BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

by Gil Hoffman Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's nemesis, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, continued his recent shift to the Right on Monday when he visited the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. Shalom was received warmly in Hebron, where Netanyahu withdrew IDF forces from most of the city when he was prime minister in 1997. In what was interpreted as an attack on Netanyahu, Shalom said he believed the settlements around Hebron were a bloc that must permanently remain under Israeli control. He also criticized the government's handling of the ongoing Arab violence in Jerusalem. He said it was intolerable that even though the Temple Mount was under Israeli control, Israeli forces had to constantly work to protect Jews in the area. "I have gone up to the Temple Mount in the past, and Jews have a right to go there," Shalom told a large crowd at the Cave of the Patriarchs. "The events at the Temple Mount today must serve as a wake-up call for everyone. We are the soverei...

by Yoav Sivan I usually have no interest in trying to understand the political and spiritual leaders who excel in fanning the flames of hatred against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Their xenophobic language disgusts me and is not worthy of response, only of condemnation. Today, however, I would give a great deal to know what is going through the minds of, say, Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Eli Yishai and his colleagues in the Shas party leadership, who seem to compete with each other in raising the bar of homophobia and ignorance. Do they feel sorrow in their heart of hearts this week? Or is their denial so profound that they can completely ignore their role in fomenting an atmosphere of incitement toward the gay community? Have they learned the lesson? Apparently, at least in part. They vehemently condemned the criminal shooting Saturday night at the youth club of the Association of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgenders in Israel (the ...

by David Rothkopf Throughout the political campaign Barack Obama argued that he was a staunch friend of Israel. In Cairo, in his ground-breaking speech to the Islamic world, he asserted America was committed to the security of Israel. Wherever he goes he says he is committed to upholding America's long history of supporting the Jewish state. So how come a Jerusalem Post poll conducted late last month says only six percent of Israelis think the Obama administration is pro-Israel, down from almost five times that in the early weeks of the administration? This is such a low number that it clearly cuts across all parties, demographic and social groups within Israel. It effectively says that something that Obama has done in his first six months in office has convinced virtually all the Israeli people (at least to the extent the poll is truly representative of the people of Israel) that he's not what he said he was. Could it be that they believe the Obama Administration is likely to ...

By Timothy Collins Not surprisingly Benjamin Netanyahu's heavily qualified endorsement of the two-state solution prompted scorn and ridicule from Palestinian and Arab quarters. In Israel, many considered the prime minister's offer of a future Palestinian state a generous one. But to characterise Netanyahu's endorsement of Palestinian statehood in his address last Sunday at Bar-Ilan University as either farcical or magnanimous is to miss the historic significance of the moment. Granted, Netanyahu vetoed both a Palestinian military and Palestinian sovereignty over its airspace, staked Israel's claim to an 'undivided'Jerusalem as its capital, and demanded that Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state. But seen in the context of Likud's ideological evolution over the past several decades - and notwithstanding Netanyahu's unwarranted reiteration of his belief that the West Bank and Gaza are part the Jewish peoples ancestral homeland - the PM's de f...

Barack's pissing all over Bibi already, after Bibi's speech... this should come as a surprise to NO ONE! by Aaron Klein The Palestinian Authority has received signs from the U.S. that it should not take seriously Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent major address, according to a top PA official speaking to WorldNet Daily (WND). Nimer Hamad, senior political adviser to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, also said the PA is not concerned about Netanyahu's policies since Abbas relies on American support for key Palestinian demands. During Netanyahu's speech Sunday, the Israeli leader called for a demilitarized Palestinian state and said Jerusalem would always be united under Jewish sovereignty. Hamad countered: "No matter what is the position of the Israeli government and no matter what are the statements of Netanyahu, what counts is what was promised to us by Obama, which is totally the opposite [of Netanyahu's positions]." "We received encouraging ...

Obama insists Palestinians must have state, rejects Iran deadline Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu emerged from his first meeting with US President Barack Obama Monday confident that Israel has the right to defend itself from the threat of a nuclear Iran. Following four hours of talks with Obama, Netanyahu told Israeli reporters gathered across from the White House that there are no green, red or yellow lights from the US but rather a shared sense that Iran must not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapons capacity. Speaking side by side at the Oval Office earlier in the day, Obama stressed the importance the US places on Israeli security and its recognition of how the Jewish state perceives the threat from Teheran, even as he defended his policy of engagement. Obama rejected the notion of "artificial timelines" in negotiations with Iran, which he indicated he expected would begin in earnest after the Iranian election on June 12 and could subsequently expand to include direct...

This makes absolute sense. But of course, we won't have to wait long before some appeaser finds fault with this totally logical approach. If anyone who backs the PA would take a LOGICAL, clear look at Bibi's proposal - they'd see that it also shows these animals for the whining, terrorist antagonizers they are. WAY TO CALL IT, BIBI!! Israel's new PM says he will discuss a Palestinian state only if Palestinians recognise Israel as a Jewish state. Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking to US President Barack Obama's envoy to the Middle East about prospects for peace. Mr Netanyahu, of the right-wing Likud party, has not previously endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state. The envoy, George Mitchell, reiterated US support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, in talks with the Israeli president and foreign minister. But Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the diplomatic process was at a "dead end" and a new approach was needed. A senior official in Mr Net...

And they go crying to their enablers - the meaningless, anti-Israel U.N. Projection. Pure & simple. Spare us all!! Iran complains to UN about Israeli 'threats' Iran on Tuesday urged the United Nations to respond firmly to what it described as Israel's "unlawful and insolent threats" to launch an attack on Tehran's nuclear installations. Israeli officials, including President Shimon Peres, recently have suggested that Israel could use military force to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons, as the West suspects it is doing. Iran, the world's fourth largest oil producer, insists it is only interested in building reactors that peacefully generate electricity. The Islamic Republic's UN ambassador, in a letter to Mexican UN Ambassador Claude Heller, said Israel was violating the UN charter and urged the international body to respond clearly and resolutely. Mexico holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council. "These out...

By James Kirchick With Benjamin Netanyahu set to become Israel's prime minister, critics around the world are proclaiming the death of the peace process. And the fact that Avigdor Lieberman - who has called for all Israeli citizens (not just Arabs) to swear a loyalty oath and supports population transfers with the Palestinians - may become Israel's foreign minister has only exacerbated the fervor of these predictions. In this analysis, it is the incoming conservative government of Israel which poses a threat to regional stability, not Palestinian rejectionism or the machinations of Iran and Syria and their proxies Hamas and Hezbollah. The height of this thinking was apparent at Tuesday night's White House press conference, when Agence France-Presse reporter Stefan Collison asked President Obama, "How realistic do you think those hopes \[for Middle East peace\] are now, given the likelihood of a prime minister who is not fully signed up to a two-state solution and a for...

This was such great stuff I am reposting it here: from OyVaGoy!: by Chas Newkey-Burden This is an interesting video from 1978 of a 28-year-old Benjamin Netanyahu (then known as Benjamin Nitay because Netanyahu sounded too much like a native American name for U.S. circles) speaking during a televised debate in America. His words are prescient. He says that a Palestinian state would become a terrorist state that threatened Israel. Fast forward to the 21st century. Israel withdraws from Gaza, Hamas takeover and bombard southern Israel with rockets. As he says of the Palestinian aims: “What were are talking about here is not the attempt to build a state, but to destroy one.” (Looking good, Bibi!) IF YOU ARE ON AN AGGREGATOR, CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE GREAT ABOVE VIDEO SOURCE

U.S. furious over Israel's demolition of East Jerusalem homes By Barak Ravid and Natasha Mozgovaya The dispute between the United States and Israel over the razing of Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem is intensifying and will likely become the first clash between the Obama administration and the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. argues that the destruction of homes constitutes a violation of commitments made as part of the road map. Israel says this is a domestic issue of law enforcement and that the future status of Jerusalem is only to be discussed in the final status negotiations. "Apart from a dispute this issue will lead to nothing," a senior government official told Haaretz. U.S. attention to the demolitions began after the visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, catching Israel by surprise. Clinton was highly critical of Israel regarding the matter during her visit. She said that the demolitions of Palestinian homes in East Jerusa...

Peter Berkowitz 's essay in the latest issue of the Weekly Standard provides good insight into what I think is the strategic irresponsibility of those in Israel's leadership who think that they can hold steady on a course that justifies failure on an a Palestine-Israel deal using Hamas and Iran as excuses. As things look today, the Likud Party and its chief, Benjamin Netanyahu , look like they are about to be given a stronger hand in the coming elections. And Netanyahu is pro-settlement, and in my view the continued expansion of settlements is the most toxic activity that is undermining the negotiations process and actually, in the long term, will assure a deterioration in America's support for Israel. Berkowitz points out : The major difference between the candidates went unaddressed at Herzliya. It concerns the future of Israeli settlements, the towns and cities built and populated by Israel in the territories it gained control over in 1967 in the Six Day War. While he...

Even with primaries here in the U.S., we and Israel face the same challenge. Lack of real, clear leadership. I haven't said much about Olmert lately. Out of sheer disgust. He doesn't care about the people. He told Sderot he feels their pain. Bull. As my mantra to abuse victims goes - WATCH THEIR ACTIONS, NOT THEIR WORDS. Olmert is negligent, disrespectful and full of hubris. And he's got the cahjones to still be negotiating the division of Jerusalem! And the candidates on the horizon here in the U.S.? Well we have a Republican who acts like a Democrat, a Democrat who acts like a Republican and one guy who's so wet behind the ears and I can't believe the naivety and lemming like manner in which he's getting votes! Where are the leaders? Hello???? by Yonatan Yavin We face leadership crisis but can’t find anyone willing to step up to challenge This phenomenon probably has a sophisticated name in the world of business and start-ups. I am talking about that...