Israel Matzav

Israel beats the war drums while Democrats in Congress fiddle

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi are beating the war drums against Iran this morning. On Monday, Netanyahu said that if Israel does not remove the Iranian nuclear threat, no one else will.

"Israel is not like other countries," Netanyahu told his Likud faction in a meeting which came one week after his meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. "We are faced with security challenges that no other country faces, and our need to provide a response to these is critical, and we are answering the call."

"These are not regular times. The danger is hurtling toward us?The real danger in underestimating the threat," Netanyahu said, addressing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. "My job is first and foremost to ensure the future of the state of Israel ... the leadership's job is to eliminate the danger. Who will eliminate it? It is us or no one."

Ashkenazi also is clearly looking to the possibility that Israel will have to remove the Iranian threat itself.

Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ashkenazi stressed the necessity of preventing nuclear weapons from Iran which would "destabilize the entire Middle East."

"It is the IDF's duty to prepare all of the options on the Iranian front, and we are doing so," he said.

"A dialogue between Iran and the US is currently taking place, and I doubt it will yield results, but as far as the IDF is also concerned, this is the desirable way to stop the Iranian nuclear project," Ashkenazi said.

Meanwhile, a group of American Democratic congressmen is in Israel promoting President Obama's ridiculous notion that the world's biggest priority is to create a state reichlet for the 'Palestinians.' This is from Haaretz (the first link) again.

A U.S. Congressional delegation in Jerusalem said on Sunday that it was "skeptical" that Netanyahu's government would be able to move the peace process with the Palestinians ahead.

The five-person delegation from the sub-committee on the Middle East was headed by Congressman Gary Ackerman from New York, who is used to be considered one of Israel's greatest friends on Capitol Hill. The delegation met with President Shimon Peres and other senior officials in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority.

The representatives had tough questions for the Israelis on construction in West Bank settlements and protested Israel's intention to continue building to accommodate "natural growth." They also expressed great concern over the siege on Gaza, noting that the civilian population was suffering greatly from a lack of food and medicine.

Note the little bit of editing I did above. Like his pal Bob Wexler, Gary Ackerman is a friend of Barack Hussein Obama and not a friend of Israel. I hope my readers in his district will lead the fight against him in November 2010. Moron.

UPDATE WEDNESDAY 4:02 PM

More comments, including a quote from Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers - I'm impressed Scott!) here.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:03 PM