Window Into Palestine

Gilad Atzmon: As the light onto the nations

2009-11-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

Gilad Atzmon

‘Israel is the light onto the nations’ says the Torah. Indeed it is, and not just because the Torah says so. Israel is ahead of everyone else in many fronts. Take for instance, terrorizing civilian populations and practicing some of the most devastating murderous tactics upon elders, women and young.

The Jerusalem post reported yesterday that the Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, visited Israel earlier this week to study “IDF tactics and methods that the military alliance can utilise for its war in Afghanistan.” A senior Israeli defence official added "The one thing on NATO's mind today is how to win in Afghanistan…Di Paola was very impressed by the IDF, which is a major source of information due to our operational experience."

I would advise both the Israeli official and Admiral Di Paola to slightly curb their enthusiasm. The IDF didn’t win a single war since 1967. Yes, it murdered many civilians, it flattened many cities, it starved millions, it has been committing war crimes on a daily basis for decades and yet, it didn’t win a war. Thus, the IDF cannot really teach NATO how to win in Afghanistan. If NATO generals are stupid enough to follow IDF tactics, like the Israeli generals, they will start to see the charges of war crimes pile up against them. They may even be lucky enough to share their cells with some Israelis in due course, once justice is performed.

Admiral Di Paola spent two days with the infamous IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the man who led the IDF into Gaza last December.

In the Jewish state they were very enthusiastic with Admiral Di Paola’s visit. They regarded it as just another reassurance of ‘business as usual. The visit of a NATO high supreme official was there to convince them that no one takes note of the Goldstone report. “Di Paola's visit is significant“ says the Jerusalem Post, “since it comes at a time when the IDF is under increasing criticism in the wake of the Goldstone Report on Operation Cast Lead as well as a decision by Turkey - a NATO member - to ban Israel from joint aerial exercises.”

However, it would be crucial to elaborate on the emerging mutual interests between the two parties, Israel and NATO. “During their meeting on Wednesday, Ashkenazi and Di Paola discussed ways to upgrade Israeli-NATO military ties as well as the plan to include an Israeli Navy vessel in Active Endeavor, a NATO mission established after the 9/11 attacks under which NATO vessels patrol the Mediterranean to prevent illegal terror trafficking”. This is indeed a necessary move for the Israelis. At the moment the Israeli Navy is operating in the Mediterranean as a bunch of Yiddish Pirates (Yidisshe Piraten), assaulting, hijacking and robbing vessels in international waters. Once operating under the NATO flag, the Israelis would be able to terrorise every vessel in the high seas in the name of the ‘West’. For the Jewish state this would be a major step forward. Until now the Israelis have been committing atrocities in the name of the Jewish people. Once operating under the NATO flag, the Israelis will be able to perform their piracy in the name of ‘Europe’. Such a move is further evidence of the spiritual and ideological transition within Zionism from ‘promised land’ into ‘promised planet’.

While the Israelis desperately need NATO’s legitimacy, NATO is far more modest. All it needs is knowledge and tactics. For some reason it insists on learning from the Israelis how to inflict pain on a civilian population. More pain, that is, than it is already making. “NATO's Defence officials said that Di Paola used his meetings with the IDF to learn about new technology that can be applied to the war in Afghanistan”. The Jerusalem Post reports that Israel is a “known world leader in the development of specialized armor to protect against improvised explosive devices (IEDs), otherwise known as roadside bombs.” This is indeed the case. Israeli generals realised a long time ago that their precious young soldiers prefer to hide in their tanks rather than engage with the ‘enemy’ i.e. the civilian population, kids, elders and women. But it doesn’t stop there, Di Paola was also interested in “Israeli intelligence-gathering capabilities and methods that the IDF uses when operating in civilian population centers.” Di Paola noted that “NATO and the IDF were facing similar threats - NATO in Afghanistan and Israel in its war against Hamas and Hizbullah.”

I would suggest to Admiral Di Paola to immediately read the Goldstone report thoroughly, so he grasps his own personal legal consequences once he starts to implement ‘Israeli tactics’. If Admiral Di Paola wants to serve his army, he should indeed visit Israel, he should also meet every war criminal both in the military and politics so he knows exactly what NOT to do.

NATO’s chances of winning in Afghanistan are not limited, they are actually exhausted. It can only lose. Some military analysts and veteran generals argue that it is lost already. NATO has brought enough carnage on the Afghani people without achieving any of its military or political goals. Given that Israel was severely humiliated in Lebanon in 2006 by a tiny paramilitary Hizbullah and failed to achieve its military goals in Operation Cast Lead in its genocidal war against Hamas, there is nothing for NATO to learn from the Israelis. Should NATO proceed in implementing added IDF tactics, all it will achieve is a dramatic reduction of security across Europe and America.

If we are concerned with peace and we want it to prevail, what we have to do is to move away as far as we can from any spiritual, ideological, political and military affiliation with Zionism, Israel and its lobbies. If ‘Israel’ is indeed a ‘light onto the nations’, someone better explain to us all, why its prospect of peace is becoming slimmer and darker.

My answer is actually simple. Israel can be easily seen as the ‘light of nations’ as long as you learn from Israel what not to do. In fact this is the message passed to us by the great humanist prophets Jesus and Marx. Love your neighbour, be among others, transcend yourself beyond the tribal into the realm of the universal. In fact this is exactly what the Israelis fail to grasp. For some reason, they love themselves almost as much as they hate their neighbours.

If Admiral Di Paola wants to win the hearts and the minds of the Afghani people (rather than ‘winning a war’), he should first learn to love. This is something he won’t learn in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Gaza, Ramallha and Nablus are more likely.

Photo of the Day: What does Barak mean regarding the peace talks?

2009-11-21T10:11:00.002-05:00

Short History of Israeli Right Wing Terrorism

2009-11-21T10:01:00.001-05:00

By Ori Nir

Yaakov (Jack) Teitel (pictured in Israeli custody) is not the first and probably
not the last Israeli terrorist to target Palestinians or Israeli supporters of peace.

Furthermore, many of these Jewish terrorists came from the ranks of the West Bank settlers.

Read on for a partial list of Israeli groups and individuals who took violent action to sabotage peace.

Following the arrest and indictment of Yaakov (Jack) Teitel who reportedly admitted to a series of murderous terrorist attacks against Israelis and Palestinians over the past twelve years, the settlers and their supporters cried foul. Teitel is an exception, they said, a single case, a "lone wolf," a lunatic.

Teitel may have acted alone (although that seems unlikely) and may be disturbed (although he clearly is ideologically motivated), but he's a part of a pattern. He is not the first and probably not the last Israeli terrorist to target Palestinians or Israeli supporters of peace. Furthermore, many of these Jewish terrorists came from the ranks of the West Bank settlers.

Here is a partial list of Israeli groups and individuals who took violent action to sabotage peace:

1978 Yisrael Lederman, an IDF reservist, shot and killed a Palestinian civilian to avenge the murder of his friend, a day earlier, in East Jerusalem. He was released after serving only two years of his twenty-year prison sentence. In 1988 kidnapped a Palestinian baby and attacked an Israeli soldier. In 1996, he threw hot tea at Knesset Member Yael Dayan (Labor) in Hebron.

1982 Alan Goodman, a U.S. citizen, attacked Palestinians at al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount, killed a Palestinian Waqf guard and injured several Israeli policemen. He served 15 years of his life sentence and was deported to the United States.

1980-1984 A large group of young settlers, who called themselves TNT (a Hebrew acronym for Counter-Terror Terror) and were referred to in the media as "The Jewish Underground," set out to attack Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. They placed explosives on the cars of Palestinian mayors, shot and killed Palestinian students at a college in Hebron and plotted to blow up the mosques at Jerusalem's Temple Mount and to explode busses carrying Palestinian civilians. Several of the 29 members of the group went on to become leaders of the West Bank settler movement.

1983 Yonah Avrushmi, a Jerusalemite Jew, threw a hand grenade at a Peace Now demonstration near the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem. The blast killed Emil Grunzweig, one of Peace Now's leaders, and injured nine others. Avrushmi was sentenced to life in prison, but his sentence was reduced and he is scheduled to be released in 2011.

1984 Yehuda Richter, a Kach activist, opened fire on a Palestinian bus in the West Bank and injured several of the passengers. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Others, who conspired with him to commit the crime, were sentenced to shorter prison terms. When he committed the attack, Richter was second on Meir Kahane's Kach ticket for the 1984 Knesset election. After serving five years in prison, he became one of the leading teachers in yeshivas associated with the settlement movement.

1984 David Ben-Shimol, an IDF soldier, shot a rocket he stole from the IDF at a Palestinian bus in East Jerusalem, killing one Palestinian and injuring ten others.

1985 Danni Eisenman, a settler from Maale Adumim, and Michal Hillel, a student from Jerusalem, together with Gil Fuchs, a soldier, killed a Palestinian taxi driver on the road to Maale Adumim. Hillel served 5 years in prison, Fuchs 9 years, and Eisenman 11 years.

1989 Raphael Solomon, a student from the yeshiva at Joseph's Tomb near Hebron, shot and killed two Palestinians at the Geha junction near Tel Aviv. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison, and served 4.

1990 Ami Popper, a 21 year old Israeli, shot and killed seven Gazan Palestinian day laborers in the Israeli town of Rishon le-Tzion, south of Tel Aviv. His attack prompted widespread riots in the West Bank and Gaza, in which several Palestinians were shot dead by the IDF.

1990 Arie Shlush, whose brother was killed by Palestinian terrorists earlier that year, shot in revenge at three Palestinian vehicles south of Bethlehem and injured three passengers.

1990 Nachshon Walls, an American-born settler and supporter of the Kach movement, shot at a Palestinian vehicle near Hebron, killing a 25 year old Palestinian woman. He was convicted of murder, but served only 13 years of his life sentence.

1992 Following the 1990 assassination in New York of the racist Rabbi Meir Kahane, a group of his supporters organized to avenge his killing forming a group called "The Revenge Patrol." On the second anniversary of the killing, the four youngsters threw a hand grenade in Jerusalem's Old City, killing one Palestinian and wounding many others.

1993 Yoram Shkolnick, a settler, drove by the settlement of Susia near Hebron, as a Palestinian terrorist was caught while allegedly trying to attack a kindergarten there. Shkolnick shot and killed the Palestinian, who was already handcuffed.

1994 Baruch Goldstein, a settler from Kiryat Arba near Hebron, shot and killed 29 Palestinian Muslims as they were praying at the Ibrahimi Mosque (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hebron. 125 others were injured. The worshipers overpowered and killed him after he ran out of ammunition. His attack triggered a long and bloody series of Palestinian suicide bombings inside Israel.

1994 Daniel Morali, an Israeli whose brother was killed a year earlier, shot and killed a Palestinian truck driver inside Israel. He was sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 2007.

1995 Yigal Amir, an Israeli student, assassinated Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin with the intention of derailing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. He was sentenced to life in prison.

1996 Ehud Bart, an Israeli settler, attempted to push the vehicle of then-Minister Yossi Sarid into an abyss. He was sentenced but did not serve a prison term.

1997 Noam Friedman, an Israeli soldier who was later found to be mentally disturbed and unfit to stand trial, came to Hebron to shoot Palestinians. He opened fire in the center of town and injured seven Palestinians before being overpowered by IDF soldiers.

1998 Gur Hammel, an Israeli settler from Itamar, used a rock to shatter the head of an elderly Palestinian man while on a hike near the village of Beit Fourik, near Nablus. The attack was apparently unprovoked. He is serving a life sentence.

2000 Danny Tikman, an IDF soldier on leave, shot at the fronts of stores owned by Arab citizens of Israel. He injured four people and damaged property. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

2001 A Jewish terrorist organization called "Shalhevet Gilad," apparently operating out of settlements near Hebron, set out to avenge the murder of a Jewish baby, Shlhevet Pass, by a Palestinian sharpshooter in Hebron. Three shooting attacks against Palestinians, in which one Palestinian was killed and seven injured, were attributed to this organization.

2001-2002 A group of Israelis, three of them settlers from the settlement of Bat-Ayin in the southern West Bank, was arrested and charged with a series of attacks against Palestinians. The suspects, who were arrested after attempting to plant a bomb at a girls' school in East Jerusalem, initially admitted to several attacks against Palestinians, in which eight Palestinian civilians - including a baby - were murdered. They later withdrew their confessions. Three were convicted of attempting to kill schoolgirls in East Jerusalem and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Others received lighter sentences.

2002 Several settlers were arrested and tried for planning terrorist attacks against Palestinians and possessing weapons to carry out attacks. Their plans were foiled by Israeli law enforcement authorities.

2002-2004 Eliran Golan, an Israeli Jew from the city of Haifa, planted several homemade bombs in Haifa, targeting local Arab citizens. One of the bombs, planted in a mosque in the predominantly Arab Halisa neighborhood in Haifa, killed an Arab worshipper. Another bomb targeted Israeli Knesset Member Issam Makhoul but failed to harm Makhoul. Golan's arrest led to the arrest of his friend, Alexander Rabinowitz, an IDF soldier, who supplied Golan with military explosives. Golan committed suicide in prison.

2005 Eden Natan-Zadah, a settler from Tapuah, south of Nablus, who was AWOL from the IDF, shot at passengers of an Israeli Egged bus in the Israeli Arab town Shafa-'Amr (Shfaram) killing four Arab citizens of Israel and injuring nine others. Passengers overpowered him and killed him.

2006 Asher Vizgan, a driver of a workers' van from the settlement of Shvut Rachel, shot Palestinian laborers who he transported, as well as others at the adjacent industrial zone of Shilo. He killed four and injured one Palestinian. He was sentenced to life in prison and committed suicide in his prison cell.

One vacancy........ for an Egyptian-Ambassador

2009-11-21T09:56:00.001-05:00

Football hooligans from Egypt
as well as from Algeria have clashed.

Both sides behaved beyond the normal bestiality
of such events.............

It happens everywhere in the world
because Football is football , as you all know.

But what is so special about those most recent incidents
is that Egypt has recalled its Ambassador from Algeria
as a sign of protest.........

Of course , the Egyptian government does take care
of its citizens....
even the football-hooligans , are protected in Egypt .

Now that one Egyptian Ambassador , is back in Cairo
and probably becoming jobless......

Egypt may send this unemployed Ambassador to Gaza
where he could control and report if there are any violence
or any incidents disturbing any football-matches......
or anything unusual !!

Moustafa Roosenbloom

Zionist propaganda body seeks volunteers to distort Wikipedia input on Middle East

2009-11-21T09:52:00.001-05:00

by Khalid Amayreh

A Zionist hasbara (propaganda) body based in North America is trying to recruit “volunteers” whose main job is to distort the input of the internet’s most visited websites in Israel’s favor.

Propaganda efforts are reportedly focused on popular sites such as Wikipedia, the huge on-line encyclopedia which can be edited by anyone

CAMERA, which calls itself a “committee for accuracy in Middle East reporting in America,” already has a team of dozens of paid Jewish propagandists who regularly and often scandalously distort basic data pertaining to such themes as Israeli apartheid, Zionism and its ideological similarity to Nazism, Israeli state terror and ill-treatment of Palestinians as well as other issues related to the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Recently CAMERA sent a circular to potential Zionist propagandists, asking them to help ensure a pro-Israeli bias in the internet.

“The idea behind Wikipedia is that if thousands of well-meaning and informed volunteers collaborate on an online encyclopedia, the result would be more accurate, up-to-date and inclusive than any print encyclopedia could possibly be.”

The circular went on: “CAMERA seeks 10 volunteers to help us keep Israel-related entries on Wikipedia from becoming tainted by anti-Israel editors. All it takes to be an effective volunteer is a basic comfort level with computers. Call or email me, and I will train you on how to become a volunteer Wikipedia editor.”

Reputed for its notoriously mendacious and inaccurate input, CAMERA has consistently sought to exonerate the Israeli occupation forces of war crimes committed against innocent civilians especially in the Gaza Strip.

Acting as a propaganda mouthpiece for the Israeli occupation army, the group, relying on questionable and often concocted statements by Israeli army spokespersons, argued on many occasions that the widespread killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army occurred by mistake and that measures were often taken to minimize civilian casualties.

Earlier this year, the Israeli army carried out a virtually genocidal onslaught against the nearly totally unprotected Gaza Strip, killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians, including hundreds of children.

Moreover, a sustained aerial bombing by the Israeli air force destroyed more than six thousand Palestinian homes and hundreds of public buildings including more than a hundred mosques.

CAMERA, whose staff includes former Israeli Shine Beth’ officials, attacked the recently-published Goldstone report, accusing the former South African Judge, who is Jewish, of reporting “inaccurate information.”

The Goldstone report, based on meticulously authenticated data obtained first-hand testimonies from victims, accused the Israeli forces of knowingly and deliberately committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 21-day onslaught.

The data contained in the Goldstone report were corroborated by testimonies made by Israeli soldiers who took part in the winter onslaught.

Israel, apparently fearing international condemnation, had refused to cooperate with the Goldstone commission.

Anti-globalization to organize massive solidarity march to Gaza

2009-11-21T01:11:00.001-05:00

GAZA, (PIC)-- The international anti-globalization movement is planning a massive solidarity march on 27/12/2009 that would start in Cairo and end in the Gaza Strip with the participation of former presidents Jimmy Carter of the USA and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

The movement, which also against Zio-American hegemony, said in a press release on Saturday said that the event was dubbed "The Big Freedom" march and would carry the slogan of "Gaza the world conscience".

150 international and human rights organizations are expected to take part in the march that aims at shedding light on the humanitarian suffering in the Gaza Strip as a result of the war and siege.

The movement pointed out that Hollywood stars, international figures and lawmakers from various countries would also attend the event.

A number of rallies, peaceful demonstrations and activities would be organized in Europe and North and South America on the first anniversary of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the movement concluded.

Money for Israel, anyone? LMAS Poor Israel Needs Our Money

2009-11-21T00:33:00.004-05:00

HAHAHAHA Israel Busted and the Christian Right is busted ..... Watch The Video
When it comes to attacks from Hamas towards Israel, what the Brainwashed Americans, Canadians and Europeans are seing is generated Special Effects Videos.

Part 2

Who Is a Jew? Court Ruling in Britain Raises Question

2009-11-21T00:28:00.000-05:00

Article of interest on the question "Who is a Jew?' New York Times article on British Court case ruling and appeal. What are the implications for Israel who defines its as "a Jewish state" and uses the same biological criteria, i/e. the mother must be Jewish, that was found to be discriminatory by the British Court of Appeal?

Ed Corrigan

Excerpt:

"By many standards, the JFS applicant, identified in court papers as “M,” is Jewish. But not in the eyes of the school, which defines Judaism under the Orthodox definition set out by Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Because M’s mother converted in a progressive, not an Orthodox, synagogue, the school said, she was not a Jew — nor was her son. It turned down his application........

The case rested on whether the school’s test of Jewishness was based on religion, which would be legal, or on race or ethnicity, which would not. The court ruled that it was an ethnic test because it concerned the status of M’s mother rather than whether M considered himself Jewish and practiced Judaism.

“The requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act,” the court said. It added that while it was fair that Jewish schools should give preference to Jewish children, the admissions criteria must depend not on family ties, but “on faith, however defined.”By SARAH LYALL

LONDON — The questions before the judges in Courtroom No. 1 of Britain’s Supreme Court were as ancient and as complex as Judaism itself.

Who is a Jew? And who gets to decide?

On the surface, the court was considering a straightforward challenge to the admissions policy of a Jewish high school in London. But the case, in which arguments concluded Oct. 30, has potential repercussions for thousands of other parochial schools across Britain. And in addressing issues at the heart of Jewish identity, it has exposed bitter divisions in Britain’s community of 300,000 or so Jews, pitting members of various Jewish denominations against one another.

“This is potentially the biggest case in the British Jewish community’s modern history,” said Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper here. “It speaks directly to the right of the state to intervene in how a religion operates.”

The case began when a 12-year-old boy, an observant Jew whose father is Jewish and whose mother is a Jewish convert, applied to the school, JFS. Founded in 1732 as the Jews’ Free School, it is a centerpiece of North London’s Jewish community. It has around 1,900 students, but it gets far more applicants than it accepts.

Britain has nearly 7,000 publicly financed religious schools, representing Judaism as well as the Church of England, Catholicism and Islam, among others. Under a 2006 law, the schools can in busy years give preference to applicants within their own faiths, using criteria laid down by a designated religious authority.

By many standards, the JFS applicant, identified in court papers as “M,” is Jewish. But not in the eyes of the school, which defines Judaism under the Orthodox definition set out by Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. Because M’s mother converted in a progressive, not an Orthodox, synagogue, the school said, she was not a Jew — nor was her son. It turned down his application.

That would have been the end of it. But M’s family sued, saying that the school had discriminated against him. They lost, but the ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal this summer.

In an explosive decision, the court concluded that basing school admissions on a classic test of Judaism — whether one’s mother is Jewish — was by definition discriminatory. Whether the rationale was “benign or malignant, theological or supremacist,” the court wrote, “makes it no less and no more unlawful.”

The case rested on whether the school’s test of Jewishness was based on religion, which would be legal, or on race or ethnicity, which would not. The court ruled that it was an ethnic test because it concerned the status of M’s mother rather than whether M considered himself Jewish and practiced Judaism.

“The requirement that if a pupil is to qualify for admission his mother must be Jewish, whether by descent or conversion, is a test of ethnicity which contravenes the Race Relations Act,” the court said. It added that while it was fair that Jewish schools should give preference to Jewish children, the admissions criteria must depend not on family ties, but “on faith, however defined.”

The same reasoning would apply to a Christian school that “refused to admit a child on the ground that, albeit practicing Christians, the child’s family were of Jewish origin,” the court said.

The school appealed to the Supreme Court, which is likely to rule sometime before the end of the year.

The case’s importance was driven home by the sheer number of lawyers in the courtroom last week, representing not just M’s family and the school, but also the British government, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, the United Synagogue, the British Humanist Association and the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal ruling threw the school into a panicked scramble to put together a new admissions policy. It introduced a “religious practice test,” in which prospective students amass points for things like going to synagogue and doing charitable work.

That has led to all sorts of awkward practical issues, said Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, because Orthodox Judaism forbids writing or using a computer on the Sabbath. That means that children who go to synagogue can’t “sign in,” but have to use methods like dropping prewritten postcards into boxes.

It is unclear what effect the ruling, if it is upheld, will have on other religious schools. Some Catholic schools, accustomed to using baptism as a baseline admissions criterion, are worried that they will have to adopt similar practice tests.

The case has stirred up long-simmering resentments among the leaders of different Jewish denominations, who, for starters, disagree vehemently on the definition of Jewishness. They also disagree on the issue of whether an Orthodox leader is entitled to speak for the entire community.

“Whatever happens in this case, there must be some resolution sorted out between different denominations,” Mr. Benjamin said in an interview. “That the community has failed to grasp this has had the very unfortunate result of having a judgment foisted on it by a civil court.”

Orthodox Jews, of course, sympathize with the school, saying that observance is no test of Jewishness, and that all that matters is whether one’s mother is Jewish. So little does observance matter, in fact, that “having a ham sandwich on the afternoon of Yom Kippur doesn’t make you less Jewish,” Rabbi Yitzchak Schochet, chairman of the Rabbinical Council of the United Synagogue, said recently.

Lauren Lesin-Davis, chairman of the board of governors at King David, a Jewish school in Liverpool, told the BBC that the ruling violated more than 5,000 years of Jewish tradition.

“You cannot come in and start telling people how their whole lives should change, that the whole essence of their life and their religion is completely wrong,” she said.

But others are in complete sympathy with M.

“How dare they question our beliefs and our Jewishness?” David Lightman, an observant Jewish father whose daughter was also denied a place at the school because it did not recognize her mother’s conversion, told reporters recently. “I find it offensive and very upsetting.”

Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism here, said the lower court’s ruling, if upheld, would help make Judaism more inclusive.

“JFS is a state-funded school where my grandfather taught, and it’s selecting applicants on the basis of religious politics,” he said in an interview. “The Orthodox definition of Jewish excludes 40 percent of the Jewish community in this country.”

Zionist control of Britain's government: 1940-2009

2009-11-21T00:27:00.000-05:00

By William A. Cook

William A. Cook charts the history of Zionist control of Britain's government and argues "it’s time that Britain is reborn, free from the shackles that bind it to this corrupt power that flouts international law, wantonly commits crimes against humanity and in brazen arrogance tells the United Nations to shove its demands to comply with the civilized communities of the world".

“After so many years of setting the tone, bribing UK politicians and controlling the BBC they [the Zionists] are used to being untouchable.” (Gilad Atzmon, “Time for Britain to reclaim its sovereignty and dignity by de-Zionizing itself”)

This week the British people listened to the Daily Mail’s Peter Oborne present, on Channel 4 TV, his devastating account of the Jewish lobby’s control of the British government. Now we know that virtually all the principal politicians in the UK of both parties, like their brothers across the lake in our House and Senate, take “contributions” from the Israeli lobby machine, ensuring that the Anglo-American Middle East policies follow the dictates of the Israeli government. Gilad Atzmon responded to this report in his article “Time for Britain to reclaim its sovereignty and dignity by de-Zionizing itself,” noting that, because this control has been in place for so many years, the lobby feels “untouchable”.

How many years are “many” one might ask? On 16 October 1941 the high commissioner of Palestine, Harold MacMichael, senior Palestine Mandate officer for the British Mandate forces in Palestine, sent the following “Top Secret” “Memorandum on the participation of the Jewish national institutions in Palestine in acts of lawlessness and violence” to the secretary of state, a report prepared by the Palestine Police, Criminal Investigation Department:

The memorandum illustrates – indeed, brings into full limelight – the fact that the Mandatory is faced potentially with as grave a danger in Palestine from Jewish violence as it ever faced from Arab violence, a danger infinitely less easy to meet by the methods of repression which have been employed against Arabs. In the first place, the Jews … have the moral and political support … of considerable sections of public opinion both in the United Kingdom and the United States of America … all the influence and political ability of the Zionists would be brought to bear to show that the Jews in Palestine were the victims of aggression, and that a substantial body of opinion abroad would be persuaded of the truth of the contention.

Quite obviously, MacMichael understands that the Mandatory has little power at home over the zealous actions of the Zionists as they manipulate public and political opinion even as they expand their terrorism against the British Mandate government in Palestine. This is an untenable position to be in, responsible for government control and security of those under its authority, i.e. Palestinians as well as Jews, and knowing that the Jews are set on driving the British out of Palestine, and knowing that the home government can offer little help.

The Zionists and their “gangs”, a euphemism for well equipped and well trained military forces, launched a full-scale terrorist rebellion against the British by robbing banks, indiscriminate killing of British police and the assassination of British minister-resident Lord Moyne in 1944. By the end of World War II things got even worse:

The Haganah carried out anti-British military operations – liberation of interned immigrants from the Atlit camp; the bombing of the country’s railroad network; sabotage raids on radar installations and bases of the British police mobile force; sabotage of British vessels ... and the destruction of all road and railroad bridges on the borders.

All of this terrorism was conducted against the Mandate Government while the home government remained silent under the pall of Israeli Zionist propaganda (Meir Pa’il, “From Hashomer to the Israel Defence Forces: Armed Jewish Defence in Palestine,” World War II).

But recording the acts of terrorism does not do justice to the conditions the Mandate government faced. MacMichael describes the reality of the forces aligned against the police in Palestine.

A second matter which deeply impressed me is the almost Nazi control exercised by the official Jewish organizations over the Jewish community, willy nilly, through the administration of funds from abroad, the issue of labour certificates in connection with the immigration quota, the forced contributions to funds and the power of the Histadruth… The community is under the closed oligarchy of the Jewish official organizations which control Zionist policy and circumscribe the lives of the Jewish community in all directions…

Perhaps one of the most frightening observations MacMichael makes comes at the very end of his dispatch: “As matters now stand it seems to me inevitable that the Zionist juggernaut which has been created with such intensity of zeal for a Jewish national state will be the cause of very serious trouble in the Near East.” Prophetic words indeed.

The memorandum provided by the Palestine Police Department includes approximately 500 pages of seized documents from the Jewish Agency and related organizations. These documents reveal the intention of the Zionists that controlled operations in Palestine as they worked to force into existence a Jewish state.

We regard it as our duty to caution you against any attempt to decide on an anti-Zionist solution… We regard it as a duty to utter another warning. Do not postpone the political solution for 10 years… The Jews are a nation. The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. The Jewish state will be established. It is better that it should be established with your help and for your benefit, than against you. (The Jewish Resistance Movement, 25 March 1946, Rhodes House Archives)

… the Palestine Royal Commission Report of 1937 understood “The Agency (Jewish) is obviously not a governing body; it can only advise and cooperate in a certain wide field”. But allied as it is with the Vaad Leumi, and commanding the allegiance of the great majority of the Jews in Palestine, it unquestionably exercises, both in Jerusalem and in London, a considerable influence on the conduct of government.

Catling’s frustration with the actual control of the Jews over British policy in Palestine glares through this document: “This powerful and efficient organization amounts in fact to a government existing side by side with the Mandatory Government…”

The Zionist-controlled Jewish Agency actively undermined the legal authority in Palestine even as it operated to undermine support for that government in Britain, placing UK forces in harm’s way as they attempted to fulfil their authorized responsibilities in Palestine. It also demonstrates the determination of the Jewish Agency’s leadership in undermining the very nation that gave it a means of establishing a “homeland” in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration. The wording of that declaration is rarely presented in its full form:

His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

The declaration did not intend to establish a Jewish state. Indeed, the wording, “national home”, was used intentionally instead of “state”. Additionally, the first draft referred to the principle “that Palestine should be” reconstituted “as the national home of the Jewish people”. In the final text, the word “that” was replaced with “in” to avoid committing all of Palestine to the Jews only.

Now perhaps we can answer the question, “How many years has the British government been under the control of the Zionist influence?” Three score and ten, the biblical age. Perhaps it’s time that Britain is reborn, free from the shackles that bind it to this corrupt power that flouts international law, wantonly commits crimes against humanity, and in brazen arrogance tells the United Nations to shove its demands to comply with the civilized communities of the world.

(Note: Sir Richard C. Catling’s files have been released to this writer by the chief archivist of the Rhodes House Library of the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University. Some of the material presented above comes from the “Introduction” of a yet to be published book due out this coming spring.)

Israel Under Criticism for Settlement Expansion Plan

2009-11-20T13:27:00.001-05:00

Israel Under Widespread International Criticism for Settlement Expansion Plan

Israel is coming under widespread international criticism for its plan to engage in a new round of illegal settlement expansion on occupied Palestinian land. Israel says it will build 900 new housing units in the East Jerusalem settlement of Gilo. Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority leaders began a renewed effort last week to win international support for formal Security Council endorsement of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders. We speak with UCLA professor Saree Makdisi, author of Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation.

"Hamas is not obliged under international law to accept the legitimacy of the state of Israel."

2009-11-20T13:12:00.001-05:00

International Law And Israeli Propaganda
Norman Finkelstein Interviewed on Danish TV

"Hamas is not obliged under international law to accept the legitimacy of the state of Israel."

Transcript

Norman Finkelstein: Hamas is not obliged under international law to accept the legitimacy of the state of Israel.

If you go back for example 1947 Gandhi said he'll accept the reality of Pakistan, but he would never accept the legitimacy of the state of Pakistan.

Hamas is not expected to be held to a higher level of diplomacy than Gandhi..

Gandhi said: 'Pakistan is a reality which I'm forced to accept, but I don't accept it as legitimate.' And that's the same position of Hamas. They said we'll solve the conflict on the June '67 border.

Adam Holm: 'This is what makes Jerusalem unwary of Hamas because they keep saying how can we have a neighbor which doesn't recognize our legitimacy.

Norman Finkelstein: But you see the problem is; listen to yourself,.. your own language..

You're just spouting Israeli propaganda..

Why are you saying 'Jerusalem'?

East Jerusalem is occupied Palestinian territory under international law, that was the ruling of the International Court of Justice since July 2004, and if you look at the Goldstone Report that just came out a month ago, they refer to East-Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory.

But now you've given over Jerusalem to the Israelis..

You're just repeating Israeli propaganda; they have no title under international law to east Jerusalem

Adam Holm: But speaking about my Israeli propaganda, which I'll refute, but anyway.

the picture of the year for the tragedy of the century

2009-11-20T09:43:00.001-05:00

How do you call

the longest-premeditated-crime ?? :

The State of Israel

Zionist Control of Britain’s Government: 1940-2009 by William A. Cook

2009-11-20T09:38:00.000-05:00

“After so many years of setting the tone, bribing UK politicians and controlling the BBC they (Zionists) are used to being untouchable.” (Gilad Atzmon, “Britain Must de-Zionist Itself Immediately,” Nov. 17, 2009, MWC News).

This week the British people listened to the Daily Mall’s Peter Oborne present, on Channel 4, his devastating account of the Jewish lobby’s control of their government. Now we know that virtually all the principal politicians in the UK of both parties, like their brothers across the lake in our House and Senate, take “contributions” from the Israeli lobby machine ensuring that the Anglo-American mid-east policies follow the dictates of the Israeli government. Gilad Atzmon responded to this report in his article “Britain must de-Zionise itself immediately,” noting that this control has been in place for so many years the lobby feels “untouchable.”

How many years are “many” one might ask? In 1941, the High Commissioner of Palestine, Harold MacMichael, Senior Palestine Mandate officer for the British Mandate forces in Palestine, sent the following “Top Secret” “Memorandum on the Participation of the Jewish National Institutions in Palestine in Acts of Lawlessness and Violence” to the Secretary of State, dated October 16^th, a report prepared by The Palestine Police, Criminal Investigation Department:

The memorandum illustrates—indeed, brings into full limelight—the fact that the Mandatory is faced potentially with as grave a danger in Palestine from Jewish violence as it ever faced from Arab violence, a danger infinitely less easy to meet by the methods of repression which have been employed against Arabs. In the first place, the Jews … have the moral and political support … of considerable sections of public opinion both in the United Kingdom and the United States of America … all the influence and political ability of the Zionists would be brought to bear to show that the Jews in Palestine were the victims of aggression, and that a substantial body of opinion abroad would be persuaded of the truth of the contention.

The Zionists and their “gangs,” a euphemism for well equipped and well trained military forces, launched a full scale terrorist rebellion against the British by robbing banks, indiscriminate killing of British police, and the assassination of British minister-resident Lord Moyne in 1944. By the end of World War II things got even worse: “The Haganah carried out anti-British military operations—liberation of interned immigrants from the Atlit camp; the bombing of the country’s railroad network; sabotage raids on radar installations and bases of the British police mobile force; sabotage of British vessels … and the destruction of all road and railroad bridges on the borders.” All of this terrorism was conducted against the Mandate Government while the home government remained silent under the pall of Israeli Zionist propaganda (Meir Pa’il, “From Hashomer to the Israel Defense Forces: Armed Jewish Defense in Palestine,” World War II). www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/source/History/resist.htm.

But recording the acts of terrorism does not do justice to the conditions the Mandate government faced. MacMichael describes the reality of the forces aligned against the police in Palestine.

A second matter which deeply impressed me is the almost Nazi control exercised by the official Jewish organizations over the Jewish community, willy nilly, through the administration of funds from abroad, the issue of labor certificates in connection with the immigration quota, the forced contributions to funds and the power of the Histadruth. … The community is under the closed oligarchy of the Jewish official organizations which control Zionist policy and circumscribe the lives of the Jewish community in all directions…

Perhaps one of the most frightening observations MacMichael makes comes at the very end of his dispatch: “As matters now stand it seems to me inevitable that the Zionist Juggernaut which has been created with such intensity of zeal for a Jewish national state will be the cause of very serious trouble in the Near East.” Prophetic words indeed.

The memorandum provided by the Palestine Police Department includes approximately 50 0 pages of seized documents from the Jewish Agency and related organizations. These documents reveal the intention of the Zionists that controlled operations in Palestine as they worked to force into existence a Jewish State. “We regard it as our duty to caution you against any attempt to decide on an anti-Zionist solution … We regard it as a duty to utter another warning. Do not postpone the political solution for ten years … The Jews are a nation. The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel. The Jewish State will be established. It is better that it should be established with your help and for your benefit, than against you” (The Jewish Resistance Movement, March 25^th, 1946, Rhodes House Archives).

The Mandate Criminal Investigation Department was headed by Richard Catling. Catling’s memorandum begins with an understanding of the “intricate Jewish political, social and economic structure in Palestine.” A series of appendices chart these structures marking in passing that “… the Palestine Royal Commission Report of 1937 understood ‘The Agency (Jewish) is obviously not a governing body; it can only advise and cooperate in a certain wide field.’ But allied as it is with the Vaad Leumi, and commanding the allegiance of the great majority of the Jews in Palestine, it unquestionably exercises, both in Jerusalem and in London, a considerable influence on the conduct of government.” Catling’s frustration with the actual control of the Jews over British policy in Palestine glares through this document: “This powerful and efficient organization amounts in fact, to a government existing side by side with the Mandatory Government…”

The Zionist controlled Jewish Agency actively undermined the legal authority in Palestine even as it operated to undermine support for that government in Britain, placing UK forces in harms way as they attempted to fulfill their authorized responsibilities in Palestine. It also demonstrates the determination of the Agency’s leadership in undermining the very nation that gave it a means of establishing a “homeland” in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration. The wording of that declaration is rarely presented in its full form: “His Majesty’s government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.” The declaration did not intend to establish a Jewish State. Indeed, the wording, “national home,” was used intentionally instead of “state.” Additionally, the first draft referred to the principle ‘that Palestine should be’ reconstituted ‘as the national home of the Jewish people.’ In the final text, the word ‘that’ was replaced with ‘in’ to avoid committing all of Palestine to the Jews only.

Now perhaps we can answer the question, “How many years has the British government been under the control of the Zionist influence?” Three score and ten, the biblical age. Perhaps it’s time that Britain is reborn, free from the shackles that bind it to this corrupt power that flouts international law, wantonly commits crimes against humanity, and in brazen arrogance tells the Nations United to shove its demands to comply with the civilized communities of the world.

(Note: Sir Richard C. Catling’s files have been released to this writer by the chief Archivist of the Rhodes House Library of the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University. Some of the material presented above comes from the “Introduction” of a yet to be published book due out this coming spring.)

William A. Cook is a Professor of English at the University of La Verne in southern California and serves as editor and writer for multiple Internet publications. His published books include Tracking Deception: Bush Mid-East Policy, Hope Destroyed, Justice Denied: The Rape of Palestine, and The Chronicles of Nefaria, a novella. www.drwilliamacook.com.

New Iraq going 'soft on Israel'

2009-11-19T18:18:00.000-05:00

By Ahmed Janabi
Al Jazeera

The Baghdad International Fair first opened its doors in 1964 [EPA]

The ten-day Baghdad International Fair opened its doors for the 36th time on November 1.

Featuring exhibits from major international companies, the trade fair was held annually from 1964 until the 2003 US-led invasion. It resumed in 2007.

However, a change to the fair's charter this year has angered many Iraqis.

The Iraqi government has dropped an article from the charter which obliges participating companies to prove they do not have trade links with Israel.

A memo from the Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs on October 7, alerted foreign embassies to the decision to drop article 45.

Sources within the Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Al Jazeera that the EU had warned Iraqi officials that if article 45 was not removed, European companies would not participate in this year's event.

An EU source, who cannot be named because she is not authorised to speak to the media, said the first invitations to the fair, which were received by the embassies of EU countries in April, included the clause. However, EU missions in Baghdad later received an amendment suggesting that participating companies would not be required to boycott Israel.

Officials from the Iraqi ministry of foreign affairs were unavailable for comment.

'Destroying national spirit'

Members of the Iraqi parliament told Al Jazeera that they were unaware of the decision to remove the clause.

Nasar al-Rubei, a spokesperson for the al-Sadr parliamentary bloc, vowed to launch a campaign to restore article 45.

"It is not up to the government to take any action when it comes to Israel," he said.

"We live in a society that looks at Israel as an entity built on stolen land. We know that Iraq's foreign policy has not been defined yet, we know Iraq's foreign policy is the government's responsibility, but the relation with Israel is a special case. They must not touch it without people's approval.

"From our side, we will fight to restore article 45, we will launch a campaign to collect signatures for a petition asking the government to review its decision and to promise not to change anything related to Israel without the parliament's approval."

Laila al-Khafaji, a member of parliament from the Unified Iraqi Coalition, said: "We were completely unaware of that issue. I hold the ministry of foreign affairs and [the] foreign relations committee in the parliament [responsible] for making the parliament the last to know."

Dhafir al-Ani, a member of parliament from al-Tawafuq bloc, sees the move as part of a long-term plan to condition Iraqis to accept Israel.

"When you see Iraqi political parties racing to win blessing from US officials, what do you expect? We said it from the beginning, we in Iraq can clearly see an organised plan to destroy Iraqis' national spirit," he said.

"Every Iraqi grew up on the idea that Israel is a criminal and illegitimate entity. Examples that Iraqis truly believed that are plenty in history. For instance, Iraq does not share borders with Israel, yet it participated in all Arab-Israeli wars.

"We think one of the main targets of the war on Iraq was to remove Iraq from Israel's security threat list."

'More royal than the king'

But not all Iraqi politicians share this perspective.

In 2004, Mithal al-Alusi became the first Iraqi politician to visit Israel [EPA]

Mithal al-Alusi, a former member of the Iraqi National Congress, has publicly called for an Iraq-Israel peace treaty.

In 2004 he became the first Iraqi politician to visit Israel.

Upon his return he was immediately fired from the Iraqi parliament and his party, the Democratic Party of the Iraqi Nation, was expelled from the Iraqi National Congress.

He also survived an attempt on his life in which two of his sons were killed.

He visited Israel again in 2008, saying: "I want to negotiate with Israel for the sake of Iraq. There are several Arab countries talking to Israel.

"The Palestinians themselves sit with the Israelis, should we be royalists more than the king himself?"

But al-Ani opposes this perspective, saying: "It is true some Palestinian politicians sat with the Israelis and started a political process with them, but why should we not look at the other part of the Palestinians, who still up to now oppose what their politicians have done. They are the majority.

"In the rest of the Arab world, the majority of the population is against establishing contacts with Israel."

A history of boycotts

In 1951 the Arab League established the Bureau for Boycotting Israel. Based in Damascus, Syria, the bureau has lost much of its authority since Egypt, Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) signed peace treaties with Israel.

It still holds bi-annual meetings with representatives from Arab countries which have not signed peace treaties with Israel.

Before the US-led invasion, Iraq adhered closely to the instructions of the bureau. Israeli companies, those with Israeli shareholders and companies with dealings with Israel were banned in Iraq.

Iraqi ties with the US were cut after the US supported Israel in the 1967 war, and although they were restored in 1984, commercial deals with the US were kept to a minimum.

Before the 2003 invasion, Iraq endured 13 years of UN sanctions. During this time speculation was rife that one of the aims of the sanctions was to force Iraq into a peace process with Israel.

Al Jazeera has obtained a document written by Saddam Hussein's secretary, which conveys Hussein's rejection of an offer to partake in a peace process with Israel in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

In April 2002, Iraq stopped its oil exporting operations for a month in protest at Israeli aggression in the Palestinian territories.

'Fruit of US strategy'

This document conveys Hussein's rejection of an offer to ease sanctions in exchange for peace talks with Israel.

Arab countries are essentially divided into two groups; those, such as Egypt and Jordan, who have signed peace treaties with Israel, and those who still do not have diplomatic ties or any sort of contact with Israel.

For many Arab countries, the US-led invasion of Iraq signalled the loss of a strategic asset in their conflict with Israel.

Bahrain closed its offices of the Bureau for Boycotting Israel in 2006 after signing a free trade agreement with the US. Shortly thereafter, some Bahraini officials began urging the establishment of contacts with Israel.

However, Bahrain's parliament - ignoring government objections - has just passed a bill outlawing any contact with Israel and introducing prison sentences for anybody found to be breaking this law.

Badi Rafaia, a spokesman for the Federation of Anti-Normalisation with Israel Unions Committee in Jordan, said the US-led invasion of Iraq removed one of the last remaining obstacles to Israel's denial of Palestinian rights.

"[Before the war] Iraq was the main obstacle to Israel's plan to establish ties with Arab countries and subsequently swallow Palestinians' rights and demands," he said.

"We believe that Iraq's decision to allow companies with ties to Israel to work in the country is the fruit of American strategy in the region.

"Most Arab countries in the region, including my country Jordan, signed peace treaties with Israel. Jordan-Israeli peace stipulates that Jordan would no longer boycott Israeli goods; moreover it stipulates that Jordan should help to carry other Arab countries to end boycotting Israeli goods.

"I assure you, it is not something Arab public opinion is proud of."

Israel is well-known for its advanced technology and industry and some observers may find it hard to imagine an effective boycott by the Arabs, who are still far behind Israel and the West in these fields.

However, Rafaia argues that the boycott strategy has proved successful in many parts of the world and that there are plenty of examples of underdeveloped nations achieving their goals via these means.

"Economic boycott is a successful strategy if it was well planned. The Indian leader Gandhi used this strategy against Britain, when his country was occupied ... And it worked," he said.

"In [the case of] Arabs boycotting Israel, all I can tell you is if the boycott was not effective, Israel would not try to use every opportunity to break or at least ease the boycott by Arabs of its products and services."

Al Jazeera

Photo of the Day: How the Palestine Post should have read 61 years ago

2009-11-18T12:52:00.001-05:00

This was posted on Facebook by someone named "Maik." As he wrote, "this is how the Palestine Post should have read on May 18, 1948."

The squeky wheels of hamsters and most politicians

2009-11-18T12:47:00.000-05:00

(Action at bottom)

Many years ago my son had two pet hamsters who took turns running on a metal exercise wheel without of course getting anywhere (but occasionally we would let them run free in a room in the home). I was reminded of those two hamsters this week because politicians occasionally do the same running around without going anywhere by only verbally (thus only exercising their speech muscles). The Israeli regime just decided to continue violating International law by building 900 new units in the Jewish only colony of Gilo near us here in Bethlehem. The Bethlehem district has lost nearly 80% of its areas to Israel and the remaining 20% (the concentration camp) is now very crowded with half of the population in the district being refugees or displaced Palestinians. Yet politicians ranging from German Chancellor to French foreign minister to British Prime Minister to the US president took turns repeating meaningless words about this action "delaying" or "harming" the "peace process" (as if there is a peace process or any possibility of a fair negotiations between the 4th strongest army in the world and an occupied colonized people). Ariel Sharon who is just as alive as the peace process used to pronounce it the "piss process". In the 1970s and 1980s European and North American leaders used to accurately describe settlements/colonies are ILLEGAL (Israel is violating International law by building in the occupied areas) yet do nothing about them (actually in many cases fund them and support them). Now they are "not helpful" "unilateral" and "they delay"…

There are actually numerous UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR, those not vetoed by the US) that clearly articulate their illegality. If Israel was forced to comply with just half of the 35 UNSCR that it currently violating, we would have peace a long time ago. Here is just one UNSCR:

The Security Council, Having heard the statement of the Permanent Representative of Jordan and other statements made before the Council, Stressing the urgent need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, Affirming once more that the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 1/ is applicable to the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem,

1. Determines that the policy and practices of Israel in establishing settlements in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967 have no legal validity and constitute a serious obstruction to achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East;

2. Strongly deplores the failure of Israel to abide by Security Council resolutions 237 (1967) of 14 June 1967, 252 (1968) of 21 May 1968 and 298 (1971) of 25 September 1971 and the consensus statement by the President of the Security Council on 11 November 1976 2/ and General Assembly resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V) of 4 and 14 July 1967, 32/5 of 28 October 1977 and 33/113 of 18 December 1978;

3. Calls once more upon Israel, as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, to rescind its previous measures and to desist from taking any action which would result in changing the legal status and geographical nature and materially affecting the demographic composition of the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem, and, in particular, not to transfer parts of its own civilian population into the occupied Arab territories… (UNSC resolution 446)

Yet, half a million colonial settlers were transferred to the occupied territories without any sanctions applied on Israel (thanks to the US veto power used at the behest of a foreign policy hijacked by the Israel-first lobby in Washington). Politicians regurgitate utter feeble ridiculous statements about the "peace process" being harmed. It is like standing over a rotting corpse with bones showing and saying to the murderer that the current actions make the chance of revival of the victim more difficult.

But what most irritates us here in Palestine is the collaborative Arab regimes and certain Palestinian self-appointed "leaders" whose spinning wheel also squeaks without going anywhere. They think the only way to maintain their privileged positions is to coddle up the US/Israeli policies while trying to maintain some legitimacy with their people by "condemning" or "deploring" Israeli actions on the ground that also "harm" the "peace process". Most do not understand or even read history. They do not believe in their people or in the power of social movements to change history even when some of them come from backgrounds of social movements that did change history (e.g. the uprisings of 1987-1991 which was like the 1936 uprising transformational). And if we look at other countries, we see such social movements that made history (e.g. in the US getting the women's right to vote, ending the war on Vietnam, ending US support for Apartheid South Africa, civil rights movement, etc). As the ebbs and flows of activism go, we now see beginnings of new energy and movements precisely as the last attempts to prolong the failing track of Oslo (it was bound to fail because it was not based on International law or human rights but on the dominant regime's needs for subduing the resistance of the natives without giving them back their rights).

Below are links to some informative articles about the Israel lobby buying US congress, Israel's forgery, an open letter from a friend in Gaza to Obama, and a great article by Ali Abunimah on the one-state solution. I also added a brief letter from a friend who, like me, relocated to Palestine (I found it inspiring)

Congressmen Denouncing U.N. Inquiry Receive Handsome Donations from Pro-Israel Lobby http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/11/congressmen-denoncing-un-inqui.html

Israel forgery of "Iran shipment of Weapons to Hizballah"
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111410&sectionid=351020101

Open letter from Dr. Haidar Eid of Gaza to the President of the US
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/23129

Israeli Jews and the one-state solution, by Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada, 10 November 2009
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10883.shtml

A letter of a friend who now lives in Palestine. I connect so much to what he says and with his permission, I am sharing it

To Dina from Rajai Masri

I never felt so fulfilled as I do now, Dina. Not at all in terms of material gratifications or narrow personal achievements. It is, very truly, being in the midst of our people, living their aspirations and frustrations, but, foremost, trying to improve their lot, extremely minuscule an effort, yet, being able to do that. You just can not imagine, other things being equal, how beautiful our youth are, and how in need they are for role models to guide them with sincerity and selfless devotion. Nearly every one here helps support a larger family that undoubtedly lost a son or a daughter or a few. These young men look so healthy, so proud and so human. They are so solid despite that all they know, knew and have experienced is personal suffering and deprivation.

The other day, Dina, driving to Jerusalem, on a Friday, I had the Radio listening to a program called Maraseel, (Messages). It broadcasts every Friday afternoon where families of Palestinian prisoners convey messages to their incarcerated beloved ones in Israeli jails. Listened to scores of aggrieved mothers, so brave and inspiring convey news to their beloved imprisoned children. So many, Wallahi, so many of these mothers have more than one child (son or a daughter) in Israeli Jails at the same time. Here is a mother sending her greetings to a son in Ofar prison and another message to two other sons in Al-Naqab, or Asqalan, or Majido Prison. The number of prisons, Dina, mentioned during that short broadcast counts in scores.

What's heart wrenching, Dina, and what reduce us the Afandis, so called privileged Arabs, Palestinians and world humanists, to the size of the newt, is how removed and ambivalent we are of the sufferings and poverty of these families often left without a bread earner who is either in prison or is martyred. Here is a mother telling her son, or sons, that she sent them money to purchase their ration of cigarettes. Another telling her son or sons of money sent to them to purchase some of their consumer needs. Another mother speaks of buying her son clothes that she sent him. One mother, Dina, assuaging the bereavement of a son who is just sentenced to 12 years, to never mind, be strong and confident. Another, telling her son that the lawyers now have a date for his trial. Another mother tells, and it was the early days of this month, November, that her visitation permit (issued by the Israeli Occupation authority in Beit Eil that the mother has to travel and endure the hardships of qualifying and obtaining such permit) excludes the whole month of November. That's only a sample of the much more stories of what one hears.

As to the so-called the expatriate Palestinian investors, mostly the tycoons whose avarice knows no bounds and total lack of patriotism know no limit, they are syphoning the Occupied Territories of desperately needed funds that help create genuinely productive employment and jobs that help the steadfastness of the people under occupation. These tycoons engage in speculative transactions that literary impoverished the little guys, and had huge funds repatriated as profits outside Palestine to only inflate their already huge wealth and that of other so-called expatriate Palestinian investors. I have many specific stories to tell with exact numbers and figures.

The people here are so creative, Dina, managing to do with the little, with the meagre of existence. All this, Dina, while maintaining an incredible high spirit and incredible determination. They stand to still give more and sacrifice endlessly. Left alone to face one of the mightiest and harshest occupying power, their confidence render them truly great heroes, a model that one day Historians will recall their epic steadfastness and incredible dignity in an another Illiad that are very well deserving off.

As to the rest of the Arab countries, just Do Not Stab the occupied Palestinians in the back. No support needed, just stop conspiring to defeat the Palestinians' spirit of steadfastness. As the international movement of BDS (Boycott, Divest and impose Sanctions) is building up, the Arab countries, foremost the so-called moderates, ought to cease clandestine normalization with Occupation force. So sadly that its under the gaze, rather the active instigation, of these countries that the once all powerful Arab Boycott Office in Damascus was bribed, corrupted and rendered non-functional.
------------------------

ACTIONS: For people in NY: Join on Wednesday Nov 21 to tell Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to Cancel the Event! Tell the Mets & Major League Baseball Not to Support Violent, Israeli Racist Settlers. http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/publish/article_1232.shtml
For people elsewhere: Do similar actions, write to media and ploliticians and ask them to stop squeaking and start acting. Join the Boycotts, sanctions and divestment movement: http://www.bdsmovement.net

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
A Bedouin in Cyberspace, a villager at home
http://www.qumsiyeh.org
http://www.pcr.ps

The Grabbing of Gilo by Michael Hall

2009-11-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

GILO

Another grab of land for settlements

only the blind,deaf and obtuse are surprised

for this is what Israel has been doing even before 1948

They call it facts on the ground

i call it robbery,thievery, a burglary

when you steal what isn't yours isn't that labeled; a crime?

An announcement stated over the wire that it was a routine building programme'

obama was dismayed and called it dangerous

American newspapers never said a word and complicity was silence by MSM

Is this the road to a peaceful end?

How can you negotiate with someone who is stealing even the kitchen sink

Are they going to sell it back after they robbed it?

Land for Peace it's sounds so flowery sounding

Peaceful living side by side, they dangle it like a noose

who in their right mind living here could believe such a thing?

How can you talk to your foe when he wont let go

while his hands are tight around your throat?

Talk is cheap when you ain't got a dime since they stole that too as your being throttled

Tell me folks, how can you negotiate a two-state solution when your left with nothing to make a state with?

How can you live in freedom when the other side imprisons you and calls this the final solution?

Has the world gone crazy to call this justice or the road map to a peace?

The answer then was the solution now

One person, One vote, One nation

let all who live vote from water to water for a nation secular,democratic, all treated equally

what else is there?

The Complete Guide to Killing Non-Jews

2009-11-18T12:41:00.001-05:00

Gilad Atzmon

Introduction by Gilad Atzmon

It is rather impossible to grasp the magnitude of the crimes against humanity performed by the Jewish state in the name of the Jewish people unless one elaborates on Jewish culture in the light of Judaic teaching.

Zionism was founded as a secular movement. It was there to provide the emancipated Diaspora Jew with a ‘national home land’ of his or her own. However, Zionism was rather effective in transforming the Old Testament from a spiritual text into a land registry. As the truth of Israeli barbarism is unfolding a devastating continuum is being established between Israeli murderous policies and Judaic Goy hating.

It would be fair to argue that Judaic teaching is not monolithic. As we know, one of the only Jewish collectives that stands along the Palestinians call themselves the Torah Jews (Neturei Karta), a Jewish orthodox sect. In other words, the Torah must have a humanist side to it.

The following is a review of Torat ha-Melekh, a “kind of guide for anyone who ponders the question of if and when it is permissible to take the life of a non-Jew”. It was published by Ma’ariv Israel's second biggest paper. It is a must read. I would assume that those American and British corrupted politicians who are happy to take donations from Israeli Tycoons and other ‘Friends of Israel’ better start to understand once and for all what kind of Ideology they are aligning themselves with.

Here is a full translation of an article in the Maariv newspaper of Israel

http://didiremez.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/settler-rabbi-publishes-the-complete-guide-to-killing-non-jews/

(p. 2) by Roi Sharon –

When is it permissible to kill non-Jews? The book Torat ha-Melekh [The King’s Teaching—INT], which was just published, was written by Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira, the dean of the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in the community of Yitzhar near Nablus, together with another rabbi from the yeshiva, Yossi Elitzur. The book contains no fewer than 230 pages on the laws concerning the killing of non-Jews, a kind of guide for anyone who ponders the question of if and when it is permissible to take the life of a non-Jew.

Although the book is not being distributed by the leading book companies, it has already received warm recommendations from right-wing elements, including recommendations from important rabbis such as Yitzhak Ginsburg, Dov Lior and Yaakov Yosef, that were printed at the beginning of the book. The book is being distributed via the Internet and through the yeshiva, and at this stage the introductory price is NIS 30 per copy. At the memorial ceremony that was held over the weekend in Jerusalem for Rabbi Meir Kahane, who was killed nineteen years ago, copies of the book were sold.

Throughout the book, the authours deal with in-depth theoretical questions in Jewish religious law regarding the killing of non-Jews. The words “Arabs” and “Palestinians” are not mentioned even indirectly, and the authours are careful to avoid making explicit statements in favor of an individual taking the law into his own hands. The book includes hundreds of sources from the Bible and religious law. The book includes quotes from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, one of the fathers of religious Zionism, and from Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli, one of the deans of the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, the stronghold of national-religious Zionism that is located in Jerusalem.

The book opens with a prohibition against killing non-Jews and justifies it, among other things, on the grounds of preventing hostility and any desecration of God’s name. But very quickly, the authors move from prohibition to permission, to the various dispensations for harming non-Jews, with the central reason being their obligation to uphold the seven Noahide laws, which every human being on earth must follow. Among these commandments are prohibitions on theft, bloodshed and idolatry. [The seven Noahide laws prohibit idolatry, murder, theft, illicit sexual relations, blasphemy and eating the flesh of a live animal, and require societies to institute just laws and law courts—INT]

“When we approach a non-Jew who has violated the seven Noahide laws and kill him out of concern for upholding these seven laws, no prohibition has been violated,” states the book, which emphasizes that killing is forbidden unless it is done in obedience to a court ruling. But later on, the authors limit the prohibition, noting that it applies only to a “proper system that deals with non-Jews who violate the seven Noahide commandments.”

The book includes another conclusion that explains when a non-Jew may be killed even if he is not an enemy of the Jews. “In any situation in which a non-Jew’s presence endangers Jewish lives, the non-Jew may be killed even if he is a righteous Gentile and not at all guilty for the situation that has been created,” the authors state. “When a non-Jew assists a murderer of Jews and causes the death of one, he may be killed, and in any case where a non-Jew’s presence causes danger to Jews, the non-Jew may be killed.”

One of the dispensations for killing non-Jews, according to religious law, applies in a case of din rodef [the law of the “pursuer,” according to which one who is pursuing another with murderous intent may be killed extrajudicially] even when the pursuer is a civilian. “The dispensation applies even when the pursuer is not threatening to kill directly, but only indirectly,” the book states. “Even a civilian who assists combat fighters is considered a pursuer and may be killed. Anyone who assists the army of the wicked in any way is strengthening murderers and is considered a pursuer. A civilian who encourages the war gives the king and his soldiers the strength to continue. Therefore, any citizen of the state that opposes us who encourages the combat soldiers or expresses satisfaction over their actions is considered a pursuer and may be killed. Also, anyone who weakens our own state by word or similar action is considered a pursuer.”

Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur determine that children may also be harmed because they are “hindrances.” The rabbis write as follows: “Hindrances—babies are found many times in this situation. They block the way to rescue by their presence and do so completely by force. Nevertheless, they may be killed because their presence aids murder. There is justification for killing babies if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us, and in such a situation they may be harmed deliberately, and not only during combat with adults.”

In addition, the children of the leader may be harmed in order to apply pressure to him. If attacking the children of a wicked ruler will influence him not to behave wickedly, they may be harmed. “It is better to kill the pursuers than to kill others,” the authors state.

In a chapter entitled “Deliberate harm to innocents,” the book explains that war is directed mainly against the pursuers, but those who belong to the enemy nation are also considered the enemy because they are assisting murderers.

Retaliation also has a place and purpose in this book by Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur. “In order to defeat the enemy, we must behave toward them in a spirit of retaliation and measure for measure,” they state. “Retaliation is absolutely necessary in order to render such wickedness not worthwhile. Therefore, sometimes we do cruel deeds in order to create the proper balance of terror.”

In one of the footnotes, the two rabbis write in such a way that appears to permit individuals to act on their own, outside of any decision by the government or the army.

“A decision by the nation is not necessary to permit shedding the blood of the evil kingdom,” the rabbis write. “Even individuals from the nation being attacked may harm them.”

Unlike books of religious law that are published by yeshivas, this time the rabbis added a chapter containing the book’s conclusions. Each of the six chapters is summarized into main points of several lines, which state, among other things: “In religious law, we have found that non-Jews are generally suspected of shedding Jewish blood, and in war, this suspicion becomes a great deal stronger. One must consider killing even babies, who have not violated the seven Noahide laws, because of the future danger that will be caused if they are allowed to grow up to be as wicked as their parents.”

Even though the authors are careful, as stated, to use the term “non-Jews,” there are certainly those who could interpret the nationality of the “non-Jews” who are liable to endanger the Jewish people. This is strengthened by the leaflet “The Jewish Voice,” which is published on the Internet from Yitzhar, which comments on the book: “It is superfluous to note that nowhere in the book is it written that the statements are directed only to the ancient non-Jews.” The leaflet’s editors did not omit a stinging remark directed at the GSS, who will certainly take the trouble to get themselves a copy. “The editors suggest to the GSS that they award the prize for Israel’s security to the authors,” the leaflet states, “who gave the detectives the option of reading the summarized conclusions without any need for in-depth study of the entire book.”

One student of the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in Yitzhar explained, from his point of view, where RabbisShapira and Elitzur got the courage to speak so freely on a subject such as the killing of non-Jews. “The rabbis aren’t afraid of prosecution because in that case, Maimonides [Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1135–1204] and Nahmanides [Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, 1194–1270] would have to stand trial too, and anyway, this is research on religious law,” the yeshiva student said. “In a Jewish state, nobody sits in jail for studying Torah.”

.......................

Iran Rabbi urges Jews to burn controversial book

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:57:20 GMT

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=111484&sectionid=351020101

UN lists vulnerable Palestinian villages

2009-11-18T12:40:00.000-05:00

Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday published a report listing Palestinian communities that are especially vulnerable to the settler strategy known as the "price tag."

The document includes 83 villages, hamlets and neighborhoods that appear to be particularly vulnerable to retaliatory attacks by settlers in response to army operations to dismantle illegal structures built by Jewish residents in the West Bank. In the past, such attacks have included rock-throwing and setting fire to Palestinian property.

According to the report, "the 'price tag' strategy entails the exertion of systematic, widespread and indiscriminate violence against Palestinian civilians and Israeli security forces, following attempts by the Israeli authorities to evacuate settlement outposts.

"The overall objective of this strategy is to deter the Israeli authorities from removing such outposts. In the immediate term, the 'price tag' strategy aims at diverting Israeli forces and troops from the scene of an outpost evacuation into other areas, requiring the intervention of those forces to contain violent incidents."

The authors of the report said its main aim was forward-looking, to a time when Israel might dismantle 23 illegal outposts built after Ariel Sharon became prime minister.

In 2003, Sharon promised the US to remove these outposts, but the government has refrained from doing so.

OCHA warned that the use of the "price tag" policy by the settlers might become far more extensive and violent if the government decides to tear down the outposts. "Considering the limited scope of the removal operations implemented so far by the Israel authorities, the level of violence that could be expected following a relatively large dismantlement operation is significantly higher," the authors of the report wrote.

As it is, "price tag" incidents have been violent and caused harm to Palestinians and their crops. For example, on July 20, Israeli authorities removed a few uninhabited structures at three illegal outposts in the Ramallah-Nablus area, triggering a wave of violence during the following days. Settlers allegedly set fire to more than 1,000 olive trees belonging to five Palestinian communities, blocked several junctions and threw rocks at Palestinian cars, causing injury to two drivers and damage to six vehicles. On July 23, as part of this wave of violence, more than 20 armed setters from an outpost next to the settlement of Yitzhar entered the nearby village of Asira el-Kibliyeh and threw rocks at residents.

Settlers also rampaged through Hebron on December 4, 2008, after the army forced settlers to leave a disputed building that they had occupied and claimed to own. Angry settlers from all over the West Bank who had come to Hebron to prevent the evacuation, attacked Palestinians and soldiers in various parts of the city, injuring six Palestinians and setting fire to vehicles, agricultural fields, houses and the contents of a mosque.

In mapping the Palestinian communities according to criteria, the OCHA report found that 22 communities were at high risk of attack, while 61 were at moderate risk. A total of 187,000 residents were at risk of attack.

OCHA recommended that security forces offer special protection to these communities in advance of operations to dismantle the illegal outposts.

Israel Steps up Gaza Siege; Reduces Cooking Gas Allowed into Gaza: Al Mezan Condemns Israeli Siege and Calls International Community to Intervene

2009-11-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

Press Release

Israel Steps up Gaza Siege; Reduces Cooking Gas Allowed into Gaza: Al Mezan Condemns Israeli Siege and Calls

International Community to Intervene

The Israeli siege and collective punishment of the Gaza Strip have continued, causing more deterioration to the human rights and humanitarian conditions. The severe restrictions on imports and almost full prohibition of exports have brought economic productive activities to a halt in Gaza. Recently, Israel reduced the amount of cooking Gaza it allows into the Gaza Strip, which makes life more difficult for households and food production activities that depend on cooking gas, such as bakeries. Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights condemns the Israeli siege as a measure of indiscriminate collective punishment of 1.6 million people in Gaza, and calls the international community to act urgently to bring it to an end.

The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) procedures have destroyed Palestinian economy and; therefore, severely hampered the standards of living for Gazans. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have lost their jobs because of the siege measures. They joined other tens of thousands unemployed people. Palestinian private sector is at the brink of collapse and has no chance to survive unless international intervention creates quick, significant changes in the current situation.

The Israeli siege has also obstructed all the efforts aimed at rehabilitating and reconstructing tens of thousands of homes and other civilian infrastructure. Private and public properties that were destroyed during the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip remain destroyed owing to the lack of the construction materials, which Israel does not allow into Gaza. Families remain displaced and workers remain without work.

Recently, since October 2009, the IOF has imposed further restrictions on the supply of cooking gas to the Gaza Strip. Israel had allowed limited amounts of cooking gas into Gaza before that date. According to Al Mezan's monitoring, IOF allowed 2550 tons of cooking gas into the Gaza Strip, a daily average of 85 tons, during September 2009. In October, IOF reduced the amount to 1639 tons, i.e. 53 tons daily. During the first half of November 2009, the IOF has further reduced the amount to reach 457 tons, i.e. 30 tons per day. According to sources at the Ministry of National Economy, the average need for the Gaza Strip's gas consumption is about 280 tons per day. The amount allowed into Gaza in November represents less than 10.7% of the daily needs of Gaza population.

The occupation authorities claim that this reduction is owed to technical problems related to moving the cooking gas pumps from Nahal Oz Crossing to Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) Crossing. However, according to information collected by Al Mezan, the IOF has not moved the gas pumps, or made any steps towards moving them, until now. Moreover, most of October cooking gas imports entered Gaza through Karm Abu Salem Crossing by means of large gas tanks.

Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights warns from the serious consequences of reducing the cooking gas amounts, especially for hospitals, bakeries and households. This reduction will only exacerbate an already deteriorated situation. Al Mezan is gravely concerned by the implications of Israel's siege measures which violate basic human rights for Gazans, despite the world's condemnation. As stated in the Goldstone Report, the set of human rights violations the siege causes, coupled with depriving Gazans from access to legal remedies, amount to persecution; a crime against humanity.

Al Mezan expresses its outrage for the continued lack of any meaningful international protection of Gaza's population. This only encourages IOF to continue with its serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. Al Mezan therefore calls on the international community, especially the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to live up to its moral and legal responsibilities and take action to bring a swift end to this illegal collective punishment.

900 Settler Homes Approved and Still Obama is acting like a Puppet

2009-11-17T16:11:00.001-05:00

Israel approves 900 settler homes - Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law

The Israeli interior ministry has approved planning applications for 900 new housing units at a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

The planning and construction committee authorised the expansion of Gilo, which is built on land captured in 1967 and annexed to the Jerusalem municipality.

The project still faces review and the public will be able to make objections.

Settlements on occupied territory are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

Israeli media reported earlier that the government had rejected a request from Washington to freeze the construction work at Gilo.

US President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, is said to have made the request to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a meeting in London on Monday.

“ Netanyahu is showing again that he is spoiling any chance to start negotiations by continuing to create new provocations in Jerusalem ”
Hagit Ofran Peace Now

Mr Netanyahu replied that the project did not require government approval and that Gilo was "an integral part of Jerusalem", according to Israel Army Radio.

His spokesman, Mark Regev, declined to comment on the reports, but repeated Israel's refusal to include areas annexed to Jerusalem as part of any accommodation of Mr Obama's call for "restraint" in settlement construction.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu... is willing to adopt the policy of the greatest possible restraint concerning growth in the West Bank, but this applies to the West Bank," he told the Reuters news agency. "Jerusalem is Israel's capital and will remain as such."

The US has pressed for a resumption of peace talks, which were suspended last year, but the Palestinian Authority has demanded that all settlement construction is halted before it will again attend.

'Not ready for peace'

The BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says Tuesday's announcement represents by far the largest batch of planning approvals for building on occupied territory since Mr Netanyahu became prime minister.

The 900 housing units, which will be built in the form of 4-5 bedroom apartments, will account for a significant expansion of Gilo. The interior ministry said construction work would be unlikely to start for another three or four years once the plans gained final authorisation.

A spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the planning approval was "yet another step that shows and proves Israel is not ready for peace".

"This step will ruin every single attempt - European or American - to preserve the peace process," Nabil Abu Rudeineh said.

Israel's Peace Now movement, which opposes Jewish settlement activity, said Mr Netanyahu was "showing again that he is spoiling any chance to start negotiations by continuing to create new provocations in Jerusalem".

"This development is intended to torpedo progress that is taking place between US and Palestinians and Israelis on renewing the talks," said Peace Now's Hagit Ofran.

The UK Foreign Office also said it opposed the decision on Gilo.

"A credible [peace] deal involves Jerusalem as a shared capital. Expanding settlements on occupied land in East Jerusalem makes that deal much harder," a statement said.

Nearly 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built on occupied territory in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Iran vs Israel: What The Media Wants You To Forget

2009-11-17T16:08:00.000-05:00

WRH

The corporate media have been given their orders to throw the focus back on to Iran.

Here is a recap of what they are trying to make you forget.

1. Last Spring, Rose Gottemoeller, an assistant secretary of state and Washington's chief nuclear arms negotiator, asked Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel refused.

2. The United Nations passed a resolution calling on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to submit to inspections. Israel refused.

3. The IAEA asked Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to submit to inspections. Israel refused.

4. Iran's formal notification to the IAEA of the planned construction of the backup fuel-rod facility underscores that Iran is playing by the rules of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which Iran has signed.

5. Iran allows IAEA inspections of all its facilities.

6. Contrary to face-saving claims, it appears that the US and Israel were both caught off guard by Iran's announcement. The reasoning is simple. Had the US or Israel announced the existence of he new facility before Iran's notified the IAEA, it would have put Iran on the defensive. As it is now, the US and Israel seem to be playing catch up, casting doubt on the veracity of Israel's claims to "know" that Iran is a nuclear threat.

7. The IAEA and all 16 United States Intelligence Agencies are unanimous in agreement that Iran is not building and does not possess nuclear weapons.

8. In 1986, Mordachai Vanunu blew the whistle and provided photographs showing Israel's clandestine nuclear weapons factory underneath the reactor at Dimona.

9. Israel made the same accusations against Iraq that it is making against Iran, leading up to Israel's bombing of the power station at Osirik. Following the invasion of 2003, international experts examined the ruins of the power station at Osirik and found no evidence of a clandestine weapons factory in the rubble.

10. The United Nations has just released the Goldstone Report, a scathing report which accuses Israel of 37 specific war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza earlier this year. Israel has denounced the report as "Anti-Semitic (even though Judge Goldstone is himself Jewish), and the United States will block the report from being referred to the War Crimes Tribunal at the Hague, thereby making the US Government an accessory after-the-fact.

We all need to be Joe Wilson right now. We need to stand up and scream, "LIAR!" at every politician and every talking media moron that is pushing this war in Iran. And we need to keep dong it until they get the message that we will not be deceived any more.

Israel wants to send your kids off to die in Iran, and YOU are the only one that can stop them.

Please forward this comment to your social networks.

The U.S. Jew whose Iran views rile Israel intelligence officials

2009-11-17T16:06:00.001-05:00

Hillary Mann Leverett and her partner and husband, Flynt Leverett, make the Iran desk staffers in the Israeli intelligence community see red. For the past two years the Leveretts, both of whom are former U.S. National Security Council and State Department officials, have preached relentlessly against using sanctions and threats against Iran.
In late September, a harsh op-ed they wrote condemning the Obama administration appeared in The New York Times. In it they argued that the lofty talk of "openness" and the promise of "dialogue" with the Iranians are just empty rhetoric. On their Internet site, in lectures, in interviews and in their journal articles, they present assessments and proposals for action that are different from, and sometimes nearly the opposite of, those that politicians and experts in the West and in Israel present the public. They are critical of the U.S. support of Israel's nuclear ambiguity and are horrified by the possibility of Israel attacking Iran's nuclear installations.

Mann Leverett, today the CEO of the Stratega political-risk consulting firm, was a panelist in a discussion on Iran at the J Street conference in Washington two weeks ago. Before a full house of a mostly Jewish audience, she analyzed the Iranian strategy without bias or emotion: For years now, more sanctions, more boycotts and more threats have not budged Iran from its nuclear program, and they will not budge it in the future. The time has come to try to talk the Iranians in a different language, a language of respect and cooperation.

According to her, since the invasion of Iraq, Iran's regional influence has increased to the point that, without it, no progress can be made on such critical issues as the Palestinians, Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and energy.

In a conversation with Haaretz, Mann Leverett, 41, said that up until seven or eight years ago, relations with Iran were "in the category of 'nice to have' for U.S. foreign policy. Today, rapprochement with Iran is in the 'must-have' category: The United States cannot achieve any of its high-profile objectives in the Middle East without a more productive relationship with the Islamic Republic, as it is constituted rather than as some wish it to be."

Mann Leverett's critics find it hard to dismiss her by labeling her as an "Israel hater." She grew up in a Jewish household, attended Brandeis University, worked as an intern at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, which was born in the offices of AIPAC. She served in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo under Dan Kurtzer (and also in the embassies in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar). When she returned to the United States she joined a team headed by the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations at the time, Richard Holbrooke, which participated in talks with Iran over Afghanistan.

Her acquaintance with the Iranians deepened after the attacks of September 11, 2001, when she worked at the National Security Council in the unit that advises the president on Iran, Afghanistan and the Gulf states. She speaks of impressive cooperation with the Iranians, leading to the capture and expulsion of 200 Al-Qaida members from their country. According to Mann Leverett, a directive from Tehran ordering the Iranian militias in Afghanistan to join a local force established by the United States spared the Americans the kind of trouble and losses being inflicted by the militias Iran is now funding and training in Iraq.

"I was deeply impressed," she said, "by the quality of my Iranian interlocutors and the sophisticated manner in which they thought about their country's national interests."

This impression was confirmed by the many meetings she held with Iranian diplomats, officials and intellectuals across the ideological spectrum after her retirement from government service in 2004.

"Many career professionals in the State Department, the military and the U.S. intelligence community commend my argument on the necessity for a comprehensive framework for resolving U.S.-Iranian differences and realigning relations between the United States and the Islamic Republic in the same way President Nixon realigned relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China," Mann Leverett said. "Some of the more political types in the Obama administration wish I'd shut up and just be supportive of whatever they do."

She is also attacked on the Jewish right, but many in the community, she says, fear the disastrous consequences of getting blindly swept up into war with Iran over Israel's security and peace in the region.

To a question about the possibility that Israel will attack Iran, she relates above all as an American.

"Iran will not distinguish between an 'Israeli' attack and a 'U.S.' attack in calculating its response. If attacked by Israel, Iran will respond against both Israeli and American interests. Iran has many levers for targeting U.S. interests in the region, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the Pentagon has complained about Iranian support for attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq, if one considers how much damage the Iranians could do to U.S. interests in both Iraq and Afghanistan, one would have to conclude that Tehran has actually been rather restrained in these arenas. An Israeli military strike would almost certainly end that restraint," she says.

Nor does she conceal her criticism of American policy regarding Israel's own nuclear program. "President Obama may enjoy talking like he is serious about nuclear disarmament, but I don't believe he is prepared to challenge Israel on the nuclear issue. Israel will be able to ignore the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty until an American president gets serious about global nonproliferation and disarmament, including the creation of weapons of mass-destruction-free zones in critical regions like the Middle East. That will require a country-neutral approach to nonproliferation issues by the United States, which would mean an end to U.S. support for Israel's nuclear ambiguity," Mann Leverett observes.

"American support for Israeli nuclear ambiguity strongly reinforces deep-seated perceptions in Tehran that the United States is out to ensure not merely Israel's safety and security, but also its regional hegemony - and that is Iran's principal concern about the U.S.-Israel relationship," she says - in addition to Iran's status in the Middle East.

In her opinion, the fear of Israeli hegemony explains Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's violent anti-Israel rhetoric and his denial of the Holocaust.

"Ahmadinejad's rhetoric about Israel and the Holocaust serves instrumental purposes for him and is very calculated. His rhetoric about Israel and the Holocaust is very popular not only at home inside Iran, but on the Arab street. Since Ahmadinejad became president of the Islamic Republic, public opinion polls show that he is routinely one of the two or three most popular political figures in the Arab world. This makes it very difficult for Sunni Arab regimes concerned about Iran's nuclear program or its rising regional influence to support military action against the Islamic Republic."

Mann Leverett notes that in Ahmadinejad's view, the only reward that his predecessor, Mohammad Khatami, received for his support of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was membership in the "axis of evil." Therefore, she says, Ahmadinejad has concluded that "he will get no significant strategic benefits from talking politely about Israel."

Israel gaffe reveals 'Iran ship photos' were forged

2009-11-17T16:04:00.000-05:00

Iran says labels reading 'Ministry of Sepah', a body that no longer exists, are enough to prove that the photos released by Israel are forged.

After Israel released photos it said proved that a huge shipment of weapons for Hezbollah came from Tehran, Iranian news agencies publish evidence showing that the photos are forged.

Israeli naval sources recently claimed that they found a large cache of Iranian-made arms when they stormed a vessel near Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.

They claimed that the ship was heading for the Hezbollah resistance movement, either in Lebanon or Syria.

Iran instantly dismissed the claims, issuing a statement with which it condemned Israel's many acts of piracy in international waters.

But the Israeli government persisted in its accusations, releasing what it claimed to be photos and documents in an effort to implicate the Iranian government in the matter.

The photos and documents were carried by a number of leading newspapers in the West, including The Los Angeles Times.

"The Israeli regime has made a fool of itself with regards to what it claims to be evidence that Iran was sending weapons to Hezbollah," IRNA news agency said on Monday.

"Take a close look at the photos, one of which merely shows a couple of boxes labeled 'Ministry of Sepah' without providing corroborative evidence that they came from Iran, and you will see the huge gaffe committed by Israel," it added.

The article explained that Iran's Ministry of Sepah gave its place to the Defense Ministry more than twenty years ago. "So this begs the question of what the emblem of a nonexistent body was doing on the cargo?"

"It seems the American daily has failed to get its facts straight, or on the other hand, maybe it is getting its cue from the Israeli leadership," said the news agency.

"In any case, the newspaper should know that if a country plans to send a secret arms cargo to another, it will not brand the shipment with a full description of the batch."

"Tel Aviv's baseless claims [about Iran providing Hezbollah with military] are evidently designed to justify another Israeli attack on Lebanon."

Yadollah Javani, the Director of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said last week that the claims were intended to divert attention from a UN report detailing Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

"These accusations are nothing but an Israeli ruse to deflect international attention from the Goldstone report as they move closer to the war crimes tribunal [at the International Criminal Court (ICC)]," noted Brigadier General Javani.

He was referring to the 575-page report headed by Jewish South African judge Richard Goldstone, which detailed numerous acts of war crimes and human rights violations committed by Israeli soldiers during their incursion into Gaza.

"Israeli officials have a longstanding tendency to level baseless accusations against others when they are in serious trouble," he added.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also dismissed the charges, questioning why the Israelis had failed to detain the crew, if the ship was supposedly carrying weapons.

Berri said that while Hezbollah has the right to obtain arms from “anywhere in the world,” it is pretty obvious that Israel made the claims to fudge the issue of its war crimes in Gaza.

Photo Of The Day: Something To Think About!

2009-11-17T15:58:00.001-05:00