Recently we reported on the Israeli test of the Iron Dome missile defense system. It has now been reported that the US has provided more than $1 billion towards three of the missile defense systems under development by Israel.
The US House of Representative appropriations defense subcommittee recently appropriated $217 million to help develop a joint missile defense system with Israel. The appropriation is reportedly $95.7 million more than requested. (Read more from campaigniran.org)
If, however, it is unacceptable to say that Israeli Jews don’t belong in Palestine, it is also unacceptable to say that the Palestinians don’t belong on their own land.
Yet that is said all the time in the United States, without sparking the kind of moral outrage generated by Thomas’ remark. And while the nation’s editorialists worry about the offense she may have caused to Jews, no one seems particularly bothered by the offense felt every day by Palestinians when people — including those with far more power than Thomas — dismiss their rights, degrade their humanity and reject their claims to the most elementary forms of decency.
Are we seriously to accept the idea that some people have more rights than others? Or that some people’s sensibilities should be respected while others’ are trampled with total indifference, if not outright contempt? (Read more from articles.latimes.com)
Rep. Sherman: Prosecute U.S. Citizens involved with Gaza Flotilla On a press call hosted by a pro-Israel organization, Rep. Brad Sherman, Democrat of California, told reporters that he intends to seek the prosecution of any U.S. citizens who were aboard or involved with the Freedom Flotilla.
“The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 [PDF] makes it absolutely illegal for any American to give food, money, school supplies, paper clips, concrete or weapons to Hamas or any of its officials,” Sherman said on the Israel Project call, conflating Hamas and Gaza’s civilian population. “And so I will be asking the Attorney General to prosecute any American involved in what was clearly an effort to give items of value to a terrorist organization.”
Sherman also said that he plans on working with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that any non-U.S. citizen involved with or aboard the Flotilla are excluded from entering the U.S. (Read more from lobelog.com)
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Texas senator defends Israel over killing of US activist Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) believes the pro-Palestinian activists who were killed in a clash with the Israeli military had provoked the confrontation.
ABC’s Jake Tapper asked Cornyn how the US should react after Israeli commandos killed Furkan Dogan, a dual US and Turkish national who was part of the aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
“It’s become clear that Israel killed a US citizen in international waters with this flotilla incident,” Tapper said. “What should the US response be when an ally kills a US citizen?”
“We don’t know all the circumstances yet,” Cornyn replied. “But it appears to be a premeditated provocation of Israel and an attempt to run the blockade that’s existed since Hamas took over Gaza.” (Read more from rawstory.com)
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Brown launches defense of Israel Senator Scott Brown tonight launched into a strong defense of Israel, saying critics of the recent flotilla incident were downplaying the security threats against the country.
Brown, addressing a pro-Israel group in Boston, tied Israel and the United States together in fighting against terrorism. He also called for further sanctions on Iran, saying “there is no greater strategic threat facing the world than a nuclear-armed Iran.” (Read more from boston.com)
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Jewish flotilla to break Gaza siege The German-Jewish organization Jewish Voice for Peace in the Middle East is preparing a Jewish flotilla to the Gaza Strip. “We intend to leave around July,” a member of the organization, Kate Leitrer, said to Ynet. “We have one small craft so far, in which there will be between 12 and 16 people, mostly Jews.” (Read more from ynetnews.com)
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IDF Admits It Doctored Flotilla Audio Clip. Washington Post’s Kessler Must Retract The IDF admitted today in a press release that it doctored audio footage from its exchanges with the Gaza flotilla in order to paint the flotilla passengers as anti-Semites. (Read more from maxblumenthal.com)
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Israeli document: Gaza blockade isn’t about security As Israel ordered a slight easing of its blockade of the Gaza Strip Wednesday, McClatchy obtained an Israeli government document that describes the blockade not as a security measure but as “economic warfare” against the Islamist group Hamas, which rules the Palestinian territory. (Read more from mcclatchydc.com)
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Zionists celebrating and justifying Gaza flotilla murders, chanting “death to Arabs”
It is ironic that the Israeli Defense forces attacked a flotilla of relief ships bound from Europe to Gaza in international waters in a manner all too similar to its assault against the USS Liberty also in international waters on June 8 forty-three years ago. It is even more tragic and a national disgrace that in the immediate aftermath of Memorial Day there is scant remembrance of the 34 crew members comprising naval officers, seamen, two marines and a civilian who were killed in the attack along with the 171 crew members who were wounded. While the official inquiries by both nations found the attack to be a case of mistaken identity of the Liberty, to this day there is a long record of distinguished officers and journalists who take strong exception to this view believing that the attack was deliberate. Indeed the attack on the Liberty is the only maritime incident in U.S. history where our military forces were killed that was never investigated by the Congress.
While few would dispute that the United States and Israel share vital strategic interests, all too often it has been Israeli intransigent policies rather than U.S. interests which have dominated our bilateral relationships. As a global superpower, the U.S. has strategic interests in the Middle East that go far beyond our bilateral relations with Israel–regional political stability, access to oil, control of sea lanes, etc. However so lopsided have our bilateral relations become that even after scandals such as the Pollard spying case in the 1980s came to light, high level officials and lobbyists in both Washington and Israel went out of their way to downplay the significance of the information Pollard passed to both Israeli and Russian intelligence (in order to keep Jewish immigration to Israel alive), despite testimony by four retired admirals who had served as Directors of National Intelligence that Pollard’s revelations had been devastating to U.S. national security and that any premature release would be “irresponsible.” (Read more from washingtonnote.com)
The four Representatives voting against the resolution were John Conyers (D – MI), Dennis Kucinich (D – OH), Ron Paul (R – TX), and Pete Stark (D – CA).
US President Barack Obama will ask Congress to provide $205 million to Israel to spur production and deployment of a new short-range rocket defense system, administration officials said on Thursday. (Read more from ynetnews.com)
United States administration officials have voiced harsh criticism over advertisements in favor of Israel’s position on Jerusalem that appeared in the U.S. press with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s encouragement. The authors of the most recent such advertisements were president of the World Jewish Congress Ronald Lauder and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel. “All these advertisements are not a wise move,” one senior American official told Haaretz.
In the advertisement, Wiesel said that for him as a Jew, “Jerusalem is above politics,” and that “it is mentioned more than 600 times in Scripture – and not a single time in the Koran.” Wiesel called to postpone discussion on Jerusalem until a later date, when there is an atmosphere of security allowing Israeli and Palestinian communities to find ways to live in peace. (Read more from haaretz.com)
More than three quarters of the U.S. Senate, including 38 Democrats, have signed on to a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton implicitly rebuking the Obama Administration for its confrontational stance toward Israel.
The letter, backed by the pro-Israel group AIPAC, now has the signatures of 76 Senators and says in part:
We recognize that our government and the Government of Israel will not always agree on particular issues in the peace process. But such differences are best resolved amicably and in a manner that befits longstanding strategic allies. We must never forget the depth and breadth of our alliance and always do our utmost to reinforce a relationship that has benefited both nations for more than six decades.
Nearly 300 members of Congress have signed on to a declaration reaffirming their commitment to “the unbreakable bond that exists between [U.S.] and the State of Israel”, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The letter was sent in the wake of the severe recent tensions between Israel and the U.S. over the prior’s decision to construct more than 1,600 new housing units in East Jerusalem, a project it announced during U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the region. (Read more from haaretz.com)
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) criticized as “dangerous and counterproductive” the Senate testimony of General David Petraeus in which he blamed “insufficient progress” in resolving the ongoing Israeli-Arab conflict as a significant impediment to achieving U.S. goals in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Iran, and for encouraging “anti-American sentiment.”
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement in response to the general’s March 16 testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee:
“The assumptions Gen. Petraeus presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee wrongly attribute ‘insufficient progress’ in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and ‘a perception of U.S. favoritism for Israel’ as significantly impeding the U.S. military mission in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and in dealing with the Iranian influences in the region. It is that much more of a concern to hear this coming from such a great American patriot and hero.” (Read more from Haaretz.com)
The Muslim world hates us because they are evil radicals. Any suggestion otherwise will not be tolerated.
U.S. Jewish activist: Why I am protesting the Friends of the IDF dinner Why am I protesting the $1,000-a-plate Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dinner honoring Chief of the IDF Staff Gabi Ashkenazi at the Waldorf on March 9?
Like many American Jews, I grew up hearing that the IDF was the most moral army in the world. An honest look at the historical and current evidence, however – most recently documented in the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Israeli Invasion of Gaza (the Goldstone Report)- reveals a very different reality.
As a college student in the 1970s, I defined myself as a socialist Zionist and attended Israeli consulate-sponsored “hasbara” workshops.
The literal translation of hasbara is “explanation,” but specifically refers to Israel’s campaign to promote its public image. These sessions taught a simple strategy for “dealing with” Israel’s critics on college campuses.
Begin by speaking about Israel as having the most moral army in the world. Never address the content of your opponents’ allegations.
Reference the Holocaust repeatedly, emphasizing the need for a Jewish homeland with a strong army so that those who hate the Jews will “never again” prevail.
And be sure to question the integrity of Israel’s critics, insinuating that they are anti-Semitic (or, in some cases, self-hating Jews). Those of us in the room who supported a Palestinian state (and there were a few) recognized ourselves in their descriptions of who to watch out for.
I remained active on Palestine-Israel but left my identity as a Zionist far behind, recognizing the incompatibility of Zionism (and the reality of what it was) with my support for justice for the Palestinian people. (Read more from haaretz.com)
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Pastor Hagee Denounces Goldstone in Jerusalem 3/8/10:
Pastor Hagee and Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem 3/8/10:
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European Parliament endorses Goldstone Gaza report The European Parliament on Wednesday urged its 27-member states to monitor the Israeli and Palestinian probes into alleged war crimes committed during last year’s late-winter conflict in Gaza.
The resolution backed the findings of a UN-appointed expert panel chaired by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, which concluded that both sides committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the war that began in December 2008 and ended in January 2009.
The parliamentary move, which would give the EU an unprecedented role in evaluating the progress of Israel’s war crimes probe, was sharply criticized by Israel. (Read more from haaretz.com)
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Israel: EU support for Goldstone unhelpful to peace talks The Foreign Ministry has condemned the EU Parliament’s decision to express support for the Goldstone report and call for a war crimes investigation against Israel.
“Israel regrets the EU Parliament’s decision, which is unhelpful to the peace process and does not become the principles of law and justice. At a time of international struggle to foster talks it is unfortunate that the European parliament is choosing to express a stance on such a controversial opinion already discussed in other forums. Israel is committed to the peace process and will continue to defend its citizens and soldiers,” the statement says. (Read more from ynetnews.com)
A recent remark by the head of the U.S. administration’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Hannah Rosenthal, has sparked a wave of harsh criticism in Jerusalem.
Rosenthal told Haaretz earlier this week that comments made by Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, against the liberal Jewish lobby J Street were “most unfortunate.”
Senior government officials told Haaretz on Friday that “We were surprised at Ms. Rosenthal’s remarks, as reported in Haaretz.” The officials stressed that he comments “don’t reflect the nature of the relations between Israel and the U.S., nor do they reflect the great respect and appreciation of the ambassador and his staff felt both in Jerusalem and in Washington.”
J Street was established a few years ago as a new pro-Israel lobby to counterbalance the strong, veteran group AIPAC, considered to be toeing a more right-wing conservative line. Under the motto “pro-Israel, pro-peace,” J Street began to promote issues like a freeze on settlement construction and a two-state solution. (Read more from haaretz.com)
Notice this article refers to the “U.S. administration’s Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism.” I also know of the White House Liaison to the Jewish Community. Do other communities enjoy this privilege?
Seven United States senators have sponsored a bill that would abolish the “security” waiver that American presidents have used to prevent implementing a 1995 law declaring that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
Kansas Republican Senator Sam Brownback, a long-time supporter of Israel, introduced the bill and said, “It is long overdue for America to recognize the sovereign right of Israel to choose Jerusalem as its capital city.”
The proposed Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act law, number S. 2737, is “a bill to relocate to Jerusalem the United States Embassy in Israel” and has six co-sponsors–five Republicans, from Kentucky, Texas, Arizona, and Louisiana and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. (Read more from myantiwar.org)
source: SF Examiner)
(Read more from campaigniran.org)
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