Who will blink first - Netanyahu or German Foreign Minister?
Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled to meet today with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel. Last night, Netanyahu issued an ultimatum saying he would cancel the meeting if Gabriel did not cancel meetings he has scheduled with European-financed anti-Israel NGO's. At first, it was reported that Netanyahu was referring to 'Peace Now,' but it now appears that it's even worse: Gabriel proposes to meet with B'Tselem and 'Breaking the Silence,' both of which are guilty of libeling Israel on the international stage.
“It’s time to make clear to Germany that we too have red lines,” the official told Arutz Sheva.
“If it was a low-level meeting, it might have looked different. But
when the Foreign Minister comes here and goes to meet with organizations
that are working against the government's policy and against the Prime
Minister's policy, this is unacceptable."
“The Prime Minister would never come to a country like Britain or
Germany, where there are organizations that are working against the
government's policy, and meet with the heads of those organizations. How
would that country react if he did? There is significance to such a
meeting held by a foreign minister,” the source continued.
Gabriel apparently plans to go ahead with his meetings with the anti-Israel organizations.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel responded
to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ultimatum on Tuesday,
saying that it would be "regrettable" if the latter decides to cancel
their meeting because the Gabriel's meeting with representatives of
left-wing Israeli organizations.
Speaking to German TV
network ZDF, Gabriel defined his planned meetings with representatives
of B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence and "totally normal."
Gabriel said that he
had only learned of Netanyahu's threat from the media and noted it
would be "inconceivable" for the German minister to cancel a meeting
with the Israeli leader if the latter met with figures critical of the
German government. He nevertheless said that "it wouldn't be a
catastrophe" if their meeting is cancelled, and that it wouldn't change
his ties with Israel.
"You never get the full picture of any state in the world if you just meet with figures in government ministries," he said.
Netanyahu’s ultimatum to Gabriel was backed on Monday by Deputy
Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), who said she "backs the Prime
Minister's decision to set a red line regarding anti-Israel
organizations such as B'Tselem and Breaking the Silence. This is an
important struggle against those who defame Israel in the world."
MK Yoav Kisch (Likud), who heads the Knesset House Committee,
expressed support for Netanyahu’s move as well, saying, "The German
Foreign Minister and any other leader who wants to meet those who spread
poison against Israel must understand: Legitimizing hatred of Israel is
out of the question."
But of course the opposition thinks Netanyahu should meet with Gabriel anyway.
In my not so humble opinion, Gabriel ought to be declared persona non grata if he goes ahead with the meetings with Breaking the Silence and B'Tselem. The European - and particularly German (read I Sleep in Hitler's Room) - obsession with finishing the job that Hitler started (God Forbid) needs to be met head on. Especially on the day after Holocaust Remembrance Day.
I was never a Trekkie but it was kind of hard to miss the passing of Leonard Nimoy (Star Trek's Mr. Spock) this weekend. Over the past few years, Nimoy has gotten a lot of positive press in the Jewish community for incorporating the Jewish priestly blessing sign into Star Trek (a fact that largely came to light due to the Obama campaign's use of the gesture as a 'sign of progress' in 2008).
Alas, there was another side of Nimoy which makes me think of him less fondly. In 2011, Nimoy wrote a letter calling for the division of Jerusalem.
The Americans for Peace
Now (APN) organization published Tuesday a letter written by actor
Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Spock in the original Star
Trek series and movies, in which the actor supports the establishment of
a two-state solution.
The 80-year-old actor called upon the American people to support the peace initiative.
"I reach out to you as someone who is troubled to see the conflict between Israelis
and Palestinians continue apparently without an end in sight," Nimoy wroe.
"In fact, there is an
end in sight. It's known as the two-state solution - a secure,
democratic Israel as the Jewish State alongside an independent
Palestinian state. Even Israel's nationalist Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu, has come to see this as the shape of the future. The problem
is how to reach that end point. It's something we should be concerned
about - not only as world citizens, but as Americans."
He went on to write that he supports the division of Jerusalem,
mentioning 50 other prominent Israelis, including former heads of the
Mossad, the Shin Bet and the military who support a two-state solution.
"There is a sizable number of influential voices in Israel saying the
same thing… a call for two states for two nations. Their plan includes a
Palestinian state alongside Israel with agreed-upon land swaps. The
Palestinian-populated areas of Jerusalem would become the capital of
Palestine; the Jewish-populated areas the capital of Israel."
"I'm a strong supporter
of APN and the work it does," Nimoy wrote. "Peace Now's activities and
programs… keep peace on the world's agenda… Like those Israelis who
issued the peace plan, the members of Peace Now have their boots on the
ground. They serve in Israel's military reserves and see every day what
life is like without a negotiated peace with the Palestinians."
Is Givat HaMatos such a big deal? Not in Washington
Shavua tov v'shana tova to all of you - a good week and a good year.
On Thursday, I reported on Prime Minister Netanyahu's reaction to the Obama administration going ballistic again over construction in 'east' Jerusalem. If you thought the article I blogged there was over the top, please consider this one from Haaretz's Barak Ravid.
The latest quandary embarrassed Netanyahu. It destroyed his last
shreds of credibility and gave a strange, almost ridiculous twist to his
speech at the UN and his statement to Obama about integrating the
moderate Arab states in the peace process. The new, strategic idea he
had brought up now seemed like another one of his spins.
President
Obama and his senior advisers go nuts every time they hear the word
settlement. They see Israel’s international isolation deepening and the
Palestinians advancing a unilateral move in the Security Council, while
they have to deal every Monday and Thursday with crises produced by
settlements.
“How do such things help me to help you?” Obama asked
Netanyahu. Obama and his aides cannot understand how Netanyahu thinks
he could advance relations with the moderate Arab states as long as
construction in the settlements continues.
“Those moves not only
poison the atmosphere with the Palestinians, but also with those Arab
states Netanyahu said he wants to build relations with,” said White
House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, shortly after Obama’s meeting with
Netanyahu.
At his meeting with reporters, Netanyahu rejected
Earnest’s criticism, but did not attack Obama harshly or personally. He
used diplomatic clichés to downplay the fiasco. “The tones weren’t
loud,” he said. “The conversation was good and open. I highly appreciate
the president’s attentiveness.”
But it was clear Obama did not
invite Netanyahu to stay for lunch, preferring instead to dine alone
with Vice President Joe Biden. One can only guess who those two gossiped
about.
But Times of Israel's Rebecca Shimoni Stoil, who unlike Ravid lives in Washington, says it's no big deal.
For all the strong language in the Washington statements, according to
insiders here, the administration is not interested in turning the issue
of Israel’s plans to build some 2,600 units on the southeast Jerusalem
hillside into a full-blown crisis.
Veteran Washington Mideast policy folks point
to the fact that during his press availability with Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama did not even mention the
word “settlements,” focusing instead on the warm points in the
ties between the two states. Although he was aware of the building plans
– White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest confirmed that the two
talked about the topic behind closed doors – Obama chose to ignore the
issue, and was, if anything, unusually amiable in his interaction with
Netanyahu during the late morning event.
If Obama had wanted to make a major issue of
the construction plans, it was well within his ability to discuss it
during the press spot, when the cameras were rolling and Netanyahu would
have been caught in the hot seat. Or he could have issued a statement
in his own name. Or Secretary of State Kerry, who was also at the
Wednesday meeting, could have done so. But they didn’t.
Instead, while the two leaders met, the State
Department and the White House were coordinating strongly worded
statements to be delivered by their spokespeople soon after the White
House talks were completed. The decision was to strike a tone that
contrasted starkly with the good-natured Obama-Netanyahu presser during
the daily scheduled press briefings.
State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki accused
Israel of being two-faced in its policies by describing the building
project as “contrary to Israel’s stated goal of negotiating a permanent
status agreement with the Palestinians,” and later warned that it would
“poison the atmosphere not only with the Palestinians, but also with the
very Arab governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he
wanted to build relations; and call into question Israel’s ultimate
commitment to a peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.”
...
Earnest repeated Psaki’s criticism almost verbatim, warning that “the
step is contrary to Israel’s stated goal of negotiating a permanent
status agreement with the Palestinians. And it would send a very
troubling message if they were to proceed with tenders or construction
in that area.”
Deja vu all over again: Netanyahu slams Obama for speaking without checking the facts
Where have we heard this story before? A White House meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Hussein Obama is accompanied by an Israeli 'announcement' that it would 'move ahead' with the construction of 2,610 housing units in 'east Jerusalem.' The White House and the State Department blast Netanyahu within an hour after he leaves the White House.
Officials chose to publicly admonish the Israeli government only an hour
after its premier left the building, presumably deciding on the
language as the two leaders met in the Oval Office.
"This
development will only draw condemnation from the international
community," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said afterwards.
"It also would call into question Israel's ultimate commitment to a
peaceful negotiated settlement with the Palestinians."
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki came out with similar language as Netanyahu departed for Joint Base Andrews air force base.
But the apartments were approved in 2012.
The homes will be built in Givat Hamatos, an area of the city that Palestinians believe should be a part of their future state.
The
Jerusalem Municipality approved the project in December 2012, but
waited almost two years - until the date of the bilateral meeting - to
place news of the approval in a local Israeli paper, according to Peace
Now, an organization opposed to Israel's presence beyond its 1967
borders.
Netanyahu, in a briefing in New York with reporters who accompanied him
on his trip to the US, said that as Israel’s prime minister he did not
understand the criticism of Jews legally buying and moving into
property in Jerusalem.
“Arabs in Jerusalem freely buy
apartments, and nobody says that is forbidden. I will also not say that
Jews cannot buy property in Jerusalem. There cannot be discrimination
between Jews and Arabs,” he said.
Netanyahu said that nobody
“stole” the houses in Jerusalem or took them over by force. “This is a
normal process, and I see no reason to discriminate,” he said.
Just
hours before, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the US
condemned the “occupation of residential buildings in the Palestinian
neighborhood of Silwan in east Jerusalem -- this is near the old city
-- by individuals who are associated with an organization whose agenda,
by definition, stokes tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Earnest
said that the moves by Elad are “provocative acts” that only serve “to
escalate tensions at a moment when those tensions have already been
high.”
Earnest also slammed Israel in very harsh language for
moving forward with planning for homes in the Givat Hamatos area in
south Jerusalem. The anti-settlement Peace Now group made another
technical step taken at the local planning level last week on Givat
Hamatos public on Wednesday, just prior to the Obama-Netanyahu meeting.
“This
step is contrary to Israel's stated goal of negotiating a permanent
status agreement with the Palestinians,” Earnest said.
“This
development will only draw condemnation from the international
community, distance Israel from even its closest allies, poison the
atmosphere, not only with the Palestinians but also with the very Arab
governments with which Prime Minister Netanyahu said he wanted to build
relations.”
Oh, and by the way, it wasn't Netanyahu's government that made that 'poorly timed' announcement about Givat HaMatos during the meeting. It was 'Peace Now.'
Without mentioning Peace Now by name, Netanyahu said the group
demonstrated a “lack of national responsibility” by publicizing this in
order to “harm the meeting.” He said that it was not a “coincidence”
that Peace Now publicized the information on Wednesday morning, and
that it was meant to sabotage his meeting with Obama.
Netanyahu also said that neither Silwan nor Givat HaMatos came up during his meeting with Hussein Obama. But Israel Radio reports that they did come up.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu reportedly leveled unusually stern
criticism of the White House's decision to criticize Israeli plans to
build 1,610 homes in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem during his
meeting with President Barack Obama.
Israeli public radio quoted Netanyahu as telling Obama in talks in
Washington Wednesday to "study the facts and details before making
statements" about the building plan.
...
Netanyahu's reported comments to Obama echoed similar statement he made to journalists following the meeting, in which he rejected US criticism as discriminatory.
"It’s worth learning the information properly before deciding to take a position like that," he said of the statement.
But the bottom line is that as much as it may bother Obama, both he and Netanyahu now recognize that the 'Palestinian question' is not a high priority item. The difference between them is that Netanyahu still regards Iran as the priority, while Obama is much more concerned about Islamic State. Of course, Obama is not concerned enough to take effective action against Islamic State, but we've heard that one before as well.
Shenkar College forces students to think 'out of the box' for 'Palestine'
The status above was posted to the Facebook page of former Knesset Member Michael Ben Ariby a student at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. I am posting an English translation of its appalling contents below:
In the middle of a class day, Shenkar College requires all of its students to join lectures on "thinking out of the box." Instead of student creations that are displayed in the various corners of the campus, they hung pictures of wounded Arabs and soldiers beating. The pictures are decorated with slogans of "Free Palestine."
Any student that tried to tear down the signs was stopped and taken to a disciplinary committee!!! Shocked female students stood and cried - it could be that their families were terror victims. In a place of art, of creativity and doing in which politics should stay out of the limelight, it is instead brought out with all its ugliness, by force, and it drags the students into a civil war. A disgraceful day for the Shenkar system, for those who head it, for the faculty and for our entire state!
Today, I am ashamed to be a student at Shenkar!
It perhaps bears noting that the President of Shenkar is ComradeYuliTamir. Tamir was one of the founders of 'Peace Now.'
Peace Now forced to apologize after slandering rights activist
Peace Now was forced to apologize and to take down a Facebook campaign against the human rights group (note - no scare quotes this time) Honenu, after it called one of the people Honenu assisted a terrorist. The person in question was acquitted on all charges ten years ago.
Extreme leftist group Peace Now was forced to delete its Facebook page campaigning against rights group Honenu Wednesday, after it falsely accused a man of being a "terrorist."
Honenu is a legal rights group which campaigns for the legal rights of Jews from Judea and Samaria, including the right to see a lawyer and the right not to face punishment without trial under “administrative orders.” On several occasions, the NGO has represented young men accused of so-called “price tag” vandalism in court.
Peace Now founder Yariv Oppenheimer accused the group of defending
"murderers and 'Price Tag' criminals" Tuesday. An attached advertisement
accused Honenu of assisting “terrorists.”
The list of “terrorists”
Honenu was alleged to have helped included Yossi Ben-Baruch.
According
to the ad, Ben-Baruch was part of the Bat Ayin Underground group; in
fact, he was found innocent of any involvement with the group over a
decade ago.
Channel 2 journalist Amnon Abramovich also slammed the
rights group on the weekly program "Friday News" on Friday evening,
prompting the organization to submit a complaint.
"In the 'Friday News' program which aired last Friday night, Mr.
Abramovich used the title 'Breaking the Law and Receiving Benefits' in
his broadcast and on the internet about our organization," Attorney
Doron Nir Zvi, legal representative for Honenu, noted in the letter to
both Abramovich and the Channel 2 news corporation. "This
header is not only false, but as indicated from the final words of
Abramovich in the article, portray our group as participating in illegal
activities."
"This organization has proper administrative approval and has never
acted without the full accordance of the law," the letter stressed. The
attorney then asked in the name of Honenu to issue an official apology
and change the false headline.
For the record, the picture at the top of this post is not Peace Now director general Yariv Oppenheimer, but rather LATMA's Yariv Googleheimer, a caricature of Oppenheimer.
Left seethes: Building permits issued in 'east' Jerusalem neighborhoods
The Left is seething over the issuance of 550 building permits in the Jewish neighborhoods of Neve Yaakov, Pisgat Zev and Har Homa in 'east' Jerusalem.
The newly-issued building permits include 386 units in Har Homa, 136
units in Neve Yaakov and 36 units in Pisgat Zeev, according to AFP.
Issuing permits is one of the last stages before construction begins,
which means building is likely to start in the coming weeks, according
to the far-left Peace Now NGO.
A spokesman for the group expressed his anger at the decision.
"We are talking about building permits, which is really the final stage," spokesman Lior Amihai told AFP.
"It's a shameful decision, at a shameful time. A government that wants a
two-state solution would not issue those amount of permits for east
Jerusalem neighborhoods."
And you thought that 'everyone knows' that all the Jewish neighborhoods of 'east' Jerusalem are going to be ceded to Israel in a 'final status deal' as part of a 'land swap'....
Peace Now director praises 'Palestinian' mob for beating up Jews
Peace Now director general Yariv GuggenheimerGoogleheimerpraised 'Palestinian' villagers who beat up a group of Jews on Tuesday.
According to Oppenheimer, the mob deserves praise for not killing the Jews.
“Good job to the residents of the village of Kusra, who kept alive
the ‘price tag’ activists who came to bring judgment on them,”
Oppenheimer wrote in a post to Facebook, repeating as fact the
attackers’ claims that the Jewish men had planned to vandalize Arab
property in a “price tag” revenge attack for the destruction of Jewish
vineyards.
“If the situation were reversed, and Palestinians had entered a
settlement to hurt Jews, it would have ended in a lynch and in deaths,”
he claimed. “Under the claim of ‘self defense.’”
Oppenheimer’s proposed reverse situation is not mere theory: in 2012, an Arab mob from Kusra descended on the town of Esh Kodesh with shouts of “kill the Jews.” However, unlike in his suggested scenario, the attackers in that incident remained alive.
Oppenheimer concluded by suggesting that the Jewish men who were
detained and beaten by the mob should be put on trial. “All of the
rightists should be put on trial for trying to hurt innocent people, and
for endangering the lives of IDF soldiers,” he proposed.
Former Labor MK excluded from 'Peace Now' conference because she opposes delegitimizing Israel
Former Labor party MK Einat Wilf was uninvited from a 'Peace Now' conference because in addition to supporting 'territorial compromise' with the 'Palestinians' she also opposes delegitimizing Israel.
Several
weeks ago I was approached by Peace Now to speak at their annual
conference on a panel discussing whether international pressure on
Israel is necessary to promote peace. I was specifically told that my
point of view (which opposes such pressure and certainly the domestic
efforts to invite it) would be very appreciated in this discussion.
Yesterday, I received a call from the head of Peace
Now disinviting me. Even though Yariv Oppenheimer noted that he
personally did not want to disinvite me, he was outnumbered within his
own organization. The reason, he explained, was due to the fact I am a
member of the International Advisory Council of NGO Monitor (along with
other “human rights offenders” such as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Elie
Wiesel and Alan Dershowitz). Putting aside the way in which dogmatic
thinking seems to blind people to the importance of good manners, and
the inability of those who preach tolerance to hear a point of view that
is not their own, I am issuing the following response:
"If the
Israeli Left has no place for those who support a two-state solution
and who also wage battle against those who seek to delegitimize Israel,
it will not return to lead the country. Leadership is not built through
self-flagellation. Defending Israel and Zionism can and should be part
of supporting peace and a two state solution. Israel is under attack for
its very legitimacy and the human-rights discourse serves various
groups to undermine the foundational idea of Zionism that the Jewish
People have a right to a sovereign state in their ancestral homeland. If
people, whose work for human rights is indisputable such as Elie Wiesel
and Alan Dershowitz, find it proper to fight against the demonization
of Israel, then I am proud to wage this battle with them."
So is Israel's suicidal Left intolerant or is its intolerant Left suicidal? Anyway, kudos to Wilf for having a brain unlike most of her colleagues on the Left.
Your TV tax at work: Channel 1's truly offensive promotional video
In an earlier post, I reported on a truly offensive promotional video, which was broadcast on Channel 1 (government television) to promote an anti-Right satire. In the video, Yigal Amir, Baruch Goldstein and Yona Avrushmi are seen dancing around celebrating.
Lahav Harkov reports on the reaction of coalition and opposition MK's to the announcement late Sunday night that the government intends to free 26 'Palestinian' murderers as a gesture in honor of the 'Palestinians' coming to the 'peace table.' Among the reactions was this one:
Yesh Atid faction chairman Ofer Shelah also said releasing prisoners is immoral and undermines the government's sovereignty.
However, Shelah expressed support for the decision and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
"When
you see a prime minister begin negotiations despite opposition from
members of his party and others in the coalition, you understand that we
have no choice but to support him. A prime minister needs courage to
start talks, and we need to follow him," Shelah told Israel Radio.
So acting immorally and undermining the government's sovereignty is okay when some members of the coalition oppose doing it?
I would term such talk Orwellian, but in a tweet back to me, Lahav Harkov calls it Machiavellian. After hearing his brilliant thinking, it will probably not surprise most of you that Shelah, like Yair Lapid, was a journalist in his previous existence (with apologies to Lahav for pointing that out).
Labor's Omer Bar Lev didn't do a whole lot better.
According to MK Omer Bar-Lev (Labor), the government rejected alternatives to releasing terrorists for political reasons.
"In
the current situation, there is no doubt that the right thing to do to
ensure Israel's future as a safe and prosperous country is to release
prisoners, but it’s the worst alternative for our image, values and
strategy," Bar-Lev said.
If what he wanted to say was 'we should have chosen the settlement freeze instead' (which is correct if you assume that we had to accept one of the three alternatives - at least it's reversible) then he should have said so. But then, we shouldn't expect any better from a founder of 'Peace Now.'
For the last four years, LATMA has provided a Zionist answer to the Leftist satire of Channel 2's Eretz Nehederet. Now, it may all be over. Unless LATMA finds funding, it's off the air at the end of the month (Hat Tip: NY Nana).
Latma's chief screenwriter, Tal Gilad, published a Facebook status Sunday in which he denied the rumors that Channel 1
television is about to sign a contract with the show. "The bad guys are
already celebrating," he wrote. The channel has been negotiating with
Latma for two years, he said, but the negotiations are not serious.
"The ravens on the left can
already smell the zero hour," Gilad added. "After four years in which we
provided Zionist, courageous, Israeli satire – against the current,
against all of the leftist incitement that had already become something
everyone sat back and accepted, because they convinced everyone that
'this is how satire is.' Four year in which we cut them down. Four years
in which the ears of [Peace Now's] Yariv Oppenheimer turned red with anger, when they discovered that they were not immune to criticism and biting satire."
"The inciters, the boycotters and the enemies of Israel also got their
drubbings – from the Mavi Marmara clip that received millions of views,
boosted morale in Israel and changed the outlook of many people in the
world; to the Abba clip that infuriated Swedes after the Aftonbladet
libel; to our beloved Tawil Fadiha, Palestinian Minister of
Uncontrollable Rage – a character that would never have been created in
the 'regular' satirical programs that keep hammering you over the head
from the TV screens."
For those of you who have forgotten... I will turn the sound off for myself, because I am still in mourning for my father HK"M (may I atone for his sins), and remind you of the all-time hit We Con the World (2,629,867 views on YouTube right now).
Let's go to the videotape.
Here's another one called Jews United Against Israel. George Soros plays a key role in this one.
Let's go to the videotape.
It would be a pity if they were taken off the air. Anyone know how to reach Irving Moskowitz or Sheldon Adelson? They could sure help out now.
Obama's embassy in Israel tries to pressure Israeli courts
It's been... for me personally... one of those days... which explains the lack of posts today....
The Obama administration has apparently decided that we are a banana republic whose citizenry requires their protection against our abusive court system. And that's all true. Except that they're protecting the side that needs no protection.
Obama's embassy in Israel showed up in court on Wednesday morning to 'gently persuade' the Israeli government not to legalize four 'outposts' in Judea and Samaria. And when it was over they smugly insisted that they weren't interfering in the judicial process. Right.....
“We do not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement
activity and oppose any efforts to legalize settlement outposts, which
would undermine peace efforts and would contradict Israeli commitments
and obligations,” US Embassy spokesman Geoff Anisman told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
He added that the United States position on these points has been clear and has not changed.
Anisman
spoke in the aftermath of a High Court of Justice hearing on a Peace
Now petition demanding that the state enforce the law and demolish six
unauthorized West Bank outposts.
The state, however, has told the
court verbally and in writing that it intends to legalize four of them;
Givat Assaf, Ma’aleh Rehavam, Givat Ho-Roeh and Mitzpe Lachish.
A US embassy representative was at the hearing, but refused to speak to the press.
The
Legal Forum for the Land of Israel immediately condemned his presence
there, charging that it was a blatant US attempt to interfere with
Israel internal legal procedures.
But Anisman said US
representatives often went to court proceedings and Knesset sessions as
part of their routine work to monitor Israeli activity. This is similar
to how US embassies in other countries operate, he said.
Really? Someone get Matthew Lee to show up at the State Department briefing today and ask whoever gives the briefing to name another country in which the United States shows up for court hearings. I will guarantee you that if there is such another country, it is not a member of the OECD and it is most certainly a third-world country. It almost certainly will not be a country that has an adversarial judicial system.
Peace Now Executive Director Yariv Oppenheimer said, however, that he
did not recall seeing a US representative at past hearing on the
outposts. He added that he has seen in the past European representatives
observe court hearing on human rights issues.
"I believe the
presence of an embassy representative was a message to the government
and not to the court, that the issue of the West Bank outposts is very
important to the US," Oppenheimer said.
LATMA's tribal update on the new government, Obama and Pesach
Latma presents Yonit Levy being interviewed in Italian, gushing about
her interview with Obama, the new ministers take over and an Israeli
soldier responds to those who condemn and incite against Israel in this
year's Passover clip.
Jerusalem, where buying an apartment is a 'dangeorus provocation'
The moonbats at Piece by Piece Now are furious because 'Zionist settlers' have taken over three apartments in what's described as a 'Palestinian-owned building' in the 'east' Jerusalem neighborhood of Jebel Mukaber. They are describing the 'takeover' as a 'dangerous provocation.'
In a statement released Monday, Peace Now said the move is "not only a
dangerous provocation which is threatening the stability in the fragile
situation of Jerusalem, but also a threat to the possibility to get to a
two-state solution and a compromise in Jerusalem."
According to Palestinian official news agency WAFA, settlers on
Monday took over three apartments in a Palestinian-owned building in
Jebl Mukaber, claiming ownership of the apartments, according to
Palestinian official news agency WAFA.
Quoting the Wadi Hilweh
Information Center, WAFA reported the building had a demolition order
from the Jerusalem Municipality for being built without a permit ten
years ago.
Peace Now added the timing of the take-over is "not
coincidental," as the government is planning to give the green light to
building permits in all settlements, sending the message to settlers to
hurry and establish facts on the ground.
The take-over follows a report by Peace Now
released over the weekend, stating Israel this year published the
largest number of housing tenders – 3,046 – in the last decade over the
pre-1967 lines.
It calculated the number of housing tenders issued
in east Jerusalem and the West Bank to place in perspective Israel’s
announcement that it would publish an additional 3,000 such tenders, a
move which it said, could bring the number of pending new units over the
pre-1967 lines to 6,046 this year.
Israel's loony Left being forced to confront reality?
I know, you're all wondering how Israel's loony Left is coping with Operation Pillar of Defense. Well, here are two data points from the center of the loony Left... Tel Aviv.
Here are Tel Aviv's denizens - most of whom presumably belong to the Left - cowering alongside the Ayalon Highway when the 'color red' (incoming rocket) alarm went off in Tel Aviv around 6:45 on Thursday night. Ironically, this picture comes from 'Peace' Now's Facebook page.
Meanwhile, not too far away, outside the Kirya (IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv), a demonstration against Operation Pillar of Defense was broken up by the color red alarm.
Will reality interfere in the Left's world view? Consider this: Tel Aviv IS MyBackYard - it's the only place in this country that matters to far too many members of the Branja. If one of the rockets shot at Tel Aviv had actually landed and killed a few people, there would be no one left in this country (other than the Arabs) to oppose the IDF wiping out Hamas. But our government is still afraid to actually go in and do that, and so they are doing everything they can to discourage Hamas from trying to provoke us.
Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now said, Thursday evening, that one should not rule out cooperation between Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas.
Interviewed for the "Gordon Talking" program at Gordon College in Haifa, Oppenheimer said, "I believe that if Hamas is in the Palestinian government, it will not support a [peace] agreement [with Israel] but will accept it." He added, "The Hamas of today is not the Hamas of ten years ago."
And there are morons in Israel who actually believe this stuff. And they aren't just treated as a lunatic fringe.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, a Jewish municipality in Samaria is allowed to expand
It was disclosed on Thursday that this week, the IDF signed the orders allowing the municipality of Beit El to expand onto state lands that were outside its boundaries. I believe that this is the first time since the Oslo Accords in 1993 that the state has allowed a Jewish city in Samaria to expand beyond its municipal boundaries.
The expansion was part of the agreement with the residents of the Ulpana neighborhood pursuant to which they were expelled voluntarily from their homes in late June. Another part of that agreement was the construction of 300 new housing units in Beit El - ten times the number of families who were expelled. It is likely that 150-200 of those units will be built in the newly expanded part of the municipality. 'Peace Now' is seething, and undoubtedly the 'Palestinians,' the Europeans and the Obama administration will also seethe once they find out.
Yariv Oppenheimer, executive director of Peace Now, said that to the best of his knowledge, the land on which the Border Police base was located was state land, and did not belong to the nearby Palestinian village of Dura al-Qara.
Still, he attacked the expansion plan, which he said awarded a prize to settlers from Beit El who had built the Ulpana outpost without permits on private Palestinian property.
“They broke the law, and now they are getting more space from the government,” Oppenheimer said.
He added that expanding the boundary line of a settlement also flew in the face of Israeli pledges to the international community not to take more land for West Bank settlements.
But Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has supported settler construction on state land. He has, however, taken a stand against unauthorized Jewish building on private Palestinian property.
It's time to admit the reality that the 'peace process' has failed and to stop keeping 22% of Israel's land mass and 10% of its population in limbo. Nineteen years is long enough. We cannot wait forever.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
