said he proposed opening "a back channel of talks" to U.S. officials and former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres, who has spearheaded peace efforts in the past.
03-24-06 - Lebanese ministers visit refugee camp for first time Education Minister Khaled Kabbani, who headed the group, expressed outrage about the living conditions in the camps. "What we saw in this camp is a true humanitarian drama that must shake the international consciousness," the minister said. Most Palestinians living in Lebanon are denied basic civil rights, including Lebanese citizenship, the right to work in many professions and to own property
The Palestinians are 'the Jews' of the modern-day world, as someone once said.
03-24-06 - Olmert says Haniyeh an enemy, wants to try Meshaal
03-24-06 - Israel breaks up West Bank barrier protest, 17 wounded Seventeen Palestinians were lightly injured as Israeli troops broke up a weekly protest against Israel's West Bank separation barrier and made arrests.
03-24-06 - Rice presses case to get supplies into Palestinian territories Israel has virtually sealed off its frontier with the Palestinian territories, and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has warned that the Gaza Strip faces a humanitarian disaster if more supplies are not delivered to the impoverished territory, where stocks of flour, wheat and sugar are low. The fear of ISRAEL has been put into her. That is, Israel's fear of being responsible for the people in the territory it occupies - which is required by international law.
03-24-06 - Russian Immigrant Party Up in Israel Polls Avigdor Lieberman wants to swap Arabs for Jews in drawing Israel's final borders, and that platform has made him the surprise up-and-comer in Tuesday's elections "New presidential candidate John Doe wants to swap blacks for whites in drawing up America's new borders..." Imagine the uproar at such a headline in the United States of America? Save for the human rights orgs in Israel, it's met with silence. And why? Indeed, why.
03-24-06 - Jewish pressure drives Gaza play out of New York A public meeting attended by the activist's parents on Wednesday at a New York church brought messages of support from the writers Maya Angelou and Alice Walker, Mariam Said, wife of the late Dr Edward Said, and the actors Vanessa Redgrave and Eve Ensler. By video, Patti Smith performed Peaceable Kingdom, dedicated to Ms Corrie.
03-24-06 - Abbas to Deny Hamas Access to Big Fund A Palestinian investment fund that controls hundreds of millions of dollars will remain under the control of President Mahmoud Abbas, a senior aide said Friday - a move that would deny Hamas militants access to the money after they take control of parliament next week.
03-24-06 - Settlers uproot olive trees in Hebron Several farmers from Yatta village reported that settlers of Sosia illegal settlement outpost repeatedly attacked them and their orchards over the last month and uprooted at least 400 olive trees which were recently planted there.
03-24-06 - Abbas tells Hamas it must cooperate with Israel or fail
03-24-06 - No exports allowed out of the OPT, losses estimated at USD 500,000 a day The inability to export local agricultural produce at the height of the harvesting season has led to hundreds of tones of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries going to waste.
03-24-06 - UN refugee agency fears for Baghdad's Palestinians "On Thursday, we heard from the Palestinian community in Baghdad that reportedly over 100 families had received written death threats and that many are in a state of shock and panic,"
03-24-06 - From 2002: Intractable Foes, Warring Narratives COLUMNISTS AND COMMENTATORS WHO CAN BE COUNTED UPON TO SUPPORT ISRAEL REFLEXIVELY AND WITHOUT QUALIFICATION:
03-24-06 - KSG Seeks Distance from Paper Yesterday?s issue of The New York Sun reported that an "observer" familiar with Harvard said that the University had received calls from "pro-Israel donors" concerned about the KSG paper. Everything that the pro-Israelis have said and done thus far in response to this study - have proven the ENTIRE PREMISE OF THE STUDY.
03-24-06 - Israel Lobby Paper Proving Itself True Media, pundits and bloggers will continue to make much ado of David Duke's support, which the pro-Israel Sun elicited in an interview, but not bother mentioning that a shorter version of this paper made it into the prestigious and highly intellectual London Review of Books. That is exactly the state of discourse the paper addresses.
03-24-06 - Harvard's Paper on Israel Drew From Neo-Nazi Sites And the smear campaign continues. Everything that the pro-Israelis have said and done thus far in response to this study - have proven the ENTIRE PREMISE OF THE STUDY.
03-24-06 - UN envoy calls on Lebanon and Syria to firm up borders UN special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen called on Lebanon and Syria to agree on their respective borders in the controversial Shebaa Farms area, which is occupied by Israel.
03-24-06 - Hamas government may see decline in attacks: Israel chief of staff "The formation of a government led by Hamas will not necessarily lead to an increase in terrorism, perhaps even the contrary," he said in comments carried by army radio.
03-24-06 - ANALYSIS - Stark problems await Hamas-led Palestinian Authority
03-24-06 - American Muslims gaining a foothold in politics Up to a third of American Muslims are African-Americans who vote mostly for Democrats. The rest come from Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Africa.
03-24-06 - Constitutional Questions Show in AIPAC Case Prosecutor Kevin DiGregory argued that the law regulates conduct, not speech, and therefore does not merit the same level of scrutiny. He also said that "the national security interests of the United States" require that the law be upheld.
03-24-06 - Palestinian President Sees Peace Soon
03-24-06 - Lutherans urge world community not to cut off aid to Palestinians The church also demanded that Israel reverse its freeze on about $50 million a month in taxes that it collects for the Palestinian Authority.
03-24-06 - Neocon rag bashes Jimmy Carter for supporting real democracy, not neocon 'democracy' His latest pieces that demonstrated sympathy for the ordinary Palestinians no doubt pushed the fire-breathing neocons over the edge. They're out for blood now.
03-24-06 - US rappers sing for Palestine
03-24-06 - For activist's supporters, the show does go on
03-24-06 - First Displaced, Then Attacked Since the beginning of the second Intifadah, or Palestinian uprising in 2000, Jewish settlers have killed 24 Palestinians in the occupied territories, says Bassem Eid, director-general of the Palestinian Human Rights Monitoring Group in Jerusalem. "No settler has been arrested or charged, or is facing a trial,"
03-24-06 - President Receives Seeds of Peace Vice President
03-24-06 - Woman Arrested For Midway Bomb Comment Justified Anna Mustafa was checking in for a flight bound for Israel for her father's funeral when she became upset security workers had put her luggage through a screening machine. Convinced she was being singled out because of her Palestinian heritage, Mustafa lashed out at airline employees.
03-24-06 - Common Ground: A journey from Gaza My life took a change for the worse when I was shot on February 18, 2004. The bullet stopped near my spine. The day of the shooting, we were visited by United Nations workers, who had permission to visit us. At the end of the visit, I was standing outside my house, waving them goodbye, when I was shot. This is the same boy from the story U.N. staff see boy shot in back from February of 2004.
03-24-06 - Middle East Women Discuss Importance of Empowerment Dana Jamjoum, a Palestinian, said obstacles to creating and maintaining a business at home include fear and limits on transportation and movement that stifle daily activities.
03-24-06 - Mass. officials attend Israeli conference MacMillan and 130 other senior US security officials attending a counterterrorism conference in Jerusalem found themselves caught up in an unfolding manhunt for a suspected Palestinian suicide bomber.
An hour later, after a dramatic helicopter and motorcycle chase through police roadblocks on the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway, Israeli police told the Americans that the would-be bomber had been captured, with 15 pounds of explosives packed with nails and shrapnel.
Aha. This explains a lot about the dramatic chase of those 'suspected bombers' this past week.
03-24-06 - Jewish panel defends Israel Members of the Tulane community have brought Ahmadinejad's comments to light. The Tulane College Democrats, New Orleans Hillel and the Tulane-Israel Public Affairs Committee sponsored a panel discussion entitled "Democracy in the Middle East" to address how the United States and the international community should respond.
03-24-06 - HOW ISRAEL CONTROLS WHAT YOU READ
03-24-06 - KABOBalert: Support Michigan House Resolution Condemning Racist Editor Lemmons, an African American who represents Detroit's far east side, stated, "Nolan Finley's generalization of all Palestinians as terrorists is reminiscent of many stereotypes that my people have been victimized by
03-24-06 - Blair's flawed defence of foreign activism He acknowledges that the lack of western "even handedness" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rankles deeply and plans to expand on this "at a later time". That speech will be worth listening to if it makes clear the UK will not condone illegal land-grabs through which Israel plans to expand its borders.
03-24-06 - Boehner says he won?t let anti-Israel laws through Boehner?s address Monday to 5,000 activists at the AIPAC conference in Washington was his first major foreign policy speech since his fellow Republican legislators elected him on Feb. 3. Boehner was elected after Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) stepped down in the wake of his indictment on charges related to campaign fund-raising.
03-24-06 - U.S. opposes depositions in AIPAC case Lawyers for Steven Rosen, the pro-Israel lobby?s former foreign policy director, and Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst, asked the court in a motion to be considered Friday to allow three Israeli diplomats to be deposed in the case.
03-24-06 - The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc
03-24-06 - Israeli media condemn, discuss report on US-Israel ties
03-24-06 - Libya reiterates support for Palestinians
03-24-06 - Four types of enclave in the West Bank The restrictions on movement that Israel imposes on Palestinians in the West Bank have effectively created four different types of enclaves.
03-24-06 - On a desert trek, former enemies form new bonds But when word was delivered to the group at 2 a.m. Wednesday that all were welcome except the Israelis, they didn't hesitate. "Muslim, Christian, Jewish, we're all one team, one body, one spirit," says Palestinian Mohammad Azzam Alarjah
03-24-06 - Three Wishes Controversy Continues in Ontario Schools The controversy began in February when the Canadian Jewish Council wrote OLA and every school board in the province, asking them to withdraw the title from the reading program, arguing that it lacked historical context, was too sophisticated for children in the recommended age group, and demonized people on both sides of the conflict.
posted by Somebody @ 1:50 AM Permanent Link
0 comments
|
| |
