Middle East Analysis

Ami and Joe: two great men have left us

2011-07-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

Cross-posted on ZioNation and MidEastWeb.

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We mourn the passing of Joe Hochstein, who died this June 26, and of Ami Isseroff, who died only a few days later, on June 29.

Joe and Ami at Ami's place in 2009

Ami was the guy who set up MidEast Web in 2000 and Zionism and Israel Information Center in 2005, and their associated Yahoo news and discussion groups, and Joe has been a co-moderator for most of this time. The goal of MidEast Web was to bring Jews and Arabs together and to work on mutual understanding; the goal of Zionism and Israel Info Center was to defend the legitimacy of Israel and Zionism.

Both men were born in the United States and made aliyah, Ami in the 1960s and Joe in the 1980s. Both were firm believers in Israel and in the quest for peace in the Middle East, and came to pursue their dreams and to help make the country a better place.

Ami started out working on a kibbutz in the late 1960s to bring his socialist ideas into practice, but after a while became frustrated with the lack of intellectual challenge; after a day's hard work in the fields, his fellow kibbutzniks were not inclined to engage in discussions on socialist and Zionist ideals and the state of the world. So Ami went on to study psychology and achieved a doctorate, met his wife and started a family. He eventually got a job at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot as a very skilled computer programmer, and a nighttime career as an internet activist and a very illuminating thinker and productive writer on the web, inspiring many with his views on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Joe already had a career behind him as an established journalist and publisher of the award-winning Washington-based newspaper The Jewish Week, when, as a widower with three children, he came to Israel in 1983, realizing a long-held dream. Then Joe's son Marcus, who had made aliyah before him, was killed in an ambush by Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1985. Despite this, in a memorial ceremony in 1986 Joe expressed his and others' commitment to Israel: "Jewish history is being made today, here in Israel. Our loved ones played their role in it; we can give it further meaning."
Joe himself survived an Islamic Jihad suicide bombing in Tel Aviv in 1996.

In the 1990s, during the Oslo peace process, Ami became involved in Jewish-Arab dialog and peace activities. In 1998 he started the PEACE group together with Jordanian Ameen Hannoun, and soon they recruited dozens of participants.
Next to dialogue meetings, they started several projects on the rapidly expanding worldwide web, like the Peace Dialogue site and the PeaceWatch column; the latter was hosted on fellow peace activist Robert Rosenberg's Ariga website and was maintained by Ami until 2007.

In August 2000, initiator Yehoshua Zamir, Hope Flowers school founder Hussein Issa, Ami and many others launched MidEast Web for Coexistence, "an NGO for advancing education for coexistence and dialogue in the Middle East". Ami as webmaster filled the website almost singlehandedly with an impressive number of background articles, documents and insightful analyses about the Israeli-Arab conflict. His remarkable intellect, productivity and passion are evident throughout these pages.

In December 2000 they started the MEW Dialog Yahoo group, followed in January 2001 by the MEW News group and in October 2002 by the MEW Background group. In December 2002 they added the Middle East Web Log on MidEast Web. By then, Joseph Hochstein had joined the website and e-mail groups, bringing his knowledge, thoughtfulness and many years of experience as a publisher and editor to MidEast Web, mostly providing quiet advice in the background, pointing out important facts and viewpoints and setting straight historical errors.

Joseph Hochstein in 2008

When the hope for a solution to the conflict dwindled during the second intifada, many lost their faith in the MidEast Web project and drifted away. Ami, Joe and a handful of others remained active, but Ami recognized the dangers of the increasing international campaigns to delegitimize Israel and Zionism. In 2005, after helping to set up Zionism on the Web, he started another major website, Zionism and Israel Information Center, and new affiliated Yahoo groups to defend Zionism and Israel against these vicious attacks. He recruited us and later Joe Hochstein to aid in this effort.

On "ZIIC" Ami repeated his amazing MidEast Web work and wrote article after article about all aspects of Zionism and its history and meaning, making it one of the best and comprehensive websites on the subject. He started the ZioNation blog to provide his comments and invited others to join, and offered Ratna a separate blog in Dutch.

Although their characters were quite different, Joe and Ami highly respected each other's work and benefited from each other's knowledge and insights. They co-authored the blog Israel Like This As If for some years, where especially Joe placed stories about his everyday experiences living in Tel Aviv.

What was very special about both Ami and Joe is that they combined their Zionism and love for Israel with a progressive viewpoint and the quest for peace and understanding of the other side. Unlike many peace activists they, especially Ami, were staunch defenders of Israel and its right to exist and defend itself, but unlike many pro-Israel activists they never lost the will and hope to reach peace with the Palestinians and Arabs. Both men came from the political left and remained faithful to these basic views, Joe also being active for the Tel Aviv chapter of Meretz.

They also shared an eagerness to unravel the facts behind media reports and claims from both sides in the conflict. The truth was the basis for all positions, even if inconvenient for Israel, like what happened in Deir Yassin, which got Ami a lot of angry responses from other Zionists. They were not blind to Israel's own faults, but neither to the many faults of the Palestinian leadership, which was ultimately unwilling to really compromise for peace.

As for us personally, Joe and Ami were our first friends in Israel, and we visited them every time we were there in the last six years. MidEast Web, Zionism Israel Info Center and their news and discussion groups were what got us involved with the country and the conflict. They taught us much of what we know about Israel and the conflict.

As educated men they were interested in and well informed of a wide variety of subjects, from history to culture, from philosophy to nature. There was always plenty to talk about and to learn from them, and to enjoy. We remember Ami also for his humor, his and his wife Ruth's hospitality, and Joe for the dinners at his place or sharing a good falafel in the streets of Tel Aviv.

We will sorely miss them both, personally and as political allies and guides. Israel won't be the same without these friends.

Ami Isseroff in 2007

We express our sympathy with the families of both Joe and Ami for their very great loss. Ami reached the age of 65, and leaves behind a wife and three children. Joe reached the age of 77, and leaves behind two children and eight grandchildren.

Ratna & Wouter, the Netherlands

Ami's family has indicated that donations to commemorate Ami are welcome to any hospital in Israel. Rehovot's Kaplan Medical Center has an American Friends group and can be contacted at amuta_kp@clalit.org.il

The downside of Hamas-Fatah reconciliation

2011-05-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

The Hamas reaction to the death of Osama bin Laden almost says it all. Hamas condemned the US action and extolled this monster as a "holy warrior." This is actually a surprise since Hamas has not advocated global jihad and it has violently suppressed al Qaeda-linked groups in Gaza.

Although it has some potential to be for the good, I fear that this reconciliation agreement is not a step forward. On the bright side, it permits the possibility for Hamas to indirectly endorse a two-state solution with Israel, by acknowledging that the PLO remains authorized to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people (a holdover provision of the Oslo Accords) and implies that Hamas would not oppose peace with Israel if such an agreement were ratified in a referendum. But if Hamas continues to insist that all Palestinian exiles in their diaspora—or at least those designated as refugees—should vote in this referendum (not just Palestinians in the territories), any peace agreement would be that much harder to sell; this is because such an agreement would of necessity affirm a right to compensation but not a wholesale right of return to what is now Israel.

Moreover, one has to trust Hamas to be true to its word (a tall order), and for Hamas and Fatah to coexist peacefully—as they have not in the past. The issue all of us should address is whether Hamas will ever deal diplomatically and non-violently with Israel. If the Israeli government were wiser than it is, it would pose exactly this in response to the Fatah-Hamas agreement, rather than rejecting it outright. The prevailing international view is that Israel refuses to recognize and negotiate with Hamas, but the opposite is also true.

My thoughts return to the unfortunate results of the Palestinian election in January 2006. After Israel withdrew its soldiers and its 8,000 settlers from Gaza in the summer of 2005, the Bush administration decided to bring “democracy” to the Palestinians. It insisted on running a parliamentary election and allowing Hamas to participate.

None other than Yossi Beilin, a principle negotiator of Oslo, has pointed out that Hamas was not legally qualified to run without meeting the requirements of the Oslo agreements still in effect from the 1990s: primarily to renounce violence and accept Israel’s existence. Qualifying for elections in this way might have been a lever to get Hamas to change its spots, but the Bush State Department insisted on allowing Hamas to run as it was, cynically assuming that it would not win. Hamas won a plurality of votes with 44 percent to Fatah’s 42 percent and took power early in 2006. Hamas earned a golden opportunity to prove itself a responsible party that could advance legitimate Palestinian aspirations for independence and prosperity, yet it failed abysmally.

Soon after its election, Hamas declared a truce, but it was still allowing other factions to fire at Israel. Hamas even lauded as “resistance” two successful suicide bombings—one in Tel Aviv and another in Ashdod. A coalition of groups, including Hamas, captured Gilad Shalit while killing two other Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in June of 2006. As we know, things only went downhill from there.

So there's plenty of reason to be skeptical of this agreement, but the Netanyahu government's entirely predictable response also gives rise to skepticism. Netanyahu's statement to the Palestinian Authority that it's either peace with Israel or peace with Hamas, but that it can't have both, is a perfect excuse and dodge for not negotiating with the Palestinians. Israel can only lose in thereby attempting to maintain a status quo that is increasingly untenable.

The PA's apparent embrace of Hamas reflects its loss of faith in the possibility of negotiating a reasonable deal with Israel under its current leadership. This also fits hand in glove with the Palestinian threat to go to the United Nations General Assembly in September for international recognition of a Palestinian state. The only way for Israel to head off this strategy is to return to the kind of deal that Olmert attempted with Abbas back in 2008, a negotiating process that was aborted by Olmert's legal difficulties and the Gaza war of Dec. '08-Jan. '09. But we can't expect Netanyahu to do that.

Press Release: Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East Questions CMEP's Continuing Comments About Israeli/Palestinian Peace Proposals

2011-04-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East Questions CMEP's Continuing Comments About Israeli / Palestinian Peace Proposals

NEW YORK, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East questions a second statement appearing in the Churches for Middle East Peace ("CMEP") bulletin (April 8, 2011): "[the Israeli] government has not yet responded to the Palestinian proposals on final status issues, presented two years ago to U.S. Middle East Special Envoy George Mitchell." Again, what exactly were these proposals?

In 2009 George Mitchell held discussions with Palestinian and Israeli negotiators in an unsuccessful attempt at relaunching direct peace talks. Saeb Erekat reportedly gave Mitchell draft Palestinian Terms of Reference, which are assumptions on which negotiations would be based. There were also (unsubstantiated) reports that Israeli representatives were presented with current Palestinian positions on core issues. While both could have been useful if negotiations had begun, they were not peace proposals for Israel to respond to.

As Rev. Thomas A. Prinz, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Leesburg, Virginia and Fair Witness Executive Committee member points out, "One has to understand how the peace process works. Ideas and positions are routinely exchanged. But the only actual peace proposal put on the table in recent years came from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in late summer, 2008. Olmert offered a Palestinian state on 97 to 98% of the West Bank with safe passage to Gaza, 5,000 Palestinian refugees absorbed by Israel as a humanitarian gesture, a capital in East Jerusalem, Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty, Arab neighborhoods under Palestinian sovereignty and the Holy Basin under international control."

According to PM Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas never responded to his offer. The documents in the Palestine Papers (published last January by Al Jazeera) support Olmert's claim. There have been no peace proposals made by either side since.

Fr. James Loughran, S.A., Director of the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute and Fair Witness Executive Committee member, says, "We should never present inaccurate versions of the peace process. The role of the churches should be to help build an atmosphere of mutual trust that is the only hope for encouraging productive Israeli/Palestinian final status negotiations."

Please visit our website for access to a full report on the Palestine Papers and the 2008 Olmert Offer. http://www.christianfairwitness.com/writings/Palestine_Papers_Olmert_Offer.pdf

Iran leafs the wotld in executions; will (finally) be investigated by UN

2011-04-01T00:19:00.001-07:00

According to Amnesty Iran leads the way in the "worrying upsurge" in the number of executions in the Middle East and Asia,.The United Nations last week voted to appoint a special human rights envoy to monitor the situation in Iran. Amnesty International said Iran carried out 252 executions in 2010, compared with 18 in Libya.

"Iran, Libya and Yemen experienced a worrying upsurge in executions … and there are fears of mass executions in Libya as the (current) conflict there deepens," the watchdog group added.

U.N. backs human rights envoy for Iran
Published: March. 24, 2011 at 1:29 PM

UNITED NATIONS, March 24 (UPI) -- The U.N. human rights council voted Thursday to appoint a special investigator to monitor the human rights situation in Iran amid sweeping condemnation.
The European Union announced Monday it would "swiftly" introduce new measures targeting Iranian officials charged with human rights violations.
EU ministers expressed "deep concern" over the repression of the Iranian people and took note of the "dramatic increase" in the number of executions and "torture" in the country.

The human rights council backed the European resolution to "appoint a special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic republic of Iran."
The United Nations called on Iran to cooperate fully with the council and give the envoy access to the country to report on the human rights condition in Iran.
U.S. Ambassador Eileen Donahoe in a statement said Washington was "gravely concerned" about deteriorating human rights conditions in Iran.

"Since the latest report on the human rights situation in Iran to the General Assembly in Sept. 2010, the situation had worsened and the report documented imputation, flogging and acts of torture carried out by the government of the Islamic republic of Iran and death sentences of men and women by stoning," she said.

Mohammed Reza Sajjadi, the Iranian envoy, lashed out at Washington, criticizing its

role at the human rights council while at the same time supporting the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"The government of Iran had worked wholeheartedly to ensure the human rights of its people," he added.

The council backed the measure in a 22-to-7 vote with 14 abstentions.

Syrian Revolution News Round-up ملخص أحداث الثورة السورية

2011-03-30T12:31:00.001-07:00

Syrian Revolution News Round-up

Day 14: Tuesday, 29 March 2011

ملخص أحداث الثورة السورية

اليوم الثالث عشر: الثلاثاء ٢٩ آذار/مارس ٢٠١١

Déjà Vu Revisited!

Away from the farce of pro-regime demonstrations, and media attention, a revolution continues to unfold, as major Anti-Assad rallies took place in Lattakia, Deraa and Douma.

News of the pro-regime demonstrations dominated news today, alongside those of Assad's cabinet resignation. But the most important tidbit in this regard was the confusion over when Bashar Assad will choose to address the people and explain his reform initiative, if he has any. But in the parallel universes represented by the Province of Deraa and the City of Lattakia, and away from media attention, major protests continued to unfold. The Town of Douma on the periphery of Damascus also witnessed a major protest, with people shouting the by-now all too famous slogan "The People Want to Topple the Regime."

The day started as predicated mass pro-regime demonstrations organized in the usual fashion: forcing public sector employees, college students and army recruits doping their obligatory military service to take part or else. Private sector employees working for the various companies owned by Assad's cousin, Rami Makhlouf, among other relatives, partners and lackeys were also forced and/or cajoled to take part. Still, the results was less daunting than the usual million men marches that the regime used to be able to organize at the drop of a hat.

Be that as it may, as far as protesters are concerned, the show served to render meaningless a scheduled speech by Assad, seeing that by continuing to rely on such old tactics, he showed himself to be incapable of reform. For this, delaying was not of major substance for most protesters, albeit it did serve to fuel much rumors and speculations over potential dispute between Maher and Bashar as to how the current crisis can be bet handled.

All in all, spokesmen for the protesters in Arab and international media, including yours truly, were more interested in highlighting the following basic facts and observations:

1-That the protests managed to cause of fall of the government within less than two weeks.

2-That the pro-regime demonstrations were arranged to provide Bashar with a face-saving platform from which to announce his concessions.

3-That whatever concessions offered by Bashar will not go far enough as far the protesters are concerned, as they are unlikely to include Bashar's resignation and the handing of power to a transitional council.

4-That by orchestrating the usual farcical demonstrations, Bashar's reveals that could never be a reformer.

5-That more people are now likely to join the protests due to sense of humiliation that accompanied the pro-regime rallies.

6-That the revolution will continue and will engulf other cities and towns throughout Syria.

7-That the lack of violence during the pro-regime rallies is clear indication as to who is behind the violence that took place earlier, i.e. the regime itself.

8-That the violent slogans adopted by regime-supporters during the rallies, including "Don't worry Bashar, you have behind you men who will drink blood," is clear indication of where the threat of violence lies and who will be behind it.

9-That the revolution will continue irrespective of this development.

Meanwhile, Lattakia witnesses major protests in which participants called for toppling the regime. The protesters ended up gathering in Sleibeh Neighborhood, and when the army moved to besiege the protesters, they received them with joy and gave them water to quench their thirst. The people of Deraa had done the same hours before the massacred. Will the same take place ion Lattakia now? It's anyone's guess, but the situation remains tense, and the protesters are still camped in the streets. The death toll of the crackdown over the last few days has now risen to 25, with 20 bodied having been removed by the army from hospitals in order to prevent funerals. The protesters of Lattkia are encouraging colleagues in cities across Syria to emulate their example.

Deraa City and environs, too, witnessed mass protests, with protesters raising slogans against the official Syrian media accusing it of treason for not portraying the truths about developments in their province.

There was also a major demonstration of protests in Douma. The point was to show that even as staged pro-Assad rallies were taking place in Damascus, protesters were capable of holding their own demonstrations with respectable turnout as well. Too bad media was absent there as well.

بعيداً عن المسرحية الهزلية للمظاهرات المؤيدة للنظام والاهتمام الإعلامي بها، استمرت الثورة في الانتشار حيث قامت مظاهرات عديدة ضد الأسد في اللاذقية ودرعا ودوما

سيطرت المسيرات المؤيدة للنظام على وسائل الإعلام اليوم بالإضافة إلى استقالة الحكومة، لكن الأمر الذي دار حوله النقاش الأهم في هذا الصدد هو الارتباك حول الوقت الذي سيختار فيه الرئيس الأسد مخاطبة شعبه وشرح خطته الإصلاحية إن كانت لديه خطة. بالمقابل كان هناك عالم آخر أظهرته محافظات درعا واللاذقية وغيرها من الأماكن البعيدة عن الاهتمام الإعلامي والذي أكد استمرار انتشار المظاهرات. مدينة دوما في ريف دمشق شهدت أيضاً مظاهرة كبيرة كان بعض الناس فيها يرددون الشعار الأشهر حالياً: الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام

ابتدأ اليوم بمظاهرات متوقعة مؤيدة للنظام منظمة بالطريقة التقليدية بإجبار موظفي القطاع الحكومة وطلاب الجامعات والجنود النظاميين الذين تم تهديدهم. موظفي القطاع الخاص المملوك من قبل ابن خال الرئيس السوري، رامي مخلوف، أجبروا أيضا على المشاركة، ومع ذلك فإن المظاهرات لم تكن بتلك الضخامة المعتادة للمسيرات المليونية التي كان النظام ينظمها بلمح البصر

على الرغم من ذلك وبقدر ما أن المتظاهرين قلقون، فإن هذا العرض قد أضر بالخطاب الفارغ المجدول للرئيس الأسد، حيث أظهر أن اعتماده المستمر على نفس التقنيات القديمة يعني أن الرئيس الأسد نفسه هو عاجز عن أي إصلاح. لذلك فإن التأخير لم يكن أمراً هاماً بالنسبة لمعظم المتظاهرين وإن يكن قد غذى الشائعات والتوقعات عن نزاع محتمل بين بشار الأسد وأخيه ماهر حول كيفية التعامل مع الأزمة الحالية

على العموم، فإن الناطقين باسم المتظاهرين في الإعلام العربي والعالمي كانوا مهتمين بالتأكيد على الحقائق والمشاهدات التالية
أن المظاهرات نجحت في إسقاط الحكومة في أقل من أسبوعين
أن المظاهرات المؤيدة للنظام قد نُظِّمت لإعطاء الرئيس الأسد منبراً حافظاً للوجه يعطي من خلاله بعض التنازلات
أنه مهما كانت التنازلات التي سيقدمها بشار الأسد فإنها لن تفي بمتطلبات المتظاهرين، حيث أنه من غير المحتمل أن تتضمن استقالة بشار وتسليم السلطة إلى مجلس انتقالي
أنه بعزف نفس السمفونيات الهزلية المعتادة، يظهر بشار أنه لن يكون أبداً إصلاحياً
أن هناك جماعات اكثر من الناس مستعدين للانضمام للتظاهرات نتيجة الشعور بالإهانة التي سببتها مسيرات النظام
أن الثورة ستستمر وستغمر مدناً وقرىً أخرى في كل أنحاء سورية
أن عدم حصول أي عنف في المسيرات المؤيدة للنظام كان دليلاً واضحاً أن النظام نفسه كان هو وراء العنف الذي حصل سابقاً في المظارهات المناهضة له
أن شعارات العنف التي رددها مؤيدو النظام خلال المسيرات مثل (لا تقلق يا بشار، وراءك رجال يشربون الدم) يظهر تماماً أين يكمن تهديد العنف ومن سيكون وراءه
أن الثورة ستستمر بغض النظر عن هذه التطورات

في غضون ذلك، شهدت اللاذقية مظاهرات كبيرة دعا خلالها المتظاهرون لإسقاط النظام. انتهى المتظاهرون في منطقة بجوار الصليبة وعندما قدمت قوات الجيش لتطويقهم استقبلوهم بالبهجة وقدموا لهم الماء لإرواء عطشهم، الأمر نفسه الذي فعله أبناء درعا ساعات قليلة قبل حصول المجزرة، فهل سيحدث الأمر نفسه في اللاذقية؟ لا أحد يعلم بالضبط، لكن المشهد يبقى متوتراً ويبقى المتظاهرون معتصمين في الشوارع. عدد قتلى القمع في الأيام الأخيرة ارتفع إلى 25 مع احتفاظ الجيش بجثث عشرين منها منعاً من حدوث التشييع. متظاهرو اللاذقية يشجعون زملاءهم في بقية المدن السورية لتقليد مثالهم

مدينة درعا وضواحيها شهدت أيضاً مظاهرات رفعت شعارات ضد الإعلام الرسمي السوري متهمينه بالخيانة لعدم إظهار الحقائق حول التطورات في محافظتهم

كان هناك أيضاً مظاهرة كبيرة في مدينة دوما، كان الهدف منها إظهار أنه على الرغم من المسيرات المؤيدة للأسد في دمشق فإن المتظاهرين قادرون على تنظيم مظاهراتهم بعدد غير قلي& #1604; أيضاً. كان الإعلام غائباً هناك أيضا

From Social Media Networks

Deraa

Video shows the strike in Inkhel city and the support of Jasem city to them

Video of a protest in Daraa denouncing the current Syrian media and regime

New video of the brutal killing that took place in Daraa last Friday during the demonstrations - View discretion is advised

Video of a funeral/protest of a martyr in A'atman. Protesters insist on their demands for freedom

Video released today of the brutal killing that took place in Sanamain city last Friday during the demonstrations - View discretion is advised

Video of a big protest during a funeral of a Martyr in Alharak city chanting "A traitor whomever kills his people"

Video of Sanamain martyrs who were shot on Saturday and shows how young they were.

Video released today of the protest that took place in Daraa last Saturday, and shows protesters tearing down a big poster of Assad

Damascus Suburbs

Video released today of the protest that took place in Mua'adamya near Damascus showing the anger of the protesters

Lattakia

Pictures of the strike in Lattakia

Video posted today for a protest on last Monday showing the insistence on peaceful protest and the freedom for Syrians

The United States

A protest in Dallas, Texas supporting the Syrian Uprising

The United Kingdom

Video of a protest in Manchester last Saturday supporting the Syrian Uprising

Press Reports

Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper report of Abdulbary Atwan about the Syrian Revolution and how the Syrian regime used the Palestinians as a scapegoat.

Daily Telegraph report about the prevalence of Alshabiha (Assad thugs) in the Syrian cities.

Middle East newspaper report about the shooting on protesters and the mass arrests among them.

Al-Quds Al-Arabi report on refraction of the fear barrier in Syria.

Press reports on the resignation of the Syrian government and a prospective speech of Assad

International Organizations

Human Rights Watch report about Daraa Massacre that was done by the Syrian regime

TV Coverage

Al-Arabiya report shows that the family of Mohamed Radwan (the Egyptian detainee) denies spying charges related to its son

France 24 report for serious reforms in Syria

Al-Jazeera program on the Syrian Revolution as seen by Azmi Bishara: Video 1, V2, V3, V4

Aljazeera reporter's statement in Syria: The Syrian regime prevented them from covering the demonstrations in Syria.

BBC report on the Syrian revolution and its latest events

Alwatan TV interview with Shaikh Nabil Al-Awadi about the Syrian revolution.

Sheikh Adnan Alarour speech on the Syrian Revolution

Promotional Clips

Video by the youth of Syrian Revolution response to Bouthaina Shaaban

Video compares the obvious contradiction between what is happening on the ground and between the statements of the Syrian regime

New song of the Syrian Revolution entitled Break the restrictions and up-rise

Song of a martyr letter to his country

Ring-tones for Syrian revolt

من مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي

درعا

فيديو لإعتصام أهالي إنخل ودعم أهالي جاسم لهم وإصرارهم على الحرية

فيديو لمظاهرة درعا وتنديد بالإعلام السوري والنظام السوري

فيديو جديد لشهداء درعا الذيم سقطوا يوم الجمعة الماضية يوضح حجم العنف والوحشية التي تعرض لها هؤلاء الشهداء - المشهد يحتوي ; صور مؤثرة

فيديو لمظاهرة تشييع أحد شهداء الثورة السورية في عتمان وإصرار المتظاهرين على مطالبهم بالحرية

فيديو جديد لأحد شهداء الصنمين الذين سقطوا يوم الجمعة يظهر حجم الرصاص الذي تعرض له النظام - المشهد يحتوي صور مؤثرة

مظاهرة حاشدة في درعا في تشييع أحد شهداء مدينة الحراك وشعار: الي بيقتل شعبه خاين

فيديو نشر اليوم لشهداء مدينة الصنمين الذين قتلوا يوم السبت ويظهر صغر سنهم

فيديو نشر اليوم لمظاهرة درعا يوم السبت يظهر إسقاط المتظاهرين لصورة بشار الأسد

ريف دمشق

فيديو جديد لمظاهرة المعضمية في ريف دمشق وغضب المتظاهرين العارم

اللاذقية

صور حية لاعتصام اللاذقية

فيديو نشر اليوم لمظاهرة يوم الإثنين في اللاذقية والإصرار على سلمية التظاهرة وحرية الشعب السوري

الولايات المتحدة

مظاهرة في مدينة دالاس في ولاية تكساس الأمريكية دعما للثورة السورية

المملكة المتحدة

فيديو جديد عن رسالة المتظاهرين في مظاهرة مانشستر يوم السبت الماصي دعما للثورة السورية

تقارير صحفية

تقرير عبدالباري عطوان في صحيفة القدس العربي عن الثورة السورية واستخدام سورية للفلسطينين ككبش فداء

تقرير صحيفة الديلي تغراف البريطانية عن إنتشار الشبيحة في المدن السورية

تقرير جريدة الشرق الأوسط عن إطلاق نار على التجمعات واعتقالات واسعة في صفوف المتظاهرين

تقرير صحيفة القدس العربي عن انكسار حاجز الخوف في سورية

تقارير صحفية عن تقديم استقالة الحكومة السورية وخطاب مرتقب لبشار الأسد

منظمات دولية

تقرير منظمة حقوق الإنسان (هيومن رايتس وتش) عن أحداث درعا وقتل المتظاهرين من قبل النظام

تغطية تلفزيونية

تقرير قناة العربية يوضح أن عائلة المصري محمد رضوان تنفي تهم التجسس المنسوية إلى إبنها

تقرير قناة فرانس 24 عن جدية الإصلاحات في سورية

برنامج قناة الجزيرة عن الثورة السورية كما يراها عزمي بشارة: فيديو 1, فيديو 2, فيديو 3, فيديو 4

تصريح لمذيع الجزيرة بأن الحكومة السورية تمنعهم من تغطية المظاهرات السورية

تقرير قناة بي بي سي عن مجريات الثورة السورية وأخر متسجداتها

حديث للشيخ نبيل العوضي عن الثورة السورية في قناة الوطن

حديث الشيخ عدنان العرور وكلامه عن الثورة السورية

مقاطع دعائية

فيديو من تصميم شباب الثورة السورية ردا على تصريحات بثينة شعبان

فيديو يقارن التناقض الصارخ بين ما يجري على الأرض وبين تصريحات النظام السوري

أغنية جديدة للثورة السورية بعنوان اكسر القيود وانتفض

أغنية رسالة شهيد إلى موطنه

نغمات موبايل للثورة السورية

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Arab world ant-Semitism

2011-03-29T01:02:00.000-07:00

These two videos are pretty shocking and very educational.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8OiN0ddH2A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puMgQOKor9o

Massacre in Syria

2011-03-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

This is forwarded from an e-mail message:

Syrian Revolution News Round-up

http://www.icontact-archive.com/Bm8lHV2mhxCcOgrfaR4ODHJsQ4nyeAH1?w=3

Day 8 - Massacre in Daraa: Wednesday, 23 March 2011

The main focus of the uprising continues to be Daraa in Southern Syria. Assad regime seems to have made the decision to end the uprising in Daraa through the use of force. A full-scale attack was mounted at early dawn on Omari Mosque in downtown Daraa, which has become a gathering place for the protesters and a field hospital of sorts. Heavy gunfire and numerous casualties reported. Imams called from Minarets on people to come to the rescue. Power supply is down all over the city, and thousands of people have poured into the streets. Explosions also reported. Syrian security forces is the party responsible for the attack. Twitter-verse managed to provide immediate coverage resulting in prompt media reports and live interviews on Al-Arabiya TV.

The numbers of how many dead and injured are hard to confirm on account of the information blackout imposed by the regime. Most news agencies seem willing to report that 15 are confirmed dead, but activists on the ground report that the number is well beyond 150, as many of the wounded were in serious condition when they were removed from the streets by army vehicle and taken to unknown destinations. Sources confirm that they were not taken to any hospitals in Daraa or surrounding counties.

The massacre received wide international attention, with many media outlets reporting on it as it happened, due to buzz generated on Twitter and outreach efforts by exiled activists and human rights groups. Meanwhile, Syrian officials are mounting an extensive public relations campaign, as their spokesmen flood TV stations speaking as if they were members of the opposition, calling for reforms, admitting mistakes, saying the "President" intends to call for a major conference on political reform, all while raising all sorts of doubts about foreign agendas, infiltrators and suspicious happenings in Daraa. This is an old tactic and, despite the greater exposure by Syrians to different versions of the "truth" thanks to social media tools satellite channels, it can still be effective, among those too scared to act ad are in search of excuses and justifications for their behavior.

How effective this tactic will be demonstrated on coming Friday. Activists are calling for mass demonstrations to take place following the Noon prayers, the size of the crowds willing to respond will divulge much about the pace, course and nature of events in the days and weeks to come.

From Social Media Networks

Daraa

Video of the dead during the massacre.

Video of people dead in the streets.

Video show how Daraa is under heavy gunfire.

Video shows how protester ties a tourniquet around another's leg to stop the bleeding after being shot in Daraa.

Video shows martyrs in Daraa hospital. Security forces used anti-tanks bullets against peaceful protesters.

Video from Daraa hospital.

Video of early dawn raid at Omari Mosque.

Video shows how security forces are killing people in Daraa.

Video of Daraa martyrs.

Video of funeral processions.

Video of unarmed protesters shouting "Peaceful Peaceful" as security forces open fire.

Video shows how security forces attack and insult protesters.

Video shows security forces conduct arrests.

Video of gunfire in Daraa in the afternoon; a battlefield.

Video of Daraa inhabitants welcoming army units with chants of jubilation, thinking that the army was on their side, or in the hope of co-opting it.

Video shows how demonstrators in Daraa greeted the Syrian military.

Syrian soldier shot dead (3 bullets) by security forces for refusing to kill demonstrators.

After the funeral of Ibtissam Masalmeh (kid) in Daraa security forces fired live ammunition at mourners.

Eyewitness: Hundreds of injured in Daraa were treated in homes as security forces are kidnapping the injured from hospitals.

Tafas

Video showing the martyrs in Tafas town near Daraa.

Damascus

Video of a protest in front of the Palace of Justice in Damascus.

Video released today of Damascus protest last Friday 18.03.2011.

Syrian regime is planning a huge demonstration in support of Bashar Assad

Promo

Video has been circulating on social media sites urging Syrians to protest.

TV Coverage

Alarabiya report on the dawn massacre in Daraa.

Alarabiya talks to an eyewitness reporting on the massacre.

Alarabiya report on today's event and interview with Omari mosque Imam Ahmad Sayasne.

Alarabiya report on Daraa and interview with Haytham Manna.

BBC Arabic report on Daraa massacre.

France 24 interview with eyewitness on Daraa massacre.

France 24 TV interview with Haytham Manna on Daraa massacre at dawn.

BBC report on Daraa.

BBC interview with Syrian activist Haytham Manna on Daraa massacre.

BBC interview with Abdulrazak Eid and Abdulbari Atwan on Daraa massacre.

Alarabiya report: Syrian security forces kill civilians in Daraa.

Euronews report on massacre in Daraa.

CNN report on the uprising in Syria.

CNN interview with Wissam Tarif.

France 24 interview with Mountaha Atrash commenting on Daraa massacre.

Russia Today TV broadcasts images of Daraa massacre.

Aljazeera interview with Mouaz Khatib on the uprising in Syria.

Aljazeera English interview with Malik Abdeh.

Nile TV Interview with Thaer Nashef.

Report On The “Palestine Papers” And Ehud Olmert’s 2008 Peace Proposal

2011-03-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 17, 2011

Contact: www.christianfairwitness.com

(212) 870-2320

CHRISTIANS FOR FAIR WITNESS ON THE MIDDLE EAST PUBLISHES A REPORT ON THE "PALESTINE PAPERS" AND EHUD OLMERT'S 2008 PEACE PROPOSAL

Earlier this year Al Jazeera released the "Palestine Papers" -- nearly 1,700 files of documents authored by Palestinian negotiators and advisors, memorializing a decade of Israeli/Palestinian peace talks. Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East has carefully reviewed the Palestine Papers, including those documents concerning the comprehensive peace offer Israeli Prime Minister ("PM") Ehud Olmert made in 2008.

There has been a good deal of "hype" and sensationalism surrounding the media coverage of the Palestine Papers. Therefore, it is important for the public to read the documents for themselves when making any assessment of the course of the actual negotiations.

Some news reports and articles about the Palestine Papers have "fail[ed] to differentiate between official positions and explorations or polemical rhetoric during the course of negotiations . . ." as former chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat wrote in a recent article. In the words of Dr. Erekat, the "Palestine papers" have not revealed a single official agreement or document that offers concessions." (Id.) We agree.

In spite of claims by some commentators that there were "far reaching proposals" on each side, the Palestine Papers indicate that Palestinian Authority ("P.A.") President Mahmoud Abbas did not make a counter-offer to Olmert's "package offer" and so ultimately the possibility of a final status agreement in 2008 was allowed to die.

Please visit the front page of our website for access to the full report

www.christianfairwitness.com

Women's lib in Arab countries

2011-02-20T12:32:00.001-08:00

Is the Arab Middle East Really Ready for a True Revolution?

http://www.newsrealblog.com/2011/02/14/is-the-arab-middle-east-really-ready-for-a-true-revolution/

Posted By Phyllis Chesler On February 14, 2011 @ 8:00 am In Email,Feature,The Feminist Hawks' Nest | 4 Comments

Is the Arab Middle East really ready for a true revolution? A genuine uprising in the Muslim world which does not focus on the issue of women's rights is not much of an uprising and does not bode well for a true democracy, one defined by the rule of law, a constitutional system of checks and balances, a separation of mosque and state, freedom of religion, a free press, universal education, individual human rights and freedom.

Miraculously, amazingly, a Saudi woman or a number of Saudi women have just launched a new and fabulous Facebook page. They call it Saudi Women Revolution. It features a white smurf-like figure joyfully throwing off her chains and has links to the Saudi women's drive-in and to campaigns against child brides.

They are talking about arranging meetings in Jeddah and Riyadh.

Given what they know can happen to them: divorce, loss of custody, being honor murdered by their families, jail, torture (flogging), and murder (beheading, stoning), I must congratulate them for their awe-inspiring bravery. Alas, we do not have such brave women here.

I will also pray for their safety.

Please realize: The Kingdom is very severe, quite serious about repressing, oppressing, tormenting women. Yeseven those women who can shop-until-they-drop and who can afford the most expensive clothing, jewelry, furniture, and electronic entertainment; even those who are well educated; even those who are members of the royal family. All women are subject to the same laws. Women keep women in line psychologicallybut, in case that fails, the law takes over.

All Saudi women must be heavily, fully, face-and-body veiled, no matter how hot it is.

They must always be accompanied by a male escort if they leave home.

They cannot choose whom they wish to marry nor can they leave violent, polygamous, and philandering husbands.

They cannot leave the country without a male escort and without male family permission to travel.

They are forbidden to drive.

However, in 1990, Saudi women conducted a "drive-in" to protest the ban on women driving. I was privileged to know some of these magnificent women. Everyone was barred from foreign travel for one year. Those who had government jobs were fired. They were denounced from mosque pulpits by name as "immoral" women. According to one of the women, Fawzia al Bakr, "Wherever you work, you are labeled as a `driver' and you will never be promoted, no matter how good you are," she says.

The new Facebook page lists this drive-in as well as a petition to abolish child marriage. This is truly an example of great courage. Why?

All Saudi women live with the knowledge that even a Saudi royal princess is in no way exempt from these harsh laws. For example, in 1977, a Saudi princess dared to fall in love with a man of her own choosing. She tried to flee the Kingdom. She was caught. Her own grandfather sentenced her to be publicly shot in the head six times. Her fiancée was forced to watch her deathand he was then publicly beheaded. A gripping British documentary, "Death of a Princess," was made in 1980 about this tragedy.

All Saudi women know that in 2001, Dr. Hatoon Ajwad Al-Fassi, an assistant professor at King Saud University, was banned from teaching there. Her crime? As a historian, she has done research showing that women in the pre-Islamic and early Islamic period were actually freer than they are in Saudi Arabia today.

All Saudi women know that in 2002, terrified Saudi teenage girls were beaten back into a blazing Saudi schoolhouse because the religious police were furious that they had not had time to veil themselves properly as they fled; fifteen girls died.

All Saudi women know how savagely foreign female servants are mistreated; they are verbally and physically oppressed both by their female "employers" and sexually, by their male employers. Many are unpaid, some are murdered. There is very little redress for such crimes.

All Saudi women know what happened to a very high profile Saudi television "talking head." On April 4, 2004, prominent journalist Rania Al-Baz was beaten within an inch of her life by her husband and dumped outside a hospital. Her face was barely recognizable and she suffered 13 facial fractures because her husband had bashed her head repeatedly against the marble floor of their home. Breaking a national taboo against mentioning domestic violence in public, she permitted newspapers to print images of her injuries. The Saudi royal family offered her financial support, and the following month the first ever Saudi research on domestic violence was conducted by a Saudi university. Her husband was sentenced to six months in prison as well as a public flogging. He was released from prison after three months. She "forgave" him in order to get a divorce but she left the country and now lives in Paris. One assumes that Rania had to leave her children behind as hostages or as the property of their father.

All Saudi women know that in 2003, Wajeha Al-Huwaider, a prominent Saudi women's rights activist, was booted from her position as a journalist for two Saudi newspapers. Why? Al-Huwaider dared to criticize discrimination against women in Saudi Arabia. She leads the campaign to allow Saudi women the right to drive, and the Saudi secret police have detained her on multiple occasions for demonstrating on behalf of women's rights.

Ida Lichter has written an important book: Muslim Women Reformers: Inspiring Voices Against Oppression. She details twelve Saudi women reformers. I strongly suggest this book as a reference guide.

Saudi (and Iranian) feminists stir my imagination. They live as if they know that heroism is their only alternative.

President Obama, Secretary Clinton: Please offer your support to these unknown feminists. Do so nownot when it's too late. And, by the way, other Saudis have just announced the formation of a political party; true, it is merely a symbolic gesture since the Kingdom has no parliamentbut once again, show America in her best colors, and support this gesture as well.

Egypt's future

2011-02-13T09:38:00.001-08:00

The crystal ball is ver cloudy regarding Egypt.

Anyone who makes hard and fast predictions about the future of Egypt, much less the Middle East, will probably look foolish in a few weeks. It is equally unrealistic to prophecy doom and disaster and to prophecy a rosy and democratic future.

If the Egyptian revolt heralds a new democratic era, than of course it is a great event in the history of the Middle East, an event that will encourage peace and prosperity.

Those who seek to promote "stability" through dictatorships need to remember that despotisms usually end in revolutions and that in the long run, no situation in which most of the people are unhappy can be stable if they have a more promising model. Others should be aware that it is likely that in any country of the Middle East,, and especially in Egypt, most of the people will probably be desperately unhappy in any regime: The nationalists and modernizers will be unhappy under an Islamist regime, the Islamists will be unhappy under a nationalist or Westernized regime and most people will be desperately poor for the foreseeable future under any regime.

In the best case, Egypt and Tunisia will serve as examples for their neighbors in the Middle East, and we will, as Elliot Abrams predicted recently, see a chain of such popular revolts across the region. Al_Jazeera commentators see an "Arab Intifada." Such scenarios are unlikely.

The situation is fluid. It is easier to start a revolution than to know where it will end, and most of the "experts" have thus far been wrong about Egypt. At this moment Egypt is formally ruled by the army, a situation which has existed in fact since the Nasser coup. The army, as usual in such cases, promises reform and democratic elections. The promises may or may not be fulfilled. <

More at Scenarios for Egypt

Is Egrpt like Iran?

2011-02-13T01:18:00.001-08:00

The Iranian government and every radical group outide Egypt was us to believe that Egypt isundergoing anIslamic revolution, but that may not be the case. At least some Egyptians do not seem to think so. This article is from the Egyptian journal Al Ahram.

Egypt is not Iran

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1034/sc1801.htm

Far from bringing comfort to the Iranian leadership, Egypt's revolution is inspiring Iran's democratic opposition, writes Rasha Saad

Click to view caption

Popular and political forces in Egypt vehemently criticised statements made by Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei last week that described the Egyptian uprising as "Islamic" and linked it to the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

During his Friday prayer sermon, Khamenei was quoted as saying that "the riots in Tunisia and Egypt are a sign of the Islamic awakening in the world following the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran."

"After years of struggle, the Iranian people see that their voice is heard with strength in other regions in the Islamic world," Khamenei added.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit said Khamenei should be attentive to calls for freedom in Iran rather than "distracting the Iranian people's attention by hiding behind what is happening in Egypt."

The Egyptian foreign minister said that "Iran's critical moment has not yet come, but we will for watch that moment with great anticipation and interest."

Khamenei's statements caused uproar from Egyptian demonstrators in Tahrir Square, who protested against what they saw as Iranian interference in Egyptian affairs.

"Egypt will never be another Iran. We will never be ruled by a theological dictatorship as is the case in Iran," one of the protesters told a cheering crowd.

Leading demonstrators also said that they wanted to establish a democratic and not an Islamist Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood, one of Egypt's main opposition groups and accused by some Egyptian officials as having been behind the uprising, rejected Khamenei's statements.

The Brotherhood's website editor Khaled Hamza said that the uprising in Egypt was a revolution carried out by the Egyptian people and that it was not linked to Islamist tendencies.

Hamza said that the Egyptian protests were not part of an Islamist uprising, but instead were a mass protest against an unjust, autocratic regime. The protests included Egyptians from all walks of life and all religions and sects, he said.

Al-Azhar, the highest religious institution in the Sunni Muslim world, also said in a statement that it strongly condemned "Iran's policies, which rely on clerics issuing calls that are at odds with the principles of Islam and which blatantly violate the Quran and the prophetic traditions."

"Al-Azhar totally rejects any foreign intervention in Egyptian domestic affairs, as well as any instrumentalisation of the legitimate demands of the loyal young people of Egypt."

It warned against playing on people's religious faith in order to spread instability.

According to an Iranian source close to the country's diplomatic circles, Khamenei's statements revealed "a total misreading of the situation in Egypt."

The source told Al-Ahram Weekly in an interview that the statements were further proof that the Iranian leadership was "living in its own bubble, unaware of what is happening outside".

The source said that Iranians who have been following Egyptian affairs and former Iranian diplomats have been calling on the Iranian leadership to set up a centre for Egyptian studies, since there was little understanding of Egypt in Iran. However, these calls had not been answered.

The world as a whole has been taken by surprise over recent weeks, as millions of Egyptians have joined protests led by the country's young people in an uprising against the regime that has included Muslims and Copts and men and women from the upper, middle and lower classes.

No Islamist slogans have been in evidence during the protests, and no Islamist radicals have been seen as taking the lead, the source pointed out.

"On the contrary, the uprising might be the beginning of the end of Islamism in Egypt," the source said.

However, analysts have nevertheless expressed concerns that it is still too early to say how the uprising in Egypt could develop.

The 1979 Iranian Revolution could serve as a model for those wishing to hijack religion and use it in a political struggle, as did Ayatollah Khomeini and his supporters in Iran after 1979.

Ali Alfoneh, an Iran analyst and fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Weekly in an interview that the Iranian Revolution should serve as a warning to activists in the Middle East.

A broad political alliance had brought about the revolution against the Shah's regime in Iran, he said, but following this victory Khomeini and his followers had managed to exclude moderate and democratic elements from the new regime.

"This should teach pro-democracy activists in Egypt a lesson about what could happen the day after the victory of a revolution in Egypt. Will they get a democratic regime, or will they get something worse than the regime they have toppled?" Alfoneh asked.

He also said that the events that took place in Iran in 1979 had lessons for President Hosni Mubarak and the Egyptian armed forces.

The Shah had worked to modernise Iran, as presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser, Anwar El-Sadat and Hosni Mubarak had done, but he had denied the right to democratic participation to the Iranian public, leading to a radicalisation of the population.

The Shah had not begun to liberalise the regime until the crowds were in the streets demanding his ousting, and by this time the liberal reforms were seen as being concessions from a regime that had already collapsed, further emboldening the opposition.

"The lessons to Egyptian officials are clear: first, stabilise the situation, and then introduce real reforms designed to liberalise the political system," Alfoneh said.

Alfoneh said that the Egyptian army should learn from the experience of the Iranian armed forces that had cooperated with Khomeini. While Khomeini granted the leaders of the army amnesty before his seizure of power, he later had them arrested and shot after the victory of his faction in the revolution.

The leadership in Iran has long seen itself as being in the vanguard of the Middle East and an inspiration to the Arabs.

According to Iran analyst Karim Sadjadpour, an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the leadership in Iran has long believed that should the region's autocratic regimes fall they will be replaced by Islamist governments similar in nature to that in Iran.

"Right now they're struggling to spin the protests in Egypt accordingly," Sadjadpour said in an interview with the Weekly.

Sadjadpour said that some people romanticise Iran like some Latin Americans romanticised Castro's Cuba in the 1960s and 70s, or that some European intellectuals romanticised the Soviet Union in the mid- 20th century, seeing these as austere political orders that they were ready to applaud from afar but which they hardly wished upon themselves.

"If Egypt is able to make the transition to democratic government, it could dramatically alter the regional dynamics of the last three decades," he said.

"The dominant narrative would then no longer be Arabs being inspired by Iranian fundamentalism, but Iranians being inspired by Arab democracy. For this reason I think that the Iranian opposition is far more excited about events in Egypt than the Iranian regime."

According to some reports, the spin that the Iranian leadership has tried to put on events in Egypt is actually a reaction of fear, since many Iranians have likened the revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia to the revolts in Iran after the 2009 presidential elections.

Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist Iranian politician and leader of Iran's Green Movement, has likened the protests in Egypt and Tunisia to those in Iran in 2009 on his Website, declaring the Arab revolutions as a continuation of Iran's Green Movement.

"Undoubtedly, the starting point of what we are witnessing in the streets of Tunis, Sanaa, Cairo, Alexandria and Suez should be seen in the Iranian protests," he wrote.

Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, both former Iranian presidential candidates, have issued calls for a rally to take place in Tehran's Azadi Square, the site of mass protests by Iran's opposition movement after the disputed 2009 presidential elections.

Despite the fact that Iran's constitution allows for peaceful demonstrations, it is doubtful that the government of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will allow opposition protests, for fear of a re- eruption of the Green Movement in the country.

The American Churches and the Role of Fear in the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict

2011-02-08T03:09:00.000-08:00

CHRISTIANS FOR FAIR WITNESS ON THE MIDDLE EAST ARTICLE ON THE ROLE OF FEAR IN PERPETUATING THE ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT

Sixty three years after the founding of the State of Israel, forty four years after the beginning of the Israeli occupation, and eighteen years after the start of the hope-filled years of the Oslo Accords, Palestinians and Israelis find themselves still unable to come to a negotiated agreement. Locked in an on-going conflict which regularly spills into violence and bloodshed, we are led to ask, what is it that is keeping the Palestinians and Israelis from finding their way to a peaceful solution?

For sure, each side may have a different notion of what a "solution" should look like and each seems at times locked into their own formula for what the parties must be willing to give up. But this is the case at least initially in all conflicts, including those that ultimately prove to be resolvable. What then explains the failure to embrace what it appears both sides long for – a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians live and prosper side by side in peace and their children know war no more?

Perhaps it is, even more than a gap in the practical terms of an agreement on "core issues" such as borders, security arrangements, Jerusalem and refugees, the simple, human problem of fear. The fear that both Israelis and Palestinians face when they look at their own lives and then one another across the negotiating table.

How is this fear preventing a resolution of the conflict? And how can the American Churches act to alleviate this fear?

Please visit the front page of our website for a link to the full article:

www.christianfairwitness.com

Showdown in Egyot

2011-02-04T05:30:00.001-08:00

The Egyptian shodown can rnd in an army dictatorship or an Islamist dictatorship. Democracy is pobably not in th cards.It never has been in Egypt. What should "we" do? Nothing. We cannot influence evets now, unless we are Eqyptians. The best we can do is shut up. How will it end? Different "experts" have different opinions. See Revolution in Egypt for one attempt an analysis.

Anti-Mubarak protesters massing up in Cairo; defense chief seen at Tahrir Square

Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square, Cairo, on Friday in an attempt to drive out President Hosni Mubarak after a week and half of pro-democracy demonstrations. (AP) 1 of 3
By HAMZA HENDAWI | AP
Published: Feb 4, 2011 12:05 Updated: Feb 4, 2011 14:28

CAIRO: Protesters are pouring into Cairo's Tahrir Square with supplies of food and water in an attempt to drive out President Hosni Mubarak with a massive protest after a week and half of pro-democracy demonstrations.

State TV says Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi and senior army officials have visited the square, leading to speculations that a dialogue is under way.

The Obama administration says it is in talks with top Egyptian officials about the possibility of Mubarak immediately resigning and the formation of an interim government that could prepare the country for free and fair elections this year.

Soldiers are checking IDs and performing body searches at entrances to the square. Then human chains of protesters perform secondary searches. The atmosphere is relaxed.
Pro-Mubarak crowds that have attacked demonstrators and foreign journalists do not have a visible presence in or near the square Friday morning.

On Thursday, menacing gangs backing Mubarak attacked journalists and human rights activists as government opponents pushed supporters out of Cairo's main square. The new vice president, widely considered the first successor Mubarak has ever designated, fueled anti-foreign sentiment by going on state television and blaming outsiders for fomenting unrest.

The government has accused media outlets of being sympathetic to protesters who want the president to quit now rather than serve out his term, as he has vowed to do.

EU leaders urge dialogue

In Brussels, Belgium, European Union leaders called for a "national dialogue" between the government and opposition in Egypt amid escalating violent protests.

But they shied away on Friday from supporting the Obama administration's effort to persuade Mubarak to step down.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said it was essential that the government and people "move forward together." Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said it would be "gratuitous and arrogant" to call for Mubarak's resignation.

The European Union has had close relations with Cairo as part of its partnerships with Mediterranean nations. It has been criticized for being too timid in supporting pro-democracy demonstrations and for trailing behind the US in distancing itself from the regime.

Options

The creation of a military-backed caretaker government in Egypt is one of several ideas being discussed as anti-Mubarak protests escalate in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic talks that are continuing.

Among those options is a proposal for Mubarak to resign immediately and cede power to a transitional government run by Vice President Omar Suleiman.
White House and State Department spokesmen would not discuss details of the discussions US officials are having with the Egyptians.
"The president has said that now is the time to begin a peaceful, orderly and meaningful transition," said White House national security spokesman Tommy Vietor on Thursday night. "We have discussed with the Egyptians a variety of different ways to move that process forward."
Mubarak, 82, told ABC television in an interview that he was fed up and wants to resign. But he said he can't for fear the country would sink into chaos. He said he was very unhappy about the two days of clashes in Tahrir Square.
"I do not want to see Egyptians fighting each other," he was quoted as saying.
The violence that had been concentrated in Tahrir spread around the city of 18 million, with a new wave of arson and looting.
Soldiers, mainly protecting government buildings and important institutions, remained passive as they have since replacing police on the streets almost a week ago. Few uniformed police have been seen around the city in that time, and protesters allege some of them have stripped off their uniforms and mixed in with the gangs of marauding thugs.
"When there are demonstrations of this size, there will be foreigners who come and take advantage and they have an agenda to raise the energy of the protesters," Suleiman said on state television.
Pro-government mobs beat foreign journalists with sticks and fists Thursday. The Committee to Protect Journalists said 24 reporters were detained in 24 hours, including representatives of The Washington Post and The New York Times. Twenty-one journalists were assaulted, including two with Fox News.
One Greek journalist was stabbed in the leg with a screwdriver, and a photographer was punched in the face, his equipment smashed. The Arabic news network Al-Arabiya pleaded for the army to protect its offices and journalists, and Al-Jazeera said four of its correspondents were attacked. The BBC's foreign editor said security forces had seized the network's equipment in a hotel to stop it broadcasting.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs denounced reports of "systematic targeting" of journalists and the State Department described it as a "concerted campaign to intimidate." "I think we need to be clear that the world is watching the actions that are taking place right now in Egypt," Gibbs said.
Human rights activists were also targeted. Military police stormed the offices of an Egyptian rights group as activists were meeting and arrested at least 30, including two from the London-based Amnesty International, Amnesty spokesman Tom Mackey said. New York-based Human Rights Watch said one of its activists was also among those arrested.
Amnesty's secretary-general Salil Shetty demanded their immediate release saying they should be allowed "to monitor the human rights situation in Egypt at this crucial time without fear of harassment or detention." Mubarak's top ally, the United States, has pressed him to quickly transition to a democratic government but has said his earlier gestures, including forming a new government, were insufficient.
The crisis that began on Jan. 25 when protesters launched the biggest challenge ever to Mubarak's 30-year rule has grown perilous. The day after Mubarak went on television late Tuesday and refused to step down, thousands of his supporters attacked anti-government protesters in Tahrir Square, where they had held a peaceful vigil for days.
The Mubarak supporters started fierce battles with firebombs, machetes and chunks of pavement that lasted throughout the night and all day Thursday.
After nightfall, the fighting died down with protesters' hold on the square and nearby streets unbroken. Nearly 10,000 remained, some dancing and singing in victory as others — battered and bandaged — lay down exhausted to sleep or drank tea in the center of the rubble-strewn roundabout. Throughout the day, they gained in numbers and got supplies of food and medicine.
"Thank God, we managed to protect the whole area," said Abdul-Rahman, a taxi driver who was among thousands who stayed in the square through the night, hunkered down against the thousands besieging the entrances. "We prevented the pro-Mubarak people from storming the streets leading to the square." He refused to give his full name.
At least eight people have been killed and about 900 injured in the two days of fighting around Tahrir.
Many of the square's defenders had cotton padding and grubby bandages dangling from their faces, arms and legs.
Others had chunks of rock stuck to their hair and clumps of dust in their beards. Many had the trimmed beards of Muslim conservatives, a sign of the Muslim Brotherhood's role in the fight. The Brotherhood is the country's largest opposition group but secular groups have led the protests.
Under an onslaught of international condemnation for Wednesday's assault on protesters by pro-Mubarak rioters, the government offered more concessions to the protesters, but that did nothing to calm the fury.
The anti-Mubarak movement has vowed to intensify protests to force the president out by Friday. The Facebook page that started the protest movement said supporters should gather at noon Friday on all Egyptian squares "so that we can put the last nail in the regime's coffin, and declare the victory of the Jan. 25 revolution." Friday is the weekend in Egypt and millions attend prayers at noon in thousands of mosques across the city.
The top US military officer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, told Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central that he has spoken to his military counterparts in Egypt ahead of Friday's rallies and was reassured they have no intention of firing on their own people.

Mysterious disappearance
Last Friday, there were fierce clashes between protesters and police after prayers. The hated police largely disappeared from the streets of Cairo after the clashes for reasons that remain mysterious. Mubarak, his new vice president and prime minister all promised to get to the bottom of their disappearance.
The attorney-general indicated that the former interior minister, Habib el-Adly, who was in charge of the police force when they left the streets, is a suspect in the investigation. He ordered an asset freeze and travel ban against el-Adly and the former housing and tourism ministers, who were among the unpopular millionaire businessmen who dominated the government Mubarak dissolved early Saturday.
In the capital on Thursday, a new wave of looting and arson began, after easing since the weekend. A fire raged in a major supermarket outside Sheikh Zayed, a suburb of the capital, and looters ransacked the building. A residential building neighboring a 5-star hotel on the Nile River corniche burned blocks away from Tahrir. Other fires erupted in the Cairo district of Shubra, north of the center, security officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The military and the security forces appeared to be doing little to stop the looting or the Tahrir clashes. In the interview, Suleiman said without elaborating that the police had "lost some of its capabilities" and that the army was struggling to fill the void.
Protesters accuse the regime and the ruling party of organizing a force of paid thugs and police in civilian clothes to attack them Wednesday afternoon, sparking the violence that raged until Thursday night.
The prime minister apologized for Wednesday's assault and acknowledged it may have been organized, though he said he didn't know by whom. Suleiman promised that Mubarak's son Gamal would not run in presidential elections in September.
Before the protests, Mubarak was widely expected to try to pass his power to his son in a hereditary succession, despite significant public opposition.
Suleiman also offered to hold negotiations on the country's future even with the regime's biggest domestic enemy, the Muslim Brotherhood. But he also accused the Brotherhood of inciting the violence.
Mubarak's regime has long rejected any talks with the Brotherhood, which calls for an Islamic state in Egypt, and has arrested thousands of its members in the past. The Brotherhood is among the many disparate anti-Mubarak groups organizing the protests, though secular activists have so far dominated the movement. All have rejected any dialogue with the government before Mubarak steps down.
During Thursday's fighting, bands of Mubarak supporters moved through side streets around Tahrir, trading volleys of stone-throwing with the protesters and attacking cars to stop supplies from reaching the protest camp. One band stopped a car, ripped open the trunk and found boxes of juice, water and food, which they took before forcing the driver to flee.
An exodus of foreigners, meanwhile, continued for another day Thursday with the UN evacuating much of its staff.
The vice president said 1 million foreign tourists have fled the country, costing $1 billion in lost revenues from one of Egypt's most important industries

Prophetic Copt letter to President Obama

2011-01-04T13:10:00.000-08:00

This letter states:

"To put it bluntly, I fear that something very bad is going to happen to this community in the very near future."

A few days after the letter was written, there was a massacre of Copts in Egypt. Please do your best to make certain Americans and others are aware of the plight of Copts.

Egypt get ver generous American military aid.

The letter seems to indicate that the violence against Copts was not a totally uncontrolled and unforeseen phenomenon. It was part os a carefully orchestrated campaign

Ami Isseroff

Friday, December 24, 2010

Letter from a Coptic Christian

Mike, a Coptic Christian who has immigrated to the United States, has asked Restrain the Blade to publish this letter to President Barack Obama. Out of concern for his safety, only the author's first name is made public.

President Barack Obama
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington D.C.

Dear President Obama,

I am writing to you as Coptic Christian who immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s.

I am an American citizen.

I have grave concerns about what is going in Egypt regarding the Copts.

To put it bluntly, I fear that something very bad is going to happen to this community in the very near future.

Coptic Christians have been the victims of systematic abuse and oppression in Egypt for a long time. On November 17, 2010, the U.S. Department of State recently issued a report on religious freedom in Egypt that details the abuses they suffer on a daily basis. January of this year, six Coptic Christians were murdered outside their church after celebrating Christmas.

Sadly, I fear another attack will happen again sometime in the near future.

The tendency of blaming the State of Israel for every problem in Egypt, and linking it to the Copts, is on the rise, especially in the past a few months. By associating the Copts with the Jewish state, extremists and government officials are inciting hostility toward a beleaguered, defenseless minority.

The anti-Israel polemic is fairly well known. One official accused recent shark and jellyfish for attacks on swimmers at Sharm el-Sheikh on the Mossad. The alleged goal was to kill the tourism season.

What is less well known is that Muslim Imams throughout the Middle East are demonizing Coptic Christians in Egypt. One oft-repeated claim is that Israel is using Coptic churches to store all kinds of weapons to attack Muslims. Such accusations lead to threats of violence.

For example, Sheik Wagdi Ghoneim recently said in a video message from the State of Qatar "I swear by God, you will not have time stay alive until America and the West arrive, this is for your own good, if you understand. Do you think the Muslims inside Egypt will say thank you and may Allah give you health? "No, by God."

And on September 16, 2010 Mr., Muhammad Salim Al-Awa, Secretary-General of the International Union of Muslim Scholars announced on Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar): Copts Amass Weapons in Egyptian Churches and Are "Preparing for War against the Muslims".

Copts are even being blamed for the violence perpetrated against them by Muslim extremists in Egypt. For example, after a mob of 5,000 Egyptians recently attacked a Christian service building, President's Mubarak former assistant, Dr. Mustafa El- Feki from Ain Shams University stated that Israel and the Copts were at fault for the attack and the two deaths that resulted from it. Dr. El Feki stated that Israel was behind the subsequent protests: ""It is almost certain that the Mossad is involved in these events. The State is dealing with dangerous events that could not have succeeded without external intervention with Israel at its head."

Here, it is important to note why the mob attacked the building in the first place. While the Egyptian government does not allow Christians to build churches, it does allow them to build "service buildings" where social services can be provided to the elderly and to young people in the Coptic Christian community. The mob attacked this service building after hearing rumors that the building itself was going to be used as a church and not merely to provide social services to its members.

Mr. President, in light of numerous acts of incitement and previous acts of violence, I fear that Coptic Christians in Egypt are going to have a very tough Christmas season. I implore you to use your good offices to insist that the Egyptian government protect the rights of its Christian citizens.

For reasons of my own safety, I can only sign my first name, but nevertheless, I offer wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I ask that you use your influence to make sure Christians in Egypt can celebrate their holidays in safety.

Michael
Dec. 24, 2010

Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East Strongly Criticizes Rabbinical Ruling in Israel

2010-12-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East Strongly Criticizes

Rabbinical Ruling in Israel

Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East strongly criticizes a recent ruling issued by dozens of Israeli Orthodox rabbis against selling or renting property to non-Jews and praises the Israeli government for joining in that criticism.

"In a moment in history when we are all hoping that peace is finally coming to the Israelis and Palestinians, this sort of racist commentary is most unfortunate," according to Msgr. Dennis L. Mikulanis, STD, Vicar for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego and Fair Witness Executive Committee member.

"We were therefore deeply heartened by the immediate and overwhelming outcry from so many sectors of Israeli society," said Rev. Dr. Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, also a member of the Executive Committee of Fair Witness. "Not only the expected Israeli civil rights groups are outraged. PM Benjamin Netanyahu himself blasted the ruling, making it clear that it was inconsistent with democratic values and contrary to Israeli policy. Israeli Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman called on the attorney general to launch an investigation into incitement to racism and the attorney general's office is indeed looking into possible criminal charges. Other rabbis have joined in the protest. The President of Tzohar, an organization of Orthodox rabbis in Israel, made clear that discrimination had no place in the Jewish state. Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the top rabbinic authority for many ultra-Orthodox Jews, also weighed in against it."

"Thankfully this rabbinic ruling is not the law in Israel, and we would like to believe that its disturbing intolerance is not reflective even of the wider ultra Orthodox community," said Rev. Dr. Peter A. Pettit, Director of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Understanding at Muhlenberg College and Fair Witness member. "We are equally mindful of the fact that a combination of laws in the Palestinian legal system make it unlawful to sell property to Jews, with a possible penalty of death for violations. Particularly at this point in history, both Israeli and Palestinian political leaders must take strong and courageous steps to lessen the level of fear generated by any such expressions of racism or intolerance among their people."

Hanukkah: The pride & the pity

2010-12-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

The traditional Hanukkah story is a source of pride for the Jewish people. We are taught that a small army of freedom fighters, the Maccabees, led by the heroic priestly family of Mattathias and his seven sons, successfully resisted the cruel pagan tyranny of the ancient Greco-Syrian Seleucid dynasty. This is not untrue, but it's only part of the story.

We are usually not taught the far more complex reality that the Maccabean war of liberation was also a civil war between rural “fundamentalist” religious adherents of the old order and the more educated and cosmopolitan Hellenized Jews of the city, who voluntarily and eagerly embraced the Greek culture of the Syrian empire. The Maccabees surely killed many of these “liberal” Jews in their struggle.

It is ironic that the Hasmonean family— the Maccabees’ ruling dynasty— within one generation of their victory for Jewish values over Hellenism, was taking Greek names, speaking Greek and transforming Judea into a Jewish Hellenistic kingdom. These rulers alienated the masses of the Jewish people by extreme acts of cruelty and debauchery. Their military prowess ultimately undermined their rule, as conquered peoples were converted to Judaism by the sword; Herod emerged from one such Judaized people to marry his way into the Hasmonean clan and murder them into extinction. Herod’s disastrously bloody reign led to Judea’s disintegration as an independent state and its domination by Rome.

Nevertheless, the Maccabees were brave and valiant warriors who did in fact win great victories over a powerful and authoritarian foreign enemy. But to take this snapshot in time as the whole picture is to accept a one-dimensional myth. For some of the reasons mentioned, Rabbinic Judaism accorded Hanukkah a minor religious status. (For example, although obligated to light the Menorah for eight nights, there is no requirement for religious Jews to refrain from work.)

When considered within its historic context of bloody Jewish civil wars and despotic rule, both embedded within the Hanukkah story and in the eventual downfall of Judea within its wake, Hanukkah provides a cautionary tale. Fifteen years after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, we should be warned against the dangers of fratricidal hatred, of demonizing our political foes, and of failing to understand the need at times for compromise and accommodation. Enjoy the holiday, but please make note of this history.

Glenn Beck, Soros & political paranoia

2010-11-30T07:49:00.001-08:00

For such a small minority, it is amazing that Jews figure prominently on all sides of great economic and political debates. We've got Murray Rothbard and Ludwig von Misses on the laissez-faire right; we've got Jewish neocons; we've got Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernancke at the Federal Reserve; and Bob Rubin and Larry Summers left over from the Clinton administration--with Robert Reich, also a Clinton alum, on their left flank. Then of course, we've got the old-line Jewish banking families, like Rothschild, Lehman, Goldman, Schiff, Warburg, Loeb and a few others. Not to mention the Jewish commies like Trotsky, Luxembourg (and Marx, of course, at least at his birth).

Since these Jews are of all colors (politically speaking), shouldn't this refute Jewish conspiracy theorists? Instead, it likely reinforces antisemitic notions of Jews as all-powerful. And antisemitic tropes are again seeping into anti-Federal Reserve and anti-Wall Street attitudes.

Glenn Beck's analysis is quite nutty and inadvertently borders on antisemitism (I believe it's inadvertent). His attacks on the "demonic" influence of George Soros are truly idiotic, and his notion that this boyhood survivor of the Holocaust worked with the Nazis is outrageous. For one thing, Jewish collaborators were virtually all eventually murdered anyway (it was just a matter of when for the Nazis). For another, what on earth could a mere boy do for them anyway?

Haaretz columnist Carlo Strenger has just posted a new piece on the Huffington Post that addresses right-wing populist conspiratorial thinking. While focusing upon Beck's obsession with Soros, Strenger also touches upon other international manifestations, including Avigdor Lieberman in Israel.

The "Rogue Israel" debate that should never have taken place

2010-11-07T05:49:00.000-08:00

This is sort of cross-posted or rather excerpted and adapted from Israel News. I know others wrote about Gabriel Latner and the "Israel is a rogue state" debate, but I think they missed the main point, didn't they? The fact that the question was put to a debate at all, and came close to being accepted, is prett frightning

The rogue debate about Israel

The bad news about 19 year old Gabriel Latner is that he is not a gentleman. It seems he didn't play fair in a debate about the proposition "Israel is a rogue state" held by the Cambridge University Cambridge Union in the UK. The proposition itself is ungentlemanly of course. It rather like holding a debate on "How often do you beat your wife?"

Gabriel Latner argued against the proposition, even though he had enlisted as a supporter. Supposedly that is not what got him barred from the Cambridge Union. He is reported to have told his opponent Lauren Booth, "I am going to nail you to the fucking wall up there." After the debate, he refused to apologize to her. If he really did all that, then he is no gentleman, of course. Booth is Tony Blair's sister-in-law, a convert to Islam, a journalist and avid supporter of Hamas. We should always treat bigots and advocates of genocide with courtesy.

Part of the good news is that the proposition was defeated, a rarity in UK academia. YNET reported the event. The win was probably due to the skill of the pro-Israel team and not to Latner's efforts. In the UK, a proposition that Israel is a rogue state is a close call that requires the best British brains to examine whether Israel is better or worse than Iran under Ahmadinejad for example, or Sudan or Libya. The proposition was only defeated narrowly, 53 to 47%, by reports.

Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss reflexively attacked Latner as a "neoconservative," par for the course, and tried to blame the win on Latner's tactics. His headline read, "Cambridge debate on Israel is undermined by wily neocon (is that redundant?)." It never occurred to Philip Weiss that the proposition "Israel is a rogue state" ought to be defeated in any debate not held in a closed ward. In a reasonable world, respectable academics would not even raise the question, and people like Booth would not be invited to debate it. Perhaps Latner's tactics helped, or maybe they hurt.

Israel bashers are not known for telling the truth, Latner did not necessarily win the debate for the pro-Israel side, and he is not a neo-conservative.

Another bit of good news is that Phillip Weiss fell into his own trap. So sure was he that Latner must fit the Weiss stereotype of the religious fanatic conservative warmonger Zionist, that he invited him to an email debate and, after mauling them as best he could by removing paragraphing and probably by selective quotes, Weiss actually published the answers and the text of Latner's remarks at the debate. Next step for Weiss is to get Latner drunk in a bar and then film his answers to touchy questions about Israel. Not very gentlemanly, but that is the sort of thing Mondoweiss does.

Despite Weiss's probable mauling of Latner's words and obvious cheap journalistic tricks, Latner came through rather well.

Latner is a 19 year old Canadian agnostic with a life long attachment to Israel and Zionism. He is precisely the sort of young Jewish academic Zionist that Philip Weiss, Mondoweiss and the Israel basher lobby claim does not exist. Zionists, by the received Gospel according to Mondoweiss and company, are all superannuated religious fanatic and conservatives.

Here is Latner in his own words, as reported by Mondoweiss:

"I am not a neocon. I have absolutely no patience for any ideology that promotes the use of military force in any situation where the preservation of human life does not demand it."

Weiss's comment on this is worthy of the prosecution in a Nazi trial of a Jew:

Latner's defense is like someone who volunteered for Heidi Fleiss saying that they believe in abstinence.

A Zionist must be guilty by definition, no matter what he says. Heidi Fleiss is a well-known madam. What does that make Weiss?

Weiss also obsessed about the fact that Latner was a volunteer with Sar-El, an organization which supports the IDF. The IDF has to be bad, right?? It defends Israel. Weiss has no problem, presumably, with Booth's support of the genocidal Hamas terrorists. We can be sure they are not Zionist, and Booth is not a Zionist, right? Nobody went into the minutiae of Weiss's past and his various public positions, in the way that he questioned Latner, but I bet that would make interesting reading. It would probably be irrelevant. That sort of argument is called ad hominem. It is dirty pool. Not gentlemanly.

Here is why Latner supports Israel, in his own words:

As for my attachment to Zionism, that's harder to answer. I'm not sure how 'attached' a person can be to an ideology (I'm not being sophistic here, I'm just not very good at philosophy). I did go to a non-sectarian Jewish school for three years. I was dubbed an 'apikoros' by the staff. [free-thinker] I was raised by fairly secular Jewish parents in Reconstructionist Judaism. I'd consider myself 'Jewish' as a matter of culture and heritage…

My personal beliefs on 'Zionism' are fairly simple: I believe Israel has a right to exist, and to secure itself. I believe the Palestinians, Tibetans, Taiwanese, Kurds, and every other stateless population has the right to a homeland. I think that the last 150 years of conflict in the Middle East (let alone the last four or five millennia) is far too complicated for anyone but a scholar to understand. I think there is enough blame to go around. Israel is wrong when it permits settlements to be built. I think it made a mistake when it kept the Gaza Strip after '67. I was happy when Israel pulled out of the occupied territories. Then again, I am constantly afraid for my friends in family living there. Israel does face a serious threat. But I think every time Israel overreacts, new extremists are born. So yes, I could be considered a 'Zionist', but I think that term has been hijacked to a degree. I'm pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, and pro-Peace.

Latner let down the side here (maybe he did not, what did Weiss hide in the ellipses??). But he can't duck the accusation: He is a Zionist. Guilty as charged.

Weiss also reported , or claims to have reported, Latner's debate remarks. He admits that he mauled the remarks by removing paragraphs, using this lame excuse:

I lose paragraphs when I transfer copy from one program to another and don't have the time to stick them in

Would you believe this? With all the resources of "The Nation" magazine at his command, Weiss can't find software that will not maul someone's text. Funny thing, but all us mendicant bloggers never lose any paragraphing unless we want to do so. Weiss would not allow this to be done to his own text, of course. He is telling us, "The computer ate my homework." Some other things might have been "lost" in this way...

[ Read The rogue debate about Israel at Israel News for Latner's debate remarks.]

Latner used reasonable arguments, though he could possibly have found more in the Israel Advocacy Handbook.

That is hardly the point. Can anyone believe this proposition was ever debated??? It is certainly hard to believe that the proposition, "Israel is a rogue state," almost won. At any rate, the incident proves that there really are young liberal Zionists, though Weiss and company would have us believe they do not exist, and though the word "Zionism" has been hi-jacked as Latner notes.

Here is the really bad news: The campaign for delegitimization of Israel has been a resounding success if the proposition "Israel is a rogue state" can be debated seriously in a western university. The proposition that Iran is a rogue state would not even come up for debate.

The brainwashing propaganda of Mondoweiss and "The Nation" magazine and the other Hamas groupies has scored a great success if someone like Latner thinks he has to use subterfuges to defend Israel, and has to apologize for being a Zionist. Weiss and his Hamas groupie friends have made Zionism into a dirty word, haven't they? Weiss and Lauren Booth don't think they have to apologize for supporting the Hamas. Isn't that strange?? Genocide and racism are respectable, but Zionism is not.

Hat tips: Elder of Ziyon wrote about this as Why Israel is a Rogue State (Gabriel Latner). The Balfour Street blog just called it "Why Israel is a Rogue State" and Ray Cook called it "Gabriel – arch, but no angel. How a Cambridge student defended Israel."

Ami Isseroff

Iran: Human rights for Bahai

2010-11-06T02:51:00.000-07:00

Human rights violations against Bahai in Iran began in earnest after the Islamist coup of the Ayatollah Khomeini. They continue under President Ahmadinejad.

They include destruction of holy places, hanging of schoolteachers, denial of higher education to Bahai as well as the many rights violations documented below.

Ami Isseroff

Bahai in Iran

Last updated: 28 October 2010

Note: This report is provided as a service to news media and others desiring current information about the Baha'is in Iran. All details have been verified by the Baha'i International Community.

Words in italics have been altered or added since the previous update on 16 September.

The Baha'i community of Iran, numbering about 300,000 people, is the largest non-Muslim religious minority in the country.

Summary of latest news

International Reaction: Governments, organizations and influential individuals around the world are continuing to condemn the harsh prison sentences given to the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders. In a report issued on 14 October, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon expressed strong concern over Iran's ongoing human rights violations, including its persecution of Iranian Baha'is. Britain's most prominent heads of religion have also called for the release of the seven Baha'i leaders. A statement describing the sentencing of the seven as a "gross violation of the fundamental human right to freedom of religion" – was signed by, among others, the Archbishop of Canterbury – who is the head of the worldwide Anglican communion; the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster; the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth; and the Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Great Britain. The governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States of America, as well as the European Union and the President of the European Parliament, earlier condemned the sentences received by the seven.

No formal announcement on reduction of prison sentence: Lawyers representing the imprisoned seven Baha'i leaders were informed orally on 15 September that the 20-year jail terms they had each received had subsequently been reduced to ten years on appeal. Iranian authorities have so far made no formal announcement on either the initial or reduced sentences. 20 year jail terms were initially reportedly handed down to the seven after they faced charges of propaganda activities against the Islamic order and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations, all of which were categorically denied.

Arrests and convictions: Since August 2004, some 329 Baha'is have been arrested in Iran. There are about 43 Iranian Baha'is currently in prison because of their religion. To date, the cases of some 271 Baha'is are still active with authorities. These include individuals in prison, those who have been released pending trial, those who have appealed their verdicts, those awaiting notification to begin serving prison sentences, and a few who are serving periods of internal exile. Thousands more have been deprived of education, questioned, threatened, denied their pensions, or debarred from earning a livelihood.

Further details

International reaction

Governments, organizations and influential individuals around the world are continuing to condemn the harsh prison sentences given to the seven Iranian Baha'i leaders.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon expressed strong concern over Iran's ongoing human rights violations, including its persecution of Iranian Baha'is. In a report issued on 14 October, Mr. Ban highlighted his continuing concerns over Iran's use of torture and the death penalty, its poor treatment of women, and repeated violations of due process of law and of freedom of assembly, speech and religion. The report also took note of the trial and reported sentencing of the seven Baha'i leaders, observing that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed "deep concern" over the absence of international observers and the lack of due process in that trial, which concluded in June. "The High Commissioner voiced grave concern that the criminal charges brought against the above-mentioned individuals appeared to constitute a violation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular those of freedom of religion and belief and freedom of expression and association," said the report.

Britain's most prominent heads of religion have also called for the release of the seven Baha'i leaders. A statement by the United Kingdom's religious leaders – describing the sentencing of the seven as a "gross violation of the fundamental human right to freedom of religion" – was signed by, among others, the Archbishop of Canterbury – who is the head of the worldwide Anglican communion; the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster; the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth; and the Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Great Britain.

Three of the United Kingdom's most distinguished lawyers also expressed their serious concern about the lack of due process accorded to Iran's seven Baha'i leaders during their trial. Dame Rosalyn Higgins QC, former President of the International Court of Justice, joined Linda Lee, President of the Law Society, and Mark Muller QC, Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee, in signing a letter published in The Guardian newspaper. "The charges and the sentences appear to be motivated solely by the fact that [the seven] are members of the Bahá'í faith. We urge the authorities to respect Iran's obligations under international law…" the lawyers wrote in the letter.

In Spain, the City Councils of Bailén and Guarromán – in the Spanish province of Jaén –unanimously approved separate institutional declarations stating concern over the deprivation of rights and systematic persecution faced by the members of the Baha'i community in Iran. They called upon the Spanish Government and the institutions of the European Union to urge Iran to ensure that due legal process is applied to the imprisoned seven Bahai leaders jailed solely for their religious beliefs.

Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs said on 17 September, "I note with regret reports that Iranian authorities have decided to continue the imprisonment of seven Baha'i community leaders, while reducing their sentences from 20 to 10 years. Canada maintains that these individuals appear to have been imprisoned because of their religious beliefs and that therefore they should be released unconditionally and reunited with their families as soon as possible."

The governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States of America, as well as the European Union and the President of the European Parliament, earlier condemned the harsh sentences received by the seven. Groups focused specifically on human rights have also launched letter-writing campaigns encouraging supporters to call for justice.

(For details of these and many other statements, see separate section on international reaction. Some of the media reports can be viewed here.)

No formal announcement on reduction of prison sentence

Lawyers representing the imprisoned seven Baha'i leaders were informed orally on 15 September that the 20-year jail terms they had each received had subsequently been reduced to ten years on appeal. Iranian authorities have so far made no formal announcement on either the initial or reduced sentences.

20 year jail terms were initially handed down to the seven after they faced charges of propaganda activities against the Islamic order and the establishment of an illegal administration, among other allegations, all of which were categorically denied.

The seven prisoners were moved from Evin Prison after receiving their sentence. They are now held in Gohardasht prison in Karaj. The move has imposed an added burden on their families, who now have to travel outside Tehran to visit the prisoners.

The trial of the seven began on 12 January after they had been incarcerated without charge in Tehran's Evin prison for 20 months. At the first hearing, they denied all charges against them.

A second appearance on 7 February was concerned mainly with procedural issues. The third session on 12 April, which was a closed hearing, was adjourned after the seven – with the agreement of their attorneys – refused to be party to the proceedings because of the presence of nonjudicial personnel. Three final morning sessions took place from 12 – 14 June.

The names of the seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. Mrs. Sabet was arrested on 5 March 2008 and the others on 14 May 2008.

Until their imprisonment, the seven Baha'is were part of an ad hoc group called the Friends in Iran that, in the absence of formal Baha'i leadership, helped attend to the needs of the 300,000 Baha'is in that country. The Friends group has now been disbanded, as have smaller groups that assisted Baha'is at the local level.

Arrests and convictions

From August 2004 to 24 October 2010, some 329 Baha'is have been arrested in Iran. There are about 43 Iranian Baha'is currently in prison because of their religion.

To date, the cases of some 271 Baha'is were still active with authorities. These include individuals in prison, those who have been released pending trial, those who have appealed their verdicts, those awaiting notification to begin serving prison sentences, and a few who are serving periods of internal exile. Thousands more have been deprived of education, questioned, threatened, denied their pensions, or debarred from earning a livelihood.

Altogether, so far in 2010, detentions have occurred in Babolsar, Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Marvdasht, Mashhad, Nazarabad, Parsabad, Sari, Semnan, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Tehran, and Yazd. Other cities where Baha'is were arrested last year included Babol, Bushehr, Delijan, Ghaemshahr, Hamadan, Kashan, Kerman, Khorramabad, Khouzestan, Mahforouzak, Miandoab, Najafabad, Qazvin, Tonekabon, and Yasouj.

Most of the detentions followed the familiar pattern of agents of the Ministry of Intelligence showing up at the homes of Baha'is, searching the premises and confiscating items such as computers and books, then arresting the residents.

One family has been particularly affected in the past year or two. Seven relatives of Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani – one of the seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders– have been detained in three different cities. Those arrested include a son, nephew, grandnephew, grandson, granddaughter, the granddaughter's husband, and a niece's husband. Most of them have gained temporary release by putting up exorbitant amounts of collateral, mainly property deeds, for bail.

Trumped-up charges against Baha'is are used to justify arrests. A Baha'i woman in Semnan was sentenced to 3½ years in prison for, among other things, "membership in anti-regime groups associated with Baha'is."

The number of Baha'is in detention varies as new people are arrested but others released after posting cash, property deeds, or business licenses as collateral.

Distribution of anti-Baha'i propaganda

In recent years, there has been an increase in false portrayals of the Baha'is in the press, on radio, television and even in scholarly publications. Since 2005, for example, the semi-official Kayhan newspaper has run more than 200 false, misleading or incendiary articles about Baha'i teachings, history and activities – an effort that has been echoed on television and radio. The Kayhan articles engage in a deliberate distortion of history, make use of fake historical documents, and falsely describe Baha'i moral principles in a manner that would be offensive to Muslims.

Recently an anti-Baha'i tract, titled "Supporters of Satan", has been widely distributed in the city of Kerman. The tract purveys the usual misrepresentations of Baha'i history and the Faith's principles, falsely asserting that it was a creation of the British and is intimately linked with Zionism.

Homes demolished in campaign to drive Baha'is out of Iranian village

Homes belonging to some 50 Baha'i families in a remote village in northern Iran were demolished as part of a long-running campaign to expel them from the region. The action occurred in Ivel, Mazandaran, when inhabitants – incited by elements inimical to the Baha'i community – blocked normal access to the village, while allowing trucks and at least four front-end loaders to begin leveling the houses. Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted by Iranian human rights activists on the Internet, showed what appeared to be several buildings reduced to rubble as well as fiercely burning fires. The demolitions are the latest development in an ongoing, officially-sanctioned program in the area which has targeted every activity of the Baha'is.

Most of the Baha'i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displacement.

Economic pressure

Economic pressure is acute, with both jobs and business licenses being denied to Baha'is. Numerous cases have been reported of long-time shop owners being forced to surrender business licenses under threat of arrest.

Optical shops owned by Baha'is have been particularly targeted. Two such shops in Tehran recently received warning letters from the Opticians' Trade Union to close down. Earlier, optical shops in Khomein and Rafsanjan were forced to close. In Nazarabad, the operator of one of five optical stores owned by Baha'is– shops that were closed by authorities well over a year ago – managed to get a court verdict allowing her to reopen, but the Ministry of Intelligence prevented her from doing so.

Government jobs are denied to Baha'is, and Muslims often are pressured to fire Baha'is in their employ.

Authorities also use the tactic of arresting Baha'is and demanding huge sums of money, or the equivalent in property deeds for bail, as a method of impoverishing the Baha'is.

Cemetery vandalised

The vandalization of Baha'i cemeteries has become commonplace in 2010. Recently, it was reported that, on more than one occasion, truckloads of construction refuse and soil were dumped on graves in the Baha'i cemetery of Boroujerd.

The Baha'i cemetery in Mashhad was vandalized on the night of 29 May by unknown intruders who used a front-end loader and other heavy machinery. The cemetery's walls, the mortuary, and the place where the prayers were recited were severely damaged.

Harassment over Baha'i burials and the desecration of cemeteries are clear indications that the persecution is based solely on religion and not the result of any threat posed by Baha'is, as officials sometimes claim. In the past year or so, Baha'i cemeteries in Tehran, Ghaemshahr, Marvdasht, Semnan, Sari, and Isfahan have been defaced, bulldozed, or in some way blocked to the Baha'i community. In late April, a small Baha'i cemetery in Gilavand with only four graves was desecrated by intruders using a tractor; all four tombs were destroyed. Earlier, in March, a Baha'i family in Najafabad was prevented from burying a loved one in the Baha'i cemetery there, despite their having secured a permit to do so.

Persecution by educational institutions

Bahai school children at all school levels continue to be monitored and slandered by officials in schools. Secondary school students often face pressure and harassment, and some have been threatened with expulsion. Religious studies teachers are known to insult and ridicule Baha'i beliefs. In a few reported cases, when Baha'i students attempt to clarify matters at the request of their peers, they are summoned to the school authorities and threatened with expulsion if they continue to "teach" their Faith.

Recently in Karaj, the parents of a first-year high school student were told that she would be expelled unless they signed an agreement that would force her to take part in the school's political and religious events.

A Ministry of Education policy now requires declaration of religion on the registration form for the entrance exam for schools for gifted students. In the past, Baha'i pupils were allowed to take the entrance exam but any known Baha'i accepted to one of these schools was later denied admission. The new form only allows students to select between Muslim, Christian, Jew and Zoroastrian.

Universities and other institutions of higher education to a large extent remain closed to Baha'i students. In recent years, those who do manage to get admitted generally have been expelled during the course of their first year.

At Tarbiyyat Moallem University in Tehran, two Baha'is were able to get to their eighth semester but in February were finally expelled; one of them was told openly that by law, Baha'is have no right to post-secondary education.

Other recent expulsions have occurred in Semnan, Zanjan, Yazd, Gonbad, Khoramshahr, and Chabahar. There are continuing reports of youth being denied enrollment in high schools and even primary schools, and of students being harassed by teachers and other officials.

Summary of types of persecution

Harassment of Baha'is is pervasive and includes many incidents of all of the following:

Arrests and detention, with imprisonment lasting for days, months, or years. In cases where the Baha'i is released, substantial bail is often required.

Direct intimidation and questioning by authorities, sometimes with the use of high-intensity lights and physical mistreatment.

Searches of homes and business, usually with Baha'i books and other items confiscated.

School expulsions and harassment of schoolchildren.

Prohibition on Baha'is attending universities.

Court proceedings where Baha'is are accused of promoting propaganda against the government "for the benefit of the Bahaist sect."

Monitoring of the bank accounts, movement, and activities of Baha'is, including official questioning of Baha'is requiring them to give information about their lives, actions, neighbors, etc.

Denial or confiscation of business licenses.

Denial of work opportunities in general.

Denial of rightful inheritances to Baha'is.

Physical assaults, and efforts to drive Baha'is out of towns and villages.

Desecration and destruction of Baha'i cemeteries, and harassment over burial rights.

Dissemination, including in official news media, of misinformation about Baha'is, and incitement of hatred against Baha'is.

Evictions from places of business, including Baha'i doctors from their offices and clinics.

Intimidation of Muslims who associate with Baha'is.

Attempts by authorities to get Baha'is to spy on other Baha'is.

Threatening phone calls and letters to Baha'is.

Denial of pension benefits.

Denial of access to publishing or copying facilities for Baha'i literature.

Confiscation of property.

Osama Bin Laden threatens France: As You Kill, So Shall You Be Killed

2010-10-27T17:28:00.001-07:00

This message, which is supposedly from Osama Bin Laden, threatens retaliation

Bin Laden in Audio Message to France: As You Kill, So Shall You Be Killed

Following are excerpts from an audio-tape by Al-Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on October 27, 2010.

Osama Bin Laden: To start with, let me tell you [the French]: The capture of your experts in Niger, who are under the protection of your proxy there, was a response to your oppression of our Muslim nation. How can you possibly take part in the occupation of our lands, and support the Americans in the killing of our women and children, yet expect to live in peace and security? How can you possibly interfere in the matters of the Muslims, especially in North Africa and in West Africa, support your proxies against us, plunder many of our resources in dubious deals, while our people there suffer all kinds of misery and poverty?

[...]

Since you have acted tyrannically, believing that you have the right to prevent free-born women from wearing the veil, don't we have the right to expel your invading men by striking their necks? Of course we do.

The equation is simple and clear: As you kill, so shall you be killed, as you abduct, so shall you be abducted, as you ruin our security, so shall we ruin your security, and the fault lies with the one who initiates [the hostilities].

The way to protect your security is to end all your offenses and their effects on our nation. One of the most important things is for you to withdraw from Bush's accursed war in Afghanistan. It is high time that the so-called direct and indirect colonialism come to an end. You should consider the state to which the US has deteriorated as a result of this unjust war. It has reached the verge of bankruptcy in all the major areas, and soon, it will go back beyond the Atlantic Ocean, Allah willing.

Happy is he who learns from the lessons of others, and peace be upon those who follow the guidance.

Video Clip

Political Correctness undermines peaceniks re Iran

2010-10-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Campaign for Peace and Democracy (CPD) describes itself as promoting "a new, progressive, and non-militaristic U.S. foreign policy." Its leadership can be characterized as part of the democratic left with what used to be known as a "third camp" orientation that was both anti-Stalinist and anti-capitalist. There is an overlap in its leadership with the politics and editorial board of the journal, "New Politics."

The CPD is currently circulating a petition with a dual purpose: to "End the War Threats and Sanctions Program Against Iran [and] Support the Struggle for Democracy Inside Iran." So while supporting the democratic opposition inside Iran, it categorically opposes any punitive sanctions or military option to curtail Iran's nuclear program.

I share at least some of CPD's values and goals, but I cannot accept its doctrinaire anti-Israel and anti-American pronouncements, including those expressed in this petition.

Iran can easily end this confrontation by unconditionally opening itself to international inspections and stopping its outrageous provocations against Israel's existence. Moreover, Pres. Obama has made a reasonable diplomatic overture to Iran that was rejected last year.

Nearly a year later, Iran agreed to a similar deal in discussions with Brazil and Turkey. By that time, however, experts concluded that its nuclear program had created enough additional enriched uranium that Iran could build one or more atomic bombs anyway. Apparently, Iran was being deceitful, and Brazil and Turkey allowed themselves to be used in its cynical game.

Far from even addressing the Iranian regime's aggressive actions and threats (e.g., arming Hezbollah and Hamas, its development of missiles with the capacity to A-bomb all of Israel, its Holocaust denial and strident anti-Zionist rhetoric), the moral weight of this statement is against Israel and the United States. I would hate to see either the US or Israel attack Iran, but I certainly understand why most Israelis feel themselves mortally threatened. It is grossly wrong for this petition not to strongly condemn Iran's aggressive anti-Israel and anti-Jewish policies.

Engagement in Syria - to a three year old

2010-10-22T04:46:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't want her to be an old maid, would we??

Syrian boy, 5, gets engaged to three-year-old... and parents buy rings for the happy couple to exchange

By Mike Theodoulou
Last updated at 5:29 PM on 21st October 2010

Their engagement in Syria after a whirlwind holiday romance could set an unenviable world record.

Khalid, the would-be groom, is five. Hala, his fiancee, is a tot of three.

Their parents, astonishingly, are not only taking the betrothal seriously – they even arranged the ceremony and bought the rings which the 'couple' exchanged as if they were adults.

Young love: Hala (left), three, and Khalid (right), five, will marry in 10 years, when the groom is 15. Both sets of parents have gone along with the idea - and even helped with the wedding rings

They say the playschool-aged pair consented to the match and are acting of their own free will, although they will not wed for another 10 years.

'We know Khalid or Hala might change their mind in the future, but what we do know at this stage is that they are very happy and talk to each other every day,' the boy's father, Juma, told Gulf News.

'Khalid is waiting until he is 15 to marry Hala.'

The boy is said to have met and fallen in love with Hala while he was holidaying with his parents in Lattakia, on Syria's Mediterranean coast.

Khalid was supposedly lovesick on his return home to Homs - a town about 100 miles north of Damascus, the Syrian capital - and refused to go back to his nursery unless Hala joined him.

Love sick: Khalid, shown here exchanging rings with Hala, refused to go back to nursery as he was missing his girlfriend, who he met on holiday

'Khalid told me and his mother that he would like to have stayed with Hala or bring her home to Homs,' Juma said.

Instead of treating it as a case of premature puppy love or kindergarten role-playing, his parents called Hala's mother to seek her opinion.

'She said her daughter had developed similar symptoms of loneliness and the family would be very happy to see them engaged,' Juma continued.

'The young bride seems very genuine.'

Khalid's family returned to Lattakia for the ceremony.

Khalid, an only child, was born after Juma had been married for 20 years.

During his wife's 'complicated pregnancy' Juma vowed that if the child was a boy he would have him engaged at the age of five and 'marry him to a woman of his choice at the age of 15'.

Child marriages are condemned by international human rights groups.

The UN recommends that countries adopt a minimum age for marriage of 18 for both sexes.

A song of peace?? "Pull the trigger - redeem the country"

2010-09-16T10:01:00.001-07:00

Song broadcast on PA TV:
Pull the trigger - redeem the country

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

PA TV broadcast a Palestinian dance group performing and singing about conquering Israel through war. The song describes Israelis as "despicable" and an "invading enemy" and declares that "the Palestinian revolution awaits [them]." Israeli cities Lod and Ramle as well as Jerusalem are presented as Palestinian cities to be liberated through "Jihad" by Palestinians who have "replaced bracelets with weapons." The song then calls to: "Pull the trigger."

The performance was broadcast on official Palestinian Authority TV this week, two days before the latest round of peace talks.

The following is a transcript and description of the performance:

Band member recites a poem:

"Fight, brother, the flag will never be lowered,
the torches will never die out."
On [Mt.] Carmel (in Israel) and in the [Jordan] Valley,
we are rocks and streams.
In Lod (Israeli city) we are poems, and in Ramle (Israeli city) - grenades.
We, my brother, shall remain the revolution of the fighting nation."

Vocalist sings:

"The Zionists went out from [their] homelands,
compounding damage and enmity.
But the Palestinian revolution awaits [them].
The orchard called us to the [armed] struggle.
We replaced bracelets with weapons.
We attacked the despicable [Zionists].
This invading enemy is on the battlefield.
This is the day of consolation of Jihad.
Pull the trigger.
We shall redeem Jerusalem, Nablus and the country."

[PA TV (Fatah), Sept. 12, 2010]

Iranian defiance of IAEA "troubling and reprehensible"

2010-09-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps if they were potential targets of an Iranian nuclear strike, diplomats would be bit more "troubled."

West hits out at Iran over ban on atom inspectors

2:30pm EDT
By Fredrik Dahl and Sylvia Westall

VIENNA (Reuters) - Western powers accused Iran on Wednesday of trying to intimidate the U.N. atomic agency by barring some nuclear inspectors and the United States warned the Islamic state of possible diplomatic consequences.

Iran's envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh hit back during a tense meeting of the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency, saying during a heated outburst that IAEA chief Yukiya Amano had "completely missed the facts," diplomats said.

The escalating row has further worsened ties between Iran and the IAEA and deepened concern about Iran's nuclear work, which the West suspects is aimed at developing atomic weapons.

"Relations between Iran and the IAEA are the lowest they've ever been," said one Western diplomat who attended the closed-door session. "Soltanieh was shouting," said another, adding Amano had responded calmly to the criticism against him.

In comments that angered Tehran, Amano told the board earlier this week that Iran's refusal to admit some experienced inspectors was hampering the agency's work.

Iran, which says its nuclear programme is aimed at generating electricity, has said two inspectors it banned in June had provided false information about its activities.

It says it is within its rights to refuse inspectors under its non-proliferation accord with the U.N. body and the agency has a pool of more than 150 other experts it can use.

Glyn Davies, U.S. envoy to the IAEA, said Iran was making a "clear effort" to intimidate inspectors and influence them.

"It is unprecedented for a state to reject inspectors because they report accurately ... what they see and hear."

DIPLOMATIC ACTION?

In a separate statement, France, Germany and Britain voiced concern about what they called Iran's growing failure to work with the IAEA, saying this was "troubling and reprehensible."

Besides those barred in June, Tehran canceled access for a senior Middle East inspector in 2006 and has objected to several other designated inspectors in the past.

If Iran continues to refuse inspectors it could face diplomatic consequences at the IAEA, whose governors referred Iran's dossier to the U.N. Security Council in 2006 over its nuclear secrecy and lack of full cooperation.
Davies referred to language in the IAEA's agreements with member states governing inspections, which he said "indicates that the board should consider 'appropriate action' when inspections are being impeded" by the rejection of inspectors.

Relations between Iran and the IAEA have deteriorated since Amano took over in December. He has taken a firmer approach than his predecessor Mohamed ElBaradei, saying in his reports that Tehran could be trying to develop a nuclear-armed missile.

Iran has accused Amano, a veteran Japanese diplomat, of issuing misleading and politicized reports.Amano's latest report to the board showed Iran was pushing ahead with its nuclear work despite tougher sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.

It expressed growing frustration over what the IAEA sees as Iran's failure to respond to concerns about possible military dimensions to its activities.

The EU trio said Iran seemed "determined to pursue a nuclear programme which could provide it with military capabilities."

Soltanieh said Iran would take legal action to seek compensation for "huge damages to my country as a result of continuous baseless allegations" over its atomic work. He also called on Amano to report on Japan's nuclear material stockpile.

Palestinian Rocket fire during peace talks

2010-09-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

Palestinian Attacks Threaten to Overshadow Peace Talks

More than a dozen rockets hit Israel

Major city under fire
Peace talks continue in Jerusalem

Rockets and mortar rounds pounded southern Israeli residents on Wednesday (Sept. 15) as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Jerusalem for the second round of peace talks this month.

Gaza-based Palestinian terrorists launched at least a dozen projectiles; two reportedly landed in Ashkelon, a coastal Israeli city with a population of about 110,000. There were no reports of injuries.

In response, the Israel Defense Forces targeted tunnels that run under Gaza's border with Egypt.[1] Israel maintains Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist organizations use the passageways to smuggle weapons and terrorists in and out of the Palestinian coastal enclave. [2]

No one has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks but Iran-backed Hamas, which controls Gaza, did say it carried out two terror attacks on the eve of the Sept. 2 launch of peace talks.[3]

A new Palestinian video, said to be created by Hamas, offers a view of what Palestinian terrorists think of the ongoing peace process. The clip culminates with the Palestinian takeover of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Much of the funding for Hamas activities emanates from Iran. [4] which also injects money into the coffers of the South Lebanon-based Hezbollah. [5]

From 1993-2006, Iran's financial support of Hamas was estimated at $30 million annually. It has increased to several hundred million annually since then. Since Hamas' January 2006 electoral victory, funding has increased significantly. In April 2006, Iran pledged $50 million in aid to Hamas. In November 2006, Iran donated $120 million to Hamas.

Iran has provided Hezbollah with weapons, funding, guidance, and intelligence, giving more than $200 million to Hezbollah annually in addition to an estimated $300 million after Israel's defensive war with Hezbollah in 2006.

Wednesday's barrage from Gaza occurred as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was chairing talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Clinton said she was "well aware of the obstacles that stand in the way of peace," but added that she is convinced "this is the time and these are the leaders."

Israeli President Shimon Peres told Clinton that peace "can be achieved. It must be achieved," Peres made the remarks as they spoke to reporters at his official residence.[6]

The U.S. secretary of state repeated Washington's apparent desire for Palestinians to recognize Israel as a secure, democratic Jewish state.

Clinton is slated to hold talks with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman before leaving the region.

U.S. special envoy George Mitchell will travel to Syria and Lebanon on Thursday to update their leaders on the peace process.

Experts available for 1-1 media interviews in Israel

To schedule an interview with Dov Weisglass or Gilead Sher please be in touch with Shai Ornan in our Washington DC Office at 202-857-6644/ornans@theisraelproject.org or Ronit Shebson in our Israel Office on 011-972 2-623-6427/ronits@theisraelproject.org. All other experts may be contacted direct via their contact details below.

Peace Negotiators

Dov Weisglass
Affiliation: Ariel Sharon's Chief of Staff, public face for Sharon during the 2004 withdrawal negotiations and the diplomatic delegate for negotiating with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Field: Peace Negotiations.

Gilead Sher
Affiliation: Former Head of Bureau and Policy Coordinator of Israel's Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ehud Barak; peace negotiations co-chief negotiator in 1999-2001 at the Camp David summit and the Taba talks; Served under the late PM Yitzhak Rabin, as delegate to the 1994-5 Interim Agreement negotiations.
Field: Peace Process; Israeli Politics

Dore Gold
Affiliation: President, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs; former principal foreign policy advisor to Ariel Sharon; former Israeli ambassador to UN
Fields: Israeli and global Jewish affairs; foreign policy; conflict management/conflict resolution
Contact through spokesman Adam Shay
Tel.: 011-972-2-563-2947; 972-02-588-3182; 972-02-561-9281 (switchboard)
E-mail: jcpa@netvision.net.il; ica@jcpa.org

Dr. Yehuda Ben-Meir
Affiliation: Former deputy minister of foreign affairs; former member of Knesset;
Principal Research Fellow and Director of the National Security and Public Opinion Project at the Institute for National Security Studies; author of "National Security Decision making: The Israeli Case"
Fields: Israeli public opinion and attitudes, specifically regarding national security and the peace process; Israel-U.S. Relations; Israel-Palestinian conflict
Tel.: 011-972-3-640-0400, ext. 469; 011- 972-50-380-8849
E-mail: benmeir@inss.org.il

Dr. Tal Becker (background only)
Affiliation: Senior policy advisor to Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006-2009; lead negotiator in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations during the Annapolis peace process.
Field: Israel Foreign Affairs; Peace Process
Tel.: 011-972-50-651-0055
E-mail: becker.tal@gmail.com
US-Israel Relations

Zvi Rafiah
Affiliation: Commentator
Field: US-Israel Relations
Tel.: 011-972-3-695-0535; 011-972-54-201-0708 (cell)

Ambassador Zalman Shoval
Affiliation: Ambassador to the U.S. from 1990-1993 and 1998-2000, Former Deputy Foregin Minister
Field: US-Israel Relations
Tel.: 011-972-54-453-3747 (cell)
Herb Keinon
Affiliation: Veteran diplomatic correspondent, The Jerusalem Post
Fields: Jewish residents of the West Bank; Israeli popular attitudes towards the settlements
Tel.: 972-50-205-2616 (cell)
E-mail: keinon@netvision.il

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi (USA)
Founder and President of The Israel Project (TIP). Mizrahi meets regularly with top Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Shimon Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Ambassador Michael Oren, Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon and many others. She recently returned from meetings in Ramallah with PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Chief Palestine Liberation Organization Negotiator Saeb Erekat.
Tel: +1 202 857 6644 / +1 202 365 0787 (cell)
Email: jenniferm@theisraelproject.org

Marcus Sheff, Executive Director of The Israel Project's Israel Office
Tel: 011-972-2-623-6427
E-mail: marcuss@theisraelproject.org

Eli Ovits, Director of Communications, TIP-Israel
Cell: 011-972-54-807-9093
E-mail: elio@theisraelproject.org

In the United States

David Makovsky
Affiliation: Director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process, Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Fields: Arab-Israeli relations; peace process; U.S. policy; Middle East democratization; Israeli politics; the Palestinians
Tel.: 202-452-0650 (office)
E-mail: davidm@washingtoninstitute.org

Mitchell Bard
Affiliation: Executive Director, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
Fields: U.S.-Israel relations; Israeli politics; Arab-Israeli conflict; Middle Eastern politics
Tel: 301-565-3918
E-mail: mgbard@aol.com

Aaron David Miller
Affiliation: Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center
Fields: U.S.-Middle East relations; Arab-Israeli negotiations; Arab world and Palestinian politics; Israeli politics
Tel.: 202-691-4040
E-mail: Aaron.Miller@wilsoncenter.org
Web site: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=sf.profile&person_id=166535

Prof. Yoram Peri
Affiliation: Director, Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies, University of Maryland; Former political adviser to late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin; former editor-in-chief of the Israeli daily Davar newspaper
Fields: Israeli domestic politics; peace process
Tel.: 301-405-9413
E-mail: israelstudies-contact@umd.edu
Web site: http://www.israelstudies.umd.edu/director.html

[1]"South under attack; IDF strikes Gaza," Yediot Aharonot, Sept 15, 2010, http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3954408,00.html

[2]"Palestinian terrorist infiltrators killed; IAF targets terror tunnels in Gaza Strip," Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 21, 2010, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Hamas+war+against+Israel/Palestinian_terrorist_infiltrators_killed-IAF_targets_terror_tunnels_21-May-2010.htm

[3]"Peace Talks to Commence in Shadow of Second Hamas Terror Attack," The israel Project, Sept 2, 2010, http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=8629517

[4]"Fact Sheet: Iran's Support of Hamas," The Israel Project, http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.5400613/k.5FFD/Fact_Sheet_Iran8217s_Support_of_Hamas.htm

[5]"Hezbollah as a strategic arm of Iran," Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center
at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S), Sept 8, 2006, http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/iran_hezbollah_e1b.htm

[6]Cahsman, Greer Fay, "Hillary Clinton and Shimon Peres: A special friendship," The Jerusalem Post, Sept. 15, 2010, http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=188157