BREAKING NEWS:
According to senior Israeli government officials, the current instability in the Middle East, coupled with the Palestinians’ ongoing refusal to negotiate, will likely lead to a new Israeli initiative to move the “peace process” forward. The officials said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was contemplating a phased approach “that will lead us on the path toward his formula of a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state.…” A major policy address will likely launch the initiative—which would be along the lines of a long-term interim agreement—believed to have been coordinated with the U.S.
Although there is little expectation that the Palestinians would accept such an agreement, the feeling in government circles is that it would at least take some of the international pressure off Israel and preempt world recognition of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines. Netanyahu has been urged for months by various quarters, both inside Israel and abroad, to put a concrete proposal on the table that would force the Palestinians to respond and take the onus of responsibility for the stymied diplomatic process off Israel. (Jerusalem Post, March 1.)
Weekly Quotes
“A message to our brothers in Palestine: I harbor the hope that just like Allah allowed me to witness the triumph of Egypt, He will allow me to witness the conquest of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.… Oh Allah, allow us to preach in the Al-Aqsa Mosque. [Crowds: Amen.…] Allow us to enter the Al-Aqsa Mosque without fear. [Crowds: Amen.] Accomplish this complete victory for us. [Crowds: Amen.] Oh, the sons of Palestine, rest assured that you will be victorious.”—Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, considered by many as the supreme religious and ideological authority for the Muslim Brotherhood, in a speech in Tahrir Square to more than one million Egyptian supporters, marking his triumphant return from exile to Egypt. Qaradawi is well-known for his “moderate” stance vis-a-vis Israel, having previously said: “I support the Palestinian cause. I support the resistance and the jihad. I support Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah. I oppose the peace that Israel…wishes to dictate. This peace is an illusion. I support martyrdom operations.” (Frontpage Blog, February 28.)
“Solidarity with a dictator who has been in power for more than four decades and is massacring his own people is shameful and criminal. We welcome the decision by Peru’s president, Alan Garcia, to break off relations with the Libyan regime.”—Sergio Widder, the Latin American representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, condemning the governments of Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela for failing to denounce Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi’s violent crackdown on a popular uprising, and calling on Latin American countries to follow Peru’s example and suspend diplomatic relations with Libya. (Associated Press, February 26.)
“President Obama, if you allow the Zionists to push you, to mount a military offensive against Gaddafi and you go in and kill him and his sons as you did with Saddam Hussein and his sons, I’m warning you this is a Libyan problem, let the Libyans solve their problem among themselves.… [Muammar Gaddafi is] my brother [and] my friend.”—Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, claiming that the Zionists, who “dominate the government of the United States of America and her banking system,” are “trying to push the U.S. into war” with Libya. When asked whether he was anti-semitic, Farrakhan defended himself by saying, “Some of you think that I’m just somebody who’s got something out for the Jewish people. You’re stupid. Do you think I would waste my time if I did not think it was important for you to know Satan? My job is to pull the cover off of Satan so that he will never deceive you and the people of the world again.” In response, American Defense League National DirectorAbe Foxman said: “Anti-Semitism has suffused the Nation of Islam’s message, and Farrakhan is the standard bearer and bigot in chief.… Perhaps what’s more disturbing is that despite his anti-Semitic rants, he has not been made a pariah in his own community. What does it take for him to stop being a pied piper of hatred?” (Jerusalem Post, March 2.)
“‘I would personally escalate the criticism of President Obama,’ Ajami said. The president has become the ‘quiet American,’ standing behind the British, the French, and even the Italians in condemning Qaddafi. There are options [like recognizing a new provisional government] that Obama could, but so far won’t, exercise. The president ‘doesn’t want his fingerprints on this story.’ He has ‘outsourced his statements’ to others. And this is not only a moral failure; it is a geopolitical one as well. ‘Wouldn’t we want the moral credit and the gratitude of the Libyans in the future?’ Ajami asks. Standing with the Libyan people in their hour of need would benefit America’s standing in that nation and in the wider world. But we have as our commander in chief, Ajami speculates, a man who loves the adoration of the crowd but is unable to make the ‘strategic and moral choices on behalf of this great American republic.’”—Excerpts from a summary of renowned Middle East scholar Fouad Ajami’s interview with William Bennett, in which Ajami criticized U.S. President Barack Obama for his strategic mishandling of the uprisings taking place throughout the Arab world, in particular his tepid response to the massacres perpetrated in Libya. Ajami also called Obama a “shrinking president.” (Contentions, March 2.)
“[You will be] speaking before a group that has worked diligently over the past three years to become a voice for weakening the U.S.-Israel alliance, for pressuring Israel to accept policies that Israeli voters have rejected as dangerous, and perhaps most important, for giving Jewish support to a global campaign of delegitimization directed against Israel and Zionism.… Will you challenge those who seek to brand nearly every Israeli security measure a war crime? Will you take on the inventors and proponents of so many false claims about Israel? Will you repudiate the Goldstone Report?”—Noah Pollak, Executive Director of the Emergency Committee for Israel, in a letter to Dennis Ross, U.S. president Barack Obama’s special aide, condemning Ross for representing, and speaking on behalf of, the Obama administration at the second annual J Street convention in Washington. At the conference, J Street president Jeremy Ben-Ami repeated his organization’s “commitment to the people and state of Israel,” and affirmed that “[J Street is] profoundly and unapologetically pro-Israeli.” The convention was overshadowed by J Street’s controversial last-minute call to the Obama administration not to veto a vehemently anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution branding Israeli “settlement” illegal. The Israeli Embassy in Washington sent neither a speaker nor a representative to the conference. (Haaretz, February 27.)
“The presence of the Iranian vessels in Syria is an indication of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strength and the enemies’ failure.”—Syrian Defense Minister Lt. General Ali Habib, in a meeting with visiting Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, affirming that the presence of two Iranian warships in the Mediterranean Sea indicates the growing power of the Islamic Republic. Two Iranian military vessels, Khark and Alvand, are currently docked in Syria, allowed through the Suez Canal despite attempts by the U.S. and Israel to block the mission. Iran and Syria recently signed an agreement to boost their Naval cooperation by holding joint training programs and courses. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, February 27.)
“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”—Oscar winner Nathalie Portman, condemning fashion designer John Galliano’s anti-semitic tirade, which led to his dismissal fromthe Christian Dior company (Portman reportedly refused to wear a Dior gown at the Oscars). A video of Galliano emerged one week after he called a Parisian man a “dirty Jewish face [who] should be dead.” The video shows a separate incident of Galliano shouting at a Jewish couple, “I love Hitler.… People like you would be dead. Your mothers, your forefathers, would all be…gassed.” Galliano has denying all allegations that he is anti-semitic (in the same week, TV sitcom actor Charlie Sheen was also accused of making anti-semitic remarks about his show’s producer). (JTA, February 28 & Haaretz, March 1.)
Short Takes
MONTREAL CITY COUNCIL CONDEMNS BOYCOTT OF ISRAELI SHOES—(Toronto) Montreal’s City Council has condemned the boycott campaign against a local shoe store that sells footwear made in Israel. A council motion deploring the campaign, proposed and supported by Mayor Gerard Tremblay, passed by a vote of 38 to 16. The boycott of the Le Marcheur store, which sells the Israeli-made Beautifeel line of women’s shoes, was launched last fall by the group Palestinian and Jewish Unity and supported by MNAAmir Khadir and other activists as part of a worldwide boycott, divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel. (JTA, February 23, 2011.)
CARLETON COUNCIL SAYS NO TO ANTI-ISRAELI GROUP—(Ottawa) Carleton University’s student council has rejected a campus group’s demand to boycott Israel. At a meeting of the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA), Students Against Israeli Apartheid introduced a motion for the CUSA to urge Carleton’s administration to divest its faculty pension plan of companies that do business with Israel. The motion was rejected in favour of one that called on Carleton University to engage in ethically responsible investing without singling out any one country. According to reports, members of the anti-Israel group became enraged when their motion was defeated, and 80 to 100 people outside council chambers began yelling and banging on the walls. (Ottawa Citizen, February 19.)
OBAMA: ISRAELIS SHOULD SOUL-SEARCH ABOUT SERIOUSNESS ON PEACE—(New York) U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama has reportedly urged American Jewish leaders to speak to their Israeli friends and colleagues about “search[ing their] souls” over Israel’s seriousness about making peace. In an hour-long meeting with approximately 50 representatives of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Obama implied that Israel bears primary responsibility for the ongoing stalemate in the peace process. “Many people felt that their worst fears about Obama were confirmed with respect to Israel. They felt an enormous hostility [on his part] towards Israel,” one participant said. Another long-time Jewish organizational official stated that “The people who had big reservations about Obama probably have more reservations than they had before.” Others reportedly interpreted the president’s comments either as hostile, naive or unsurprising. (JTA, March 2.)
IRAN OPPONENTS SAID TO BE JAILED—(New York) According to their family members, Iran has arrested opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and transported them to a prison operated by the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran. Advisers to the opposition leaders also said that a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards who is sympathetic to the opposition movement confirmed the news of the arrest and the leaders’ whereabouts. Reports suggest that Iranian security agents made the arrests without judicial process and without an arrest warrant. Messrs. Mousavi and Karoubi had previously been placed under house arrest after a Feb. 14 protest, when antigovernment demonstrations erupted across Iran in solidarity with the uprisings in the Arab world. (Wall Street Journal, March 1.)
PALESTINIANS TO ‘BOYCOTT U.S.’ OVER SECURITY COUNCIL VETO—(Jerusalem) The Palestinians, stepping up their protest against Washington following last Friday’s veto of an anti-settlement resolution at the UN Security Council, are calling for a boycott of U.S. government officials and journalists.At the behest of Fatah, demonstrations have already taken place in a number of Palestinian cities, where supporters chanted slogans denouncing Obama as a “despicable” man.Palestinian local councils also said that they would boycott American aid groups and the U.S. Consulate-General in Jerusalem. (Jerusalem Post, February 23.)
ISRAEL ALLOWS PALESTINIANS TO RETURN FROM LIBYA—(New York) Israel has agreed to allow 300 Palestinians from Libya to take refuge in the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “for humanitarian reasons” he had acceded to a request by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to allow the Palestinians to flee the unrest in the North African country. More than a dozen countries sent airplanes to Libya to evacuate their citizens. Hundreds have been reported dead in protests calling for an end to Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi’s 41-year reign. (JTA, February 23, 2011)
IRAN: 2012 OLYMPICS LOGO ‘RACIST,’ RESEMBLES WORD ‘ZION’—(Jerusalem) Iran is considering a boycott of the 2012 London Olympics because the event’s “racist” logo resembles the word “Zion.” The Iranian secretary general of the National Olympic Committee Bahram Afsharzadeh said Iran had filed a formal complaint regarding the logo in a letter to the International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge and was waiting for a response. The London logo shows the numbers 2012 in four jagged, multi-coloured figures. According to Afsharzadeh “other countries, including Islamic nations, will react to this racist logo and this would jeopardize the goals of the Olympic games in the world.” (Jerusalem Post, March 1.)
ARAB LEAGUE BOSS MOUSSA TO RUN FOR EGYPT PRESIDENT—(Cairo) Arab League chief Amr Moussa has confirmed that he will run in this year’s presidential elections in Egypt. Moussa’s comments came a day after a constitutional reform panel appointed by Egypt’s military recommended far-reaching reforms that relaxed eligibility rules for who qualifies to run for president. The changes, if adopted in a national referendum, would open Egypt’s presidential elections to competition and impose a two-term limit on future presidents—a dramatic shift from a system that allowed ousted President Hosni Mubarak to rule for three decades. Moussa enjoys wide popularity in Egypt, largely because of his scathing criticism of Israel. (Jerusalem Post, February 28.)
EGYPTIAN VP SULEIMAN SURVIVES ASSASSINATION BID—(Jerusalem) Egypt’s foreign minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit has confirmed that Omar Suleiman, Egypt’s vice president under ousted President Hosni Mubarak, survived an assassination attempt. In an interview with satellite channel Al Hayaat TV, Aboul Gheit said that he witnessed a shooting attack on Suleiman’s vehicle in an area near the presidential palace in Cairo. The Egyptian FM also said the gunmen were inside a “stolen ambulance vehicle,” and that one of Suleiman’s bodyguards was killed, while another bodyguard and the driver were injured. (Ynet News, February 24.)
U.S. BACKS BAHRAIN ROYALTY, VARYING PLAYBOOK ON REVOLT—(New York) The Obama administration has thrown its support behind Bahrain’s beleaguered ruling family, causing further confusion regarding Washington’s policies regarding the ongoing unrest in the Arab world. After backing opposition calls for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Col. Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, President Barack Obama has embraced efforts by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain to ease tensions and advance reform, despite an initial wave of state-sponsored violence against protesters. According to reports, the U.S. military played a key role behind the scenes, highlighting the Gulf country’s strategic importance as the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and as a bulwark against Iran. (Wall Street Journal, March 1.)
YEMEN PRESIDENT BLAMES ISRAEL FOR ARAB WORLD UNREST—(Jerusalem) Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh has accused Israel and the United States of fomenting anti-regime revolts throughout the Arab world and attempting to destabilize his country. “There is an operations rooms in Tel Aviv with the aim of destabilizing the Arab world,” Saleh said during a speech at Sanaa University. He explained that the operations room is run by the White House. (Wall Street Journal, March 1.)
SATELLITE IMAGES REVEAL ‘URANIUM PLANT’ IN SYRIA—(Jerusalem) A second suspected nuclear installation has been identified in Syria, providing new evidence that Damascus appears to have been pursuing atomic weapons before a 2007 Israeli military strike. The publishing of commercial satellite photos of a suspicious Syrian facility by Washington’s Institute for Science and International Security has increased pressure on the United Nations to demand expansive new inspections of various covert Syrian nuclear sites. To date, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has rebuffed all IAEA requests to conduct additional inspections. (Wall Street Journal, February 24.)
RUSSIA TO SELL MISSILES TO SYRIA—(Beirut) Russia has signaled its intent to press ahead with the sale of 72 cruise missiles to Syria, believed to be worth at least $300 million. The move has provoked strong reactions from Israel, which has tried to block the sale because of fears the weapons could end up in the hands of Hezbollah. Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov announced to journalists that, “the contract is in progress.” The minister added his country would also carry through on promises to deliver several Bastion anti-ship missile systems to Syria. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement that the likely recipient of the cruise missile would be the Iranian-backed militant Hezbollah group. Washington also opposes the deal, saying it could destabilize the region. (Ya Libnan, February 28.)
WIKILEAKS’ ASSANGE ACCUSES JOURNALISTS OF JEWISH CONSPIRACY—(New York) WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has accused British journalists of orchestrating a “Jewish conspiracy” against him. The allegation came in remarks published in the British magazine Private Eye, which was reporting on a phone call Assange made on Feb. 16 to the magazine’s editor complaining about British coverage of WikiLeaks. Private Eye had published an article on Israel Shamir, Assange’s associate in Russia, claiming that Shamir was a Holocaust denier and anti-semite. Assange called the article “an obvious attempt to deprive him and his organization of Jewish support and donations.” He also said the Private Eye was “part of a conspiracy” led by “Jewish” writers. (JTA, March 1.)
HAMAS, FATAH FIGHT UN’S ‘POISONOUS’ HOLOCAUST LESSONS IN SCHOOLS—(Jerusalem) Hamas and Fatah have vowed to stop the United Nations from teaching Palestinian children about the Holocaust, believing it will “poison” their minds. The history of the Holocaust is planned to be included as part of a human rights curriculum in schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency, which is responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees. A statement issued by the Hamas ministry for refugee affairs said that “Holocaust studies in refugee camps is a contemptible plot and serves the Zionist entity with a goal of creating a reality and telling stories in order to justify acts of slaughter against the Palestinian people.” More than 200,000 Palestinian children attend UNRWA schools. (Guardian, February 28 & Jerusalem Post, March 1.)
DOCUMENTARY ON TEL AVIV SCHOOL WINS OSCAR—(Jerusalem) The documentary film Strangers No More, which focuses on a Tel Aviv elementary school, has won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. The movie tells the tale of children from 48 different countries who attend the Bialik-Rogozin School in south Tel Aviv. Many of the students have escaped genocide, war and hunger to arrive in Israel at a school where “no child is a stranger.” The documentary focuses on a number of students as they acclimatize to their new lives and attempt to put the hardships and horrors of the past behind them. (Haaretz, February 28.)
