By BEN SMITH & JOSH GERSTEIN, POLITICO | 2/3/11 As Israeli leaders worriedly eye the protests and street battles in neighboring Egypt, they’ve been dismayed to find that the neoconservatives and hawkish Democrats who are usually their most reliable American advocates are cheering for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s fall. The Egyptian autocrat has kept his side of a chilly peace agreement with Israel for thirty years, permitting an era of relative stability in the Jewish state. And as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made clear in a cautious speech to the Knesset Wednesday, Israel is deeply worried what will happen to that relationship when Mubarak departs. Other prominent Israeli voices are wondering why President Barack... Compliments of Anglo Saxon Raannana Real Estate Quote for the Week “This agreement constitutes international recognition of Israel´s status as a space power” * Massive protests in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen are capturing the world’s headlines this week. Well, we had our own protest here in Israel; small-scale, low-key, non-violent, decidedly so, and not exactly ‘hold the front page’ stuff. Gas prices have reached a record high in Israel – not GN at all – so members of the Chasdei Naomi organization, which provides food to the needy, decided to protest by replacing cars with horse-drawn carriages for last Tuesday’s delivery. Volunteers loaded the five carriages; off they went and delivered the goodies to families in need – at minimal cost, no pollution except the horses’ breath and the occasional you know what and without the need to stop to refuel. No one... By Ted Belman During the campaining for the presidency in ’08, Jeffery Goldberg wrote a scathing denunciation of the the film “Obsession”. on an aside he wrote, Just unbelievable, but the most unbelievable part of the “Obsession” campaign is its timing: What does this film have to do with Barack Obama? The film is meant to suggest that Obama will provide aid and comfort to Islamism, or is an Islamist himself. There is not one shred of proof on this planet that Barack Obama is anything other than an Israel-supporting Christian. Yes, he went to party with Rashid Khalidi. So did I. Does that make me a member of Hezbollah? Is he naive or stupid or hateful? What arrogance? By Ted Belman A friend of mine, Michael Totten, has knowN an Egyptian blogger, Sandmonkey, for many years. Solomon’s House just posted Sandmonkey’s Feb 3/11 post. I believe it is an accurate account of events. I goes against the idea that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind events or even controlling events. It gives some hope that the MB won’t take over and in the end destroy any semblance of democracy. By Sandmonkey’s own admission “Be forewarned: The writer of this blog is an extremely cynical, snarky, pro-US, secular, libertarian, disgruntled. sandmonkey.” Sandmonkey: Egypt, right now! I don’t know how to start writing this. I have been battling fatigue for not sleeping properly for the past 10 days, moving from one’s friend house to another friend’s house, almost never spending a night in my home, facing a very well funded and well organized ruthless regime that views me as nothing but an annoying bug that its time to squash... * Will the Obama administration’s policy toward Egypt be based on a perception that the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood would be extremely dangerous? Or have they taken the position – voiced in parts of the U.S. foreign policy establishment – that the Brotherhood has become moderate and can be talked to? Initial administration reactions indicate that it does not rule out Muslim Brotherhood participation in a future Egyptian coalition government. For the first time, a U.S. government supports granting a government role to an extremist Islamic organization: the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. On Monday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Egypt’s new government will have to include a “whole host of important non-secular actors.” Most prominent among these is clearly the Muslim Brotherhood – which has made Islamic world domination one of its ultimate goals. It also opposes Egypt’s 30-year-old peace treaty with Israel. Today, new White House chief of staff William Daley... White House, Egypt Discuss Plan for Mubarak’s Exit WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is discussing with Egyptian officials a proposal for President Hosni Mubarak to resign immediately and turn over power to a transitional government headed by Vice President Omar Suleiman with the support of the Egyptian military, administration officials and Arab diplomats said Thursday. Even though Mr. Mubarak has balked, so far, at leaving now, officials from both governments are continuing talks about a plan in which Mr. Suleiman, backed by Lt. Gen. Sami Enan, chief of the Egyptian armed forces, and Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, the defense minister, would immediately begin a process of constitutional reform. The proposal also calls for the transitional government to invite members from a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood, to begin work to open up the country’s electoral system in an effort to bring about... Laura: The Middle East is filled with unstable and violent tyrannies, dictatorships and terror states and yet Michael Scheuer argues that what’s most detrimental to America is the one country in the region which is a free and stable democracy, Israel. How despicable and revolting not to mention a viewpoint which lacks any logic. Scheuer’s analysis of the Mideast cannot be taken seriously in view of his blind hatred for Israel. Robert Spencer completely eviscerated him though.
Hosni Mubarak splits Israel from neocon supporters
“We expect any government of Egypt to honor the peace. Moreover, we expect the international community to expect any government of Egypt to honor the peace. This must be clear, along with the discussions about reform and democracy,” he said.Good News, Israel
(Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Daniel Herschkowitz. ) Does Jeffery Goldberg still believe that Obama is “an Israel-supporting Christian” or won’t “supply aid and comfort to Islamists”?
Sandmonkey: The revolt is bigger than the Muslim Brotherhood
The Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Crisis
* Since January 28, the Muslim Brotherhood’s involvement has become more prominent, with its support of Mohamed ElBaradei to lead the opposition forces against the government. In the streets of Cairo, Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators disdainfully call people like ElBaradei “donkeys of the revolution” (hamir al-thawra) – to be used and thenpushed away – a scenario that sees the Muslim Brotherhoodexploit ElBaradei in order to hijack the Egyptian revolution at a later...Obama Stands by Muslim Brotherhood Endorsement
Gibbs said the Muslim Brotherhood must reject violence and recognize democratic goals for the U.S. to be comfortable with it assuming a role in the new government. This caveat does not significantly alter the new American approach, which is very different than that of the previous Administration, in which George W. Bush pushed Mubarak for democratic reforms but never publicly accepted a role for Islamists.Obama wants Brotherhood included
By HELENE COOPER and MARK LANDLER, NYTEgypt Debate
Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel
Saturday 5 February 2011
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