State Department photo
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meeting at the State Department in between their respective speeches at the AIPAC policy conference, March 22.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meeting at the State Department in between their respective speeches at the AIPAC policy conference, March 22.
Benjamin Netanyahu to same: And we'll keep building.
Guess which speech got the bigger cheers.
To be sure, in speeches this week at the annual AIPAC policy conference, all sides repeatedly stressed complete confidence in the durability and necessity of a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship, and highlighted areas of agreement, first and foremost the need for tough action to block Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Several key differences were on display, however, as the Israeli prime minister, the U.S. secretary of state and the leaders of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee did not back down from their bottom lines.
AIPAC officials insisted that disagreements between Jerusalem and Washington take place behind closed doors. Clinton said the Obama administration will make its unhappiness clear and public when it regards an Israeli action as undermining the peace process.
For Netanyahu and AIPAC, Jerusalem is off the table; for Clinton it's very much part of the discussion.
Clinton went out of her way to praise the Palestinian Authority; Netanyahu went of his way to criticize it.
The two speeches Monday -- Clinton for breakfast and Netanyahu for dinner -- culminated two weeks of tensions sparked when Israel announced a major housing start in eastern Jerusalem during a visit to Israel by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden that had been aimed at underscoring the close U.S.-Israel friendship and restarting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
“It is our devotion to this outcome -- two states for two peoples, secure and at peace -- that led us to condemn the announcement of plans for new construction in East Jerusalem,” Clinton said. “This was not about wounded pride. Nor is it a judgment on the final status of Jerusalem, which is an issue to be settled at the negotiating table. This is about getting to the table, creating and protecting an atmosphere of trust around it, and staying there until the job is finally done.”
Clinton’s mild rebuke brought surprising, if light, applause. It was a mark of the success of repeated pleas from AIPAC’s leadership to more than 7,500 activists in attendance to keep things civil. Clinton earned standing ovations coming in and out, and there was no audible booing.
Netanyahu's Jerusalem encomium, by contrast, brought the house down -- delivering perhaps the biggest cheers during this year's conference.
"The Jewish people were building Jerusalem 3,000 year ago and the Jewish people are building Jerusalem today," he said. "Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is our capital."
AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr and President Lee Rosenberg were equally as determined to make Israel’s point, almost to the word.
“Jerusalem is not a settlement,” Kohr said in the line of the morning that brought the greatest cheering. “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.”
Kohr also made the case for keeping such disputes out of public view.
“When disagreements inevitably arise, they must be resolved privately as is befitting close allies,” he said.
That’s been the mantra of AIPAC, along with the center and right in the pro-Israel community -- and Clinton turned it around.
The announcement of new construction in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem, she said, “exposes daylight between Israel and the United States that others in the region hope to exploit. And it undermines America's unique ability to play a role -- an essential role, I might add -- in the peace process. Our credibility in this process depends in part on our willingness to praise both sides when they are courageous, and when we don't agree to say so, and say so unequivocally.”
It was clear, though, that Clinton was sensitive to Israeli and pro-Israel complaints that the opprobrium she had heaped onto Israel -- she called the building announcement an “insult” -- was one-sided and that she had ignored Palestinian violations.
In fact, her spokesmen have condemned Palestinian incitement. And Monday, Clinton picked up the two signal issues that have exercised Israel’s advocates: the naming of a public square in Ramallah for a terrorist who led a deadly 1978 attack, and Palestinian rioting greeting the rededication of an Old City synagogue destroyed during the 1948 Independence War.
“These provocations are wrong and must be condemned for needlessly inflaming tensions and imperiling prospects for a comprehensive peace,” Clinton said to applause.
Clinton leavened her calls for an end to incitement by attempting to shift blame for the naming of the square from the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority to Hamas. And she had praise for the PA leadership.
"We commend the government of President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad for the reforms they've undertaken to strengthen law and order, and the progress that they've made in improving the quality of life in the West Bank," she said.
Netanyahu had only criticism.
"What has the Palestinian Authority done for peace?" he asked. "They have placed preconditions on peace talks, waged a relentless international campaign to undermine Israel's legitimacy, and promoted the notorious Goldstone report that falsely accuses Israel of war crimes."
AIPAC, Israel and the Obama administration have differences on Iran as well. AIPAC activists will push hard for enhanced Iran sanctions when they lobby Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, while the administration wants time to exhaust the prospect of multilateral sanctions.
Here, though, Clinton was able to throw the crowd some meat, saying that whatever sanctions emerged, they would not be glancing.
“Our aim is not incremental sanctions but sanctions that will bite,” she said. “It is taking time to produce these sanctions, and we believe that time is a worthwhile investment for winning the broadest possible support for our efforts. But we will not compromise our commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring these nuclear weapons.”
Rosenberg, just inaugurated as AIPAC’s president and a key fund-raiser in candidate Barack Obama’s presidential run, also made sure to hit affectionate notes, noting Clinton’s pronounced pro-Israel record in her eight years as a U.S. senator from New York. Among other things, she led the successful effort to force the International Committee of the Red Cross to recognize Israel’s Magen David Adom.
Netanyahu made sure to praise Obama for increasing security cooperation.
"From one president to the next, from one Congress to the next, America's commitment to Israel's security has been unwavering," he said. "In the last year, President Obama and the U.S. Congress have given meaning to that commitment by providing Israel with military assistance, by enabling joint military exercises and by working on joint missile defense."
Kohr, the longtime AIPAC director, used the policy conference to outline the group’s priorities. He focused on gaining Israel its deserved entry into the international community through membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which coordinates economic policy in the developed world; getting Israel a seat on the U.N. Security Council; and forging a closer relationship between Israel and NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
All have been Israeli priorities for years, but throughout the Bush administration and the prevalence of neoconservatism in its foreign policy, AIPAC’s embrace of these issues was low-grade. In fact, in making the case for advancing Israel in the United Nations, Kohr even asked: “Now, some of you may be asking, why does it matter?”
He ran through an explanation of the U.N. Security Council’s powers, but left unsaid why else it matters: The Obama administration’s emphasis on multilateralism and on working out differences in international forums. Kohr was telling his activists that this was the new Obama order.
Perhaps most telling was where Clinton ad-libbed away from her prepared remarks and revealed a soft affection for Israel and its friends.
She delivered a prepared line about “pioneers who found a desert and made it bloom,” then paused and said, “There were people who were thinking, how could that ever happen? Ahh, but it did.”
She amended a line about warriors offering peace to describe them as “so gallant in battle.” Clinton asked the crowd if they thought she thought it necessary to speak “because AIPAC can get 7,500 people in a convention center? I don’t think so.”
In her lengthiest unscripted passage, Clinton recalled traveling the world during the 1990s, the heyday of Arab-Israeli peace talks, and never hearing anyone mention the conflict outside the confines of the Middle East. These days, she said, its periodic explosions into war is often the first item, however far-flung her travels.
It was a gentle unsettling of the belief that the Israel-U.S. relationship exists in a bubble unaffected by outside realities.
“We cannot escape the impact of mass communications,” Clinton said. “We can only change the facts on the ground.”
Long, but it sure builds as you continue reading.... Bob Kunst is really a dynamo!
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Subject: "IS BIBI NEGOTIATING JERUSALEM AND ALSO NOT EXTENDING THE FREEZE ON SETTLEMENTS"?
Message-ID:
Dear "Chosen" Activists:
I wrote a piece (below) the day before Bibi met with Obama and this piece below is my reaction since. Please see both issues on what is happening and what we need to do and what is missing. As I write this, Lebron James decided to come to the Miami Heat Professional Basketball team, which adds a major entity to our community and our activism. Perhaps a dynasty is also being created with this as we are doing in Jewish and American activism.
Yesterday, 7/7/10, Shalom International did its 308th rally to Keep Jerusalem and Israel United and to Fight Terrorism and to Support Israel, and 1204 news interviews since Oct. 2007. Thanks to Rabbi Fink and the Rabbi of Young Israel in Century Village, in Pembroke Pines, we had 50 elderly hold up 6 large banners and one older guy on a bike screamed at all of us that "Israel should be destroyed". This was at 4 P.M. and by 5 P.M., 15 of us also got together on the corner of Pines Blvd. and the entrance to Century Village and we only got 2 negatives, but very many positives of horns beeping and one older gentleman driving over to us and giving us a $20 donation. Very nice.
Tuesday, we were at the Fed. Blvd. in Ft. Laud., with 25 on the day that Bibi was meeting with Obama and hopefully not selling out Israel, Jerusalem and the Jewish world.
Our good friend Joyce Kaufman of WFTL, had just lost her beloved father and a month ago lost her beloved mother she was very close to as well. Our sympathies and best wishes for her during these difficult days.
Our visible support for Israel is also part of our efforts today with Stand With Us in NYC for Bibi's visit there. Thanks to all who attended on such short notice. Please see above flyer.
Now let me state how dangerous the situation has become since this 'lovefest' from Bibi and Obama and since. I previously wrote that Obama should be impeached and not appeased and there is no way I will ever trust Obama again with his attacks upon the Jewish faith in wanting to divide Jerusalem and Obama equating the Holocaust with 'Muslim Humiliation' and Obama attacking Israel's protection of the burial place of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, besides wanting all Jewish holy sights in Jerusalem turned over to the UN. Now, in the Wash. Post of 7/6/10, Obama was urging Bibi to 'apologize' to Turkey for the 'Gaza Flotilla' event, when Turkey should be apologizing to Israel instead. There are at least 100 efforts by Obama to undermine Israel. Why does Bibi placate this guy?
Then one week earlier Obama pledged to the Saudi Arabian Prince that there will be a Palestinian State by 2012 including Jews out of Judea and Samaria and East Jerusalem.
This is the same cowardly Obama who won't ask the Saudis to give up Mecca for peace, but has no problem demanding that the Jews give up Jerusalem for peace, that will never come, except the end of the Jewish state.
That Obama is 'using' Israel and opposing Israel, to appease the Muslims... as a diversion from the U.S. in Iraq, Afhganistan and attacks in Pakistan against Muslims, is one key sleaze needing to be exposed.
Then we have the previous Obama blackmail of telling Israel that if it gives up Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria it might let Israel attack Iran to stopt its nukes. Was this also discussed in this meeting?
With Obama it's everything the Arabs/Muslims want. The Arabs were alligned with Hitler to kill all Jews and nothing has changed, except that they have Obama to push the division of Jerusalem which would give the Nazis their final victory for it would be the end of the Jewish state. Then a corridor between Gaza and West Bank, and the rest of the Islamic Nazis are closer to finishing off what is left of the Jewish state and is being promoted this week by the PA spokespeople who want all of Israel, not two states, some very stupid Jews keep proposing.
Islam means submission and the question is whether Bibi seems to be on that verge of doing just this, as in submitting everything that matters in his 'desire for peace' ,no matter where to meet and putting it all on the table. From Obama to Larry King, Bibi was 'too' repetitive and almost desperate in his desire to meet face to face and talk. But what do you do when there is no one to make peace with and the PA leadership immediately rejected face to face negotiations and accused Bibi of 'words not actions' even though Bibi has frozen building in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem according to Obama's demands? Will Bibi continue this madness in his pursuit of 'peace', as Abbas and the PA say its either 'settlements' or 'peace' and Bibi is willing to grovel and capitulate to this madness and jeapordize everyone in the process again?
All of this while Abbas eulogized the mastermind Hamas killer of the 11 Israeli athletes in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre. So he slaps Bibi and all Jews in the face this week and Bibi kisses his behind for 'peace'? Meanwhile the CNN editor who mourned the loss of this Hamas killer was fired by CNN.
So Bibi wasn't treated as a 'pariah' on this trip as compared to his March visit. The Jews who understand Obama's sellout to the Muslims on every issue, will never forgive him and especially since their vote made him president and his betrayal of Israel is obvious, no matter what Bibi says to try to soften the blow of Obama's blatant demands to divide Jerusalem, Jewish for 3000 yrs. and millions of Jews were murdered for and is not negotiable.
Bibi also needs to be reminded of this simple issue which is that Jerusalem doesn't belong to him or to Israel to give away, but belongs to every Jew and every Jew murdered for being a Jew and Israel is strictly the caretaker for what G-d gave us 5000 yrs. ago and is 3000 yrs. older than Islam that Obama wants to cater to.
I say this because of the JTA story below of Bibi offering to divide Jerusalem yesterday in a speech before the Conference of Major Jewish Organizations is a potential disaster brewing.
Don't forget that this group, plus 13 other Jewish groups met with Obama in July of 2009 on how to divide Jerusalem and sell it to the Jewish community 'for peace'.
If you are shaking with disbelief as I am, the key question is: "What kind of Jew would divide Jerusalem?" On the one hand Bibi on Larry King Show last night doesn't mention Jerusalem once nor did he with his meeting with Obama. Bibi does say to Larry King, that on Shabbat, he sits with his son weekly to discuss the Bible. Then how does one reconcile our Covenant with G-d and Bibi's apparent willingness now to possibly divide Jerusalem and slap in the face everyone victimized by all the tyrants who wanted all the Jews dead since the beginning of our existance? Bibi publicly offers 1000 PA prisoners for Gilad Shalit in more of this appeasement insanity, when at leat 40 to 400 of them have Jewish blood on their hands of killing up to 67 Israelis. What their families don't count? Why are 1000 Arabs worth one Jew? How many more Jews will die if these monsters are released?
Larry King poses this question to Bibi: Why "Israel's image is poor" and the "Public Relations image is in trouble", which of course, I've been screaming about since 2007, which is that the Israelis haven't a clue on this propaganda war. They want to get the free press from the Muslim Media like the NYTimes, BBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, ad nauseum, when we need our own Al Jazeera, 24/7, to explain our 5000 yr. history of occupying this 'promised land' and not just being 62 yrs. of age. Why won't Israel spend the money to present the real image of who we are and all we do for the world and ourselves? Bibi's appearance must be accompanied by a full time, round the clock campaign, utilizing all the weapons and technology available to turn this picture around in this propaganda war. Our history is the history of the world. Our contributions amidst our tribulations and sufferings cannot be trivialized or dismissed on any level and those that do, are the ones pushing 'peace at any price', while hating themselves and taking us all down in this deadly repeat of history, as if we are back in the 1930s.
Meanwhile, while writing this paper and my doubts on Bibi's positions, all of a sudden I get a call from Herb telling me to see Fox TV and on the bottom scroll, there it is. Bibi is stating he won't extend the freeze on the settlements in Sept. while talking to the Council on Foreign Relations today in NYC. WOW!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Netanyahu at CFR: Israel won't extend construction freeze; We've done enough,Let's get on with the talks"
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel would not extend a construction moratorium in the West Bank past September and that he believed a peace agreement with the Palestinians could be reached within a year.
"I think we've done enough. Let's get on with the talks," he said, when asked in an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations whether he would extend the limited freeze he put in place to coax the Palestinians into peace negotiations.
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This is exactly the opposite of what Obama and Hillary have been pushing along with their Arab/Muslim buddies from Saudi Arabia, Arab League, ad nauseum.
Now if Bibi stays firm on Jerusalem, we can see a major shift that is positive here. But how can he be soft on Jerusalem on one day and then say no extension of the freeze on settlements the next day? What is going on here?
We need to understand that when Israel allowed Hamas to take over Gaza and Israel forced out 10,000 Jews, and displaced them, that there was no way that the 630,000 living in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem were going to leave and subject themselves to the same treatment as happened to the Jews of Gush Katif. Nor was this strategy acceptable with 12,000 rockets fired from Gaza into Southern Israel and what country would allow such a tyranny for public sympathy there... that never materialized? This also backfired on Israel.
Why does Obama, Hillary, Biden, Abbas etc. think that there won't be a major internal battle from the Jews who won't leave as they were forced out in Gush Katif?
Then we have the fiasco of getting out of Southern Lebanon, by Ehud Barak, with promises from Pres. George W. Bush that the UN will not allow Hezbollah to rearm, but this sellout has resulted in 40,000 new and more powerful weapons aimed at Israel and over 100 Arab towns along the border are inundated with these weapons amongst the civilian populations in preparation for war and also to denounce Israel for attacking civilians, they have continually done while hiding behind civilians. The scam continues.
We support all the efforts out there for releasing Jonathan Pollard and Galid Shalit, but if you don't respond to Bibi IMMEDIATELY ON JERUSALEM, all is lost. Do you understand how serious this is? E-mail him at: pm_eng2@it.pmo.gov.il at once and send us a copy.
I know you'll tell me that Bibi has to say these things about Obama and to Abbas. NO HE DOESN'T!
I know you'll tell me that we must have the U.S. support. NO, WE DON'T HAVE IT NOW AND OBAMA'S ANTI-SEMITISM HAS SPREAD ACROSS THIS PLANET AGAIN IN THE MOST DANGEROUS WAY, BECAUSE OF THESE EXCUSES AND NOT SPEAKING UP.... INCLUDING OUR 43 JEWISH MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHOSE 'SILENCE', HAS ALLOWED THIS MADNESS, EXCEPT FOR THEIR TOKEN POLITICS THAT HAS GIVEN OBAMA THE GREEN LIGHT TO COME AFTER US.
I know you'll tell me that we must do everything for peace, but how do you make peace with someone who wants to kill you? We know that Iran wants us dead and with Hamas and Hezbollah, its proxies, is pushing every button possible and Obama is not with us on any of this, but instead ,is giving material support to these terrorists on all levels and the sanctions against Iran are meaningless, when they already have enough uranium to build two nuclear bombs.
I know you'll tell me that we can't tell the Israelis what to do, since we don't live there. NO, THEIR WEAKNESS IN GIVING UP ANYTHING ,BRINGS OUT EVERY NAZI WORLDWIDE TO COME AFTER ALL JEWS EVERYWHERE.
I know you'll tell me that we must do everything for peace. NO, COMMITTING SUICIDE AND HAVING ANOTHER HOLOCAUST ISN'T WHAT WE CAN POSSIBLY GO THROUGH ,BUT WE ARE BEING PUSHED TO, WITH THESE STUPID POLICIES THAT BRING US TO THE 1930S AGAIN AND WITH THE SAME FORCES WHO WANT US ALL DEAD.
On Larry King,7/7/10, Bibi kept pushing the peace at any price mentality that wasn't satisfying, but still repeating the same mistakes as before.
Where was Bibi on demanding of Obama to support the survivors of the Holocaust to get their monies from the German insurance companies refusing to pay since 1945? Bibi is AWOL on this while praising Hillary, who tells the Israelis not to have babies in their holyland of 5000 yrs., which is a 'judenrein' policy and racist and anti-semitic policy no different than the Germans who rid Europe of its Jews and killed them and stole everything they owned and with Arab help. Then the Arabs shoved 900,000 Jews out of Arab lands when Israel declared itself an independent state in 1948 and the Arabs stole everything the Jews had then too. What has changed? Today' Arabs, after 5 Arab wars and 2 Intifadas, want all Jews dead and all Jewish property theirs. So what's new here except that Obama is on their side as well and open about it no less?
So Hillary offers Auschwitz $15millions for upkeep, which is the world's largest Jewish cemetery and should be under Jewish control, without crosses and disco and loss of sign and all the anti-semitism still there while the camp is selling stuff like it's Disneyland. What an outrage on Auschwitz and on Jerusalem. Have the Jews no self-respect on any of this?
Just how many times do the Israelis have to keep acting 'stupid' since Oslo and keep building a bodycount to accomodate the world that wants it dead and only respects Israelis when they fight back and aren't crawling as Jews have a reputation of not fighting back, but walking to their death and to the gas chambers. There was some resistance and survivors with that resistance, and many of the enemy paid with their lives as well, Thank G-d, but what has happened to the Israelis with Olmert and Livni, who Obama really wants to negotiate with, unless he gets a full compromise with Bibi, which would be another disaster.
It is day 80 of the 'BP/Obama Criminal Negligence 'on the oil catastrophe in the Gulf that 5 states are dealing with, plus the #4 fishing ground in the world under threat, let alone so many other horrors neglected by this traitor in the White House. Now we find out that in the Exxon oil spill ,over 6000 got sick, who cleaned up that mess and Exxon never revealed it. So those cleaning up the BP are also subject to long term illnesses? Now we find out that there are 27,000 capped wells in the Gulf that could also be leaking and no one is in charge in the federal government to protect America on any level and Israel thinks it has a partner with Obama? Until we stop denying that Obama kisses every Muslim behind on every occassion and is doing everything the Muslims and Arabs want..... how can we protect and defend Israel, America and ourselves? Obama will tell Bibi what he wants to, to keep the Jews from moving away from him any further?
What 'security' does Israel have if it gives up Jerusalem, its faith, its Covenant, its history, its sufferings, its story, its survival, its contributions? Why in the hell is Israel not telling this story to the world that might be on its side if Jews decided to stop apologizing for their existance for a change, exemplified by the absolutely poor history of leadership in Israel and with the Jewish organizations always there for a handout, but not there when we really need them, including those in this impotent Congress, is it any wonder that we are in so much trouble?
The story below of an Arab mother whose son is being taken care of by the Israelis and her desire for her son to fight to his death for Jerusalem, says it all. Where are the Jews on this issue?
So Bibi's 'peace' proposal is slammed by the PA, thank G-d. The Arabs are the only ones saving us from ourselves, again.
They keep telling us and the world that they want us dead and the Jews keep thinking this is 'social work' and they will eventually change and be our buddies if we keep giving up everything Jewish. The German Jews thought the same thing with Hitler. Nothing's changed.
That's why there is a Shalom International. That's why we are active and resist. That's why we must constantly be visible. That's why I'm asking those who understand the dangers we are in to 'use' me in this election for Congress as an independent against Obama's key mouthpiece in all of this madness that told us we could 'trust' Obama on Israel. Debbie Wasserman Schultz lied. Obama lied. And ,,,G-d forbid ,,,is Bibi also lying to us about keeping Jerusalem United?
I beg you to help us to help you, Israel, Jerusalem, America, on all of these levels. We are in great danger. I am grateful for all of you who do get it and are working with us. Please donate to my campaign: www.kunstforcongress.com and by mail to: Kunst For Congress, P.O.Box 402263, Miami Beach, Fla. 33140 and help us get the word out to the world on what is really going on here.
Please help us through www.defendjerusalem.net or by mail to: Defend Jerusaelm, P.O.Box 402263, Miami Beach, Fla. 33140.
If you understand Obama and Hillary's hypocracy and now Bibi starting to possibly retreat, than please help us do more. Don't get sacrificed again by these politics. We Jews made Obama's election and Bibi's election possible. Now will you stand with me to prevent any sellout politics from taking place?
Bibi stand strong. Don't give an inch. You don't have to on any level. We'll be with you all the way, if you don't compromise.
I want to add something that also needs to be addressed here. Also below is a story on how Bibi's bodyguards had stolen from them weapons when they landed in JFK.
Something is very wrong with this story on a host of levels?
!. Bibi is traveling on El Al with other passengers? Then is supposed to transfer to American Airlines to DC? Then the bags are searched, while the guns are stolen at JFK and then the bags end up in LA? Then shipped to Chicago and then to DC?
2. What about Bibi's security? Isn't there Israeli immunity on weapons and security? Did we just tell all of our enemies how Bibi travels?
3. Is this lunacy or what?
4. Wouldn't Obama like for Bibi not to be in charge? Wouldn't he rather have Livni who would give up everything to the Arabs?
It's more than too much.
Yours in Shalom,
Bob Kunst
Pres., Shalom International
305-864-5110
www.defendjerusalem.net
www.kunstforcongress.com
political advertisement from Robert Kunst, independent candidate for Congress, Dist. 20.
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Netanyahu hints at flexibility on Jerusalem
By Uriel Heilman · July 7, 2010
Photos 1 out of 1
Other Media
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a Jewish gathering in New York, July 7, 2010. (Michael Priest Photography) NEW YORK (JTA) -- It was an otherwise wholly unremarkable stump speech before a friendly audience in New York.
On Wednesday evening at Manhattan’s Plaza Hotel, the Israeli prime minister addressed a roomful of more than 300 Jews on the subjects of Iran, his government’s eagerness for direct peace talks with the Palestinians and the swell meeting he had just had with President Obama at the White House.
But then, in an off-the-cuff remark to a question on Jerusalem from the audience, Benjamin Netanyahu dropped a hint that his government’s insistence on Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem might not be ironclad.
“Everybody knows that there are Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem that under any peace plan will remain where they are,” Netanyahu said in response to the question read by the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Malcolm Hoenlein.
The implication of Netanyahu’s remark -- that other neighborhoods of Jerusalem may not remain “where they are,” becoming part of an eventual Palestinian state -- was the first hint that the Israeli leader may be flexible on the subject of Jerusalem. Until now, Netanyahu has insisted that Jerusalem is not up for negotiation.
While the prime minister surely did not intend the gathering under the aegis of the Presidents Conference to serve as his forum for opening up negotiations over Jerusalem, the impromptu remark before an audience of prominent New York Jews and a handful of elected officials cast a slim ray of light on what Netanyahu thinks might be the Israeli capital’s ultimate fate.
It was significant as well because Netanyahu’s true intentions regarding the peace process remain largely opaque, the subject of much debate from Washington to Ramallah. Netanyahu was a latecomer to the two-state position -- endorsing the idea of an eventual Palestinian state only a year ago, after much prodding by the United States -- and the governing coalition he has assembled is comprised largely of right-wing parties that do not believe in the current Palestinian Authority as a partner for negotiations.
In public, President Obama declared Tuesday that he believes Netanyahu is genuinely committed to seeking a two-state solution.
“I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants peace. I think he’s willing to take risks for peace,” Obama told reporters following his Oval Office meeting with Netanyahu. “And during our conversation, he once again reaffirmed his willingness to engage in serious negotiations with the Palestinians around what I think should be the goal not just of the two principals involved but the entire world, and that is two states living side by side in peace and security.”
Privately, however, some U.S. administration officials have expressed doubts about Netanyahu’s ability to make good on that vision. Other Obama supporters have questioned Netanyahu's commitment to that goal, and the Palestinian Authority leadership says Netanyahu’s interest in negotiations is not serious.
“Words, not deeds,” was the assessment of chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who dismissed Netanyahu’s lip service to the peace process in an interview Tuesday with The New York Times. “We need to see deeds.”
Netanyahu insists he is serious about peace talks, and that it is the Palestinians who are playing games.
“You either put up excuses or you lead," the Israeli leader said in his New York speech. "I want to enter direct talks with the Palestinian leadership now,”
“I think we can defy the skeptics,” he said, recalling the doubters that abounded when Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin began talking to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in the lead-up to the Camp David Accords, and when Richard Nixon visited China. “This is a challenge I’m up to.”
Was it hyperbole or a sign of the legacy Netanyahu hopes for himself?
If Netanyahu is interested in following Begin and Nixon’s model, leading a conservative government to a historic rapprochement with a longtime foe, eventually he will have to include Jerusalem in negotiations with the Palestinians; they won't sign a peace deal without it. If not, Netanyahu is trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the skeptics.
“This is going to be a very, very tough negotiation, but I’m prepared to negotiate,” Netanyahu insisted Wednesday. “But I cannot engage between someone who won’t sit at the table.”
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4 Glock handguns were stolen from a suitcase that belonged to the Shin Bet security detail traveling to the USA with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The suitcases were located in LA...
WASHINGTON - American Airlines security personnel lost the luggage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bodyguards as they traveled to Washington from John F. Kennedy airport in New York, according to NBC network reports on Wednesday night.
The lost luggage was eventually located in Los Angeles, but four Glock pistols had disappeared. Local police believe they had been stolen. The Prime Minister's Office declined to comment.
The case containing the pistols was to have gone to Washington where Israeli guards had been sent to guard the prime minister's entourage during his visit to the White House. The airport authorities in New York said police were investigating whether the pistols had been stolen there or in Los Angeles.
A source at the airport said the luggage had been screened by security personnel and cleared for flight. A spokesman for American Airlines said in matters linked to security, they allow law enforcement agencies to deal with the case and don't intervene.
The Shin Bet confirmed the report and said the case is being investigated by Israeli security and local authorities in the US. (ynetnews)
I wonder if the suitcase contained the following notice: You know the one of the bag having been searched.
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.............and Obama wants Israel to accommodate these wretched rodents??!!
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/07/mother-of-baby-saved-by-israelis-wants-him-to-get-well-kill-them/
Mother of Baby Saved By Israelis Wants Him to Get Well & Kill Them
Jim Hoft, GatewayPundit.com
The Palestinian mother of a baby saved by Israelis wants him to get well so that he can kill them.
Haaretz reported, via Elder of Ziyon:
In Sheba’s pediatric hemato-oncology department was Mohammed Abu Mustafa, a four-and-a-half-month-old Palestinian infant. Protruding from his tiny body were pipes attached to big machines. His breathing was labored.
“His days may be numbered. He is suffering from a genetic defect that is causing the failure of his immune system,” said the baby’s mother, Raida, from the Gaza Strip, when she emerged from the isolation room. “I had two daughters in Gaza,” she continued, her black eyes shimmering. “Both died because of immune deficiency. In Gaza I was told all the time that there is no treatment for this and that he is doomed to die. The problem now is how to pay for the transplant. There is no funding.”
“I got to her after all the attempts to find a donation for the transplant had failed,” relates. “I understood that I was the baby’s last hope, but I didn’t give it much of a chance. At the time, Qassam rockets falling on Sderot opened every newscast. In that situation, I didn’t believe that anyone would be willing to give a shekel for a Palestinian infant.”
He was wrong. Hours after the news item about Mohammed was broadcast, the hospital switchboard was jammed with callers. An Israeli Jew whose son died during his military service donated $55,000, and for the first time the Abu Mustafa family began to feel hopeful. Only then did Eldar grasp the full dramatic potential of the story. He told his editor, Tali Ben Ovadia, that he wanted to continue accompanying the family.
…Nevertheless, this idyllic situation developed into a deep crisis that led to the severance of the relations and what appeared to be the end of the filming. From an innocent conversation about religious holidays, Raida Abu Mustafa launched into a painful monologue about the culture of the shahids – the martyrs – and admitted, during the complex transplant process, that she would like to see her son perpetrate a suicide bombing attack in Jerusalem.
“Jerusalem is ours,” she declared. “We are all for Jerusalem, the whole nation, not just a million, all of us. Do you understand what that means – all of us?”
She also explained to Eldar exactly what she had in mind. “For us, death is a natural thing. We are not frightened of death. From the smallest infant, even smaller than Mohammed, to the oldest person, we will all sacrifice ourselves for the sake of Jerusalem. We feel we have the right to it. You’re free to be angry, so be angry.”
And Eldar was angry. “Then why are you fighting to save your son’s life, if you say that death is a usual thing for your people?” he lashes out in one of the most dramatic moments in the film.
“It is a regular thing,” she smiles at him. “Life is not precious. Life is precious, but not for us. For us, life is nothing, not worth a thing. That is why we have so many suicide bombers. They are not afraid of death. None of us, not even the children, are afraid of death. It is natural for us. After Mohammed gets well, I will certainly want him to be a shahid. If it’s for Jerusalem, then there’s no problem. For you it is hard, I know; with us, there are cries of rejoicing and happiness when someone falls as a shahid. For us a shahid is a tremendous thing.”
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"Kunst Writes to Bibi: IMPEACH OBAMA, NOT APPEASE HIM"
Dear Bibi:
You will meet with Obama on July 6, 2010 at the White House. Obama isn't Israel's friend or ally, nor that of the Jewish people. Below are two stories:
1. In this story in the Miami Herald, 7/1/10, below, Obama is siding with the German companies refusing to pay Holocaust Survivors from insurance policies and Obama's Kagen for the Supreme Ct. is also with the Germans denying compensation for survivors.
DOES IT GET ANY MORE CRIMINAL? HOW CAN OBAMA BE THIS CRUEL?
2. NASA admitting that Obama's outreach from his Cairo Speech last year, wanted NASA to reach out to the Muslims countries. See below for this revisionist treachery from Obama and gang.
3. Giving material support to terrorists such as Hamas is a violation of Title 18 of US Code that Obama has violated time and again from his $900millions to Fatah and $20millions to bring in who knows how many terrorists from the PA and an additional $400millions for Gaza, while Obama is talking with and siding with Hamas. Only a week ago Fatah was telling Hamas to go ahead and keep killing the Jews and Israelis. On August 9, 2009, when Shalom International(with 300), was protesting Obama and Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, Abbas was calling for all of Jerusalem, not just East Jerusalem.
4. Last year in Cairo, Obama, the anti-semite, was equating the Holocaust with "Muslim Humiliation" while cowardly ignoring 5 Arab wars and 2 Intifadas to drive the Jews into the sea and steal everything. Obama also ignored 900,000 Jews thrown out of Arab countries and everything stolen during Israel's War of Independence in 1948. Now we see that Abbas, who denied the Holocaust, introduced the Intifada, is now praising the man behind the 1972 Munich Massacre of 11 Israeli atheletes murdered, who just died. The Arabs were alligned with Hitler to kill all Jews then and cowardly deny it now, but want to finish the job with Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc. What is there about this evil that you don't get?
5. Meanwhile on June 28, 2010, from the Charleston Gazette, Venezuelan Pres. Huge Chavez denounced Israel as a 'genocidal' government, while hosting Assad from Syria.
The Little Hitler from Iran has also been here and so have thousands of Iranians in our back yard, including throughout S. America, not just Venezeula and Guyana.
Brazil and Turkey are part of the strategy with Iran and its nukes. Iran's, proxies of Hezbollah and Hamas moving throughout this hemisphere poses extreme danger and then Fidel Castro recently stating that the Israelis want to 'exterminate' the Palestinians like the Nazis did to the Jews.... is this picture getting clearer to you? Homeland Security admits to over 45,000 illegals caught on the Mexican border who aren't Hispanic, but many from countries who hate America and of course Obama will do nothing to stop. Nobody in Obama's gang or the media want to talk about getting to the point of the dangers we are all facing.
So who BIBI are you going to 'negotiate' with face to face and on what? Bibi, didn't Obama punish you enough the last round that you're back for more of this setup for Israel's downfall? Obama wants you out of power and Livni there to be his puppet and will give away the store. Don't you get it?
Obama singled out Israel two weeks ago, to attack from the UN on Israel's nukes, while ignoring Iran that is building its nukes, Obama allowed for the last two years and sanctions are meaningless, while Obama tells Israel not to strike Iran to prevent it from being nuked? The UN again goes on the attack to Israel on the "Gaza Flotilla" and also the tensions in Lebanon.
So this White House's 'dog and pony' show, with the cameras this time, is to accomplish what in this enormous danger we are all facing?
Obama's anti-semitism will never get back the Jewish support he had and his politics reflects a massive increase in anti-semitism worldwide, as a result.
America's allies see Obama's attacks and sellout on Israel as a warning to them, that Obama can't be trusted with them either. All of this appeasement and 'weakness' to the terrorists and America's and Israel's enemies, pose a huge danger for everyone in another war on the horizon.
Bibi, your halting of constuction in East Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria is both stupid, weak and shows no logic whatsoever. There is no one to make peace with. Bibi, you keep caving into Obama's agenda and for what? To make Obama look good when he no longer has even the backing of the majority of the American people?
How about a flotilla to Turkey and how they are killing Kurds by the thousands, let alone their genocide of the 1 1/2 million Armenians? How about a real effort at public relations instead of kissing behinds? In other words, go on the offense and stop playing defense.
How about Gilad Shalit, Hamas prisoner for four years being released as part of any efforts to ease the blockade in Gaza? Why is there any consideration to give up 1000 Arab terrorists in this deal? How about the feelings of those families who lost loved ones to these monsters? How about the next group Hamas and Hezbollah will kidnap and capture since everything they want the Israelis capitulate to? How about those being released will go out and kill more Jews and Israelis, as part of their pattern? At what point will this Israeli government find a pair of balls and stop this insanityy that gives not an ounce of credibility to those in Israel? An international campaign for Shait is great, but where are the marchers condemning Hamas and in every forum in the world? Where are the marchers at the UN, EU, White House, Congress and every other major forum?
How can anyone trust Obama, who should be 'impeached' instead of appeased?
It is day 77 of the gulf oil spill and Obama's 'criminal negligence' in its spread that has now hit 5 states in the Gulf and over 150million gallons spilt and untold damage to wildlife and human life and incomes and environment and birds migrating and it goes on and on with this incompetant in the White House totally uncaring about anything but his monstrous ego?
Bibi, this is the Obama you trust, while Israel keeps giving and getting nothing in return, but the contempt of the world that sees Israel and Jews now as the new Nazis, thanks to the insanity within our so-called leadership, that is bringing us to this new Holocaust.
Bibi, why would 4 Star General McCrystal jeapordize his career and his support for Obama, by going public at the disaster brewing inside the White House regarding Afghanistan and timelines for withdrawal there and in Iraq? Didn't McCrystal's people also go after Gen. Jones who is helping the PA develop their army, they will use against Israel?
If Obama's such a major screwup for the U.S., he cares less about, and his history with Israel and the Jewish people is contemptible and treacherous ,than Bibi what are you doing giving this man credibility,that the rest of the world is denouncing?
Our Shalom International was the ONLY pro-Israel Jewish group to go to the "G-20" Summit in Toronto on June 27, 2010. It was our 302nd rally for Israel. Believe it, our 50 people were opposite the Naterei Karta gang calling for Israel's elimination and supporting Hamas. Please google, yahoo, bing and ask....Shalom International and/or Bob Kunst to see those that picked up on our presence. If we didn't schlepp up from Miami Beach there would have been no positive visibility on this issue at this event, with 19,000 police and the Canadian government spending over $1billion for security. Still on the Sat. before, the anarchists went crazy on a rampage and damage and 400 were arrested, that may have affected the turnout for our event, we only had two weeks to organize with. We had no problem except one skin head who pushed one of us and the police stepped in right away and then there were another 500 arrests during the day in other areas, but not ours. Over 900 went to courts in Toronto.
Obama tried to pull his 'spend' insanity, but 'G-20' rejected him outright in this photo op with no substance. Would you believe that Obama brought 700 to this charade? How about if Obama said he would waive the 'Jones Act' so that 30 nations that have offered help in the Gulf oil spill could participate in overcoming this disaster, but no, Obama played out photo-ops for his egomania and all that fluff, and this is the guy, Bibi, you want to dictate terms and impose the future of Israel with? If I didn't know better, I'd say the anarchists were hired to divert attention from the G-8 and G-20 do nothing/ say nothing summits, so that the public was obsessed with the violence on the outside and not the violence from the inside.
Why, with a year in advance, didn't the Jewish leadership in Toronto organize a massive rally for Israel and world Jewry to take advantage of 3000-4000 media who showed up for this? Why didn't Israel mobilize to take advantage of this event as well?
Why don't you get the need to push the propaganda war as much as anything else? Why is Israel always on the defense and retreating?
Let me state, that we got 5 media, lots of photos, stood our ground and didn't apologize for our existance. We've done this with 1204 media since Oct. 2007, that has reached many millions worldwide. On 7/1/10, in Quebec, a blast tore through a military recruitment centre in Trois-Rivieres. No one was hurt. During 'G-20', 2 more Canadians died in Afghanistan, bringing those killed there from Canada to 150.
Let me also state that on Fri., July 1, 2010, at two separate World Cup games in South Africa, I saw two separate people holding up an "Israeli" flag at each venue which was seen by billions across the planet and also showing no fear, but pride, which we also presented. What a blessing to see these heroes standing before the world and not retreating.
I introduced the "Impeach Obama" campaign in Toronto and then twice here at home already, once in Weston, in the backyard of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Schmutz) WHO IS OBAMA'S LAP DOG AND CHEERLEADER ON EVERYTHING OBAMA DOES.....and again on the corner of Hallandale Blvd. and U.S. 1, on July 4th, our 234 birthday to protect and defend America's freedom's from people like Obama who has no problem talking out of both sides of his mouth, as well as Schultz and Hillary.
Reaction to us in Weston was great and two folks dropped by to talk, including a former Miami policeman and also a Cuban lady who said she couldn't understand Jewish support for a man who wants to kill them.
Then yesterday, I had very many horns beeping for us and 5 negatives, 3 of them from blacks, and two who were Obamanites. Apparently, "Impeach Obama", which is my campaign, is the very vehicle which got to the heart of the matter and they reacted. We showed no fear here either.
It has taken me over a week to write this report. I am looking at the extreme dangers, everywhere and the serious lack of reaction by those who should know better.
In Toronto this weekend, 10,000 Muslims met to discuss strategy and in Miami there were 1500 doing their 'Sharia' politics.
Bibi, our 5000 yr. Covenant with G-d is part of who we are and the history of the world and needs to be expressed on all levels with the non-believers in Obama's gang. G-d is our negotiator at any meeting, Obama or otherwise.
With all the internal divisions and all the efforts for 'peace' with those that want us dead, for G-d's sake, Bibi, use G-d and know that the world can't defeat G-d's will for us.
That's why I'm running for Congress, to also be Israel's key supporter from this direction. You don't have to compromise or give up anything. Federate West Bank with Jordan, already Palestine and Federate Gaza with Egypt and stop giving away what G-d gave to the Jewish people. This is our strength.Israel belongs to G-d, and not the present weakness of trying to buy acceptance from those who don't accept themselves.
These are very fearful times. Will you Bibi, have the strength and conviction or sell us all out as before?
Abbas, as peacemaker is a cruel joke. Fatah and Hamas, Hezbollah, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, etc. are all there to make war on Israel and all Jews. Why this denial? Why do you think you are only 62 yrs. of age and need to give up what you have won in war? by deed? by League of Nations and by our Torah? How can you trust any of our enemies, including Obama?
For those of you who understand this plea, I ask for your help to get the word out. My campaign is a national referendum on Obama, Hillary, Schultz etc. who are all dumping on Israel and setting us up for this disastrous crisis we are in. Please go to:www.kunstforcongress.com on paypal or direct to: "Kunst For Congress", P.O.Box 402263, Miami Beach, Fla. 33140. If you can also consider us through www.defendjerusalem.net or by mail to: "Defend Jerusalem", P.O. Box 402263, Miami Beach, Fla. 33140.
Yours in Shalom and prayer,
Robert Kunst
Pres., Shalom International
305-864-5110
www.defendjerusalem.net
www.kunstforcongress.com
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HOLOCAUST
Restore survivors' rights
BY DAVID SCHAECTER and ESTHER TOPOREK FINDER
dschaecter@gmail.com
For decades, Holocaust survivors and the families of Holocaust victims seeking transparent and accountable restitution of looted assets, such as insurance policies, have struggled against overwhelming odds.
In June, it was reported that Generali, Allianz, AXA and Munich Re are among the top 10 insurance companies in the world. After World War II, these companies, and others, failed to pay tens of thousands of policies bought and paid for by European Jews in good faith. Survivors were subjected to demands for original policies, or death certificates, as if Hitler was issuing those at Auschwitz.
>As a result, the companies pocketed billions of dollars of Holocaust victims' money.
The Obama administration, in legal papers filed by the Justice Department, recently stated that it would be ``contrary to U.S. foreign policy'' for Generali to be held accountable in U.S. courts. This was a different position from the one taken by President Bill Clinton, who refused to support Generali.
The Obama Justice Department stated that a commission financed and controlled by insurers, which paid only 3 percent of the amount owed and ignored congressional disclosure mandates, should be considered to be the exclusive, legally binding, remedy. Generali and Allianz alone failed to pay an estimated $2 billion each.
Based on the department's position, a federal appellate court held that Holocaust survivors, including many U.S. veterans and war veterans, do not have the same rights as every other American to collect on family insurance policies in American courts. Are Holocaust survivors second-class citizens in the eyes of U.S. law? This is deeply hurtful to survivors and their families.
One of the officials responsible for the administration's bias toward the insurers was Solicitor General Elena Kagan, now President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court. Shouldn't she be required to give her reasons before being elevated to such a powerful lifetime position? If the decision was made by a lower-level appointee or bureaucrat, did senior officials such as Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden or President Obama approve the decision? As Americans we are entitled to know.
Most people do not realize that half the Holocaust survivors in the United States live near or below the poverty line. Rather than ask for charity and take away needed resources from other Americans, survivors and heirs should be able to recover the proceeds of policies they are legitimately entitled to. It is unconscionable that our government is allowing these insurance giants to enjoy such unjust enrichment.
The administration's actions are as ironic as they are painful. Last week, Obama insisted on an independent authority to decide and administer payments to Gulf Coast residents hurt by the BP oil disaster. He opposes bankruptcy for BP to ensure the company will fully pay all damages because of its large profits. Yet the administration says a commission controlled by equally profitable insurers, that paid pennies on the dollar, should be binding on Holocaust survivors. While we applaud the administration's commendable efforts to obtain justice for the Gulf Coast residents, why aren't Holocaust survivors entitled to the same protections?
Far too many Holocaust survivors have died alone, and in misery, giving up hope for justice and dignity. This need not be the case for those who remain, if the president and Congress will exert proper leadership. We ask three things:
• President Obama should support the survivors' and heirs' position, not Generali's, when the issue comes before the Supreme Court this summer.
• The administration should support HR 4596, currently before the U.S. Congress, to restore survivors' and heirs' legal rights, and Congress should pass the bill before adjourning.
• The administration and Congress should require all companies that profited from the Holocaust to pay all claims and disgorge heirless proceeds into a fund managed by trustees respected by the survivor community, with a mandate to secure a dignified standard of living for all Holocaust survivors in need.
We want to believe that if informed of these facts, President Obama would use his vast influence to correct these moral inversions and help those legally deserving and those in need.
David Schaecter is the president of the Holocaust Survivors Foundation USA, a national coalition of Holocaust survivors and survivor groups. Esther Toporek Finder is the president of The Generation After and a member of the Coordinating Council of Generations of the Shoah International (GSI).
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from Atlas Shrugged, 7/3/10:
NASA chief: Obama wanted me to make Muslims feel good Jihad watch
Yeah, that's what NASA should be all about. "Charlie Bolden: Stealth Middle East Diplomat?," by Keith Cowing at NASA Watch, July 2 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):
Bolden: I am here in the region - its sort of the first anniversary of President Barack Obama's visit to Cairo - and his speech there when he gave what has now become known as Obama's "Cairo Initiative" where he announced that he wanted this to become a new beginning of the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world. When I became the NASA Administrator - before I became the NASA Administrator - he charged me with three things: One was that he wanted me to re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, that he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.
What contributions?
Ted Belman
Jerusalem, Israel
972 (0)54 441 3252
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