Herzliya Conference
By Ted Belman
Today I attrended the IDC Herzliya Conference on The Balance of Israel’s National Security, which continues until Wednesday. There were about 1000 people in attendence including 300 European parliamentarians. It is the biggest and most prestigeous event of its kind.
Peres: Israeli-Palestinian peace urgent in light of Egypt crisis. Peres said time was not on Israel’s side as the area was being taken over by radicals and therefore Israel should make peace as soon as possible. I thought to my self if ever there was a reason not to make peace and give up territory, that was it.
One of the panels consisted of Defense Ministers from Israel, Britain, Czeck Republic and Hungary. I got the impression from them, especially the British Defense Minister, that they intend to do their utmost to insure we don’t end up with another Iran. But no one went so far as to say that the MB would be banned as a Party. At the same time they urged the peace process to continue. ...
Why Israel fears a free Egypt
By Aaron David Miller Sunday, February 6,
Veteran negotiator on why Israel fears a free Middle East
Having dealt with the Israelis for the better part of 40 years, I have learned never to dismiss or trivialize their foundational fears. As both former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and current premier Binyamin Netanyahu reminded me on different occasions, Israelis don’t live in some leafy Washington suburb, but in a much tougher neighborhood.
And today, it is impossible to overstate the angst, even hysteria, that Israelis are feeling about their neighborhood as they watch what is unfolding in the streets of Cairo.
Israel prides itself on being the Middle East’s only true democracy, so most Israelis may be loath to admit their fear of self-government spreading to Egypt, their most important Arab ally. But by their calculation, freedom in Egypt is bound to morph into venomous anti-Israeli attitudes and actions.
Among Israel’s most dire fears: Would a new Egyptian...
Quartet supports negotiated settlement
By Ted Belman
In my post Netanyahu commits to promoting Arab construction in East Jerusalem, Netanyahu’s concessions to the Quartet were listed.
Here’s what he got in return
Quartet refuses to endorse unilateral state;
Palestinians said they were disappointed that the Quartet refused to heed their call for unilateral statehood and instead continued to throw its support behind a negotiated solution, when it met on Saturday in Germany.
“Unilateral actions by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community,” the group said in a statement it issued after the meeting.
The Quartet, however, called on both the Israelis and the Palestinians to reach a negotiated solution by September 2011. It said it planed with the help of its envoys to work with both parties before its next gathering in March.
But said the “Quartet should not be distracted from its task by the events in Egypt.”...
A courageous young Egyptian
By Ted Belman
Last November, YNET published a profile on Maikel Nabil Sanad, a very courageous young Egyptian, titled Egyptian refusenik: I’m pro-Israel. He is also of Coptic Christian origin.
Yesterday, he blogged,
Egyptian Intelligence Just Released me an hour ago… They beat me a lot, sexually harassed me, threaten me to be tried in front of a military trial, wanted to make me join the army, stole my ID & Mobile phone. I spent The Worst days of my life… I’ll need a couple of days to rest after this horrible experience
Who is this guy and why do I care? Read what he says in the YNET article.
“I am pro-Israel. I don’t want to take part in anti-Semitic operations or those that negate Israel’s right to exist in the region. I see Israel as a liberal, modern state with a religious character. I have friends in Israel and I think Israelis have a right to defend themselves.”
“I am a pacifist, I am against bearing...
The Egyptian boil has been lanced
By Ted Belman
The NYT leads with an article West Backs Gradual Egyptian Transition. The title says it all. You don’t have to read the article.
So Obama has backed off his rhetoric about immediate change and important non-secular groups taking part. Sober minds have prevailed.
Mrs. Clinton’s message, echoed by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, and reinforced in a flurry of calls by President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to Egyptian and regional leaders, appears to reflect an attempt at balancing calls for systemic change with some semblance of legal order and stability.
Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Mubarak, having taken himself and Gamal out of the September elections, was already effectively sidelined. She emphasized the need for Egypt to reform its Constitution to make a vote credible. “That is what the government has said it is trying to do,” she said.
She also stressed the dangers of holding elections...
You Can Take the Ape Out of the Jungle…
Muslim Student Union shows its members unfit to live in civilized society
by Bill Levinson
Uncivilized Tactics at UC Irvine (Rough Cut) allows the Muslim Student Union to display its own less than civilized behavioral choices. You can take the ape out of the jungle but you can’t take the jungle out of the ape.
Why Egypt Will Not Soon Become Democratic
Daniel Pipes:
… If Islamists come to power, they will foment a revolution along the lines of Iran in 1979, in which their belief in God’s sovereignty trumps political participation by the masses. The inherently anti-democratic nature of the Islamist movement must not be obscured by the Islamists’ willingness to use elections to reach power. In the prescient words of an American official in 1992, the Islamists forward a program of “one person, one vote, one time.” …
Continue reading Why Egypt Will Not Soon Become Democratic…
CAIR Suggests Violence if Students Prosecuted?
Andrew Whitehead:
… It would appear that CAIR, along with CAIR’s fellow travelers, is telling the DA that if he does not allow “peaceful” protests, future protests may result in “disruptive and perhaps violent” events. …
Continue reading CAIR Suggests Violence if Students Prosecuted?…
The Obama Doctrine
Laura: Obama continues on his catastrophic path of betraying our allies, emboldening our enemies and otherwise destroying American credibility. Why isn’t this story a huge scandal in this country? There’s every reason to believe that Obama will spill secrets about Israel’s nuclear arsenal to its enemies. The Israelis would have to be insane at this point to continue with any negotiations with the PA as long as Obama or anyone in his administration act as intermediary.
WikiLeaks cables: Obama secretly agreed to give up to Russia Britain’s nuclear secrets
Pam Geller, Atlas Shrugs
More sedition at 1600 Pennslyvania Avenue.
You have to believe that Putin scratched his head after Obama bowed down to him and went on to abandon our Eastern European allies by giving up missile defense in Eastern Europe, and routed any American advantage by signing START…. Putin must have said, “This is too easy, it must be a trick!”
No, Putin, it’s just an enemy...
Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel
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