UNESCO chief blasts 'Palestinian' attempt to have Western Wall declared a Muslim holy site
As the 'Palestinians' decry Israel for supposed 'changes to the status quo' on the Temple Mount, they are attempting to create one of their own by orchestrating a UNESCO vote (you will recall that they are members of UNESCO - that's why the US hasn't paid dues in four years) declaring the Western Wall (pictured) to be an Islamic holy site. UNESCO director general Irina Bukova is not pleased, and blasted her own board today for bringing the matter to a vote.
“We all have responsibility to UNESCO’s mandate, to take decisions that
promote dialogue, tolerance and peace,” said Bokova. “This is especially
important for young people, who should be nurtured and educated for
peace.”
She issued her statement on Tuesday, in advance of
Wednesday’s highly publicized vote by UNESCO’s Executive Board in Paris
on a draft resolution, which “affirms that the Buraq Plaza [the Western
Wall] is an integral part of al-Aksa Mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif.”
A
statement put out by her office said that Bokova “appeals to the UNESCO
Executive Board to take decisions that do not further inflame tensions
on the ground and that encourage respect for the sanctity of the Holy
Sites.”
Her office added that the discussion “could be seen to
alter the status of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, inscribed
on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, and that could further incite
tensions.”
The “protection of culture heritage should not be taken hostage, as this undermines UNESCO’s mandate and efforts,” Bokova said.
She
has consulted with nations on the 58 member board to encourage them to
pursue constructive dialogue that promotes tolerance and mutual respect
such as outlined in the mandate of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Jerusalem is a city that is
holy for Jews, Christians and Muslim and it should be a place of
dialogue for all three faiths, she said.
Bokova called on “all
parties to ensure that cultural heritage, including religious, is
preserved and accessible to all and to resume dialogue in the spirit of
mutual understanding.”
The six-page draft resolution – submitted
by Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, and the United Arab
Emirates on behalf of the Palestinian Authority broadly condemns Israeli
actions in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.
At no point does
the resolution mention the Jewish historical connection to Jerusalem,
which dates back to biblical times. Nor does it reference the Temple
Mount or the Western Wall, which was part of the retaining wall King
Herod built for the Temple Mount more than 2,000 years ago. It also
relies solely on Arabic names for the holy sites on and around the
Temple Mount.
Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama Hacohen
called the resolution “a total Islamization” of a site that is revered
by both Jews and Muslims.
Funny that we have not heard equally vehement opposition to this resolution from US President Hussein Obama, Secretary of State Kerry, UN Ambassador Power or National Security Council Chief Rice.
I wonder why the self-proclaimed 'most pro-Israel administration evah' has not come out against this. /sarc
Rabbi Shmuely Boteach held a panel in a Senate office building on Monday, which featured Ted Cruz and Elie Wiesel. The panel addressed Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons and was intended to be bipartisan. Unfortunately, the Democrat who was supposed to be on the panel didn't show up.
The Cruz-Wiesel event was intended as a bipartisan dialogue. But Rep.
Brad Sherman, D-Calif., pulled out after the host, Rabbi Shmuley
Boteach, ran a full-page ad in The New York Times accusing White House
national security adviser Susan Rice of turning a blind eye to genocide.
The ad featured a photo of Rice looking away from a stack of human
skulls. Sherman called it vulgar, and Boteach opened the event by
apologizing, insisting his disagreements with Rice are strictly over
policy.
Because after all, what's more important: Stopping an Iranian nuclear weapon or defending what's left of Susan Rice's honor?
Where's Hillary? Netanyahu doesn't want you to ask
After the Sabbath started on Friday, the Emergency Committee for Israel, which is based in the United States, circulated this advertisement asking where Hillary Clinton is in the current controversy over a deal with Iran. If you watch the political talk shows on Sunday morning in the US, you are likely to see it.
Let's go to the videotape.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office condemned the ad, along with a full-page ad against Susan Rice that was placed in Saturday's New York Times by Rabbi Shmuely Boteach (ad below followed by story).
"We condemn these ads and oppose personal attacks of every kind,"
Netanyahu's office said, shortly before the prime minister's scheduled
flight to Washington where he was to address Congress this week. "We
have no connection to these ads and we believe that the discourse on the
Iranian issue must remain to the point."
Netanyahu is really trying to walk a tightrope here....
Obama backs down - sending Rice and Power to AIPAC
WASHINGTON (AP) — AP sources: Rice, Power to represent administration at #AIPAC conference in bid to cool #US-#Israel tensions
— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) February 26, 2015
Of course: Security Council to hold 'emergency session' over Israeli construction in Jerusalem
The massacre of hundreds of thousands of Syrians - first by Assad and then by Islamic State - doesn't merit a Security Council meeting. The massacre of thousands of Kurds by Islamic State doesn't merit one either. Nor does Iran's unwillingness to accept any limitations on its burgeoning nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles program. But 1,000 Jewish apartments in Jerusalem - that's something for the Security Council to call an 'emergency.'
The UN Security Council will hold an "emergency meeting" on Wednesday
to discuss Israeli plans to build more Jewish homes in Jerusalem,
diplomats said.
The "urgent" talks were requested by Jordan following a letter from
Palestinian Authority envoy Riyad Mansour who called on the 15-member
council to "address this crisis situation in occupied east Jerusalem."
The announcement follows harsh criticism by senior Israeli officials
of the negative international response to building projects for Jews in
Jerusalem.
Contrary to Mansour's statement, the building plans announced include
neighborhoods throughout Jerusalem, and not just in its eastern sector.
"East Jerusalem" is a euphemism for parts of the capital liberated from
Jordanian forces, when Jerusalem was reunited by Israeli forces after
the 1967 Six Day War.
If there were a Republican in power, the US would announce in advance an intention to veto any anti-Israel resolution, and that might even thwart the meeting in its tracks. But with Obama and Power, you know this is going to come down to the last minute, and Israel may be condemned or worse.
As many of you may have heard, Defense Minister Moshe (Boogie) Yaalon was denied meetings with Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice in Washington last week.
U.S. officials said the Obama
administration had rejected requests by Ya'alon for meetings with Vice
President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary
of State John Kerry during Ya'alon's five-day trip to the U.S. last
week.
While in the U.S., Ya'alon did meet with
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha
Power. The Obama administration had sought to stop Ya'alon from meeting
Power, but the objections were made too late to cancel the meeting,
according to U.S. officials.
The Obama administration is miffed with
Ya'alon over negative comments he has made about Kerry's efforts to
broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and the nuclear negotiations
being held between world powers and Iran.
But it's not that the administration is miffed with Yaalon's comments about Kerry. It's something far deeper than that. Yaalon is a straight shooter.
Secretary Kerry
recently said the lack of resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian issue is
leading to street anger and recruitment for the Islamic State. What is
your response?
Unfortunately, we find
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is dominated by too many
misconceptions. We don’t find any linkage between the uprising in
Tunisia, the revolution in Egypt, the sectarian conflict in Iraq and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mainly, these come from the Sunni-Shia
conflict, without any connection to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The
core of the conflict is their reluctance to recognize our right to
exist as a nation state of the Jewish people — whether it is
[Palestinian Authority President] Abu Mazen or his predecessor [Yasser]
Arafat. There are many who believe that just having some territorial
concessions will conclude it. But I don’t think this is right.
Will territorial concessions bring peace?
No, they would be another stage of the Palestinian conflict, as we experienced in the Gaza Strip.
We disengaged from the Gaza Strip to address their territorial
grievances. They went on attacking us. The conflict is about the
existence of the Jewish state and not about the creation of the
Palestinian one. Any territory that was delivered to them after Oslo
became a safe haven for terrorists.
Bearing that in
mind, to conclude that after the [recent] military operation in Gaza
this is a time for another withdrawal from Judea and Samaria [the West
Bank] is irrational. If we withdraw now from Judea and Samaria, we might
face another Hamastan.
...
Do you believe in a two-state solution?
You
can call it the new Palestinian empire. We don’t want to govern them,
but it is not going to be a regular state for many reasons.
What does that mean — the Palestinian empire?
Autonomy. It is going to be demilitarized.
In Gaza and the West Bank?
It
is up to them. According to the agreement, they should be
demilitarized. It is up to Abu Mazen if he is able or if he wants to
demilitarize Gaza. Otherwise, we are not going to talk about any final
settlement.
Is Abu Mazen the best Palestinian leader you’re going to get?
I don’t know, but he is not a partner for the two-state solution. He doesn’t recognize the existence of the Jewish state.
He says he is against violence.
Fine.
But this is a tactical consideration. He believes he might get more by
what he calls “political resistance” — going to the United Nations or to
international bodies to delegitimize us. He prefers it to violence
because in his experience, terror doesn’t pay off.
Is that why you said Secretary Kerry should just get a Nobel Prize and go home? Do you think the West just doesn’t get it?
I
spoke about misconceptions. It is a misunderstanding, without naming
anyone. It might be naivete or wishful thinking — ‘We the Westerners
know what is good for the Arabs.’ To believe that you can have
democratization with elections . . . it is collapsing in front of us.
And part of it is ignorance, yes.
Anyone want to count how many sacred cows Yaalon just slaughtered?
Maybe they're just trying to keep her away from the Benghazi hearings in Congress. Whether or not that's the reason, Susan Rice showed up in Israel today to try to persuade the Prime Minister that only a 'two-state solution' can bring 'peace' with the 'Palestinians.'
US National Security Adviser Susan Rice told Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu on Wednesday that the US remains convinced that lasting peace
with the Palestinians can only be achieved through talks that lead to
two states living side by side in peace and security.
Rice was in Israel along with other top American officials to brief
their chief regional ally on the progress of the negotiations with Iran
over its nuclear program.
The fourth round of talks with Iran, the US and other world powers begins next week in Vienna.
I sure hope she came to discuss Iran, because right now, talking about the 'Palestinians' is a waste of time. Defense Minister Moshe 'Boogie' Yaalon came up with another of his classic pronouncements that there is no partner for 'peace.'
"There is no partner on the other side. That is the reality. Our
soldiers are intelligent enough to understand the complex situation on
the field and to know how to deal with it. There's no immediate
solution. We can't delude ourselves," he stated.
"Palestinian political and economic interests are stronger than that," he said.
Most Israeli Jews agree with Yaalon. The monthly 'peace index' indicates that 68% of Israeli Jews want the talks frozen.
The monthly Peace Index poll found that 68% of Israeli Jews believe the
decision made by the security cabinet two weeks ago was appropriate,
while 27% disagree with the move.
When asked about US President Barack Obama's assessment that neither
Israeli nor Palestinian leaders showed the political will to make
difficult decisions to sustain negotiations, only 39% of Israeli Jews
said they agreed that both sides were equally responsible for the
negotiations' failure. The percentage disagreeing with Obama was 56%.
Fifty-eight
percent of Jewish Israeli respondents said the Hamas-Fatah
reconciliation agreement was dangerous. The same number said the unity
deal would not increase legitimacy for decisions made by the Palestinian
Authority.
Thirty-one percent said the unity deal was not dangerous and 34% said it would add legitimacy to the PA's decisions.
When
asked to cite which of the following should be the most important goal
for the government to promote today, 68% gave socioeconomic-related
responses. Forty-seven percent prioritized reducing socio-economic gaps
and 21% cited the creation of affordable housing solutions.
Only
ten percent chose strengthening Israel’s military power, nine percent
said improving Israel’s political status in the international community
and nine percent reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
Another great accomplishment for the Obama administration. But has Netanyahu learned his lesson yet?
Report: Obama's National Security Adviser refuses to meet with Israel's ambassador to the United States
The Obama administration claims to be the most pro-Israel administration ever. The facts belie that claim. Here's another one: Obama's National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, refuses to meet with Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer. Dermer has been in Washington for six months and has yet to meet with Rice.
Dermer, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has
been in Washington since October and presented his credentials to Obama
in December. Nonetheless, and in a departure from the practice of
previous national security advisers and previous Israeli envoys, Rice
has not met with him.
Dermer has been identified with Republican politics in the past. He
was a protégé of Republican pollster Frank Luntz and helped firm
Netanyahu’s ties to American Republicans. In the 2012 election, while
working for Netanyahu, he helped arrange Republican candidate Mitt
Romney’s campaign visit to Israel. According to the liberal-leaning The New Republic, Dermer "epitomized the Netanyahu government’s hostility to Barack Obama and his administration."
Israel Radio's diplomatic analyst, Chico Menashe, reported that prior
to naming him ambassador to Washington, Netanyahu's people checked with
the White House to ensure that Dermer's past affiliation would not pose
a problem. They were reportedly assured that it would not.
Dermer did meet in recent months with Rice's deputies.
This past weekend, Dermer addressed a Las Vegas meeting of the
Republican Jewish Coalition, a group funded by gambling billionaire
Sheldon Adelson.
Also taking part in the event were four Republican potential
presidential candidates, including former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
In response to a question whether Rice was boycotting Dermer,
officials in Washington said the ambassador had not asked for a meeting
with Rice.
It amazes me that they even had to check....
Maybe Dermer hasn't asked for a meeting because the protocol is that Rice is supposed to ask. Or maybe he doesn't want to ask and be told no.
Lazy Susan blasts Israel for not placing its trust in Kerry
Greetings from.... Here are some hints because you will all never believe where I am now. It's a bit more than a four-hour flight from Israel. There's snow on the runways, but it seems like it's just for show, because it's 32 Fahrenheit 0 Celsius outside. Oh yeah - and although it's broad daylight now in Israel, the sun doesn't rise here for nearly two hours. You all think about that....
US National Security Adviser Susan Rice has blasted Israel for not placing its trust in US Secretary of State and Assad buddy John FN Kerry.
In a series of posts on her Twitter accounts, Rice said, “Personal
attacks in Israel directed at Sec Kerry totally unfounded and
unacceptable.”
“John Kerry’s record of support for Israel’s security and prosperity
rock solid,” she wrote, adding, “POTUS and Sec Kerry remain committed to
negotiations that can secure Israeli and Palestinian futures.”
Her last tweet read, “U.S. Govt [sic] has been clear and consistent that we reject efforts to boycott or delegitimize Israel.”
Rice’s comments are the latest in a series of American replies to
Israeli officials who criticized Kerry for his threats at the Munich
Security Conference this weekend, and come just hours after State
Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters that Kerry was “frustrated” by suggestions that he’s anti-Israel.
Meanwhile, Martin Indyk will meet with 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen on Tuesday in Ramallah.
Let's sum it up this way: Friends don't orchestrate boycotts aimed at friends. John FN Kerry is no friend of Israel. And all the protests in the world from Washington won't make him one, let alone fool the people of Israel into thinking he is one. It's amateur hour in Washington.
US National Security Adviser Lazy Susan Rice piled onto US Secretary of State John FN Kerry's attack on Israeli 'settlements' on Thursday, reiterating that the United StatesObama administration considers them 'illegitimate.'
Echoing Palestinian complaints, National
Security Adviser and former US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice’s remarks
to a Washington think tank came a day after lead Palestinian negotiator
Saeb Erekat resigned for what he said was a lack of Israeli integrity, as ostensibly demonstrated by continued building activity in the West Bank.
“We have seen increased tensions on the
ground. Some of this is a result of recent settlement announcements. So
let me reiterate: The United States does not accept the legitimacy of
continued Israeli settlement activity,” Rice told the Middle East
Institute, echoing similar comments made by US Secretary of State John Kerry last week.
Calling Israeli 'settlements' 'illegitimate' isn't the first lie Lazy Susan told. Here are four videos of Lazy Susan lying about what happened in Benghazi 14 months ago.
Let's go to the videotapes (Hat Tip for all videos: Mike P).
Spontaneous? Hijacked? Substantial security presence? You mean the one that wasn't allowed near the consulate? Direct result of 'heinous and offensive video'? Really? Not anti-American? Outpouring of sympathy for Ambassador Stevens? As they were dragging him through the streets?
Let's go to the videotape.
There's the 'hateful video' again - the one that Rice knew was a lie by then.
Let's go to the videotape.
There's the 'spontaneous reaction to a video' story again, long after she knew that it was a lie. President ordered additional reinforcements to Tripoli? There's another lie.
And here's the 'spontaneous reaction to a video' lie again. Let's go to the videotape.
Is anyone aware of Rice ever having an independent thought? How did she ever write a PhD thesis?
Priorities: Obama and Rice want US to re-fund UNESCO
With the United States trillions of dollars in debt, President Obama and National Security Adviser Lazy Susan Rice have their priorities in order. The wrong order. They want Congress to re-fund UNESCO.
"Shameful that US has lost its vote at #UNESCO," Rice wrote on Twitter.
"Congress needs to fix this. Current law doesn't punish the
Palestinians; it handicaps the US."
...
Analysts have said that by losing its vote, the United States is
foregoing and important opportunity to exercise "soft power" - the
ability to exert international influence through other means than brute
force or money. That gap is likely to be filled by other emerging global
powers, such as China, they say.
"UNESCO directly advances US
interests in supporting girls' and women's education, facilitating
important scientific research, promoting tolerance, protecting and
preserving the world's natural and cultural heritage, supporting freedom
of the press, and much more," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki
said on Friday.
UNESCO also granted membership to an imaginary state called 'Palestine.' That action forced funding to be canceled under US law. And if that law is changed, 'Palestine' will likely be a full member of the General Assembly next week. That would really motivate the 'Palestinians' to negotiate in good faith, wouldn't it?
Obama tries to convince Jewish groups to disregard Israel's interests
On Tuesday, President Hussein Obama sent White House national security advisor Susan Rice, her deputies Ben
Rhodes and Tony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to meet with four Jewish organizations to convince them not to lobby Congress in favor of new sanctions against Iran.
The White House meeting witnessed forceful exchanges between the two sides on the merits of the sanctions package, sources tell The Jerusalem Post.
The afternoon meeting lasted over an hour and was characterized as a
"serious exchange" over strategy during this delicate diplomatic window.
One White House official called the meeting "constructive" and said no animus was expressed.
In
recent days a number of leading Jewish groups, including AIPAC, the
Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the Jewish Federations of North
America, have reiterated support for advancing through Congress new and
enhanced Iran sanctions, although the Obama administration has made
clear publicly that it would prefer Congress put off dealing with the legislation until after the next round of talks in mid-November.
If there were 'forceful exchanges' you can bet that J Street and 'Jewish' Voice for 'Peace' weren't there.
Kerry consulting with umbrella group for Muslim terrorism on 'peace process'
According to the group's web site, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US National Security Adviser Susan Rice consulted regarding the 'peace process' last week with representatives of the Islamic Society of North America.
The group expressed their optimism in this process and hope that with
further commitment from the Obama administration as the lead broker, as
well as willingness from Palestinian and Israeli authorities, these
talks will bear fruit.
Dr. Elsanousi expressed appreciation to
Secretary Kerry's for his hard work on this issue and encouraged the
officials to seek a mechanism to involve faith-based groups and other
under-represented constituencies in this process to ensure grassroots
support.
ISNA is a member of the National Inter-Religious
Initiative for Peace in the Middle East and continues to work with its
interfaith partners to support peace in the Middle East. Just last month
ISNA President Imam Mohamed Magid and ISNA National Director for
Interfaith & Community Alliances, Dr. Sayyid M. Syeed, sent a letter along
with 28 religious leaders to Secretary Kerry voicing “strong support
for his determined initiative for Israeli-Palestinian peace.”
ISNA
leaders also called on key members of Congress “to support Secretary
Kerry’s continuing urgent efforts for peace.” Religious leaders have
stood with ISNA in their support for resuming peace talks, noting that
“while these talks have yet to yield a blueprint for peace, they have
identified ideas for addressing key issues that must be resolved in a
manner acceptable to both sides.”
ISNA is funded by 'our friends the Saudis' and was established by the Muslim Students of North America along with 'Palestinian' Islamic Jihad founder Sami al-Arian. It controls anywhere from 50-80% of the mosques in North America.
ISNA focuses heavily on providing Wahhabi
theological indoctrination materials to a large percentage of
the mosques in North America. Many of these mosques were recently built
with Saudi money and are required, by their Saudi benefactors, to
strictly follow the dictates of Wahhabi imams -- an edict that affects
the tone and content of the sermons given in the mosques, the selection
of books and periodicals that may be read in mosque libraries or sold
in mosque bookshops, and the policies governing the exclusion or
suppression of dissenters from the congregations.
Through its affiliate, the North American Islamic Trust -- a Saudi government-backed organization created to fund Islamist enterprises in North America -- the Saudi-subsidized ISNA reportedly holds the mortgages on 50 to 80 percent of
all mosques in the U.S. and Canada. Thus the organization can freely
exercise ultimate authority over these houses of worship and their
teachings.
Writes Kaukab Siddique, the editor of New Trend,
an Islamic periodical of extremist views that is nonetheless opposed to
Wahhabi domination of American Islam: "ISNA controls most mosques in
America and thus also controls who will speak at every Friday prayer,
and which literature will be distributed there."
Islam scholar Stephen Schwartz describes ISNA as "one of the chief
conduits through which the radical Saudi form of Islam passes into the
United States." Adds Schwartz:
"Our view is that the number of mosques under Wahhabi control actually
totals at least 600 out of the official total of 1,200, while, as noted,
Shia community leaders endorse the figure of 80 percent Wahhabi
control. But we also offer a number of 4-6,000 mosques overall,
including small and diverse congregations of many kinds."
According to Sufi leader Sheikh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani’s testimony
before a State Department Open Forum on January 7, 1999, extremists
have taken over “more than 80 percent of the mosques in the United
States ... This means that the ideology of extremism has been spread to
80 percent of the Muslim population, mostly the youth and the new
generation.” Kabbani based his statement on his personal investigation
of 114 American mosques. “Ninety of them,” he said,
“were mostly exposed, and I say exposed, to extreme or radical
ideology, based on their speeches, books and board members.” This is
largely due to the efforts of ISNA.
Adds Emerson:
“I think ISNA has been an umbrella, also a promoter of groups that have
been involved in terrorism. I am not going to accuse the ISNA of being
directly involved in terrorism. I will say ISNA has sponsored
extremists, racists, people who call for Jihad against the United States.”
Just the kind of people you'd want involved in a 'peace process'....
Samantha Power had her confirmation hearing to be US Ambassador to the UN on Wednesday, and Anne Bayefsky reports that it went far better than Power deserved.
The actual record, notwithstanding, Susan Rice ended her term by
appearing before the cameras at U.N. Headquarters on June 25 and
reciting a list of Team Obama’s purported achievements. Among other
things, Rice claimed that she had saved American taxpayer dollars going
to the U.N. and had created new “transparency.”
Actually, in 2010 the Obama administration stopped reporting the
total U.S. contributions to the U.N. and has never produced this figure
since. Every indication is that the amount has gone up, not down.
So where does Samantha Power fit in this sorry state of affairs? In
general, Power will parrot the Obama/Rice mantra that it’s all about
issuing in “a new era of engagement to the United Nations.”
In fact, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic
Communications and Speechwriting, Ben Rhodes informs us that Power has
already been hard at work applying the “engagement” agenda. The
specifics reveal a troubling record on Israel, a subject which has
become a touchstone for her appointment.
Speaking to the Israeli paper Haaretz in June – as part of an evident
campaign to repair her pro-Israel credentials – Rhodes said: “Sam had
been the point person at the White House on all issues related to Israel
at the U.N.”
This is not a plus.
The U.N. Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s top human rights body,
might be described as Israel-delegitimization headquarters. But instead
of delegitimizing the delegitimizers, Power has urged the president to
do just the opposite and lend the prestige of the world’s leading
democracy to this human rights sham. Consistent with her advice, the
administration joined the Council and remains a member.
An unnamed “senior U.S. official” also told Haaretz: “Power
claimed…in discussions with the White House… that joining the Human
Rights Council would give the United States better tools to protect
Israel from discrimination…” and he continued: “It was manifestly
true…We were able to rally Europeans to stand with us against
anti-Israel resolutions…creating…a moral majority.”
With little going on in the world, Secretary of State Kerry spends some time on his yacht
It was really a quiet day on the international front on Wednesday, wasn't it? Time for US Secretary of State John FN Kerry to spend some time contemplating his navel on his yacht.
“Since his plane touched down in Washington at 4 am, Secretary Kerry
was working all day and on the phone dealing with the crisis in Egypt,”
Psaki said in a statement.
Kerry was absent from a White House photo showing President Obama
meeting with members of his national security team to discuss the
situation in Egypt, but Psaki said he had dialed in on a secure phone
line for that meeting.
“He participated in the White House meeting with the President by
secure phone and was and is in non-stop contact with foreign leaders,
and his senior team in Washington and Cairo.”
As of 10:21 p.m. ET, Oinounou has not run a retraction and has not removed his tweet.
Not only did Oinounou not remove his tweet - he stuck with the story.
For the record, the fact he was working on Egypt issues all day and also happens to be in Nantucket are not mutually exclusive.
— Mosheh Oinounou (@Mosheh) July 4, 2013
Twitchy then pointed to this tweet from Nantucket-based reporter Jason Graziadei, including video of Kerry's motorcade getting stuck in Nantucket traffic.
And how did Graziadei know it was Kerry? So glad you asked.
@jeneps@blakehounshell motorcade was larger than what the video showed due to traffic. State cop at the rotary told me it was Kerry
— Jason Graziadei (@JasonGraziadei) July 4, 2013
Maybe we should call this Kerry's Susan Rice moment?
"The Council's inaction on Syria is a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly," Rice chided the UN.
She also reasserted America's past and continued support for Israel.
"We've forcefully opposed unbalanced and biased actions against Israel
across the UN system, standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel on
principle - regardless of whether such actions were popular in these
halls."
...
"I particularly regret that the Security Council has failed to act
decisively while more than 90,000 Syrians have been killed and millions
more displaced," she said.
However while Rice was critical of the world's lack of action
regarding the Syrian crisis, she deflected blame from the United States.
"The
crucial issue of Syria, I think, is a stain on this body and something
that I will forever regret, even thought I don't believe that outcome is
a product of the action of the United States or its closest partners,"
Rice said.
Instead of slamming the Security Council - or seeking its approval - the Obama administration should have acted on Syria long before the opposition turned Islamist and it became harmful to do so.
There's a lot I don't like about Franklin Roosevelt that came out over the years with respect to his inaction on stopping the Holocaust, but I cannot imagine him - or any other American President before Obama - waiting for a Security Council approval before acting. What if Roosevelt had refused to act on the European front during World War II without the UN's approval (it would have been the League of Nations then) and Russia kept vetoing every attempt to approve any action. Would Roosevelt have stood by? (Churchill clearly would not have, but that's a separate issue).
The Security Council is what it is and it's unlikely to change. Obama is the President of the 'world's only superpower' and he doesn't need UN approval to do anything.
Admittedly, the blame for this goes back to George H.W. Bush ("Bush I" or "Bush the father"), who refused to act on Iraq's invasion of Kuwait until he got an 'international coalition' (the assembly of which became a holy grail) behind him.
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
