Congress Frees 20% of Aid to the PA
by Elad Benari
29 december 2011, Tevet 3, 5772
American lawmakers have freed up a little more than 20 percent of $187 million in U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday.
The assistance was frozen after the PA submitted its unilateral bid for United Nations membership.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/221377#.Tv2o4NWvkVo
Members of Congress have made available $40 million in economic and humanitarian funding for the PA, the State Department said. The money is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development and “has been vital to establishing and strengthening the foundations necessary for a future Palestinian state,” according to the State Department’s statement.
The Obama administration had been urging lawmakers to release the money, claiming it contributes to the PA's stability and to Israeli security. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/148461#.Tv2pH9WvkVp
AP reported that the administration is now pressing Congress to release the remaining $147 million that comes from the last budget cycle in which aid to the PA was to total $545.7 million. The administration has asked Congress for $513.4 million in aid for the Palestinians in fiscal year 2012, the report said.
According to a recently released proposal, the U.S. Congress would allow American economic aid to the PA to continue next year so long as the entity is not admitted as a state to any more United Nations organizations.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/150785#.Tv2pYdWvkVp
State Department: More Money Should be Freed to PA
30 december 2011, Tevet 4, 5772
by Elad Benari
The U.S. State Department welcomed on Thursday Congress’ decision to release $40 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority, but said that additional funding should be released.
“We have been working with Congress for some time, because we don’t think it's in U.S. national interests to keep this money frozen,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was quoted by AFP as having told reporters.
She added, however, “We will continue to work with Congress when they come back in session to secure additional funding for these programs, because we think they’re important. We think they aid in stability and security and development for the Palestinian people. That’s in our interest, it’s in their interest and we believe it’s also in Israel’s interest.”
On Wednesday, American lawmakers announced they have freed up a little more than 20 percent of $187 million in U.S. assistance to the Palestinian Authority, which was frozen after the PA submitted its unilateral bid for United Nations membership.
Members of Congress have made available $40 million in economic and humanitarian funding for the PA, the State Department said. The money is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The Obama administration had been urging lawmakers to release the money, claiming it contributes to the PA's stability and to Israeli security.
U.S. Warns its Citizens Against Taking Part in Gaza Flotilla
June 23, 2011, Sivan 21, 5771
by Elad Benari
The United States warned its citizens on Wednesday against participating in the Freedom Flotilla 2, aimed at breaking Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143425
The State Department issued a new travel advisory for Israel, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, saying the Gaza coast is “dangerous and volatile.”
The advisory notes that the IDF “strictly controls the crossing points between Israel and the Gaza Strip...U.S. citizens are advised against traveling to Gaza by any means, including via sea.”
The warning then goes on to say, “Previous attempts to enter Gaza by sea have been stopped by Israeli naval vessels and resulted in the injury, death, arrest, and deportation of U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens participating in any effort to reach Gaza by sea should understand that they may face arrest, prosecution, and deportation by the Government of Israel.”
It also notes that “The Government of Israel has announced its intention to seek ten-year travel bans to Israel for anyone participating in an attempt to enter Gaza by sea.”
The warning by the State Department comes after earlier in the week, a group of Jewish Americans said they planned to take part in this year’s flotilla to Gaza.
The Americans hope to sail from Greece on “The Audacity of Hope” ship. One of them, Jewish activist Leslie Cogan told the French news agency AFP that the flotilla is “a cargo of friendship, a cargo of peace.” http://ustogaza.org/
Gerelateerd artikel:
Israel imposed a partial blockade on the Gaza Strip after the Hamas terrorist group ousted the rival Fatah faction in a bloody war more than four years ago. Thousands of tons of humanitarian aid were allowed through land crossings, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu last year canceled the blockade on all goods except for material that can be used for the Hamas terrorist infrastructure.
The maritime embargo remains in effect because Hamas can easily use fishing boats to bring into Gaza weapons from Iran and Syria.
Last year, a similar attempt to break the blockade on Gaza resulted in IDF navy officers storming the Mavi Marmara. The so-called ‘peace activists’ on board attempted to lynch the soldiers, who had boarded the ship in accordance with international maritime law.
Nine members of the lynch-mob were killed when the commandos were forced to open fire to save their imperiled comrades.
Obama: 'We Have Taken Out More Than Half of Al Qaeda Leadership'
June 23, 2011, Sivan 21, 5771
by Chana Ya'ar
President Barack Obama boasted in a speech to the nation Wednesday night that American forces have managed to eliminate about half of the leadership of the international Al Qaeda terrorist organization.
“Al Qaeda is under more pressure than at any time since '9/11',” he said. “Together with the Pakistanis, we have more than half of Al Qaeda's leadership. And thanks to our intelligence professionals and special forces, we killed Osama bin Laden, the only leader that Al Qaeda has ever known."
“This was a victory for all who have served since 9/11. One soldier summed it up well. 'The message,' he said, 'is we don't forget. You will be held accountable, no matter how long it takes.'”
Al Qaeda, Obama said, had been unable to replace senior terrorists who were taken out. The group “remains dangerous,” he warned, and “we must be vigilant against attacks.” However, America had clearly put Al Qaeda “on a path to defeat.”
The speech was ostensibly broadcast to announce to Americans that Obama was about to keep another campaign promise – that of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
“Nearly 10 years ago," Obama began, "America suffered the worst attack on our shores since Pearl Harbor. This mass murder was planned by Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network in Afghanistan, and signaled a new threat to our security...” He bluntly reminded viewers that it was on his watch that America's Number One enemy had been eliminated.
That having been done, he went on to tell voters he would fulfill a promise he had made in 2009 when the U.S. and other forces added troops in a surge against the Taliban – to begin to draw down forces in Afghanistan by July 2011. By the end of summer 2012 – and coincidentally just before the next presidential election – Obama said a total of 33,000 troops will have been pulled out. By 2014, he said, “the Afghan people will be responsible for their own security.”
For some, he didn't go far enough. “American polls want us out of Afghanistan now! Obama's speech tonight was a joke. Why isn't he listening to the people?,” wrote one person in a Twitter feed from Phoenix, Arizona. Others celebrated the announcement.
John Bolton: US Can Stop PA Initiative by Halting Funds for UN
June 5, 2011, Sivan 3, 5771
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Congressional law that would stop funding for the United Nations if it recognizes the Palestinian Authority as a state would stop the plan in its tracks, says John Bolton, former American Ambassador to the international body and a possible presidential candidate.
The United Nations is slated to discuss in September an Arab League motion to recognize the Palestinian Authority with borders based on the temporary 1949 Armistice Lines that defined Israel’s territory.
Writing in The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Bolton dismissed the possibility that U.S. President Barack Obama would take such action on his own. He wrote, “Mr. Obama is highly unlikely to do anything so decisive, which is why many in America and Israel remain gravely concerned about this latest Palestinian diplomatic ploy.”
Bolton noted that although U.N. recognition of the Palestinian Authority does not mean it would have membership in the United Nations, “It would nonetheless be a major Palestinian success.”
As far back as 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) issued a "declaration of statehood” and changed the name of its observer delegation to the United Nations from the PLO to Palestine.
“The Palestinians then campaigned to join U.N. bodies like the World Health Organization, reasoning that since U.N. agency charters allow only states as members, the admission of ‘Palestine’ would prove that it, too, was a state,” Bolton explained in his op-ed article.
He noted that at the time, Secretary of State James Baker warned publicly, “I will recommend to the President that the United States make no further contributions, voluntary or assessed, to any international organization which makes any changes in the PLO's status as an observer organization."
Bolton stated, “Although defeating the PLO campaign required further maneuvering, Mr. Baker's statement was the death knell of the ‘statehood’ push.”
After writing that President Obama will not take such action, Bolton turned to Congress, which he said “has a rich history of dealing with U.N. actions it doesn't appreciate. Rather than wait for a Baker-like threat, Congress should legislate broadly that any U.N. action that purports to acknowledge or authorize Palestinian statehood will result in a cutoff of all U.S. contributions to the offending agency….
“Reducing U.S. funding to the U.N. is the next available, highly visible, target of opportunity. It presents the U.N. membership with a fascinating question: Would they rather recognize Palestinian statehood, or keep America's money?"
Obama Administration Corrects Clapper's Claim That Muslim Brotherhood Is 'Secular'
February 17, 2011, Adar 13, 5771
James Clapper
The Obama administration took the rare step Thursday of correcting its own intelligence chief after the official claimed Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood is "largely secular."
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper discussed the Islamist group during a hearing on Capitol Hill earlier Thursday. He testified that the organization has "pursued social ends" and a "betterment of the political order," and downplayed its religious underpinnings.
Beeldmateriaal:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/02/10/administration-corrects-dni-clapper-claim-muslim-brotherhood-secular/
"The term 'Muslim Brotherhood' ... is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried Al Qaeda as a perversion of Islam," Clapper said. http://www.foxnews.com/topics/world/egypt.htm#r_src=ramp
http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/iraq/al-qaeda.htm#r_src=ramp
But the DNI later issued a statement to "clarify" that claim.
"To clarify Director Clapper's point, in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood makes efforts to work through a political system that has been, under Mubarak's rule, one that is largely secular in its orientation. He is well aware that the Muslim Brotherhood is not a secular organization," DNI spokesperson Jamie Smith said.
While the Brotherhood has renounced violence, one of its goals is to pursue the creation of an Islamic state. The CIA's own website lists the Brotherhood as a "religious-based" party.
Clapper's claim quickly drew scrutiny on Capitol Hill, even before his office walked back the statement. "I am concerned that the DNI's assessment does not agree with recent public statements by senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood nor does it agree with the organization's publicly stated goals," Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., said in a written statement, describing the group as "radical."
"They're as secular as Billy Graham and the pope are secular," former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said.
The Clapper remark came amid new developments in Egypt. Some expected President Hosni Mubarak to step down in the face of massive protests, but he instead announced that while he was transferring some authority to his vice president he would remain in power until elections in September. http://www.foxnews.com/topics/politics/president-hosni-mubarak.htm#r_src=ramp
Regardless, a number of U.S. officials have expressed concern about the possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is officially outlawed under Mubarak, seizing political power in the state.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Thursday that the United States should facilitate a "post-Mubarak transition in order to avert further violence and restore calm." As part of that, she said the United States should "guard against the use of the transition process by nefarious elements such as the Muslim Brotherhood to directly or indirectly undermine Egypt's evolution to a democratic republic."
This isn't the first time Clapper has stumbled on the public stage.
During a televised interview in December alongside other top security officials, Clapper was stumped when asked about a major set of terror arrests in Great Britain.
The White House later acknowledged that Clapper had not yet been briefed about the sweep, while defending him as "the consummate DNI."
If I had a clue...
7 februari 2011
http://www.youtube.com/user/LatmaTV#p/a/u/4/jGNRUyD7n20
US Senate Backs Netanyahu, Asks Obama to Pressure Abbas
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
September 28, 2010, Tishrei 20, 5771
Eighty-seven U.S. senators—almost the entire 100-member Senate—have signed a letter to President Barack Obama that in effect blames the Palestinian Authority for freezing direct talks--at least for the time being--with Israel.
The Senators' letter may help counter anti-Israel international sentiment, led by the Obama administration. U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters Monday that the United States is “disappointed” that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did not extend the 10-month moratorium on building. The freeze was instituted to satisfy Abbas’ condition for a resumption of direct talks, but he balked, arguing that it was not comprehensive and extensive enough.
A new poll reveals that President's Obama's peace-making efforts in the Middle East do not interest voters, whose attitude points to his becoming a one-term president for not succeeding in addressing issues such as economics, that do interest constituents.
The senators’ letter praises Prime Minister Netanyahu, who they pointed out "did not abandon the talks” despite “the brutal murder of four innocent Israeli civilians by Hamas militants at the start of the negotiations. We also agree with you [Obama] that it is critical that all sides stay at the table," the letter stated.
The senators sent the letter on Monday, according to the Foreign Policy website’s ”The Cable,” which described the message as including a “thinly veiled reference to Abbas's multiple statements that he would leave the talks if the moratorium was not extended.”
"Neither side should make threats to leave just as the talks are getting started," the letter stated. It was sent several hours before U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell announced he will return to the region this week in an effort to prevent the talks from being frozen indefinitely.
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has not said he will carry out his threat to end the talks following Israel’s resumption of building for Jews in Judea and Samaria, but instead he has referred the issue to the Arab League for a decision next week, relieving himself of the responsibility.
Clinton Pushes Israel, not PA, to Take Risks for Peace
by Maayana Miskin
April 16, 2010, Iyar 2, 5770
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has increased the pressure on Israel again to strengthen the PLO and Fatah and make concessions to the Palestinian Authority. The pressure is an apparent response to an impasse in talks between Israel and the PA, which has refused to hold direct negotiations. It is in direct contradiction to Obama's recent remarks about not continuing to concentrate on the Middle East, since he sees no progress after all the U.S. efforts to start talks.
Clinton spoke Thursday at the opening of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace think tank. While she called for the PA, led by Mahmoud Abbas, to end its incitement against Israel, she had a number of steps for Israel to take.
"We encourage Israel to continue building momentum toward a comprehensive peace by demonstrating respect for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, stopping settlement activity and addressing the humanitarian needs in Gaza,” she said. “And to refrain from unilateral statements and actions that could undermine trust or risk prejudicing the outcome of talks.”
Israel must strengthen the PA and the PLO in order to counter Hamas, Clinton said. “Israel can and should do more to support the Palestinian Authority's efforts to build credible institutions and deliver results,” she argued.
Clinton praised Abbas's work in the PA, but said that if Abbas is seen as unable to get results, “there is no doubt his support will fade and Palestinians will turn to alternatives – including Hamas.”
As Israel has halted construction in Judea and Samaria's Jewish communities, Clinton's reference to “settlement activity” was apparently in regard to the construction of Jewish homes in Jerusalem. Israel's capital city was split in 1949 as Jordan seized half the city, and reunited in 1967 during the Six Day War.
Israel has declared united Jerusalem as its capital. The PA has demanded that those areas that were under Jordanian control for 18 years be given to the PA as the capital of a future Arab state.
When Clinton served as senator of New York she supported Israel's position, stating that Jerusalem's status as Israel's undivided capital “must never be questioned.” However, since her appointment as President Barack Obama's secretary of state, Clinton has changed her position in favor of the PA, and recently called the construction of housing in the Jewish neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo “insulting”.
Following the Obama administration's insistence that Israel cease construction in much of Jerusalem, the PA took up the same demand and PA leaders have now stated that they will not hold direct talks with Israel as long as Jews are allowed to build in areas once under Jordanian control – including historically Jewish neighborhoods such as the Old City.
Benjamin Netanyahu Needs Your Prayers
By Shira Sorko-Ram
August 2, 2010
More and more Israeli journalists are writing about something I have never seen in print before. They are concerned for the incredibly heavy load Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carries on his shoulders.
Paraphrasing editor David Horovitz of the Jerusalem Post, Netanyahu the juggler is somehow keeping all the balls in the air. Above all, he is desperate to keep President Barack Obama happy. He is desperate to keep former British Prime Minister Tony Blair – who is now the Middle East envoy for EU, UN, US and Russia – happy. He is trying to keep Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas not too unhappy.
He is trying to keep his coalition together – Avigdor Lieberman, his often correct, but incredibly
undiplomatic coalition partner to the right, together with Ehud Barak, his coalition partner to the left.
He also has powerful ultra-Orthodox in his government – leaders of religious communities who believe that according to the Scriptures, the land of Judea and Samaria has been given to Israel as an everlasting inheritance. But these same communities refuse to serve in the army and refuse to work regular jobs.
They live to receive handouts from the government. In other words, they study Talmud and expect the government to pay their families’ living expenses. And they work to control every phase of Israeli religious life.
Netanyahu is in favor of settlements and thus naturally empathizes with the religious right, but he is convinced there is no alternative to creating a Palestinian state out of several million hostile Arabs. What else can he do?
But the Palestinians are doing little or nothing to create their own Muslim state. Palestinian leaders continue to sweet-talk the West in English while promoting the destruction of Israel in Arabic. What to do? Americans and Europeans only understand English.
Israelis are VERY happy that President Obama has again smiled upon us, while very skeptical that he is doing so to win the Jewish vote and donations for the November 2010 elections. What will he be to Israel after the elections?
Pictures reveal what words may attempt to hide. Contrary to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s last visit to the White House, President Obama smiled broadly throughout the photo op. Netanyahu, on the other hand, is restrained as if deep down he is still very concerned about the stability of the US - Israel relationship.
Across the board, Israeli pundits believe that if the US were to turn her back on Israel, it would be disastrous for this tiny country – isolated and almost friendless among the nations of the world.
Militarily, Netanyahu and his government face the land of Hizbullah (Southern Lebanon) where against all promises and agreements with the UN peacekeepers, terrorists have built up an army of 20,000 militants, placing their ammunitions and command centers next to hospitals, schools and mosques – the better to see as many Lebanese civilians killed as possible for the sake of the cause to destroy Israel.
“Humanitarian aid” activists connected with Hamas and even al-Qaeda are making plans to send more ships from Arab and European ports to Gaza – in order to break the blockade and enable Hamas to ship in unlimited weapons.
Even while Netanyahu juggles relations with the US and Europe, his government agonizes over the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Security Council, and the UN Human Rights Council as they plot to bring Israel down – through “investigations,” boycotts, sanctions, threats, resolutions,
special conferences – and any other device they can find.
And of course there are the universities in England which boycott Israeli professors, the UK Methodist church along with many activitists who have launched boycotts against goods produced by settlements in the West Bank, and the attempts of Great Britain and some European countries to arrest our elected officials and military leaders for “crimes against humanity.”
Yes, we are preparing for war, because Hizbullah and Hamas exist for that sole purpose and are rearming to fight and conquer Israel.
And then, when he comes home at night, Benjamin Netanyahu passes by the tents in front of his dwelling which house Noam and Aviva Shalit, the parents of the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. They have recently concluded a 200 kilometer march with a total of 200,000 Israelis marching along with them in different parts of the country. Noam pleads, “Bring my son home before they kill him.”
It has become a sensitive political minefield for Netanyahu, who said on television recently that he was prepared to pay a high price, but not any price, for the soldier’s release. Hamas is demanding 1,000 terrorists to be released, some of them notorious killers who murdered hundreds of Israelis.
Most Israelis now feel that Netanyahu must bring Gilad home in order to preserve the morale of Israel’s army and the parents of the boys and girls they send to serve in the military. The soldiers tell the media they need assurance if they are kidnapped Israel will bring them home. Yet, Israelis also know that some of the killers, if released, will surely kill more Israelis.
But there is much more: Should Netanyahu hand over the Gaza check point crossings to the Palestinian Authority to manage what goes into Gaza? Can they be trusted to keep weapons out of Gaza?
What can Netanyahu do to try to improve relations with the nation of Turkey whose angry president is a radical Muslim who concocted the “humanitarian aid” flotilla with Hamas militants to break the Gaza blockade in the first place?
Should Netanyahu allow Obama to talk him into renewing the 10-month freeze of construction in all the towns in Judea and Samaria, even though it caused chaos in the building industry, left families with half-build houses and cost its citizens multiplied millions of dollars in lost revenue?
What should Netanyahu do with President Mahmoud Abbas who won’t negotiate face to face with him until he promises to let several million “refugees” move into Israel, and promises to turn ancient Jerusalem over to the Palestinians to be their capital? Of course Abbas’ demands are preposterous, but Obama is pushing...
But we have not yet arrived at the greatest danger – Iran. Yes, Iran is already at war with Israel through its proxies Hizbullah and Hamas – to which it supplies huge, continuous quantities of all types of weapons (especially to Hizbullah through Syria, but also to Hamas through tunnels). But Netanyahu knows that a nuclear Iran will change everything. What more can he do to persuade the US and Europe to stop Iran before it is too late?
Obama dreigt steun voor de Palestijnse staat te laten vallen
July 28, 2010
In een memo aan Abbas eist Obama directe vredesbesprekingen met Israël; Palestijnen zeggen het ultimatum te zullen afwijzen.
Associated Press meldde dinsdag, dat het in bezit is van details van een geheim memo van de Amerikaanse president Barack Obama aan de Palestijnse leider Mahmoud Abbas. Hierin dreigt hij de steun voor een Palestijnse staat te laten vallen, indien de laatste niet akkoord gaat met directe vredesbesprekingen met Israël.
De memo werd aan Abbas overhandigd door de Amerikaanse gezant voor het Midden-Oosten George Mitchell. AP bemachtigde een kopie van een Palestijns document, waarin naar de Amerikaanse memo wordt verwezen.
Het toont aan dat de regering-Obama zich ervan bewust is, dat Abbas onder zware druk van de Arabische wereld staat, om geen rechtstreekse onderhandelingen met Israël te voeren; door dit te doen zou hij zijn politieke carrière beëindigen. Niettemin waarschuwt de memo Abbas om "nu rechtstreekse besprekingen te accepteren, als hij hulp van president Obama wil bij het faciliteren van een staat."
Obama en Mitchell hebben beiden Abbas laten weten, dat de Israëlische premier Benjamin Netanyahu niet overal op ingaat, en sterke politieke steun geniet in Israël. Wachten op een kneedbaarder premier in Israël zal daarom Obama's agenda voor vrede in het Midden-Oosten te ver terugdraaien.
Het Palestijnse document vermeldde, dat Abbas en zijn medewerkers voor afwijzing van het Amerikaanse ultimatum zijn. Ze zijn er waarschijnlijk van overtuigd, dat Obama zijn bedreigingen niet zal doorzetten en daarmee riskeren het diplomatieke succes te verspelen van supervisie over een vredesakkoord in het Midden-Oosten. In het verleden zijn Amerikaanse presidenten uiteindelijk gezwicht voor de Palestijnse onverzettelijkheid en hebben zij in plaats daarvan druk op Israël uitgeoefend.
Palestinian minister of uncontrollable rage in New York
July 10, 2010
http://www.latma.co.il/Latma/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=2&TMID=99&FID=469&PlayListId=8B99644BD8FE4070
Obama Advisor: Warm Words for Saudi Arabia, Hizbullah, Al-Quds
by Hillel Fendel
May 23, 2010, Sivan 10, 5770
John Brennan, Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security, called Jerusalem “Al-Quds,” praised Saudi Arabian religious tolerance, and is encouraging of Hizbullah.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has drawn attention to the above three instances of recent remarks by one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s top terrorism-issues advisors, calling them “outrageous” and “disgraceful.”
Speaking to an apparently Muslim audience at New York University in February, at a forum co-hosted by the White House and the Islamic Center at New York University." Brennan first told a story in Arabic, evoking laughter and concluding with, “Don’t tell the folks who don’t speak Arabic what I said.” He then said that his favorite city in the Middle East is “Al Quds, Jerusalem.”
In the same speech, Brennan also spoke of his time at the American University in Cairo in the 1970s, referring to the common aspirations of his former Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian classmates, including the freedom “to practice our faith freely … In Saudi Arabia, I saw how our Saudi partners fulfilled their duty as custodians of the two holy mosques at Mecca and Medina.”
In another speech before Lebanese leaders who visited Washington recently, Brennan told them, “Hizbullah is a very interesting organization,” and said that it had evolved from “purely a terrorist organization” to a militia and now to an organization that has members within the parliament and the cabinet. “There is certainly the elements of Hizbullah that are truly a concern to us, what they’re doing,” Brennan said. “And what we need to do is to find ways to diminish their influence within the organization and to try to build up the more moderate elements.”
The ZOA noted that Hizbullah is actually a Lebanese-Iranian proxy terrorist group that has called continually for the elimination of Israel.
“These comments by John Brennan are as outrageous as they are deeply troubling,” ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “No one refers to Jerusalem in the English language as Al-Quds, unless they have a specific political, anti-Israel agenda - in this case, pandering to Israel’s enemies, who will draw comfort from the use of the term Al-Quds by a senior U.S. government official.”
Klein termed “disgraceful” the fact that “Mr. Brennan’s pandering is taken so far that he speaks of some supposed shared goal of freedom of religious practice, and then immediately refers in complimentary words to Saudi Arabia - a country that is notorious for its harsh denial of freedom of religion, in which even non-Wahhabi Muslim mosques are prohibited, let alone churches and synagogues.”
Regarding Brennan’s comments about Hizbullah, Klein said, “Worse, Brennan give unwarranted legitimacy to the recognized terrorist group Hizbullah, thereby undercutting past U.S. efforts to isolate this murderous outfit.”
Klein sums up: “John Brennan is yet another hand-picked Obama adviser who shows a distinct animus against Israel and partiality for its enemies. It is unsurprising that, when Barack Obama is advised by people like these, quite apart from the President’s own troubling history of friendships with vicious critics of Israel and having belonged for two decades to an anti-Israel, anti-American black supremacist church, the Obama Administration has ignited major tensions in its relations with Israel while not holding accountable and penalizing the Palestinian Authority for continuing terrorism and incitement to hatred and murder.”
America & Israel (2010) - The Press' Perspective
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf4RxE1u7LU&feature=player_embedded#!
Felle kritiek Obama-administratie op Israël
Uit het nieuws
24 maart 2010
Israëls aankondiging 1600 woningen te willen bouwen in de wijk Ramat Shlomo in het oostelijk deel van Jeruzalem, heeft binnen de Obama-administratie tot felle afkeurende reacties geleid. De bekendmaking kwam tijdens het bezoek van de Amerikaanse vice-president Joe Biden aan Israel om het in het slop geraakte ‘vredesproces’ nieuw leven in te blazen. Biden sprong bijna uit zijn vel van woede toen hij hoorde over Israels bouwplannen en kwam onmiddellijk met een felle veroordeling door Israel te beschuldigen van het “ondergraven van het nodige onderlinge vertrouwen”. Ramat Shlomo bevindt zich binnen de gemeentegrenzen van Jeruzalem dat door Israel volkomen terecht wordt beschouwd als hun ongedeelde hoofdstad. Het gebied valt niet onder de ‘bevriezing’ van de nederzettingen waartoe de Israelische regering van Benjamin Netanyahu in december 2009 besloot, om de vastgelopen vredesbesprekingen met de Palestijnen vlot te trekken. Zoals bekend willen de Palestijnen het oostelijk deel van Jeruzalem als de hoofdstad van hun toekomstige Palestijnse staat.
Ook de rest van de Obama-clan kwam onmiddellijk met een golf aan afwijzende reacties en eiste van Israel onmiddellijk te stoppen met alle bouwactiviteiten. Barack Hoessein Obama noemt Israel nog wel één van Amerika’s belangrijkste bondgenoten, maar in werkelijkheid zet hij de relatie met Israël steeds verder onder druk door zich met allerlei interne Israelische aangelegenheden te bemoeien. Hij doet geen enkele moeite zijn afkeer van de Joodse staat te verbergen en lijkt aan te sturen op een frontale botsing met de regering van Benjamin Netanyahu. In het begin van zijn regeerperiode maakte hij al bekend dat er ‘diplomatieke afstand moest worden gecreëerd’ tussen de VS en Israël om het ‘vredesproces’ een kans te geven. Volgens Washington heeft Israël geen enkele legale band met Jeruzalem maar dat is in volledige tegenspraak met de beslissing van het Amerikaanse Congres op 24 april 1990 Jeruzalem te erkennen als hoofdstad van Israel. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/US-Israel/HouseRes290.html. Obama en de zijnen wensen daar kennelijk niet aan herinnerd te worden. Israëls historische recht op de stad wordt door het Witte Huis met voeten getreden en de eeuwenoude band met de stad bewust genegeerd. Alle aandacht richt zich op de installering van een Palestijnse staat.
Na zijn bezoek aan Israël arriveerde Biden in Ram-allah waar hij PA/PLO leider Mahmoud Abbas knuffelde alsof het een oude liefde betrof. Ook gaf hij tot groot genoegen van het regiem Israël nog even een flinke veeg uit de pan. Abbas maakte onmiddellijk van de gespannen situatie gebruik door te eisen dat alle bouwplannen met onmiddellijke ingang worden gestaakt. Hij kreeg voor deze eis niet alleen de handen op elkaar van Biden maar ook van Hillary Clinton en George Mitchell, Obama’s Midden -Oosten afgezant. Volgens de Arabische krant Al-Quds Al-Arabi heeft Mitchell aan Abbas beloofd, dat de VS zullen zorgen voor een algehele bouwstop in ieder geval gedurende de periode dat er onderhandeld wordt over vrede. Biden sprak met geen woord over de provocatie van Abbas’ en premier Fayyad’s deelname aan een ceremonie, waarbij de vrouwelijke terrorist Dalal Mughrabi werd geëerd die verantwoordelijk was voor de moordpartij op 37 Israëlische buspassagiers, waaronder 11 kinderen in 1978. Ook sprak hij met geen woord over de dagelijkse haatuitzendingen aan het adres van Israël op de Palestijnse televisie en in de kranten en de haateducatie in de Palestijnse schoolboeken. Het noemen van straten, pleinen en sportaangelegenheden, naar wandelende zelfmoordbommen die dood en verderf in Israël hebben gezaaid, vond Biden eveneens niet noemenswaardig. Ook sprak hij met geen woord over het feit dat het handvest van het PA/PLO regiem ongewijzigd streeft naar de vernietiging van Israël. Al op 24 april 1994 kwam de Palestijnse Nationale Vergadering samen en werd de aanpassing van het Handvest via een amendement verworpen. Tot op de dag van vandaag circuleert nog altijd de leugen in het Westen en in het Midden-Oosten dat de Palestijnen toen het bestaansrecht van Israël zouden erkend hebben en het geweld en terrorisme zouden hebben afgezworen. Maar het is niets anders dan één grote leugen geweest geïntroduceerd door de vliegtuigkaper en aartsterrorist Yasser Arafat.Voor uitvoerige informatie hierover verwijs ik u gaarne naar de site van Brabosh. lees artikel Niets is er van Palestijnse kant veranderd na de Oslo- akkoorden. Terreur op terreur is wat de Israëlische burgers te verduren hebben gekregen. Toch leggen de wereldleiders de schuldvraag over het stagnerende vredesproces bij Israel neer.
“Wanneer de Arabieren hun wapens neerleggen, dan is er vandaag vrede. Wanneer Israel zijn wapens neerlegt is er morgen geen Israel meer!”
Biden verzekerde het PA/PLO regiem dat het doel van Washington de oprichting van een onafhankelijke Palestijnse staat is, en dat iedere partij die dit doel in de weg staat, aangepakt zal worden. De uitspraken van Biden, net als die van Hillary Clinton en George Mitchell, laten ondubbelzinnig zien, dat de regering Obama de uitkomst van deze onderhandelingen al lang bepaald heeft, namelijk dat Israel vrijwel alle Palestijnse eisen zal moeten inwilligen, en afstand zal moeten doen van het oostelijk deel van Jeruzalem. Dat zijn voor vrijwel de hele Israelische bevolking en alle belangrijke politieke partijen, onverteerbare eisen. Hillary Clinton uitte in een 43 minuten durend telefoongesprek met Netanyahu haar ongenoegen over Israëls bouwplannen in Ramat Shlomo en zei dat deze beslissing de relatie met de VS ernstig kan schaden. Zij sprak van een ‘een diep negatief signaal’ en eiste van Israël van alle bouwplannen af te zien.
In Israel lijken de burgers nauwelijks wakker te liggen van het conflict met de verbolgen Amerikanen. In kringen van Israelische diplomaten is de irritatie wel duidelijk zichtbaar. Steeds meer Israëlische politici pleiten er openlijk voor dat de regering zich in het vervolg niets meer aantrekt van de ongehoorde bemoeienis van de Obama-administratie met Israels interne aangelegenheden. Volgens Likud parlementslid Yariv Levin, is het ‘tijd om voor onszelf op te komen’: 'We hebben het absolute recht om overal in Israël te bouwen, vooral in Jeruzalem.Om het probleem te verhelpen moet Israël alle bouwactiviteiten onmiddellijk hervatten, en stoppen met het toestaan van buitenlandse inmenging in onze interne zaken. We moeten de nadruk leggen op de éénheid van Jeruzalem. Waarom hebben we iedere keer de toestemming van Amerika nodig als we een wijk of een huis in Jeruzalem willen bouwen?’ aldus Levin. Buitenlandse pogingen om de Israelische politiek ten aanzien van Jeruzalem te dicteren noemt Levin 'schaamteloze bemoeizucht.’
De vice-voorzitter van de Knesset Danny Dalon noemde de felle kritiek van Hillary Clinton “pure onbeschaamdheid”: ‘Dit is wéér zo’n voorval in een lange serie contra-productieve verklaringen van de regering Obama. Het waren nodeloze en eerlijk gezegd ook irritante opmerkingen’ aldus Dalon. De Joodse leiders in Samaria en Judea legden in een brief aan Hillary Clinton uit dat deze Bijbelse gebieden en heel Jeruzalem onlosmakelijk met Israel verbonden zijn: ‘Jeruzalem is onze heilige stad sinds koning David 3000 jaar geleden. Niemand heeft sindsdien onze relatie met Jeruzalem kunnen vernietigen. De Romeinen en de Grieken niet, de Kruisvaarders en de Arabieren niet, de Ottomanen en de Britten niet. Wanneer u zegt dat wij geen huizen in onze hoofdstad mogen bouwen dan bemoeit u zich op onacceptabele manier met onze interne aangelegenheden. Wij zullen niet onderhandelen over Jeruzalem en het Joodse volk staat wereldwijd achter onze premier Netanyahu.’
Volgens Netanyahu zal Israel gewoon doorgaan met het bouwen van nieuwe huizen in en rond Jeruzalem. “De afgelopen veertig jaar is er geen enkele Israelische regering geweest die de bouw van wijken in en rondom Jeruzalem heeft beperkt”, aldus Netanyahu voor het Israelische parlement. De Joodse wijken in en rond Jeruzalem zullen altijd onderdeel van Israel moeten blijven. Tevens verklaarde hij dat de 10 maanden durende bouwstop in Judea en Samaria niet verlengd zal worden. Washington heeft herhaaldelijk gezegd dat de voortdurende bouwplannen een groot struikelblok voor duurzame vrede in het Midden-Oosten creëert. Isi Leibler, analist bij de Jerusalem Post concludeerde dat Obama te ver is gegaan door felle kritiek te leveren op Israels bouwplannen in Ramat Shlomo.
Ramat Shlomo
Deze kritiek staat volgens Leibler niet op zichzelf maar moet worden gezien in de context van de steeds vijandiger wordende houding van het Witte Huis sinds Obama aan de macht is. Daarnaast is Obama’s toenadering tot Islamitische schurkenstaten rampzalig gebleken. Volgens Leibner nemen de strategieën in het Witte Huis op deze cynische manier afstand van Israël, omdat ze door het uitbuiten van de haat tegen Israel die de wereld heeft overspoeld, weer populairder proberen te worden. De pro-Palestijnse en pro-islamitische politiek van Obama is dan ook overduidelijk. Daar waar Israel op werkelijk ieder besluit fel bekritiseerd wordt, heeft Obama’s regering sinds zijn aantreden nog niet éénmaal publiekelijk kritiek geleverd op het Palestijns regiem.
Ook in de VS zelf klinkt opnieuw zware kritiek op het anti-Israël beleid van de regering Obama. Politieke leiders door heel de VS hebben Obama opgeroepen zijn toon t.a.v. Israel drastisch te matigen en een meer evenwichtige politiek te voeren door ook de Palestijnen op hun verantwoordelijkheden te wijzen. Leiders van de Republikeinse partij in het Congres noemen de bemoeienis van Obama met Israëls bouwplannen "onverantwoordelijk". De kritiek werd geleid door Eric Cantor die Obama ervan beschuldigde Amerika’s vriend Israel een steek in de rug te hebben gegeven om punten te scoren bij Amerika’s vijanden. De buitenland politiek van Obama kan worden uitgelegd als “Straf uw vrienden en slijm met uw vijanden”. Ook beschuldigde Cantor Obama ervan disproportionele aandacht aan Israel te geven maar de Palestijnse terreur te negeren. ‘Waar blijft Obama’s kritiek op de door het regiem veroorzaakte gewelddadigheden op het Tempelplein? Waarom reageert Obama niet als het regiem terroristen eert die dodelijke aanslagen op onschuldige Israelische burgers hebben gepleegd?’ De Obama administratie hanteert een ‘dubbele standaard’ aldus Cantor. De broer van Netanyahu Dr. Hagi Ben-Artzi, noemde Obama zelfs een antisemiet door zich te bemoeien met Israëls interne aangelegenheden. Hij noemde dat echter geen verrassing omdat Obama lange tijd onder invloed van de antisemiet en anti-Israël lobbyist Rev. Jeremiah Wright heeft gestaan.
De Joodse Young Israel beweging veroordeelde de uitlatingen van Biden, en riep hem op zijn woorden in te trekken en Jeruzalem met rust te laten. 'De realiteit is dat er helemaal geen Oost Jeruzalem bestaat. Er is maar één Jeruzalem, en dat is de ongedeelde hoofdstad van Israël' verklaarde Shlomo Mostofsky, de president van Young Israel. 'Alleen Israel mag besluiten nemen over de toekomstige uitbreiding en ontwikkeling van Jeruzalem. Biden negeert de Amerikaanse waarden van gelijkheid en rechtvaardigheid door te eisen dat de Joden weg moeten uit bepaalde wijken in Jeruzalem, alleen vanwege het feit dat ze Joods zijn.' Volgens Mostofsky heeft Biden de fout gemaakt de Palestijnen de indruk te geven dat Amerika Israel zal dwingen om te onderhandelen over de status van Jeruzalem. In werkelijkheid is een overweldigende Israelische meerderheid -zowel rechts als links- hier absoluut op tegen.
De gezaghebbende Amerikaanse krant de Wallstreet Journal vatte het buitenlandse beleid van Obama als volgt samen: ‘Onze vijanden worden het hof gemaakt, onze vrienden afgeperst. Het overkwam Polen, Tsjechië, Honduras en Colombia. Nu is Israël aan de beurt.’ Ook het 'Kwartet van Vier '(bestaande uit Amerika, de Europese Unie, Rusland en de VN) bijeen in Moskou op 19 maart, veroordeelde Israëls aangekondigde huizenbouwplan. Velen hopen dat Netanyahu stand zal houden tegen de schandalige druk van Washington. Ook de Verenigde Staten zal Israël op enig moment de rug toekeren. Wellicht is dat moment met Obama in het Witte Huis inmiddels aangebroken.
Zij die menen ongestraft het Bijbelse land te kunnen verdelen, en de kinderen van Israel uit hun huizen te kunnen verdrijven, zullen zich deerlijk vergissen. Israel heeft de hele geschiedenis een aparte plaats in de wereld ingenomen en dat zal straks wanneer de Here Jezus op aarde is teruggekeerd, niet anders zijn. Het is daarom voor ieder mens van cruciaal belang zich achter de Joodse staat en de God van Abraham, Isaäk en Jakob op te stellen. Sinds Israel land heeft weggegeven dat God voor eeuwig aan hen heeft beloofd, heeft de bevolking van Israel geen rust meer gehad. Iedere keer dat Israel rekening met de Palestijnen hield, verslechterde de situatie. Toen de Joodse bewoners door hun eigen regering uit Gaza werden verwijderd, voorspelden religieuze Joden dat daar een geestelijk conflict op zou volgen. Het concept land-voor-vrede gaat niet alleen lijnrecht in tegen Gods wil, maar heeft op geen enkele manier gewerkt. De wereld heeft Israël aangewezen als zondebok voor alle problemen maar dat zal deze wereld nog zwaar bezuren.
Speech van Obama in Caïro
http://wejew.com/media/4592/Obama_Cairo_Egypt_Speech_on_Israel/
Er zijn steeds meer geluiden in Israel te horen die vinden dat Israel in de eerste plaats God moet gehoorzamen en een Bijbelse weg moet bewandelen. Volgens diverse Israelische rabbijnen moet Israel de Almachtige boven alles gehoorzaam zijn. G'D is Israels geheime wapen.
Jesaja 41:10 -14 vrees niet, want Ik ben met u, zie niet angstig rond, want Ik ben uw God Ik sterk u, ook help Ik u, ook ondersteun Ik u met mijn heilrijke Rechterhand.
New Focus: Obama to remove "Islamic Radicalism" from Documents
by Maayana Miskin
April 9, 2010, Nisan 25, 5770
United States President Barack Obama plans to remove the term “Islamic radicalism” from a document outlining America's security strategy, the Associated Press reported Thursday. The rewording of US strategy is part of a larger plan to shift America's approach to ties with the Muslim world.
White House officials did not confirm the report. The document in question is expected to be released in several weeks.
Obama has been attempting to improve America's image in the Muslim world since beginning his presidency. Last year he addressed the Muslim world in a speech given in Cairo, and called for “a new beginning” between the US and the Muslim world, adding that America and Islam “need not be in competition.”
He plans to visit Indonesia, the most heavily populated Muslim country, in June of this year. The anticipated visit has led to rumors that Obama will give a second address similar to his Cairo speech.
Obama staffers told AP that the president is hoping to create new ties with the Muslim world, ties that go beyond cooperation in the war on terrorism. “Do you want to think about the US as the nation that fights terrorism or the nation you want to do business with?” one asked.
Former US President George Bush referred openly to radical Islam as a danger, and described the struggle against militant Islam as “the great ideological conflict of the early years of the 21st century.” The current administration has rejected his direct approach, which it says is likely to make peaceful Muslims feel that America is attacking their way of life.
Overige Bronnen:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3482383,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860496,00.html http://www.debka.com/article/8647/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/12/AR2010031202615_pf.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284752,00.html http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/03/15/1011110/bibi-construction-in-jerusdalem-will-continue http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1155639.html http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136486 http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=170946 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136482 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136384 http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860456,00.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3860456,00.html
US Will Continue to Back Israel in UN
by Maayana Miskin
April 30, 2010, Iyar 16, 5770
United States officials who spoke to the pan-Arab paper Al-Sharq il-Awsat denied Thursday that America would stop using its United Nations veto to help Israel. The New York Times had reported that US President Barack Obama warned that America would no longer veto anti-Israel resolutions in the UN Security Council.
Obama was quoted as having told Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that the US would stop exercising its Security Council veto if Israel did not work to promote peace talks with the PA.
A senior White House official told Al-Sharq il-Awsat that the NYT report was incorrect. America will continue to defend Israel's right to self-defense in the UN, and will continue to weigh in against selective criticism targeting Israel, he said.
The official declined to give details of Obama's talk with Abbas, saying only that the president had asked both Israel and the PA for “confidence-building steps.” America would like Israel and the PA to begin indirect negotiations, he added.
National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said Obama is “optimistic” regarding the chances for peace between Israel and the PA. Obama would like the parties to resume negotiations as quickly as possible, he said.