Media-ocrities of the Week
“All three of us entirely agree on the objective, which is making sure that Iran does not weaponize nuclear power and that we don’t trigger a nuclear arms race in region.”—U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking in Hawaii at the conclusion of the Asia-Pacific leaders summit, proclaiming that the United States, China and Russia are united on the need to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. Two days later, the Wall Street Journal published an article, “China, Russia Resist Sanctions Against Iran,” describing Russian and Chinese opposition to a U.S.-led push to censure Iran, and confirming that any forthcoming condemnation of Tehran’s nuclear work will not involve Iran’s referral to the U.N. Security Council nor a fifth, more severe round of U.N.-backed sanctions. According to diplomats cited by the Journal, “The fallout could allow Iran to emerge largely unscathed after the release of an IAEA report that detailed extensive evidence that Iran has been developing the technologies used in producing nuclear bombs.” (VOA News, November 14 & Wall Street Journal, November 17.)
“The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported yesterday that the UNESCO committee on human rights had accepted Syria as a member: ‘A short time after UNESCO, the UN’s organization for education and science, accepted the Palestinian Authority as a full member despite strong U.S. and Israeli opposition, it is now Syria’s turn to receive a present from the organization. Last Wednesday, the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad was chosen to be the Arab representative on the UNESCO committee that deals with issues relating to the implementation of human rights. UNESCO’s decision comes after Assad’s regime managed to kill 3,500 demonstrators and arrest tens of thousands, without any due process whatsoever.’”—Daniel Harper, describing UNESCO’s appointment of Bashar Assad’s Syria to a human rights position. In response, an Israeli official told Israel Radio “We are talking about an outrageous absurdity. UNESCO is legitimizing Syria [as a human rights champion] even as it is slaughtering its own people.” (Weekly Standard, November 18.)
Weekly Quotes
“The Obama administration pledged that Iran would suffer painful consequences for plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington and for refusing to freeze its nuclear program. Key European allies and Congress—not to mention Israel—are ready for decisive action. But on Monday the administration unveiled another series of half-steps. Sanctions were toughened on Iran’s oil industry, but there was no move to block its exports. The Iranian banking system was designated ‘a primary money laundering concern’…but the administration declined to directly sanction the central bank. The result is that President Obama is not even leading from behind on Iran; he is simply behind.… The administration’s slowness to embrace crippling sanctions is one of several persistent flaws in its Iran policy. Another is its continued insistence on the possibility of “engagement” with a regime that has repeatedly rejected it while plotting murder in Washington..… The Obama administration merely makes it more likely that drastic action, such as a military attack, eventually will be taken by Israel, or forced on the United States.”—Washington Post editorial board, in “More Half-Measures From Obama Administration On Iran,” criticizing US President Barack Obama’s futile Iran policy. (Washington Post, November 22.)
“We share a common concern with regards to Iran and their effort to develop a nuclear capability. But I think the United States feels strongly that the way to deal with that is to work with our allies, to work with the international community to develop the sanctions and the diplomatic efforts that would further isolate Iran in the international community. That is the most effective way to try to confront them at this point.”—US Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, ahead of talks last week in Canada with Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, cautioning Israel against taking military action against Iran, and urging more time for diplomacy. (Wall Street Journal, November 17.)
“If a review of the facts confirms that CBI [Central Bank of Iran] is involved in illicit activities linked to Iran’s nuclear program and terrorist activities, we urge you to quickly designate CBI as a facilitator of Iran’s weapons of mass destruction proliferation.… We also urge you to make the Central Bank of Iran’s involvement in proliferation and terrorist activities the target of coordinated multilateral sanctions.”—A bi-partisan letter written to US President Barack Obama by the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives—including Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the minority leader, Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the majority leader, Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the minority whip, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), the Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the committee’s top Democrat—urging the US President to take the necessary steps towards sanctioning Iran’s Central Bank. (JTA, November 17.)
“We will never allow to transfer them money. They are joining forces with Hamas, giving up on (Palestinian Prime Minister) Salam Fayyad, building houses for released terrorists—and all this money is coming from the funds we give them. That’s crossing the red line as far as we are concerned.”—Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, stressing that Israel will continue to enforce a freeze on the transfer of tax funds collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, given renewed reconciliation efforts between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas. (Ynet News, November 21.)
“Nearly every day, we witness new scenes of destruction. Israeli men, women and children continue to be killed and injured. Shrapnel flies into homes, schools and playgrounds. Fires rage in the streets. Yet, the Security Council still has not uttered a single syllable of condemnation against these attacks. The Security Council’s silence in the face of the constant terrorism emanating from Gaza speaks volumes.”—Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, in his fourth letter written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon this month, denouncing the more than 70 rockets and mortars fired since October at civilian targets in Israel from Gaza. Prosor, who called the attacks “a flagrant violation of international law,” added that “all responsible members of the international community have a duty to speak with a common voice and act with a common purpose against the continuous terrorism emanating from the Gaza Strip.” (Jerusalem Post, November 16.)
“The army is ready to go back to barracks immediately if the people wish that through a popular referendum, if need be. The armed forces, represented by their Supreme Council, do not aspire to govern and put the supreme interest of the country above all considerations “—Leader of Egypt’s ruling military council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, in a concession to tens of thousands of protestors in Tahrir Square demanding an end to military rule, promising that Egyptian presidential elections will be held by the end of June, 2012 and that the first of 12 parliamentary votes will go ahead as scheduled next Monday (National Post, November 23.)
“We are in the midst of an earthquake, and I still can’t see it subsiding, definitely not in the near future when elections are on the horizon. Today it is clear that for the first time in history the Muslim Brotherhood will win at least a third (of the seats in parliament). Islamization is taking the place of nationalism. We must take into account that we may find ourselves in a confrontation with Egypt.…”—Israeli member of Parliament, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, warning that the latest developments in Egypt indicate that “over time Israel will find itself in a head-on confrontation” with its Arab neighbor, and that Israel “should start preparing for a conflict” with Egypt. (Ynet News, November 15.)
“My brothers, you are at a historic moment in a new cycle of civilization, G-d willing. We are in sixth caliphate, G-d willing.”—Hamadi Jebeli, Secretary General of the Islamist Ennahda Party and frontrunner to become Tunisia’s first democratically elected prime minister, claiming the arrival of the “sixth caliphate,” or Muslim empire. Last month, Ennahda romped to victory in Tunisia’s elections, gaining more than 40% of the vote. (Gazette, November 17.)
“Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when a senior official at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization called him in for a tongue-lashing. The reason? A cartoon published in Haaretz. The November 4 cartoon, a riff on the government’s anger at UNESCO’s decision to accept Palestine as a full member, showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak sending an air force squadron to attack Iran, with Netanyahu ordering, ‘And on your way back, you’re gonna hit the UNESCO office in Ramallah!’ When he met with Eric Falt, UNESCO’s assistant director general for external relations and public information, Ambassador Nimrod Barkan was stunned to be handed a copy of this cartoon and an official letter of protest from UNESCO’s director general, Irina Bokova. Falt told Barkan the cartoon constituted incitement.…‘A cartoon like this endangers the lives of unarmed diplomats, and you have an obligation to protect them,’ he said.… Barkan pointed out that the government has no control over editorial cartoons printed in the papers. ‘Ask yourselves what you did to make a moderate paper with a deeply internationalist bent publish such a cartoon,’ Barkan said. ‘Perhaps the problem is with you.… It seems your work environment is getting more and more reminiscent of Animal Farm.’”—Barak Ravid, describing UNESCO’s censoring of Israeli Ambassador Nimrod Barkan over a cartoon published in an Israeli newspaper. (Haaretz, November 11.)
“We can have great cooperation against the common enemies of Iran and Iraq in the region and outside the region. This cooperation can be in the fields of security, training, joint maneuver and sharing experiences.”—Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, following a meeting with Chief of Staff of Iraqi Armed Forces, General Babak Zebari, announcing that Iran and Iraq have signed several memoranda of understanding to bolster their military cooperation. Jafari’s visit to Iraq comes as US forces prepare to leave the country by the end of 2011. (Independent Media Review and Analysis, November 17.)
Short Takes
CONTINUED VIOLENCE SPURS EGYPT’S CABINET TO QUIT—(Jerusalem) Egypt’s entire interim government has tendered its resignation, following a three-day explosion of violence that has killed nearly 40 people and wounded 1,200 more. In a speech announcing concessions to over 100,000 protesters who massed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to demand the army withdraw from power, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi said the council accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf’s cabinet. “The armed forces, represented by their Supreme Council, do not aspire to govern and put the interest of the country above all considerations,” Tantawi said in the televised address. Egyptians are set to elect a new parliament in a staggered vote that starts November 28, but presidential powers remain with the army until a presidential poll, which may not happen until late 2012 or early 2013. Protesters want a much swifter transition. (Jerusalem Post, November 22.)
BIDEN MEETS TOP JEWISH LEADERS ON POLLARD—(Jerusalem) US Vice President Joe Biden has met with top Jewish leaders in Washington, becoming the highest-ranking American official ever to hold a meeting about the fate of Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard. The American Jewish leaders, including Anti- Defamation League National Director Abe Foxman and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive-vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, told Biden that the average sentence given to Americans convicted of Pollard’s crime of spying for an ally has been two to four years and that people convicted of treason had also served much less time than Pollard. Thousands of Americans and Israelis called the White House switchboard to request Pollard’s release on Monday, the 26th anniversary of his arrest, and efforts to persuade Obama to grant Pollard clemency are intensifying. (Jerusalem Post, November 22.)
IRAN TRAINS GAZANS TO OPERATE ANTI-TANK MISSILES—(Jerusalem) According to the Jerusalem Post, Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip recently have undergone extensive military training in Iran, turning them into skilled operators of sophisticated anti-tank missiles. The IDF believes that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have obtained several hundred advanced Russian-made antitank missiles, which have a range of more than 4 kilometers and are capable of penetrating armored personnel carriers and some IDF tanks. The level of expertise was demonstrated earlier this year when Hamas fired a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missile at a school bus near Nahal Oz, which killed 16-year-old Daniel Viflic. To counter the growing threat, the IDF is moving forward with plans to install the Trophy active protection system on Merkava Mk 4 tanks, which uses an advanced radar system to detect, track and intercept inbound missiles. (Jerusalem Post, November 17.)
IF ASSAD FALLS, HEZBOLLAH WILL TAKE BEIRUT—(Jerusalem) Dubai-based Arabic-language news website Al Arabiya has reported that Hezbollah may launch a military offensive to take over the Lebanese capital of Beirut if Syrian President Bashar Assad is forced out of power. Citing a “source close to Hezbollah,” the paper stated that Hezbollah officials have begun to worry about the potential fallout that may result following the collapse of the Syrian regime, especially given the alliance between Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. “The moment that Hezbollah feels that the fall of the Assad regime is imminent…it will move quickly to take control of East and West Beirut,” the source told Al Arabiya. Hezbollah has denounced any potential foreign intervention inside Syria, with Nasrallah warning earlier this month in a televised speech to commemorate “Martyr’s Day” that any attack on Syria would lead to an all-out regional war. (Jerusalem Post, November 22.)
KING ABDULLAH II PAYS RARE VISIT TO WEST BANK—(Ramallah) Jordan’s King Abdullah II has paid a rare visit to the West Bank to show support for Mahmoud Abbas, ahead of the PA President’s power-sharing talks later this week with Khaled Mashaal, top leader of Hamas. The king’s visit to the West Bank is his first in more than a decade, and is being considered as an endorsement of Abbas as the sole legitimate Palestinian leader. Abbas praised the king’s visit as a “generous initiative,” and acknowledged the ongoing close coordination with the king. Following Palestinian unity talks in Cairo, Mashaal is scheduled to travel to Jordan for his first official visit since he and other Hamas leaders were expelled more than a decade ago. Jordanian officials have said Mashaal’s visit might include a meeting with the king but that a date has not been set. The officials insist Jordan would not allow Hamas to reopen its offices in the kingdom, but that the visit would mark an end to the Jordan-Hamas estrangement. (Associated Press, November 21.)
ISRAELI-ARAB LAWMAKER HAILS ARAFAT AT RAMALLAH CEREMONY—(Jerusalem) Israeli-Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi at a memorial for Yasser Arafat in Ramallah claimed that the Israeli government will soon “propose a ‘death to Arabs’ law.” Tibi, a former adviser to Arafat and current Knesset member (United Arab List-Ta’al Party), caused an uproar by referring to the late PLO chief as “the father of our homeland” and by calling Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman “the fascist settler that recently came to my homeland.” Several Israeli lawmakers have vowed complaints against Tibi for his appearance in Ramallah, a West Bank city that is off-limits for Israeli citizens. Many lawmakers filed similar complaints against Tibi when he flew with the Palestinian Authority delegation on Abbas’ plane to the United Nations in September in order to submit a bid for Palestinian statehood. (JTA, November 16.)
MAN CHARGED WITH TRYING TO ASSASSINATE OBAMA—(Jerusalem) A 21-year-old man from Idaho has been charged with trying to assassinate US President Barack Obama. Oscar Ortega-Hernandez was arrested at a hotel near Indiana, Pennsylvania, after allegedly firing shots at the White House last week. The Secret Service said one bullet broke a White House window but was stopped by protective ballistic glass, while another round struck the exterior of the building. An FBI affidavit said a witness interviewed who “knows Ortega-Hernandez well” believes he had become increasingly agitated against the government, and “wanted to ‘hurt’ President Obama. If convicted, Ortega-Hernandez faces up to life in prison. (Reuters, November 17.)
BOEING DELIVERS FIRST BATCH OF 30,000-POUND BOMBS TO US AIR FORCE—(Los Angeles) Boeing Co. has delivered the first batch of 30,000-pound “bunker busters”, each nearly five tons heavier than anything else in the military’s arsenal, to the U.S. Air Force. At a total cost of about $314 million, the military has developed and ordered 20 of the GPS-guided bombs, called Massive Ordnance Penetrators. Packed with more than 5,300 pounds of explosives and more than 20 feet long, there is “no other weapon that can get after those hard and deeply buried targets,” according to Brig. Gen. Scott Vander Hamm. The military disclosed delivery of the new weapons less than a week after the International Atomic Energy Agency warned that Iran was secretly working to develop nuclear weapons. Iran is known to have hidden nuclear complexes that are fortified with steel and concrete, and buried inside mountains. (LA Times, November 16.)
GADHAFI’S SON CAPTURED IN LIBYA—(New York) Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of the deposed Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, has been captured by fighters loyal to the new transitional government. Libya’s militias had been hunting Seif al-Islam since he disappeared in late August after Tripoli fell under rebel control. The news of the son’s capture sparked celebrations across the country, as many Libyans feared that as long as Seif al-Islam remained at large, he could marshal the resources to launch an insurgency against the nascent government. The new interim Libyan prime minister, who flew to the western city of Zintan to confirm the capture over the weekend, indicated that Libya would try Seif al-Islam and not immediately turn him over to the international court, where he is wanted for crimes against humanity. (Wall Street Journal, November 20.)
DEBUT ALBUM OF JEWISH HIP-HOP ARTIST TOPS U.S. CHARTS—(Jerusalem)
Nineteen-year-old “white Jewish rapper” known as Mac Miller has reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts with his debut album, “Blue Slide Park.” According to ABC News, the album sold 144,487 copies during its first week of sale, and prompted the high-praise headline: “Mac Miller: The Next Eminem?” In a recent interview, Miller was quoted as saying, “I’ve grown up Jewish. I went to Emma Kaufmann Camp, I had a bar mitzva. Part of it was to remember that’s who I always will be. But I could’ve gotten a number of Jewish-related tattoos; I got the chai because life is really important. (Haaretz, November 20.)
