Posts
12 hours ago
Friday, 1 May 2009
Israel Matzav: Mark Steyn on Obama's Orwellian picture of the Holocaust
Mark Steyn on Obama's Orwellian picture of the Holocaust
In The Corner, Mark Steyn comments on Michael Ledeen's article regarding Obama's Orwellian picture of the Holocaust, which I excerpted and commented on here.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Mark Steyn on Obama's Orwellian picture of the Holocaust
Israel Matzav: The Obama doctrine
I just wanted to point out this article by Ralph Peters that appeared in Wednesday's New York Post. If any of you haven't seen it, it's worth the time to read it.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: The Obama doctrine
Israel Matzav: 'A chilling effect on US counter-terrorism'
'A chilling effect on US counter-terrorism'
In its weekly report, Stratfor describes some of the effects of the release of the 'torture memos' - and potentially of a 'truth commission' - on US counter-terrorist intelligence capabilities.
Politics and moral arguments aside, the end effect of the memos’ release is that people who have put their lives on the line in U.S. counterterrorism efforts are now uncertain of whether they should be making that sacrifice. Many of these people are now questioning whether the administration that happens to be in power at any given time will recognize the fact that they were carrying out lawful orders under a previous administration. It is hard to retain officers and attract quality recruits in this kind of environment. It has become safer to work in programs other than counterterrorism.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: 'A chilling effect on US counter-terrorism'
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Israel Matzav: 'Never again,' Obama style
'Never again,' Obama style
At Pajamas Media, Michael Ledeen analyzes Barack Obama's Holocaust Memorial Day speech and concludes that the President has a very Orwellian idea of what we mean when we say "Never again!" (Hat Tip: Power Line). Here's the key part of the article.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: 'Never again,' Obama style
Israel Matzav: Obama's personal morality and Israel's security
Obama's personal morality and Israel's security
The most striking thing about the first 100 days of the Obama Presidency is the extent to which the new President has sought to impose his worldview on the United States - and by extension the world - through immediate and sometimes drastic policy initiatives. From the massive expansion in government, to the takeover of private businesses like banks and automobile manufacturers, and to his 'outing' of CIA interrogation techniques, Obama has represented a radical shift in the way the United States does business. No President - at least in my recollection - has so explicitly attempted to stamp the nation and the world with his personal worldview and 'moral compass.' It behooves Americans - and Israelis - to examine what we might be in for in the next three and a half years.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Obama's personal morality and Israel's security
Israel Matzav: It's a capital offense!
It's a capital offense!
A 'Palestinian Authority court' in Hebron has sentenced a 59-year old 'Palestinian' man, Anwat Breghit, to die by hanging for the crime of selling land to Joooos.
Dozens of Arabs have been executed in the past for collaborating with Israel by selling land to Jews, but the court’s ruling is the first time the PA officially has handed down a guilty verdict of treason for the crime. Previous summary executions with the approval of the PA have been met with outcries from human rights organizations.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: It's a capital offense!
Israel Matzav: Fatah and Hamas still fighting? It's the Joooos' fault
Fatah and Hamas still fighting? It's the Joooos' fault
In an interview published in the Tuesday edition of London-based pan-Arabic daily al-Sharq al-Awswat, Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit had a very simple answer to why Fatah and Hamas cannot get along: It's the Joooos fault.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Fatah and Hamas still fighting? It's the Joooos'
Israel Matzav: H1N1 virus?
H1N1 virus?
It seems that Israeli Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman is not the only one who is opposed to referring to the virus currently sweeping the world as 'swine flu' (Hat Tip: Memeorandum)
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: H1N1 virus?
Israel Matzav: The achitect of Obama's Middle East policy
The achitect of Obama's Middle East policy
If I asked you to name architect of the Obama administration's Middle East policy, whom would you name? Until I read the article I am about to discuss, I would have named Brent Scowcroft or George Mitchell. Some of you might have named Samantha Power, a few might have said Hillary Clinton, and maybe some would have mentioned Dennis Ross or Dan Kurtzer. According to Ed Lasky, you and I would all be wrong. The architect and real power behind the Obama administration's Middle East policy is a former Democratic Congressman from Indiana named Lee Hamilton.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: The achitect of Obama's Middle East policy
SATISFIED ISRAELIS
Never-ending wars, economic gloom, terrible drivers, consistently idiotic politicians, hordes of nasty antisemites, Iranian bombs, hot summers and drought in winter, taxes... and the Israelis keep on smiling. Or rather, endlessly kvetching but fundamentally smiling. I challenge you to find any society anywhere with levels of satisfaction with life to equal those of the Israelis, as detailed here. Even the Israeli Arabs mostly agree, though with less exuberance.
The numbers have been mostly consistent for years and years. Partly they reflect Israelis' conviction that things really are pretty good. Second, they reflect the typical Israeli conviction that life is fundamentally what we make of it, so why complain? Most profoundly, however, the consistently stratospheric levels of satisfaction stem from the recognition that compared to the previous 2,000 years or so, we're living in a miracle.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
THE MOST TYPICALLY ISRAELI PICTURE
The other day I linked to the short-list of pictures competing at Y-net for the slot of "Most typically Israeli picture, 2009", a competition between snapshots sent in by regular Israelis, and chosen by the regular folks at Y-net. Here's the picture that was chosen:
Should we talk about it a bit?First, this was a popular choice, vox populi - not the choice of a small group of self anointed pompous cultural experts or celebrities or what have you.
Second, if you don't know what it's about, it's hardly self explanatory - which is probably the reason it was chosen. The voters in this competition were looking for a typically Israeli picture, and they chose one they felt to be specifically Israeli, unique to us. Fundamentally unfathomable to outsiders, actually, as Roni Shaked commented in his column, which was not translated. (Y-net isn't Haaretz - all the more regrettable).
Where's the picture from? It was taken by 21-year-old Yonnie Kot, a recently demobilized tank commander. He snapped the shot from his position in the turret of his tank, in one of two scenarios. Either he'd just parked the tank after a run of maneuvers, as his unit reached a resting point, or they were preparing to continue and the van appeared. I've been in that picture hundreds of times, as have most of us; Achikam, home for Independence Day, glanced at it and said "Classic! And I've been in that field!"
What's it a picture of? Of a gazlan, of course. What's a gazlan? Well, the etymology is pretty clear. GazLAN is the Hebrew word for a thief who steals in bright daylight. GAZlan is the fellow, mostly uneducated and with imperfect syntax, who does a roaring business selling hot dogs and ice cream to military units on maneuvers. Each maneuvering area has one or two of them, and they always know in advance exactly which unit will be where when and how to get there. The commanders of the unit may have spent the entire night navigating the desert so as to assault a specific dusty hill at dawn, peering at their maps (or GPS screens). Once they've shot their payloads and churned up the dust, they lead their unit over the crest of the hill to regroup before moving on... and there's the gazlan fellow, with no specially-fangled military maps and satellite navigating equipment, waiting with his over-priced merchandise to fleece the troops. And boy, are the troops glad to see him.
Yossie Beilin once told in an interview of a life-changing insight he had many years ago while on the field of battle with casualties not yet evacuated, standing in line at the window of the gazlan. Even accepting it really happened that way, he was presenting his all-Israeli credentials while suggesting his hardly-all-Israeli perspectives.
If Yossie Beilin so, certainly all the rest of us less enlightened proles.
Yet this isn't the full story. Roni Shaked notes that thousands of snapshots were sent in, so it must have been a far larger number who did the choosing. They could have chosen all sorts of pictures to celebrate their communal identity - heroic ones, aesthetic ones, national ones, even simply more interesting ones. The aggregate voice that chose this particular picture was saying something. That this is a situation we all recognize, and recognize as being uniquely us. That the army is an essential part of our communal and personal lives, but the civilian gazlan is a central part of it. That the military planners pore over their preparations, but the uneducated gazlan will always see through them. That we'd never pay gazlan-prices for a hotdog at home, but in the army we'll gladly fork out the money rather than survive off the fare supplied for free by the system.
On a profound level, the gazlan is an expression of cynical humor in a crazy situation that isn't humorous; his elevation to national icon reflects the combination of grim determination and irreverence about it, all rolled together. He's precisely not Brecht's Mutter Courage, trudging after the marauding armies, making a living off the destruction they wreak while losing everything to its maws. The gazlan as a metaphor isn't separate from the troops, a parasite off them: he's the better side of them, the reminder that soon they'll be on his side of the equation, the civilians making the best of a wacky situation - but then again, they won't, because soon enough they'll be back in uniform as reservists, paying outrageous prices for his wares.
PS. I've noticed my exhortations to know Hebrew if you want to understand Israel have become regular fare on this blog. It's not a mandatory requirement, of course, but if I can convince you, here's a rather painless venue - no travel required, so you're even saving the planet!
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
SHIR HA-MA'ALOT # 3
Psalm recited before Birkat Ha-Mazon on Shabbat and HolidaysShir Ha-Ma’alot - A Song of Ascents (Psalm 126)
There are those who explain this Psalm homiletically as a conversation between Jews who live in the Land of Israel and Jews who live in the Exile.The Jews in Exile say: "A song of ascents. When Hashem will bring the exiles back to Zion, we will be like dreamers." We sing and dream for the very day when the Master of the Universe will return us to Zion.
The Israelis respond to them: But this is occurring now. It is already possible to sing. Blessed is Hashem, we are full of rejoicing, "Now, our mouth is filled with laughter, and our tongue with song."
The Jews in Exile comment: Surely, we have heard on the television and radio outside of the Land that the non-Jews praise the great achievements of the State of Israel, "Then it was said among the nations, ‘Hashem has done great things with these people.’"
The Israelis smile: You are telling us? We know. "Hashem has done great things for us, and we rejoice.
"The Jews in Exile begin to be convinced: "We should return from our captivity, Hashem, like streams gushing through the Negev." If so, we ask the Master of the Universe to bring us back to the Land with a sudden miracle, like the streams of the Negev which were dry from water and suddenly a mighty stream flows. We are waiting for that moment.
That is not the way it is! Respond the Israelis: The Redemption comes little by little, sowing is laborious, difficult and backbreaking: "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy."
If so, respond the Jews in Exile: We do not concur, we are scared of the difficulties and hardships. "One goes out weeping when burdened with the full measure of seeds." – This is not for us.
Don’t exaggerate, smile the Israelis, it is not so tragic. In total, it is sufficiently pleasant here. "He shall surely come in joy, bearing his harvested sheaves."
taken from : Torat HaRav Aviner (http://www.ravaviner.com/)
ISRAELI SECUTITY GUARDS REPEL SOMALI PIRATE ATTACK
Italian 1,500 passenger cruise ship Melody was attacked by Somali Pirates after dinnertime Saturday as it sailed north of the Seychelles and about 500 miles (800 kilometers) east of Somalia, according to the anti-piracy flotilla headquarters of the Maritime Security Center Horn of Africa. The Melody was traveling up Africa's east coast, from Durban, South Africa to Genoa, Italy.
The ship's Italian Commander, Ciro Pinto said the pirates fired "like crazy" with automatic weapons, slightly damaging the liner, when they approached in a small, white Zodiac-like boat.
"After about four or five minutes, they tried to put a ladder up," Pinto told Sky TG24.
According to the company's director Domenico Pellegrino, the private 6 man Israeli security force aboard the MSC Cruises ocean liner Melody returned fire on the pirates Saturday with pistols and water hoses, preventing them from boarding.
"It was an emergency operation," Pellegrino told The Associated Press. "They didn't expect such a quick response. They were surprised."
Passengers were ordered to return to their cabins and the lights on deck were switched off. The massive vessel then sailed on in darkness, eventually escorted by a Spanish warship to make sure it made it to its next port.
"It felt like we were in war," the ship's Italian Commander, Ciro Pinto, told Italian state radio. "They were starting to climb up but we reacted, we started to fire ourselves. When they saw our fire, and also the water from the water hoses that we started to spray toward the Zodiac, they left and went away ... They followed us for a bit, about 20 minutes," he said.
Pellegrino said MSC Cruises had Israeli private security forces on all their ships because they were the best. He said the pistols on board were at the discretion of the commander and the security forces.
Saturday's exchange of fire between the Melody and pirates was one of the first reported between pirates and a nonmilitary ship. Civilian shipping and passenger ships have generally avoided arming crewmen or hiring armed security.
Huh?
Why would anyone go near that area of the world unarmed?
On second thought,why would anyone go anywhere unarmed?
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
DoubleTapper: Israeli Independence Day
Memorial Day ends, as do other Jewish holidays, at nightfall, and the somber nature of the day gives way to the celebration of Israel’s Independence Day.
The late Rabbi Shlomo Goren, the first Chief Rabbi of the IDF and the man who set the date of Memorial Day. explained the transition between the days, "We view the warriors who fall in battle as those who sprout forth life. The life of a nation grew out of this blood... This day must be more than mourning: We must remember, we must grieve, but it must [also] be a day of majesty and vision."
Read All at :
Yom HaAtzmaut - - Israel is 61 !
On the 5th of Iyar, 5708 (1948), G-d's Name was sanctified. For the first time in two thousand year, the Jewish people had a state in their homeland. Two millenium after the Roman emperor Hadrian burnt our Temple, razed Jerusalem, sold the Jews into slavery and arrogantly declared 'Judea capta! (Judea is captured), the Third Jewish Commonwealth was established. After centuries of oppression and persecution, Crusades and pogroms, Inquisitions and Holocausts, the Jewish people had finally returned home to the land of their forefathers
When the Romans crushed the Jewish rebellion in 70 CE and destroyed the Temple, they carried out the majority of the Jews into exile. They built a huge victory arch in Rome showing the Temple utensils being taken as spoil. The Romans minted coins depicting a conquered a mourning Jewess, along with the words 'Judea capta'. In their minds, the Jewish people had been crushed. The Roman Catholic Church, which became the official religion of Rome, taught as doctrine that the Jews had been replaced and rejected by G-d, never to return to Israel. The Church, along with the scholars of Islam, mocked the Jews and taunted them over their abasement, claiming that their continued exile was proof of their replacement in G-d's eyes. Incredibly, while the Roman empire today is nothing but dust, Jews are once again living in the Jerusalem, the city of King David, in Judea and Samaria, where the Patriarchs lived and in the Galilee, where Bar Kochba and his brave Zionist rebels fought for liberty.
"A song of ascents. When the Lord returned the captivity of Zion, we were like dreamers. Then our mouths were with laughter and our tongues with songs of praise; then they will say among the nations, "The Lord has done great things with these."" (Tehillim 126) Truly, we were like dreamers. Is there any clearer proof of G-d's sovereignty and majesty, of His guiding hand in history, than in the survival of the Jewish people in graveyards of the exile and in our return to the Land of Israel? Has there ever been such a thing in the entire annals of mankind, for a nation to have survived the sword and the stake, the racks of the Inquisition and the Crusading lance, the Cross and the Crescent, the killing fields and the gas chambers, to be returned home? Only by the might and mercy of G-d, through the brave pioneers and committed Zionist leaders, were we able to revive our ancient language, Hebrew, to re-settle the desolate cities, drain the swamps and make the deserts bloom. "For the Lord shall console Zion, He shall console all its ruins, and He shall make its desert like a paradise and its wasteland like the garden of the Lord; joy and happiness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and a voice of song." (Yishayahu 51:3) The land, empty and desolate, bereft of her children, which called out longingly for them for over two thousand years, now blossoms and is settled. For too long did Zion cry out for her sons and daughters in captivity, trampled on by a foreign oppressor.
From the four corners of the Earth, the Jews have begun to return home. "Fear not for I am with you; from the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. I will say to the north, "Give," and to the south, "Do not refrain"; bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the end of the earth."" (Yishayahu 43:5-6) Out of the mellahs of Morocco and Tunisia and the shtetls of Russia and Poland, Jews came home. The same Jews who declared year after year their fervent hope and desire of 'Next Year in Jerusalem!' were privileged to see their dream become a reality. From the farthest and most remote reaches, the Land of Israel beckoned Jews home. Jews from Yemen and Ethiopia walked thousands of miles, trekked through dangerous deserts and hazardous terrain, braved intense dangers because they senses the impeding Redemption. When the Iron Curtain fell, the cry of 'Let my people go!' saw fruition as millions of Russian Jews fled the prison that was the Soviet Union and came to Israel to live lives of dignity and freedom. The Ingathering of the Exiles has begun as Jews from Iran and Turkey, Greece and Lithuania, Ukraine and Hungary, India and Afghanistan now live, mix and mingle, in peace together in the State of Israel.
In fire and blood Judea fell and in fire and blood Judea arose. In 1948, and again in six spectacular days in 1967, the myth of the passive Jew whose life was cheap and blood was the gentile's for the taking, was forever crushed. The nation that for so long had been associated with sheep to the slaughter, with massacres and weakness, had arisen like a lion and fought for its life. In 1948, one million crack Arab soldiers, dedicated to driving the Jews into the sea and destroying the fledgling state, were attacked the 600 000 inhabitants of the Jewish yishuv. Just as in the days of David and Goliath, the defenders drove the enemy out. The defenders were outnumbered, farmers and citymen, Holocaust survivors given a rifle as they got off the boat. Some come with horses and some come with chariots but we invoke the name of HaShem our G-d! As the ovens and furnaces of Europe were still giving off their horrible stench, as the smoke was still emerging from the chimneys of Auschwitz, the Jewish state had arise with strength and power. The dry bones that had been murdered and annihilated in Europe had been reborn in the Land of Israel. ""Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Behold they say, 'Our bones have become dried up, our hope is lost, we are clean cut off to ourselves.' Therefore, prophesy and say to them, So says the Lord God: Lo! I open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves as My people, and bring you home to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and lead you up out of your graves as My people. And I will put My spirit into you, and you shall live, and I will set you on your land, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and have performed it," says the Lord." (Yechezkel 37:11-14
61 years after the awesome day in Tel-Aviv, we can sit back and feel pride over our many accomplishments. The Jewish language, Hebrew was revived, a feat never before accomplished. Cities and settlements were created. A vibrant and modern democratic state was built. Israel has one of the best and most powerful armies in the world. Close to half of the world's Jewish population now lives in the Jewish state. Israel is a world leader in science and technology and contributed a disproportionate amount to high-tech, medicine and science worldwide. Despite all of Israel's many problems, it has accomplished more in its mere 61 years of existence than most other countries around the world. The State of Israel is far from the fulfillment of the Prophets and there is a long journey to the Ultimate Redemption. Yet, in the words of Herzl: "If you will it, it is no dream." Just as it seemed impossible for there to be a sovereign Jewish state, as it seemed impossible for Jerusalem to be reunited as the capital of the Jewish people, so too will we reach all of our goals. A nation that waited two thousand years to return home is not afraid of a long and difficult struggle.
"Behold days are coming, says the Lord, that the plowman shall meet the reaper and the treader of the grapes the one who carries the seed, and the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will return the captivity of My people Israel, and they shall rebuild desolate cities and inhabit [them], and they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their produce. And I will plant them on their land, and they shall no longer be uprooted from upon their land, that I have given them, said the Lord your God." (Amos 9:13-15) May we see the complete fulfillment of the Jewish Dream, of the Prophets of Israel, of a world where "out of Zion will go forth Torah, and the word of HaShem from Jerusalem", very soon. May we merit the day when "nations will not lift up swords against each other, neither shall they learn war anymore". May the Complete and Final Redemption come speedily in our days, in mercy and love, amen!
Posted by Bar Kochba at 4:32 PM
This text was originally posted by Bar Kochba in the blog For Zion's Sake . To him my thankfulness.
Israel Matzav: Video: Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg speaks at terror victims' memorial
Video: Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg speaks at terror victims' memorial
Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg, father of Rivka Holtzberg HY"D (may God avenge her blood), and father-in-law of Rabbi Gavriel (Gabi) Holzberg, who were murdered at Chabad House in Mumbai in November speaking at the State of Israel's main memorial service honoring terror victims at the military cemetery on Mount Herzl.
Read and See All at :
Israel Matzav: Video: Rabbi Shimon Rosenberg speaks at terror victims' memorial
Israel Matzav: Swine Mexican flu comes to Israel
Swine Mexican flu comes to Israel
We now have two confirmed cases and two more suspected cases of swine Mexican flu here in Israel. This morning, it was confirmed that a 26-year old man who has been hospitalized in Laniado Hospital in Netanya has the virus and this evening it's been confirmed that a 47-year old man who has been hospitalized in Meir Hospital in Kfar Sava has it.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: <strike>Swine</strike> <i>Mexican</i> flu comes to Israel
Israel Matzav: Hope and pray: A one-term President?
Hope and pray: A one-term President?
The Washington Times reports that Barack Obama has the worst approval rating of any American President in 40 years other than Bill Clinton at this point in his Presidency. Worse than Nixon. Worse than his mentor, Jimmy Carter.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Hope and pray: A one-term President?
Israel Matzav: The Lieberman interview
The Lieberman interview
The holiday edition of the JPost (no hard copy paper tomorrow) features a lengthy interview with foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman. Here are some highlights.
Israel has proved its good intentions, our desire for peace. Since 1978, we gave up territories three times larger than Israel. We invested billions of shekels in the Palestinian Authority. We paid a very heavy price. Thousands of our citizens were killed in terrorist acts. What more can we do?
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: The Lieberman interview
Israel Matzav: Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims
Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims
Like many of my readers, I grew up in the United States of America. For most Americans, Memorial Day is now a Monday holiday that provides a long weekend to enjoy baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and the first barbecue of summer.
I was even once in England on November 11 (which is Veterans Day in the United States, but as I understand it is England's equivalent to Memorial Day). It seemed like everyone was walking around with red poppies on their lapels, but otherwise it seemed like a normal day
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Remembrance Day for Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims
Israel Matzav: Hezbullah intimidating Lebanese voters says... Ban Ki-Moon
Hezbullah intimidating Lebanese voters says... Ban Ki-Moon
With a little more than a month to go until Lebanon's elections, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has slammed Hezbullah for intimidating Lebanese voters, as well as for its activities in Egypt and in the Gaza Strip.
In a report to the UN Security Council, Ban said, "The threat that armed groups and militias pose to the sovereignty and stability of the Lebanese state cannot be overstated."
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Hezbullah intimidating Lebanese voters says... Ban Ki-Moon
Israel Matzav: With Obama's approval, Turkey selling arms to Hezbullah-controlled Lebanese army
With Obama's approval, Turkey selling arms to Hezbullah-controlled Lebanese army
I can now confirm a report that first appeared in DEBKA last week that the Obama administration has approved a massive arms sale from Turkey to the Lebanese army. A Turkish web site is now reporting the same story. The Lebanese army is mostly Shiite Muslim and has collaborated with Hezbullah in the past. This would make it likely that any weapons sold to the Lebanese army could end up in Hezbullah's hands.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: With Obama's approval, Turkey selling arms to Hezbullah-controlled Lebanese army
Israel Matzav: Syria to gain access to US, Israeli military technology
Syria to gain access to US, Israeli military technology
There's more to Syrian-Turkish military cooperation than ground exercises. On Monday, Syria's SANA news agency reported that Syria and Turkey have signed a military cooperation agreement "in the fields of defense industries and the exchange of technical and scientific information."
This has gotten the Israelis quite nervous (yes, I am sole-sourcing DEBKA, but what they're reporting in my quote seems obvious):
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Syria to gain access to US, Israeli military technology
Israel Matzav: Sanctions? What sanctions?
Sanctions? What sanctions?
Iran's news agency, IRNA, names the country's five largest trading partners for the past year. Yes, Switzerland, whose President is pictured at top left with Ahmadinejad, is one of them.
Iran’s trade exchange with these European countries, comprising Germany, Italy, Switzerland, UK and France, is worth dlrs 15.4 billion, Mehdi Ghazanfari said.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Sanctions? What sanctions?
ANOTHER MINUTE TO SAY GOODBYE
The other day I had a meeting with Dr. Gila Flam, the head of the music department at our National Library, and a musicologist herself. In anticipation of today's day of memory I asked Gila, and she confirmed, that the role played by popular music in Israel is essentially unprecedented anywhere: it is one of the fundamental components of the national identity. Maybe someday I'll write about this.
Here's a popular song called "A Million Stars". It was written on the spur of the moment in July 2006 by Amit Farkasz, upon hearing of the death in battle of her older brother, Tom, a 23-year-old helicopter pilot shot down over Lebanon. She sang it at his funeral; I remember hearing it on the radio no more than a day later. The words reproach him for flying too far and too fast: she wanted one last minute to say goodbye (which she does at the end of the recording).
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
OBAMA'S CARD CARRYING MUSLIM !
‘I told you so!’ Obama’s a card carrying Muslim! You will see!
By Arlene Peck
I love it when I have an opportunity to say: “I told you so,” and, never have I had that chance as I am having with Barack Hussein Obama aka “Barry”.
When I kept on saying that I didn’t want the man as my President all my Israeli and American Jewish friends’ acc used me of being a ‘racist’. And when I replied that it wasn’t a black thing, they gave me this disbelieving look. What I told my friends it was and still is, is the Muslim (in him) thing. Of course that went over like a lead balloon and during that time, I think I even lost some of friends.
But I lost more friends when I told everyone who would listen that I didn’t give a diddly-squat if the ‘poor’ Palestinians never had a country to call their own that was carved out of the heart of the Land of Israel.
Unfortunately, Bush showed much incompetency that brought about a great disliked for him, which only helped for the mess we are in to burst. With a nation looking for a leader to love, it gave Obama the perfect climate to appear out of nowhere and within a short time create the “perfect storm” and be elected on a wave of popularity.
I am ridiculed when I suggest that under Obama’s leadership we are fast losing our country’s way of life as we knew it. I used to write about the dangers of illegal immigration but now, I hear on the news how Obama is putting out trial balloons to legalize millions of them as soon as possible. It is a form of dementia with our leaders which is leading up down the path of not only socialism but national suicide.
Did any of you notice that Obama’s first interview after taking office was not on CBS or FOX news? Naw, it was on al-Arabiya News Channel to the Arab/Muslim world; and his first call was not to a world leader but to his terrorists’ friend, Abbas who is the leader of the Palestinian Authority and al Fatah, none are sovereign states, rather terror organizations! I’m surprised that it was not to Obama’s Nazi friend, the Rev., Wright, to say the ‘coast was now clear.’
It still amazes me how Obama can still garner the kind of loyalty that he has. I feel as though I am talking to the wall when I dare to mention that I truly believe that Obama is a Muslim in heart, body and spirit. In disgust, I watched him pander and bow to the king of terrorism from Saudi Arabia. I have no doubt that one of their favorite discussions was how he was in favor of the Saudi Plan as policy towards Israel. Remember? The one that favors a contiguous Palestinian state that connects Gaza with the West Bank—Judea and Samaria—and includes Jerusalem. Remember, the pieces for peace plan?
I listened how his first international appeal was not to his countrymen but to the religion of Islam. Why not? Now that the election is over, he is free to announce how the administration is actively trying to find Muslim employees since they have been so unjustly deprived in the previous administration. Muslim resumes are pouring into the White House via the Congressional Muslim Staffers Assn. who is sifting through hundreds of names to repair, “ The chilling effects that this community has endured over the last eight years with their erosion of civil liberties” Gee, I wonder if they have a Christian/Jewish Staffers Assn.
Would he have announced, as he did in Europe, that the United States is no longer a Judeo-Christian country but a ‘secular’ one now? Or as he announced: “the United States is a Muslim, Christians, Jewish’ society (notice the priorities). When did that happen?
But, hey, our illustrious President wanted to keep everybody happy. In France, who is not known for being our closest allies, Obama said that he” wants to change our behavior in showing the Muslim world new respect.” If that weren’t enough, he also said America has been arrogant, dismissive and derisive. When he spoke to the Arab station, he “apologized for America’s mistakes and said that he wanted to restore the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world… 20 or 30 years ago.” Oh, was that before the weekly be-headings from this advanced society?
Somehow in all this praise for Islam, I failed to notice any reference to their treating their farm animals better than their women. Or, the repression of human rights and the financing of terrorists, probably just slipped his mind when he was bowing.
Obama took office with a ‘list of things to do’ and he was determined to accomplish it before we all catch what he was doing. So things are happening so fast lately that most of us, probably didn’t notice it. We are in the midst of losing our freedom of speech. For sure, we are rapidly lapsing into a socialist country.
But, let me center on Israel.
Deep down I worry a great deal about Israel’s claiming to be its ‘friends.’ I worry about the United States being so ironclad ‘friend’ to Israel as it always claimed to be, especially now, with a man, who I believe to be fundamentally Muslim, at the helm of our country. With friends like us, sometimes they don’t need enemies. Trusting who we have in power now is like being a ‘little bit’ pregnant!
I’ll make a bet that not too many of you know that our illustrious former President, George Bush and his Secretary of State Madam Condoleezza Rice established, with the full acceptance and support of Olmert and Livni, a USA military training program for Mahmud Abbas’—the head of Fatah, terrorist in a blue suit—forces.. Now, you tell me, on whom do you think, the terrorist organization Fatah, that is regularly announcing to the world that they will never accept Israel’s right to exist, plans on using this US type military training knowledge? However, Olmert and Livni took pride in their making ‘overtures and concessions’ to the Arabs/Palestinians no matter how dangerous the outcome could have been, so they could achieve ‘peace ’ with the Palestinians. I wonder if this duo even knows the true meaning of peace. Giving his Middle East policy, I am most certain that our new President will approve this training program policy, once instigated by Israel, and will make sure it continues.
This (not so) ‘friend’ of Israel, set at not so- kosher ‘style” Seder at the White House which immediately made him greater hero to the Jews who voted for him. Never mind that he bankrolled Hamas out of the White House funds to the tune of $23 million. This however is a drop in the bucket to the almost billion dollars that he committed to Gaza and the ‘Palestinians, under the guise of rebuilding that ‘nation’ from all the damages that the Jewish state caused by defending themselves. Where is one dollar for Israel’s South towns that suffer years of damage from Hamas' rockets? Of course, that bonanza of new funds will be used to rebuild alright…new tunnels and to re-arm Hamas.
On reflection, I wonder if the public relations Seder was to balance the quieter e-mail that was sent out on January 8th by the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association announcing the “Muslim Inauguration Gala” with the usual suspects including congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) and a host of others not the least was CAIR Michigan director, Sawud Walid and Johari. Abduolaye Wade, CAIR Michigan Director, Dawud Walid, and Johari Abdul-Malik of the Muslim Alliance of 20North America. Looking at the extensive list it read like the Who’s Who of leading Islamists in the U.S. who share his ideological framework of political Islam and the Muslim Brotherhood. Of course, if any of this happened to become known, he can deny knowledge of their ideology as they did with listening to the Rev Wright for the past twenty years.
This list reminded me of the days of my childhood, when our country took pictures and arrested of the Mafia when. Then it was called the Appellation Meeting and our country knew these men were simply danger. Today, however, the leading Islamists in the United States are all treacherous men who share the political Islam radical ideological and life style like the Muslim Brotherhood. These are the ones who; are now ‘honored guests’ and welcomed by Barak Hussein Obama as a ‘brother’
So my friends, as we were promised, we are having a great change. We are no longer Judeo-Christian country; our leader is now chasing and pandering to our greatest foe—Islam. It was lovely how he became the first president to criticize America on foreign soil. But worse of all, our ‘brother is in the White House is apologizing to the world for who we are…because he wants us to change...To what?
Personally, my thoughts are I’ll keep my money, freedom and guns and he can keep the ‘change’.
taken from : B'NAI ELIM (http://bnaielim.blogspot.com/)
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Israel Matzav: 'Peace partner': 'The government may need to recognize Israel, but the forces don't'
'Peace partner': 'The government may need to recognize Israel, but the forces don't'
I guess if Hezbullah was able to deceive some parts of the West into believing that it had separate military and political wings, the 'Palestinians' believe they can do the same.
Ma'an - a 'Palestinian' news service - reports that 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen is suggesting that Hamas create the military/political fiction, so that the political wing can join his new government and that government can recognize Israel, while the military wing will continue its 'resistance.'
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: 'Peace partner': 'The government may need to recognize Israel, but the forces don't'
Israel Matzav: They're here, they're queer and they're hypocrites
They're here, they're queer and they're hypocrites
Starting with the latest manifestation of gay hypocrisy - the shafting of Miss USA candidate Carrie Prejean (pictured) by Perez Hilton - college classmate (yes, he was one too) Andrew Breitbart notes several issues on which the gay community selectively targets some people who disagree with their positions, while giving others a free pass.
On display at the Miss USA event was the activist left's pageant of selective bullying, a concerted strategy to go after low-hanging fruit like Mormons. But the left leaves off its hit list members in good standing of its normal coalition - its "rainbow" coalition. In California, one of the gayest places on the map, blacks and Hispanics - who disproportionately disapprove of same-sex marriage - get a stunning pass from outraged proponents of gay marriage.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: They're here, they're queer and they're hypocrites
Israel Matzav: More Democrats unnerved by Obama's fawning on Iran
More Democrats unnerved by Obama's fawning on Iran
Politico reports that more and more Democrats in Congress are getting nervous about President Obama's fawning attitude towards Iran - and they are trying to do something to limit it (Hat Tip: Instapundit and Memeorandum).
Democrats in Congress are joining Republicans in calling for tough new sanctions on Iran and warning the Obama administration that its policy of engagement shouldn’t last too long before turning to harsher steps aimed at halting Tehran’s nuclear program.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: More Democrats unnerved by Obama's fawning on Iran
Israel Matzav: King Abdullah discusses Israel on Meet the Press
King Abdullah discusses Israel on Meet the Press
The King of Palestine appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday. Many of you know him as the King of Jordan, but Jordan, which is 78% of the former territory of Mandatory Palestine, was given to King Abdullah's family in 1920 by the British as a consolation prize for having lost Saudi Arabia to that other Arab Sheikhdom. During the 19 years that Abdullah's father and grandfather controlled the 'West Bank,' they felt no need to create a 'Palestinian state.' But now that Israel is in control, Abdullah will tell you that creating a 'Palestinian state' will solve all of the Muslim world's problems, from Morocco to Pakistan(!) and beyond. Yes, it's all the Jooooos' fault.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: King Abdullah discusses Israel on Meet the Press
Israel Matzav: How bad is Obama for Israel?
How bad is Obama for Israel?
How bad is the Obama administration for Israel? Please consider this interview with Victor Davis Hanson at Front Page Magazine. Hanson comes up with what seems like a 'logical' explanation as to why President Obama has been trying to undermine Israel from the get-go:
FP: The Obama administration apparently is set to give 900 million to Hamas. In other words, they want to give money to the Palestinian Nazi Party. What do you make of this? What must Obama do toward Hamas, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, etc? Do you think he will do it and/or is he even capable or cognizant of what is actually going on and what is at stake?
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: How bad is Obama for Israel?
Israel Matzav: Arab countries as nervous as Israel over Iran
Arab countries as nervous as Israel over Iran
Dennnis Ross, President Obama's special envoy to Iran (pictured), will be heading to the Middle East this week to assure America's Arab allies that unlike Israel, India, Poland, Georgia and Colombia, their interests will not be sold down the river by the Obama administration. America's Arab allies have a lot about which to be concerned.
Some Arab officials said they have seen little evidence that Iran is moderating activities that they view as destabilizing to many Mideast governments. Morocco severed diplomatic ties with Tehran last month, alleging Iranian diplomats were seeking to convert Moroccan citizens to Shiism, Iran's predominant religion. Egypt this month arrested 50 members of Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia and political party, for allegedly seeking to undermine President Hosni Mubarak's government while transferring arms to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Arab countries as nervous as Israel over Iran
Israel Matzav: Obama to find ways to fund Hamas and Hezbullah: What could go wrong?
Obama to find ways to fund Hamas and Hezbullah: What could go wrong?
In an earlier post, I noted that the Obama administration has proposed a none-too-subtle change in the criteria for engaging with Hamas. The Obama administration has proposed that the three conditions for negotiating with the terror organization (abandonment of terror, recognition of Israel and recognition of past agreements) be abandoned to allow Hamas to enter into a unity government with Fatah which in turn would 'accept' those conditions. That proposal, outlined in testimony by Secretary of State Clinton in congressional testimony last week, has apparently awoken some pro-Israel Representatives out of their catatonic stupors.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Obama to find ways to fund Hamas and Hezbullah: What could go wrong?
Israel Matzav: Mrs. Clinton is on track
Mrs. Clinton is on track
It's Monday morning that means that it's time for yet another anti-Israel column by the sickeningly gleeful Roger Cohen who takes a perverse pleasure in watching the Obama-Clinton administration attempt to destroy the only democracy in the Middle East (Hat Tip: Memeorandum). I'd like to make three points about Cohen's latest anti-Israel screed, but I will point them out in order of importance rather than in the order Cohen makes the points.
First, Cohen complains about how the 'poor Palestinians' cannot move freely around the West Bank Judea and Samaria.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Mrs. Clinton is on track
Israel Matzav: NATO member holding military exercise with Syria
NATO member holding military exercise with Syria
Israel Radio reported this morning that NATO member and Obama favorite Turkey is holding three days of military exercises with Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. As of now, none of Israel's mainstream media websites believe this story is newsworthy (they are silent about it), but DEBKA is reporting it.
The joint Turkish-Syrian tank and armored infantry exercise backed by air power begins across the Turkish-Syrian border Monday, April 27, and lasts three days.
Israel Matzav: NATO member holding military exercise with Syria
YOM HAZIKARON 2009
Earlier this evening we began commemorating Yom HaZikaron, the day of commemoration for more than 24,000 Israelis killed in our wars. It's truly a day of national mourning. Tomorrow evening we'll spring from mourning to celebration in the span of an hour, with the beginning of Independence Day.
Last year on this day I posted this short essay.
Israel is a small place, and we all know people who have lost family members, or we've crossed paths with people who were later killed. Quite a number of them. But we've also all lost friends, people who were close enough that their absence impacted on our lives, people we still think of with regret; people we wish were still part of our lives.
Avi Greenwald, 1957-1982
Shlomo Aumann, 1957-1982
Ram Mizrachi, 1961-1982
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
SUCH A SLOPPY APARTHEID
The Central Bureau of Statistics published some numbers about Israel's population, as every year the day before Independence Day. Almost 7.5 million Israelis, 75.5% Jews, 20.2% Arabs, and 4.8% neither (these are mostly Russians who arrived here since 1990 and are culturally Jewish but not halachically so - an issue I've written about in the past). You can find additional factoids here, if you read Hebrew.
The numbers were presented at a press conference by the head of the Demography Department of the Bureau, a fellow by the name of Ahmed Halichal. Heh.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
NOT NEWS
Mahmud Abbas - Abu Mazen - regularly described as the Moderate Palestinian President today gave a speech in which he rejected recognizing Israel as a Jewish State:
"A Jewish state, what is that supposed to mean?" Abbas asked in a speech in the West Bank's political capital of Ramallah. "You can call yourselves as you like, but I don't accept it and I say so publicly."...
Such a move [of recognition] would amount to an effective renunciation of the right of return of refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, when Israel was created, one of the most cherished and visceral principles to the Palestinians.
The peculiar thing about this is that it's not news. It has been the official Palestinian position ever since they began recognizing Israel's existence, somewhere between the late 1980s and early 1990s, and it effectively negates the recognition because it assumes large numbers of Palestinians will move into Israel, thus turning it into a bi-national state at best. No official Palestinian spokesman ever said otherwise, no matter how moderate he purports to be. This is the main reason why even Olmert and Livni never got close to a peace agreement with Abbas during the 18 months or so of their talks: the positions of the two sides are too far apart.
What is additionally peculiar is that while this is common knowledge in Israel - raising the question why Y-Net even gave it a headline today - it is effectivle never published in the Western media. So it's not news in Israel (everyone knows it), and it's likewise not news in Europe and America (no-one knows it).
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
A KOSHER MALADY
Yakov Litzman, Deputy Minister of Health and effectively Acting Minister of Health, convened a press conference this morning to reassure us about the Swine Flu which apparently has made its way here from Mexico in at least one case. Litzman, a representative of a Haredi party, suggests we should call it the Mexico Flu, so as to keep our distance from pigs.
Actually, I expect Litzman said this in order to get media notice. There is, after all, no halachic prohibition on mentioning pigs; also, Litzman is one of the cannier politicians we have, and a highly capable man who knows his way through the intricacies of our budgets and bureaucracies as few do. This shows he's also a master of spin; it's a perfect soundbite.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
PURVEYORS OF FINE ANTISEMITISM
Blogposts and newspaper editorials are ephemeral: here today, gone today. They may have a cumulative effect, but only in the aggregate. Not so with works of art, which can stick around for a while; some of them even for a very long while.
We don't know how long Caryl Churchill's insidious little play Seven Jewish Children will be around to spread its poison. So far, it hasn't gone away; on the contrary, it's doing quite well at outliving the blogposts and newspaper critics' opinions explaining why it's antisemitc. Just to make sure, however, the Guardian has just posted a video of it, here. After all, a short pamphlet or PDF file will eventually lose its power to hurt the Jews, unless someone does something to enhance it; even word of mouth buzz must repeatedly be recharged somehow if it's not to die out. A video, however, if done well (this one is), has more power than mere words; if posted prominently on a popular website it may easily enjoy a second lease on life far more potent than the first round, where people read about it but didn't see it.
So this is an example of the Guardian actively seeking ways to promulgate antisemitism, beyond merely slanting its reportage and punditry of the daily events.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
For Zion's Sake: Am Yisrael remembers its heroes
On this day, we pause to remember the 22, 570 Jewish soldiers who have fallen in the defense of the State of Israel and the Jewish people since 1860, the year the first Jews built neighbourhoods outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem. Only in the merit of the sacrifice of these brave soldiers can we have a state. Their courage and self-sacrifice is testimony to the strength of the Jewish people. We bought this land with blood and fire.
When HaShem promised our Father Avraham the Land of Israel, he asked G-d: Ba'meh eda ki erashena - How will I know that I will inherit it?. HaShem answered: bazeh, with this- sacrifices. Thousands of soldiers gave their lives to liberate this land and protect their people. 61 years after the re-establishment of the State of Israel, we continue to fight and struggle. The Eternal Nation is not afraid of a long journey.
Read All at :
For Zion's Sake: Am Yisrael remembers its heroes
Monday, 27 April 2009
Israeli guards repel Somali pirate attack on cruise ship - Haaretz - Israel News
Israeli guards repel Somali pirate attack on cruise ship
An Italian cruise ship with 1,500 people on board fended off a pirate attack far off the coast of Somalia when its Israeli private security forces exchanged fire with the bandits and drove them away, the commander said Sunday.
Cmdr. Ciro Pinto told Italian state radio that six men in a small white boat approached the Msc Melody and opened fire with automatic weapons Saturday night, but retreated after the Israeli security officers aboard
Read All at :
Israeli guards repel Somali pirate attack on cruise ship - Haaretz - Israel News
EU president: Europe blind to scale of Iran threat - Haaretz - Israel News
EU president: Europe blind to scale of Iran threat
The European Union "underestimates the Iranian threat," according to Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the Union. At the conclusion of his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Topolanek was strongly critical of European officials who are calling for a freeze on the upgrading of ties between the EU and Israel. In an interview with Haaretz, the outgoing Czech prime minister said that the "peace process should not be linked to the relations between the EU and Israel." At the same time, Topolanek proposed that Israel should end the razing of homes in East Jerusalem as a gesture of good will to the Palestinians.
Read The Article at :
EU president: Europe blind to scale of Iran threat - Haaretz - Israel News
Israel Matzav: Orange you glad I didn't say Jaffa again?
Orange you glad I didn't say Jaffa again?
On Saturday night, I reported on Israeli-grown Jaffa oranges being handed out by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to a rented crowd at a Tehran rally. Now, it turns out that the oranges may not have been from Israel after all.
Outlets at which the fruits were sold were shut down as Iranian officials hurried to assure the public that no fruit had been imported from Israel through legal channels.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Orange you glad I didn't say Jaffa again?
Israel Matzav: 'Palestinian' flag inserted into Independence Day
'Palestinian' flag inserted into Independence Day flier
As many of you know, Tuesday night and Wednesday are Israel's 61st Independence Day. A flier that has been hung on walls in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Shaul includes a 'Palestinian' flag that was inserted behind a picture of David Ben Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, reading the country's Declaration of Independence (pciture at top left). Of course, there were no 'Palestinians' in 1948. The flag was apparently inserted by a computer hacker who infiltrated the company that created the fliers. After attempting to fix the flier by putting plain white stickers over the flag (which did not stay on), Israel Television reported tonight that the flier will be reprinted.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: 'Palestinian' flag inserted into Independence Day flier
Israel Matzav: Iranian arms ship destroyed off Sudan
Iranian arms ship destroyed off Sudan
An Egyptian weekly reported on Sunday that an Iranian arms ship was destroyed off Sudan in the last two weeks. According to Israel Radio, the Egyptian magazine, Al-Usuba, was the publication that first broke the story of the destruction of the Iranian weapons convoy in Sudan in January. Like that convoy, this arms ship was headed for Gaza. And like the initial reports about that convoy, Al-Usuba reports that this weapons ship was destroyed by an Israeli or American fighter boat.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Iranian arms ship destroyed off Sudan
Israel Matzav: Obama planning for Israeli strike on Iran ?
Obama planning for Israeli strike on Iran?
In Sunday's Washington Post, Jim Hoagland raises the issue that has to be foremost on everyone's minds.
So even after the Iran review is completed, don't expect it to deal forthrightly (or perhaps at all) with this core question: Can Obama's hopes for Middle East peace and fruitful negotiations with Iran survive an Israeli military strike on Iran's nuclear program, perhaps as early as the first half of 2010?
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Obama planning for Israeli strike on Iran?
Israel Matzav: Lieberman happy to talk to Syria, but without pre-conditions
Lieberman happy to talk to Syria, but without pre-conditions
After being lambasted in the media over the weekend for an interview with an Austrian newspaper in which he said that Syria is 'not a peace partner,' Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israel Radio this morning that he is happy to talk to Syria but without pre-conditions (this is not online yet, and I'm citing what I heard on the radio this morning).
Lieberman said that while he is happy to talk to Syria, there is not much point in doing so when the Syrians say "first agree to go back to the 1967 borders and then we will discuss everything else." Says Lieberman (correctly), "if we agree to go back to the 1967 borders, there is not much else to talk about." Lieberman also noted a continued Syrian threat that if Israel does not give it the Golan, it will take the Golan by force. The JPost article linked above, for example, quotes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as having told the Qatari newspaper al-Sharq:
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Lieberman happy to talk to Syria, but without pre-conditions
SNAPSHOTS OF ISRAEL
Y-Net, probably Israel's most popular website, has been running a competition for Best Snapshot of the Year, to be chosen for Independence Day (Tuesday evening). The ten finalists are up, here. They're fascinating, mostly for the way they're generally lacking in ideology and pathos (but not completely), none of them are esthetically pleasing, none are memorable, and taken together they indeed do give a pedestrian feeling of where we're at right now.
Quick annotations, from top left clockwise, for the Hebraically-challenged of you:
5 guys in their mid-50s who have been chums since they were in the paratroopers together, 35 years ago, arguing over a map while hiking in the desert.
Soldiers on a tour of Poland, dancing in an abandoned warehouse that used to be the synagogue in a small Polish town, and still has Hebrew on the walls. (OK, some pathos in this one).
A pier that no longer reaches the Sea of Galilee, which is drying up for lack of rain.
"We're all stuck in the mud" (in this case, at the Dead Sea).
A torn flag with the orange ribbon of the opponents of the disengagement from Gaza (2005). (OK, some political ideology in this one).
A fellow dressed (only?) in the flag shouting at the camera. The shouting is about as typically Israeli a gesture as any.
A group of folks standing under a "Save Gilad Shalit" poster, probably in Tel Aviv.
A play on the national colors (light blue and white): "No parking (in white); ... in the whole fucking city" (scrawled graffiti).
Two chaps, walking for their health, boiling their brains. Israelis are joined to their mobile phones at birth, never to be separated again.
The ice cream vendors always know which units will be having maneuvers when and where. I expect the central IDF planners ask them for plans each quarter. The pizza delivery folks, too.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
COPYCATTING THE ECONOMIST
According to Matt Pressman at Vanity Fair, Time and Newsweek wish to be like The Economist - and Pressmen explains convincingly why they won't. Never ever, not even after Hell freezes over, if you ask me.
I've been reading The Economist, off and on, since my father started bringing it home in, oh I suppose it was 1969. It's by far the most intelligent weekly magazine anywhere, and trumps the dailies and monthlies, too. It is broadminded, arrogant, well informed, snotty, cynical and irreverent of power, preachy, a joy to read and aggravating no end. It's a newspaper that spent its first century reporting on the world from its capital, London; since the sun never set on its beat, it never tired of watching it all. Reading The Economist is the best way I've ever found of keeping abreast of the human story - not all of it, of course, but more than anywhere else.
Yet I'd add some points Pressman misses. The paper's economic ideology: It's fiercely free-market, of course. The Economist really believes that free markets are the best for people; its editors are constantly on the lookout for what will be advantageous for as many people as possible. Whether you agree or not, reading them is a fine antidote to the silliness of capitalism being a conspiracy of the rich to exploit the poor, or the powerful to keep down the weak.
They're rationalist to a fault. They always try to uncover the facts and relate to them. They're as ideological as anyone, but do their best to keep their ideology tied to reality - a trick few others manage.
They have no bylines. We know the name of the editor in chief; if someone dies on the job they'll tell us about her, but of course she's off the staff by then. So there are no egos involved. Can you imagine?
Finally, their style is simply wonderful. Years ago when I was just beginning to write for consumption in English (my first written language as an adult was Hebrew), I purchased their style guide. Their basic admonition to their writers was to pitch their writing as if they were talking to an intelligent audience. Talking, mind you. Which means do without the hi-falutin words when there are simple ones, don't shy away from colloquialisms when they work best, but never forget your audience is intelligent. With one fell swoop they absolved me of the style used by, oh, 89% of academics.
Their positions on Israel can sometimes be outrageous; in 2002 I canceled my subscription they were so unacceptable.But eventually
I went back.
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations (http://yaacovlozowick.blogspot.com/)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
