Thursday, 24 January 2013


IsraPundit


Israel Isn’t Isolated  

Following the reaction to Israel’s bevy of construction announcements late last year, one would assume that Israel’s right-wing, settlement-crazed government had, once more, managed to thumb its nose at the world and deepen Israel’s already-perilous pariah position. It had just received international support during Operation Pillar of Defense and the Obama administration’s backing in opposing the Palestinian statehood bid at the UN. Yet Israel not only announced construction in East Jerusalem and the large settlement blocks, but also advanced zoning plans in E-1, a barren, 4.6 square mile area that connects Jerusalem to Maale Adumim.
(Read more…)

Obama Inaugural Address: “Peace in our time”  

by Bill Levinson
(Thanks to Jan Poller for the information)
The Exalted One said,
    We will support democracy from Asia to Africa, from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice. Not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes.
Obama and Chamberlain: “Peace in Our Time”

Bye, Bye, London  

By Caroline Glick, FPM
In an interview with Haaretz in November 2010, British novelist Martin Amis said the following about discussions of Israel in his motherland:
I live in a mildly anti-Semitic country, and Europe is mildly anti-Semitic, and they hold Israel to a higher moral standard than its neighbors. If you bring up Israel in a public meeting in England, the whole atmosphere changes. The standard left-wing person never feels more comfortable than when attacking Israel. Because they are the only foreigners you can attack. Everyone else is protected by having dark skin, or colonial history, or something. But you can attack Israel. And the atmosphere becomes very unpleasant. It is traditional, snobbish, British anti-Semitism combined with present-day circumstances.
After participating last week in a debate in London about Israeli communities beyond the 1949 armistice lines organized by the self-consciously pretentious Intelligence Squared debating society, I can now say from personal experience that Amis is correct. The public atmosphere in England regarding Israel is ugly and violent. (Read more…)

King Abdullah of Jordan in the hot seat  

As Elections Near, Protesters in Jordan Increasingly Turn Anger Toward the King - Kareem Fahim
For two years, protests in Jordan demanding reform have seethed, fuelled by complaints about corruption, incompetent governing and the slow pace of change. The protests have also started to broaden, to include bolder expressions of dissatisfaction with King Abdullah II. To quiet his critics, the king is relying on a new round of parliamentary elections scheduled for Wednesday to “breathe life into our democracy.” The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and the protest network Hirak are boycotting the vote. (New York Times)

See also Missed Opportunities for Reform in Jordan - Editorial
The Jordanian parliamentary election scheduled for Wednesday represents another missed opportunity for the regime of King Abdullah II. The electoral system is engineered to block the two political forces most threatening to the regime: the Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinians, who outnumber Jordan’s native population. Gerrymandered districts that leave Palestinian areas underrepresented, and a limitation of party lists to 27 of the parliament’s 150 seats, ensure that local tribal leaders will once again predominate in the assembly.
The idea that autocracy can survive in a country that borders Israel and Iraq as well as Syria is a delusion. If change in Jordan does not soon come from the palace, it will come from the street. (Washington Post)

Bibi’s Obvious Option: Coalition with Lapid and Bennett  

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his weekly cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his weekly cabinet meeting.
Photo Credit: Miriam Alster/FLASH90

Benjamin Netanyahu’s main goal at this point is a government of at least between 65 and 67 seats. There’s no point in squeezing through with a coalition that would be living at the mercy of its members.
(Read more…)

Obama’s Anti-Zionism  

by Daniel Pipes
The Washington Times
January 22, 2013
N.B.: Some small differences from the Washington Times version, which is titled “Obama second term bodes trouble for Israel”
Were Barack Obama re-elected, I predicted two months before the Nov. 2012 presidential vote, “the coldest treatment of Israel ever by a U.S. president will follow.” Well, election’s over and that cold treatment is firmly in place. Obama has signaled in the past two months what lies ahead by:
  • Choosing three senior figures – John Kerry for State, John Brennan for the CIA, and Chuck Hagel for Defense – who range from clueless to hostile about Israel.
  • Approving a huge gift of advanced weapons – 20 F-16 fighter jets and 200 M1A1 Abrams tanks – to the Islamist government in Egypt despite the fact that its president, Mohamed Morsi, has becoming increasingly despotic and calls Jews “blood-suckers, … warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs.”
  • Reiterating the patronizing 35-year old tactic relied upon by anti-Israel types to condemn Israeli policies while pretending to be concerned for the country’s welfare: “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.”
  • Ignoring evidence of Cairo importing Scud missile parts from North Korea.
  • Rebuffing the 239 House members who called for closing the PLO office in Washington in response to the PLO’sdrive for state-observer status at the United Nations.

The three nominees – Chuck Hagel, John Kerry, John Brennan. (Read more…)
 

A Preliminary Analysis of Israel’s Election by Barry Rubin  

As expected, Israel has once again made Benjamin Netanyahu its prime minister. The results were not as positive for him as they might have been but are good enough to reelect him.
While some might find this paradoxical, the results show that Israelis have a basic consensus and yet have very different ways of expressing their political positions. This isn’t surprising given the fact that 32 parties were on the ballot.
(Read more…)

Yesh Atid ignored the peace process  

Thought Lapid , who always was prepared to join the Netayahu government, did take the position in support of an undivided Jerusalem. I see no obstacles to Lapid and Netayuahu getting together.
The following has been taken from the Yesh Atid campaign site.
THE AGENDA OF YESH ATID UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF YAIR LAPID
Yesh Atid seeks to address the most pressing issues in Israel today through:
    - Reforming the increasingly ineffective system of government
    - Overhauling the educational system which is currently at an all-time low
    - Creating a more equitable system for the enlistment of young Israelis in serving their country
    - Jump starting the economy through small business assistance for the middle class
    - Providing housing opportunities for IDF veterans and young couples


Obama’s Anti-Zionism  

Daniel Pipes:
… Obama has signaled in the past two months what lies ahead by:

  • Choosing three senior figures – John Kerry for State, John Brennan for the CIA, and Chuck Hagel for Defense – who range from clueless to hostile about Israel.
  • Approving a huge gift of advanced weapons – 20 F-16 fighter jets and 200 M1A1 Abrams tanks – to the Islamist government in Egypt despite the fact that its president, Mohamed Morsi, has becoming increasingly despotic and calls Jews “blood-suckers, … warmongers, the descendants of apes and pigs.”
  • Reiterating the patronizing 35-year old tactic relied upon by anti-Israel types to condemn Israeli policies while pretending to be concerned for the country’s welfare: “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are.” …


Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel

Posted by Britannia Radio at 16:06