If You Think America Should Go to War in Syria You Haven’t Been Paying Attention
By Barry Rubin
“You should be careful what you wish for, as the reasons for war get confused. One person can be very clear in their motives, but others can have different agendas.” –Dougray Scott
I am amazed at the current U.S. debate over Syria. Those urging intervention may be driven by humanitarian good intentions, to end the fighting and ease suffering. But whatever they are proposing–no-fly zones, safe havens, direct supply of weapons to rebels, etc—have they actually considered how four highly visible, recent precedents turned out?
Afghanistan: There is no question but that after September 11, 2001, the United States had to invade Afghanistan, destroy the al-Qaida infrastructure there, and overthrow its Taliban partner. Yet today, twelve years later U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan! The delusion of rebuilding that country has predictably failed. About 2200 Americans have died, many of them killed by Afghan “allies.” The Afghan government is not exactly “grateful.” The Taliban is still strong. Again, that war was necessary but how worthwhile was it and how expensive and difficult has it been for the United States to extricate itself. Even after 4 and one-half years of Barack Obama U.S. soldiers are still there.
The Holocaust List 2012 has finally opened up to public
List found. This story was aired on CBS on “60 MINUTES” ** about a long-secret German archive that houses a treasure trove of information on 17.5 million victims of the Holocaust.
The archive, located in the German town of Bad Arolsen, is massive (there are 16 miles of shelving containing 50 million pages of documents) and until recently, was off-limits to the public.
But after the German government agreed earlier this year to open the archives, CBS News’ Scott Pelley traveled there with three Jewish survivors who were able to see their own Holocaust records. It’s an incredibly moving piece, all the more poignant in the wake of the meeting of Holocaust deniers in Iran and the denial speeches in the UN.
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Help fight antisemitism on campus
By Ted Belman.
I received an email today asking me to come to the defense of Tammi Rossman Benjamin who I met when she visited Israel over a year ago. Tammi is leadfing the fight against antisemitism on campus and is being vilified for it like Pamela Geller is vilified.:
- I believe you are aware of the heroic work Tammi is doing to combat anti-Semitism at the University of California. The source of this anti-Semitism are various Moslem student groups. Now they have started a vicious campaign against Tammi.
- Tammi is fighting the fight all of us (who are not in the IDF) should be fighting on behalf of the Jewish people. The harassment, anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism Tammi is fighting contains in it an insidious danger, and that is to drive Jews away from a sense of connection with Israel.
- We have just seen how Stephen Hawkings a world reknown scientist folded like a bridge chair in the face of Arab pressure. Imagine the pressure on Tammi
- I urge you to both publicize her plight and to urge your readers to do as Tammi is asking, which is to send e-mails on her behalf to various UC officials, most importantly, President Yudof. You have acquired a crew of characters who comment on IsraPundit. Perhaps with this matter they can be convinced to act and not just pontificate.
Very Good News Israel
In the 12th May 2012 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
· Israeli experts are helping Boston residents recover from trauma.
· There are now school education facilities in all Israeli hospital children’s units.
· Israeli doctors are caring for an abandoned disabled Gaza toddler.
· The Israeli army is clearing old landmines laid by the Jordanian army near Bethlehem.
· Israeli software can measure the different emotions in speech.
· Sony is investing millions to help develop Israeli medical devices.
· Depeche Mode entertained 35,000 fans in Tel Aviv.
· Archaeologists have found a door key lost near Jerusalem at the time of the Second Temple.
Successes and Failures of the BDS Campaign
A concerted and well-organized campaign calling for “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” (BDS) against the State of Israel has been in effect for several years. In spite of its constant use of belligerent, violent, and deceitful tactics, the BDS movement has very little to show in the way of success regarding sanctions or divestment. However, the cultural boycott is a different story.
In the academic sphere, while low-level bodies have declared their intention to divest from companies invested in Israel, higher-level and managerial bodies usually reject the idea. This same dynamic is manifested in boycott and divestment attempts by religious bodies.
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Serbia – An important and reliable ally for Israel
I hardly followed the Balkan wars and simply accepted the western condemnation of Serbia for its “genocide” against the Muslims in its province, Kosovo. That is until Felix Quigley, and his friends clued me in. This was in 2006. After a year and a half of being tutored I reversed my beliefs. The Serbs were getting the same treatment as the Israelis get. Both had to contend with a campaign of lies and demonization. Do a search for “Kosovo” on Israpundit. Ted Belman
By Michael Freund, The Jerusalem Post
Tomislav Nikolic, the president of Serbia, began an official state visit to Israel Monday, marking the first time that he has traveled to Jerusalem since his election triumph last year.
Normally, the only excitement generated by a visiting head of state is some rowdier honking of Israelis’ car horns, as drivers find themselves trapped in a series of capricious and unforgiving traffic jams. But Nikolic’s three-day stopover is far more than just another diplomatic social call. Serbia is an important friend and ally of the Jewish State and the Serbian leader’s visit underlines just how close relations have become between the two countries. Israelis and world Jewry should welcome this turn of events and seek additional ways to broaden and deepen the relationship still further.
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Netanyahu’s negotiating tactics need revision
By Ted Belman
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ precondition for starting negotiations is that Israel accept the pre-1967 armistice lines as the basis for those negotiations. Of course, east Jerusalem, including the entire Old City, is on the Arab side. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rightly rejects this and insists on negotiations without preconditions. And he doesn’t tire of assuring Israelis that he will not jeopardize their security.
Abbas recently demanded that Netanyahu present a map of Palestine; Netanyahu declined. Three years earlier, the White House also pressed Netanyahu for a map, without success. Netanyahu gave as his reasons: the need for an understanding on security issues such as Palestinian demilitarization and an Israeli military presence on the Jordan River, and the need for an end-of-conflict agreement before dealing with the border issue. (Read more…)
Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel
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