Tuesday 11 October 2011

Life in Israel: Quote Of The Day

Quote Of The Day

Israel supports the Quartet initiative, but it cannot forgo the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Europe knows very well the importance of a Jewish democratic state. The jews were in many countries in Europe but when the time came that did not help them. We will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside a "State of All Its Citizens". The Palestinians must declare, already now, that if two countries are established, one will be Jewish....
there will not be peace if security is not guaranteed for Israel. The Oslo agreements are proof to that, that peace agreements that turn out to be an illusion create a deep rift that is difficult to repair...
Jerusalem can only be under the rule of one authority. We have proven that freedom of religion in Jerusalem is only protected completely under Israeli rule...

-- Speaker of Knesset Reuven "Ruby" Rivlin


Life in Israel: Quote Of The Day

The Torah Revolution: Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do (Ex. 19:8): Re: Laci

Re: Laci

B"H

- The very purpose of the EU is to provide a totalitarian system on Europe. Let me explain: The European Parliament is a parliament only in name, even if it is elected with universal proportional representation, it is not a legislative body, it has only consultative powers. The European law-making body is the Council and it is made up by people nominated by the member States. If you turn this concept around, it means that the EU serves the member States precisely to bypass their national parliaments and introduce government (executive branch) produced legislation. Today about 90% of all new laws enter the books this way, meaning the erosion of separation of powers, a fundamental guarantee in democracy. This erosion leads to a concentration of powers that historically we have seen only in totalitarian regimes, which is the Europe of today. No wonder it allocates about a million Euros every day to support the “palestinian” “cause”, the most visible tip of a whole underlying evil iceberg.

- This is a comment on Germany in the Eurozone


The Torah Revolution: Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do (Ex. 19:8): Re: Laci

The Torah Revolution: Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do (Ex. 19:8): Let Them Pay For It

Let Them Pay For It

B"H

- The EU is an answer to Germany's imperialistic aspirations: Let them pay for it.

- This is a comment on Germany in the Eurozone


The Torah Revolution: Everything that Hashem has spoken we shall do (Ex. 19:8): Let Them Pay For It

RubinReports: Breaking News: Is Exposure of a Direct Iranian Plot to Launch Terror Attacks in Washington DC A Turning Point?

Breaking News: Is Exposure of a Direct Iranian Plot to Launch Terror Attacks in Washington DC A Turning Point?

It should be, but will it be?

ABC News has broken a story about the disruption of a major Iran-backed terrorist plot to stage an attack on U.S. soil. According to U.S. officials, the plan was to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States and to attack the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington D.C. Parallel attacks were planned for these two countries’ embassies in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The case is still being developed, and it isn’t clear whether the origin of this plot goes back to Tehran. According to ABC’s sources, Manssor Arbabsiar -- an Iranian American living in Texas -- approached an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration, thinking he was speaking with a member of a Mexican drug gang for help in the proposed attacks. He said he was acting on behalf of a cousin, Gohlam Shakuri, who might be a Revolutionary Guard official involved in terrorist operations.

He offered $1.5 million for the killing, with a $50,000 down payment being paid by Arbabsiar while on a visit to Iran.

These two men have been charged with conspiracy to kill, among other charges. Arbabsiar, who is now cooperating with the prosecution, also offered to provide opium in large quantities for the Mexican drug cartels. Apparently, the FBI has a lot of evidence, including recordings of meetings and telephone calls with Arbabsiar.

Let’s assume that this story is accurate. What’s most important here is not the innate sensationalism of this dramatic story, but its political implications. An Iranian official -- perhaps two according to the indictment -- is directly linked with a plan to stage terrorist attacks on American soil in which Americans would certainly have been killed or injured. This amounts to an act of war.

Read it all:
http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/2011/10/11/breaking-news-is-exposure-of-a-direct-iranian-plot-to-launch-terror-attacks-in-washington-dc-a-turning-point/


RubinReports: Breaking News: Is Exposure of a Direct Iranian Plot to Launch Terror Attacks in Washington DC A Turning Point?

RubinReports: Where Egypt is Heading

Where Egypt is Heading

This article was written for The Daily Caller

There’s a new political timeline for Egypt. Apparently horrified by disorder and radicalization, the military junta has decided to slow things down.

Its proposal is for parliamentary elections November 28, with the resulting parliament choosing a committee to write a new constitution by April 2012. That group will have a year to produce the new document and only then—after April 2013—will there be presidential elections. Bottom line: the generals will retain executive power for the next 18 months.

What’s likely to happen in elections? My estimate is that the Muslim Brotherhood will be the single largest party, with 30 to 40 percent of the seats.

In contrast to the united Islamists, there are more than a dozen moderate parties. The three main ones are the left-oriented Justice Party, the opportunistic Wafd Party; and the Free Egyptians’ Party, the closest thing to an anti-Islamist moderate force.

These three will get roughly 15 percent each but will consequently be much weaker and perhaps ready to make deals with the Brotherhood to get a share of power. Most of the remaining seats are likely to go to a party favoring the old regime, which might do better suspected as bad condition make some Egyptians nostalgic for the Mubarak days.

If so, the Brotherhood won’t be taking power in Egypt soon, but that there will be a radical (leftist, nationalist, Islamist) majority in parliament. As different as these ideologies are they have similar foreign policy views: anti-American, anti-Western, anti-Israel, and supporting radical groups abroad, especially Hamas which rules the Gaza Strip.

In addition, the Brotherhood will play a central role in writing the new constitution which will enshrine Sharia, Islamic law, as the main but not sole source of legislation. There are many other ways in which the Brotherhood can lay the foundation for its future rule. For example, it wants to bring the two top Islamic offices—mufti and al-Azhar university head—under parliamentary control. This will let it control Islam in Egypt, even choosing mosque preachers and religious teachers throughout the country..

Yet the Brotherhood doesn’t seem eager to take power quickly. The group continues to have a strong cautious—though that’s not the same thing as moderate—streak, having suffered bloody repression in past decades. To move too fast might upset the military and unite the group’s opponents whose divisions will make them easier to conquer.

There’s also another reason for the Brotherhood’s hesitation. Egypt’s economic situation is terrible and likely to get far worse. The Brotherhood doesn’t want to be blamed when the crash comes, preferring to go tsk-tsk at the alleged evils of capitalism, the Mubarak era, foreign aid, and the International Monetary Fund. It could then approach a frightened public with the comforting assertion that Islam is the answer to all of Egypt’s woes.

Is a war with Israel possible? If the military holds onto executive power into the second half of 2013 that’s far less likely. The worst-case scenario is if Hamas deliberately starts a fracas with Israel—firing rockets and mortars by the score and launching cross-border raids—to provoke retaliation.

The Brotherhood, radical nationalists, Salafi super-extremist Islamist groups, and leftists would then demand that Egypt go to the aid of the brothers next door. At a minimum, this would mean letting volunteers, money, and weapons flow into the Gaza Strip. At a maximum, it could bring direct involvement of an Egyptian leadership too frightened and stirred up to resist. Probably, though, until Egypt has a president, that outcome is not so likely.

Meanwhile, what is far more probable is that the domestic situation would deteriorate further, with the first and greatest victims being Egyptian Christians. The number of Coptic Christians in Egypt is greater than the entire population of Israel, Jordan, or Lebanon. A recent report by an Egyptian human rights’ group claims that almost 100,000 Christians have left the country since January.

With almost daily attacks on Christians and the destruction of churches by mobs, the violence is escalating. Neither government officials nor the army will help the Christians, who can also not depend on any foreign protection.

Except for the military—and it often appeases anti-Christian, Islamist, and anti-foreign forces—there is absolutely nothing to prevent the further radicalization of the situation in Egypt, which also includes rampant crime and skyrocketing inflation. The dream of a moderate, stable and democratic Egypt is quickly becoming a nightmare.

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal at <http://www.gloria-center.org>. His latest book, Israel: An Introduction, will be published by Yale University Press in January.



RubinReports: Where Egypt is Heading

RubinReports: Why Do American (Republican) Politicians Make Fools of Themselves in the Middle East?

Why Do American (Republican) Politicians Make Fools of Themselves in the Middle East?

By Barry Rubin

Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Mark Kirk, and Mario Rubio are going to regret their Wall Street Journal op-ed on Libya. I don't even have to critique the piece but just to quote it in order to show why:

"Last Thursday we arrived in Tripoli to the promise of a free Libya. We saw a city that is surprisingly secure and orderly. We visited al-Jdeida prison and spoke freely with detainees—a testament to the commitment of the Transitional National Council (TNC) to democracy, transparency and the rule of law. At the end of the day, we walked through Martyrs' Square, where Libyans cheered and thanked America and our NATO allies."

Now compare this to eyewitness accounts like this one or to many others available in the media, showing how the rebels, with NATO's help, are bombarding civilians in Sirte, or accounts of torture and execution of prisoners, or the massive looting in every town captured by the rebels, and the weapons sold by them to terrorists.

One less excuse for this disconnect with reality in Libya is that mass media coverage, terrible in Egypt, has been far better there. "Everybody is getting their knives out," said Mohammed Benrasali, who runs the civilian stabilization team in the same city where the Republican senators are all ga-ga about remarkable order. The headline of that article in the same Wall Street Journal as the senator' piece? "Discord Riddles Libyan Factions."

Yet here we see the senators as naive tourists peering at Potemkin villages: finding orderly cities, content prisoners, and a wonderful new regime.

Read it all:
http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/2011/10/10/why-do-american-republican-politicians-make-fools-of-themselves-in-the-middle-east/


RubinReports: Why Do American (Republican) Politicians Make Fools of Themselves in the Middle East?
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