Democracy Broadcasting

Critics challenge pressure towards "two-state" solution

2009-07-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

In "Why a two-state solution?" editorial in The Jerusalem Post, lawyer and author Dr. Tilman Tarach, argues from Germany:

In reality, the only viable option, which not even the Palestinians can raise reasonable objections against, is the following: The West Bank (or large parts of it) is united with Jordan, and Gaza with Egypt. (When, in February 2008, the Palestinians overran the Egyptian border fortifications into Sinai, their rallying cry, addressed to the Egyptians, was: "We are one people.")

According to surveys, 30% of Palestinians living in the West Bank are in favor of such a solution. But it meets with resistance from the Hashemite dynasty of Jordan, which fears for the loss of the throne ...

All the well-known Palestinian groups demonize such a plan: The creation of a second Palestinian state next to Jordan has always been just a pretense for them to conceal their anti-Israel policies, and the recognition of Jordan enlarged by the West Bank as the state of the Palestinians would deprive them of this pretense.

Their real objective has always been the destruction of Israel and, with their phony anger at the "Zionist arrogance," they would still pursue this goal even if the Jews of Israel retreated all the way to Masada or Tel Aviv.

Dr. Tarach has authored both, The Dishonesty of the So-Called Left in the Middle East Conflict and The Eternal Scapegoat.

Brig. Gen. (ret) Rev. Jim Hutchens of The Jerusalem Connection International warns Americans to stop forcing a Palestinian state out of Israel's heartland. He argues why he believes that a "2-state" solution is premature and would cause worse problems now than it could solve. He argues that America should concentrate first on containing the Palestinian regimes through dis-armament to setback their crusade to conquer the Jewish state. Filmed at CPAC March, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

Press minimizing 7/7 London Islamist-terror bombings' lessons on 4th-anniversary of event

2009-07-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

While the American media obsessed over the funeral of convert-to-Islam, Michael Jackson, a memorial commemorating the 52 victims of the July 7 London Islamist terror-bombings four years ago was unveiled in Hyde Park today.

Prince Charles lays a wreath during the dedication of the London Bombing Memorial as the rain pours down. (Photo courtesy: The Daily Mail/AP).

(Video Courtesy: British Satellite News)

Eyewitness video of jihadist attack on London city bus 7/7/2005 (courtesy Darylvdz/YouTube)

Deafening Silence on London 7/7 Bombings. Editorial in The London Daily News

...What is being forgotten here is the crux of the entire build-up to the terrorist attacks and the aftermath.

Firstly, why did 4 British born Muslims believe it justified to carry bombs on trains, buses and the underground and attack the very citizens of the country they were born in?

Why did the intelligence apparatus of this country not monitor, as we have been made aware, known individuals with the potential and knowledge to carry out these attacks? The argument that no one and no system can ever stop someone who is determined to cause murder is valid, but the collating of the right knowledge and training for these types of attacks had been monitored.

The aftermath? We have a muzzled response to the 7/7 attacks, the conspiracy is the way in which London is either afraid or knows too well the consequences of speaking out on these attacks. It has been known that the state broadcaster the BBC is censoring debate on the 7/7 in case it "creates Islamophobia". The security services are all too aware of the potential for extreme right wing group working extreme Islamic groups in the UK to create an atmosphere of fear and division.

Jihadist terror-victim's survivors' live with loss
On July 7th 2005, the United Kingdom was attacked in its capital, London, by terrorists who killed 52 innocent people and injured hundreds more. One of the victims was Italian born Benedetta Ciaccia who boarded the circle line from Liverpool Street. As her train approached the first stop along her journey, Aldgate, her life was violently and unfairly ended by the bomb blast. Raj Babbra was her former long term boyfriend and best friend. He explores Benedetta's life story and recounts their relationship from his perspective from the moment they met to her untimely sudden passing.
"Life without Benedetta" TV news report from London Tonight, July 2008

The film charts Ciaccia's life and includes interviews with her friends, family, and other people involved in the attacks, including survivors and members of the emergency services. The film airs tonight on TV channel RomaUno in Rome, Benedetta's hometown and final resting place (2300 CET). In London, the film screens on 7/7 at Channel 4 Cinema at 5pm. You may also watch it here online here on DemoCast.TV, free, now.

The film "Life without Benedetta" in 3 parts:

Appeasers' disproportionate obsession with Judean communities; 'We're the frontline against Islamist conquest of the West,' settlers profess

2009-07-02T03:39:00.000-07:00

In the Jerusalem Post: 'Settlement obsession disproportionate'

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman asked cynically whether "on the background of what happened today in North korea, which fired three missiles, after all the warnings and sanctions by the international community, it is appropriate to continue obsessing with the same house in Yitzhar, Tekoa or Bet El."

"Is this not out of proportion? Should this be the top of the international community's agenda after the recent events in Teheran? We need to explain to our true friends, the US and Germany too, that we cannot suffocate people, and life, in the territories."

Lieberman also said the new government in Israel was elected so that it could negotiate a "give and receive" peace deal with the Arabs, and not a "give and give some more" deal.

World leaders believe the true impediment to thwarting Islamist imperialism is whether this mother of six children adds a bedroom to their home.

Meet Mrs. Nadia Matar - grassroots, nationalist-Israeli activist, of Women in Green. Watch the evolution of the Jews legally living in Judea and Samaria. They see themselves as 'settlers' who cultivate their land,. Their enemies malign them as settlers of others' land.

An 'industry of lies' delegitimizes Israel - an existential threat

2009-06-26T11:22:00.000-07:00

A hypocritical, delegitimizing movement seeking to defeat Zionism and whitewashing Islamist Palestinian-ism has overtaken the media and academia, asserts Israeli sociologist, Ben-Dror Yemini.

Israel, having lost the battle for the moral high-ground of its legitimacy against a pro-Palestinian, history rewriting, disinformation campaign, must prioritize resources to recoup its losses in the psych-ops war - which by capturing the worldview of most media and academia - has infiltrated most popular understanding.

Yemini contends that an "industry of lies" (including the media, academia, and the U.N.) seeks to excommunicate and depose Jewish rule of Israel, in similar fashion to apartheid South Africa. This is an existential challenge more threatening than Hamas, Yemini cautions in his call for action (exclusive to DemoCast at the Herzliya Policy Conference in Israel.)

Seven Existential Threats by Michael B. Oren Commentary Magazine, May 2009

Rarely in modern history have nations faced genuine existential threats. Wars are waged to change regimes, alter borders, acquire resources, and impose ideologies, but almost never to eliminate another state and its people. This was certainly the case during World War II, in which the Allies sought to achieve the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan and to oust their odious leaders, but never to destroy the German and Japanese states or to annihilate their populations. In the infrequent cases in which modern states were threatened with their survival, the experience proved to be traumatic in the extreme. Military coups, popular uprisings, and civil strife are typical by-products of a state’s encounter with even a single existential threat.

The State of Israel copes not only with one but with at least seven existential threats on a daily basis. These threats are extraordinary not only for their number but also for their diversity. In addition to external military dangers from hostile regimes and organizations, the Jewish State is endangered by domestic opposition, demographic trends, and the erosion of core values. Indeed, it is difficult if not impossible to find an example of another state in the modern epic that has faced such a multiplicity and variety of concurrent existential threats.

# 3 - Delegitimization

Since the mid-1970s, Israel’s enemies have waged an increasingly successful campaign of delegitimizing Israel in world forums, intellectual and academic circles, and the press. The campaign has sought to depict Israel as a racist, colonialist state that proffers extraordinary rights to its Jewish citizens and denies fundamental freedoms to the Arabs. These accusations have found their way into standard textbooks on the Middle East and have become part of the daily discourse at the United Nations and other influential international organizations. Most recently, Israel has been depicted as an apartheid state, effectively comparing the Jewish State to South Africa under its former white supremacist regime. Many of Israel’s counterterrorism efforts are branded as war crimes, and Israeli generals are indicted by foreign courts.

Though the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza clearly contributed to the tarnishing of Israel’s image, increasingly the delegitimization campaign focuses not on Israel’s policy in the territories but on its essence as the Jewish national state.

Such calumny was, in the past, dismissed as harmless rhetoric. But as the delegitimization of Israel gained prominence, the basis was laid for international measures to isolate Israel and punish it with sanctions similar to those that brought down the South African regime. The academic campaigns to boycott Israeli universities and intellectuals are adumbrations of the type of strictures that could destroy Israel economically and deny it the ability to defend itself against the existential threats posed by terrorism and Iran.

UN is failing in their responsiblity to condemn Iran's human rights violations- charges Simon Wiesenthal Center

2009-06-23T19:15:00.000-07:00

Officials of the Simon Wiesenthal Center are urging world leaders including the United States, the European Union, the Arab League and the Organization Islamic Conference to call for an immediate emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on the brutal suppression of the Iranian people following the sham elections in Iran.

“The brave citizens of Iran, have against all odds, sent a clarion call to the world that they want freedom and democracy but so far the world has turned their back as innocents have been killed on the streets of Tehran and other cities,” Rabbi Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, (founder and dean and associate dean, respectively) of the Jewish Human Rights NGO said in a statement from Los Angeles.

“The UN cannot be open for business only to condemn Israel. It is unbelievable that to date, not a single country has called for UN agencies to act. Now is the time for world leaders to call for an emergency session of the UN Security Council to send the mullahs a clear message that any further violence against their own citizens will be met with swift sanctions,” the Wiesenthal Center statement concluded.

DemoCast's video coverage includes exclusive interview with Rabbi Marvin Hier which precedes excerpts from his speech, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, and Roxanna Ganji of the Organization for an Iranian Parliamentary Monarchy.

Ma'ariv (Israel) Newspaper carried an opinion piece (Monday 22 June) by Ben Caspit and Ben-Dror Yemini (translated in Yaakov Lozowick's Ruminations) on the subject:
"Where Is Everyone?

Tell us, where is everyone? Where did all the people who demonstrated against Israel’s brutality in Operation Cast Lead, in the Second Lebanon War, in Operation Defensive Shield, or even in The Hague, when we were dragged there unwillingly after daring to build a separation barrier between us and the suicide bombers, disappear to? We see demonstrations here and there, but these are mainly Iranian exiles. Europe, in principle, is peaceful and calm. So is the United States. Here and there a few dozens, here and there a few hundreds. Have they evaporated because it is Tehran and not here?

All the peace-loving and justice-loving Europeans, British professors in search of freedom and equality, the friends filling the newspapers, magazines and various academic journals with various demands for boycotting Israel, defaming Zionism and blaming us and it for all the ills and woes of the world—could it be that they have taken a long summer vacation? Now of all times, when the Basij hooligans have begun to slaughter innocent civilians in the city squares of Tehran? Aren’t they connected to the Internet? Don’t they have YouTube? Has a terrible virus struck down their computer? Have their justice glands been removed in a complicated surgical procedure (to be re-implanted successfully for the next confrontation in Gaza)? How can it be that when a Jew kills a Muslim, the entire world boils, and when extremist Islam slaughters its citizens, whose sole sin is the aspiration to freedom, the world is silent?

Imagine that this were not happening now in Tehran, but rather here. Let’s say in Nablus. Spontaneous demonstrations of Palestinians turning into an ongoing bloodbath. Border Policemen armed with knives, on motorcycles, butchering demonstrators. A young woman downed by a sniper in midday, dying before the cameras. Actually, why imagine? We can just recall what happened with the child Mohammed a-Dura. How the affair (which was very harsh, admittedly) swept the world from one end to another. The fact that a later independent investigative report raised tough questions as to the identity of the weapon from which a-Dura was shot, did not make a difference to anyone. The Zionists were to blame, and that was that.

And where are the world’s leaders? Where is the wondrous rhetorical ability of Barack Obama? Where has his sublime vocabulary gone? Where is the desire, that is supposed to be built into all American presidents, to defend and act on behalf of freedom seekers around the globe? What is this stammering?

A source who is connected to the Iranian and security situation, said yesterday that if Obama had shown on the Iranian matter a quarter of the determination with which he assaulted the settlements in the territories, everything would have looked different. “The demonstrators in Iran are desperate for help,” said the man, who served in very senior positions for many years, “they need to know that they have backing, that there is an entire world that supports them, but instead they see indifference. And this is happening at such a critical stage of this battle for the soul of Iran and the freedom of the Iranian people. It’s sad.”

Or the European Union, for example. The organization that speaks of justice and peace all year round. Why should its leaders not declare clearly that the world wants to see a democratic and free Iran, and support it unreservedly? Could it be that the tongue of too many Europeans is still connected to dark places? The pathetic excuse that such support would give Khamenei and Ahmadinejad an excuse to call the demonstrators “Western agents,” does not hold water. They call them “Western agents” in any case, so what difference does it make?

To think that just six months ago, when Europe was flooded with demonstrations against Israel, leftists and Islamists raised pictures of Nasrallah, the protégé of the ayatollah regime. The fact that this was a benighted regime did not trouble them. This is madness, but it is sinking in and influencing the weary West. If there is a truly free world here, let it appear immediately! And impose sanctions, for example, on those who slaughter the members of their own people. Just as it imposed them on North Korea, or on the military regime in Burma. It is only a question of will, not of ability.

Apparently, something happens to the global adherence to justice and equality, when it comes to Iran. The oppression is overt and known. The Internet era broadcasts everything live, and it is all for the better. Hooligans acting on behalf of the regime shoot and stab masses of demonstrators, who cry out for freedom.

Is anything more needed? Apparently it is. Because it is to no avail. The West remains indifferent. Obama is polite. Why shouldn’t he be, after all, he aspires to a dialogue with the ayatollahs. And that is very fine and good, the problem is that at this stage there is no dialogue, but there is death and murder on the streets.

At this stage, one must forget the rules of etiquette for a moment. The voices being heard from Obama elicit concern that we are actually dealing with a new version of Chamberlain. Being conciliatory is a positive trait, particularly when it follows the clumsy bellicosity of George Bush, but when conciliation becomes blindness, we have a problem.

The courageous voice of Angela Merkel, who issued yesterday a firm statement of support for the Iranian people and its right to freedom, is in the meantime a lone voice in the Western wilderness. It is only a shame that she has not announced an economic boycott, in light of the fact that this is the European country that is most invested in building infrastructure in Iran. She was joined by British Foreign Secretary Miliband. It is little, it is late, it is not enough. Millions of freedom seekers have taken to the streets in Iran, and the West is straddling the fence, one leg here, the other leg there.

There is a different Islam. This is already clear today. Even in Iran. There are millions of Muslims who support freedom, human rights, equality for women. These millions loathe Khamenei, Chavez and Nasrallah too. But part of the global left wing prefers the ayatollah regime over them. The main thing is for them to raise flags against Israel and America. The question is why the democrats, the liberals, and Obama, Blair and Sarkozy, are continuing to sit on the fence. This is not a fence of separation, it is a fence of shame.

Iranian-American brothers act-out ruthlessness of Islamist axis (Iran, Hezbollah, Palestine) on American street

2009-06-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles' Iran Solidarity Rally was shocked and stirred Monday evening by a guerilla street-theater performance by 2 sons of immigrants who acted out the ruthless brutality that the Islamic Republic of Iran metes to civil rights demonstrators.

Brothers Reza and Mohammed Mostahi demonstrated some of their Santa Monica College-learned cosmetology skills in creating a horror scene for a stunned crowd of fellow Iranian-Americans and Iranian refugees.

The Tehran-born brothers' performance inspired jeers of, "Down with Islamic Republic," and "Down with Hezbollah" - referring to the regime's puppet terrorist group that they imported to brutalize election-fraud protestors into intimidation.

According to the L.A. demonstrators, the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran funds Islamist ideologues Hezbollah (meaning "Party of God") and Palestinian Hamas (sworn to conquer Israel). Sensing that Iranian police might hesitate to sufficiently intimidate fellow Persians , the Ayatollahs imported ruthless Muslim Arabs thugs from Palestine to increase the brutality against Persians seeking relief from Islamic totalitarianism.

Four of Democracy Broadcasting's reports of Iranians exposing Islamist ruthlessness over the past 3 days have been recognized by by CNN's broadcasting them. DemoCast is proud of the recognition - as a vital source in covering Islamist counter-humanism for over four years.

Iranian-Americans confess: 'Regime scapegoats Israel & US as straw-men enemies to firm-up their power & pan-Muslim prominence'

2009-06-23T02:21:00.000-07:00

Iran refugees demand human-rights in Iran; Torture-victim & siblings call for regime change to thwart int'l Islamist juggernaut

2009-06-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Over 1,000 Iranian-Americans rallied in front of L.A.'s Federal Building on Saturday afternoon/evening in solidarity with the Iranian rebellion . They called for the West's political and moral support for the popular movement seeking to change the Islamic regime to a secular one.

Among the attendees were siblings from the Mohammadi Family- politcal-prisoner victims of the 1999 Tehran University crackdown in which brothers Akbar and Manoucher Mohammedi - were jailed and tortured (in Akbar's case -tortured to death) by the ruthless Islamic regime:

Mohammadi sisters Nasrin and Simie (jailed along with her father) help put the regime's oppression of human-rights in context.

Torture-victim, brother Manoucher Mohammedi (translated by Vida Fathi) calls for American support for the people's rebellion against the Ayatollahs' regime - which U.S. President Jimmy Carter helped to enable.

Iranian-Americans, Mr. Farid Farhan and Mr. Jacob (last name withheld)explain that the overthrow of the Ayatollah's Islamic regime would effectively "cut-off the head of the snake of global terrorism." This would end global terrorism from the world's primary facilitator of the global terror networks- including al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban.

Iranian-American underground explains how Iran's Islamism is a clear & present danger to Western freedom

2009-06-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

Iranian insider confides totalitarian, Islamist Iran's threat to Westerners in this 50-minute admission to Democracy Broadcasting.

This prinicipled, Iranian refugee to America (who for security reasons chose to remain anonymous) explains the apocalyptic, Iranian regime's mentality, global ambitions, and the threats to Westerners through their global network of lobbyists, operatives, and spies.

He explains that the totalitarian Islamists exploit Islam as a means to attain their meglomaniacal goals of global, political domination (using Muslims to weaken and conquer the West from within to spread the Caliphate).

In this March, 2007 interview, he explained to DemoCast the need for the West to save the Iranian people through strangling and destabilizing the Mullah regime financially. He compares Washington's hopes of negotiating stopping the regime's hidden nuclear weaponization to 'taking an aspirin for the headache will not rid one's brain of a cancer.'

Analyst, Charles Krauthammer (in "Obama Misses the Point with Iran Response," published today in the Washington Post) admonishes President Obama's administration's failure to speak in support of this week's Iranian election demonstrators.

This incipient revolution is no longer about the election. Obama totally misses the point. The election allowed the political space and provided the spark for the eruption of anti-regime fervor that has been simmering for years and awaiting its moment. But people aren't dying in the street because they want a recount of hanging chads in suburban Isfahan. They want to bring down the tyrannical, misogynist, corrupt theocracy that has imposed itself with the very baton-wielding goons that today attack the demonstrators.

This started out about election fraud. But like all revolutions, it has far outgrown its origins. What's at stake now is the very legitimacy of this regime -- and the future of the entire Middle East.

This revolution will end either as a Tiananmen (a hot Tiananmen with massive and bloody repression or a cold Tiananmen with a finer mix of brutality and co-optation) or as a true revolution that brings down the Islamic Republic.

... Our fundamental values demand that America stand with demonstrators opposing a regime that is the antithesis of all we believe.

And where is our president? Afraid of "meddling." Afraid to take sides between the head-breaking, women-shackling exporters of terror -- and the people in the street yearning to breathe free. This from a president who fancies himself the restorer of America's moral standing in the world.

Is Washington's failure to support anti-Jihadist demonstrators (against Ahmadinejad and the enemies of Zion) actually just misguided (or possibly malevolent) policy-making?

Might the Obama adminstration's Islamist affinities (or Islamists having infiltrated his administration) be inhibiting America's ability to lead the free world to defeat Jihadism in Iran and at home?

'By not supporting opposition ralliers, America aids oppressive Iranian regime' - Wall St. Journal, JPost, Boston Globe

2009-06-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

'Anti- Ahmedinejad protests will die out' without Western support, according to The Jerusalem Post's military editor, Yaakov Katz and staff:

"Without support from the United States and other Western countries, Iranian opposition groups will likely stop demonstrations against the Iranian regime and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's declared victory in Friday's presidential elections, senior Israeli defense officials said Sunday.

According to the officials, a Mousavi victory would have been a blow to the regime, which is led by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, since the reformist candidate had called for changes to the implementation of Islamic law, particularly pertaining to the status of women in Iranian society.

"There have been mass arrests throughout Iran," another official explained, referring to the arrest of over 100 members of the reformist groups. "The regime fears the possibility of a revolution and will do everything it can to prevent that from happening."(published June 15, 2009)

Obama's Iran Abdication - Democracy interferes with his nuclear diplomacy script. Wall St. Journal, Review and Outlook, 18 June 2009

As far as we can tell, the CIA or other government agencies aren't directing the protests or bankrolling Mr. Mousavi. Beyond token Congressional support for civil society groups and the brave reporting of the Persian-language and U.S.-funded Radio Farda, America's role here is limited. Less than a fortnight ago, in Cairo, Mr. Obama touted his commitment to "governments that reflect the will of the people."

Now the President who likes to say that "words matter" refuses to utter a word of support to Iran's people. By that measure, the U.S. should never have supported Soviet dissidents because it would have interfered with nuclear arms control.

The Iranian rebellion, though too soon to call a revolution, is turning out to be that 3 a.m. phone call for Mr. Obama. As a French President shows up the American on moral clarity, Hillary Clinton's point about his inexperience and instincts in a crisis is turning out to be prescient.

Jeff Jacoby broadens the analysis in the Boston Globe:

"Engagement'' with the foul Ahmadinejad and the turbaned dictators he answers to has always been a chimera; if that wasn't clear before last week's brazenly rigged election results, surely it is clear now. Iran's ruling clerics, headed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, didn't just endorse the Ahmadinejad approach - the pursuit of nuclear weapons, the vile anti-Semitism, the demonization of America, the partnership with terrorists, the trampling of human rights. They unreservedly embraced it. Ahmadinejad's fraudulent reelection was hailed by Khamenei as "a divine blessing'' and "a glittering event.'' With such a regime, no compromise is possible. Neither is impartiality. Like it or not, the White House must choose: Will America stand with the mullahs and their goons, or with the endangered people of Iran?

Eyewitness video shows the brutality this regime is capable of. Solidarity rallies from around the world are shown at the end of the playlist.

The prolific, Jerusalem-based blog, Israel Matsav, elaborates on the situation in Jeff Jacoby rips Obama on Iran:

Obama doesn't want to take the students' side because it would mean admitting that he was wrong until now, and it would mean that he would have to take out Iran's nuclear program - or allow Israel to do so - without first forcing Israel to create a 'Palestinian' state reichlet as a quid pro quo. That 'Palestinian' reichlet may well be the only defined foreign policy goal this administration has and it is not going to let a few dead Iranians force it to give up that goal.

Taking the students' side would also mean acknowledging that there are blacks and whites in the world - and not just shades of gray. It would mean admitting that we don't live in a utopian community where grievances are resolved by negotiations and no one goes to war.

Likud party's Moshe Feiglin responds to President Obama's Cairo address to the Muslim world

2009-06-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Likud (Jewish national leadership party) leader, Moshe Feiglin addresses a Zionistic, alternative to Prime Minister Netanyahu's response to President Obama: "Who's word will you risk America's future on - Muslim terrorist dictators' or the Almighty's?"

Video: Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Israel at Bar Ilan University

2009-06-14T16:41:00.000-07:00

Please click link on lower right of screen for parts 2 and 3. (Courtesy Ortori10)

US failure to conform to Western standards outlawing anti-Semitic hate speech results in violence, enablement of genocide

2009-06-11T03:22:00.000-07:00

Where is the threshold between condemning Israel and affecting Jews?

Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics, Columbia University, Lincoln Mitchell, criticizes the progressive blogosphere community's anti-Semitism, cloaked in anti-Israelism - in The Shooting, Anti-Semitism and Blogging, which is published today, June 11, 2009, in the Huntington Post:

You can't have it both ways, expressing righteous indignation when a white supremacist attempts to shoot visitors to the Holocaust Museum, while no longer being startled by the suggestion that the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States as well as millions of hard working, tax paying and voting Americans somehow don't have America's best interest in mind and are disloyal to their country, because of their support for Israel. Nonetheless, these suggestions are made almost daily in the comments section of this website.
The notion that one can be critical of Israeli policy without being anti-Semitic is, of course, true. Many, if not most, American Jews are critical of various aspects of Israeli policy while being far from anti-Semitic. However, the logic of this must end somewhere because too often this truism is interpreted to mean that anti-Israel sentiment can never be anti-Semitic. When it is suggested that Jews are subverting or controlling American foreign policy, putting what is good for Israel ahead of what is good for the US, or hoodwinking good Christians into supporting Israel, the criticism is no longer targeted on Israel. While one can criticize Israel without being an anti-Semite, suggestions of Jewish conspiracies or that Jews are not loyal citizens cannot so easily be made without being anti-Semitic. Historically, these have been at the core of the very definition of anti-Semitism

It is not just criticism of Israel that is the issue here. It is the regularity with which, in these comments and elsewhere, virtually every foreign policy issue is related back to Israel and somehow the Jews are blamed. Some friends and I play a game with foreign policy blogs on the Huffington Post where we try to guess how long it will take before Israel or the Jews are mentioned. Usually this occurs by the tenth comment, regardless of the ostensible topic of the piece in question. This is an obsession that is not healthy and goes beyond simply garden variety criticism of Israel.

Obviously the people making those comments are not going out and trying to kill Jews, but it is both a symptom and a contributing cause of a climate which facilitates, and which will very possibly continue to facilitate, violence of the sort we saw Wednesday.

This is an issue which should be of concern to all of the readers, bloggers, commenters and others who consider ourselves part of the Huffington Post community. We are all guilty of something, possibly hypocrisy, neglect or moral cowardice when we let these comments go unanswered and then loudly condemn acts of violence targeted at Jews. The connection, while not direct, is real. Those of us who call ourselves progressives have a special responsibility to speak out against bigotry in all forms, even when it starts out as being against Israel and seeps into anti-Semitism.

The author of Hitler's Willing Executioners (and son of a Holocaust survivor) Daniel Goldhagen explains how easily self-identifyingly moral people can evolve to tolerate - even commit - genocide. At the Los Angeles Holocaust Day Memorial in April, he relates first-hand interiews with contemporary genociders and genocide victims which he uncovered for his upcoming book, "Worse than War," being released as a PBS documentary in August.

"Hate speech or free speech? What much of West bans is protected in U.S." by Adam Liptak. Published in the NY Times, Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Canada, Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and India all have laws or have signed international conventions banning hate speech. Israel and France forbid the sale of Nazi items like swastikas and flags. It is a crime to deny the Holocaust in Canada, Germany and France.

Some prominent legal scholars say the United States should reconsider its position on hate speech.

"It is not clear to me that the Europeans are mistaken," Jeremy Waldron, a legal philosopher, wrote in The New York Review of Books last month, "when they say that a liberal democracy must take affirmative responsibility for protecting the atmosphere of mutual respect against certain forms of vicious attack."

Waldron was reviewing "Freedom for the Thought That We Hate: A Biography of the First Amendment" by Anthony Lewis, the former New York Times columnist. Lewis has been critical of attempts to use the law to limit hate speech.

But even Lewis, a liberal, wrote in his book that he was inclined to relax some of the most stringent First Amendment protections "in an age when words have inspired acts of mass murder and terrorism." In particular, he called for a re-examination of the Supreme Court's insistence that there is only one justification for making incitement a criminal offense: the likelihood of imminent violence.

Jon Voight to Obama: Stop giving our enemies the idea that we are weakened in any way

2009-06-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

Oscar-winner, social activist, Jon Voight, asserts that now is the time for the free world to come together in a show of strength, not apology, for America's allies having defended Muslim peoples from oppression.

Carving a hostile, Palestinian state out of Israel in hopes of appeasing the Muslim world sworn against her, Voight cautions, will make the West appear weak and embolden its Islamist enemies, just as Israel's de-occupying Gaza in '05 proved.

Mr. Voight appeared at the premiere of the 2009 Israel Film Festival in Hollywood, where Diane Warren, Robert Lantos, and John Fishel received honors. Mr. Voight presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Auschwitz survivor Branko Lustig for his work in such films as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down, Fiddler on the Roof, and Schindler's List.

The speech that Obama should have given in Cairo

2009-06-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

By Robert Spencer via LittleGreenFootballs2:

"Pakistan and other Muslim countries will not receive another penny of American aid unless and until they demonstrate - in a transparent and inspectable fashion - that they are working against, not abetting, the forces of the global jihad. This will include instituting comprehensive nationwide programs to teach against the jihad doctrine of Islamic supremacism, teaching that Muslims and non-Muslims must live together as equal citizens on an indefinite basis, without any attempts by Muslims to subjugate non-Muslims as inferiors under the rule of Islamic law.

I trust you will understand that we cannot continue to fund the cutting of our own throat.

Afghanistan and Iraq must immediately guarantee the equality of rights of women and non-Muslims, or American arms will no longer devote themselves to keeping regimes in power that do not guarantee those rights.

I will call upon Israel to make no further territorial concessions. The withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 demonstrated only that such concessions whet, rather than sate, the appetites of Islamic jihadists for more concessions. The assumption that territorial concessions will bring peace ignores not only recent history, but also the stated goal of the jihadist movements arrayed against Israel: the destruction of the Jewish state..."

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Americans demonstrate solidarity for Israel - civilization's sanctuary in the Middle-East

2009-06-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hundreds of thousands of Americans made a public display of their support for the Zionist (i.e., Jewish national refuge) State of Israel on Sunday, the 31st of May 2009 up New York's Fifth Avenue.

Given the displays of anti-Israelism and anti-Zionism so pervasive in anti-war, far-leftist, and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, this parade provides a breath of "miner's canary" air - of a climate that permits safe display staging of such a public demonstration of Judaism and pro-Zionism.

Our on-location video reportage of the Salute to Israel 2008 Parade reveals the strength and diversity of Americans supporting the Jewish national homeland.

The parade provides an insight into the true core values of Jewish and Israeli culture - and its struggle to maintain its identity under fire from antagonists.

Also, watch the parade's history and the behind the scenes look:

New York's Jewry comprises the largest Jewish population of this embattled people outside of Israel. Given (the only sanctuary for minorities' rights in the Middle East) Israel's significance at the vanguard against global Jihad - a terrorizing campaign which NY'ers know first-hand, broadcast TV stations deny public audiences equivalent televised coverage of the Israel Parade that they gladly provide to the Irish St. Patrick's Day or even the Puerto Rican Day parades.

The history re-writing far-left and Islamist jihadists (led by Jewish convert to Islam, Yousef al Khattab - publisher of an online guide to terror-attack the Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters) repugnantly propagandized in full force for photo-journalists and their anti-Zionist blogosphere.

Jihadist whistleblower, Kamal Saleem, reveals 'Cultural Jihad' more effective than terrorism

2009-05-29T02:13:00.000-07:00

Author of "The Blood of Lambs," Lebanese-born, Islamist whistleblower, Kamal Saleem reveals the genuine threat that political Islamism presents. He warns of the 'culture jihad' being conducted by Islamist organizations such as CAIR and the Muslim Students Association to move the West towards Islamism's cultural & political imperialism.

The Muslim Students Association protested outside Royce Hall, but would not attend to debate either Mr. Saleem or Walid Shoebat directly about any of their claims.

'Islamism exploits Palestine to promote Islamist cultural hegemony over West,' Walid Shoebat reveals over UCLA protestors' objections

2009-05-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Reformed terrorist, Walid Shoebat, reveals that Islamism is striving to elevate Islamic culture supremacy over the West. The 'Cultural Jihad,' he explains, employs a "Palestinian liberation" crusade to exploit anti-Israelism to molify and weaken the West to Islamist subversion of Western culture to Islamic domination.

Islamist demonstrators outside UCLA attempted to discredit Walid Shoebat's ex-terrorist credibility (rather than his accusations about cultural Jihad) to the audience of 500 attendees.

Israel Matzav: Why a 'Palestinian state' hasn't happened and never will

2009-05-19T12:52:00.000-07:00

Israel Matzav: Why a 'Palestinian state' hasn't happened and never will: "Hamas loses its patron and peace becomes more likely. If, on the other hand, the Palestinians are somehow recognized as a state before Iran is dealt with — then what? Obama seems to think this will give Arabs across the region political cover to rally behind their new friend Israel, leading Iran to back down and give up its nuke program, but (a) if it’s " ...

'Muslim racism toward any Jewish state is root of Arab Israeli conflict - reform key to peace,' claims Egyptian reformist, Dr. Tawfik Hamid

2009-05-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Featured in new documentary film, The Third Jihad, Egyptian physician Dr. Tawfik Hamid (author of Inside Jihad) confesses the uncomfortable truth which Washington (and the West) is reluctant to confront that:

Palestine statehood isn't the true obstacle to peace between Arabs and Israel. Peace will require confronting Islamic culture to publicly reform its dogma that Jews (and Israel, the Zionist state) are a religiously inferior culture, only meant to be subjugated.

The Palestinian conflict is a red-herring, he claims, which the Muslim world foments in its long-term objective of weakening the Jewish state (as a proxy of the global, non-Muslim essence) towards eventual annihilation. He teaches that the Obama administration and the U.N. should maintain a strong, not appeasing, policy against Islamist extremism.

Obama administration puts Israel's Netanyahu between Iraq - and a hard place

2009-05-18T15:15:00.000-07:00

Interpreting today's American and Israeli post-meeting press conference, the Jerusalem Post's Editor in Chief David Horovitz doesn't find much agreement in Obama lays down the law ...

This was a meeting of unequals, a meeting in which the head of the world's most powerful nation, however battered of late, firmly asserted its primacy in the face of a supplicant ally, however feisty. ...

Netanyahu heard no deadline from Obama on the limits of engagement, just a vague presidential reference to the notion that, by year's end, the administration "should have some sense" of whether Teheran was responding to his carrots where it had ignored the Bush presidency's rhetorical sticks.

Worse, Netanyahu heard no presidential mention of the possibility of military action, not even as a last resort. Instead, Obama reached out to the Iranians, saying he sought to "persuade them that it is not in their interest to pursue a nuclear weapon and that they should change course."

And if they chose to ignore him?

"We are not foreclosing a range of steps..." said Obama - and here Netanyahu would have been waiting with bated breath, only to be disappointed - "... including much stronger international sanctions." ...

Where Netanyahu holds that there's little prospect of substantive progress with the Palestinians so long as Iran is traveling along the nuclear path and emboldening Hamas and Islamists everywhere, Obama flatly said the opposite.

"If there is a linkage between Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process," he mused, "I personally believe it actually runs the other way. To the extent that we can make peace with the Palestinians - between the Palestinians and the Israelis - then I actually think it strengthens our hand in the international community in dealing with the potential Iranian threat."

He elaborated, "Imagine how much less mischief Hizbullah or Hamas could do if, in fact, we had moved a Palestinian-Israeli track in a direction that gave the Palestinian people hope. And if Hizbullah and Hamas [are] weakened, imagine how that impacts Iran's ability to make mischief and vice versa."

Netanyahu attempted to make the best of a very bad job, beginning by praising Obama to the skies as a "great leader" and a "great friend of Israel."

NY-based, global-affairs analyst, Linda Korrow, analyzes Pres.Obama's advancing Arab plans for Israel's security in "Will Obama Try to Force Arab Two-State Plan on Israel?" published in Family Security Matters.

New York - The eyes of the world are on Washington, as two allied world leaders – Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Barack Obama – prepare to meet on Monday.

Some Arab states are already on the war path. Arab leaders are going on the record, demanding in strong language that President Obama order Israel to fall in line behind Saudi King Abdullah's two-state "Arab peace plan." The plan, which calls for a two-state solution, is supported by the 22-state Arab League. In contention is the plan's "right of return" provision, which would give millions of Arab refugees the right to live in Israel and eventually, through demographics, convert the Jewish state to an Arab country with a Jewish minority.

Many, including Middle East expert and historian Daniel Pipes, believe in the "no state" option – return the territories to Egypt and Jordan, who have peace treaties with Israel. Neither side, Dr. Pipes recently wrote, wishes for Israeli control to continue. And a Palestinian state has thus far been a "toxic brew of anarchy, ideological extremism, Jihadism and warlordism [that] led to complete Palestinian failure." Given, "the two populations' mutual antipathy, the prospect of a combined Israel-Palestine is as absurd as it seems." A shared Jordanian-Egyptian rule, he said, "worked tolerably well in the period 1948-1967."

Jordan's King Abdullah warns there will be a war in the Middle East by the end of next year if an Arab Palestinian state is not created this year. He noted in a Times of London interview, that "a third of the world does not recognize Israel." "Obama," he said, "is committed to the two-state solution now. He feels the urgency of the need to move today." The king believes President Obama will announce a peace plan after meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu. If peace efforts aren't successful, King Abdullah says, "we're going to have a war."

King Abdullah of Jordan says the world must see Israel for what it is. Israel is the first democracy in the Middle East and an ally of the United States. Yes, the Palestinian people have suffered. And so have the people of Israel proper. Israel has protected its people from murderous suicide attacks by implementing security fences, checkpoints and settlements. And it has taken the initiative for peace by withdrawing from Gaza.

After repeated rejections of peace plans during the Carter and Bush administrations, the Israelis turned over Gaza to its Israeli-Arab residents to self-rule. Gaza is no longer occupied today except, arguably, by Iran and al Qaeda. But what was the result of Israel's disengagement from Gaza? Iranian smuggling of weapons and foreign fighters into Gaza, a strengthening of the terror group Hamas, the destruction of businesses, and more rocket attacks upon Israel-proper.

The Jewish state pursued phased withdrawals, while the Palestinian Authority has failed to fulfill the security commitments agreed to in the 1993 Oslo Accords – to disarm and dismantle terrorist groups.

The Gaza experiment failed and resulted in an armed conflict – Operation Cast Lead – where Israel aimed to halt those illicit activities. The same failures should not be repeated in the West Bank. Iran and the U.S. State Department designated terror group Hamas should not be permitted to take over the West Bank. Consequently, more preparation of the territories is required for statehood, if that is the path taken.

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu stated Israel's viewpoint on May 4th, via a satellite broadcast to over 6,500 attendees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's (AIPAC, America's pro-Israeli lobby) annual conference. He spoke of a triple track to peace, consisting of political, security, and economic initiatives:

Political – "resume peace negotiations without delay and without any preconditions; the sooner, the better"

Security – "strengthen the security apparatus of the Palestinians"

Economic – "work together to remove as many obstacles as we can, to the advancement of the Palestinian economy"

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, too, that peace can not come without security. And, "for a final peace settlement to be achieved, the Palestinians must recognize Israel as the Jewish state."

As a man seeking peace and the right to life for his country – "a future that means that there is prosperity for all" – PM Netanyahu seeks rational thought and a common sense approach to peace in the region.

The challenge to the Palestinian Arabs and the Arab League is to embrace dual Jewish and Arab states living in peace as a shared goal with Israel and support the strengthening of Palestinian institutions. Failure to do so would demonstrate a lack of sincerity in achieving peace in the region and a lack of support for the Palestinian Authority.

"We can defy the skeptics; we can surprise the world."
– Benjamin Netanyahu

Radical American Black Muslim's bigotry overlooked by Obama-charmed, Irvine Muslim students, faculty - not by Jews

2009-05-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

A DemoCast exclusive production. Demagogic hate-monger inculcates Muslims with bigotry (calling Jews 'Satanic'); then slams Jews for requiring Israel sanctuary from hateful Muslim world. Imam Abdul Malik Ali of Oakland's anti-Semitic, Black Muslim "Vanguard of Islam" mosque takes a page from Hitler's Jerusalem Mufti's Muslim anti-Semitism toward attaining power. Mission of replacing democracies with caliphate resonates with (alleged) Muslim Brotherhood affiliated Muslim Students Union at University of California in Irvine.

Israeli PM: Arabs join Israel seeking concrete action to deny nuclear weapons to Iran

2009-05-13T17:19:00.000-07:00

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's conveyed Arab support with Israel for opposing Iran's nuclear weaponization in his address to the AIPAC Policy Conference 2009 on May 4, 2009. Click to watch video.

"I want to thank all of you for your unwavering support for Israel and for strengthening the great friendship between Israel and the United States. As you said, I have met President Obama. I respect him, and I look forward to seeing him in Washington in a couple of weeks. We plan to continue our common quest for security, for prosperity, and for peace." Please click Read More below to read full speech transcript.

Friends, there is something significant that is happening today in the Middle East. And I can say that for the first time in my lifetime -- I believe that for the first time in a century -- that Arabs and Jews see a common danger. This wasn't always the case. In the '30s and '40s, many of the Arab world supported another country, believing that that was their hope. In the '60s and '70s, '80s, they supported another country that was at odds with the Jewish state. But this is no longer the case.

There is a great challenge afoot; but that challenge also presents great opportunities. The common danger is echoed by Arab leaders throughout the Middle East; it's echoed by Israel repeatedly. It's echoed by Europeans, by many responsible governments around the world. And if I had to sum it in one sentence, it is this: Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

If I had to sum up the opportunity in one word, it would be cooperation -- cooperation
between Israel and the Arab world, and cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians. Next week I'll be visiting Egypt with President Mubarak, and I plan to discuss both values with him. We seek expanded relations with the Arab world. We want normalization of economic ties and diplomatic ties. We want peace with the Arab world. But we also want peace with the Palestinians. That peace has eluded us for more than 13 years. Six successive prime ministers and two American presidents have not succeeded in achieving this final peace settlement. I believe it's possible to achieve it. But I think it requires a fresh approach. And the fresh approach
that I suggest is pursuing a triple-track towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians; a political track, a security track, and an economic track.

A political track means that we're prepared to resume peace negotiations without any delay and without any preconditions; the sooner, the better. The security track means that we want to continue the cooperation with the program led by General Dayton in cooperation with the Jordanians and with the Palestinian Authority to strengthen the security apparatus of the Palestinians. This is something we believe in, and something that I think we can advance in a joint effort.

The economic track means that we are prepared to work together to remove as many obstacles as we can, to the advancement of the Palestinian economy. We want to work with the Palestinian Authority on this track, not as a substitute for political negotiations, but as a boost to them. I want to see Palestinian youngsters knowing that they have a future. I want them not to be hostage to a cult of death and despair and hate. I want them to have jobs. I want them to have career paths. I want them to know that they can provide for their families. This means that we can give
them a future of hope; a future that means that there is prosperity for all, and this has proved to be successful in advancing a political piece in many parts of the world.

I believe that this triple track towards peace is the realistic path to peace. And I believe that with the cooperation of President Obama and President Abbas, we can defy the skeptics; we can surprise the world.

But there are two provisos that I think have to be said at this point. First, peace will not come without security. If we abandon security, we'll have never security nor peace. So I want to be very clear. We shall never compromise on Israel's security. Second, for a final peace settlement to be achieved, the Palestinians must recognize Israel as the Jewish state. They must recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

A few hours ago I spoke at the Knesset. We mark the birthday of Theodore Herzl, the founding father of Zionism. Herzl revolutionized the history of the Jewish people; a people that were scattered and defenseless throughout the nations. He revolutionized Jewish history when he published a slim pamphlet called The Jewish State. This was our salvation, and this is our foundation; the foundation of our future and the foundation of peace.

Good night from Jerusalem. God bless America. God bless Israel. Thank you all."

Israel's President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address AIPAC Policy Conference attendees in D.C.

2009-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Israeli President Shimon Peres is confirmed to appear at the 2009 AIPAC Policy Conference beginning Sunday 3 May. In addition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to conference delegates via satellite. Dozens of exciting speakers and top policymakers have also been confirmed, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who will kick off this year's conference with a tribute to the U.S.-Israel relationship.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Republican Whip Jon Kyl have also been confirmed-the four leaders will join hundreds of their congressional colleagues and foreign dignitaries in a celebration of the U.S.-Israel alliance during the Policy Conference Gala Banquet. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the House, have also been confirmed for this year's conference.

A tribute to the sacrifices of each Israeli (and their families) who lost their life fighting for freedom against Jihad

2009-04-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

A dozen music videos to memorialize Israel's fallen sacrifices towards the defeat of the Jihad.