Saturday, 18 August 2012

IsraPundit

Ending Sykes-Picot: Why the U.S. Should Support a Federal Syrian Republic

Gabriel Max Scheinmann, algemeiner

Thirty years ago this month, 800 U.S. Marines waded onto Beirut’s beaches tasked with facilitating the evacuation of thousands of PLO terrorists out of Lebanon in the hopes of ending a conflict that had ensnared Syria and Israel. That mission, explicitly defined and time-limited, was successful. Shortly after the last Marine left Lebanese soil, however, President Reagan ordered them back in again while more than doubling the size of the force and vastly expanding its mission. This time, U.S. forces were asked to strengthen Lebanese state institutions in order to restore a “one law, one gun” maxim.

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Into the Fray: What’s wrong with the Right— Part I

By MARTIN SHERMAN, JPOST

As demented and disastrous as the two state “solution” is, most alternatives proffered by the Right would be no less calamitous. However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results. – Sir Winston Churchill

As readers of this – soon to be discontinued – column are well aware, I have been a resolute opponent of the two-state solution (TSS), for a variety of reasons, including its logical inconsistency, moral bankruptcy and proven impracticality. Accordingly, I have argued that continued attempts to pursue it will inevitably result in tragedy and trauma for both Arab and Jew.
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The Zionist Girl the Federations Love to Hate

Remember “Zionism is racism?” That was the high tide in the battle to turn the word Zionism from a mantle of national pride in Israel as the Jewish Homeland, to one that carries the toxic undercurrent of ultra-nationalism and oppression of the “other.”

The UN resolution equating Israel’s existence with evil was rescinded in 1991, but the fallout continues. Haters of Israel to this day employ variations of the term Zionism – ZioNazi, Zionist Occupying Government - as synonyms for what they most want people to associate with Jews and the Jewish State, thereby subtly winning adherents to their cause.

The battle against Zionism continues today, only now it’s being fought inside the gates of the world’s biggest Jewish charity. It’s not as if the Jewish establishment actually opposes Zionism. But Israel’s detractors have been so successful that, to put it bluntly: the term Zionism doesn’t poll well. And if Zionism doesn’t poll well, and your goal is to raise money to support Jews and the Jewish Homeland, you’re left with quite a conundrum, indeed, a veritable hornet’s nest. (Read more…)


United Church of Canada to Consider Israel Boycott

by STEVE MCDONALD AND MARK DAVID, PJ MEDIA

On August 11, 2012, delegates from across Canada gathered at the United Church of Canada’s (UCC) 41st General Council in Ottawa. The General Council is a triennial meeting of the largest Protestant denomination in Canada, a denomination also widely considered the most liberal of the mainline Protestant denominations in the Great White North. Unfortunately, as has been the case in some American churches, the gathering affords an opportunity for a small group of “boycott, divestment, sanctions” activists within the UCC to yet again make their move.
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US punched Bibi, Barak in the face

Analysis: Dempsey’s remark regarding IDF’s inability to destroy Iran’s nuclear capability meant to show Israel who’s boss

By Attila Somfalvi, YNET

Once every few years Israel needs a slap in the face to remember where it stands in the world. On Tuesday it was US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey who assumed the role of the responsible adult and slapped Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak, the duo orchestrating the national hysteria surrounding the possibility of an attack in Iran.

Israel can “delay but not destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he said while sitting next to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who visited Israel a few weeks ago to allay the concerns of the leadership in Jerusalem.
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Unilateral action — a test of sovereignty

By Yoram Ettinger, ISRAEL HAYOM

Maintaining Israel’s independence of action — in face of Iran’s nuclear threat — is consistent with Israeli-Jewish history, with common sense, with regional stability and with the enhancement of vital U.S. national security interests. On the other hand, surrendering Israel’s inalienable right of self-defense would undermine Israel’s sovereignty, erode its posture of deterrence, jeopardize its existence, fuel regional chaos and undermine U.S. interests in the Middle East.

On June 3, 1967, U.S. President Johnson pressured Prime Minister Eshkol against pre-empting the pro-Soviet Egypt-Syria-Jordan military axis, which threatened the survival of moderate Arab regimes (e.g., Saudi Arabia) and Israel’s existence. Johnson advised that “Israel will not be alone unless it decides to go alone. We cannot imagine that will make this decision.”
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The Dangerous Link between Delegitimization and Sedition

By: Joel Fishman, Makor Rishon

When we think about the campaign of delegitimization against Israel, the international efforts of the Palestinians and their allies to isolate and harm Israel come to mind. We may also recall the Durban debacle of 2011, the boycott of Israeli products, and the refusal of some performers to appear before audiences in Israel. In reality, boundaries are unimportant, because a basic type of delegitimization takes place unrelentingly in far off lands and within Israel’s domestic discourse.
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Morsi and the military

See also: Who is Egypt’s chief of staff?

    A look into Sidki Sobhi’s past reveals that Egypt’s new chief of staff wrote thesis stating that US troops should be withdrawn from Middle East, being used as justification for armed struggle by radical Islamists

By Arlene Kushner

You may have noticed that when I wrote about Morsi’s dismissal of Tantawi I was more circumspect than many other commentators. For example, I noted that Morsi consulted with Tantawi before retiring him and gave him an honorary position afterward. And I asked, This is a coup? A completion of the revolution?

Then came announcements or suggestions that al-Sisi, Tantawi’s replacement is a closet Brotherhood supporter, and I began to wonder if I had been too cautious, too circumspect.

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Well… I’ve checked with Egyptian English language media sources and I’ve consulted with some experts in the field. And what I’m seeing is that this is a nuanced and vastly complex situation. It’s not, “Yikes! the Brotherhood has totally taken over Egypt now.”
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Obama’s GM ‘Success Story’ Headed for Bankruptcy

WHEN OBAMA INTERCEDED IN THIS DEAL HE SCREWED THE BOND HOLDERS WHO HAD PRIORITY AND GAVE A SWEETHEART DEAL TO THE UNIONS. AS A RESULT HE USED TAXPAYER MONEY TO BUY THIS YEARS ELECTORAL VOTES IN OHIO. TED BELMAN

by Arnold Ahlert, FPM

On the campaign trail, Barack Obama’s signature definition of “success” is the government bailout of General Motors. “I said I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,” he told an audience in Pueblo, CO last week. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.” That pronouncement should send a shiver up the spine of every American, due to an inconvenient reality: according to Forbes Magazine, GM is likely headed for bankruptcy all over again.

The numbers are stark. The 500,000 shares of GM stock, comprising 26 percent of the company owned by the government–or more accurately the American taxpayer–sold for $20.21 on Tuesday. This left the government holding $10.1 billion worth of stock representing an unrealized loss of $16.4 billion. Even worse, in order to reach the break-even point, the stock would have to sell for around $53 per share.
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Reason enough to bomb Iran

Ahmadinejad: Zionist regime an insult to all humanity

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Protesters hold massive rallies in cities across Iran, marking Al-Quds Day, an anti-Zionist event which calls for the liberation of Palestine; Iranian media says millions expected to attend rallies.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to Israel as a western “tool to dominate the Middle East” and an “insult to all humanity,” in a speech given at a Tehran rally marking the annual Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.
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What, if anything, is Israel doing about the infiltrators

Yishai: African migrants no less a threat than Iran

By BEN HARTMAN, JPOST

In an interview with Ynet, Yishai said the “the threat from infiltrators is no less severe than the Iranian threat. The incident today proved how much we have lost the sense of personal security for Israeli citizens.”

The incident in question was the arrest of two Eritrean men suspected of raping a 39-year-old Israeli woman in an abandoned building in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
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Is Israel Ready for War?

Megyn Kelly of Fox News interviews Ari Abromowitz who is currently hoping to become an MK representing Bayit Yehudi. Ari answered all questions diplomatically yet forcefully. He acquitted himself and Israel well.


Down Goes CNN – Who’s Next?

There seems to be an awakening of the public to media distortions. What is the next step?

Jack Engelhard, INN

The ratings are not good over there at CNN. The network’s honchos are so desperate that there’s talk they may, in part, switch to Reality TV.

What’s next? I suppose it’s The Housewives of Ramallah, starring Hanan Ashrawi. This was CNN’s sweetheart and Yasser Arafat’s mouthpiece when there was yet another suicide bombing and SOMEONE had to explain why murdering Jews was so necessary. Miss Ashrawi was no more than a phone call away and always helpful to CNN.
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Kurdistan Region through the eyes of a Middle East expert

By Rebaz Chomany, The Kurdish Globe

U.S. educator and lecturer Gerald A. Honigman speaks of a Kurdistan without U.S. support

    “Mr. Honigman’s book presents a look at justice in the region from a much broader perspective than the view that is so prevalent today, one which only addresses the Arab cause.”
    –Dr. Sherkoh Abbas, Kurdistan National Assembly of Syria.

Q. Kurds are scared of being left and ignored by America once again. Despite the fact that the Kurds have been marked as traitors because of their close ties to America, do you think America will turn its back on Kurds again when Baghdad and Erbil are in trouble? The only source of stability America can count on in Iraq is Kurdistan Region?
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Posted by Ted Belman @ 9:08 am ET | Plink | Trackback | 1 Comment » | 226 views


Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel