Friday, 29 March 2013


IsraPundit

Israel’s Economy has the Power to Astound  

Israel’s Economy has the Power to Astound
Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger, “Second Thought: US-Israel Initiative”
inFocus Quarterly, Jewish Policy Center, Spring 2013, http://bit.ly/Yi5A15
Global agencies assess Israel
During 2012, the three leading global credit rating companies, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended Israel’s economicperformance and expressed confidence in its long-term viability.
On September 30, 2012, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) reaffirmed Israel’s A+ credit rating, at a time when it lowered the credit rating of an increasing number of Western countries.  According to S&P, “the Israeli economy continues to generate solid economic growth….  Major security risks will be contained…. There is sufficient political will to prevent a sizable increase in the government’s debt burden…. We forecast that by the middle of the decade domestic natural gas production should contribute to improved external and fiscal balances.” 

Israel’s apology to Turkey was a mistake  

by Efraim Inbar, The Jerusalem Post
Israel’s apology to Turkey for “operational errors” in the Mavi Marmara incident is a diplomatic mistake both in terms of substance and timing. It’s hard to understand or justify Israel’s weekend apology to Turkey. While the use of Israeli force in the Mavi Marmara “flotilla” incident was not very elegant, it was perfectly legitimate – as the UN-appointed “Palmer Commission” unequivocally determined. Moreover, the incident was a Turkish provocation that warrants a Turkish apology, not an Israeli one.
Worse still, the hopes in Jerusalem for a new era in Israeli-Turkish relations in exchange for the apology are simply illusory.
The Israeli apology will hardly stop Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s regular Israel-bashing rhetoric. Nor has it secured a clear Turkish commitment for the resumption of full diplomatic relations. (Read more…)

Righteousness of our cause – apology be damned  

Avigdor Lieberman, YNET NEWS
Shortly after the Six-Day War ended, then-IDF chief of staff Yitzhak Rabin delivered a speech that will be remembered as the “Tzidkat Haderech (righteousness of our cause)” address. In his speech, he spoke of the “recognition of the IDF’s superiority of spirit and morals, as was revealed in the heat of war.”
Rabin said: “It all starts and ends with the spirit. Our soldiers prevailed not by their weapons but by their awareness of their supreme mission, by their awareness of the righteousness of their cause, by their deep love for their homeland and by their recognition of the difficult task laid upon them – to ensure the existence of our people in our homeland.”
(Read more…)

Israel Law Ctr: Erdogan Should Be Tried for Mavi Marmara Deaths  

[Way to go Nitsana. Everyone should be outraged. MK's are keeping a low profile generally. Even Bennett avoided the outrage. ]
An Israeli law activist contends that it is Turkey’s prime minister, rather than Israel’s naval commandos, who should have been tried for the deaths of the nine men who clashed with Israeli soldiers on the Mavi Marmara in May 2010.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, director of Shurat HaDin, the Israel Law Center, expressed outrage in a statement to Arutz Sheva slamming the apology to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for the deaths of those killed by the commandos during the clashes.
Immediately following the incident which involved the Mavi Marmara flotilla vessel in an illegal attempt to break Israel’s maritime blockade of Gaza, Israel’s long-time ally broke off high-level diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.
(Read more…)

Erekat: Arab delegation will present peace plan in Washington  

Ted Belman. Something is going on. Obama is forging new relations between the Arabs and Israel. The cease fire in Gaza involved Qatar and Egypt who both undertook to get involved and Israel agreed. Bibi apologized to Turkey as part of a bigger deal which included Obama agreeing to side with Israel on the right of return by saying the Palestinians had to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He is building bridges between Saudi Arabia and Turkey and Israel. They all want a common front against Syria and Iran. Bibi is cutting deals all over the place. I see him compromising on the settlement blocs and on Jerusalem in order to have peace in our time. But don’t worry, he won’t jeopardize our security.
A few weeks ago I wrote , Maybe things aren’t so bad. referring to Obama’s visit.
DOHA, Qatar (Ma’an) — A delegation of Arab ministers will head to
Washington to discuss the Arab Peace Initiative with US President Barack
Obama’s new administration, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said
Wednesday.
The delegation “aims to declare a joint stand towards the peace process so
America realizes this is not only a Palestinian issue but an Arabic and
Islamic one as well,” Erekat said.
(Read more…)


Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel

Posted by Britannia Radio at 09:13