Middle East

NOVANEWS "A silk purse from a sow’s ear": Israel finds a creative solution for a West Bank land confiscation problem Didi Remez | August 27, 2010 at 10:07 | Categories: Diplomacy | URL: http://wp.me/pHlQV-II As always happens when the diplomatic process resumes, the air is filled with talk of economic and infrastructure projects. For the principals, the buzz helps in creating an "atmosphere of progress." The bureaucrats and businessmen behind the leaks are usually angling for a share of the funding that could accompany a breakthrough. The rush for headlines is uncoordinated, and occasionally provides a glimpse of the motivation actually driving policy. From the lead story of this morning's Israel Hayom [full translation at bottom of post]: This story is a classic example of mak...

NOVANEWS Dear All, It’s always good to return to one’s familiar physical surroundings and family.  But the reality of where I live, the atmosphere, is anything but heart-warming, and it continues to worsen from day to day and year to year.  Some of this is reflected in 5 of the 7 items below.  On the other side of the coin, criticism of Israel abroad is growing, and along with it, bds seems to be making gains.  Criticism in the main (apart from the intellectual sort and reports as Goldstone’s) is still at the grass roots level.  But on occasion (as in the initial item below) a diplomat becomes cross.  We have yet a long way to go before this area of the world will see justice and peace.  David Grossman in a recent interview phrased part of the reason that the Israeli consensus tends to the...

NOVANEWS 08/26/2010 Think back to 2003… the year the U.S. didn’t invade Iraq The ‘memoricide’ of Palestine The Israeli right’s secret strategy to promote ‘Greater Israel’ Begging for your freedom is utterly humiliating What would Izzy Stone do? (Embrace Abdallah Abu Rahmah) Israeli army escorts 500 Jewish Israelis into controversial settlement near Nablus Yale conference on anti-Semitism targets Palestinian identity, ’self-hating’ Jews, and anyone who criticizes Israel Think back to 2003… the year the U.S. didn’t invade Iraq Aug 25, 2010  James North Historians would later record how Secretary of State Colin Powell prevailed in a key Cabinet meeting in early 2003, when he refused to go before the United Nations because he lacked proof that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. “Wh...

NOVANEWS August 25, 2010  by Michael Leon   From the Institute for Public Accuracy President Obama and Netanyahu   The British newspaper the Guardian reports todaythat Jimmy Carter, who has been in Israel and just met with top Hamas officials in Gaza, said of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent speech: “My opinion is he raised many new obstacles to peace that had not existed under previous prime ministers. … He still apparently insists on expansion of existing settlements, he demands that the Palestinians and the Arabs recognize Israel as a Jewish state, although 20 percent of its citizens here are not Jews. This is a new demand.” Carter also stated: “To me, the most grievous circumstance is the maltreatment of the people in Gaza, who are literally starving and have no hope...

NOVANEWS Our invisble protectors The rise of Pinkwater Handy tips for those wanting to define anti-Semitism America says; democracy in the Mid-East is for pussies Peter Beinart in Sydney Pull out of Afghanistan now, says new Australian MP Israel is always run by the Bush administration The “enlightened” occupation It’s illegal to even protest illegal Jewish colonies What is happening in the anti-Assange campaign? Our invisble protectors 25 Aug 2010 We are in very capable hands: Members of the brilliant, highly trained, and dedicated team of elite professionals who work tirelessly behind the scenes to protect our nation and keep its citizens out of harm’s way announced Tuesday that they do not exist. “I know most Americans like to believe there are selfless, ultra-intell...

NOVANEWS For Once, Hope in the Middle East By MARTIN INDYK Published: August 26, 2010 Washington   Chloé Poizat NOW that President Obama has finally succeeded in bringing the Israelis and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, the commentariat is already dismissing his chances of reaching a peace agreement. But there are four factors that distinguish the direct talks that will get under way on Sept. 2 in Washington from previous attempts — factors that offer some reason for optimism. First, violence is down considerably in the region. Throughout the 1990s, Israel was plagued by terrorist attacks, which undermined its leaders’ ability to justify tangible concessions. Israelis came to believe that the Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat was playing a double game, professing pe...

NOVANEWS Israel’s Choice: Settlements or Peace, Say Palestinians August 24, 2010  by Michael Leon   Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator, pauses as he speaks in the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Israel must chose between "settlements or peace," Erakat said on Monday ahead of the September 2 restart of negotiations in Washington.(AFP/Abbas Momani) RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories – Israel must chose between “settlements or peace,” Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Monday ahead of the September 2 restart of negotiations in Washington. “The choice of the Israeli government is settlement or peace, they cannot have both,” he said at a news conference in Ramallah, the political capital of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.  But he also said he believed agreemen...

NOVANEWS 08/25/2010 Yale conference on anti-Semitism targets Palestinian identity, ’self-hating’ Jews, and anyone who criticizes Israel Free Gaza Movement commemorates anniversary of first Gaza landing Palestinian farm set afire, four well permits denied, and other news Internet Killed Israeli PR: An interview with Minor Demographic Threat As a city that is compact together Yale conference on anti-Semitism targets Palestinian identity, ’self-hating’ Jews, and anyone who criticizes Israel Aug 24, 2010 Philip Weiss This is disturbing. A Yale University center that purports to study anti-Semitism is holding a three-day conference on "the crisis" of global anti-Semitism (ending tomorrow) that is dedicated to the idea that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic.  The flotilla ...

NOVANEWS 08/24/2010: Two ‘Anglo-Saxons’ in Jerusalem Snippets of my youthful Zionist indoctrination Actually, Arab leaders don’t want a strike on Iran Pro-Israel extremists have campaigned against an Islamic cultural center before What the U.S. sanctions on Iraq tell us about the siege of Gaza Israel tells schools not to teach about the Nakba Norwegian gov’t divests from 2 companies that build settlements Kovel: Zionism’s dreary burden on Jewishness Israeli officer sells computers seized from flotilla members Two ‘Anglo-Saxons’ in Jerusalem Aug 24, 2010  Philip Weiss Once a summer for the last few years I’ve gone to lectures at the Church of the Messiah in Cape Cod in a series sponsored by the Ad Hoc Committee for Peace and Justice in the Middle East. Most of the speeches have...

NOVANEWS The Tony and George love affair (aka why can’t we start more wars?) Jews who see war through the eyes of Tel Aviv The Saudi “terrorist” backing Fox News Whistle-blowing must happen far more often Thank us for helping Iranian repression Devastating Iraq and Palestine in one cruel move Transparency in the US The Tony and George love affair (aka why can’t we start more wars?)  24 Aug 2010 Pass the bucket: Tony Blair’s forthcoming memoirs will read like a ‘love letter’ to George W Bush, insiders claim. The autobiography will praise the former U.S. president, with whom Mr Blair launched the controversial invasion of Iraq in 2003, as ‘highly intelligent’ and ‘visionary’. The former prime minister is wheeling out his wife Cherie and their four children to publicise the bo...