Friday 28 August 2009

RubinReports: Obama Administration’s Arab-Israeli Policy Adjustment: Out of the Frying Pan Into the…Saucepan

Obama Administration’s Arab-Israeli Policy Adjustment: Out of the Frying Pan Into the…Saucepan

By Barry Rubin

The Obama Administration is slowly adjusting its policy on Arab-Israeli issues but doing so in a way that ensures it still won't work. They understand they were doing it wrong, they still don’t understand what they were doing wrong.

Briefly, in phase one the administration demanded Israel unilaterally stop construction on settlements in the West Bank, activity which not only all previous U.S. presidents in practice accepted but so did the Palestinians. By accepted, I don’t mean the Palestinians didn’t complain about it but that fact never stopped the negotiations’ process for 15 years. Obama has now achieved a full stop to the bilateral talks.

Once the United States raised the bar, the Palestinian Authority and Arab states could do no less. Now negotiations are frozen while construction isn’t.

In phase 2, U.S. policy did more unintentional damage, even though the shift was in the right direction. It asked Arab states and the Palestinians to give some confidence-building measure to Israel. They said “no,” and probably they would have done so under any conditions. That was predictable but it leads to an interesting and extremely important point.

Everyone speaks of how popular President Barack Obama is, and when it comes to the Middle East this is exaggerated. But the key word here isn’t “popular” but “credible.”

“I like you but I’m not going to bet on you,” is the way it could be expressed. If you are perceived as weak, it doesn’t matter if they think you’re a nice guy. In Middle East politics, nice guys really do finish last.

Once the whole Arab world plus Iran plus Israel defies you and you just smile and nod and don’t do anything about it, you’re credibility is even lower. Perhaps it will stay that way for four or eight years.

Now we are in Phase 3, characterized by bubbly optimism from Washington—everything’s going well, everyone’s cooperating—but still quite out of tune with reality. I have noted that false optimism--pretending progress is being made when it isn’t--can in part be a good strategy. But the administration is going about it in a way that ensures failure.

How? In the “Godfather,” Don Vito Corleone made people an offer they couldn’t refuse. If they do, they know he will back up his proposals with power. Obama makes people offers they’ll never accept. Not only do they know they'll get away with it but they can expect he will offer them even more afterward.
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RubinReports: Obama Administration’s Arab-Israeli Policy Adjustment: Out of the Frying Pan Into the…Saucepan

RubinReports: Iran’s Regime Chooses A Terrorist Who Has killed Americans as Defense Minister; Still Want to Engage Them, President Obama?

Iran’s Regime Chooses A Terrorist Who Has killed Americans as Defense Minister; Still Want to Engage Them, President Obama?

By Barry Rubin

It is beyond belief: Iran’s government has named a wanted terrorist, Ahmad Vahidi, as its defense minister.

And even that’s not all: Vahidi ran the Qods force in the 1980s and 1990s, making him responsible for liaison between Iran and foreign terrorist groups, you know, the people to whom a nuclear device might be given, exploded somewhere, and then Iran can disclaim responsibility.

And there’s more: he was also involved in the June 25, 2006, car bombing attack on the Khobar Towers which killed 19 American soldiers and a Saudi civilian. More than 400 were wounded.

Even the European Union has him on their “no-talk” list.

Can you imagine all the terrorist operations he ordered and planned that we don’t know about?

So please forgive me if I use capital letters:

A MAN WHO ORDERED AND ORGANIZED TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST AMERICANS IS GOING TO BE IRAN’S DEFENSE MINISTER.

This is the man who would have control over Iran’s nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

And the United States has said…. And the Western reaction is….

I can’t hear you!

Right, that’s precisely the problem, and neither can Tehran.

But let's consider this development for a moment. In all other countries, the defense minister's job is to run the armed forces. He has to decide what weapons to buy, how to use resources, and how to conduct operations of regular soldiers.

In contrast, in Iran, the "military" forces being used are terrorists. Therefore, a background in terrorism is the best credential for defense minister. Terrorism is the projection of military force by Iran, to destroy its foes, expand its influence, spread revolution, and subordinate other countries to its will (and perhaps even rule).

Institutionally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the extremely radical and highly ideological parallel force to the regular military, is the base of power for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. To a large extent, it has become the ruler of Iran, that is with the permission of the leading figure, Spiritual Guide Ali Khamenei. Therefore, being a high-level IRGC operative is the best credential for being defense minister.

On July 18, 1994, the Jewish community center building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was attacked. Eighty-five people were killed, over 240 were wounded.

After an extensive investigation, the Argentinian government concluded in its October 2006 report that this attack was ordered by Iran’s government and carried out by Lebanese Hizballah. Vahidi was one of five Iranian officials mentioned by name as having planned the attack. One of his tasks was to coordinate with Hizballah on the operation. Interpol put him on its wanted list.
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RubinReports: Iran’s Regime Chooses A Terrorist Who Has killed Americans as Defense Minister; Still Want to Engage Them, President Obama?

The Israel Test

The Israel Test

Israel Matzav: Merkel: No connection between Iran and Holocaust?

Merkel: No connection between Iran and Holocaust?

Coming from the Chancellor of the country that perpetrated the Holocaust at a press conference with the leader of the country that most embodies its survivors regarding the country that denies the Holocaust and threatens to produce another one, this statement is simply incredible.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in response to a question about the analogy being made between Iran and Nazism, "There is no comparison between the Holocaust and the Iranian nuclear program. Things have changed since then.

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Israel Matzav: Merkel: No connection between Iran and Holocaust?

Israel Matzav: Obama setting Israel up to be Iran 'fall guy'?

Obama setting Israel up to be Iran 'fall guy'?

Caroline Glick has an interesting theory of how the Obama administration will use an Israeli 'settlement freeze' to blame Israel for the inevitable change in course he is going to have make on Iran.

So unless something saves him, Obama will look like quite a fool next month. His appeasement policy has given the mullahs eight precious months of unimpeded work at their nuclear installations. Their uranium enrichment facility at Natanz is now operating some 5,000 centrifuges, with another 2,400 centrifuges about to go on line. That is an eightfold increase in centrifuge activity from a year ago.

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Israel Matzav: Obama setting Israel up to be Iran 'fall guy'?

Israel Matzav: Englewood, New Jersey v. Gadhafi and the US State Department

Englewood, New Jersey v. Gadhafi and the US State Department

Writing in the New York Post, former Israel Radio New York correspondent Benny Avni sizes up the chances of the City of Englewood, New Jersey keeping Libyan dictator Muammar Gadhafi from (literally) pitching his tent in the town.

Standing in the other corner is Englewood's mayor, Michael Wildes. He estimates that the visit of the dictator and a terrorist could cost the town $20,000 a day -- and asks, "Why should I pay while he entertains his guests in my city?"

Can he prevent the visit? He says Khadafy has failed to file required town paperwork and violated several town building codes, and should get at least rhetorical support from politicians statewide.

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Israel Matzav: Englewood, New Jersey v. Gadhafi and the US State Department

Israel Matzav: Your tax dollars at work

Israel Matzav: Your tax dollars at work

Israel Matzav: Likud in revolt?

Israel Matzav: Likud in revolt?

Israel Matzav: One good 'gesture' deserves another?

One good 'gesture' deserves another?

With 'progress' being reported in the 'negotiations' to release hundreds of Hamas terrorists in exchange for one kidnapped IDF corporal named Gilad Shalit, YNet reports that the Olmert government agreed with the 'Palestinian Authority' that in the event that Israel releases hundreds of terrorists to Hamas in exchange for Shalit, it will release hundreds more to Abu Mazen Bluff to boost his standing among the 'Palestinians.'

Palestinian sources told Ynet that during talks with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government, it was agreed that if and when a deal is sealed, Israel will also release hundreds of prisoners with the purpose of boosting Abbas' standing

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Israel Matzav: One good 'gesture' deserves another?

Israel Matzav: Israel to gain energy independence?

Israel to gain energy independence?

Business Week reports that because the natural gas tracts discovered off Israel's Mediterranean coast are substantially larger than previously believed, Israel may actually gain energy independence.

As CEO of Delek Drilling, an Israeli oil and gas exploration company, Zvi Greenfeld is a self-proclaimed optimist in an extremely risky business. But even Greenfeld was taken aback by the news on Aug. 11 that the huge natural gas reserves off the country's central and northern Mediterranean coast discovered by Delek and its partners in January are 16% bigger than estimated just one month ago. Independent energy experts reckon this once energy-poor country now has enough natural gas to meet its needs for the next two decades and may ultimately even transform itself into an energy exporter.

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Israel Matzav: Israel to gain energy independence?

Israel Matzav: Let the 'Palestinians' abrogate Oslo

Let the 'Palestinians' abrogate Oslo

Alan Baker, the former legal adviser to the foreign ministry, argues that 'Palestinian' Prime Minister Salam Fayyad's plan to declare a 'Palestinian state' by 2011, with or without Israeli approval, would violate the Oslo 'interim accords' that were signed in 1995.

THE 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with all its faults and difficulties, nevertheless still remains the valid source of authority for the Palestinian administration in the territories, as well as for the entire functioning of Palestinian governance. This agreement sets out and enables the establishment and functioning of the Palestinian Council (which serves as the parliament of the Palestinian Authority), details the mode of election of its members and appointment of its ministers, and defines its jurisdiction, its legislative and other powers, structure and prerogatives.

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Israel Matzav: Let the 'Palestinians' abrogate Oslo

Israel Matzav: Video: Hamas recruiting commercial

Israel Matzav: Video: Hamas recruiting commercial

Israel Matzav: And then there were 4% who believe Obama is pro-Israel

And then there were 4% who believe Obama is pro-Israel

A new Smith poll in Friday's JPost shows that only 4% of Jewish Israelis believe that President Obama is pro-Israel. With a 4.5% margin of error, the poll leaves open the possibility that there is no statistically significant number of Jewish Israelis who believe that the President is pro-Israel - a stunning result in a country that is still considered an American ally. The poll also found that 51% of Israelis - an absolute majority - consider the President pro-'Palestinian,' 35% consider him neutral and 10% had no opinion or were not sure.
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Israel Matzav: And then there were 4% who believe Obama is pro-Israel

Love of the Land: An Open Letter

An Open Letter



President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Sir:

In your Cairo speech [June 4, 2009] you referred to the West Bank as "occupied" by Israel. You implied that the Palestinian Arabs were being denied the sovereign rights to their homeland. But the West Bank was never a sovereign state to Palestinian Arabs. In the ancient world, Judea and Samaria belonged to what was then a sovereign Jewish state, a state from which the Jews were repeatedly driven by foreign conquerors: among them Babylonians, Romans, and Christian crusaders. However often they were driven from their ancient homeland, Jews always returned.

The millennial claims of the Jews contrast with the fact that the Palestinian people of today have no such historic claims. In fact, the Palestinians whose national identity you recognize did not exist before 1967. The West Bank was conquered in 1948 by Jordan, which subsequently annexed it and then later de-annexed it. It was de-annexed when the King of Jordan discovered he had added to his kingdom Palestinians who wanted to overthrow his monarchy. For the same reason, Israel does not want to add enemies to its body politic.

During the 19 years that Jordan controlled the West Bank, not a word was heard of a Palestinian people. After Israel's victory in 1967, Palestinian nationalism was a creation of the larger Arab world, which saw in a Palestinian state a platform from which to launch Israel's ultimate destruction. But they recognize that that victory will never come until America's support of Israel is sufficiently undermined.

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Love of the Land: An Open Letter

Love of the Land: Mr. Obama, Hebron is an eternal home for Jews

Mr. Obama, Hebron is an eternal home for Jews


Eighty years after a massacre of Jews here and despite ongoing Arab threats, we yearn for peace. But will Obama's pressure on settlements force us to leave?

The Obama administration is pressuring Israel to agree to a total building freeze of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). It may not be long before Israelis are forced to withdraw from places such as Hebron, in order to "prevent terror" and "achieve peace."

It's commonly thought that "if only" Israel would give up all land outside the 1967 borders, then peace would be at hand. However, Arab terror against Jews did not begin after the Six-Day War in 1967.

Eighty years ago today, Arabs massacred 67 Jews in Hebron and wounded 70 more. Incited by the grand mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini, and shouting "Kill the Jews!", the perpetrators raped, mutilated, tortured, beheaded, or dismembered men, women, children, and even babies in a two-day spree of violence. The victims were guilty of no crime. Jews had lived there for hundreds of years in peace with their neighbors. But Arab instigators preached hateful sermons and spread malicious rumors that boiled over into bloodshed.

Of the many accounts of betrayal and courage that day in 1929, here are two:

Ben-tzion Gershon, a doctor and pharmacist who treated Jews and Arabs in Hebron, defied his wife's warnings and opened the door to an Arab woman who feigned that she was about to give birth. The woman moved aside, and a murderous mob stormed in and gang-raped his wife. When Dr. Gershon begged them to stop, they answered: "If you don't want to see it, you don't have to" – and gouged his eyes out before killing him, according to the testimony of one of Gershon's daughter.

Some Arabs showed great courage in protecting Jews that day. One Arab landlord refused to allow his Jewish tenants to be murdered. He stood fast outside the door of their home, even when a fellow Arab put a sword to his throat and drew blood. The landlord refused to budge and finally the mob relented.

As British High Commissioner Sir John Chancellor put it: "I do not think that history records many worse horrors in the last few hundred years...."

Three days after the massacre the ruling British expelled the surviving victims from Hebron, leaving the city without a Jewish presence for the first time since 1260.

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Love of the Land: Mr. Obama, Hebron is an eternal home for Jews

Love of the Land: The Middle East Matrix

The Middle East Matrix


End the illusion of illegal occupation.

Mark B.Kaplan
Israelnationalnews.com
28 August 09

What if everything you think you know to be true is a lie, and everything you see is just an illusion? Sounds like a promo for The Matrix, but this is the reality of life in the Middle East. The rules that apply to other countries strangely change when applied to Israel. Israel becomes subject to "international law" based upon a legal foundation of facts that don't exist; Israel has leaders, but the leaders would rather suffer the existence of abusive friendships than fight back and protect their children.

The United States is leading the crusade against Israel. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are not only demanding Israel freeze all "settlement construction", including natural growth, but that Jewish rights be curbed in Jerusalem. Obama is also calling Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria an "occupation."

Yes, Israel does have rights under international law, and the Arab propaganda accusation of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine is another falsehood that needs to end. Israel's government has never stood up for Jewish land rights. Can it be that they don't even know what those rights are?
It's frustrating to see Israeli leaders refuse to challenge the false accusations. The fact is that international law does have a lot to say about Israel's rights in Judea, Samaria and beyond. Israel's leaders, President Obama, and the entire world body should look to international law before declaring that Israel should freeze construction, or even worse, surrender portions of the Jewish National Homeland.
Jerusalem attorney Howard Grief spent twenty five years researching Israel's legal rights under international law. Grief summed up Israel's legal rights in a new 700-page book entitled, The Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law. According to Grief, Israel and its legal borders were supposed to be set by the historical formula adopted by the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers at the San Remo Peace Conference in April 1920. Those historical borders were supposed to encompass the Biblical formula of "from Dan to Beersheba." Unfortunately, the French and the British conspired to cut off large portions of Jewish national land before the ink on the Mandate was dry.
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Love of the Land: The Middle East Matrix

Love of the Land: Remembering the Hebron Massacre

Remembering the Hebron Massacre



Until 1929, Jews had lived in the city for three millennia.

Jerold S. Auerbach
Wall Street Journal
27 August 09

No theme is more deeply embedded in Jewish history than exile and return. The biblical exodus from Egypt to the promised land, the return from Babylonian exile, and, most recently, the establishment of the state of Israel all affirmed the enduring determination of the Jewish people to return to their homeland.

Yet another wrenching exile and return, now rarely remembered, occurred 80 years ago this week. On Aug. 23-24, 1929, the Jewish community of Hebron was exiled following a horrific pogrom. The tragedy is known as Tarpat, an acronym for its date in the Hebrew calendar.

Until 1929, Jews had lived in Hebron for three millennia. There, according to Jewish tradition, Abraham purchased the cave of Machpelah to bury Sarah. It was the first parcel of land owned by the Jewish people in their promised land. Ever since, religious Jews revered Hebron as the burial site of their matriarchs and patriarchs. Conquered, massacred and expelled over the centuries, Jews always returned to this sacred place.

After 1267, under Muslim rule, no Jews were permitted to pray inside the magnificent enclosure, built by King Herod in the 1st century, that still surrounds the burial caves. But following the expulsion of Jews from Spain at the end of the 15th century, a small group of religious Jews rebuilt a community of study and prayer in Hebron.

In August 1929, that community was suddenly and brutally attacked. Incited by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem—who claimed that Jews were endangering Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—Arab rioters swept through Palestine. In Hebron, the carnage was horrendous.

It began on Friday afternoon when Arabs attacked Jews with clubs and murdered a yeshiva student. The next morning, joined by local villagers, Arabs swarmed through Hebron screaming "Kill the Jews." They broke into the home of Eliezer Dan Slonim, where many Jews had gathered for safety. There they wielded knives and axes to murder 22 innocents. In the Anglo-Palestine Bank, where 23 corpses were discovered, blood covered the tile floor. That day, three children under the age of five were murdered. Teenage girls, their mothers and grandmothers were raped and killed. Rabbis and their students were castrated before they were slain. A surviving yeshiva student recounted that he "had seen greater horrors than Dante in hell."
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Love of the Land: Remembering the Hebron Massacre

The Torah Revolution: "Interesting" and "Eye opening"

The Torah Revolution: "Interesting" and "Eye opening"

TV

TV


27
Aug
2009

Q: What is Ha-Rav's opinion on having a television in one's home?
A: There are three problems with television:
1. Television is a snake. It is true that there are good things on television but there are also bad things. The problem is that when people start to watch TV, they cannot stop. They begin watching good programs but then watch inappropriate things, such as violence, stupidity, etc. It is similar to cigarettes and alcohol: people cannot overcome bad behavior. A study was done and people were asked: do you watch stupid things on TV? This means that they themselves considered the programs to be stupid. 60% answered that they watch stupid programs. They were then asked: if you are watching an intelligent program and it is follow by a stupid program, do you have the strength to stop watching? 90% answered that they continue to watch. People are not strong by nature.
2. In many homes where there is a TV, there is no family life. People do not talk to one another. Parents do not talk to their children, and spouses do not talk.
3. One who watches TV is passive. You are not thinking or using your intellect. You are just watching, watching, watching and watching.
Therefore, TV does not contribute positively to humanity. It is not only a problem for Judaism, but for all humanity.
[note: In Shut Teshuvot Ve-Hanhagot (1:368), Ha-Rav Moshe Sternbuch was asked by a Ba'al Teshuvah (newly-observant person) who was still living at his parents' home: it is permission to break my parents' television set? Ha-Rav Sternbuch begins by saying that watching TV is very destructive, leads to many transgressions and he should do everything in his power to stop his family from watching TV.
Regarding damaging the TV, he notes that there is a dispute between the Ketzot Ha-Choshen (known as the "Ketzos" in the Yeshiva world) and the Netivot Ha-Mishpat (known as "Nesivos) (Choshen Mishpat 3) if the halachah that one may stop someone from violating a prohibition by force applies to each individual or only to Beit Din (Jewish court). He rules that it applies to a Beit Din. And, even according to the opinion that it applies to an individual, one cannot take away someone else's money without a ruling from a Beit Din.
He also points to the Gemara in Berachot (20a) that one of the Rabbis ripped off a red garment from a woman in the street because it was immodest. Although the Gemara praises him, he himself seems to say at the end that he should not have been so hasty. Furthermore, Rachel stole Lavan's idols, but Yaakov Avinu apparently did not approve of such behavior and declared that whoever stole them will die, and this is indeed was happened to Rachel.
Ha-Rav Shternbuch concludes that no action should be taken without consulting a Rav since more damage than good may come out of it. It is best to explain to them the destructive effects of TV and try to persuade them with kind words.]
Originally posted by Torat HaRav Aviner

70% of Likud Against Netanyahu Policies - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News

70% of Likud Against Netanyahu Policies - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News
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Shdema: IDF Stops Activists from Fighting Arab Vandalism - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News

Shdema: IDF Stops Activists from Fighting Arab Vandalism - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News
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Mesika: Close Down 'Peace Now' - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

Mesika: Close Down 'Peace Now' - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News
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Is Peres Acting Foreign Minister? - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News

Is Peres Acting Foreign Minister? - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News

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UNIFIL Mandate Extension Warns of Resolution 1701 Violations - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

UNIFIL Mandate Extension Warns of Resolution 1701 Violations - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News
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Israeli Researcher Finds Natural Cure for Insomnia - Health - Israel News - Israel National News

Israeli Researcher Finds Natural Cure for Insomnia - Health - Israel News - Israel National News
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STOP IRAN BEFORE IT BUILDS NUKE

STOP IRAN BEFORE IT BUILDS NUKE

Dore Gold: Stop Iran Before It Builds Nuke

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
By: Jim Meyers

Former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and best-selling author Dore Gold tells Newsmax that the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is more immediate and more dangerous than commonly believed.

Gold, whose latest book is "The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies the West," asserts that the Islamic Republic already has the nuclear fuel necessary to produce two atomic weapons. And he warns that a nuclear Iran would not only threaten Israel and Europe, but surely set off a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East.

Gold's earlier New York Times best-sellers include "The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City." He served at the U.N. from 1997 through 1999, and is currently president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.

Newsmax.TV's Kathleen Walter asked Gold where Iran stands now with its nuclear program. "We know from data of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran has already enriched uranium in sufficient quantities so that they have basically the feedstock for making military grade uranium sufficient for two atomic bombs," Gold said. "That is of June 2009.

If no one stops the centrifuges from spinning in Natanz - that's where the enrichment is going on in Iran - then they will have even more enriched uranium in the future. "In terms of missiles, they have new missiles which they have been launching that are solid fuel, that are multi-stage, and are able to strike targets deep into European territory."

Is it too late to block Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and what should President Barack Obama do about the Iranian threat? Walter asked. "I don't think it is too late to block Iran," Gold declared. "I think there are a number of measures that can be taken very quickly. First of all, President Obama and the administration have spoken about engaging Iran.

A lot of time has been given in 2009 for that engagement, and essentially the message from Iran is they will not stop their nuclear program. "That means the West as a whole has to move to a new stage of painful, I repeat painful, sanctions on Iran, even if it's implemented just by the U.S. and its European allies. That can cut very deeply into the Iranian economy, especially if the export of gasoline and other refined products is halted. "

Last but not least, the military option must be on the table. In my book I prove that only the fear of a Western military strike, along with painful sanctions, might bring the Iranians to stop what they're doing." Walter asked why Iran has been allowed to get this far with its nuclear development. "I stress in the book that almost every American administration and many European leaders have totally underestimated the threat of Iran," Gold responded.

"There is a whole cottage industry trying to present to the American people and to the Western alliance as a whole the idea that Iran does not have hostile intentions. That is completely wrong." Asked how Israel is faring in the face of the Iranian threat, the former Israeli ambassador told Newsmax: "I think the Israeli leadership is fully aware that Iran has stated that it wants to destroy the state of Israel, and it has said that in the context of its acquisition of atomic weapons.

"Israel is preparing to defend its people if Iran decides to move down that road. But Israel is also aware that the entire Middle East is today threatened." A nuclear Iran would lead to a "chain reaction" across the Middle East, with countries like Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia all seeking their own nuclear weapons programs. "You would suddenly have, in the most unstable part of the world, multiple nuclear powers that would each suspect each other of planning to strike one another, creating a very unstable security situation for the whole area," said Gold.

But the real problem with a nuclear Iran, he added, is that Iran is the "greatest supporter of international terrorism around the world, and terrorist organizations would act far more freely knowing that the country that is supporting them has a nuclear umbrella.

"For that reason a nuclear Iran must be stopped."
© 2009 Newsmax.

Iran must be denuked!
DaphneCo-founder
DeNuke Iran
taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

Love of the Land: Swedish Future

Swedish Future


Sweden's Future is Islamist: Miss Sweden in a Burqa (or Burka) : Dry Bones cartoon.


The cartoon shows a future Miss Sweden in a burqa, the body-bag in which Islamists want to imprison all women. The demonization of Jews and the Jewish State continues in full force. The insane Islamist antisemitic incitement has now commandeered the European press. The end will, of course, be the Arabization of Europe. Here's Alan Dershowitz commenting on the latest outrage out of Sweden:

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Love of the Land: Swedish Future

Israelis Invent New Fuel System That Guarantees Cheaper Prices and Less Pollution

Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update

Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update




"When you go out to war against your enemies and G-d will give him into your hands."
(From this week's Torah portion, Ki Tetzei, Deuteronomy 21:10)

This verse is simple in its optimism. Israel goes out to war and G-d gives them victory. Simple as it may be, it is the Divine recipe for victory in war.

First of all, "When you go out to war". War - not a "low intensity conflict" and not "containment." The first condition is to define the situation as war and to invest the resources and fortitude necessary for war.

Secondly, "against your enemies." In a war, there is an enemy. He must be clear and defined. But in order to define the enemy, one must first define himself. If you know who you are, you can know what threatens you, and find the strength and courage to define and defeat it.

When Israel will integrate its Jewish identity into its national life, it will easily define its enemies. And then, G-d promises, He will "give them into our hands."

Shabbat Shalom,

Moshe Feiglin

More information on J Street

J Street is anti-Israel and anti-Peace

The organization which calls itself “J Street” is billed as “pro-Israel and pro-peace”. It presents itself as an alternative to AIPAC, which it says is dominated by the “far right”. It appears to be very well-funded and has numerous well-known liberal Jews among its supporters.

In fact, J Street’s goals are inimical to the continued existence of the state of Israel. Its supporters either desire the elimination of the Jewish state or do not understand the consequences of accepting its principles.

Here is J Street’s Statement of Principles, with my comments.

We support:

  • Consistent and concerted diplomatic engagement by the United States to achieve Israeli-Arab peace. A negotiated end to the Israeli-Arab and Israeli-Palestinian conflicts serves both U.S. and Israeli strategic and security interests. Achieving it must be a priority for any future U.S. administration;

“Engagement” is a code word for pressure on Israel to make concrete, irrevocable concessions — giving up territory — in return for unenforceable promises of peace and normal relations. Whenever the US has been “engaged” — after the 1967 and 1973 wars, the Israeli-Egyptian ‘peace’ deal, the 1982 agreement that let Arafat and his terrorists escape Beirut, and of course Oslo — Israel has been forced to give up gains earned in blood in return for promises, both from the US and the Arabs, that were not fulfilled.

  • An enduring relationship between the US and Israel that promotes their common interests. We recognize and support Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, a democratic country that promises equal rights for all its citizens and that has the right to defend itself against external threats;

This paragraph makes two points: Israel is the “homeland of the Jewish people”, but not a Jewish state; and it only promises, but does not provide, equal rights for all of its citizens. In order to understand the importance of the juxtaposition of these statements, we need to consider the demands presently being made by the elite of the Israeli-Arab population: their understanding of ‘equal rights’ essentially calls for the elimination of the Jewish character of the state.

  • The creation of a viable Palestinian state as part of a negotiated two-state solution, based on the 1967 borders with agreed reciprocal land swaps. The future Palestinian state will require unprecedented levels of international economic and political support to succeed, including a resolution of the refugee issue within the new Palestinian state and in current host countries;

For various reasons, including the lack of support among Palestinians for any non-rejectionist leadership, majority support for Hamas, and the military capabilities of the Iranian-funded and armed Hamas, a peaceful Palestinian state simply impossible. A fantasy. If we ignore this and create a state anyway, we will be helping set up a terrorist entity like today’s Gaza strip right next to Israeli population centers.

  • An Israeli-Syrian peace agreement based on the land-for-peace formula, security guarantees, and details outlined in previous negotiations;

Another fantasy. Giving up the Golan heights will drastically reduce Israel’s deterrent against Syrian attack, allow renewed terrorism on what has become a quiet front, allow Hezbollah to grow even stronger. In return, Israel will get less than what she got from Egypt, not even a prolonged cease-fire.

  • A comprehensive regional peace that builds on the Arab Initiative, leading to recognition of Israel by all its neighbors in the Middle East and the creation of a new regional approach to cooperation and security;

The Arab (Saudi) Initiative is a surrender document. It requires Israel to return to the 1967 lines with no exceptions and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Jews from their homes; it calls for a solution of the refugee problem in a way which can only be understood as their return to Israel; and Israel gets nothing until she has entirely met Arab demands. The Arab initiative directly contradicts J Street’s planks calling for land swaps and for refugees to return to the Palestinian state and not to Israel, so one wonders what it’s doing here.

  • An American policy in the Middle East more broadly based on diplomacy, multilateralism and real partnership with the European Union, the Quartet and others. We support dialogue with a broad range of countries and actors, including Iran, over confrontation in order to find solutions to the region’s conflicts.

The European Union and the Quartet members other than the US (Russia, the EU, and the UN) are all quite hostile to Israel. How does involving them help? And what exactly does J Street propose to offer to Iran in order to ‘find a solution’ to Ahmadinejad’s desire to replace US influence in the Middle East with a Shiite Caliphate? Permission to build nuclear weapons?

To advance these goals, we seek to build a broad and inclusive campaign that crosses ethnic and religious lines and in which American Jews play a prominent role.

Yes, it really helps the argument when you can say “See, even the Jews think Israel is intransigent and must be forced to make peace”.

We believe honest discussion of American and Israeli policies is healthy for the U.S., for Israel and for the American Jewish community. We will actively promote debate in the United States that is as open and spirited as it is in Israel.

In other words, Mearsheimer and Walt were right, AIPAC and the Israel Lobby ‘muzzle’ debate about Israel in the US.

In that debate, we will oppose alliances with the religious right or any radical religious ideologues in the name of supporting Israel as well as efforts to demean and fan fears of Islam or of Muslims.

It’s interesting that on the J Street site, there is no mention of any of the real threats faced by Israel from Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran. No mention of the tens of thousands of Syrian and Hezboillah missiles targeting Israel at this moment, no mention of the liklihood of war with Hezbollah and Hamas. What we find instead is an attack on Christian Zionist John Hagee! Does J Street think John Hagee is a greater menace than Nasrallah and Ahmadinejad?

The statement of principles is not in any way pro-Israel or pro-peace. It is a blueprint to force Israel back to the indefensible 1967 borders and to entirely surround her with armed terrorist entities that will continue to build up their military capabilities with Iranian funding; it encourages the radical elements among the Israeli Arabs in their struggle to turn Israel herself into a Palestinian state from within; it promotes the completely unacceptable Arab Initiative; suggests that dialogue is the way to deal with imminent military threats; makes approving noises in the direction of the antisemitic doctrine of Mearsheimer and Walt; and tries to drive a wedge between Israel and the 100+ million evangelicals in the US who want to support her.

The consequence of allowing a Hamas state to be set up in the West Bank and of failing to firmly oppose Iran and her proxies, to weaken Israel and strengthen its enemies cannot possibly be peace, but its opposite.

The primary goal of J Street appears to be to get Israel out of the territories, even though there is no partner which could create a peaceful Palestinian state. Secondarily it opposes the Jewish character of the state. Its domestic goals in the US are to reduce the influence of the Christian right and to keep Jews from making alliances with right-wing forces.

J Street is just another part of the general offensive against support for Israel in the US that has been taking place for the past few years. This one is aimed at support from liberal or uncommitted Jews, just as Jimmy Carter’s book is designed to weaken pro-Israel sentiment among Protestants.

It would be very interesting to learn the sources of funding for this slick group’s disingenuous propaganda.

Join the JDL Protest to Confront and Expose J Street

President Obama is more concerned with a few homes built for Jews in Israel, than Radical Iran building a Nuclear Bomb pointed at Israel !!


The Jewish Defence League of Canada and Shalom International of Miami Beach are calling upon all supporters of Israel to join with us, as we will Confront and Expose J Street at their 1st National Conference in Washington DC. In Late October, J Street will have a major conference in Washington DC. Many of their supporters fund groups that call for a boycott of Israel and refer to Israel as an "Apartheid State". In an effort to apply pressure on Israel, President Obama has given support to J Street and wants J Street to represent the Jewish People. It should be understood that much of J Street's monetary support comes from Arabs and Muslims. J Street's Moslem, Arab Donors are Revealed


Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 9:00am --Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:00pm

Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H Street NW, Washington, DC


For information call how you can help, please call Jewish Defence League of Canada 416-736-7000 or www.jdl-canada.com
Shalom International of Miami Beach 305-864-5110, www.defendjerusalem.net

Join the Jewish Defence League of Canada
Come join us for “Movie Night” every Monday evening with the JDL, where thought-provoking videos will be shown followed by an active discussion session.
Monday August 31, 8:00 pm
Toronto Zionist Center, 788 Marlee Avenue
Rabbi Meir Kahane at Brandeis University, taking on this liberal campus and their lemming minded rabbis, turning many of them around and answering the verbal attacks in the sensational Kahane style.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

=================================================
The Jewish Defence League of Canada will resume our Elite Security Training Course, every Monday at 7:00 pm (Krav Maga) and Tuesday evening, 7:30 pm at the Zionist Center .

Our Elite Security Training Course is available for all fit adults and students. The cost for the training is an obligation to assist with JDL efforts to expose and confront anti Jewish/Israel groups. Contact our office for details at 416-736-7000

Join and support the Jewish Defence League of Canada.
Donations can be mailed to:

The Jewish Defence League of Canada
7305 Woodbine Ave #297 Markham, Ontario Canada, L3R 3V7

With Love of Israel,
Meir Weinstein, National Director
Jewish Defence League of Canada
www.jdl-canada.com

taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

Sefer Chabibi Deepest Torah: KI TEITZEI: LOVING AND HATING

KI TEITZEI: LOVING AND HATING

by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman

Behind everything which we hate there is to be found a Divine lesson for us. Sometimes we hate a person because he reminds us of a defect in our own character. That is a Divine message. Sometimes we hate someone because they are so good that we become jealous of him and look for petty ways to find fault with him to assuage our sense of regret for our own imperfect natures. Or perhaps he is full of joy and we are depressed or sad and hence we are jealous.

They say that the perfect is the enemy of the good. If you wait for the perfect you'll miss the good. We may end up hating the perfect in our passing up of the good.

In our parsha, Ki Teitzei, there is the instruction, if you have two wives, where one is loved and the other is hated, that we must honor the birthright of the oldest, the firstborn son, even if he is the offspring of the hated wife. The hated wife is identified first as the senuah, the hated one, spelled sin, nun, vav, alef, hey. But then she is identified not as the senuah, but rather as the seniah! The letter vav is replaced with the letter yud.

What is the significance of this change in spelling? Every word is divine. Every letter is divine. So it must have a meaning. Furthermore, the Torah was given to us to be eternally relevant to every generation. So today when most of Jewry has foresworn polygamy, what lesson can we learn from the change in spelling?

The letter yud represents divinity. It is teaching us that behind everything which we hate there is to be found a Divine lesson for us. Sometimes we hate a person because he reminds us of a defect in our own character. That is a Divine message. Sometimes we hate someone because they are so good that we become jealous of him and look for petty ways to find fault with him to assuage our sense of regret for our own imperfect natures. Or perhaps he is full of joy and we are depressed or sad and hence we are jealous.
Read All at :
Sefer Chabibi Deepest Torah: KI TEITZEI: LOVING AND HATING

Love of the Land: Remember Reciprocity?

Remember Reciprocity?


If Jews have to stop building homes, Arabs should be asked to do the same

Ophir Falk
Ynet/Israel Opinion
27 August 09

Benjamin Netanyahu takes pride in “institutionalizing the concept of reciprocity.” Indeed, one of his fundamental first term achievements as prime minister was stopping the process of “giving something for nothing” - to educate Israelis and Palestinians alike to the concept of reciprocity and to clarify to a disinclined Clinton administration that the term also applies to the Middle East peace process. However, if recent reports concerning backchannel diplomacy are accurate, it seems that Netanyahu may have forgotten an important page from the book he himself wrote.

Headlines drum-rolling the scheduled meetings between Netanyahu and Senator George Mitchell imply that a tacit agreement has already been reached concerning a unilateral freeze on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. The planned freeze is supposed to be limited in duration, until a final agreement is reached between Israel and the Palestinians. This seems strange. Obama wants Jews to refrain from building in areas that may jeopardize the final border to be drawn between Israel and its neighbors. Yet Obama has not made such demands from the other side. If Jews are expected to stop building, Arabs should be expected to do the same.
Read All at :

Love of the Land: Remember Reciprocity?

DoubleTapper: IDF Women

DoubleTapper: IDF Women

StumbleUpon WebToolbar - The Peninsula Residence | City of Skies

The Peninsula Residence

By Bercy Chen Studio

“Bercy Chen Studio contributed their design skills for the remodel of a 1980’s waterfront house that looks over Lake Austin in Austin, Texas.” [via]

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StumbleUpon WebToolbar - The Peninsula Residence City of Skies

55 Blair Rd by ONG & ONG | City of Skies

55 Blair Rd by ONG & ONG

Located in Singapore, the 55 Blair Road residence was designed to create a light open plan living space, whilst promoting inside/outside space.

The home was originally renovated 10 years ago. The new owner thought the home was too dark and felt the need to bring in more natural light. [via]

http://www.ong-ong.com/

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55 Blair Rd by ONG & ONG City of Skies
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