Did Hezbollah really lose?

This account of the Hezbollah victory in Lebanon, Armed and Dangerous, like many others, attempts to be optimistic about the final outcome: Hezbollah will be exposed as a group that is not really interested in fighting Israel so much as in taking over Lebanon. By using their arms against other Arabs, they forfeited their legitimacy and will eventually fail.

David Kenner writes in the New Republic article:

But by turning their weapons on their fellow countrymen earlier this month, Hezbollah has violated the "grand bargain" with the Lebanese public that has allowed them to remain militarized. And by targeting Sunni areas of Beirut and Druze villages in the Chouf, Hezbollah has revealed itself to be, at its heart, a sectarian militia after all, provoking new hostility among non-Shia Lebanese. "The street is very angry about what has happened," says Yehya Jaber, a journalist for The Future, a newspaper owned by Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri whose offices were ransacked and set aflame during the clashes. "No matter what the politicians do, this is a temporary peace."
....
If Hassan Nasrallah had kept his weapons aimed solely at Israel instead of involving them in Lebanon's sectarian struggle, he may still have won Rabih's grudging respect. But local threats weigh heavier on his mind than geopolitical concerns. "It's two different worlds," Rabih explains, gesturing towards Barbour, no more than a minute's stroll away. "There is a deep hatred between these neighborhoods now."

The resentment is even deeper among the few Sunnis who live in Barbour. "The army tried to come in [during the first day of clashes], but Amal humiliated them and told them to leave," says Sana, a Sunni shopkeeper whose son had to change his identifiably Sunni name to something more generic. "I used to have a picture of [assassinated former prime minister and Sunni leader] Rafik Hariri in my home," she continues, lamenting the need to adjust to life under Shia domination. "But I took it down when the fighting began, because I live next to one of the bodyguards of [Amal leader] Nabih Berri."

As the terror of last month's attacks subsides, the fear of Hezbollah among Lebanon's Sunni, Christian, and other minority communities is quickly turning to anger. By alienating the other sects, Hezbollah's short-term military victory seems to be turning into a long-term threat to its weapons and its autonomy. Their violation of the unspoken bargain of their militarization last month is a significant turning point in Lebanon's precarious sectarian balance--a move that has already started to undermine Hezbollah's special status among the Lebanese population.

Losing their weapons would be a major--and possibly fatal--blow to the group. Without its weapons, Hezbollah would probably lose the support of its Iranian sponsors (whose primary goal is to use the group as a front against Israel), making it difficult for the organization to maintain its patronage networks, and thus allowing space for new Shia leaders to emerge.


"It is difficult for me to imagine Hezbollah [surviving very long] as a toothless organization," Safa says. In light of this month's violence, that day may now be closer than ever before.

It might happen. The flaws in the above logic are legion however. Hassan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah are not stupid and they understood exactly how far they could go. They have engineered the takeover in such a way that from now on they no longer need force. They have veto power over any government decision according to the terms of the agreement. Therefore, it is almost inconceivable that they will be induced to lay down their arms. Moreover, while their might be a lot of dissatisfaction with the Hezbollah in Lebanon, this is meaningless unless it can be translated into armed force. How many divisions has Future TV? None. It was shut down in fact by Hezbollah thugs. In the showdown, the army sided with Hezbollah, working out a near-bloodless capitulation to Hezbollah demands, that only required that they remove their troops from the streets. Saad Hariri had no say in the matter. He was a prisoner in his own house, and his Future TV was put off the air. As Hezbollah had won all their demands, there was no reason for them to keep their troops in the streets. The Qatar agreement simply put the seal of approval on the Hezbollah victory. Moreover, Kenner ignores the huge capacity of Lebanese and their politicians to delude themselves. One has only to read the Beirut Daily Star to understand that a significant element of Sunni Arabs and Christians are willing to make believe that the Hezbollah are really working for the unity of Lebanon and that the Qatar agreement is a "good thing." This is no doubt preferable to opposing the Hezbollah, which has often proven to be very bad for the health of journalists and politicians.

Hebollah has managed to take power by assassinating its most important enemies and then using just enough armed force to make clear who is boss. It is far more likely that if Hezbollah ever "surrenders its arms" it will be because its own troops have been absorbed in, and have come to dominate the Lebanese army. At that point, there will be nothing left of Lebanese sovereignty. The issue of popular support doesn't matter. Islamic Republics like Iran are not dependent on the support of a democratic electorate. They maintain their rule at gun point. The AK-47 and the explosive device, rather than the ballot and the public opinion polls, will decide the future of Lebanon, just as they have now decided the Qatar "agreement."

Ami Isseroff

Continued (Permanent Link)

Ramon: Elections should be held in november

 Last update - 10:28 31/05/2008       
Vice Premier: Expect elections by November
By Shmuel Rosner, Haaretz Correspondent

 

Vice Premier Haim Ramon addressed the Soref Symposium at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on Friday, saying that he believed that the general elections in Israel would be pushed up to this coming November.

 

Ramon, a close associate of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, spoke two days after Defense Minister Ehud Barak demanded, in a press conference, that Olmert resign from his post, in light of a corruption investigation currently underway against him, and threatened to force early elections if Olmert did not step aside voluntarily.

 

The elections in Israel take place every four years, but only one of the last eight Knesset assemblies completed its full term.
 
Ramon also addressed the issue of the recently renewed indirect negotiations between Israel and Syria, saying that he did not believes the talks would ultimately result in a peace agreement.

 

The comment is in contrast to reports Friday in the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat that in their latest round of indirect talks, Israel and Syria made progress on the contentious issues of water, security, borders and normalization of relations.

 

The vice premier also reiterated his support for continuing Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip in efforts to end the ongoing Qassam rocket fire against southern Israeli communities.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Dead man less important than Israeli strike?

The Ha'aretz headline: Palestinians: IDF strikes Hamas cell near Khan Yunis

But two separate incidents are reported. The IDF struck a Hamas cell but - nobody was hurt?!

The fact that nobody was hurt might have been newsworthy in itself, but was not stated in the headline. However, the same article relates that a Hamas "militant" blew himself up and wounded his relatives and neighbors.

 

This is not stated in the headline. The text of the article is below.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

 

 

Last update - 10:28 31/05/2008       

By Yuval Azoulay, News Agencies and Haaretz Service

Palestinian officials said the Israel Defense Forces struck a Hamas cell near Khan Yunis early Saturday morning. No injuries were reported in the incident, and IDF spokesperson has yet to confirm the attack.

 

In a separate incident on Saturday, Gaza officials said an explosion in the house of a Hamas militant has killed the man and wounded 16 relatives and neighbors.

 

The Palestinian Interior Ministry said it's investigating the cause of
S
 
aturday's blast at the home of Hamas activist Nader Abu Shaban.

 

Hamas officials said Abu Shaban was handling explosives when the blast went off. Doctors say two of the 16 wounded are in critical condition.

 

Earlier, five Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip. No injuries or damage were reported.

 

IDF fires into crowd of Hamas protesters

 

IDF troops used gunfire and tear gas on Friday to keep more than 3,000 Hamas supporters from approaching one of the Gaza Strip's main border crossings with Israel, wounding at least six Palestinians, witnesses said.

 

Palestinian medical workers said at least two of the wounded were in a critical condition.

 

"The IDF will operate with all its strength to prevent the demonstrators from approaching the security fence or the crossing ... and from entering the state of Israel," an IDF official said.

 

During the standoff, Israeli forces shot into the crowd to "make the rioters back off," the IDF official said.

 

Since Hamas took over Gaza last year, Israel has closed all crossings,
allowing only humanitarian aid and Palestinians with urgent medical needs to cross. The demonstration Friday focused on demanding an end to the blockade.

 

The IDF had posted signs before the protest warning Palestinians that they faced "Danger of Death" if they tried to approach the Sufa crossing, used to bring some humanitarian supplies into the coastal territory.

 

Hamas has mounted several similar protests in recent months.

 

Hamas blew open the border with Egypt earlier this year, putting Israel on heightened alert for similar actions.

 

The demonstrators on Friday burned tires, waved green Hamas flags and chanted "Dismantle the siege."

 

In a separate incident Friday, Palestinian medical workers said a 65-year-old woman had died of wounds suffered a day earlier during an IDF raid near her home in the southern Gaza Strip.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Charities for terror

From David Frankfurter on LiveJournal:

Charities for terror

http://dfrankfurter.livejournal.com/114496.html

With court cases and wide debate surrounding the linkage between certain Islamic Charities and the funding of terror organisations, it is interesting to note that even the Palestinian Authority is worried enough to take action. 

Ha'aretz reported earlier this week (full article below): "The [senior Israeli security] source noted that the PA has outlawed 300 charity organizations, most of them affiliated with Hamas, and its security forces have stepped up their monitoring of imams in West Bank mosques." 

And who should know better than the Palestinian Authority on this particular topic? 

 

David

_______________

 

Last update - 06:00 27/05/2008

Israeli source: PA security forces have improved dramatically in West Bank

By Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz Correspondents

The Palestinian Authority's security forces are becoming increasingly successful in their operations in the West Bank, according to a senior Israeli security source. Indeed he said their performance has so improved that, contrary to the fears of many senior Israeli officials, an Israeli pullout from the West Bank would not automatically result in Hamas being able to take over the area shortly thereafter. But according to the same source, one area in which the PA security forces have not been sufficiently effective is in combating what he termed "the terrorist infrastructure" in the West Bank. "They hesitate to outlaw Hamas. They arrest Hamas and [Islamic] Jihad militants, but a short while later they release them," he said. "There is no follow-through in the way they deal with those they arrest: They are not tried, they are not jailed. They are still not dealing with the root of the problem, not even in Jenin, where a large-scale PA security operation is taking place." The source said that the Palestinians have significantly improved their cooperation with Israel, and especially in matters pertaining to an agreement under which Israel offered immunity to wanted militants who surrendered their arms to the PA. A total of 438 Palestinian militants have so far joined the immunity scheme, he noted. In addition to surrendering their arms to the PA, the wanted militants are required to spend a set period of time in the confines of the PA security forces' compounds. They must also sign a contract disavowing terrorist activities. The source noted that the PA has outlawed 300 charity organizations, most of them affiliated with Hamas, and its security forces have stepped up their monitoring of imams in West Bank mosques. In addition, PA forces in Jenin recently arrested 37 suspected terrorists, including two Palestinian policemen, and 180 suspected criminals. "The various security organs are coordinating their activities with each other more than ever before," he said. "Moreover, in all West Bank cities, there has been a dramatic improvement in law and order and a drop in crime." "In recent years," he continued, "the thing that bothered Palestinian civilians in the West Bank the most was the chaos, with regard to their own and their family's security: Would someone harass their daughter on her way home, or would someone accidentally shoot at their family, for example. Now, West Bank residents are concerned about the economic situation and their [lack of] freedom of movement in the territories." He also noted that since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip, the PA security forces have stepped up their operations in Areas C and B - parts of the West Bank where the Oslo Accords assigned security responsibility to the Israel Defense Forces. Even though some members of the PA security forces are still involved in terrorism, he added, "this is not a trend, and the commanders of the PA forces seek intelligence from us about such involvement."

Continued (Permanent Link)

Christians: Ethnic cleansing in Iraq

Iraqi Christians Warn of 'New Catastrophe for Humanity'  reads the headline:

 

"A new wave of ethnic cleansing is going on in Iraq," Iraqi Christian representative Behiye Hadodo told the gathering. "If these atrocities continue, the Chaldean, Syriac and Assyrian communities there will be wiped out altogether, creating a new catastrophe for humanity."

 

Nobody seems to care, though, do they?

 

While media stir up passions about an imaginary Palestinian "Holocaust," a real genocide may be taking place in Iraq.  The story notes in conclusion:

 

The Minority Rights Group International says Iraq is the second-most dangerous country in the world for minorities in 2008, behind Somalia and ahead of Sudan, Afghanistan and Burma.

 

"Apartheid Israel" is not even on the list! Yet nobody seems to care. Boycotts, divestment and other initiatives are directed only at Israel.

 

The rest of the story is below.

 

Ami Isseroff

---

(CNSNews.com) - Days before Sweden hosts an international conference aimed at pushing ahead the political and economic reform process in Iraq, hundreds of exiled Iraqi Christians demonstrated outside the country's parliament Sunday to draw attention to the minority's plight in their homeland.

 

"A new wave of ethnic cleansing is going on in Iraq," Iraqi Christian representative Behiye Hadodo told the gathering. "If these atrocities continue, the Chaldean, Syriac and Assyrian communities there will be wiped out altogether, creating a new catastrophe for humanity."

 

Iraq's Assyrians are a non-Arab ethnic minority located mainly in northeastern Iraq, and adherents of Christian denominations including the Chaldean Catholic and Syriac Orthodox churches.

 

A 1987 census recorded 1.4 million Christians in Iraq, but the numbers began to drop after the 1990 Gulf War, reaching around 800,000 before the U.S. invaded in March 2003.

 

Persecution at the hands of Islamic radicals -- killings, church bombings, kidnappings, forced conversions and harassment -- has prompted hundreds of thousands of Christians to flee the country since 2003. Although accurate statistics are unavailable, researchers believe the community may have been halved in the past five years.

 

Many have moved to Syria and Jordan, and others to northern Europe, Australia and the United States.

 

Of an estimated 70,000 Iraqi Christians in Europe, nearly half are reported to live in Sweden.

 

Speeches during Sunday's rally in Stockholm centered on continuing harassment by fundamentalists in Iraq, including abductions and assaults of girls and women, and the forcing of women to wear veils in line with strict Islamic doctrines.

 

Participants reiterated calls for international support for an autonomous safe region for Iraqi Christians in the historical Assyrian region in the north of the country.

 

Hadodo, a representative of the European Syriac Union, said the demonstration's goal was to draw the attention of the United States, European Union and United Nations to the "ongoing terror" and especially to the murder of Christian clerics in Iraq.

 

On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will join counterparts and officials from around the world including U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for a meeting near Stockholm that will follow up last year's launch of the International Compact with Iraq.

 

The compact is a partnership between the Iraqi government and the international community, aimed at pursuing political, economic and social development over a five-year period.

 

Iraqi officials are expected to outline progress made during the past year, with a strong focus on the security situation. Among those due to attend is Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, whose government is accused by the U.S. of destabilizing Iraq by supporting insurgents there.

 

Iraq's Christians are hoping that the meeting in Sweden will consider their concerns too.

 

"Since the liberation of Iraq much attention has been devoted to the demands and expectations of Iraq's Shi'a, Sunni, Kurds," Hermiz Shahen, secretary of the Australian chapter of the Assyrian Universal Alliance, said Wednesday.

 

"[Yet] the plight of the Assyrian nation is attracting little attention in the outside world."

 

Pointing to the high number of Christian refugees, Shahen said the international community must make the issue a priority.

 

Within one or two generations, he said, Christians in the Middle East - the birthplace of Christianity - may be reduced to a negligible number, having been forced to flee radical Islam.

 

"It is important that the Assyrian voice be heard [at the meeting in Sweden] and the Assyrian nation be distinctly recognized," he said. "It is time for the advocates who call for democracy, justice and human rights to stand up for the rights of the indigenous Assyrians of Iraq."

 

Shahen said Assyrians' demands included equitable representation in government and amendment of the Iraqi constitution to protect Assyrians and allow them "true and equal citizenship."

 

They also wanted the establishment of an Assyrian governorate or province, administered by Assyrians under the jurisdiction of Iraq's central government. This would encourage refugees, whether internally displaced or outside the country, to return, and enjoy political, educational, linguistic, religious and cultural protection, he said.

 

Prior to the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime, the U.S. designated Iraq as a "country of particular concern" (CPC) for religious freedom violations. The 1998 International Religious Freedom Act allows for a range of steps, including sanctions, to be taken against governments that engage in or tolerate serious religious freedom violations.

 

CPC designation was subsequently lifted, but the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent body advising the White House and Congress, last year placed Iraq on a "watch list" pointing to escalating, unchecked violence against religious minorities as well as "evidence of collusion between Shi'a militias and Iraqi government ministries."

 

Earlier this month, the commission in a letter to Rice said it remained seriously concerned about the situation, citing violence against non-Muslims "from Sunni insurgents and foreign extremists, as well as pervasive violence, discrimination, and marginalization at the hands of the national government, regional governments, and para-state militias, including those in Kurdish areas."

 

Some of the commission's members argue that Iraq should already have be returned to the CPC blacklist, but the commission said it would make a recommendation in the near future, after a visit to Iraq.

 

Earlier this year the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, became the most senior Christian figure to be slain. His body was found after gunmen abducted him at his church, killing three men with him.

 

The Minority Rights Group International says Iraq is the second-most dangerous country in the world for minorities in 2008, behind Somalia and ahead of Sudan, Afghanistan and Burma.

 

Cross posted: Israel News  Middle East Analysis

Continued (Permanent Link)

Will Seattle Be First U.S. City to Divest From Israel?

Will Seattle Be First U.S. City to Divest From Israel?

Written by: Aaron Katsman | May 22, 2008

Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com

If "Initiative 97″ makes it on the ballot in the fall, citizens of Seattle will be asked to approve a measure that would prohibit the city from investing its pension funds in corporations that benefit from the Iraq war, or companies that provide material support to the Israeli government within the so-called "occupied territories." The opposition to the initiative is being led by StandWithUs.org. It strikes me as a bit odd that a measure that seems to be intended to protest the U.S. Iraq policy also includes divestment from Israel.

Why the connection?

Is it because the sponsors were worried about human rights violations that they believe both Israeli and U.S. forces are committing? Couldn't be, could it? After all, I didn't see any reference to other countries in the region who are role models when it comes to human rights. For example, with all the freedoms they enjoy, we all know that women are living it up in some countries in the mid-east. I even heard that they are now allowed to uncover the bridges of their noses as well as their eyes!

But seriously, I find the sponsors of the measure to be an interesting group. You have the ANSWER Coalition, SNOW, the Palestine Solidarity Committee and the Green Party. The Green Party? When I was discussing this whole issue with my partner Zack Miller, he said," Isn't that ironic. Israel happens to be the world leader in GreenTech, CleanTech, WaterTech, and virtually every other environmentally friendly technology that's being developed. What are the Green's thinking?"

According to the Seattle-PI: " The measure would not restrict city investments in The Boeing Co., backers said. Rather, it takes aim specifically at Halliburton Holding Co. and Caterpillar Inc." Hum… Halliburton must be as a punishment to VP Cheney. But why not Boeing? They do work with Israeli defense company Elbit Systems (ESLT)? What about Microsoft (MSFT)? The software giant has purchased 7-8 Israeli hi-tech start-ups over the last few years and just announced the launch of an R&D center in Israel.

The fact is that pension funds have a fiduciary responsibility to do their best to make as much money as possible for their clients, period. Over the last few years investing in Israel has been one of the most profitable places in the world to invest. If these groups want to make a political stand, let them stand out in front of the Federal building on 2nd Ave. and protest. You don't like the Iraq policy, vote for Obama. But don't force money managers to invest in companies that they believe will produce inferior returns and impact the retirement of thousands and thousands of your neighbors, to fulfill your own political agenda.

In any event, divesting won't help. Without knowing it, we all use Israeli ingenuity every single day of our lives. From voice mail (developed by Comverse), to instant messaging (ICQ), to the firewall that sits on your computer (Checkpoint), to the generic drugs you are taking (Teva Pharmaceuticals) and to the cell phone you just spoke on. Like it or not, your life is powered by Israel.

If you are against the war in Iraq, drop the divestment idea and pick up a picket sign instead. If Israel is your problem, then be consistent; start divesting from the Israeli innovation that you use, unknowingly, each and every day.

Disclosure: Author's fund has a position in ESLT, TEVA, CHKP, CMVT.pk He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 5/22/08.

Please see our Disclaimer HERE.

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Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Zionist youth village to be built in Rwanda

Hotel Rwanda' to 'Zionist' village
Ruth Eglash , THE JERUSALEM POST  May. 26, 2008

 

Jean Pierre Nkuranga was only six years old when he first experienced xenophobia. The son of an ethnic Tutsi teacher growing up in 1980s Rwanda amid a Hutu majority, Nkuranga can still remember his first day at school when the teacher asked all Tutsi children to stand up and identify themselves.

 

"Afterwards I got into trouble because I'd stood up too quickly and too proudly," said Nkuranga. "My teacher and later, my father, were very angry with me for being so proud."

 

Nkuranga, now 34, retold the incredible story of how he survived the 1994 Tutsi genocide to a Jerusalem audience this week as part of the official unveiling of plans to open a $19 million Israeli-style youth village in Rwanda - the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village - by year's end.

 

The project is a collaborative effort between the Jewish-American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Jerusalem-based International Center for the Enhancement of Learning Potential (the Feuerstein Institute) and the Israeli youth village Yemin Orde.

 

While he highlighted the plight of Rwanda's estimated 1.2 million children (15 percent of the total population) left orphaned by the genocide, Nkuranga also shared with the audience the story of his dramatic escape from the Hutu militia intent on eradicating the Tutsi population.

 

"It felt like the apocalypse," said Nkuranga, explaining how his family and other Tutsis from the village fled to a nearby hilltop but were surrounded by former Hutu friends and neighbors wielding machetes and other traditional weapons.

 

"My legs were broken and there was no way I could run away with my family. They all said goodbye to me and I remember my auntie saying to me 'maybe we will meet in heaven,' then I hid in the bushes by the side of the road and for five days nobody saw me."

 

From his hiding place, Nkuranga watched as his family and friends, both young and old, were slaughtered. In less than 100 days, nearly one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered in the genocide.

 

While Nkuranga was eventually rescued by the Rwandan Patriotic Army, which put an end to the killings, he told his Jerusalem audience that he can never forget the images of the children who were massacred.

 

"Many Tutsis hid their children in bushes but the militia would simply throw grenades at them to kill them," said Nkuranga, who has since dedicated his life to working with orphans and will head the youth village's informal education department.

 

The Agahozo Shalom Youth Village project was initially set in motion in 2005 by Anne Heyman, a US-based lawyer and mother of three, who had attended a lecture at Tufts University featuring Paul Rusesabagina, the inspiration for the hit movie Hotel Rwanda.

 

At the event, she learned that the African nation had one of the highest numbers of orphans in the world, posing a serious challenge to the country's future.

 

"She believed that Israel's youth village model, established in the 1950s primarily as a healing environment for young Holocaust survivors, might provide the answers," commented Gideon Herscher, JDC Israel Coordinator of the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, adding that the project is the "largest humanitarian aid project worldwide" to be undertaken by the JDC.

 

Following the lecture at Tufts, Heyman began to look at various models in Israel, explained Herscher, and decided that the Yemin Orde youth village, which today houses dozens of new immigrant children from Ethiopia and other youth at risk, would serve as an excellent guide.

 

Located south of Haifa, the youth village employs educational theories developed in the 1960s by Prof. Reuven Feuerstein, an educational psychologist and world renowned expert on care of special needs children and adults. Used to help young people who have experienced extreme trauma to continue learning, Feuerstein's educational methods will be used to form the backbone of the Rwandan project.

 

"Our country has a huge challenge to overcome," Sifa Nsengimana, executive director of the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, said at Sunday's event. "We have very little in terms of natural resources to offer the world and we have our sights set on education - this youth village will help us in that goal and might actually be able to turn our country's fate around."

 

Herscher said that funding for the project, which has already exceeded $6 million, is derived from various independent foundations and private donations. He predicted that the village would be fully operational within the next four years.

 

 

Continued (Permanent Link)

Basketball legend Dr. J: Israel is an inspiration for Jews in America

 

Last update - 21:26 28/05/2008    
Basketball legend Dr. J: Israel is an inspiration for Jews in America
By The Associated Press

 

Dr. J made an unlikely visit to Israeli President Shimon Peres, on Wednesday.

 

Basketball great Julius Erving, who is on a goodwill tour of Israel, told
Peres in a stop at the presidential mansion in Jerusalem that he considered himself an ambassador for Israel. Legend has it, Erving got his colorful nickname because of his admirable defense tactics on the basketball court.
 
Erving is in Israel along with fellow National Basketball Association Hall of Famer Rick Barry to raise awareness for the Migdal Ohr youth village for underprivileged children in northern Israel.

 

Migdal Ohr is Hebrew for 'Tower of Light. Erving called Israel an inspiration for Jews in America, as well as other minorities. "I am truly inspired to be an ambassador for the country and for the village," he said.

 

Erving revolutionized the game of basketball in the 1970's with his electrifying, high-flying dunks and is widely credited for being a model for Michael Jordan, recognized as perhaps the greatest basketball player of all time. Erving won an NBA title and a Most Valuable Player award with the Philadelphia 76ers and earlier won two American Basketball Association championships.

 

Barry was one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. He is the only player ever to lead the collegiate NCAA, NBA and ABA in scoring. Three of his sons, Jon, Brent and Drew, have also played in the NBA.

 

Brent Barry scored 23 points off the bench for the San Antonio Spurs on
Tuesday night, in a losing effort to the Los Angeles Lakers. The defending champion Spurs are now in a 3-1 deficit and face elimination when they play Game 5 in Los Angeles on Thursday. Barry launched a last-second three-point-shot that would have given San Antonio the win if it had gone in.

 

Peres praised Erving for both his excellence as an athlete, and for his
efforts off the court in breaking down barriers for blacks and minorities. He said sports could serve as a bridge between people.
"I think if we built first sports organizations instead of politics, the whole world would be better," Peres said.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Another UCU Boycott of Israeli Academics!

We thought that the UK union boycotts of Israel were behind us, after legal opinions ruled they were illegal, but the UCU thinks it found a way around the law.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

The UCU's Boycott of Israel and How to Fight It

Published

by

Ben

on May 28, 2008

in Z word blog

.

When we launched Z Word at the end of January 2008, the first crop of essays included a brilliant dissection of the boycott by Eve Garrard, entitled "Excluding Israelis."

Eve ended her piece like this: "It would be nice to be able to say that what I've provided here is the anatomy of a failure, but it's by no means certain that we've heard the last of the boycott project. Watch this space." And I remember, during our back and forth over the editing of her essay, asking Eve whether she was not being a little overcautious with this last sentence. Surely, I said, referring back to the UCU's own legal advice that a boycott would violate anti-discrimination laws, this is over. Surely, I continued, what you are writing about is history, not a current threat.

Eve demurred. Don't rule anything out, she told me. Unfortunately, she turned out to be right. Today, 28 May 2008, the UCU did it all over again. At their annual conference in Manchester, they voted to encourage an academic boycott of Israelis.

Except that Sally Hunt, the UCU's General Secretary, is busily claiming that what was passed is not, in fact, a boycott of Israelis, but a call for solidarity with the Palestinians. Now, it may be that Hunt is worried about the fact that the union's policy, as of this afternoon, urges members to break the law, and that her words are a clumsy approximation of spin. Or - remembering Eve Garrard's dictum not to rule anything out, and we are talking about the UCU after all - it may be that we have passed through the looking glass. The boycott is not a boycott. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

This is a motion which puts the entire blame for the conflict on Israel. A motion that notes the "complicity" of "most" of the "Israeli academy." A motion which calls on UCU members to "consider the moral and political implications" of working with Israeli colleagues. Which encourages members to raise the issue of the "occupation" with Israelis they happen to be collaborating with ("Amos and Tikvah, can we just put that discussion about those antiretroviral drugs to one side, as we'd like to ask you about your complicity with the occupation"). A motion which deems that criticism of Israel is not "as such, antisemitic" (very inconsiderate towards Hezbollah and Hamas, who have gone out of their way to demonstrate that the manner in which they criticize Israel emphatically is antisemitic). Finally, a motion which urges a wider discussion about breaking links with Israeli institutions on the basis of discussions with British and Palestinian - but not Israeli - trade unionists.

And yet, Sally Hunt tells us that what we have here is not a boycott.

Many people in Britain will tell you that the UCU is a sorry excuse for a union, unable to do anything to improve the working conditions of its members and cowed by the antics of the Socialist Worker's Party. Some conclude that, therefore, the UCU isn't worth bothering about.

That view is understandable, but mistaken. The boycotters aim is to turn Israel into a 21st Century version of apartheid South Africa. The sordid motion they passed today will no doubt be presented by them as the first step in doing so.

As we gear up to fight the UCU boycott - and the broader campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) - here are some useful links:

• As well as Eve Garrard's original Z Word essay, there is her incisive portrait of the boycotter as a stalker;

• The legal advice obtained by Stop the Boycott, which demonstrates conclusively why the boycott is illegal;

• A critically important piece by Shalom Lappin; it might have been written last year, but it has lost none of its relevance;

• David Hirsh's recent piece for Democratiya examining arguments against the boycott;

• My own monograph on the ideological foundations of the boycott campaign;

And don't forget to regularly check the blog of our friends at Engage.

Continued (Permanent Link)

UNRWA: Barrier to Israeli-Palestinian Peace

UNRWA: Barrier to Peace

 

by Jonathan Spyer

 

Executive Summary: The United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) was created under the jurisdiction of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), with the unique responsibility of solely aiding the Palestinians. Due to this special status, the UNRWA perpetuates, rather than resolves, the Palestinian refugee issue, and therefore serves as a major obstacle toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Like no other UN body, UNRWA's definition of refugees includes not only the refugees themselves, but also their descendents. Moreover, refugees keep their status even if they have gained citizenship. UNRWA employs teachers affiliated with Hamas and allows the dissemination of Hamas messages in its schools. The Hamas coup in Gaza of July 2007 has resulted in a Hamas takeover of UNRWA facilities there. Therefore, UNRWA's activities require urgent action. The Agency should be dissolved and its services transferred to more appropriate administering organizations.

 

Background

 

Millions of refugees worldwide – over 130 million since the end of World War II – have come under the responsibility of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which aims to resettle and rehabilitate refugees. On December 8, 1949, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 302, establishing an agency dedicated solely to "direct relief and works programs" for the Palestinian Arab refugees – UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency) – making it a unique body.

 

UNRWA exists in order to perpetuate, rather than to resolve, the Palestinian refugee issue. No Palestinian has ever lost his or her refugee status. There are hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants who are citizens of Jordan, for example – yet as far as UNRWA is concerned they are still refugees, eligible for aid. UNRWA, over the past 60 years, has transformed itself into a central vehicle for the perpetuation of the refugee problem, and into a major obstacle for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

 

The Problem of Definition

 

When UNRWA first began counting refugees in 1948, it did so in a way without precedent – seeking to maximize the number of those defined as refugees. UNRWA counts every descendant of the original refugees as a refugee themselves – leading to an increase of 400 percent in the number since 1948.

 

This was a politically motivated definition to imply that either Palestinians would remain refugees forever or until the day that they returned in a triumph to a Palestinian Arab state that included the territory where Israel existed. If they built lives elsewhere, even after many generations – decades or centuries – they still remained officially refugees. In contrast to other situations around the world, other refugees only retained that status until they found permanent homes elsewhere, presumably as citizens of other countries.

 

Moreover, refugee status was based solely on the applicant's word. Even UNRWA admitted its figures were inflated in a 1998 Report of the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (July 1997-30 June 1998): "UNRWA registration figures are based on information voluntarily supplied by refugees primarily for the purpose of obtaining access to Agency services and hence cannot be considered statistically valid demographic data."

 

Fostering Conflict

 

In October 2004, then UNRWA Commissioner General Peter Hansen publicly admitted for the first time that Hamas members were on the UNWRA payroll, adding, "I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a militant and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another." Consequently, taxpayers' money in countries where Hamas was legally defined as a terrorist organization, like the United States and Canada, was being illegally used to fund Hamas-controlled activities.

 

Hanson's view that Hamas was a normal political organization whose doctrines did not interfere with the governance and education of Palestinians remains the position of UNRWA. This has been so even when Hamas has committed violence against other Palestinians. After the organization seized Gaza by force in July 2007, UNRWA immediately indicated to Hamas that it was eager to get back to providing its services. Nothing was changed in its procedure or performance after the takeover.

 

A graphic demonstration of this issue was the death of Awad al-Qiq in May 2008. Qiq had a long career as a science teacher in an UNRWA school and had been promoted to run its Rafah Prep Boys School. He was also the leading bombmaker for Islamic Jihad. He was killed while supervising a factory to make rockets and other weapons for use against Israel, located a short distance from the school. Qiq was thus simultaneously building weapons for attacking Israeli civilians while indoctrinating his students to do the same. Islamic Jihad did not need to pay him a salary for his terrorist activities. The UN and the American taxpayer were already doing so.

 

The increasing numbers of UNRWA teachers who openly identify with radical groups have created a teachers' bloc that ensures the election of members of Hamas and individuals committed to Islamist ideologies. Using classrooms as a place to spread their radical messages, these teachers have also gravitated to local Palestinian elections. Thus, UNRWA's education system has become a springboard for the political activities of Hamas. For example, Minister of Interior and Civil Affairs Minister Saeed Siyam of Hamas, was a teacher in UNRWA schools in Gaza from 1980 to 2003. He then became a member of UNRWA's Arab Employees Union, and has headed the Teachers Sector Committee. Other notable Hamas graduates of the UNRWA education system include Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Abd al-Aziz Rantisi, the former Hamas chief.

 

Fostering Dependency

 

UNRWA's budget has been supported by many countries of which the United States and Western countries have been the largest contributors. In 1990, UNRWA's annual budget was over $292 million, and by 2000 it had increased to $365 million. Despite this seemingly significant rise, however, actual allocations among the various refugee camps has decreased – compounded by a very high birth rate and burgeoning camp populations. Refugees were discouraged from moving out and had the incentive of being on welfare if they remained.

 

Per capita spending among refugees in camps thus declined from $200 in services per year per refugee in the 1970s to about $70 currently. This situation has been most evident in Lebanon, where the government provides little if any additional assistance to the Palestinians.

 

UNRWA provides jobs to a large number of Palestinians (it has a full time staff of 23,000). While the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) avoid employing locals who are also recipients of agency services, UNRWA does not make this distinction. UNRWA thus keeps a large population of refugees and their descendants in a permanent state of welfare dependency, financed by the western taxpayer. In so doing, it acts as a barrier to attempts to make the refugees into productive citizens. Bureaucracies have a tendency to become self-perpetuating. In the case of UNRWA, this tendency is exacerbated by the fact that the organization's raison d'etre is the preserving of a refugee problem, rather than finding a solution for it.

 

Conclusion

 

The UN erred when it created a UN body devoted exclusively to one refugee population and with a modus operandi contradicting that of all other relief institutions. Four steps are required to bring the international approach to the Palestinian refugee issue in line with standard practice on similar situations.

 

First, UNRWA itself should be dissolved. Second, the services UNRWA currently provides should be transferred to other UN agencies, notably the UNHCR, which have a long experience with such programs. Third, responsibility for normal social services should be turned over to the Palestinian Authority. A large portion of the UNRWA staff should be transferred to that governmental authority. Fourth, donors should use the maximum amount of oversight to ensure transparency and accountability.

 

Jonathan Spyer is a Senior Research Fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs Center, IDC, Herzliya.

 

BESA Perspectives is published through the generosity of the Littauer Foundation.

 

Continued (Permanent Link)

Al-Durra Case Revisited

Al-Durra Case Revisited

FROM TODAY'S WALL STREET JOURNAL EUROPE
May 27, 2008

It's hard to exaggerate the significance of Mohammed al-Durra, the 12-year-old Palestinian boy allegedly killed by Israeli bullets on Sept. 30, 2000. The iconic image of the terrified child crouching behind his father helped sway world opinion against the Jewish state and fueled the last Intifada.

It's equally hard, then, to exaggerate the significance of last week's French court ruling that called the story into doubt. Not just whether the Israeli military shot the boy, but whether the whole incident may have been staged for propaganda purposes. If so, it would be one of the most harmful put-up jobs in media history.

You probably didn't hear this news. International media lapped up the televised report of al-Durra's shooting on France's main state-owned network, France 2. Barely a peep was heard, however, when the Paris Court of Appeal ruled in a suit brought by the network against the founder of a media watchdog group. The judge's verdict, released Thursday, said that Philippe Karsenty was within his rights to call the France 2 report a "hoax," overturning a 2006 decision that found him guilty of defaming the network and its Mideast correspondent, Charles Enderlin. France 2 has appealed to the country's highest court.

Judge Laurence Trébucq did more than assert Mr. Karsenty's right to free speech. In overturning a lower court's ruling, she said the issues he raised about the original France 2 report were legitimate. While Mr. Karsenty couldn't provide absolute proof of his claims, the court ruled that he marshalled a "coherent mass of evidence" and "exercised in good faith his right to free criticism." The court also found that Talal Abu Rahma, the Palestinian cameraman for France 2 who was the only journalist to capture the scene and the network's crown witness in this case, can't be considered "perfectly credible."

The ruling at the very least opens the way for honest discussion of the al-Durra case, and coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in general. French media could stand some self-examination. The same holds for journalists elsewhere.

On that Saturday in 2000, Palestinians faced off against Israeli troops at Gaza's Netzarim junction. Two months before, Yasser Arafat had walked out of the Camp David peace talks. Two days before, Ariel Sharon had visited Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The second Intifada was brewing. The French network's cameraman, Mr. Abu Rahma, filmed the skirmishes and got the footage to the France 2 bureau in Israel. Mr. Enderlin edited the film and, relying only on his cameraman's account, provided the voice-over for the report. He suggested Israeli soldiers killed the boy. He didn't say he wasn't there.

Along with the Temple Mount incident, the al-Durra shooting was the seminal event behind the second Intifada. Israel apologized. But nagging doubts soon emerged, as Nidra Poller recounts in detail on the following page. An Israeli military probe found that its soldiers couldn't have shot the father and son, given where the two were crouching.

Others including Mr. Karsenty asked, among various questions, Why the lack of any blood on the boy or his father? Or why did France 2 claim to have 27 minutes of footage but refuse to show any but the 57 seconds on its original broadcast? Mr. Enderlin said, "I cut the images of the child's agony, they were unbearable."

Under pressure from media watchdogs, and after years of stonewalling, France 2 eventually shared the additional film. It turns out that no footage of the child's alleged death throes seems to exist. The extra material shows what appears to be staged scenes of gun battles before the al-Durra killing. For a sample, check out www.seconddraft.org, a site run by Richard Landes, a Boston University professor and one of Mr. Karsenty's witnesses.

Judge Trébucq said that Mr. Karsenty "observed inexplicable inconsistencies and contradictions in the explanations by Charles Enderlin."

We don't know exactly what happened to Mohammed al-Durra. Perhaps we never will. But the Paris court ruling shows that France 2 wasn't completely open about what it knew about that day. It suggests the Israelis may not have been to blame. It makes it plausible to consider -- without being dismissed as an unhinged conspiracy theorist -- the possibility that the al-Durra story was a hoax.

To this day, Islamic militants use the al-Durra case to incite violence and hatred against Israel. They are well aware of the power of images. Mr. Karsenty is, too, which is why he and others have tried to hold France 2 accountable for its reporting.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Another day in Israel: IDF soldier lightly hurt in Gaza; IAF kills two Hamas militants

 Last update - 11:56 28/05/2008       
IDF soldier lightly hurt in Gaza; IAF kills two Hamas militants
By Haaretz Service

 

The Israel Air Force on Wednesday killed two Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical workers said.

 

An Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said the two aerial attacks targeted
"terror threats" in the Hamas-controlled territory.
 
The jets attacked a launching site in the northern Strip, just after militants fired a barrage of mortar shells at southern Israel.

 

The air strike also wounded four militants who were firing mortars at Israeli forces, Hamas said. An earlier Israeli hit wounded four militants from Islamic Jihad, a smaller militant group.

 

Egypt has been trying to broker a truce that would end militants' rocket attacks on Israel and Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip.

 

Also on Wednesdat, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was lightly wounded during a military operation in the Gaza Strip.

 

Israeli forces often operate in the Gaza Strip in effort to halt rocket and mortar shell fire.

 

IDF troops also arrested 12 wanted Palestinian militants in overnight raids in the West Bank on Tuesday.

Continued (Permanent Link)

Peace talks can mean war

 Last update - 10:26 28/05/2008       
Sources: Iran may attack Israeli targets abroad over Syria talks
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/987955.html

 

Israel is concerned that Iran may attack Israeli targets abroad in an effort to derail the renewed peaces negotiations with Syria, Israel sources told Haaretz this week.

 

The sources said Iran might consider operating from the stance that an international attack would change Israel's status, bring about an end to the negotiations and even start a regional confrontation.

 

The sources added, however, that such an operation would not necessarily be in Iran's interest.
 
"Iran wants to maintain Hezbollah's strength, and is not interested in changing the situation in Lebanon now that Hezbollah's opponents have been neutralized," they said.

 

Meanwhile, Syria and Iran on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding over mutual defense issues, as Syrian Defense Minister Hassan Turkmani wrapped up a three-day visit to Tehran.

 

The memorandum contained an agreement that the two countries would cement their "defense relations," a process that will include reciprocal visits by military officials, joint military training and cooperation on technical advancements.

 

The memorandum signed by both sides includes the understanding that all foreign occupying forces must retreat from the region because they are "creating tensions."

Continued (Permanent Link)

Barak: Olmert must resign or take leave

A man is innocent until proven guilty, but in the Israeli system of government, it is difficult for the government to continue with the Prime Minister under a cloud.

 

Ehud Barak did almost the only thing he could do apparently, after the extremely damaging testimony of Morris Talansky. Opposition to continued Labor membership in the government from within his own party was too great to be ignored.

 

Remembering other such scandals in Israel and the United States, we should not be quick to form judgements on the guilt or innocence of Ehud Olmert.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

 Last update - 13:01 28/05/2008       
Barak ultimatum to Olmert: Take leave or agree to early elections
By Ofra Edelman and Tomer Zarchin, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday will deliver an ultimatum to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whereby he will demand the premier either take a leave of absence or agree on a date for elections, Army Radio reported.

 

The Labor Party chairman was holding consultations with senior party officials, after which he is expected to make a statement at a 1:30 P.M. press conference. He also met with Olmert himself at the end of the cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

 

As Olmert's senior coalition partner, Labor's departure would leave the premier without a majority with which to rule.
 
"Either Olmert suspends himself or the Labor Party must leave the government," senior Labor legislator Danny Yatom said amid news reports that Barak would make that demand.

 

Barak was expected to deny radio reports according to which he was considering forming an emergency government with the right-wing opposition Likud party that would leave out Olmert's centrist Kadima party.

 

The news came hours after Morris Talansky, the American-Jewish businessman suspected of making illicit cash transfers to Olmert, said in court testimony in Jerusalem on Tuesday that he had transferred Olmert some $150,000 over 15 years, and that Olmert had tried to aid a Talansky business venture by introducing him to several American billionaires.

 

Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer (Labor) said Barak consulted "with nearly the entire Labor Party" regarding the faction's future in light of the probe. The minister said that party officials are not averse to early elections, adding that it would be difficult for Olmert to contend with state issues while embroiled in this affair.

 

Kadima MKs Amira Dotan and Ze'ev Elkin on Wednesday also demanded Olmert resign.

 

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum began calls for Olmert's resignation and fresh elections nearly three weeks ago, moments after it emerged that Olmert was suspected of illegally receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from an American businessman and fundraiser.

 

Labor Party officials said then that the faction would remain in Olmert's coalition government until a court ruling is made in the case.

 

Olmert has said he would resign if indicted but State Prosecutor Moshe Lador said it was too early to say if an indictment would be issued and that a decision would be made only after completion of police investigations.

 

Tal Silberstein, an Olmert adviser, told Army Radio on Wednesday that the prime minister had no intention of stepping aside now.

 

"I can tell you, based on a recent conversation with him, that he has no intention of announcing that he is taking a leave of absence or declaring anything at this stage - not as long as he is trying to prove his innocence," Silberstein said.

 

Olmert's lawyer: Wait until cross examination

 

On Tuesday, Olmert's lawyer Eli Zohar labeled Talansky's testimony "twisted" and said the truth would be revealed in his cross-examination set for July 17. "In general, we're saying that we're not talking about criminal activity whatsoever," Zohar said.

 

Talansky, 75, said there were no records of how the money he transferred was spent. "I only know that he loved expensive cigars. I know he loved pens, watches. I found it strange," Talansky told the court, then shrugged.

 

Talansky insisted that he never expected anything in exchange. But later, he said he had grown disillusioned over the years.

 

"Olmert had the ability to reach out to the American people, the largest and richest community of Jews in the world," Talansky said. "That's why I supported the man. That's why I overlooked, frankly and honestly, a lot of things. I overlooked them, maybe I shouldn't have."

 

It remained unclear if Talansky's day-long testimony had significantly helped prosecutors near proof of a "smoking gun" of evidence of bribery against Olmert. Although he admitted to having given Olmert cash-filled envelopes, Talansky maintained that he had asked for nothing in return.

 

The businessman told the court that Olmert had asked him for donations for his 1993 Jerusalem mayoral campaign and throughout his tenure as industry and trade minister. He said the cash-filled envelopes were transferred through Olmert's former bureau chief, Shula Zaken, each one containing between $3,000 and $8,000, and that the transfers were "legitimate."

 

Talansky also said that Olmert volunteered to contact three billionaires, including Plaza Hotel owner Yitzhak Tshuva and Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, to try to drum up business for a hotel minibar venture run by Talansky. But Talansky said the offer did not help, and Adelson slammed down the phone on him.

 

"I said to myself, 'I'm never going to go to a politician for business'," Talansky said with a laugh. "He wanted to do me a favor and it never worked out." Adelson, America's third richest man, was questioned in the case earlier this month during a visit to Jerusalem.

 

Coaltion concerns

 

Knesset members lashed out at Olmert on Tuesday in response to Morris Talansky's testimony in the Jerusalem District Court.

 

"The greenbacks in Talansky's envelopes were black [with filth]," said the chairman of the Knesset caucus against corruption, MK Arieh Eldad (National Union-National Religious Party). "Black money bought the prime minister of Israel, and until Olmert is removed from his post, the black flag of corruption flies over the entire state of Israel."

 

Knesset Interior Committee Chairman Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) said: "I do not understand how testimony like this jives with Olmert's statement that he did not take one shekel for his own pocket." Pines said Olmert's continued tenure was "insufferable and impossible."

 

Knesset State Control Committee Chairman Zevulun Orlev (National Union-National Religious Party) said: "A prime minister who asked for and received money in envelopes has lost his moral and public authority. Talansky's testimony is a serious public indictment against Ehud Olmert, and the coalition parties will be like partners in crime if they do not end his term immediately."

 

MK Limor Livnat (Likud) said: "If there were any doubts, along came Talansky's testimony and proved that Ehud Olmert must go home immediately and we must have elections."

 

MK Ran Cohen (Meretz) said: "Despite our support for the diplomatic process Olmert is leading, if what Talansky says is true, Olmert cannot sit one more day in the prime minister's chair."

Continued (Permanent Link)

Israeli project helps teach the Qur'an and use the Qur'an as a force for tolerance and peace

 

Quranet - A bridge between the Islamic world and the West

One of the projects exhibited at the Israeli Presidential Conference in May 2008 was Quranet - an educational tool which reveals the beauty of the Quran and its respect for human dignity.

 At the Israeli Presidential Conference held in May in honor of Israel's 60th Independence Day, 60 projects were selected for an exhibition entitled "Tomorrow's Spaces", presenting new ideas, products and technologies that will help shape the face of tomorrow. One of the projects selected was Quranet - a website in which every person in the world can find a Quranic answer to his/her educational questions.

• Quranet transforms the Quran into a unique and useful educational tool for parents and teachers, and thereby renders the beneficial power of the Quran widely accessible.
• Quranet interweaves the Quran, in unprecedented fashion, with modern educational approach, thereby helping the Islamic world and the West to understand each other.
• Quranet reveals the beauty of the Quran and its respect for human dignity, thereby providing a resounding response to warped exploitation of the Quran for the justification of terror.
• Since many issues are common to Islamic and Western culture, we aspire to develop Quranet into a social network in various languages, and create communities with shared interests, thus establishing a bidirectional bridge between the two cultures.

How does Quranet work?

The user selects a particular issue from the list of contents, and receives the relevant Quran verse. He or she can then study a brief description of an everyday event, illustrating how the verse can be utilized to convey a message to the child. The session concludes with a brief educational-psychological explanation of the process.
The material has been developed in Hebrew by a group of Bedouin students of education and their lecturer, Dr. Ofer Grosbard. With an introduction by three distinguished sheikhs, it was recently published in book form by Ben Gurion University Publishing House.

How Quranet began

Last year a group of fifteen Bedouin students studying for graduate degrees in educational counseling attended a course on Developmental Psychology given by our lecturer Dr. Ofer Grosbard.

One day I went up to him and said: "May I tell you the truth. What you are teaching us is not going to be of help to us."
"Why do you say that?" Ofer asked.
I said that that when I become an educational counsellor, a parent may come to me one day and say, "A demon has entered into my child" or some similar statement from the same cultural background. "Do you think that what you have taught us here  will be of any use to me then?"
"Then what would he helpful to you?" Ofer asked.
I replied with one word: "The Quran."
He asked me to explain. I said that, in the appropriate context, quotation of a verse from the Quran has enormous impact on Muslims.

Ofer brought a copy of the Quran to our next lesson. He divided the chapters among us and asked us to locate the educational-therapeutic verses. It transpired that there are many of these in the Quran. The verses exhort individuals to take responsibility, learn the truth, respect others etc. Ofer asked us to compose a brief story taken from everyday life for each verse to illustrate how a parent or teacher can utilize the verse to convey a message to the child. Together we collected more than three hundred stories, and Ofer added to each a simple and brief educational-psychological explanation.

That was how Quranet came into being.

See how Quranet works

What happens when we repay evil with good? 
... the one who used to be your enemy may become your best friend (Sura Fussilat, Ayat 34)

Bushra Mazarib - the student who set the project in motion

Cross posted: Israel News  Middle East Analysis

Continued (Permanent Link)

Study: Israeli Jews and Arabs want peace

Study: Israeli Jews and Arabs want peace

A new study released May 15 finds strong support for coexistence efforts among a majority of Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. The findings may buoy hopes for long-term peace in the region.

"Coexistence in Israel: A National Study" provides a compelling snapshot of current relations between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel as the nation celebrates its 60th anniversary. Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) associate professor Todd L. Pittinsky, research director of the school's Center for Public Leadership (CPL), served as lead researcher on the project. The study was conducted in Hebrew and Arabic, and included 1,721 adult citizens of Israel; researchers at the University of Haifa assisted.

Among the study's findings:

• A great majority of both Jewish citizens (73 percent) and Arab citizens (94 percent) want Israel to be a society in which Arab and Jewish citizens have mutual respect and equal opportunities.

• 68 percent of Jewish citizens support teaching conversational Arabic in Jewish schools to help bring Arab and Jewish citizens together.

• 77 percent of Arab citizens would rather live in Israel than in any other country in the world.

• More than two-thirds of Jewish citizens (69 percent) believe contributing to coexistence is a personal responsibility; a majority (58 percent) of Jewish citizens also support Cabinet-level action.

• Arab citizens and Jewish citizens both underestimate their communities' liking of the "other."

• Urgent action on coexistence in Israel is desired: 66 percent of Jewish citizens and 84 percent of Arab citizens believe that Israeli government investments should begin now, and not wait until the end of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

Addressing the significance of the study's most salient findings, Pittinsky remarked: "These data support what we've found in our allophilia research around the world — evidence of interest, comfort, and affection among some, even in communities in conflict. A growing body of research is showing that it is possible for members of groups who are very different from each other not only to tolerate each other — but to feel positive toward each other despite their differences, even in Israel. We call these positive feelings allophilia."

Pittinsky notes that much media coverage focuses on the divisions between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel, and not enough on the sincere and concerted efforts to coexist peacefully.

"Everyday innovative experiments in coexistence are going on," Pittinsky said. "People on the ground in Israel are running community centers that enable cultural exchanges; in bilingual schools — like the Hand in Hand network of schools — young Jewish and Arab children become culturally conversant with each other. These deserve as much attention as rockets and roadblocks. They should be nurtured, studied, funded, and reported in the media. Ultimately, the most successful of them should be promulgated."

According to Alan Slifka, a philanthropist who has funded many grassroots coexistence projects in Israel, and whose foundation funded the study: "This report supports what we have long suspected — unity among Israel's Jewish and Arab communities is not only attainable, but there is great public support for it. The critical next step is for Israeli policymakers to bring about the structural changes that the Jewish and Arab publics support, to reshape the educational, income, residential, and other divides that undermine national unity."

Pittinsky notes, "A change in Jewish-Arab relations within Israel could help form the grassroots platform to support shifts from regional conflict toward regional cooperation between Arab and Jew. Improving the equality and constructive engagement of Israel's Jewish and Arab citizens may help create a ripple effect that will spread, including the course of the relations of not only Jews and Arabs in Israel, but the Middle East more broadly."

--
Sr. Ruth Lautt, OP, Esq.

National Director

Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East

475 Riverside Drive, Ste 1960
New York, NY 10115

(212) 870-2320

www.christianfairwitness.com

Continued (Permanent Link)

Political Campaigns and Israel

Let's face it. Israel supporters live in glass houses, and people who live in glass houses should not be throwing stones. When a "pro-Israel" blog takes up a McCarthyite campaign to "prove" that Barack Obama is a Communist, they are doing the work of the opposition. We must not be associated with this sort of tactic.

 

Read more here:

Obama, Clinton McCain: Unbearable vacuity of election drivel

Continued (Permanent Link)

Was Lebanon sold to Hezbollah?

Was Lebanon sold to Hezbollah?
By: Elias Bejjani

May 27/08

Much has been said in praise and criticism of the "Doha agreement" that ended the bloody and criminal unsuccessful coup attempt that the Terrorist Hezbollah Militia and the axis of evil two countries, Syria and Iran, executed earlier this month in Lebanon to take over all the country, by force and topple the whole free and democratic regime.

Every party whether internal or international, interpreted the agreement that was brokered by the Arab League and the Qatari ruler, from its own political, national, ideological, or materiel perspective. Some western analysts said it came as a result of an American-Iranian global secret understanding for numerous Middle East conflicts in general and for the Iraqi one in particular. Others explained it as a preliminary consequence of the Syrian-Israeli negotiations currently being conducted in Turkey, in the open this time.
 
The International and regional press considered it a victory for the two states of the Axis of Evil; Syria and Iran, a great defeat to the Cedars Revolution, and a certain defeat of the West and its plans for the Middle East. Some even went as far as claiming that Lebanon has now become "a state under the control of Hezbollah".
 
In Lebanon, the opposition coalition leadership, including Hezbollah, as well as the majority parties, leaders, politicians and MP's considered it a great and historic accomplishment, but each from mere individual perspective, confessional affiliation, wishful thinking, local and foreign links as well as Divine interpretations for winning and losing.
 
The Majority, (March 14 coalition) is working hard to market it to its supporters as the beginning of a long term, well and thorough comprehensive programmed solution. A triumph of the concept of the State and coexistence among its multi-cultural communities. A defeat of Hezbollah's armed coup objectives. A strengthening of civil peace propelled by a Gandhi-like attitude resulting in substantial and essential compromises. The Majority justified the back off and retreat on numerous major and substantial matters as "necessary to avert and abort Hezbollah's civil war venomous scheme"
 
Hezbollah and its followers such as Amal, Aoun's FPM, and other Syria-Iran mercenaries, read in it a great defeat to the "American-Zionist Middle East Plan" and its followers in Lebanon including the "conspirators, Zionists, and traitors". From this arrogant and illusionary stand, Syria's mouthpiece and loyal servant, Lebanon's House Speaker Mr. Nabih Berri hideously and evilly, seriously endeavored unsuccessfully to ban the Saniora Cabinet members from attending the election ceremony of president Michel Suleiman that took place on Sunday, alleging the cabinet is "unconstitutional and illegal", from his perspective. His cheap and mean game failed and the cabinet members attended after the Majority MP's threatened to boycott the election session.

Meanwhile Hezbollah's General Secretary, Hassan Nasrallah delivered a lengthy speech yesterday in which he reiterated his  "Divine" refusal to disarm and reaffirmed his Iranian-Syrian long term plans of resistance "against the enemy, Israel".   "The resistance weapons are to be used in fighting the enemy, liberate lands and prisoners, and defend Lebanon and nothing else," . "State weapons … should defend the nation, the people and their rights … but cannot be used to settle accounts with a political opponent. State arms cannot be used to target the resistance and its arms,". "All weapons should serve the purpose for which they were organized,".
 
Where does the truth stand? Where are all the parties, whether majority of minority, Arabs or internationals, taking Lebanon in this agreement which they sponsored, blessed and advocated for, even though it failed to mention Security Council Resolutions (UNSCR) 1559 and 1701, that stipulates for the disarmament of Hezbollah, and for putting an end to all cantons erected during the Syrian occupation era, among which is Hezbollah's mini state. The agreement also omits any reference to the 1948 Armistice treaty with Israel and contains no clauses calling for the disarmament of militias as required by the "Taef Accord".

One wonders, where are all these parties, Arabs, Europeans and the USA are taking Lebanon with an agreement that legitimizes the "Hezbollah State" inside the state and grants it a veto power in the first cabinet to be formed under the presidency of General Michele Suleiman?
 
What good is to expected from an agreement which did not come with a time schedule or a roadmap to deter, contain and ultimately confiscate Hezbollah's Iranian-Syrian weapons. These same weapons that were criminally used earlier this month to massacre more than 100 Lebanese civilians and invade many peaceful Lebanese territories including the western part of the capital Beirut.
 
What actually distresses the Sovereign Free Nationalists in Lebanon and Diaspora, and darkens Lebanon's future of Freedoms, democracy, and its multi cultural role model in the Middle East, is that the Security Council which supported the Doha agreement, has also failed to mention in its statement issued last week, UNSCR 1559 and 1701, as well as the "Taef Accord" .

Those who are hailing the Doha agreement, be they Americans. Europeans, Arabs or Lebanese, and who are alleging that the newly elected president Michele Suleiman will work on disarming Hezbollah peacefully, should review thoroughly Suleiman's achievement record as Army commander during the last nine years, as well as his political affiliations background. Suleiman was handpicked by late Syrian president Hafez Assad as Army commander during the Stalinist Syrian occupation of Lebanon and then was embraced by Assad's son, the current Syrian president Basher Al Assad. Suleiman always was and still is a Hezbollah strong ally, and a loud and staunch advocate for what is falsely called "resistance against Israel".
 
This does not mean that Suleiman will not adopt new strategies and side with his country, Lebanon, and accordingly be a loyal guardian and protector for the Lebanese constitution as a president. Having said this, No one should ignore the fact that the majority of the Lebanese politicians are opportunists and chameleons. They change their affiliations and shift from one side to another so smoothly to secure power and authority. There is no doubt that Suleiman is no exception.
 
Things will be in the clear and unveiled within only two weeks. We will witness either the re-emerging of the state of Lebanon, or the Hezbollah's state instead.  The Suleiman presidency's path will determine which state this Genera-president is going to preside over. All this will be decisive in the new cabinet's Ministerial policy statement which will be presented to the parliament for its vote of confidence.
 
If the statement re-iterates the falsehood of  "resistance, liberation, rejection, and occupied land", and again gives Hezbollah militia legitimacy and legality, as was the case in the Saniora cabinet pre-2006 war statement, then this will mean simply that the "Hezbollah's mini state" has triumphed over the Lebanese state. That the Suleiman presidency will be a crisis management one, under the control, instructions, conditions, weapons, ideology, and religious edicts (fatawa) of Sheik Hassan Nassrallah, Hezbollah's General Secretary and behind him of course, Syria and Iran.
 
The Saniora cabinet's fatal mistake, or rather its mortal sin, was that it deluded itself in believing that Hezbollah will not turn its weapons against the Lebanese people, so it surrendered complementally, and from its first day it was formed, to this Iranian-Syrian Terrorist militia, and legalized its weapons, its influence, its cantons in its cabinet Ministerial Statement. That Statement stated "It is in protection of our valiant resistance, in calm dialog over the options available to us all, and in the context of the Arab struggle against Israel and its occupations, and to fortify Lebanon and adhere to Arab solidarity, to confirm the Arab League Beirut Summit resolutions for a final just peace and the respect of international resolutions".

Hopefully, the new Lebanese cabinet to be formed within the coming few days, the first in President Suleiman's six years term, will not commit the same sin and fatal mistake that the departing Saniora Cabinet did. Hezbollah was never a real or genuine resistance, but an Iran-Syrian army by every standard. Its coup attempt earlier this month and the horrible crimes and massacres it committed against the Lebanese peaceful civilians tell the whole story.
 
We, the Lebanese in the Diaspora, call on the free world not to keep a blind eye while Iran and Syria are devouring Lebanon bit by bit through its Hezbollah Army. The falling of Lebanon to the Axis of Evil countries and organizations will make all and every country world-wide targets for this merciless beast.
 
I reiterate what was stated in my last commentary: "The solid and proved fact that no one in the entire world should ignore is that Hezbollah, like the rest of the regional and global terrorist groups understands and bows to only one language. This language that they master and understand is a combination of force, deterrence and decisiveness. Hopefully the world will be able to communicate with Hezbollah with the only language that it knows and understands".
 

Elias Bejjani
Chairman for the Canadian Lebanese Coordinating Council (LCCC)
Human Rights activist, journalist & political commentator.
Spokesman for the Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation (CLHRF)
E.Mail phoenicia@hotmail.com
LCCC Web Site http://www.10452lccc.com
CLHRF Website http://www.clhrf.com

Cross posted: Israel News  Middle East Analysis

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