BRIEF FACTS ON THE ISRAELI CONFLICT TODAY....
( It takes just 1.5 minutes to read !! )
It makes sense and it's not slanted. Jew and non-Jew - it doesn't matter.
1. Nationhood and Jerusalem. Israel became a nation in 1312 BCE., two thousand years before the rise of Islam.
2. Arab refugees in Israel began identifying themselves as part of a Palestinian people in 1967, two decades after the establishment of the modern State of Israel .
3. Since the Jewish conquest in 1272 BCE., the Jews have had dominion over the land for one thousand years with a continuous presence in the land for the past 3,300 years.
4. The only Arab dominion since the conquest in 635 C.E.Lasted no more than 22 years.
5. For over 3,300 years, Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital. Jerusalem has never been the capital of any Arab or Muslim entity. Even when the Jordanians occupied Jerusalem, they never sought to make it their capital, and Arab leaders did not come to visit.
6. Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in Tanach, the Jewish Holy Scriptures. Jerusalem is not mentioned once in the Koran.
7. King David founded the city of Jerusalem . Mohammed never came to Jerusalem .
8. Jews pray facing Jerusalem . Muslims pray with their backs toward Jerusalem .
9. Arab and Jewish Refugees: In 1948 the Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by Arab leaders promising to purge the land of Jews . Sixty-eight percent left without ever seeing an Israeli soldier.
10 The Jewish refugees were forced to flee from Arab lands due to Arab brutality, persecution and pogroms.
11. The number of Arab refugees who left Israel in 1948 is estimated to be around 630,000. The number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands is estimated to be the same.
12. Arab refugees were INTENTIONALLY not absorbed or integrated into the Arab lands to which they fled, despite the vast Arab territory. Out of the 100,000,000 refugees since World War II, theirs is the only refugee group in the world that has never been absorbed or integrated into their own peoples' lands. Jewish refugees were completely absorbed into Israel , a country no larger than the state of New Jersey .
13. The Arab - Israeli Conflict: The Arabs are represented by eight separate nations, not including the Palestinians. There is only one Jewish nation. The Arab nations initiated all five wars and lost. Israel defended itself each time and won.
14. The P.L.O.'s Charter still calls for the destruction of the State of Israel . Israel has given the Palestinians most of the West Bank land, autonomy under the Palestinian Authority, and has supplied them.
15. Under Jordanian rule, Jewish holy sites were desecratedand the Jews were denied access to places of worship. Under Israeli rule, all Muslim and Christian sites have been preserved and made accessible to people of all faiths.
16. The UN. Record on Israel and the Arabs: of the 175 Security Council resolutions passed before 1990, 97 were directed against Israel .
17. Of the 690 General Assembly resolutions voted on before 1990, 429 were directed against Israel .
18. The U N was silent while 58 Jerusalem Synagogues were destroyed by the Jordanians.
19. The UN. Was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mt of Olives.
20. The U.N. Was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like a policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Aipac on Noah and Israel
October 27, 2008
Parashat Noah
Below is a condensed summary of AIPAC's Synagogue Initiative Sermon Tidbits for Noah. The complete version of Tidbits is two pages long and a quick reading of the summary below should indicate if this Tidbit interests you.
Hiding in the Ark- The Talmud criticizes Noah's indifference towards salvaging humanity and teaches that we cannot consider ourselves truly righteous until we care for other's interests as well as our own. Today, this same type of apathy towards others is helping to stymie international efforts to halt Iran 's nuclear weapons program. Click here to view the complete Tidbits for Noah.
Abuse of Women (Past and Present)- The Midrash states that the Torah's use of the word chamas, to describe the evil of Noah's generation, refers specifically to the abuse of women. Unfortunately, this exploitation continues today as Islamic Jihad is training young female Palestinians as suicide bombers in the Gaza Strip. Click here to view the complete Tidbits for Noah.
The Peace of the Olive Branch- Since the time of Noah the olive branch has represented peace. This year, however, the olive branch seems to denote friction as Israeli settlers, bent on disrupting the harvest, have clashed with Palestinian olive growers. Some comfort may be found in Israel's resolve to stand up to Jewish perpetrators of violence. Click here to view the complete Tidbits for Noah.
The material in Sermon Tidbits is for your use without attribution. Feel free to use some or all of the material in your sermons and articles.
As always, we appreciate your feedback and you sending us copies of any sermons/articles that you create using the ideas provided. Feedback and samples can be sent to synagogue@aipac.org.
Best wishes,
Parashat Noah
Below is a condensed summary of AIPAC's Synagogue Initiative Sermon Tidbits for Noah. The complete version of Tidbits is two pages long and a quick reading of the summary below should indicate if this Tidbit interests you.
Hiding in the Ark- The Talmud criticizes Noah's indifference towards salvaging humanity and teaches that we cannot consider ourselves truly righteous until we care for other's interests as well as our own. Today, this same type of apathy towards others is helping to stymie international efforts to halt Iran 's nuclear weapons program. Click here to view the complete Tidbits for Noah.
Abuse of Women (Past and Present)- The Midrash states that the Torah's use of the word chamas, to describe the evil of Noah's generation, refers specifically to the abuse of women. Unfortunately, this exploitation continues today as Islamic Jihad is training young female Palestinians as suicide bombers in the Gaza Strip. Click here to view the complete Tidbits for Noah.
The Peace of the Olive Branch- Since the time of Noah the olive branch has represented peace. This year, however, the olive branch seems to denote friction as Israeli settlers, bent on disrupting the harvest, have clashed with Palestinian olive growers. Some comfort may be found in Israel's resolve to stand up to Jewish perpetrators of violence. Click here to view the complete Tidbits for Noah.
The material in Sermon Tidbits is for your use without attribution. Feel free to use some or all of the material in your sermons and articles.
As always, we appreciate your feedback and you sending us copies of any sermons/articles that you create using the ideas provided. Feedback and samples can be sent to synagogue@aipac.org.
Best wishes,
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Daily Alert
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
View this page at www.dailyalert.org
Subscribe RSS-XML
DAILY ALERT Thursday,
October 23, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To contact the Presidents Conference:
click here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-Depth Issues:
On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis - Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung (Washington Post)
Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.
A new posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had "exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report: Hizbullah Chief Poisoned; Iranian Doctors Saved His Life - Yoav Stern (Ha'aretz)
The Iraqi Web site Almalaf on Wednesday quoted diplomatic sources in Beirut as saying Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah was poisoned last week and that his life was saved by Iranian doctors who were rushed to Lebanon to treat him. Hizbullah has denied the report.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Britain Faces Threat from Radicalized Muslims for 30 Years - James Kirkup (Telegraph-UK)
Britain will face a threat from radicalized young Muslims for another 30 years, the Security Minister Lord West has said.
He warned the Commons Defense Committee that it will take decades to win the argument against terrorism and extremism in some sections of British society.
He added that no matter how much work is done to improve Britain's ability to detect and thwart terrorist plots, the threat will only be overcome by persuading Muslims not to engage in violence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo: Palestinians Smuggle Calf through Gaza Border Tunnel (AP/USA Today)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iran's Flirtation with Luxury - Maryam Sinaiee (The National-Abu Dhabi)
Iranians may have to rein in their new taste for such luxury goods as imported cars and brand name watches as falling oil prices compel the government to consider curbing expensive imports.
The value of luxury imported cars is expected to amount to $2b this year, up 95% from the previous year despite high import taxes and tariffs that increase the cost of imported cars by 100%.
Critics say by keeping the national currency artificially strong, the government has been subsidizing and encouraging imports at the cost of damaging domestic production and wasting oil revenues.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
42,000 Registered U.S. Voters Live in Israel - Haviv Rettig (Jerusalem Post)
Approximately half of some 42,000 registered U.S. voters living in Israel are voting in swing states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to Shimon Greenspan, director of the nonpartisan Vote From Israel organization.
Israel has the third-largest group of American voters abroad, behind Canada and Britain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search
Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
U.S. Accuses Iran of Trying to Derail Iraq Withdrawal Agreement
Iran is seeking to "undermine" and "derail" an almost completed agreement between the U.S. and Iraq governing the long-term presence of American troops in the country, the Pentagon has claimed. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said: "Iranian meddling in Iraq takes on all forms." There was a clear attempt by Iran to "undermine, undercut, derail the SOFA (status of forces) agreement," he said. (Telegraph-UK)
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Bank - Jeannine Aversa
The Bush administration on Wednesday imposed financial sanctions on the state-owned Export Development Bank of Iran. The bank provided financial services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, which controls Iran's ballistic missile research, development and production activities. "Iran has adopted a strategy of using less prominent institutions, such as the Export Development Bank of Iran, to handle its illicit transactions," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. (AP)
U.S. Transfers $150 Million to Palestinians
The U.S. has transferred $150 million to the Palestinians, exceeding its original pledge, in order to help with the Palestinian budget. American aid to the Palestinians in 2008 now totals over $700 million and exceeds the amount the U.S. pledged at a donors conference in December 2007. (AP/International Herald Tribune)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Palestinian Murders Israeli in Jerusalem - Jonathan Lis
A Palestinian was shot and captured after stabbing two Israelis in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo on Thursday. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said two police officers on patrol in Gilo had stopped an Arab for questioning when he pulled out a knife and stabbed one of them. "The [wounded] policeman fired at the terrorist, but he continued to attack and stabbed a passerby, before he was apprehended," Rosenfeld said. The 86-year-old passerby later died of his wounds. (Ha'aretz/Jerusalem Post)
Two Killed in Air Force Training Accident - Yuval Azoulay
Israel Air Force cadet Carmi Ilan, 19, and flight instructor Capt. Matan Asa, 24,were killed during a training flight on Wednesday when their plane crashed in the Negev. (Ha'aretz)
Palestinian Caught with Bomb at West Bank Checkpoint
A 17-year-old Palestinian was detained when IDF soldiers at the Hawara checkpoint near Nablus discovered he was carrying a firebomb and a pipe bomb. (Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
From Beirut to 9/11 - Robert C. McFarlane
Twenty-five years ago, Iranian-trained Hizbullah terrorists bombed the United States Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 Americans who were part of a multinational peacekeeping force (a simultaneous attack on the French base killed 58 paratroopers). The attack was planned over several months at Hizbullah's training camp in the Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon.
Once American intelligence confirmed who was responsible and where the attack had been planned, President Reagan approved a joint French-American air assault on the camp - only to have the mission aborted just before launching by the secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger. Four months later, all the marines were withdrawn, capping one of the most tragic and costly policy defeats in the brief modern history of American counterterrorism operations. The writer was U.S. national security adviser from 1983 to 1985. (New York Times)
Iran Feels Pinch of Oil Price Fall - Anna Fifield
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, earned about $54b from oil exports in the first half of this year, after reaping $70b last year. The government budget assumes oil prices of $55 a barrel, and any surplus is channeled into an oil stabilization fund. But this year Ahmadinejad's government has authorized the withdrawal of about $17b from the fund to finance his policies.
Some analysts say Ahmadinejad can weather the downturn in oil prices, at least for now. Ali Shams-Ardakani, an energy expert, suggested lower prices would make the government "more cautious," but that its current policies would still be "manageable" if prices fell to $65. Anything below $55 would become uncomfortable, he added. (Financial Times-UK)
UN Resolution 1701: A View from the U.S. - Michael Singh
Two years after the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war, arms continue to flow, Hizbullah has rebuilt and enhanced its military strength, Lebanon remains fractured by violent political divisions, and tensions between Iran and Israel have increased. At the same time, the need for full and effective enforcement of UN Resolution 1701 which ended that war remains urgent.
It is critical to stop the flow of arms to the militias that hold Lebanon hostage. Any further European moves to revive EU-Syria relations should stipulate that Damascus cooperate in ending the flow of arms into Lebanon. The EU should also emulate the British government's recent designation of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. In addition, the international community and Lebanon's regional partners should take meaningful action to secure the Lebanese-Syrian border, or Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora should charge UNIFIL with that mission under the authority provided him by Resolution 1701. The writer is former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Observations:
Stopping a Nuclear Tehran - Daniel R. Coats and Charles S. Robb (Washington Post)
The first and most pressing national security issue the next president will face is the growing prospect of a nuclear-weapons-capable Iran. After co-chairing a recently concluded, high-level task force on Iranian nuclear development, we have come to believe that five principles must serve as the foundation of any reasonable, bipartisan and comprehensive Iranian policy.
An Islamic Republic of Iran with nuclear weapons capability would be strategically untenable. It would threaten U.S. national security, regional peace and stability, energy security, the efficacy of multilateralism, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime. Simply obtaining the ability to quickly assemble a nuclear weapon would effectively give Iran a nuclear deterrent and drastically multiply its influence in the region. Allowing the Middle East to fall under the dominance of a radical clerical regime that supports terrorism should not be considered a viable option.
We believe the only acceptable end state is the complete cessation of enrichment activities inside Iran. We foresee no combination of international inspections or co-ownership of enrichment facilities that would provide sufficient assurances that Iran is not producing weapons-grade fissile material. Indeed, the enrichment facility at Natanz is already technically capable - once Iran has a sufficient stockpile of low-enriched uranium - of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear device in four weeks, more than fast enough to elude detection by international inspectors.
While a diplomatic resolution is still possible, it can succeed only if we negotiate from a position of strength. This will require better coordination with our international partners and much stricter sanctions. Negotiations with Iran would probably be ineffective unless our European allies sever commercial relations with Tehran.
So that Israel does not feel compelled to take unilateral action, the next president must credibly convince Jerusalem that the U.S. will not allow Iran to achieve nuclear weapons capability.
While military action against Iran is feasible, it must remain an option of last resort. The U.S. military is capable of launching a devastating strike on Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure - probably with more decisive results than the Iranian leadership realizes.
Time may be shorter than many imagine, and failure could carry a catastrophic cost to the national interest.
Former Senators Daniel R. Coats (R-IN) and Charles S. Robb (D-VA) are co-chairmen of the Bipartisan Policy Center's national security task
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
View this page at www.dailyalert.org
Subscribe RSS-XML
DAILY ALERT Thursday,
October 23, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To contact the Presidents Conference:
click here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-Depth Issues:
On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis - Joby Warrick and Karen DeYoung (Washington Post)
Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.
A new posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had "exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Report: Hizbullah Chief Poisoned; Iranian Doctors Saved His Life - Yoav Stern (Ha'aretz)
The Iraqi Web site Almalaf on Wednesday quoted diplomatic sources in Beirut as saying Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah was poisoned last week and that his life was saved by Iranian doctors who were rushed to Lebanon to treat him. Hizbullah has denied the report.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Britain Faces Threat from Radicalized Muslims for 30 Years - James Kirkup (Telegraph-UK)
Britain will face a threat from radicalized young Muslims for another 30 years, the Security Minister Lord West has said.
He warned the Commons Defense Committee that it will take decades to win the argument against terrorism and extremism in some sections of British society.
He added that no matter how much work is done to improve Britain's ability to detect and thwart terrorist plots, the threat will only be overcome by persuading Muslims not to engage in violence.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Photo: Palestinians Smuggle Calf through Gaza Border Tunnel (AP/USA Today)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iran's Flirtation with Luxury - Maryam Sinaiee (The National-Abu Dhabi)
Iranians may have to rein in their new taste for such luxury goods as imported cars and brand name watches as falling oil prices compel the government to consider curbing expensive imports.
The value of luxury imported cars is expected to amount to $2b this year, up 95% from the previous year despite high import taxes and tariffs that increase the cost of imported cars by 100%.
Critics say by keeping the national currency artificially strong, the government has been subsidizing and encouraging imports at the cost of damaging domestic production and wasting oil revenues.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
42,000 Registered U.S. Voters Live in Israel - Haviv Rettig (Jerusalem Post)
Approximately half of some 42,000 registered U.S. voters living in Israel are voting in swing states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to Shimon Greenspan, director of the nonpartisan Vote From Israel organization.
Israel has the third-largest group of American voters abroad, behind Canada and Britain.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search
Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
U.S. Accuses Iran of Trying to Derail Iraq Withdrawal Agreement
Iran is seeking to "undermine" and "derail" an almost completed agreement between the U.S. and Iraq governing the long-term presence of American troops in the country, the Pentagon has claimed. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said: "Iranian meddling in Iraq takes on all forms." There was a clear attempt by Iran to "undermine, undercut, derail the SOFA (status of forces) agreement," he said. (Telegraph-UK)
U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Bank - Jeannine Aversa
The Bush administration on Wednesday imposed financial sanctions on the state-owned Export Development Bank of Iran. The bank provided financial services to Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, which controls Iran's ballistic missile research, development and production activities. "Iran has adopted a strategy of using less prominent institutions, such as the Export Development Bank of Iran, to handle its illicit transactions," said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. (AP)
U.S. Transfers $150 Million to Palestinians
The U.S. has transferred $150 million to the Palestinians, exceeding its original pledge, in order to help with the Palestinian budget. American aid to the Palestinians in 2008 now totals over $700 million and exceeds the amount the U.S. pledged at a donors conference in December 2007. (AP/International Herald Tribune)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Palestinian Murders Israeli in Jerusalem - Jonathan Lis
A Palestinian was shot and captured after stabbing two Israelis in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo on Thursday. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said two police officers on patrol in Gilo had stopped an Arab for questioning when he pulled out a knife and stabbed one of them. "The [wounded] policeman fired at the terrorist, but he continued to attack and stabbed a passerby, before he was apprehended," Rosenfeld said. The 86-year-old passerby later died of his wounds. (Ha'aretz/Jerusalem Post)
Two Killed in Air Force Training Accident - Yuval Azoulay
Israel Air Force cadet Carmi Ilan, 19, and flight instructor Capt. Matan Asa, 24,were killed during a training flight on Wednesday when their plane crashed in the Negev. (Ha'aretz)
Palestinian Caught with Bomb at West Bank Checkpoint
A 17-year-old Palestinian was detained when IDF soldiers at the Hawara checkpoint near Nablus discovered he was carrying a firebomb and a pipe bomb. (Ynet News)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
From Beirut to 9/11 - Robert C. McFarlane
Twenty-five years ago, Iranian-trained Hizbullah terrorists bombed the United States Marine barracks in Lebanon, killing 241 Americans who were part of a multinational peacekeeping force (a simultaneous attack on the French base killed 58 paratroopers). The attack was planned over several months at Hizbullah's training camp in the Bekaa Valley in central Lebanon.
Once American intelligence confirmed who was responsible and where the attack had been planned, President Reagan approved a joint French-American air assault on the camp - only to have the mission aborted just before launching by the secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger. Four months later, all the marines were withdrawn, capping one of the most tragic and costly policy defeats in the brief modern history of American counterterrorism operations. The writer was U.S. national security adviser from 1983 to 1985. (New York Times)
Iran Feels Pinch of Oil Price Fall - Anna Fifield
Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, earned about $54b from oil exports in the first half of this year, after reaping $70b last year. The government budget assumes oil prices of $55 a barrel, and any surplus is channeled into an oil stabilization fund. But this year Ahmadinejad's government has authorized the withdrawal of about $17b from the fund to finance his policies.
Some analysts say Ahmadinejad can weather the downturn in oil prices, at least for now. Ali Shams-Ardakani, an energy expert, suggested lower prices would make the government "more cautious," but that its current policies would still be "manageable" if prices fell to $65. Anything below $55 would become uncomfortable, he added. (Financial Times-UK)
UN Resolution 1701: A View from the U.S. - Michael Singh
Two years after the 2006 Israel-Hizbullah war, arms continue to flow, Hizbullah has rebuilt and enhanced its military strength, Lebanon remains fractured by violent political divisions, and tensions between Iran and Israel have increased. At the same time, the need for full and effective enforcement of UN Resolution 1701 which ended that war remains urgent.
It is critical to stop the flow of arms to the militias that hold Lebanon hostage. Any further European moves to revive EU-Syria relations should stipulate that Damascus cooperate in ending the flow of arms into Lebanon. The EU should also emulate the British government's recent designation of Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. In addition, the international community and Lebanon's regional partners should take meaningful action to secure the Lebanese-Syrian border, or Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora should charge UNIFIL with that mission under the authority provided him by Resolution 1701. The writer is former senior director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Observations:
Stopping a Nuclear Tehran - Daniel R. Coats and Charles S. Robb (Washington Post)
The first and most pressing national security issue the next president will face is the growing prospect of a nuclear-weapons-capable Iran. After co-chairing a recently concluded, high-level task force on Iranian nuclear development, we have come to believe that five principles must serve as the foundation of any reasonable, bipartisan and comprehensive Iranian policy.
An Islamic Republic of Iran with nuclear weapons capability would be strategically untenable. It would threaten U.S. national security, regional peace and stability, energy security, the efficacy of multilateralism, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime. Simply obtaining the ability to quickly assemble a nuclear weapon would effectively give Iran a nuclear deterrent and drastically multiply its influence in the region. Allowing the Middle East to fall under the dominance of a radical clerical regime that supports terrorism should not be considered a viable option.
We believe the only acceptable end state is the complete cessation of enrichment activities inside Iran. We foresee no combination of international inspections or co-ownership of enrichment facilities that would provide sufficient assurances that Iran is not producing weapons-grade fissile material. Indeed, the enrichment facility at Natanz is already technically capable - once Iran has a sufficient stockpile of low-enriched uranium - of producing enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear device in four weeks, more than fast enough to elude detection by international inspectors.
While a diplomatic resolution is still possible, it can succeed only if we negotiate from a position of strength. This will require better coordination with our international partners and much stricter sanctions. Negotiations with Iran would probably be ineffective unless our European allies sever commercial relations with Tehran.
So that Israel does not feel compelled to take unilateral action, the next president must credibly convince Jerusalem that the U.S. will not allow Iran to achieve nuclear weapons capability.
While military action against Iran is feasible, it must remain an option of last resort. The U.S. military is capable of launching a devastating strike on Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure - probably with more decisive results than the Iranian leadership realizes.
Time may be shorter than many imagine, and failure could carry a catastrophic cost to the national interest.
Former Senators Daniel R. Coats (R-IN) and Charles S. Robb (D-VA) are co-chairmen of the Bipartisan Policy Center's national security task
Friday, October 17, 2008
Aipac briefing
Obama, McCain Vow to Toughen Sanctions on Iran
IAEA Suspects Russian Scientist of Helping Iran Build Nukes
Israel to Allow 700 Additional PA Troops into Hebron
United States Condemns Syrian Intervention in Lebanon
IDF, PA Thwart Palestinian Terror Plots in West Bank
Iranian Boy to be Treated for Cancer in Israel
take action!
Affect Israel's future and promote U.S. interests in the Middle East by urging your members of Congress to support critical legislation.
Click here to learn about these important initiatives and to email your elected representatives.
Learn more
Click here for AIPAC analysis of issues affecting the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Obama, McCain Vow to Toughen Sanctions on Iran
U.S. presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain both said in their debate last week that if elected, they would work to toughen sanctions on Iran in order to stop it from building a nuclear bomb. A nuclear-armed Iran would "create the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists," Obama said. "If we can prevent them from importing the gasoline they need and the refined petroleum products, that starts changing their cost benefits analysis, that starts putting the squeeze on them." Sen. McCain warned of a potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East: "If Iran acquires nuclear weapons all the other countries will acquire them too," McCain said. He added: "We can never allow a second Holocaust to take place." Click here to learn about the importance of sanctions against Iran.
IAEA Suspects Russian Scientist of Helping Iran Build Nukes
International nuclear inspectors are investigating whether a Russian scientist helped Iran conduct complex experiments on how to detonate a nuclear weapon, The New York Times reported. It is the first time that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has suggested that Iran may have received help from a foreign weapons scientist in developing nuclear arms. According to European and American officials, inspectors at the nuclear agency are seeking information from the scientist, who they believe acted on his own as an adviser on sophisticated experiments described in a lengthy document obtained by the agency. Tehran has stonewalled repeated IAEA requests to provide information needed to explain alleged military involvement in the country's nuclear program.
Israel to Allow 700 Additional PA Troops into Hebron
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is expected to deploy a battalion of security forces to the West Bank city of Hebron in the coming days, in an effort to combat Hamas' efforts to seize the city, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. The armed battalion is the second unit of the Palestinian security forces to undergo American training in Jordan. According to PA security officials, the move will be coordinated with Israel, and the 700 troops will handle security operations among the city's Palestinian population. Despite the risks involved, Israel has also allowed the shipment of rifles, bullets and other defensive weapons to the PA, and has removed checkpoints and released Palestinian prisoners. The United States and its allies expect PA President Mahmoud Abbas to demonstrate his commitment to peace with Israel by undertaking "sustained, targeted, and effective operations" against terrorists in the West Bank, as called for in Phase I of the Road Map.
United States Condemns Syrian Intervention in Lebanon
The United States condemned Syria's ongoing arms buildup and warned Damascus that it must not interfere in Lebanese affairs, Reuters reported. "We've seen reports about continued Syrian military activity along the Lebanese-Syrian border," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. "And...we in the international community a week ago made very clear that any intervention...by Syrian troops into Lebanon would be unacceptable." Designated by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism, Syria continues to back the terrorist groups Hamas and Hizballah and is suspected of carrying out the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and other anti-Syrian Lebanese officials and journalists.
IDF, PA Thwart Palestinian Terror Plots in West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces prevented a terrorist attack Monday after a Palestinian was found smuggling three improvised explosive devices during a search at the Harawa checkpoint near the West Bank town of Nablus, The Jerusalem Post reported. A military bomb squad was called to the scene where they successfully detonated the three devices. The Hawara checkpoint has seen an increase in terrorist activity during the last month. In September, a dozen similar explosive devices uncovered, and a number of attempted stabbings by Palestinians against Israeli soldiers have also been reported. The incident followed reports that Palestinian Authority security forces recently uncovered a Hamas-run bomb factory in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Iranian Boy to be Treated for Cancer in Israel
A 12-year-old Iranian boy suffering from brain cancer has been sent to Israel for emergency surgery after treatments in both Turkey and Iran were unsuccessful, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Despite Iran's nearly 30-year refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist, the Jewish state's Interior Minister, Meir Sheetrit, gave the child special permission to enter the country. "We are the light upon the nations, and when a child's life is at stake, religion and origin play no part," Sheetrit said. "If we can help, we are more than willing to do so." The child's physician in Turkey said Israel provided the best technical and medical expertise in the region to properly treat the boy's dire condition.
IAEA Suspects Russian Scientist of Helping Iran Build Nukes
Israel to Allow 700 Additional PA Troops into Hebron
United States Condemns Syrian Intervention in Lebanon
IDF, PA Thwart Palestinian Terror Plots in West Bank
Iranian Boy to be Treated for Cancer in Israel
take action!
Affect Israel's future and promote U.S. interests in the Middle East by urging your members of Congress to support critical legislation.
Click here to learn about these important initiatives and to email your elected representatives.
Learn more
Click here for AIPAC analysis of issues affecting the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Obama, McCain Vow to Toughen Sanctions on Iran
U.S. presidential candidates Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain both said in their debate last week that if elected, they would work to toughen sanctions on Iran in order to stop it from building a nuclear bomb. A nuclear-armed Iran would "create the possibility of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists," Obama said. "If we can prevent them from importing the gasoline they need and the refined petroleum products, that starts changing their cost benefits analysis, that starts putting the squeeze on them." Sen. McCain warned of a potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East: "If Iran acquires nuclear weapons all the other countries will acquire them too," McCain said. He added: "We can never allow a second Holocaust to take place." Click here to learn about the importance of sanctions against Iran.
IAEA Suspects Russian Scientist of Helping Iran Build Nukes
International nuclear inspectors are investigating whether a Russian scientist helped Iran conduct complex experiments on how to detonate a nuclear weapon, The New York Times reported. It is the first time that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has suggested that Iran may have received help from a foreign weapons scientist in developing nuclear arms. According to European and American officials, inspectors at the nuclear agency are seeking information from the scientist, who they believe acted on his own as an adviser on sophisticated experiments described in a lengthy document obtained by the agency. Tehran has stonewalled repeated IAEA requests to provide information needed to explain alleged military involvement in the country's nuclear program.
Israel to Allow 700 Additional PA Troops into Hebron
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is expected to deploy a battalion of security forces to the West Bank city of Hebron in the coming days, in an effort to combat Hamas' efforts to seize the city, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. The armed battalion is the second unit of the Palestinian security forces to undergo American training in Jordan. According to PA security officials, the move will be coordinated with Israel, and the 700 troops will handle security operations among the city's Palestinian population. Despite the risks involved, Israel has also allowed the shipment of rifles, bullets and other defensive weapons to the PA, and has removed checkpoints and released Palestinian prisoners. The United States and its allies expect PA President Mahmoud Abbas to demonstrate his commitment to peace with Israel by undertaking "sustained, targeted, and effective operations" against terrorists in the West Bank, as called for in Phase I of the Road Map.
United States Condemns Syrian Intervention in Lebanon
The United States condemned Syria's ongoing arms buildup and warned Damascus that it must not interfere in Lebanese affairs, Reuters reported. "We've seen reports about continued Syrian military activity along the Lebanese-Syrian border," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood. "And...we in the international community a week ago made very clear that any intervention...by Syrian troops into Lebanon would be unacceptable." Designated by the State Department as a state sponsor of terrorism, Syria continues to back the terrorist groups Hamas and Hizballah and is suspected of carrying out the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and other anti-Syrian Lebanese officials and journalists.
IDF, PA Thwart Palestinian Terror Plots in West Bank
The Israel Defense Forces prevented a terrorist attack Monday after a Palestinian was found smuggling three improvised explosive devices during a search at the Harawa checkpoint near the West Bank town of Nablus, The Jerusalem Post reported. A military bomb squad was called to the scene where they successfully detonated the three devices. The Hawara checkpoint has seen an increase in terrorist activity during the last month. In September, a dozen similar explosive devices uncovered, and a number of attempted stabbings by Palestinians against Israeli soldiers have also been reported. The incident followed reports that Palestinian Authority security forces recently uncovered a Hamas-run bomb factory in the West Bank city of Hebron.
Iranian Boy to be Treated for Cancer in Israel
A 12-year-old Iranian boy suffering from brain cancer has been sent to Israel for emergency surgery after treatments in both Turkey and Iran were unsuccessful, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. Despite Iran's nearly 30-year refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist, the Jewish state's Interior Minister, Meir Sheetrit, gave the child special permission to enter the country. "We are the light upon the nations, and when a child's life is at stake, religion and origin play no part," Sheetrit said. "If we can help, we are more than willing to do so." The child's physician in Turkey said Israel provided the best technical and medical expertise in the region to properly treat the boy's dire condition.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Daily alert from Presiden't council
Prepared for the
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
View this page at www.dailyalert.org
Subscribe RSS-XML
DAILY ALERT Monday,
October 13, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To contact the Presidents Conference:
click here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-Depth Issues:
Israel Pursuing Kidnappers of Cpl. Gilad Shalit - Ronen Solomon and Arik Weiss (Maariv-Weekend-10Oct08-Hebrew)
"People are disappearing from the streets of Gaza," a former senior officer in the PA Preventive Security Services who fled recently from Gaza said this week.
According to Palestinian sources, on 7 Sep. 2007, Muhawash al-Kadi, one of the senior Hamas leaders involved in the kidnapping of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, was driving in the evening with his family to his home in Rafiah.
After the car reached the city cemetery, the street was blocked by a Peugeot with its hood up. As al-Kadi turned into a side street, an old man seemed to fall in the street and al-Kadi stopped to help him.
At this point, IDF soldiers dressed in Hamas uniforms sprayed something in al-Kadi's face while other soldiers removed the family members from al-Kadi's car. Taking al-Kadi, both cars sped toward the Dahaniya airport where two helicopters flew them to Israel.
A month after the event, the PA Interior Ministry announced the arrest of collaborators who helped Israel in capturing al-Kadi.
Israel currently holds at least two Palestinians connected to the kidnapping. Publication of details on additional arrests has not been permitted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fake Report about Lehman Brothers Moving Billions to Israel - Anshel Pfeffer (Ha'aretz)
Dozens of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli web sites have been distributing a news report over the last few days claiming that on the eve of Lehman Brothers' collapse last month, the firm transferred $400 billion to Israel.
The story names three Israeli banks that allegedly received the money and charges American law-enforcement authorities with having knowledge of the transfer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israeli Step-on Scanner Lets Air Passengers Keep Shoes On (Reuters-Washington Post)
Israel has introduced a step-on scanner that spares airline travelers the nuisance of having to remove their shoes so they can be X-rayed for hidden weapons.
Only the shoes of passengers deemed suspicious are removed. Most people can now keep their shoes on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fatah Clan that Fled Gaza Returns (Maan News-PA)
Fatah leader Ahmad Hillis revealed that at least 20 of his relatives have returned to Gaza, from which they fled during the 2 August street battle between Hamas forces and the Hillis clan.
Speaking from Jericho, Hillis said that by the end of the month all 80 of his family members will have returned to the area and that he too will return to Gaza shortly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hebrew University Makes London Times List of 100 Top Schools - Ofri Ilani (Ha'aretz)
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked 93 in the world this year by the London Times Higher Education survey, a jump of 35 places since last year.
The Technion ranked 109, while Tel Aviv University ranked 114.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel Ranks High in Ease of Doing Business - Ron Dagoni and Eran Peer (Globes)
The World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) Doing Business 2009 report ranks Israel 30th out of 181 countries for ease of doing business.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search
Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We wish our readers a Happy Sukkot holiday!
Daily Alert will not appear on Tuesday, October 14
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
U.S. and EU Plan Iran Sanctions without UN - Daniel Dombey and James Blitz
The U.S. and its allies are discussing a "coalition of the willing" that would impose sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors without UN backing as concerns increase about Tehran's accelerating nuclear program. A European diplomat told the Financial Times that European countries and the U.S. were planning to impose sanctions on Iran's energy sector as "like-minded countries" - rather than through the UN - and were discussing targeting exports of engineering products for Iranian refineries as well as refined oil itself. He said that Western countries had concluded: "If there is another [UN resolution], it will take a lot of time and there will be very little substance in it." (Financial Times-UK)
See also Iran Interfering in U.S.-Iraq Security Pact, General Says - Ernesto Londono
Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said Sunday that American intelligence reports suggest Iran has attempted to bribe Iraqi lawmakers in an effort to derail a bilateral agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after the end of this year. (Washington Post)
U.S. Officials Fear Islamic Terrorist Links with Drug Lords - Curt Anderson
There is real danger that Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and Hizbullah could form alliances with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug lords to launch new terrorist attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Extremist group operatives have already been identified in several Latin American countries, mostly involved in fundraising and finding logistical support. But Charles Allen, chief of intelligence analysis at the Homeland Security Department, said they could use well-established smuggling routes and drug profits to bring people or even weapons of mass destruction to the U.S. "The presence of these people in the region leaves open the possibility that they will attempt to attack the United States," said Allen, a veteran CIA analyst. "The threats in this hemisphere are real. We cannot ignore them." (AP)
Dubai Is the "Hole in the Net" of Sanctions on Iran - Damien McElroy
Iran is evading UN sanctions by running a global network of merchants prepared to supply equipment that could be of military use. Dubai, the Gulf's largest port and Iran's crucial economic outlet, is central to this effort. A company indicted in America for allegedly exporting "dual-use" electronics to Iran remains open for business in Dubai. Meanwhile, people named in American courts for conspiring to deal in banned items are living normally in the city. Iran relies on Dubai in the manner that Communist China once depended on Hong Kong: as a free port for an isolated regime. A.Q. Khan, the Pakistani scientist who helped build his country's nuclear arsenal and covertly aided Iran and Libya as well, channeled banned components through Dubai.
"The UN sanctions and the U.S. pressure to cut off the banks is hurting. But Iran's end runs, chiefly setting up shelf companies and so forth in Dubai, are a significant hole in the net," said Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on Iran's nuclear program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. (Telegraph-UK)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Hunt for Acre Mosque Inciter Intensifies - Yaakov Lappin
In the wake of rioting in the northern Israeli city of Acre, Israeli police said they were hunting for a Muslim man believed to have taken control of the speaker system of a mosque in the Old City on Wednesday evening, at the beginning of Yom Kippur, and who wrongly broadcast that an Arab driver had been killed by a Jewish mob, causing hundreds of Arabs armed with axes and sticks to march on Jewish east Acre.
Acre's mayor, Shimon Lancry, told the Jerusalem Post he heard the incitement being blared from the mosque's speakers. "He said one man had been killed and another injured. He called on the [Arab] youths to march on the eastern part of the city," Lancry recalled. "Because of him, 200 masked youths with axes ruined an entire area, and this is unforgivable." (Jerusalem Post)
Alert IDF Soldier at Checkpoint Prevents Palestinian Terror Attack
The IDF nabbed three Palestinians carrying nine pipe bombs at a checkpoint west of Nablus on Sunday, averting a planned terror attack. When a female soldier at the checkpoint asked a Palestinian to open his bag, he refused. The soldier insisted, prompting the Palestinian to remove a shirt and pants from the bag before closing it again. However, then the soldier opened the bag herself, and found three pipe bombs inside it. At that point, the suspect's two friends were also searched and were found to carry three pipe bombs in each of their bags. (Ynet News)
"Lost" Synagogue Reopens in Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter - Matthew Wagner
The Ohel Yitzhak Synagogue in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City - which was abandoned in 1938 in the wake of waves of Arab violence - is closer than any other Jewish house of prayer to the Temple Mount, according to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz, rabbi of the Western Wall. On Sunday, the synagogue, located about 100 meters from the Temple Mount, was reopened.
Ohel Yitzhak was built in 1904 by Hungarian Jews. The courtyard was purchased by the Hungarian Jewish community from the Muslim Khaladi family. Rabbi Yitzhak Ratsdorfer, a Belz Hassid and diamond merchant, financed the building of the synagogue. In its heyday, about 5,000 Jews lived in the neighborhood. (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
The Failing Markets' Impact on Diplomacy - Herb Keinon
The disappearance of trillions of dollars worldwide will make it difficult for the international community to pay for an Israeli-Palestinian, or Israeli-Syrian, agreement, even if they miraculously appear. Who would pay for the tens of billions of dollars worth of new early warning systems Israel would have to set up following deep withdrawals from the West Bank and Jordan Valley, or a complete withdrawal - as the Syrians are demanding - from the Golan Heights?
Who would pay compensation to Palestinian refugees if an agreement were reached that would deny them a "right of return" to pre-1967 Israel, but would recognize their right to compensation? Who would pay for the Palestinian security services or fund the infrastructure if a Palestinian state were agreed upon? The U.S.? After this month, forget about it. With the governments of the world now preoccupied with their own economies, the importance of solving the Israeli-Palestinian issues right now will likely fade. (Jerusalem Post)
See also Financial Crisis Seen Dooming Mideast Accord - Joshua Mitnick
Whatever glimmer of hope remained for a Middle East peace accord is being snuffed out by the financial crisis, which is likely to preoccupy the White House into the next administration and sap financial resources to bolster an accord, analysts in Israel say. "We are being shelved for the moment," said Hanna Siniora, co-president of the Israel-Palestinian Center for Research and Information and a veteran Palestinian interlocutor with Israel and the U.S. (Washington Times)
Israel and the Palestinians: Ending the Stalemate - Caroline B. Glick
Until the Palestinians and the larger Arab world accept Israel's right to exist, there is no way to resolve either the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Arab-Israeli conflict of which it is a component part. It can only be stabilized and then managed until such a time as the Palestinians, with the support of the wider Arab world, accept Israel's right to exist and abandon their efforts and designs to see the Jewish state eradicated. In this state of affairs, it is clear that policies aimed at immediately resolving the conflict must be discarded in favor of more modest efforts that seek to end Palestinian terrorism and the links between Palestinian terror groups and outside state sponsors of terror. Similarly, these policies must be aimed at encouraging Palestinian society to accept Israel's right to exist and coexist peacefully with the Jewish state. (Journal of International Security Affairs)
The One-State Solution? - Sari Nusseibeh
Today, with over half a million Jews living across the 1949 Armistice Line, it's almost too late to reverse the process. It is therefore time for action, not words. Practically, this means pushing within the next few months for a fair deal both parties can live with. And that means a two-state deal; the Israelis will never agree to anything else. Many Palestinians think a single state might be ideal - since it would involve the defeat of the Zionist project and its replacement by a binational country that would eventually be ruled by its Arab majority. But many ships have been wrecked on such rocks before. The writer is president of Al-Quds University. (Newsweek)
Observations:
Imperative to Stop the Spread of Nuclear Weapons Now - Henry Kissinger (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
[During the Cold War], nuclear weapons were held by countries that had more or less comparable analogies of risks. Nuclear weapons are now spreading into the hands of countries in which suicide bombing is considered a strategy and in which the judgment of the value of human life has a different dimension and is geared toward what happens in the next life and not in this life. Also, it is moving toward societies that cannot safeguard nuclear weapons as the more advanced countries could. For these reasons, to stop the spread of nuclear weapons now is an absolute imperative.
I think that the present course - where three European countries, in effect, backed by the United States, are conducting negotiations with marginal proposals followed by marginal sanctions - really plays into the hands of the people who are proliferating.
Jihad extremism is often presented as exclusively or primarily as related to Israel. That is not correct. I think, in many ways, they use Israel as a rallying point for a much more fundamental concern, which is to spread the notion of a universal Islamic empire. In the medium term, a successful jihad will threaten India as much as it threatens Israel, because the 160 million Muslims who live in India cannot be unaffected by a wave that is spreading through the Islamic world.
The central problem that we now face is Islamic extremism, for which the only real solution is to arrest it and to demonstrate its incapacity to achieve its objectives. Otherwise, the momentum is going to become stronger and stronger.
Iran is not a strong country. Iran is a country with a reasonably strong ideology and a long history. Our relations with the shah showed that America can live with a strong Iran that is a major player in the region, provided it conducts itself as a nation and not as a cause. We must not let ourselves get mesmerized by the rhetoric. The majority of the countries in the region are on our side, and the extremists really do not have a strategy for achieving their objective.
Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
View this page at www.dailyalert.org
Subscribe RSS-XML
DAILY ALERT Monday,
October 13, 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To contact the Presidents Conference:
click here
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In-Depth Issues:
Israel Pursuing Kidnappers of Cpl. Gilad Shalit - Ronen Solomon and Arik Weiss (Maariv-Weekend-10Oct08-Hebrew)
"People are disappearing from the streets of Gaza," a former senior officer in the PA Preventive Security Services who fled recently from Gaza said this week.
According to Palestinian sources, on 7 Sep. 2007, Muhawash al-Kadi, one of the senior Hamas leaders involved in the kidnapping of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, was driving in the evening with his family to his home in Rafiah.
After the car reached the city cemetery, the street was blocked by a Peugeot with its hood up. As al-Kadi turned into a side street, an old man seemed to fall in the street and al-Kadi stopped to help him.
At this point, IDF soldiers dressed in Hamas uniforms sprayed something in al-Kadi's face while other soldiers removed the family members from al-Kadi's car. Taking al-Kadi, both cars sped toward the Dahaniya airport where two helicopters flew them to Israel.
A month after the event, the PA Interior Ministry announced the arrest of collaborators who helped Israel in capturing al-Kadi.
Israel currently holds at least two Palestinians connected to the kidnapping. Publication of details on additional arrests has not been permitted.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fake Report about Lehman Brothers Moving Billions to Israel - Anshel Pfeffer (Ha'aretz)
Dozens of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli web sites have been distributing a news report over the last few days claiming that on the eve of Lehman Brothers' collapse last month, the firm transferred $400 billion to Israel.
The story names three Israeli banks that allegedly received the money and charges American law-enforcement authorities with having knowledge of the transfer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israeli Step-on Scanner Lets Air Passengers Keep Shoes On (Reuters-Washington Post)
Israel has introduced a step-on scanner that spares airline travelers the nuisance of having to remove their shoes so they can be X-rayed for hidden weapons.
Only the shoes of passengers deemed suspicious are removed. Most people can now keep their shoes on.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fatah Clan that Fled Gaza Returns (Maan News-PA)
Fatah leader Ahmad Hillis revealed that at least 20 of his relatives have returned to Gaza, from which they fled during the 2 August street battle between Hamas forces and the Hillis clan.
Speaking from Jericho, Hillis said that by the end of the month all 80 of his family members will have returned to the area and that he too will return to Gaza shortly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hebrew University Makes London Times List of 100 Top Schools - Ofri Ilani (Ha'aretz)
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem was ranked 93 in the world this year by the London Times Higher Education survey, a jump of 35 places since last year.
The Technion ranked 109, while Tel Aviv University ranked 114.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israel Ranks High in Ease of Doing Business - Ron Dagoni and Eran Peer (Globes)
The World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) Doing Business 2009 report ranks Israel 30th out of 181 countries for ease of doing business.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search
Key Links
Media Contacts
Back Issues
Fair Use
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We wish our readers a Happy Sukkot holiday!
Daily Alert will not appear on Tuesday, October 14
News Resources - North America, Europe, and Asia:
U.S. and EU Plan Iran Sanctions without UN - Daniel Dombey and James Blitz
The U.S. and its allies are discussing a "coalition of the willing" that would impose sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors without UN backing as concerns increase about Tehran's accelerating nuclear program. A European diplomat told the Financial Times that European countries and the U.S. were planning to impose sanctions on Iran's energy sector as "like-minded countries" - rather than through the UN - and were discussing targeting exports of engineering products for Iranian refineries as well as refined oil itself. He said that Western countries had concluded: "If there is another [UN resolution], it will take a lot of time and there will be very little substance in it." (Financial Times-UK)
See also Iran Interfering in U.S.-Iraq Security Pact, General Says - Ernesto Londono
Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said Sunday that American intelligence reports suggest Iran has attempted to bribe Iraqi lawmakers in an effort to derail a bilateral agreement that would allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after the end of this year. (Washington Post)
U.S. Officials Fear Islamic Terrorist Links with Drug Lords - Curt Anderson
There is real danger that Islamic extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and Hizbullah could form alliances with wealthy and powerful Latin American drug lords to launch new terrorist attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Extremist group operatives have already been identified in several Latin American countries, mostly involved in fundraising and finding logistical support. But Charles Allen, chief of intelligence analysis at the Homeland Security Department, said they could use well-established smuggling routes and drug profits to bring people or even weapons of mass destruction to the U.S. "The presence of these people in the region leaves open the possibility that they will attempt to attack the United States," said Allen, a veteran CIA analyst. "The threats in this hemisphere are real. We cannot ignore them." (AP)
Dubai Is the "Hole in the Net" of Sanctions on Iran - Damien McElroy
Iran is evading UN sanctions by running a global network of merchants prepared to supply equipment that could be of military use. Dubai, the Gulf's largest port and Iran's crucial economic outlet, is central to this effort. A company indicted in America for allegedly exporting "dual-use" electronics to Iran remains open for business in Dubai. Meanwhile, people named in American courts for conspiring to deal in banned items are living normally in the city. Iran relies on Dubai in the manner that Communist China once depended on Hong Kong: as a free port for an isolated regime. A.Q. Khan, the Pakistani scientist who helped build his country's nuclear arsenal and covertly aided Iran and Libya as well, channeled banned components through Dubai.
"The UN sanctions and the U.S. pressure to cut off the banks is hurting. But Iran's end runs, chiefly setting up shelf companies and so forth in Dubai, are a significant hole in the net," said Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on Iran's nuclear program at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. (Telegraph-UK)
News Resources - Israel and the Mideast:
Hunt for Acre Mosque Inciter Intensifies - Yaakov Lappin
In the wake of rioting in the northern Israeli city of Acre, Israeli police said they were hunting for a Muslim man believed to have taken control of the speaker system of a mosque in the Old City on Wednesday evening, at the beginning of Yom Kippur, and who wrongly broadcast that an Arab driver had been killed by a Jewish mob, causing hundreds of Arabs armed with axes and sticks to march on Jewish east Acre.
Acre's mayor, Shimon Lancry, told the Jerusalem Post he heard the incitement being blared from the mosque's speakers. "He said one man had been killed and another injured. He called on the [Arab] youths to march on the eastern part of the city," Lancry recalled. "Because of him, 200 masked youths with axes ruined an entire area, and this is unforgivable." (Jerusalem Post)
Alert IDF Soldier at Checkpoint Prevents Palestinian Terror Attack
The IDF nabbed three Palestinians carrying nine pipe bombs at a checkpoint west of Nablus on Sunday, averting a planned terror attack. When a female soldier at the checkpoint asked a Palestinian to open his bag, he refused. The soldier insisted, prompting the Palestinian to remove a shirt and pants from the bag before closing it again. However, then the soldier opened the bag herself, and found three pipe bombs inside it. At that point, the suspect's two friends were also searched and were found to carry three pipe bombs in each of their bags. (Ynet News)
"Lost" Synagogue Reopens in Jerusalem's Muslim Quarter - Matthew Wagner
The Ohel Yitzhak Synagogue in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City - which was abandoned in 1938 in the wake of waves of Arab violence - is closer than any other Jewish house of prayer to the Temple Mount, according to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz, rabbi of the Western Wall. On Sunday, the synagogue, located about 100 meters from the Temple Mount, was reopened.
Ohel Yitzhak was built in 1904 by Hungarian Jews. The courtyard was purchased by the Hungarian Jewish community from the Muslim Khaladi family. Rabbi Yitzhak Ratsdorfer, a Belz Hassid and diamond merchant, financed the building of the synagogue. In its heyday, about 5,000 Jews lived in the neighborhood. (Jerusalem Post)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
The Failing Markets' Impact on Diplomacy - Herb Keinon
The disappearance of trillions of dollars worldwide will make it difficult for the international community to pay for an Israeli-Palestinian, or Israeli-Syrian, agreement, even if they miraculously appear. Who would pay for the tens of billions of dollars worth of new early warning systems Israel would have to set up following deep withdrawals from the West Bank and Jordan Valley, or a complete withdrawal - as the Syrians are demanding - from the Golan Heights?
Who would pay compensation to Palestinian refugees if an agreement were reached that would deny them a "right of return" to pre-1967 Israel, but would recognize their right to compensation? Who would pay for the Palestinian security services or fund the infrastructure if a Palestinian state were agreed upon? The U.S.? After this month, forget about it. With the governments of the world now preoccupied with their own economies, the importance of solving the Israeli-Palestinian issues right now will likely fade. (Jerusalem Post)
See also Financial Crisis Seen Dooming Mideast Accord - Joshua Mitnick
Whatever glimmer of hope remained for a Middle East peace accord is being snuffed out by the financial crisis, which is likely to preoccupy the White House into the next administration and sap financial resources to bolster an accord, analysts in Israel say. "We are being shelved for the moment," said Hanna Siniora, co-president of the Israel-Palestinian Center for Research and Information and a veteran Palestinian interlocutor with Israel and the U.S. (Washington Times)
Israel and the Palestinians: Ending the Stalemate - Caroline B. Glick
Until the Palestinians and the larger Arab world accept Israel's right to exist, there is no way to resolve either the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Arab-Israeli conflict of which it is a component part. It can only be stabilized and then managed until such a time as the Palestinians, with the support of the wider Arab world, accept Israel's right to exist and abandon their efforts and designs to see the Jewish state eradicated. In this state of affairs, it is clear that policies aimed at immediately resolving the conflict must be discarded in favor of more modest efforts that seek to end Palestinian terrorism and the links between Palestinian terror groups and outside state sponsors of terror. Similarly, these policies must be aimed at encouraging Palestinian society to accept Israel's right to exist and coexist peacefully with the Jewish state. (Journal of International Security Affairs)
The One-State Solution? - Sari Nusseibeh
Today, with over half a million Jews living across the 1949 Armistice Line, it's almost too late to reverse the process. It is therefore time for action, not words. Practically, this means pushing within the next few months for a fair deal both parties can live with. And that means a two-state deal; the Israelis will never agree to anything else. Many Palestinians think a single state might be ideal - since it would involve the defeat of the Zionist project and its replacement by a binational country that would eventually be ruled by its Arab majority. But many ships have been wrecked on such rocks before. The writer is president of Al-Quds University. (Newsweek)
Observations:
Imperative to Stop the Spread of Nuclear Weapons Now - Henry Kissinger (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
[During the Cold War], nuclear weapons were held by countries that had more or less comparable analogies of risks. Nuclear weapons are now spreading into the hands of countries in which suicide bombing is considered a strategy and in which the judgment of the value of human life has a different dimension and is geared toward what happens in the next life and not in this life. Also, it is moving toward societies that cannot safeguard nuclear weapons as the more advanced countries could. For these reasons, to stop the spread of nuclear weapons now is an absolute imperative.
I think that the present course - where three European countries, in effect, backed by the United States, are conducting negotiations with marginal proposals followed by marginal sanctions - really plays into the hands of the people who are proliferating.
Jihad extremism is often presented as exclusively or primarily as related to Israel. That is not correct. I think, in many ways, they use Israel as a rallying point for a much more fundamental concern, which is to spread the notion of a universal Islamic empire. In the medium term, a successful jihad will threaten India as much as it threatens Israel, because the 160 million Muslims who live in India cannot be unaffected by a wave that is spreading through the Islamic world.
The central problem that we now face is Islamic extremism, for which the only real solution is to arrest it and to demonstrate its incapacity to achieve its objectives. Otherwise, the momentum is going to become stronger and stronger.
Iran is not a strong country. Iran is a country with a reasonably strong ideology and a long history. Our relations with the shah showed that America can live with a strong Iran that is a major player in the region, provided it conducts itself as a nation and not as a cause. We must not let ourselves get mesmerized by the rhetoric. The majority of the countries in the region are on our side, and the extremists really do not have a strategy for achieving their objective.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Aipac update
www.aipac.org October 7, 2008
Congress Approves $2.55 Billion in Aid to Israel
Iran Says It Will Not Stop Uranium Enrichment
Syria Bars U.N. Inspectors from Alleged Nuclear Sites
Lawmakers Condemn Prospect of Iran on U.N. Security Council
Hamas-Run TV Broadcasts Terrorist Techniques
Beatles Legend Paul McCartney Performs in Israel
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Congress Approves $2.55 Billion in Aid to Israel
In a strong show of support for the U.S.-Israel alliance, Congress has approved a bill that includes $2.38 billion in security assistance for the Jewish state. President Bush quickly signed the bill into law. Combined with the additional $170 million in aid to Israel locked in by Congress earlier this year, Jerusalem will receive a total of $2.55 billion in security assistance for fiscal year 2009—in line with the first year of the new 10-year, $30 billion agreement reached between the United States and Israel last year. Also last week, the Senate passed legislation that requires the president to ensure that Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East be maintained in any future arms sales to regional states. The House approved a similar measure earlier this year. Click here to learn more about the importance of U.S. aid to Israel.
Iran Says It Will Not Stop Uranium Enrichment
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic will not stop enriching uranium—a key step toward developing nuclear weapons—even if it is guaranteed supplies of nuclear fuel from abroad, Reuters reported. "Iran's uranium enrichment policy remains unchanged," Mottaki said. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, recently criticized Tehran for withholding information needed to explain alleged military involvement in the country's nuclear program. Iran faces further sanctions as a result of its continued defiance of U.N. Security Council demands that it halt its illicit nuclear activity. Click here to learn more about how Iran is rapidly expanding its atomic work.
Syria Bars U.N. Inspectors from Alleged Nuclear Sites
Syria refused on Friday to open up military sites to U.N. weapons inspectors probing the country's alleged nuclear activities, Reuters reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been questioning Syria since May over intelligence reports that Damascus was building a secret plutonium-producing reactor before it was destroyed in an air strike a year ago. Diplomats close to the IAEA have said Syria has ignored the agency's requests to check three military installations believed to be linked to the alleged reactor site. The Bush administration recently called Syria's nuclear program "a threat to regional peace and security," and warned that "we cannot allow the world's most dangerous regimes to acquire the world's most dangerous weapons."
Lawmakers Condemn Prospect of Iran on U.N. Security Council
Twenty-three House members sent a letter to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad asking him to urge his U.N. colleagues not to grant Iran's request to become a member of the U.N. Security Council. The letter, spearheaded by Reps. John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and sent on Friday, notes that Iran's repeated calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel and its support for various terrorist groups constitute a direct violation of the U.N. Charter. The letter also condemns Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, stating, "Iran has relentlessly and deceptively pursued nuclear capabilities for years, and continues to enrich uranium, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2007), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), and 1835 (2008)."
Hamas-Run TV Broadcasts Terrorist Techniques
Hamas is broadcasting detailed terrorism training classes on Gaza television, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. The Iranian-backed terrorist group is using its airwaves to teach Palestinians fighting techniques aimed at the Israel Defense Forces, including shooting at moving targets, assaulting tanks and trucks and building improvised bombs. Hamas is preparing for war against Israel despite its commitment to Egypt last June to halt all violent activity in and around Gaza. Hamas—whose charter says that Israel will exist "until Islam eliminates it"—faces international isolation until it recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and accepts previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Beatles Legend Paul McCartney Performs in Israel
In front of 40,000 fans in Tel Aviv, Sir Paul McCartney performed Beatles classics such as Hello Goodbye, Eleanor Rigby and Back in the USSR, The Guardianreported. McCartney's decision to play in Israel attracted controversy, but he did not change his plans. "I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here," McCartney said. "I refused. I do what I think, and I have many friends who support Israel." Speaking to reporters on the eve of his performance, McCartney said: "People ask this question through the years: 'Do you think music can change things?' I think it can. I think it's good for people's souls. I think without music it would be a seriously bad world. I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."
Congress Approves $2.55 Billion in Aid to Israel
Iran Says It Will Not Stop Uranium Enrichment
Syria Bars U.N. Inspectors from Alleged Nuclear Sites
Lawmakers Condemn Prospect of Iran on U.N. Security Council
Hamas-Run TV Broadcasts Terrorist Techniques
Beatles Legend Paul McCartney Performs in Israel
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Congress Approves $2.55 Billion in Aid to Israel
In a strong show of support for the U.S.-Israel alliance, Congress has approved a bill that includes $2.38 billion in security assistance for the Jewish state. President Bush quickly signed the bill into law. Combined with the additional $170 million in aid to Israel locked in by Congress earlier this year, Jerusalem will receive a total of $2.55 billion in security assistance for fiscal year 2009—in line with the first year of the new 10-year, $30 billion agreement reached between the United States and Israel last year. Also last week, the Senate passed legislation that requires the president to ensure that Israel's qualitative military edge in the Middle East be maintained in any future arms sales to regional states. The House approved a similar measure earlier this year. Click here to learn more about the importance of U.S. aid to Israel.
Iran Says It Will Not Stop Uranium Enrichment
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic will not stop enriching uranium—a key step toward developing nuclear weapons—even if it is guaranteed supplies of nuclear fuel from abroad, Reuters reported. "Iran's uranium enrichment policy remains unchanged," Mottaki said. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, recently criticized Tehran for withholding information needed to explain alleged military involvement in the country's nuclear program. Iran faces further sanctions as a result of its continued defiance of U.N. Security Council demands that it halt its illicit nuclear activity. Click here to learn more about how Iran is rapidly expanding its atomic work.
Syria Bars U.N. Inspectors from Alleged Nuclear Sites
Syria refused on Friday to open up military sites to U.N. weapons inspectors probing the country's alleged nuclear activities, Reuters reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been questioning Syria since May over intelligence reports that Damascus was building a secret plutonium-producing reactor before it was destroyed in an air strike a year ago. Diplomats close to the IAEA have said Syria has ignored the agency's requests to check three military installations believed to be linked to the alleged reactor site. The Bush administration recently called Syria's nuclear program "a threat to regional peace and security," and warned that "we cannot allow the world's most dangerous regimes to acquire the world's most dangerous weapons."
Lawmakers Condemn Prospect of Iran on U.N. Security Council
Twenty-three House members sent a letter to U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad asking him to urge his U.N. colleagues not to grant Iran's request to become a member of the U.N. Security Council. The letter, spearheaded by Reps. John R. "Randy" Kuhl, Jr. (R-NY) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and sent on Friday, notes that Iran's repeated calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel and its support for various terrorist groups constitute a direct violation of the U.N. Charter. The letter also condemns Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons, stating, "Iran has relentlessly and deceptively pursued nuclear capabilities for years, and continues to enrich uranium, in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2007), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), and 1835 (2008)."
Hamas-Run TV Broadcasts Terrorist Techniques
Hamas is broadcasting detailed terrorism training classes on Gaza television, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. The Iranian-backed terrorist group is using its airwaves to teach Palestinians fighting techniques aimed at the Israel Defense Forces, including shooting at moving targets, assaulting tanks and trucks and building improvised bombs. Hamas is preparing for war against Israel despite its commitment to Egypt last June to halt all violent activity in and around Gaza. Hamas—whose charter says that Israel will exist "until Islam eliminates it"—faces international isolation until it recognizes Israel, renounces terrorism and accepts previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
Beatles Legend Paul McCartney Performs in Israel
In front of 40,000 fans in Tel Aviv, Sir Paul McCartney performed Beatles classics such as Hello Goodbye, Eleanor Rigby and Back in the USSR, The Guardianreported. McCartney's decision to play in Israel attracted controversy, but he did not change his plans. "I was approached by different groups and political bodies who asked me not to come here," McCartney said. "I refused. I do what I think, and I have many friends who support Israel." Speaking to reporters on the eve of his performance, McCartney said: "People ask this question through the years: 'Do you think music can change things?' I think it can. I think it's good for people's souls. I think without music it would be a seriously bad world. I'm bringing a message of peace, and I think that's what the region needs."
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