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Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Israel backs U.S. on Iran standoff
Israel endorsed a direct overture by the United States to Iran on ending the nuclear standoff.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in a major policy shift, said Wednesday that the United States would be willing to join European powers in negotiating with Iran if it abandons its uranium enrichment program.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Rice had told her about the initiative beforehand.
“Israel appreciates the steps and measures by the United States in continuing to lead the international coalition and in taking all necessary steps to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear capability,” Livni said in a statement. “Israel supports the efforts of the United States on this matter.”
Jewish groups refrained from public comment on the development.
Privately, pro-Israel lobbyists welcomed any effort to exhaust all diplomatic options with Iran, but were skeptical of the Islamic republic’s intentions, noting that it has reneged on negotiated deals in the past.
Dean to Blair: Blast Israel boycott
Howard Dean urged Tony Blair to speak out against a British boycott of Israeli academics.
The leader of the Democratic National Committee told the British prime minister in a letter that the boycott approved Monday by the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education threatens peacemaking.
Dean urged Blair “to bring your substantial influence to bear in rallying your party and your people to speak out unequivocally against” the boycott.
Jewish group raises money for Palestinian hospitals
A Jewish group raised $15,000 for Palestinian hospitals.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, who directs the Philadelphia-based Shalom Center, urged followers in an e-mail appeal last week to assist Palestinian hospitals affected by cuts in funding from Israel and the West in the wake of the electoral victory of Hamas, a terrorist group.
Jewish groups welcome Senate immigration bill
Jewish groups welcomed a U.S. immigration bill that includes paths for undocumented immigrants to legalize their status.
The Reform movement and the American Jewish Committee each welcomed the bill passed last week in the Senate. The bill was an improvement over a U.S. House of Representatives version, both groups said, because the House version emphasized enforcement at the expense of amnesty.
The Senate bill “offers a comprehensive solution incorporating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and a sensible temporary worker system,” AJCommittee said
Movie on Islamism popular
A film on Islamic extremism sponsored by a Zionist group sold out its screening in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West” premiered Monday at the IMAX theater in Winnipeg. Its sponsors are the Winnipeg Zionist Initiative and the Asper family, Canada’s leading newspaper tycoons.
The Aspers, a well-known Jewish family, plan to screen the film across Canada. Muslim groups have criticized the film as inflammatory
http://jta.org
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05-30-06 - Israel in first Gaza raid since pullout killing three Islamic Jihad militants and a Palestinian policeman....Nine other people were wounded, including two journalists and an ambulance driver
05-30-06 - Palestinians: IDF chopper attacked rescue workers Ambulance driver Khaled Abu Saada tells Ynet that during IDF operation in Beit Lahiya army helicopter launched missile at rescue workers as they were evacuating dead, wounded. 'I do not know for certain whether the missile was meant to kill us or warn us to keep away ? but it was definitely aimed in our direction,' he says
05-30-06 - Court approves Shavei Shomron fence Judges reject petition filed by Palestinian villagers claiming the fence cuts them off from farmland, will necessitate uprooting 350 olives trees. Verdict: There are more benefits from fence than damages to petitioners; state agrees to compensate farmers for damages This settlement is itself ILLEGAL under international law (article 49, Fourth Geneva Convention).
05-30-06 - U.S. bishops to Senate: Modify Palestinian act to seek 2-state solution, meet needs The U.S. Catholic bishops called for modifications in the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to alleviate the urgent needs of the Palestinian people.
05-30-06 - Pay pledge to Palestinian workers Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya has said 40,000 low-paid public employees will receive a month's salary despite a crippling financial crisis.
05-30-06 - ADL Calls for Action Against Academic Boycotters "Those who seek to damage and discredit their Israeli colleagues with a blacklist must know that there is a price to pay. In normal circumstances, we are opposed to boycotts. But these are exceptional circumstances. Therefore, we call on the entire academic sector in the United States to cut funding, support and contact with any academic who advocates a boycott of Israel." The ADL is an arm of Israel.
05-30-06 - Iran's Khatami urges more oil money to Palestinians
05-30-06 - Security Council meeting degenerates Syrian and Iranian diplomats traded barbs with Israel's U.N. ambassador on Tuesday, as a routine Security Council meeting on fighting terrorism degenerated into insults and accusations...... Alhariri said Gillerman should consider Israel's own nuclear program before criticizing other countries for theirs. Touche.
05-30-06 - Hamas lawmakers defy Israeli eviction threat
05-30-06 - Saudi king to visit Egypt for Mideast talks Saudi King Abdullah is to visit Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ahead of an Israeli-Egyptian summit, a Saudi official said.
05-30-06 - Truce holds as Lebanese hold mass funeral for guerrilla slain by Israel
05-30-06 - Pro-US Arab states mobilize against Israeli unilateralism
05-30-06 - Bush, Jordan's King Abdullah, dine at White House The embassy said that the two leaders also discussed the Palestinian-Israeli issue, with Abdullah underscoring the importance of pursuing a two-state solution, and the need to provide humanitarian assistance to inhabitants of the Palestinian territories.
05-30-06 - 'Law to be used' to stop Israeli university boycotts
05-30-06 - Turkey tells ally Israel it opposes Iran nukes Turkey reassured its ally Israel on Monday that it opposed Iran, arch-foe of the Jewish state, acquiring nuclear weapons and said it wanted to see the whole Middle East region freed of the atomic threat.
05-30-06 - NAM backs Iran, condemns Israel's "brutal" occupation
05-30-06 - From Israeli jails, Hamas activists press middle way A group of Hamas members who are imprisoned within Israeli jails have become a counterweight to colleagues in Gaza as the political players capable of bridging the rift between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party and Hamas over how to share power and avoid a civil war.
05-30-06 - Iran minister snubs Israel Asked about Israeli calls for economic sanctions on Iran, Manouchehr Mottaki said Tuesday: "What country is that? There is no such country."
05-30-06 - Most Palestinians support existance of Israel: PLO negotiator
05-30-06 - Latino Leaders Declare Readiness to Engage Foreign Policy Issues American Latino leaders who traveled to Israel on a Project Interchange seminar last month have joined in a statement declaring their commitment to engage in U.S. foreign policy in support of Israel. See the other link from today's news about this trip to Israel.
05-30-06 - A stand for peace and justice it is time to cease silent complicity with the illegal acts of the Israeli state but to stand up for peace and justice in both Israel and Palestine.
05-30-06 - Not as bad as it's clapped up to be "I've noticed that those who complain about the newly elected Palestinian government not being prepared to accept the current borders of Israel are totally silent about the election of an Israeli government that plans to continue to occupy areas outside its internationally recognised borders, that has nuclear arms and refuses to abide by UN resolutions."
05-30-06 - The Best Congress Money Can Buy
05-30-06 - Latino leaders call for Latino-Jewish collaboration The trip was co-sponsored by the American Jewish Committee?s Latino and Latin American Institute and Project Interchange, which takes ethnically and religiously diverse leaders to educational seminars in Israel.
A calculated move on the part of pro-Israeli groups to address the growing influence of the Hispanic vote in the United States. Support for Israel must be assured.
05-30-06 - Israel slams 'repulsive' British academic boycott "The fact that the Israeli victims of this boycott will, in the main, be Jewish, is, ipso facto, an instrument of anti-Semitism,"
05-30-06 - Resolution focuses on Jewish refugees Resolutions introduced in the U.S. Congress call for any reference to Palestinian refugees to be matched by similar references to Jewish and other refugees. This HAD to become American legislation, because?..
05-30-06 - Schroeder opposes Hamas boycott Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he opposes sanctions against Iran and the boycott of the Hamas-run Palestinian government.
05-30-06 - Arab League chief calls for nuclear-free Middle East
05-30-06 - Ex-Mossad chief says Israel shouldn't wait for Hamas recognition Given the chance, Halevy said, Hamas might make a better partner than former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat because the group is well respected among its people and has largely honored a cease-fire with Israel for nearly two years. "They're not very nice people. They're not very pleasant people. They're not very good," he said. "But they are very, very credible."
05-30-06 - Put pressure on Israel why doesn't the United States pressure Israel to end its illegal and unjust 39-year occupation of the Palestinian people? Israel has broken the international law during those years with impunity. It has confiscated Palestinian lands and has built close to 200 Jewish settlements there.
05-30-06 - Israel accuses British-funded Islamic charity of being front for terrorists After arriving back in the UK yesterday, Mr Ali said if there had been any evidence against him, the military judge would have ordered him to be charged.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Resolution focuses on Jewish refugees
Resolutions introduced in the U.S. Congress call for any reference to Palestinian refugees to be matched by similar references to Jewish and other refugees.
The bipartisan resolutions, introduced May 25, were sponsored by four senators and four representatives, as well as Justice for Jews From Arab Countries, an organization that seeks rights for Jews displaced from Arab lands.
ccording to the organization, the number of Jewish refugees from Arab countries far surpasses the number of Palestinians who became refugees in 1948.
“This resolution urges the international community to place all refugees on equal footing when Middle East refugee matters are discussed,” said Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), one of the co-sponsors of the Senate resolution.
A similar resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives.
Iran minister snubs Israel
Iran’s foreign minister denied Israel exists.
Asked about Israeli calls for economic sanctions on Iran, Manouchehr Mottaki said Tuesday: “What country is that? There is no such country.” The Iranian foreign minister, who was attending a conference in Malaysia, also played down speculation that the United States could attack Iran to stop its nuclear program.
“They can’t. The United States is not in a position to impose another crisis on taxpayers,” he said.
Schroeder opposes Hamas boycott
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said he opposes sanctions against Iran and the boycott of the Hamas-run Palestinian government.
Schroeder said Monday that his belief stems from the fact that Hamas was democratically elected to head the Palestinian Authority.
Schroeder spoke at a ceremony in which he was honored with the title of honorary chair of the Near and Middle East Association in Germany. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he stands by the European Union’s decision not to deal with Hamas until the Islamic group recognizes Israel’s right to exist and renounces terrorism.
Latino leaders call for Latino-Jewish collaboration
More than a dozen U.S. Hispanic leaders who traveled to Israel last month signed a statement backing Jewish-Latino relations.
In the statement, the Latino representatives affirmed their commitment to pro-Israel advocacy. “We returned from Israel strengthened in the conviction that the growing relationship between the Latino and Jewish communities in both domestic and international affairs holds great promise for both sides,” it reads. “Israel and the U.S. are allies, and like all Americans, we are affected by and concerned with Israel’s challenges, policies and conflicts.”
The document also calls on Jewish leaders to take up Latino issues.
The trip was co-sponsored by the American Jewish Committee’s Latino and Latin American Institute and Project Interchange, which takes ethnically and religiously diverse leaders to educational seminars in Israel.
It was co-hosted by the National Council of La Raza.
http://www.jta.org/
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05-29-06 - Three militants killed in Israeli helicopter attack in Gaza Seven other people, including two Palestinian journalists and an ambulance driver, were reported injured in the strike, two of them seriously.
05-29-06 - Palestinian shot near Gaza border In the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops arrested two Palestinians they said had been carrying a bomb in a bag.
05-29-06 - Lecturers back boycott of Israeli academics Presented on the final day of the Natfhe conference, the motion criticised "Israeli apartheid policies, including construction of the exclusion wall, and discriminatory educational practices" and invited members to "consider the appropriateness of a boycott of those that do not publicly dissociate themselves from such policies".
05-29-06 - George Washington Had It Right He warned against foreign influence, calling it a poison to republican government. While he was no doubt thinking of the French, his advice applies to Israel. No foreign country should be allowed to influence American policy because that country will always seek to influence policy to favor its interests, not ours. If we followed Washington's advice, the only thing we would be sending to the Middle East would be oil tankers and tourists.
05-29-06 - Top Hamas leader rejects Abbas referendum plan
05-29-06 - Israel says Jerusalem Hamas members risk expulsion
05-29-06 - Israeli jets overfly Lebanon after clashes The Lebanese army said Israeli warplanes violated Lebanon's airspace, one day after rockets fired from south Lebanon sparked tit-for-tat clashes in which two militants were killed.
05-29-06 - US pushing Europe, Japan for sanctions against Iran leaders It described the plan as designed to rein in the financial freedom of every Iranian official, individual and entity which the Bush administration considers connected not only to nuclear enrichment efforts but also to terrorism, corruption, suppression of democratic freedoms, violence in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories.
05-29-06 - China eyes closer energy, political ties at Sino-Arab forum China will become the second United Nations Security Council member after Russia to host a Hamas leader since the radical Islamic movement formed a government following its victory in Palestinian elections in January
05-29-06 - Hamas withdraws from talks The Foreign Minister of the Hamas-led Palestinian Government, Mahmoud al-Zahar, has withdrawn from a Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Malaysia in an apparent protest at the presence of a senior member of the rival Palestinian Fatah faction
05-29-06 - I was shot in the chest by Israeli soldier
05-29-06 - Gaza traders move as embargo bites Unable to import raw materials or export finished goods because of the near embargo, many factories are having to lay off workers and may shut down entirely if they cannot relocate.
05-29-06 - Palestinian admits to killing 9-year-old Beit Shemesh girl
05-29-06 - Islamic Jihad denies claim it attacked Israel
05-29-06 - Surrender vs. the Right to Exist
05-29-06 - Hebron barbers offer free trim to unpaid workers Palestinian hairdressers in the West Bank town of Hebron offered a free trim to local government employees who have not been paid for more than two months.
05-29-06 - Israel seeking support from Turkey, better ties
05-29-06 - Israel tightens NATO ties amid Iran nuke jitters Israel announced on Monday it would fully participate in a NATO naval exercise for the first time, bolstering defense ties with the Western military alliance in the face of arch-foe Iran's nuclear program.
05-29-06 - Egypt reaps huge benefits from battle over Gaza?s gas
05-29-06 - Israel arrests Palestinian PM's daughter at border: sources
05-29-06 - Arson at the Outpost in Bil?in
05-29-06 - Livni fails to get Ankara's support Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has failed to win the support of Ankara over Tel Aviv?s one sided plan to re-draw Israel?s borders.
05-29-06 - Top Democrat slams AIPAC prosecution The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee questioned the statute used to prosecute two former AIPAC lobbyists. Has the matter of the national security of this country ever entered the mind of this Congresswoman? Evidently not.
05-29-06 - Hamas given boost after PFLP says ready to join government
05-29-06 - Jewish group calls for energy legislation The American Jewish Congress urged passage of a bill that would facilitate U.S.-Israel energy cooperation.
Both houses are considering legislation that would help spur Israeli research into energy-saving technology.
05-29-06 - Senate delays P.A. vote With 89 co-sponsors, the act is guaranteed passage. This bill will harm US interests. It's apparently not a concern to these AIPAC-beholden legislators.
05-29-06 - US ending years of Gaza civic work "How are you going to bring democracy to the Middle East if you surround it and make people starve?
05-29-06 - Iran boosts Hezbollah's reach Haaretz reported
05-29-06 - A young man's transformation from village clown to suicide bomber "They would prefer to die with dignity rather than die with humiliation," said Dr. Mahmud Sehwail, a Ramallah psychologist who has treated several Palestinians who staged attacks on Israelis.
05-29-06 - Reuters employee issues 'Zionist pig' death threat It was sent to Charles Johnson, owner of the Little Green Footballs (LGF) weblog, a popular site which often backs Israel and highlights jihadist terrorist activities. Last time I looked, the people that post at 'Little Green Footballs' are some of racist folks on the internet.
05-29-06 - The First Word: The other side of hasbara Why not show them what Israelis policies are doing to the people that live just over the Wall? Afraid to reveal the ugly truth behind the mask. Contrary to the tone of this article, the Israeli point of view has always prevailed in MSM. But since younger Americans are turning to different venues, the 'Hasbara' artists must follow suit.
05-29-06 - Actor William Shatner says horses can help injured Israeli, Palestinian kids
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Monday, May 29, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Top Democrat slams AIPAC prosecution
The top Democrat on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee questioned the statute used to prosecute two former AIPAC lobbyists.
The committee heard testimony last Friday on how to balance First Amendment protections with the need to stem leaks.
Some Republicans counseled the prosecution of recipients of leaks, including journalists.
Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, blasted such talk. “If anyone here wants to imprison journalists, I invite them to spend some time in China, Cuba or North Korea and see whether they feel safer,” she said. She singled out for criticism the prosecution of Steve Rosen, the former foreign policy director at American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and Keith Weissman, its former Iran analyst.
Harman said the 1917 statute used in the case was too broad. It is the first time the statute has been used in a prosecution.
Iran boosts Hezbollah´s reach
Hezbollah reportedly has rockets putting most of Israel´s cities within range. Haaretz reported Monday that Iran had supplied its Lebanese proxy with rockets that have a range of 125 miles, meaning a potential reach of as far south in Israel as Beersheba. Israel fears that Iran could try to distract from internatinal scrutiny on its nuclear program by sparking a flare-up in fighting between Hezbollah and Israel. On Sunday, the two sides traded fire in the fiercest clash along the Israel-Lebanon border in years.
Senate delays P.A. vote
The U.S. Senate delayed consideration of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act.
The Senate was due to have voted last Friday on the act, cutting off assistance to the Palestinian Authority, but a security scare stemming from an erroneous report of gunfire in the Rayburn Senate Office Building delayed business until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
With 89 co-sponsors, the act is guaranteed passage. It would cut assistance to the Palestinian Authority, but differs from a version passed last week in the U.S. House of Representatives by allowing the president greater leeway in delivering emergency assistance to the Palestinians.
It also narrows the bill’s scope, limiting its restrictions to governments led by the Hamas terrorist group.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee strongly supports both versions. Dovish pro-Israel groups favor the Senate version.
Jewish group calls for energy legislation
The American Jewish Congress urged passage of a bill that would facilitate U.S.-Israel energy cooperation.
Both houses are considering legislation that would help spur Israeli research into energy-saving technology.
Israel is a leader in the field, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revived the proposal for such cooperation in his address to both houses of Congress last week.
The AJCongress has lobbied for the legislation since it sponsored a conference in Israel in 2003, bringing together energy officials from both governments.
http://www.jta.org/
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05-28-06 - Palestinian injured by Israeli fire
05-28-06 - Violence flares on Lebanon-Israel border One Palestinian militant and a Hizbollah fighter were killed and two Lebanese civilians and another Israeli soldier were wounded in the fighting.
05-28-06 - More Settler Attacks on International Volunteers in Tel Rumeida, Hebron In three separate attacks on internationals and Palestinians the kids were encouraged by adults of the religious extremist Jewish community. Israeli soldiers and police refused to do anything to stop the violence. These attacks occur almost daily in Hebron but on Shabbat they are more frequent and in the last few weeks have become more violent, sending more than two internationals to the hospital.
05-28-06 - A million Swiss francs for Palestinian healthcare Switzerland has decided to donate a million Swiss francs (641,000 euros, 819,000 dollars) to buy medicines for the occupied Palestinian territories and to send two health experts there, the foreign ministry said.
05-28-06 - A bit of good news from the US Congress This is not the first, nor will it be the last piece of bizarre anti-Palestinian legislation coming out of Congress. Its architect, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) annually creates these "hoop jumping exercises" to test their strength and see how far they can push Congress. Look at the comments by Congressman Hinchey. Excellent.
05-28-06 - Hamas and Fatah delay talks on dialogue plan
05-28-06 - Review of Deadly Dogma: How Neoconservatives Broke the Law to Deceive America by Grant F. Smith As for Israel, "a priori devotion to Israel is a common denominator for all neoconservatives," Smith writes. Many of the neoconservatives were strongly pro-Likud Party and worked to restrategize Middle East policy on behalf of Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud, shortly before he became Israeli prime minister. Support for Israel is the only explanation of why so many neoconservatives have risked violating US criminal law by passing on secret information to Israel.
05-28-06 - Ehud Olmert, Unreasonably Reasonable? Olmert also expressed support for the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, an act drafted in part by the American Jewish Committee and introduced into the House and Senate last June. The bill currently has 49 co-sponsors in the House (H.R. 2730) and just 4 co-sponsors in the Senate (S. 1862). But he indicated that this energy cooperation would become a major effort, the goal being to develop the Galilee and the Negev with hundreds of millions and perhaps billions of American dollars presumably going to support the resettlement of 60,000 of the 350,000 settlers in the West Bank.
05-28-06 - Non-Aligned Movement urges Hamas and Fatah to make up
05-28-06 - Hebron Update: 20 to 26 May 2006 Atta Jaber, a local farmer and friend of CPT, visited the team and reported that
a fence had been erected cutting off his family from another six acres of land,
in addition to that already confiscated over the years by the Israeli settlement
of Harsina.
05-28-06 - Germans should stop feeling Holocaust guilt: Ahmadinejad "We say if the Holocaust happened, then the Europeans must accept the consequences and the price should not be paid by Palestine. If it did not happen, then the Jews must return to where they came from."
05-28-06 - Punishment of Palestinians will create a crucible of trouble for the world what most shocks Arabs and Muslims is that it stems from a conscious political decision by the world's only superpower. First, they say, you give us Iraq, now on the brink of civil war. Then this: the starving of a whole people.
05-28-06 - Palestinian businesses struggle to surmount wall
05-28-06 - Egypt to host Abbas-Olmert summit: report
05-28-06 - Israeli settlements and peace prospects For Gershom Gorenberg to suggest that Americans should now pay Israelis to return stolen land to its rightful owners takes considerable chutzpah.
05-28-06 - Amnesty seeks to end internet repression Amnesty claimed to have uncovered internet repression in areas around the world from China and Tunisia to Vietnam, Iran, Israel and the Maldives
05-28-06 - Pastors vow to seek end to divestment A group of 11 Presbyterian pastors, completing a five-day fact-finding mission in Israel, vowed Sunday to work to rescind their church's 2004 Israeli divestment policy in an upcoming biennial General Assembly.
05-28-06 - Olmert should have stayed Home Israel should be isolated as much as possible until it complies with UN resolutions to return to the 1967 borders
05-28-06 - Amnesty: Microsoft helped Israeli Police in Vanunu probe
05-28-06 - Toward a third intifada The current Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority provides a convenient pretext for Israel to continue its five-year policy of no negotiation and unilateral action.
05-28-06 - Christian Evangelicals and Israel: A Marriage of Convenience
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Sunday, May 28, 2006
05-27-06 - IDF: Soldiers shot and hit Palestinian ambulance IDF troops shot a Palestinian ambulance that was carrying a pregnant woman in labor early Saturday because the vehicle was behaving in a "suspicious manner," the army said.
05-27-06 - Report: Israel warns of World Cup terror US officials opposed to an attack on Iran fear the Bush Administration would take advantage of such terror attacks to launch an offensive that, according to the officials, would settle the Iranian nuclear crisis and boost the president's approval rating. The officials added that should the terror attacks be masterminded by a third party, they would still be used to justify an attack on Iran. I will refer back to the Deep Background column from August of 2005 by former CIA official Philip Giraldi. This is the pretext that the neocons have been waiting for.
05-27-06 - Palestine to seek aid from developing countries
05-27-06 - Gaza's culture of violence The BBC team went round the main hospital in Gaza, as other journalists have done in the last few weeks. It was easy to find children whose lives may be shortened by not having enough dialysis, or a man who was dying of cancer because he could not get to Israel for treatment, or doctors and nurses who walk to work because they cannot even afford a bus, because they have not been paid since mid-March.
Our government, via the Israeli lobby, has been made a party to collective punishment of ordinary people that is resulting in the deaths of people who likely have nothing to do with terrorism.
05-27-06 - Two Journalists, Eight Others Wounded In Weekly Anti- Wall Rally In Bil'in
05-27-06 - Government Sees 'Israeli Fingerprints' in Islamic Jihad Leader Assassination
05-27-06 - Abbas loyalists threaten Hamas with civil war
05-27-06 - Buy olive oil and support Palestinian farmers
05-27-06 - Kudos to Congress From Israel
05-27-06 - Her majesty won't be wearing a burqa Born in Kuwait to Palestinian parents, her family fled to Jordan along with thousands of others when Saddam invaded in 1990
05-27-06 - Hamas says it won't be "blackmailed" by Abbas plan
05-27-06 - Hamas militia returns to streets Members of a controversial Hamas militant force have made a limited reappearance on the streets of Gaza.
05-27-06 - British, Palestinian Organisations Urge UN, EU to Restrict Israeli Policies against HR Activists
05-27-06 - Ex-Mossad chief urges Israel-Hamas 'armistice'
05-27-06 - CUPE in Ontario votes to boycott Israel The Ontario divison of Canada's largest union has voted to support an international campaign that is boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians.
05-27-06 - Hamas rejects deadline on Israel recognition plan Hamas on Saturday rejected a deadline set by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to accept a plan that indirectly calls for recognition of Israel, which he has threatened to put to a referendum.
05-27-06 - Housing Min. seeks NIS 32m to guard Jews in E. Jerusalem The Housing Ministry has requested NIS 32 million in the 2006 budget to provide security for the residents of Jewish enclaves in the heavily Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem.
05-27-06 - "The Palestinians Must Pay a Price for Their Choice"
05-27-06 - Leadership has failed us Gov. Tom Vilsack was out and about recently "learning about foreign affairs" from AIPAC, a lobbying group under investigation for, among other things, spying on America and for putting Israel?s interests above American interes
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Saturday, May 27, 2006
05-26-06 - Three Palestinians killed by Israeli artillery in Gaza Separately, a Palestinian farmer was killed earlier when Israeli artillery shelled the northern Gaza Strip east of the Jabaliya refugee camp.
Israel continues to target civilians.
05-26-06 - Lebanon blast kills two officials "Israel will be held responsible for this attack, which crosses red lines by targeting officials outside the Palestinian territories and that changes things." The bomb was planted in a vehicle which both men were about to travel in. When the ignition was turned on, it exploded, security sources said, reducing the car to a charred mass of twisted metal and showering the area with debris
Not the first time Israel conducted a car-boming in Lebanon, is it?
05-26-06 - Steering Into a Third Intifada by Patrick J. Buchanan Rightly, Americans say we will not let Israel be destroyed. But why must we acquiesce in Israel's annexations of Arab land? Why must we remain silent to her deprivations of the Palestinians?
05-26-06 - Palestinians look to Jordan's dinar as Israeli banks halt shekel supply
05-26-06 - PHR Call for Donations to Aid Palestinian Hospitals
05-26-06 - American woman injured in West Bank demonstration against Israeli barrier
05-26-06 - Palestinian unrest hits Swiss aid projects Gaza is almost totally sealed off. People live in a kind of open prison and it is there that most of the armed incidents are taking place
05-26-06 - Report of the Director-General, Appendix: The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories The striking feature of the labour market of the occupied Arab territories is the persistent and unpredictable security restrictions on the movement of people and products. This, coupled with a Separation Barrier that deviates from the route of the Green Line and physically blocks movement within the territories as well as between the territories and Israel, disrupts the normal economic activity of Palestinian enterprises and is one of the major causes of the deteriorating conditions faced by workers.
05-26-06 - Palestinians' economic plight worsening: ILO "(The) report ... describes a situation that amounts to a daily affront to human dignity,"
05-26-06 - Palestinian child critically injured Palestinian security forces said that Tariq Shahata, 14, from Bait Hanoon, was hit by a fragment of a bomb launched by the Israeli Artillery which were stationed along the northern borders
05-26-06 - Enough Is Enough: People have had it up to here with The Lobby After describing the Lobby's largely successful efforts to cow the Clinton administration, Massing illustrates a point made by Mearsheimer and Walt, that the Lobby serves as the de facto agent of a foreign power
05-26-06 - Hamas government withdraws paramilitaries from Gaza
05-26-06 - Hamas discuss plan implying recognition of Israel
05-26-06 - Olmert, Cheered in D.C., Bows to U.S. Call for Talks At the White House press conference, Bush made several statements that were music to the ears of Olmert and his entourage. The president delivered the most explicit commitment he ever has made to defend Israel against an Iranian attack. "In the event of any attack on Israel," Bush said, "the United States will come to Israel's aid."
05-26-06 - British academics revive dispute on Israel Members of Britain's largest college teachers' union have reignited a fierce debate about academics and politics by asking colleagues to consider boycotting Israel over what it calls "apartheid" policies toward the Palestinians.
05-26-06 - AJCongress Recognizes 'Common Ground' With Evangelicals: Support for Israel, Will Resist Attempts to Limit Abortion Rights the Jewish community should remain grateful for evangelical support for Israel -- especially given the hostile attitude of some mainline churches -- and do what it can to help the more moderate elements in the evangelical community. At the same time, AJCongress resolved to remain vigilant in vigorously resisting "efforts to Christianize America, outlaw abortion, or make contraception unavailable."
05-26-06 - The Palestinian 18-point plan The document, negotiated by senior members of the leading Palestinian factions currently being held in prison by Israel, has 18 main proposals.
05-26-06 - Ooh lah lah! France and Israel create foundation for cooperation "Most of the French have an image of Israel as an occupier. Without getting involved in the politics, there is a tremendous need to change that image." But Israel IS an occupier, so why is it necessary to try and deny that fact to the French people?
05-26-06 - Freedom of Speech on the Israel Lobby This petition calls on the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations to forthrightly condemn the castigation of Professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt as anti-Semites for their academic paper, "The Israel Lobby and American Foreign Policy."
05-26-06 - US approves aid to Israel, Egypt During committee deliberations it was also feared that Egypt may turn to Russia and China to purchase military equipment. The policies of the AIPACers/neocons are driving Middle Eastern regimes into the arms of Russia and China.
05-26-06 - Palestinian FM rejects Israel border plan
05-26-06 - College Chief Hit Over Anti-Israel Events Some Jewish leaders contend that the administration has not gone far enough to address what they view as hate speech, particularly in light of findings and recommendations issued in early April by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The commission, an advisory body whose recommendations are not binding, held a hearing in November 2005 to address the issue of campus antisemitism. Among the commission's findings was that "anti-Israel" or "anti-Zionist" activism often serves as a thin guise for antisemitism on college campuses. Criticism of Israel is NOT anti-Semitism, although the Israeli lobby would have us Americans believe otherwise.
05-26-06 - Palestinians eye referendum gauntlet
05-26-06 - Abbas gives Hamas 10 days to accept plan that recognizes Israel An editorial Friday in the Washington Post, however, argues that even if Abbas regains some of his political power and becomes a credible partner, Israel would probably still go ahead and draw up new borders unilaterially.
05-26-06 - Bombing Without Regrets Now, in a version of the notorious brutal cop's claim that the victim of his abuse "kept ramming his head into my baton," Pentagon spokesman Col. Tom Collins says, "The ultimate cause of why civilians were injured and killed is because the Taliban knowingly, willfully chose to occupy homes of these people." Of interest: "Israel is secretly playing a key role in US preparations for possible war with Iraq, helping to train soldiers and Marines for urban warfare," it said.
The paper said that the Israelis built two fake cities at a secret venue -- complete with mosques, clothes hung out windows, and donkeys wandering down alleys -- for use in the exercises.
05-26-06 - Britain condemns Israeli raid "We condemn Israel's incursion into Ramallah on May 24 which left four Palestinians dead and tens injured," the foreign office said in a statement
05-26-06 - Lebanese PM blames Israel for car bombing
05-26-06 - Arab League official wants Israel at table
05-26-06 - Papers Show U.S. Courted Arabs in Mid-70s He said U.S. public opinion was turning more pro-Palestinian and U.S. aid to Israel could not be sustained for much longer at its massive levels. He predicted that in 10 or 15 years, ''Israel will be like Lebanon - struggling for existence, with no influence in the Arab world.''
05-26-06 - Crushed by Gate of Occupation
05-26-06 - HENRY HYDE'S PLEA by Robert Novak Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, sent along with his letter a five-page, single-spaced report prepared by his staff based on visits to Israel and Palestine over the past two years. It contends "the Christian community is being crushed in the mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict." The Israeli security wall and expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the report continues, "are irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community."
05-26-06 - In Gaza, Palestinians see fruits of labor die Rather than exporting the produce to Europe, as was the plan, the Palestinians were forced to give away some of the cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and strawberries to charity groups. Most, however, was dumped in the surrounding sand dunes. (The PEDC made good on a pledge not to sell their produce in the Gaza markets, undercutting other growers here.) "All we needed was a crossing or a port we controlled by ourselves, and we could have sold all this to the world and brought in so much money,"
05-26-06 - U.S. sholuld pay Israel To help relocate settlers ? an operation that could cost from $10 billion to $50 billion, according to media guesstimates ? Olmert says he will ask the U.S. for funds. We are being asked to pay for an Israeli withdrawal of settlers that the Israeli government 'settled' in the occupied Palestinian territories in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49). This is wholesale extortion of the American taxpayers to get Israel to make peace and undo what it shouldn't have done in the first place.
05-26-06 - Israel's American Constituency Even as Olmert met with President George W. Bush at the White House Tuesday, the House voted by an overwhelming 361-37 margin to impose strict conditions on aid to Palestinians, as demanded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington's most powerful pro-Israel lobby.
05-26-06 - Hamas takes militia off streets but defies Abbas ultimatum
05-26-06 - Shimon Peres retracts proposal for joint industrial zone with PA
05-26-06 - Jordan's king visits US
05-26-06 - Interview with Prof. Norman Finkelstein you won't learn anything about the Israel/Palestine conflict from the American media that you can't learn by simply going to the official Israeli foreign affairs website. As far as the disparity between coverage, I think the record is pretty clear
05-26-06 - Inside the Beltway The Palestinians have no better ally in the White House than Helen Thomas, the Hearst White House correspondent of Lebanese descent
05-26-06 - Thousands of academics oppose boycott of Israel Yesterday a separate Israeli group, including both Jews and Arabs, said it was flying to Britain to brief the Natfhe conference about a new Hebrew University programme, approved last week, to grant undergraduate degrees to personnel in Shin Bet, an arm of the Israeli intelligence services, which campaigners say highlights links between Israeli academia and the occupied territories.
05-26-06 - Blair urges United Nations reform Hamas should drop its refusal to accept Israel so negotiations could begin on an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, with a two-state solution to the conflict
05-26-06 - One foot in the camp of terror Like Weizmann, early Zionist leaders openly advocated "transfer" of the Palestinians. Yosef Weitz, director of the Jewish National Fund's Land Settlement Committee, said, "There is no way but to transfer the Arabs from here to the neighboring countries, to transfer all of them - . Not one village must be left, not one tribe."
05-26-06 - Palestinian, Israeli Women Push Bilateral Talks The women took their case to the United Nations in New York and to Congress and the State Department in Washington, D.C., where they met privately with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. During their trip, they also pressed for statehood for Palestine; called for an increase in the number of women involved in official peace negotiations and worked to build a constituency of U.S. supporters by publicizing their efforts.
05-26-06 - Henry Hyde and the Clouding of Principles
05-26-06 - Senior police officer promoted against Or Cmte. conclusions Border Police Chief Brigadier General Bentzi Sau is to be appointed as head of operations at the Ministry of Public Security despite a recommendation not to promote him until the year 2007.
posted by Somebody @ 9:41 AM Permanent Link
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Friday, May 26, 2006
05-25-06 - Officer killed in Palestinian fighting A gunfight between a Palestinian security force and a Hamas militia Thursday killed one police officer and wounded four others in the latest outbreak of internal Palestinian fighting, doctors and witnesses said.
05-25-06 - Gaza Aid Deliveries Continue as Economy Worsens We need your help to deliver more critical aid to people with disabilities, the elderly, widows and others who need it most.
05-25-06 - Call for Donations to Aid Palestinian Hospitals A number of Palestinian hospitals in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have asked us at Physicians for Human Rights-Israel to assist them in acquiring a number of medicines and medical equipment needed for the daily functions of the hospitals.
05-25-06 - Abbas stuns Hamas with talk of referendum a referendum, which Palestinian pollsters expect to pass, could provide cover for the militants to become more moderate without appearing to succumb to Western pressure. Such a vote could also renew pressure on Israel to return to the negotiating table rather than impose borders on the Palestinians. An excellent idea on the part of Abbas.
05-25-06 - Dobbs noted that Israeli PM "told CNN Iran could make a nuclear bomb within months"; didn't mention that U.S. intel says otherwise
05-25-06 - Israeli official says Jewish area of Hebron will grow, be connected to Israel Israel will enlarge Jewish settlement enclaves in the West Bank city of Hebron and include them within the country's final borders, an ally of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Thursday. A recipe for disaster.
05-25-06 - EU prepares ?34m Palestinian aid deal
05-25-06 - Hizbullah factor in Iran fray "If Israel attacks Iran, it may well attack other targets at the same time, including Hizbullah in Lebanon," he says. "In that case, Hizbullah has the right to defend itself and Lebanon with all possible means." Far from a theoretical concept, Malli's scenario is one that is under serious consideration by Israel, says Gerald Steinberg, professor of politics at Israel's Bar Ilan University.
05-25-06 - West Bank settlers defy court ban Jewish settlers have moved in to apartments illegally built in the West Bank in defiance of an Israeli court order
05-25-06 - Thousands mourn four Palestinians killed by Israelis
05-25-06 - Settlers continue to install barbed wire around annexed Palestinian land in Tubas
05-25-06 - Olmert, Bush agree on Iran deadline Ynet learns that Bush told Olmert US time limit for action to stop Iran's nuclear program fits Israel's own timetable, but American diplomats make it clear diplomacy will be given chance
05-25-06 - Troubles at Jerusalem mosque averted Potential troubles at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound were averted when extremist Jews cancelled a visit amid calls from Israel's Islamic Movement to galvanise a Muslim protest.
05-25-06 - AJCongress Urges Senate to Enact S. 1614 to Provide Diverse Perspectives in Teacher Workshops Funded by Higher Ed Act Long at the forefront of opposition to biased and inaccurate anti-Israel and anti-American teacher workshops funded under Title VI of the Higher Education Act, the American Jewish Congress today issued a resolution adopted earlier this week at its 2006 Annual Meeting to urge the Senate to follow the lead of the House, which unanimously passed H.R. 609, requiring the teaching of diverse perspectives and a wide range of views on world regions and international affairs They're baaaack. Free speech with regard to Israel on campus? No more if these folks get their way.
05-25-06 - Jordan vows never-ending support to Palestinians
05-25-06 - Israel to allow transfer of weapons to Abbas force Israel will allow weapons to be transferred to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's personal guards following threats on his life, a Defence Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.
05-25-06 - Villagers of Jab'a to Work Their Land After Settler Vandalism Last month, with the support of international and Israeli activists the villagers were able to work the land for the first time in 5 years. A few days later, settlers herded 150 goats onto the land, where they destroyed the village?s crops.
05-25-06 - ICRC activities in Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories: April 2006
05-25-06 - Canada urged to help in reforming UNRWA Since there are no political prospects that that might occur, Canada could push for rehabilitation of refugees along the lines adopted elsewhere by the UNHCR, the UN agency responsible for refugees everywhere in the world outside the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Poor Canada is now another Israeli-occupied territory. My condolences.
05-25-06 - Olmert and Bush meet in the middle, agree on unilateral moves as second best "Mahmoud Abbas was deprived of all his powers," Olmert said Sunday. "He is powerless. He is helpless....In that view, Olmert has a powerful ally: the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to cut off aid to the Palestinian Authority. Like Olmert, the House largely ignores Abbas as an alternative. Wow. What coincidence.
05-25-06 - Olmert celebrates 'grand slam' and prepares for a diplomatic tour In his speech to Congress, Olmert commended the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, just passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, which effectively cuts off assistance to the Palestinian Authority. Members of Congress said they would tweak the act to help bolster Abbas if they get a signal to do so from Olmert.
"Members of Congress said they would tweak the act to help bolster Abbas if they get a signal to do so from Olmert." Our legislators are taking orders from Israel.
05-25-06 - Divestment dispute looms in Presbyterian church
05-25-06 - Olmert to go to Europe According to Israeli officials, Olmert will assess bilateral ties in Paris and London, as well as Europe?s role in diplomatic efforts to curb Iran?s nuclear program.
05-25-06 - Countdown to Apartheid Olmert's "convergence plan" (now renamed a "realignment plan" because it sounds better in [Newspeak] English), based on the massive "facts on the ground" Israel continues to impose unilaterally with overt American support, cannot possibly give rise to a viable Palestinian state
05-25-06 - New U.S. anti-Semitism ambassador has a big job ahead That legislation, introduced in 2004 by U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), required the U.S. government to monitor and report on anti-Semitism around the globe
05-25-06 - About 200,000 mark anniversary of Israeli pullout from Lebanon at Hezbollah rally About 200,000 flag-waving, cheering Hezbollah supporters massed Thursday near the site of the former Israeli military headquarters in south Lebanon to hear their leader pledge to continue fighting until victory.
05-25-06 - H.R. 4681: Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 Walt and Mearsheimer were entirely correct in their probe on the Israel lobby, and this is a perfect example of how the Israel lobby has used its power to target the Palestinians for more pain and suffering
05-25-06 - Sharon to be moved to long-term care centre
05-25-06 - Congressman asks Bush to press Israel on Christians According to columnist Robert Novak, who reported the letter Thursday, Hyde attached a five-page single-space report by the latter's staff. It says the "Christian community is being crushed in the mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and charges that Israel's security barrier and settlements "are irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community."
05-25-06 - West Bethlehem in Final Stages of Ghettoization
05-25-06 - Senate tones down Palestinian anti-terrorism bill A Senate version of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act narrows its scope and restores presidential prerogatives.
05-25-06 - Olmert gets standing ovations in both Houses of Congress Why don't they drop the pretense and just salute the Israeli flag?
05-25-06 - Study Alleging Dominant Influence of Israeli Lobby Sparks Heated Fallout
05-25-06 - Palestinians 'must end fighting'
05-25-06 - Israeli court changes mind on admitting lawyer An Israeli court reversed itself and barred a British human-rights lawyer from entering Israel.
05-25-06 - McCollum, AIPAC make up She "appreciated" Kohr's acknowledgement of her pro-Israel record. "I expressed my resolve to continue to work with all pro-Israel groups who are committed to working respectfully and constructively for security, peace and human dignity in the Middle East," McCollum said.
05-25-06 - US deports Palestinian acquitted of terror charges
05-25-06 - What Olmert heard The road map for Mideast peace that was sponsored by the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia as well as the United States -- and that Bush continues to commend to Israel as the unaltered basis of US policy -- requires Israel to negotiate its permanent borders only with Palestinians, not with Americans.
posted by Somebody @ 6:30 AM Permanent Link
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Thursday, May 25, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Senate tones down Palestinian anti-terrorism bill
A Senate version of the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act narrows its scope and restores presidential prerogatives.
The version of the bill passed this week in the U.S. House of Representatives split the pro-Israel community. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee strongly backed the House version, but dovish pro-Israel groups opposed it because it cut off assistance to the Palestinian Authority no matter who governed it and removed the president’s power to waive its provisions for national security reasons.
A Senate version, written in close consultation with the White House and due to come to the Senate floor by Friday evening, targets the Palestinian Authority only so long as Hamas, a terrorist group, is in power and refuses to renounce terrorism or recognize Israel’s right to exist. It also restores some of the president’s waivers, specifically allowing the United States to assist P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, a relative moderate who is in a power struggle with Hamas.
The Senate bill earned praise from Americans for Peace Now, which called it “responsible.”
Once the bill passes the Senate, it goes to House-Senate conference.
McCollum, AIPAC make up
A Minnesota congresswoman reconciled with AIPAC.
Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) met Wednesday with Howard Kohr, the executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, to discuss the fall-out after McCollum’s chief-of-staff alleged that an AIPAC volunteer accused McCollum of “supporting terrorists” for opposing legislation that would cut assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
The volunteer, Amy Rotenberg, had previously said the chief of staff, Bill Harper, misconstrued their phone conversation.
McCollum, who has strong relations with the St. Paul Jewish community, opposed the legislation, saying it would tie U.S. hands should a moderate Palestinian leadership emerge. She favors isolating Hamas, a terrorist group.
After a month of tense exchanges, Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.), who is close to AIPAC and McCollum, brokered a meeting.
In a statement, McCollum described “a polite conversation in which we agreed to disagree regarding the policy implications of H.R. 4681.”
She “appreciated” Kohr’s acknowledgement of her pro-Israel record. “I expressed my resolve to continue to work with all pro-Israel groups who are committed to working respectfully and constructively for security, peace and human dignity in the Middle East,” McCollum said.
Olmert to go to Europe
Ehud Olmert is scheduled to visit London and Paris next month.
The Prime Minister’s Office announced the June 11-15 tour Thursday after Olmert returned from his first trip to the United States as prime minister.
According to Israeli officials, Olmert will assess bilateral ties in Paris and London, as well as Europe’s role in diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
Congressman asks Bush to press Israel on Christians
A congressman asked President Bush to take up the plight of West Bank Christians with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ International Relations Committee, wrote Bush last week, saying: “I cannot be blind when Israeli actions seem to go beyond the realm of legitimate security concerns and have negative consequences on communities and lands under their occupation.”
According to columnist Robert Novak, who reported the letter Thursday, Hyde attached a five-page single-space report by the latter’s staff. It says the “Christian community is being crushed in the mill of the bitter Israeli-Palestinian conflict” and charges that Israel’s security barrier and settlements “are irreversibly damaging the dwindling Christian community.”
Novak says Bush’s staff was “unsympathetic” to Hyde’s concerns. It is not clear if Bush raised the issue with Olmert when they met this week.
Israeli court changes mind on admitting lawyer
An Israeli court reversed itself and barred a British human-rights lawyer from entering Israel.
Israeli judge Avraham Tal reversed his ruling made earlier Thursday when he said the Interior Ministry could not bar Kate Maynard from Israel, where she wanted to attend a human rights conference.
Tal did ask the ministry to allow Maynard to enter Israel, but the ministry refused to do so.
Maynard was involved in last year’s filing of a private war-crimes suit against Doron Almog, a retired Israeli army general, in connection with a counterterrorist action in the Gaza Strip.
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 10:59 PM Permanent Link
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05-24-06 - Four die in Israeli W Bank raid One of the dead was a police officer and the other three were civilians, Palestinians sources were quoted as saying. The Israeli army said its troops had shot three gunmen. Look at the picture at the link. I don't see any guns, do you?
05-24-06 - Emergency Assistance to the Palestinian population The current revision includes a proposal from ACT member the Middle East Council of Churches/Department of Service to Palestine Refugees (MECC/DSPR), who is proposing to provide supplementary food support, health and education services to the most vulnerable families in the Gaza strip and West Bank areas.
05-24-06 - Iran Proposal to U.S. Offered Peace with Israel
05-24-06 - 2006 Amnesty report on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories Some 190 Palestinians, including around 50 children, were killed by Israeli forces, and 50 Israelis, including six children, were killed by Palestinian armed groups. Israeli forces carried out unlawful attacks and routinely used excessive force against peaceful demonstrators protesting against the destruction of Palestinian agricultural land and the Israeli army?s construction of the fence/wall. Israeli settlers frequently attacked Palestinian farmers, destroying orchards and preventing cultivation of their land. Israeli soldiers and settlers responsible for unlawful killings and other abuses against Palestinians and their property generally had impunity
05-24-06 - 'How can people live, I wonder?' * the 68-year-old Bedouin farmer moved in with his son in town. Two days later a shell flattened Mousa's house. Three weeks after that, another shell killed him as he was trying to drive his camels away from artillery fire. "He was hit directly in the head," says his nephew, Fares al-Sawarka. "We couldn't rescue him because of the shelling....."They know who they kill. Before, they targeted the fighters. Now they are targeting all of us. The Bedouin have no relationship with the fighters. This is collective punishment."
05-24-06 - Residents live 'between hammer and anvil' in Gaza Israeli gunners have recently been authorized to fire closer to populated areas, and some shells have hit outlying homes in Beit Lahiya and neighboring Beit Hanoun. Five Palestinians have been killed recently, including a 7-year-old girl, and more than 30 others have been wounded in houses and on farmland, according to local residents and medical staff.
05-24-06 - Gunmen kill Hamas member in Gaza
05-24-06 - Hamas suspected as bomb attack kills Gaza security commander
05-24-06 - Olmert says Israel will draw own borders In a policy shift on Tuesday, the White House gave unexpected backing to Israel's plan to unilaterally set its borders with the Palestinians should their new Hamas leaders refuse to disarm and renounce their call for Israel's destruction
05-24-06 - Israel is now booming as a result of shutting down its competition, the Palestinian economy
05-24-06 - Palestinian delegation attacked by congressman Anthony Weiner is another agent of Israel on Capitol Hill.
05-24-06 - Hamas denounces Bush over borders
05-24-06 - Donors agree to move ahead on Palestinian plan Donor nations agreed on Wednesday to move ahead with an aid mechanism to prevent the collapse of essential services to Palestinians, but still differ its scope, making a June start date uncertain, diplomats said.
05-24-06 - Fake but Accurate This reminds me of the Niger uranium hoax, in which "intelligence" from a crudely forged packet of documents alleging that the Iraqis were trying to purchase weapons-grade uranium in order to fuel their nonexistent nuclear weapons program somehow made it into the president's 2003 State of the Union speech. In short, this isn't an honest error, but evidence of outright deception.....The Israeli strategy ? which they are now making no effort to disguise ? is to use the United States military as their instrument, and it has, so far, succeeded. Agreed.
05-24-06 - Olmert tells US Congress world must confront Iranian threat
05-24-06 - As countries withhold money, ordinary Palestinians feel consequences Saheen, a 54-year-old Greek Orthodox from Bethlehem, worries about electric and phone bills. Her husband is sick and unemployed, and she has been borrowing money from her sister to give to her son, a college student
05-24-06 - US renews criticism of Syria's rights record The United States outright ignores Amnesty's report on Israel's human rights violations.
05-24-06 - EU Provides an Additional Euro 34 Million Humanitarian Aid Package for the Palestinian Territories
05-24-06 - Interview: Hamas open to idea of joining task force supporting talks with Israel The Hamas-led government is open to the idea of joining a Palestinian task force that would support negotiations with Israel Well get to it.
05-24-06 - How Bush Brewed the Iranian Crisis Olmert's claim is absurd, as every weapons expert knows, and, indeed, as he knows himself. The only possible purpose of such a nonsensical claim is propaganda. Olmert is helping the Bush regime use fear to prepare Americans to accept an attack on Iran, just as Dick Cheney and Condi Rice invoked images of mushroom clouds to prepare Americans for the illegal invasion of Iraq.
05-24-06 - Hamas-led cabinet slams US policy toward Israel "They (Israelis) want to create a Jewish state based on a Jewish majority with 35 percent of West Bank lands and keep the Palestinians in isolated cantons,"
05-24-06 - UN: Western aid cuts endangering Palestinian refugees The U.N. Commissioner for Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees has pleaded with the international community for badly needed assistance.
05-24-06 - Heart attack death blamed on IDF delays Omar died on the way to Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem
05-24-06 - Right-Wing Israel Lobby Seizes on Olmert Visit
05-24-06 - Bush: U.S. would aid Israel if attacked The US, go to war for Israel? Whodda thunk it!!
05-24-06 - Hamas officials talk to Israeli media
05-24-06 - A Viable Palestinian State The problem is with the second part of the proposal: to retain several large settlement blocs in the Palestinian West Bank. That's a recipe for disaster. This is a NYT editorial.
05-24-06 - Common standards needed for Israel-Palestine peace, says WCC The statement recalls a long list of disparities between the two parties, with one of them accumulating and securing "unlawful gains" and the other "being isolated and punished". Those disparities "cannot be justified morally, legally or even politically", it adds.
05-24-06 - Palestinian PM dismisses potential civil war
05-24-06 - The Palestinian charade The Islamist challenge is real, but does not justify policies that are just plain stupid.
05-24-06 - Kuwait calls on world to revert decision on halting aid to Palestinians
05-24-06 - Church of Scotland concerned about illegal Israeli settlements
05-24-06 - China unmoved by Israeli protest over invitation to Pales FM
05-24-06 - The Crisis for Palestinian Political Prisoners
05-24-06 - Six years after Israel's ouster, Shebaa farmers believe Hezbollah is their 'saviour' 'How can they (Israelis) say that Shebaa is not Lebanese?'
05-24-06 - FEATURE-Funds, patients make way to Hamas-linked clinics "The money is only going to Hamas supporters," a Palestinian security source based in the West Bank said. "It doesn't go through the banks."
05-24-06 - Settlers continue to install barbed wire around annexed Palestinian land in Tubas
05-24-06 - Tomorrow: Solidarity Meeting Against Land Confiscation in Asira, Nablus At 1:30pm tomorrow (Wednesday the 24th of May) the people of Asira, near Nablus, will be joined by Israeli and international supporters in holding a meeting in solidarity with the owners of land that the Israeli military is about to confiscate
05-24-06 - House Vote Harms Palestine, Israel, US
05-24-06 - Olmert praises House of Representatives He also praised Congress for legislation known as the Iran Freedom and Support Act that would further isolate the Islamic republic.
05-24-06 - West Bank family tells of crisis
05-24-06 - Israel gives Palestine peace deadline If Hamas does not recognise Israel and renounce violence within six months Israel will move ahead with plans to unilaterally draw its final borders by 2010, a senior Israeli Cabinet minister said today.
05-24-06 - Olmert gets words not actions in US Prime Minister Olmert was given the (rarish) honour of addressing a joint session of the US Congress. He made a speech that seemed to press all the right buttons for his influential American audience.
05-24-06 - Pelosi: 'A Shining Moment of the 20th Century Was the Establishment of Israel' "And those dreams as you say are not enough. We have to work to make the future better and to continue with what Israel strives for" You mean, these values? Repulsive.
05-24-06 - Scottish church: Label settlement goods The Church of Scotland called on European authorities to identify products made in Israel?s West Bank settlements.
05-24-06 - Army bulldozers demolish several buildings and barns in Al Fonduq village
05-24-06 - Republican chairman to Israel The chairman of the Republican Party is slated to meet with top Israeli leaders.
Ken Mehlman is due to leave Wednesday evening for Israel, and will return on June 1.
05-24-06 - Bitter Wine for Israel's Bedouins Throughout the 1950s and until the mid-1960s, a considerable portion of their ancestral lands was confiscated and registered as state land. In the 1970s about half of the Bedouin population was moved once again by the Israeli government, this time into seven townships. The idea was to concentrate the Bedouin population within a small area that makes up only a very small percentage of their original tribal lands, the land from which they had been expelled.
05-24-06 - Palestinians unhappy with US support of Olmert plans
05-24-06 - House Speaker Hastert under investigation: ABC The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is probing corruption in Congress, See the other story about Hastert from today's news.
05-24-06 - Israeli, Russian FMs to visit Turkey The foreign ministers of Israel and Russia are set to visit Turkey to discuss regional issues and bilateral cooperation, the foreign ministry said.
05-24-06 - Hamas not linked to Sinai bombing: Palestinian FM
05-24-06 - Remarks of Speaker Hastert at Luncheon Honoring Israeli Prime Minister Another member of Congress panders to Israel.
05-24-06 - Palestinians discuss Olmert visit Mr Olmert wants to promote a vision of Israeli borders that are illegally built on our land.
05-24-06 - APN Greatly Deplores House Passage Of H.R. 4681
05-24-06 - Speakers Debate the Palestine-Israel Wall Bazian drew support from international law and used quotes from former United States President Jimmy Carter.
05-24-06 - ADL blasts church group on Israel The ADL said the council "needs a reality check" after criticizing Israel for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East
05-24-06 - World Premiere of Documentary "With Blood" The 5th Annual Chicago Palestine Film Festival hosted the world premiere of "With Blood," a documentary that explores the violence Israeli occupation inflicts on Palestinian ambulance drivers, doctors, patients, and civilians
05-24-06 - Ford backs peace groups But we will not be deterred by ad hominem attacks. For more than 50 years, we have worked to create opportunities for people to live freer, better and more-prosperous lives.
05-24-06 - JEWISH GROUP PROTESTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH AWARD The Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations, is calling on the Episcopal Peace Fellowship to reconsider a decision to give their highest honor to a Palestinian Anglican priest who has denied Israel?s right to exist.
posted by Somebody @ 6:29 AM Permanent Link
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Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Some headlines and summaries from JTA
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Olmert praises House of Representatives
Ehud Olmert commended the U.S. House of Representatives for passing a bill that cuts off assistance to the Palestinian Authority.
Speaking Wednesday to both houses of Congress, the Israeli prime minister said the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act “sends a firm, clear message that the United States of America will not tolerate terrorism in any form.”
Olmert, who received several standing ovations, reiterated that he is ready to negotiate with P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas, a relative moderate from the Fatah Party, but would not entertain contacts with the Hamas-led P.A. Cabinet until the group renounces terrorism and recognizes the State of Israel. Olmert said if negotiations fail, he is ready to conduct a unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank.
He also praised Congress for legislation known as the Iran Freedom and Support Act that would further isolate the Islamic republic.
Scottish church: Label settlement goods
The Church of Scotland called on European authorities to identify products made in Israel’s West Bank settlements.
The call came from the church’s General Assembly, which met in Edinburgh this week.
At the meeting, a committee reported that the church does not hold any investments directly relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
ADL blasts church group on Israel
The Anti-Defamation League criticized the World Council of Churches for what the ADL called a one-sided statement against Israel.
The ADL said the council “needs a reality check” after criticizing Israel for the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
In its statement, the Geneva-based council, which includes more than 350 churches from around the world, called for a relaxation of sanctions on the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority.
The council condemned the killing of innocent civilians by both sides in the conflict and called for the Palestinians to “maintain the existing one-party cease-fire toward Israel.”
Recently, the council also called on Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program and recognize the State of Israel.
Republican chairman to Israel
The chairman of the Republican Party is slated to meet with top Israeli leaders.
Ken Mehlman is due to leave Wednesday evening for Israel, and will return on June 1.
He will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to discuss Olmert’s plan, presented this week to President Bush, to pull out from more of the West Bank.
He also will meet with top military and intelligence officials, members of Olmert’s Cabinet and leaders of the opposition.
Mehlman, who is Jewish, also will visit his grandmother, who lives in Israel.
http://www.jta.org/
posted by Somebody @ 11:03 PM Permanent Link
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05-23-06 - Israel turns blind eye to attacks on Palestinians: Amnesty Israeli security forces and settlers are being allowed to perpetrate abuses against Palestinians with no real fear of being brought to justice, Amnesty International said in a report.
05-23-06 - Egypt: Palestinians Aided Sinai Bombings Palestinian extremists helped finance and train members of the militant Egyptian group that carried out deadly attacks at Sinai resorts, Egypt said Tuesday, making a direct connection for the first time between militants on either side of the Egypt-Gaza border.
05-23-06 - EU proposes aid for Palestinian ministries, staff The official stressed the proposals were dependent on the endorsement of the United States to ensure lending institutions would participate without facing the threat of U.S. sanctions.
05-23-06 - Bush Praises Israeli Plan for New Borders "Israel is a close friend and ally of the United States. And in the event of any attack on Israel, the United States will come to Israel's aid," Bush said.
05-23-06 - Israeli court rejects Jerusalem barrier appeal Residents of Al-Azaria, a Jerusalem suburb which is technically in the West Bank, had filed a petition against building work on the barrier, which will cut them off from the holy city while encircling the major Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim.
05-23-06 - Defying Bush, House backs limits on Palestinian aid This bill was put forward solely to benefit Israel by two of its agents on Capitol Hill - Lantos and Ros-Lehtinen.
05-23-06 - Our rockets can hit any n. Israel target - Hizbollah Lebanon's Hizbollah group said on Tuesday it has thousands of rockets capable of hitting any target in northern Israel, and maybe beyond, should the Jewish state attack Lebanese territory again.
05-23-06 - China military upgrades a potential threat to US: Pentagon Israel, which supplied China HARPY unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, has begun to strengthen controls over its military exports, the report said.
05-23-06 - Israel captures Hamas commander
05-23-06 - U.S. group warns of humanitarian disaster in Gaza Mercy Corps warned at a news conference in Gaza City that the humanitarian and health situation in the Gaza Strip would further deteriorate if the political and economic blockades on the Palestinians continued.
05-23-06 - Peace will prevail if Israel ends occupation: Hamas PM
05-23-06 - U.S. presses Israel's Olmert to talk to Abbas
05-23-06 - Iran carries out missile test - Israeli source
05-23-06 - Jerusalem resolution in Congress A resolution commemorating 39 years of Jerusalem?s reunification has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
05-23-06 - Members of the Tribe / Thriving in China In a controversial appearance at the recent American Jewish Committee centennial convention in Washington, author A.B. Yehoshua predicted that Diaspora Jews would move to China if it were to become a world power. Dr. Avrum Ehrlich, a professor at the Center for Judaic and Inter-Religious Studies at the University of Shandong, says that this process is actually already under way It's no coincidence that China - the superpower of the 2020's - is the next place that pro-Israelis seek to take root.
America, being sapped by a war waged largely because of neocon/AIPAC urging - is on the precipice of being relegated to third world status. All of this is something that I predicted over three years ago. We're being used like a you know what, until the next sugar daddy pulls up.
05-23-06 - Israel must halt the crisis among the Palestinians - for its own sake
05-23-06 - Sanctions could strengthen Hamas: Israeli army chief
05-23-06 - House Votes to Cut Aid to Palestinians "Today, Congress made it clear that Hamas' decision to continue its support for terrorism has direct and immediate consequences," AIPAC said after the vote. How is this move in the best interests of America? Why is AIPAC, a foreign lobby, allowed to so influence our Congress that it actually puts America in DANGER?
05-23-06 - Alleged AIPAC informant promoted The Bush administration promoted David Satterfield, an alleged informant for a former AIPAC lobbyist facing trial in a classified information case.
05-23-06 - Implementing Israel?s Strategy
05-23-06 - "Paradise" director targets post 9/11 paranoia
posted by Somebody @ 6:36 AM Permanent Link
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