Media-ocrity of the Week
“There are deep concerns about what is going on inside Syria, and we are pushing hard for the government of Syria to live up to its own stated commitment to reforms. What I do know is that they have an opportunity still to bring about a reform agenda.… People do believe there is a possible path forward with Syria.”—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in an interview in Rome with Lucia Annunziata of Italy’s “In Mezz’Ora,” agreeing that the murder of 800 innocent civilians at the hands of the Syrian military is indeed concerning, but nonetheless reinforcing the U.S.’ belief that the Syrian government, led by president Bashar Assad, may yet bring about a reform agenda. (Foreign Policy, May 6.)
Weekly Quotes
“Harper is currently one of Israel’s best friends worldwide. Under his leadership, Canada has repeatedly cast the sole vote against anti-Israel resolutions in the UN Human Rights Council.… Harper made Canada the first country, preceding even Israel itself, to announce a boycott of the UN’s Durban II conference…on the grounds that it was set to be an anti-Israel hate fest. And he has worked to end Canadian government funding for anti-Israel organizations.… But perhaps even more important than Harper’s specific actions is the degree to which he has changed attitudes toward Israel within his country.… In a world where anti-Israel positions are increasingly de rigueur for aspiring politicians, it is no mean feat to have succeeded in making pro-Israel positions respectable and electable. So thank you, Stephen Harper. And best of luck to you and your country in your new term.”—Excerpts from Evelyn Gordon’s article, entitled An Independence Day Gift From Canada, expressing gratitude to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his steadfast support for the Jewish State, and referring to his re-election as a 63rd birthday present for Israel. (Jerusalem Post, May 8.)
“If the fallen soldiers were with us today, they would have witnessed countless miracles throughout the years. The soldiers from the War of Independence would have witnessed the rebirth of the State of Israel; those who fought in the Sinai Campaign would have seen the ingathering of the exiles; those who fell in the Six Day War would have watched us as we return to Mount Moriah and the Western Wall; those who perished in the Yom Kippur War would have witnessed the historic peace treaties signed with Egypt and Jordan; and those who died in the Lebanon War would see the beauty of the Galilee in full bloom.… Those who fell in all these operations, campaigns and wars to protect Israel, would probably be surprised how Israel has turned from a state…with only meager resources into one of the most developed, prosperous and advanced countries in the world. My friends, none of this would have happened if not for the young men and women who sacrificed their lives to ensure our existence.May the memory of the IDF fallen soldiers be blessed and cherished for evermore.”—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Memorial Day Ceremony to honor Israel’s fallen soldiers, expressing his gratitude to those courageous fighters who gave their lives to ensure Israel’s continued existence. 22,867Israeli soldiers have perished since the creation of the Jewish state. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, May 8.)
“The reconciliation pact signed between Fatah and Hamas on Wednesday is a disaster. A disaster for Israelis, who for years have suffered rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and for their government.… And it’s a disaster for the West, which has attempted to isolate Hamas with sanctions while giving billions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority government.… You wouldn’t know this from reading the upbeat reactions of those people outside the region who consider themselves friends of the Palestinian cause. ‘If the United States and the international community support this effort, they can help Palestinian democracy and establish the basis for a unified Palestinian state…that can make a secure peace with Israel,’ former President Jimmy Carter wrote in the Washington Post.… Hamas is everything that self-professed liberals should be ‘prejudiced’ toward: obscurantist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, warlike and rejectionist. It calls for the death of homosexuals and bans dancing. Its charter beckons Muslims to hunt down Jews from ‘behind rocks and trees,’ claims that Muslims ‘have no escape from raising the banner of Jihad’ and, in a prescient use of the rhetoric that has since united the radical Western left and the reactionary Islamic right, accused Jews of ‘Nazism.…’”—Contributing editor to the New Republic,James Kirchick, in a Haaretz article entitled “Hamas’ Useful Idiots,” denouncing widespread Western support for the Hamas-Fatah unity deal, and exposing the Left’s ongoing hypocrisy of supporting tyrannical terrorist organizations based on “liberal” grounds. (Haaretz, May 6.)
“The Egyptian nation believes that normalization of relations with the Zionist regime is among the most important issues which should be stopped completely. The Egyptian nation believes that the Zionist regime is a danger threatening the national security of not just Egypt, but also other Arab countries.”—Senior Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammad Habib, urging Egypt’s interim government to immediately cut bilateral ties with Israel. Habib’s comments came one day after protesters staged a mass demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in Cairo, calling for a complete halt to Egyptian cooperation with Israel. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, May 8 & Jerusalem Post, May 6.)
“Arabs and Muslims are human beings and the West should treat them with dignity, regardless of whether they are supporters or opponents of Osama bin Laden. There are…rules to follow and the shedding the blood of Arabs and Muslims by Americans or others is unacceptable.”—Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, calling the U.S.’ assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden an “atrocity,” and labeling the arch-terrorist a “Shahid” (martyr). Osama bin Laden’s son, Omar bin Laden, also weighed in, his moral compass impelling him to “maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems. Justice must be seen to be done.” (Ynet News May 5 & Jerusalem Post, May 11.)
“We stress that the blood of the holy warrior sheik, Osama bin Laden, God bless him, is precious to us and to all Muslims and will not go in vain. We will remain, God willing, a curse chasing the Americans and their agents, following them outside and inside their countries. Soon, God willing, their happiness will turn to sadness [and] their blood will be mingled with their tears.”—Excerpts from a statement released by the “general leadership” of al Qaeda, confirming the death of Osama bin Laden, and vowing to retaliate against the American people. The announcement paves the way for al Qaeda to name bin Laden’s successor; his long-time deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, is considered the most likely candidate. (Wall Street Journal, May 6.)
Short Takes
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION MAY DEAL WITH PALESTINIAN “UNITY” GOVERNMENT—(Jerusalem) The Obama administration has not ruled out the possibility of dealing with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas. In the wake of the unity deal signed between Hamas and Fatah, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. would support the interim government if the Hamas terrorist group adopted the Quartet’s key principles, including recognition of Israel’s right to exist, renouncing violence and respecting treaties previously signed by the Palestinians. (Jerusalem Post, May 6.)
HAMAS WILL NOT RECOGNIZE ISRAEL—(Jerusalem) Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar has confirmed that the terrorist organization will not recognize Israel’s right to exist because doing so would “cancel the right of the next generation to liberate the land.” The Hamas leader told the Palestinian news agency that his faction’s unity deal with Fatah, which included maintaining a ceasefire with Israel, is “part of the resistance, not a cancellation.” He added that “a truce is not peace.” (Jerusalem Post, May 11.)
DEMOCRATIC SENATORS URGE P.A. AID CUT-OFF—(Washington) Half of the Democratic caucus in the U.S. Senate has urged President Obama to suspend assistance to the Palestinian Authority. In a letter sent May 6 to Obama, 27 Democratic senators stated that “It is imperative for you [Obama] to make clear to President Abbas that Palestinian Authority participation in a unity government with an unreformed Hamas will jeopardize its relationship with the United States, including its receipt of U.S. aid.” The letter from the Democrats notes that U.S. law proscribes assistance to any government that includes Hamas, unless it and its ministers comply with principles laid down by the Quartet. (JTA, May 8.)
EU TO TRANSFER FUNDS TO PA—(Jerusalem) The European Union has announced that it will provide an additional 85 million euros ($124 million) to the Palestinian Authority, on top of the 100 million euros already approved for 2011. The move comes a few days after Israel decided to block the transfer to the PA of $105 million in customs duties and other levies it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, a response to the signing of a reunification deal between Fatah and Hamas. France will also reward the PA’s decision to partner with Hamas by providing an additional 10 million euros to the Palestinian Authority on top of the EU’s pledge. (Jerusalem Post, May 6 & 9.)
EGYPT FRONT-RUNNER SEEKS ISRAEL RESET—(Cairo) Egypt’s presidential frontrunner, Amr Moussa, has confirmed that if elected he will break with former President Hosni Mubarak’s amenable policies toward Israel. The outgoing head of the Arab League said Egypt now needs policies that “reflect the consensus of the people.” Moussa also described a political landscape in Egypt in which the Muslim Brotherhood, outlawed under Mr. Mubarak, would play a dominant role. Moussa owes the bulk of his popularity to his trenchant criticism of Israel and the U.S. while serving as Egypt’s foreign minister, a position he was dismissed from due to these strong views. (Wall Street Journal, May 6.)
CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS CLASH IN EGYPT; 12 DEAD—(Cairo) Relations between Egypt’s Muslims and Christians have degenerated to a new low after riots left 12 people dead and a church burned, adding to the disorder of the country’s post-revolution transition. The attack on the church was the latest sign of assertiveness by Salafi Muslims, whose increasing hostility toward Egypt’s Coptic Christians over the past few months has met with little interference from the country’s military rulers. In one attack, a Christian man had his ear cut off for renting an apartment to a Muslim woman suspected of involvement in prostitution. (CBS News, May 9.)
AHMADINJEAD ALLIES ARRESTED ON SUSPICION OF SORCERY—(Jerusalem) Allies of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, including Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, have been arrested for being “magicians,” further evidencing the possibility that Iran is facing a political crisis. Ahmadinejad’s close relationship with Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was strained two weeks ago, when the president’s attempt to dismiss his intelligence minister was vetoed by Khamenei. Since then, Ahmadinejad has missed numerous Cabinet meetings and has rarely been seen in public, fueling speculation of a dispute between Iran’s two top leaders. (Jerusalem Post, May 6.)
ALLIES PLAN FUND FOR LIBYAN REBELS—(New York) The U.S. and its allies are planning to create a trust fund for Libyan rebels opposing the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, marking an escalation of Western efforts to bolster the struggling revolt. The potential $4.5 billion fund would be guaranteed and partially filled by assets of the Gadhafi regime that have been frozen by the United Nations and European Union. The trust-fund arrangement is seen as a way to closely monitor money dispensed to rebels by maintaining oversight of the fund, while involving the rebels’ National Transitional Council in its management. (Wall Street Journal, May 5.)
PAKISTAN-U.S. RIFT WIDENS—(New York) The Pakistani media has aired the name of a man claimed to be the CIA’s Islamabad station chief, prompting questions about whether the Pakistani government purposely revealed the identity of the operative in the wake of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Tensions between the two countries peaked following the U.S. bin Laden strike, which sharply embarrassed the Pakistani government. In another source of strain, the U.S. is pressing Pakistan, thus far to no avail, for access to bin Laden’s three wives, who are being held in Pakistani custody. Speaking on CBS’s “60 Minutes,” U.S. President Barack Obama said, “We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan.” (Wall Street Journal, May 8.)
SYRIA DEPLOYS MILITARY—(New York) Syria’s leading activists are going deep into hiding following a relentless and brutal crackdown by the regime, at a time when protest leaders were beginning to emerge into public view. Syrian military and security services are maintaining a shoot-to-kill campaign designed to crush anti-regime protests after more than seven weeks. Following an initial military siege of Deraa—the cradle of Syria’s protest movement—tanks and troops have moved into other cities, including Homs, Banias, and Tafasas. More than 800 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began. (Wall Street Journal, May 9.)
UN WATCH HAILS SYRIAN DEFEAT AT UN—(Geneva) According to UN Watch Syria has dropped its bid to secure a seat of the Human Rights Council. “The defeat of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s cynical candidacy is a welcome message to his brutalized population that the world is repulsed by the regime’s ongoing massacres,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. The election of 15 new council members is scheduled for May 20 at the UN General Assembly in New York. Kuwait is expected to take replace Syria’s bid for the Council. (UN Watch, May 10.)
IDF REINFORCING TROOPS AHEAD OF ‘NAKBA DAY’—(Jerusalem) The IDF is reinforcing its troops in the West Bank in anticipation of widespread Palestinian demonstrations slated for May 15. Several Palestinian groups have called for large protests along Israel’s various borders ahead of “Nakba” Day—”the day of the catastrophe”—which is the Palestinian commemoration of the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz has told Israeli commanders that intelligence assessments suggest there is a possibility the demonstrations may turn violent. (Jerusalem Post, May 11.)
YEMENI MAN YELLED “GOD IS GREATEST” ON FLIGHT: PROSECUTOR—(San Francisco) Rageh Al-Murisi, 28, has been charged with interfering with a flight crew, after he attempted to barge into the cockpit of an American Airlines flight. The incident occurred aboard American Airlines flight 1561, which was bound for San Francisco from Chicago with 162 people on board. According to a federal prosecutor, the Yemeni man yelled “Allahu Akbar” in Arabic and proceeded to repetitively ram his shoulder into the cockpit door until a flight attendant and passengers subdued him. Al-Musiri’s actions aboard Flight 1561 came on the same day that Reynel Alcaide, a 34-year-old passenger aboard Continental Airlines flight 546 from Houston to Chicago, allegedly tried to open the emergency door in mid-flight. A federal law enforcement official said investigators are looking into possible links between the two incidents. Al Qaeda has vowed to retaliate against the U.S. following the killing of the terrorist group’s leader Osama bin Laden on May 2. (Reuters, May 10.)
COURT CASE: IS JERUSALEM PART OF ISRAEL?—(Washington) The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal over whether an American born in Jerusalem can have Israel listed as his birthplace on his passport, even though the U.S. does not officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Menachem Zivotofsky and his parents filed the lawsuit after U.S. State Department officials declined the request, arguing that shortly after Menachem’s birth the U.S. Congress directed that Americans born in Jerusalem could indeed have Israel listed as their place of birth. Despite the Congressional legislation, several U.S. administrations, including Obama’s, have refused to comply with the law, saying that Congress lacks the Constitutional authority to dictate to the president how to conduct U.S. foreign affairs. Had Menachem been born in Tel Aviv, his passport would list Israel as his birthplace. (Associated Press, May 2.)
OTTAWA MUNICIPAL BUILDING NAMED FOR MAYOR CALLED ANTI-SEMITIC—(Toronto) Despite opposition from Jewish groups, a municipal committee in Ottawa has voted to name a new archives and library building after former mayor Charlotte Whitton, the most active lobbyist against admitting Jews to Canada during World War II. In an interview with CBC News, Mitchell Bellman, president of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, explained that “opposition of Charlotte Whitton is because of the critical role she played in making sure that Canada didn’t accept any Jewish refugees trying to escape the atrocities in Nazi Germany.” Whitton’s role in blocking Jewish refuges is cited in the 1982 book “None is Too Many,” by Canadian historians Irving Abella and Harold Troper. Ottawa’s full municipal council will decide in a May 12 vote whether to endorse or reverse the proposed name change. (JTA, May 9.)
TRIAL OF ‘MOST-WANTED NAZI’ BEGINS IN HUNGARY—(Jerusalem) The Nazi war crimes trial of 97-year-old Sandor Kepiro has started in Hungary. Kepiro, listed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center as the world’s most wanted Nazi, is charged with taking part in raids on the Serbian town of Novi Sad in 1942, in which 1,200 Jews, Serbs and Roma were killed. Kepiro is also suspected of involvement in the deaths of 36 others who were rounded up and shot on the Danube River’sbanks. The Simon Wiesenthal Center tracked Kepiro down in Budapest in 2006. He had been convicted of Nazi war crimes in Hungary in 1944, but fled to Argentina. Kepiro says he is “completely innocent” and called the trial a “circus” (Jerusalem Post, May 5.)
