Jerusalem Post - Jerusalem Author: BINYAMIN NETANYAHU Date: Aug 13, 2007
First, our top priority must be to do everything in our power to prevent Iran from acquiring atomic weapons. Rather than waste time and resources mobilizing international support for a peace conference with Mahmoud Abbas, Israel's focus should be on mobilizing the international community to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions.
That war, strategically misconceived and poorly managed, was brought about by a misguided policy of unilateral retreat. Ehud Barak's hasty flight from Lebanon and the foolish withdrawal from Gaza in the face of terror ensured that Hizbullah and Hamas filled the vacuum we left behind. After the war, it was thought that unilateralism would be shelved for good. It wasn't.
Second, Israel's strong economy must grow even stronger. Four years ago, with the help of my Likud colleagues, I was able to usher in sweeping economic reforms. By cutting spending and taxes, privatizing government companies, dramatically increasing investments in our national roads and railways, overhauling the government's pension system and transforming the capital markets, we placed the country on a path of high and sustainable growth with record foreign investment.
Lantos: West Bank checkpoint removal premature. 'Don't expect much' from November int'l parley [Daily Edition]
Jerusalem Post - Jerusalem Author: TOVAH LAZAROFF Date: Aug 13, 2007
"Having conquered Gaza, Hamas is determined to conquer the West Bank, and to destroy Israel," He said. "Arms and funds are pouring in through the tunnels on the Egyptian- Gaza border. It is long overdue that the vast Egyptian army take the necessary steps to stop this outrageous flow perpetrated by the merchant of death."
"It is self evident that the arms package will need to be of such a nature that it does not represent a threat to the State of Israel," he said, "while at the same time recognizing the legitimate need of the Saudis to prepare against the rising military might of Iran."
[Tom Lantos] said the US proposal to give Israel $30b. in a 10-year military package was "unprecedented in scope," and would guarantee "the continuance of Israel's qualitative military edge in the region" against a "sickening array of bloodthirsty enemies," including the current regime in Iran.
By cutting spending and taxes, privatizing government companies, dramatically increasing investments in our national roads and railways, overhauling the government's pension system and transforming the capital markets, we placed the country on a path of high and sustainable growth with record foreign investment.
This is what the New York State and even the whole country should be doing.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Israel turning away Darfur refugees Some say country has special obligation BY MATTI FRIEDMAN The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — Israel said Sunday it will no longer allow refugees from Darfur to stay after they sneak across the border from Egypt, drawing criticism from those who say the Jewish state is morally obliged to offer sanctuary to people fleeing mass murder. Israel has been grappling for months over how to deal with the swelling numbers of Africans, including some from Darfur, who have been crossing the porous desert border. The number of migrants has shot up to as many as 50 a day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, apparently as word of job opportunities in Israel has spread. The rise has led to concerns that the country could face a flood of African refugees if it doesn’t take a harsher stand on asylum seekers. But Israel has not turned back refugees from Darfur until now, and last month Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said a limited number would even be allowed to remain in Israel. On Sunday, a government spokesman said all new asylum seekers would be sent back to Egypt, with no exception. “The policy of returning back anyone who enters Israel illegally will pertain to everyone, including those from Darfur,” spokesman David Baker said. He offered no explanation for the change. Overnight, Israel returned 48 Africans to Egypt. An Israeli government official said Egypt had guaranteed that any Darfur refugees would not be forced to return to Sudan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release that information to the press. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters Sunday that Egypt would accept the refugees for “very pressing humanitarian reasons” but that this type of transfer “would not be repeated again.” Fighting between pro-government militias and rebels in Darfur has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million since February 2003. Most of the displaced people remain in Darfur, but the U.N. estimates that 236,000 have fl ed across the border to neighboring Chad, where they live in camps. Tens of thousands of others have sought sanctuary in Egypt, which is ill-equipped to provide them with jobs and social services. About 400 of the Darfurians who reached Egypt have driven and trekked through desert sands to cross the unfenced frontier with Israel, according to the refugees’ advocates in Israel. Israel’s response to the unexpected arrivals has been mixed. Threats to expel them have clashed with sentiments inspired by the memory of Jews seeking sanctuary from the Nazis before and during World War II and being turned away. Some volunteers have helped migrants find jobs and housing. Eytan Schwartz, an advocate for Darfur refugees in Israel, objected to any ban on the asylum seekers. “The state of Israel has to show compassion for refugees after the Jewish people was subject to persecution throughout its history,” he said. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel said in a statement that it is, “Israel’s moral and legal obligation to accept any refugees or asylum seekers facing life-threatening danger or infringements on their freedom.” But Ephraim Zuroff of the Nazihunting Simon Wiesenthal Center said the Jewish people could not be expected to right every wrong just because of its past. “Israel can’t throw open the gates and allow unlimited access for people who are basically economic refugees,” Zuroff said. The Darfurians found sanctuary from the killings in Sudan by fleeing to Egypt, he said, but their arrival in Israel “was motivated primarily by the difficult living conditions and bleak economic prospects in that country.”
The number of migrants has shot up to as many as 50 a day, according to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, apparently as word of job opportunities in Israel has spread.
Sound familiar? Look at the size of Israel compared to the size of the US. Now think of that 50 multplied by this size difference and you get how many coming over the border daily from Mexico fo the exact same reason?
It is a hard line for Israel to take, but they know they have to for their survivial. I read there are somewhere between 12 and 22 million (apparently no is sure) illegals in this country that could be granted amnesty. I feel terrible for these people who want to come here for a better life but the cost WILL be our quality of life.
Israeli Minister: Apocalypse Over Nuclear Programs Saturday, November 10, 2007 By: Newsmax Staff
Israeli Strategic Affairs minister Avigdor Lieberman tells the Jerusalem Post that Egyptian and Saudi Arabian intentions to ramp up their nuclear programs in the face of Iran's move to nuclear power present an "apocalyptic scenario" for Israel as well as for the rest of the world.
"If Egypt and Saudi Arabia begin nuclear programs, this can bring an apocalyptic scenario upon us," Lieberman told the Post. "Their intentions should be taken seriously and the declarations being made now are to prepare the world for when they decide to actually do it."
Lieberman also said Pakistan was a major threat to Israel due to the political instability there and the fact that the country had "missiles, nuclear weapons and a proven capability.”
Lieberman also lambasted International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei as an impediment to the West's efforts to impose further sanctions on Iran.
"He is part of the problem, not part of the solution," Lieberman said. "ElBaradei's behavior has not succeeded in solving anything like North Korea or Libya's nuclear programs. And instead of criticizing Iran, he finds it right to criticize Israel."
Lieberman said ElBaradei was delaying the U.N. Security Council's consideration of a new round of sanctions by not publishing the new IAEA report on the status of Iran's nuclear program.
Lieberman concluded that Israel needed to ignore ElBaradei and to work on its own - together with other Western countries - to impose sanctions on the Islamic Republic. He said the international community finally understood that Iran was not just a threat to Israel but to the entire Free World.
In unusually frank comments, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned in an interview published Thursday that "the state of Israel is finished" if a Palestinian state is not created, saying the alternative was a South African-style apartheid struggle.
The explosive reference to apartheid came as Olmert returned from a high profile peace conference in Annapolis, Md., hoping to prepare a skeptical nation for difficult negotiations with the Palestinians.
Just hours after his return, the Israeli leader received an important boost when police recommended that prosecutors drop an investigation into whether he illegally intervened in the government's sale of a bank two years ago. The threat of indictment in the case cast a cloud over Olmert for months.
While Olmert has long said that the region's demography was working against Israel, the comments published in the Haaretz daily were among his strongest. Israeli officials have long rejected any comparison to the racist system once in place in South Africa.
Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed at the Annapolis summit to resume peace talks with the Palestinians after a seven-year freeze. The two leaders pledged efforts to reach an agreement on the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of next year.
In the interview, Olmert said it was a vital Israeli interest to create a Palestinian state due to the growing Arab population in the area.
"The day will come when the two-state solution collapses, and we face a South African-style struggle for equal voting rights," Olmert told Haaretz. "As soon as that happens, the state of Israel is finished."
The interview was published on the 60th anniversary of the historic U.N. decision to partition Palestine, setting up separate Jewish and Arab states. The vote led to a war, and the Palestinian state was not created.
The Palestinians want to form their state in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.
Jews are a solid majority inside Israel, comprising roughly 80 percent of the population of 7 million. However, if the West Bank and Gaza are included, Arabs already make up nearly half the population.
To ensure that Israel can maintain its character as a democracy with a solid Jewish majority, Olmert supports a withdrawal from much of the West Bank and parts of east Jerusalem, following Israel's pullout from Gaza in 2005.
Israel's 1.5 million Arab citizens have the right to vote, but the estimated 3.9 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza do not have Israeli citizenship or rights.
Olmert, a hard-liner earlier in his career, in recent years has repeatedly warned that Israel cannot remain both Jewish and democratic if it holds on to the West Bank and Gaza. But he has never used the South African analogy in public, though officials say he recently made the same argument in a closed meeting with lawmakers.
Gazans complained Thursday that they are running out of fuel, blaming an Israeli decision to cut back on supplies. However, the private Israeli company that sells fuel to Gaza said the problem was that Gaza is not paying its bills — an issue that repeats itself every few months and is usually resolved quickly.
In the corruption case, police said there was insufficient evidence to indict Olmert in one of those investigations — whether he illegally intervened in the government's sale of a bank two years ago. Olmert had been suspected of trying to rig the privatization of Bank Leumi in favor of two associates while he was finance minister.
The decision, coming after months of investigations, including two interrogations of Olmert, was forwarded to the attorney general, who makes the final decision on whether to indict. That decision is weeks or months away, but an indictment appears unlikely.
Police are still conducting two other corruption probes against Olmert, who has denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, two polls published in Israeli newspapers Thursday showed the Israeli public to be highly skeptical of the fledgling peace process.
The polls, conducted by the Dahaf Institute and Dialog agency, found that fewer than one in five Israelis believe the Annapolis conference was a success, and more than 80 percent of the public thinks the Israeli and Palestinian leaders will not meet their goal of reaching a deal in 2008.
The polls each questioned about 500 people and had margins of error of 4.5 percentage points.
Despite threat of violence, trip to Israel still provided spiritual feelings I recently returned from Israel with 46 members of our congregation — it was an experience that surely will be cherished. The spiritual bond between us and Israelis was quite apparent to me — we are surely lansmen — part of the same family! Never did I sense the tension and security problems that have been portrayed in the media. But then again, there were certain areas of the country I didn’t travel. It pained me that I did not travel to S’derot or Ashkelon. Yet, the constant threat of rocket attacks made travel there less than prudent. Such anxiety has altered the life of hundreds of thousands of Israelis in that area. Remember that this is the catalyst of Israel’s military response in Gaza. Let me encourage all of us to read through the headlines and see that the Hamas terrorists bear most of the responsibility for the death of the innocents. They surround themselves with them, fire rockets arbitrarily into Israel and scream foul when there is a signifi - cant military response. Know also that many Israelis are pained by Israel’s response as well. But unilateral cease fi re or withdrawal leaves a vacuum where terror finds strong footing. The late Prime Minister Golda Meir said it best: We can forgive you for killing our sons. But we will never forgive you for making us kill yours. Finally, let us as people of faith acknowledge that who is at fault is not the primary issue — safety, security and peace for Israelis and Palestinians are the primary goals. Let’s not look to blame and find fault — encourage peace. Demand it, as the Hebrew prophet did ages ago: “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.” MATT CUTLER Niskayuna The writer is rabbi of Congregation Gates of Heaven.
Wave of nostalgia washes over Israel Jewish homeland celebrates 60 years BY MATTI FRIEDMAN The Associated Press
JERUSALEM — As Israel celebrates its 60th birthday, Israelis have their gaze set firmly backward. Turn on the TV and you’ll see grainy archive footage and old-timers reminiscing about desert wars and pioneering days on the kibbutz. Radio stations are busy with musical retrospectives and the hottest new CD features contemporary singers covering Israeli favorites from decades past. The love affair with the past comes at a time of unease — Israelis have much to be proud of, but aren’t sure what they have to look forward to. “It’s no secret that in our country the present isn’t great and the future is always scary, so if you want to feel good, it’s more fun to look back and ignore the problems,” said Shaanan Streett, frontman for the Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash. The name roughly translates as “the fish is a snake.” “It’s just like when people turn 60,” he said. “Their relatives throw a party and show slides of them when they were younger and better looking.” In one typical anniversary project, a newspaper and television station decided to pay homage to photographs from Israel’s history by recreating them with their original participants. One 1949 shot of soldiers jubilantly hoisting an improvised Israeli flag against a backdrop of barren hills became a color photograph of a group of elderly men around a flagpole. The new photographs — defl ated, drained of traces of heroism wand myth — came across to many as an unintentional tribute to the country’s current state of mind. As it celebrates its 60th birthday Thursday, Israel has never been richer or stronger. It has weathered assaults that would have crippled some societies and has even thrived. But Israelis are increasingly alienated from a political system that suffers from deadlock and corruption and seems devoid of leaders able to garner the public’s respect. An end to Israel’s confl ict with its Arab neighbors, which appeared around the corner a decade ago, is now widely seen as a naive dream. And having jettisoned its Spartan, socialist ideals, the country has yet to agree on a positive vision to replace them. “The nostalgia exists because we have an emptiness today — that’s the root,” said lawyer Eliad Shraga. Shraga, a reserve paratroops offi cer, fought in Israel’s Lebanon invasion in 1982 and then in Israel’s war with Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon two years ago. For nearly two decades, he has headed a group called the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. “When I see what’s happening with my prime minister, I miss people like David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin, like Golda Meir, people who lived in two-room apartments and made do with very little,” Shraga said. “Even if you didn’t agree with them, you knew they were ethical.” Less than a week before the anniversary, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was questioned by police on corruption suspicions. The new inquiry is the fifth into Olmert’s activities since he took office. Embezzlement allegations forced his finance minister to step down, and another of his political allies was convicted of sexual misconduct. And that’s an abbreviated list. “When we think about ethics and leadership, it’s not just our imagination — things really were different once,” Shraga said. SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A worker sews an Israeli flag ahead of the country’s 60th anniversary at a factory in Jerusalem. Israelis will mark 60 years since the creation of the state beginning at sundown Wednesday.
I have been reading the latest news coming out of Israel with cautious optimism — the cease-fire with Hamas, an offer to begin talks with Lebanon, and the ongoing talks with Syria and the Palestinians [June 19 Gazette]. It looks like Israel is heading in the right direction in its quest for security and peace. I have been struck, however, by the absence of public expressions of support for these recent peace efforts, most notably from the pro-Israel community that is normally such a vocal advocate for Israel and its policies. As an American who believes that the security of Israel, its neighbors and the United States is enhanced by a peaceful Middle East, I strongly support these initiatives and hope that the United States will do more to facilitate their success. I hope that those who consider themselves friends of Israel will join me in this strong expression of support. MARYLYNN GRIMES Schenectady
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