Bolton: Obama Respects Afghani President More than Netanyahu
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
U.S. President Barack Obama recently treated Afghan president Hamid Karzai to a gala lunch at the White House and showed the kind of respect that should be displayed to Israel, "our staunchest ally in the Middle East," John Bolton told supporters of Ateret Cohanim.
Speaking at the Ateret Cohanim annual dinner in New York Thursday night, the former American ambassador to the United Nations sharply condemned President Obama's adoption of Palestinian Authority demands to stop a Jewish presence in areas of Jerusalem. "No country has the right to determine another country's capital and whether they can build in it."
"People should be able to buy and sell property in Jerusalem, as in any other country and clearly peace in the region is not dependent on Israel making territorial concessions," he maintained.
Following Israel's announcement two months ago of progress in plans for building more homes for Jews in the Ramat Shlomo Jewish neighborhood, President Obama gave Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu a chilly reception at the White House, and their discussions took place without the usual lunch or dinner for visiting dignitaries.
Bolton also said that the Obama administration is missing the boat, as it has all but ruled out the military option to deal with the potential of Iran to produce a nuclear weapon, which it apparently is accepting as a fact, leaving Israel to deal with it by itself. He implied that the U.S. would probably not supply weapons parts in such a case, but that Israel has its back to the wall.
He said Iran is the "cradle of terrorism, has been developing nuclear weapons for the last 20 years and neither diplomacy nor economic sanctions will be effective deterrents against them."
Unless the Iranian regime is toppled, it "cannot be contained or deterred," according to Bolton.
Regarding the Palestinian Authority, Bolton declared, "The Palestinians are being exploited by their own leaders and the United States should not force either proximity or direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians because there is no legitimate Palestinian entity to negotiate with.
"The United States needs to stop digging the hole that they are in because undertaking this huge diplomatic task that will result in failed negotiations will leave in a much weaker position."
New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, also speaking at the dinner, said that an Israeli pre-emptive strike on Iran may be necessary to prevent a worse situation in the future. "The Obama administration has been a disaster for Israel and the United States," he stated." This administration has done everything in its power to undermine Israel's security and thus, the ultimate security of the United States."
Bolton thanked Ateret Cohanim and their Jerusalem Reclamation Project for their support in building Jerusalem, which he referred to as the "heart and soul" of the Jewish State. He will be accompanying Ateret Cohanim supporters on their coming mission to Jerusalem.
Philanthropists Joseph and Helen Mermelstein were this year's recipients of the Jerusalem Chai award and were praised for their "tireless work on behalf of Jews around the world." Dr. Joseph Frager, one of the founders of Arutz Sheva, and Mel Wadler were Guests of Honor. Bonei (Builders of) Yerushalayim honorees were Mark and Galina Moerdler and Mr. Moe Tawil. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
Talkback
If USA Can't Defend Israel's Interests...
... it can't defend its own either. The last thing the world needs is this radical president and his anti-West self-loathing policies. America is isolating itself from the free world as well as from the Islamic world, where he is also loathed for his weakness and willingness to appease. It's a long time to 2012 - how much more damage will he do between now and then?
Dallas, Canada (05/16/10)
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Obama Invites Lebanese PM to White House
JERUSALEM, Israel - President Barack Obama has invited Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Washington in May for his first official visit, Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday.
"The prime minister's visit is a symbol of the close and historic relationship between Lebanon and the United States," a statement by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs read.
"This will be the prime minister's first official visit to Washington during his premiership and the president looks forward to consulting with Prime Minister Hariri on a broad range of mutual goals in support of Lebanon's sovereignty and independence and regional peace and security."
Hariri, son of Rafiq Hariri, assassinated in 2005 while serving as prime minister - allegedly by Syrian agents - formed a unity government with Hezbollah last year, giving the group veto power over parliamentary decisions.
President Obama has also been seeking closer ties with Syria despite his decision last week to extend economic sanctions against Damascus in part because they continue to pursue weapons of mass destruction and support terror groups.
Both Hariri and Syrian President Bashar Assad have denied Israeli allegations that Syria is supplying Hezbollah with longer-range Scud missiles.
Israeli Military Intelligence chief, Brig.-Gen. Yossi Baidatz, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week that Syria's transfer of long-range missiles to the Lebanese-based terror group was "organized and official."
"Weapons are transferred to Hezbollah on a regular basis and this transfer is organized by the Syrian and Iranian regimes," Baidatz said.
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Noam Chomsky Barred from Entering Israel
by Gil Ronen
Ultra-leftist MIT professor Noam Chomsky was denied entry from Jordan to Israel at the Allenby Bridge Sunday.
Chomsky, a leading linguist, was scheduled to speak at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah. He reportedly spoke on the phone with an activist in an NGO called Right of Entry and said that his passport had been stamped with the words "entry denied." He said that when he asked Israeli authorities for the reasons for the decision to block his entry, he was told that it would be sent in writing to the US embassy.
Chomsky has described his views as 'anarchist' and has been a proponent of ultra-leftist politics since the 1960s, when he opposed US involvement in the Viet Nam war.
In a recent interview with Democracy Now, Chomsky appeared to justify the development of nuclear weapons by Iran:
Israel actually is sending the nuclear submarines and other warships through the Suez Canal, with the tacit agreement of Egypt, the Egyptian dictatorship, another US client in the region. Well, those are all threats-constant, verbal, actual.
And the threats do have the effect of inducing Iran to develop a deterrent. Whether they're doing it or not, I don't know. Maybe they are. But if they are, the reason, as I think almost all serious analysts would agree, is not because they intend to use nuclear weapons and missiles with nuclear weapons. If they even loaded a missile was nuclear weapons, assuming they had them, the country would be vaporized in five minutes. And nobody believes that the ruling clerics, whatever one thinks about them, have a kind of a death wish and want to see the entire country and society and everything they own destroyed.
Chomsky visited Lebanon in 2006 and was hosted by Hizbullah. He stated that at the time that "Hizbullah's insistence on keeping its arms is justified... I think Nasrallah has a reasoned argument and persuasive argument that they should be in the hands of Hizbullah as a deterrent to potential aggression, and there is plenty of background reasons for that."
One month after his visit, Hizbullah launched an attack against the IDF, sparking the Second Lebanon War. (IsraelNationalNews.com)
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Obama Losing the ‘G-d Vote', Backer Chaim Saban Losing Sleep
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Strong signs at the polls show that U.S. President Barack Obama is losing the "G-d vote" as Jewish and religious Christian voters flee, chapter and verse, to the Republican camp.
He won more support in the "Bible Belt" than John Kerry did in 2004, with one Ohio town giving President Obama 43 percent of the "G-d vote," 10 percent more more than the 39 percent who supported John Kerry, according to polling results cited by political analyst and reporter Salena Zito on the Townhall.com website.
Democrats now have a "G-d vote" deficit. "It isn't Armageddon yet, but it is the task of party activists to keep having broad, open and honest dialogue with the faith voters," said Burns Strider, founding partner of the Eleison Group and former religious outreach director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Mark Rozell, professor of public policy at George Mason University, estimates that voters in 2008 "really seemed to understand ‘G-d talk'" through President Obama's oratorical skills, but his actions now speak louder than words.
"What is at issue is the administration's new openness to the Muslim world while maintaining a very icy relationship with and directing harsh criticism towards the government of Israel," explains Keystone College political science professor Jeff Brauer.
Another professor, Bert Rockman of Purdue University, told Townhall.com, "There is a general pulling-away from the Democrats because of anger about the current state of affairs and pessimism about the direction of the country."
President Obama and his advisors launched a campaign last month to try to reverse the near-zero popularity for the president in Israel and the rapidly fading support among American Jews.
Israeli-American billionaire Chaim Saban, one of the biggest backers of the Democratic party, says he is suffering from insomnia because of the Obama administration.
He told Channel 10 television, "To say I don't sleep easily with the current administration's relationship to Israel would be an understatement. They are leftists, really left leftists, so far to the left there's not much space left between them and the wall," he said, referring to the president's aides.
President Obama has invited Jewish leaders to the White House, including those outside of the left-wing J Street lobby, for discussions. Last Thursday, two Jewish advisers hosted a second meeting with Orthodox rabbis as well as leaders from the Conservative and Reform movements in an effort to turn around current polls that show the possibility that the Democrats might even lose their majority control of Congress in this November's mid-term elections.
Policy advisor Dennis Ross, one of the architects of the Oslo Accords, reminded the rabbis that there have been "manifestations of the change" of the administration's tone since they met the first time a month ago."
The split between President Obama and Israel has centered on the Iranian nuclear threat and the Obama administration's acceptance of Palestinian Authority demands that Israel stop building for Jews in areas of Jerusalem that the PA claims as being part of a new Arab state it wants to create.
Virginia Conservative Rabbi Jack Moline said that President Obama invited rabbis who are popular in their communities but who are not outright opposed to him. However, not all of those who were invited left the meeting reassured.
Orthodox Rabbi Ephrem Goldberg of Florida said, "Among the rabbis, there was a diversity of those who support the administration policies and feel the message hasn't trickled down, and those who have problems with some of the policies.
"It's easy to repeat the phrases 'unbreakable bond' and 'shared values. We want to hear in no uncertain terms that Iran will not be allowed to go nuclear that inevitably there will be an impasse" between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. "When that happens, will they only apply pressure to Israel, or have they learned something?" (IsraelNationalNews.com)
Talkback
Obama
The USA will continue to feel the punishing hand of G-d if it continues it's efforts to divide the land of Israel, a direct attack against God's will and promise to Israel. Remember Eygpt?
Patsy, USA (05/16/10)
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Palestinians don't like Israelis quoting from Bible
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat last week blasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for quoting from the Bible in order to draw a connection between Jerusalem and the Jews.
In his Jerusalem Day address to the Knesset marking the 43rd anniversary of the reunification of the city under Israeli control, Netanyahu highlighted the prominent place Jerusalem holds in the Jewish Bible, where it is mentioned no fewer than 850 times (including the times the city is referred to as "Zion").
A day later, Erekat told Reuters that he found it "distasteful, this use of religion to incite hatred and fear."
Erekat insisted that the eastern half of Jerusalem is "an occupied Palestinian town" that must be surrendered by Israel.
The Palestinians have worked hard over
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Palestinians see Obama as their savior
Roadside signs and billboards put up as part of a new public relations campaign in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories are hailing US President Barack Obama as the savior of the Palestinian Arabs.
The signs read: "Barack Obama, free us from slavery, occupation and the settlements."
The campaign, dubbed "Dear Barack," was started by a local Palestinian radio station and has quickly gained public and official support, according to the PA's Wafa news agency.
As part of the campaign, individual Palestinians have also been sending emails to Obama's personal address, urging him to become a true historical hero by freeing them from what they call Israeli oppression.
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Haredim draw swastika at Barzilai
By ABE SELIG, JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH AND JPOST.COM
16/05/2010 16:43
15 arrested setting fire to fields near Ashkelon's Shikma prison.
Haredi protesters drew a swastika on the walls of the improvised police holding area at Barzilai Hospital in which they were being detained on Sunday, Army Radio reported.
The graffiti reportedly read, "Barzilai hospital robs graves."
About 30 protesters were detained earlier on Sunday, trying to prevent the Israeli Antiquities Authority from starting to evacuate the graves from the site for the Ashkelon hospital's reinforced emergency department.
Also Sunday, 15 haredi men were arrested for attempting to set on fire the bracken fields abutting Shikma prison on the outskirts of Ashkelon. Firefighters quickly arrived on the spot and put out the fire which threatened Ashkelon's northern industrial zone.
Earlier in the day, at the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu defended moving pagan graves near Ashkelon's Barzilai Medical Center on Sunday morning, after Deputy Health Minister Ya'acov Litzman leveled a veiled accusation of anti-Semitism at authorities and construction of the hospital's reinforced emergency department began.
Some 25 haredi protesters were detained overnight Saturday and early Sunday as construction began under the close watch of large numbers of security forces, including anti-terror squads.
The Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA) announced at 11:00 Sunday morning that it would be broadcasting live from the site where the graves are being moved, but Litzman quickly buried the plan. His office instructed the IAA to remove the video from its website.
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Atra Kadisha, an extreme haredi group that opposes the movement of bones and claims those near Barzilai belonged to Jews, is supported in this matter by Litzman, a Gur hassid, who demanded that the emergency department be built elsewhere.
Litzman was interviewed on Israel Radio Sunday, and hinted that his United Torah Judaism party was considering leaving the coalition. The deputy health minister said he would consult rabbis on UTJ's next step.
"We don't create crises after every disagreement," Litzman said. He also added that haredi rabbis did not tell their followers to protest. "If they call us, then we will go out and protest," he explained.
Litzman complained that "if a similar step had been taken abroad, Israelis would be saying that it was anti-Semitism!"
Litzman had persuaded the cabinet to oppose moving the graves, but after public outrage over the much greater expense, the longer delays and the unsuitability of the alternate site, Netanyahu (who is also formally health minister) held a re-vote, and the decision was changed.
At the beginning of Sunday's cabinet meeting, the prime minister addressed the events near the Barzilai hospital.
"The decision to build a new armored emergency room was made after the Second Lebanon war. The important haredi public may feel hurt because of it, but we reached the decision that this should be done," Netanyahu said.
"The greater good is what guides us. We take advice and try to reach conclusions as much as possible, but at the end, the government's decision is for the greater good," he said at the weekly meeting.
Unrest spreads to Jerusalem
Jerusalem police on Sunday morning reported that dozens of haredi men had begun lighting trash bins on fire and blocking roads in and around Shabbat Square in the capital's Mea Shearim neighborhood, in what appeared to be part of the growing response to construction work at Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon, that will see a number of tombs, believed to be of pagan origin, relocated.
Additionally, overturned trash bins and other debris could be seen scattered in piles on a number of roads throughout the large haredi enclave, and security forces were on the scene, attempting to restore order.
Israel Medical Association chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman said on Saturday night that the Israel Police had told him it would act with determination to prevent haredi rioters from interfering with the work, as archeologists began to clean the area.
Eidelman expressed his satisfaction that the much-delayed construction of the facility - to protect patients, staffers and visitors from rocket attacks from nearby Gaza - would now begin. He toured the site last week with other IMA executives. He feared that hospital staffers might be harmed by demonstrators, but police said they would do all they could to protect all innocent people.
