Israel Palestine Blogs

Living in New York includes such weird moments as walking between meetings and passing a 300-year-old graveyard with America’s founding fathers buried there. In the midst of the Financial District’s skycrapers and under the shadow of the Freedom Tower construction. Poignant.

Ronen Bergman’s front page NY Times Magazine feature story this week is important, but for all the wrong reasons.  It is important not because it offers clarity or insight into urgent matters of the day, except possibly in a negative sense.  In it, we hear of all the common delusions and misconceptions of the main Israeli policymakers who will make the decision to bomb Iran.  We hear relatively little (except towards the end) from those within Israel who argue against an attack, and when we do hear from them Bergman allows them to speak mostly second-hand through his paraphrase rather than in their own words.  This has the effect of minimizing the weight of opinion they offer.

When we do hear directly from Dagan, it is towards the end of the piece, well after numerous opposing sources have contradicted the premises of his thinking.  For every one source the Israeli security reporter uses who opposes war, he brings two or three holding opposite views.  Frankly, I’m not surprised at this since Bergman is a fan of a robust projection of Israeli interests (aggressive projections of military and security might) against its enemies.  What I am surprised and disappointed about is the decision of NY Times editors to allow such a heavily weighted view to be offered to its readers.

But understanding the thinking, wrong as it may be, of the Israeli hawks is important and useful.  It allows us to rebut and combat their logic with those in the public who retain an element of realism about the consequences of war against Iran.

Here are some of the most dubious passages in which the Israelis betray wishful thinking, rather than sober or serious insight.  He quotes Bogie Yaalon, one of Israel’s most aggressive hawks, as claiming that Iran will actually introduce one of its own nuclear devices into the U.S.:

“The Iranian regime will be several times more dangerous if it has a nuclear device in its hands,” he went on. “One that it could bring into the United States. It is not for nothing that it is establishing bases for itself in Latin America and creating links with drug dealers on the U.S.-Mexican border. This is happening in order to smuggle ordnance into the United States for the carrying out of terror attacks. Imagine this regime getting nuclear weapons to the U.S.-Mexico border and managing to smuggle it into Texas, for example. This is not a far-fetched scenario.”

This is so incredibly far-fetched as to separate Yaalon, one of Israel’s most serious security policymakers, from reason.  It makes you wonder how a country can allow someone so deluded, so Strangelovian to have his finger anywhere near the nuclear button.

In this passage, Barak raises the long-discredited discredited claim about Iran’s genocidal intentions against Israel:

 The Iranians are, after all, a nation whose leaders have set themselves a strategic goal of wiping Israel off the map.”

Iran’s leaders have said that the current Israeli regime would disappear from the pages of history, not that it would destroy Israel itself.  ”Disappearing” and “destroying” are two quite different words whose nuances Barak has conveniently confused.

Below Bergman outlines three critical questions Israel needs to answer affirmatively for its attack against Iran to be warranted:

1. Does Israel have the ability to cause severe damage to Iran’s nuclear sites and bring about a major delay in the Iranian nuclear project? And can the military and the Israeli people withstand the inevitable counterattack?

2. Does Israel have overt or tacit support, particularly from America, for carrying out an attack?

3. Have all other possibilities for the containment of Iran’s nuclear threat been exhausted, bringing Israel to the point of last resort? If so, is this the last opportunity for an attack?

For the first time since the Iranian nuclear threat emerged in the mid-1990s, at least some of Israel’s most powerful leaders believe that the response to all of these questions is yes.

In fact, Israel does not have the ability to cause severe damage to Iran’s nuclear capability.  A Time Magazine report about a critical IDF intelligence briefing given to the cabinet earlier this fall said Israel could not destroy Iran’s nuclear plants and that the most likely development is that Iran will achieve the option of creating a nuclear weapon.

I see no overt or even tacit support for an Israeli attack.  In fact, Obama’s State of the Union address mentioned Iran almost in passing and did not contain any of the ringing affirmation of a hawkish position that one would expect if the U.S. was prepared to see Israel attack.  The latest Israeli promise that it would give the U.S. 12 hours advance warning of such an attack may’ve been designed to assuage American concerns and show that Israel is acknowledging them, but it cannot have reassured anyone in Washington.

Below, you’ll find more delusional thinking arguing that Iran’s nuclear scientists are abandoning the program in droves out of fear for their lives (note no tangible proof is offered to bolster the claims):

Meir Dagan…has praised the hits against Iranian scientists…saying that beyond “the removal of important brains” from the project, the killings have brought about what is referred to in the Mossad as white defection — in other words, the Iranian scientists are so frightened that many have requested to be transferred to civilian projects. “There is no doubt,” a former top Mossad official told me…“that being a scientist in a prestigious nuclear project that is generously financed by the state carries with it advantages like status, advancement, research budgets and fat salaries. On the other hand, when a scientist…watches his colleagues being bumped off one after the other, he definitely begins to fear that the day will come when a man on a motorbike knocks on his car window.”

In fact, any scientist for any country who sees his nation intimidated by an enemy killing his colleagues is MORE likely to want to participate in the program.  Not to mention that the leaders of that country will redouble their efforts out of a sense of national pride, to ensure they achieve their scientific and military objectives.  Such covert attacks don’t seriously undermine the program.  In fact, they bring it closer to fruition in the longer term.

Now, let’s confront some of the fuzzy thinking behind Meir Dagan’s justifications for his own covert war project:

“In the mind of the Iranian citizen, a link has been created between his economic difficulties and the nuclear project. Today in Iran, there is a profound internal debate about this matter, which has divided the Iranian leadership.” He beamed when he added, “It pleases me that the timeline of the project has been pushed forward several times since 2003 because of these mysterious disruptions.”

Actually, public opinion polls of Iranians show their almost unanimous support for the nuclear project and that they do not blame their economic woes either on the domestic leadership or the nuclear program.  In fact, they correctly blame the west for bringing these woes upon them.  As for a “profound internal debate,” I’ve seen no evidence of this whatsoever.  Finally, his claim to have delayed the Iranian nuclear program is debatable.  Since 1996, Israelis and western figures have predicted Iran’s imminent nuclear bomb.  A combination of a western Chicken Little “sky is falling” fear-mongering and Iranian opacity has certainly contributed to rolling back the dates by which Iran would acquire nuclear capability.

Here is a prize example of Ehud Barak’s delusional thinking around the assertion of Iran’s aggressive intentions toward its neighbors:

“An Iranian bomb would ensure the survival of the current regime, which otherwise would not make it to its 40th anniversary in light of the admiration that the young generation in Iran has displayed for the West. With a bomb, it would be very hard to budge the administration.” Barak went on: “The moment Iran goes nuclear, other countries in the region will feel compelled to do the same. The Saudi Arabians have told the Americans as much, and one can think of both Turkey and Egypt in this context, not to mention the danger that weapons-grade materials will leak out to terror groups.

“From our point of view,” Barak said, “a nuclear state offers an entirely different kind of protection to its proxies. Imagine if we enter another military confrontation with Hezbollah, which has over 50,000 rockets that threaten the whole area of Israel, including several thousand that can reach Tel Aviv. A nuclear Iran announces that an attack on Hezbollah is tantamount to an attack on Iran. We would not necessarily give up on it, but it would definitely restrict our range of operations.”

At that point Barak leaned forward and said with the utmost solemnity: “And if a nuclear Iran covets and occupies some gulf state, who will liberate it?

The alleged “admiration” in which the Iranian younger generation holds the west has been considerably tempered by precisely the sort of acts of terror which Barak has championed.  That same younger generation will certainly not challenge or topple the regime while it is under such a threat to its existence.

As to whether or how neighboring states would procure nuclear weapons, Barak omits of course the fact that Israel has had such weapons since 1967.  Pakistan has had a “Muslim bomb” for decades and not used it or even threatened to use it against Israel.  Indeed Iran itself has never threatened to attack Israel militarily or with a nuclear weapon, while Israeli leaders regularly advocate violent regime change against the current regime.

As for “protection,” here Barak is right.  Indeed, Israel has 200-400 nuclear weapons for precisely the same reason: to ensure it will not be destroyed.  Yet somehow what is bestowed to Israel is treif when Iran seeks the same.  But where Barak falls down, is in his assumption that Iran would use its weapon in an aggressive manner to threaten others.  Israel has always claimed its weapons exist to guarantee its enemies cannot wipe it out.  Iran’s motivation is precisely the same.  It has never asserted it would use weapons to dominate the region.

Another troubling aspect of this piece is that Bergman omits most of the more troubling issues concerning an Israeli attack.  For example, he doesn’t mention one of Ehud Barak’s more notorious claims about an Iranian counterattack–that it would take at most 500 Israeli lives.  This is a figure that Meir Dagan practically sneered at when he discussed it on Israeli TV with Ilana Dayan.  It is further evidence of the delusions under which the hawks operate.  In 2006, Hezbollah alone caused over 100 Israeli deaths with its rocket barrages.  Even if you anticipate Israel may’ve further perfected its anti-missile defenses, when you add Iran’s far more potent and accurate missile arsenal into the mix, the likelihood of thousands of Israeli deaths is almost guaranteed.  Yet Bergman reassures that the Israeli military has taken this into account and developed measures that will somehow mitigate the danger.  He notes that proponents of war claim that if Iran gets a bomb Israel will still be guaranteed an Iranian attack later rather than sooner and it might just as well face this attack now when it has a chance, supposedly, to knock out the nukes.  This is a perfect example of Israel’s cock-eyed thinking where you anticipate a future hypothetical act as a given while having no definite basis to justify such certainty.  Somehow, this doesn’t exactly reassure.

One element of Israeli military that Bergman offers is fascinating in its own right.  He indicates that the Mossad director at the time of the 1967 War summoned the CIA station chief to his home, where they had a knock down drag out fight about an imminent Israel attack on Egypt (one that would precipitate the coming war).  While the CIA officer warned that the U.S. would actively fight against Israeli aggression, the Mossad chief argued that Israel would attack and indeed should’ve done so sooner.

The Mossad chief went over the CIA officer’s head and flew to Washington where he received a tacit green light from Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to attack.  The rest is history.  One important aspect of this encounter is to confirm the fact that Israel itself started the 1967 War and was in no way forced into that War.  In other words, it was a war of choice and not last resort.  The fact that Israel believed that Egyptian forces were prepared to attack it in no way justifies subsequent Israeli action because the judgment of Egyptian military movement is open to interpretation and most analysts now are not convinced that Egypt intended to attack.

Bergman brings this story because he hopes it will serve as a historical analogy to what could happen in the case of Iran.  He harbors a lingering hope that while the U.S. will do everything in its power to stop Israel from attacking, that when push comes to shove, we will acquiesce once we see that Israel is hell-bent on doing so and there is nothing we can do to stop them.

If this is Israel’s real belief, then we are in for real trouble for several reasons.  First, if Bergman is right and the U.S. does support or even participate in the attack, then both powers will have guaranteed a bloody regional war in which no one will be spared the sort of mayhem that Meir Dagan has warned about.  Second, if Bergman is wrong and the U.S. hangs tough and refuses to support a war, then Israel will go it alone and the damage done to Iran will be limited, will not cause significant damage to its nuclear program, but will cause severe ramifications for regional relations.

Syria’s Assad regime is doomed, but the battle will be long and bloody
Joshua Landis
For Bitterlemons
January 26, 2012 Edition 4

The Syrian regime headed by Bashar Assad is doomed in the long run, but is likely to last longer than most believe. In December, the leader of Syria’s Muslim Brotherhood stated that President Assad would fall “in the next few months”, the US State Department proclaimed Assad to be a “dead man walking”, and Israel’s defense minister insisted that Assad would fall in a matter of weeks. This has turned out to be wishful thinking.

The Assads stand atop the last minoritarian regime in the Levant and thus seem destined to fall in this age of popular revolt. When they do, the post-colonial era will draw to a final close. Following World War II, minorities took control in every Levant state thanks to colonial divide-and-rule tactics and the fragmented national community that bedeviled the states of the region. Unique in this was Palestine, for the Jewish minority was able to transform itself into the majority at the expense of Palestine’s Muslims and Christians. Neither the Christians of Lebanon nor the Sunnis of Iraq were so lucky or ambitious. Nevertheless, both clung to power at the price of dragging their countries into lengthy civil wars. The Alawis of Syria seem determined to repeat this violent plunge to the bottom. It is hard to determine whether this is due to the rapaciousness of a corrupt elite, to the bleak prospects that the Alawi community faces in a post-Assad Syria, or to the weak faith that many in the region place in democracy and power-sharing formulas. Whatever the reason, Syria’s transition away from minority rule is likely to be lengthy and violent. Levantine history suggests this as a rule.

There are three main reasons why the Assad regime is likely to last well into 2013–if not longer–despite Syria’s rapidly deteriorating economic and security conditions.

The first is the strength of the regime compared to the opposition. The military has not turned against Syria’s president. It is a professional army, which so far has a monopoly on heavy weapons in Syria. Important government officials have not defected in significant numbers. This loyalty is due in no small part to the fact that the Assad family has prepared for this moment of popular, Sunni revolt for 40 years. It has packed sensitive posts with loyal Alawis and Baathists. Some analysts estimate that 80 percent of Syria’s officer corps is Alawi. The main strike-forces, such as the Republican Guard led by Bashar’s brother, is Alawi to the man. An ambassador in Syria’s Foreign Ministry recently claimed that 60 percent of Syria’s Foreign Service officers are Alawi and only 10 percent Sunni. The sectarian nature of the elite elements of the security forces ensures a high degree of loyalty and willingness to fight. The broader Alawi community is also likely to remain loyal to the regime, even as the economy deteriorates. Almost all Alawi families have a least one member in the security forces as well as additional members working in civilian ministries, such as education or agriculture. Most fear collective punishment for the sins of the Baathist era, whether this means trials, the loss of jobs, or even worse (one irresponsible Sunni sheikh threatened that the Alawis will be ground into mince meat when defeated).

The second reason the Assad regime is likely to survive into 2013 is the disorganization and factionalism of the opposition. Through much of 2011, the Syrian opposition hoped that by remaining leaderless, as had revolutionaries in Egypt and Tunisia, the regime could be brought down largely by peaceful means: either because Bashar Assad would surrender power, a coup would dislodge him, sanctions would cause elite defections and collapse, or growing demonstrations would achieve a Tahrir square moment. By the end of 2012, these scenarios seemed ever more unlikely, and the opposition has been forced to think seriously about developing a trusted leadership, unifying its ranks, and coming up with a realistic military option to defeat the Syrian army. These objectives still seem far off

The Syrian National Council, Syria’s leading opposition coalition, remains highly factionalized and has found it difficult to unite with other opposition parties. The mere fact that the SNC membership has felt compelled to limit its leaders to a three-month term testifies to the high level of internal dissent. Burhan Ghalioun, the capable and savvy secular leader, is distrusted by many Islamists in the SNC as well as younger activists who are leading the struggle on Syria’s streets. Only recently was he denounced by members of his own party for being a traitor and dictatorial when he prematurely announce a unification plan with the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change, a coalition of leftist parties led by Haytham Manaa.

Just as important as the opposition’s political weaknesses, however, are its military limitations. The Free Syrian Army being assembled in Turkey under the leadership of Colonel Riyadh al-Asaad is no match for the Syrian army. Although armed opponents of the regime are an important development, their size, structural limitations, lack of heavy weapons, and limited command and control mean they do not yet present a real danger or alternative to the Syrian military. In fact, many analysts insist that most fighting is being done by small units organized on the local level that do not take orders from Col. Asaad or other leaders, even if they call themselves members of the Free Syrian Army. What is more, many Syrians still do not accept the notion that the regime should be brought down by military means.

The third reason that the Assad regime is unlikely to be deposed soon is that foreign powers are not eager to intervene militarily in Syria. US President Barack Obama and European authorities would find it difficult not to support military strikes on the Syrian army if they were led by Turkey or the Arab League, but neither has shown an inclination to undertake such a risky adventure.

So long as the Syrian military leadership remains united, the opposition remains fragmented, and foreign powers remain on the sidelines, the Assad regime is likely to survive, but all three of these elements are changing, even if gradually, in the favor of the opposition. The predominant role of minorities in the governments of the region, which was universal at the end of the colonial period, is being brought to a violent conclusion.

-Published 25/1/2012 © bitterlemons-international.org
Joshua Landis is associate professor and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

See the other three essays on Bitterlemons’ site

“The regime’s prospects are better than two months ago but remain dim,” Karim Emile Bitar

The Syrian revolution is now entering a new, more ominous phase. The regime has been considerably weakened and isolated. The Arab League’s mission has ended in a fiasco. The economy is in tatters. The opposition’s protests continue unabated. But the main pillars of President Bashar Assad’s support are still holding on. ….

A militarization of the revolution would empower the most radical elements, as it did in Libya, and render future democratization much more difficult. A foreign intervention would open Pandora’s box.

Those who would like Assad to fall are now confronted with the old Machiavelli vs. Kant philosophical dilemma: does the end justify the means or do the means determine the end? A comprehensive study, published by Columbia University Press and analyzing dozens of past cases, suggests that the latter is true. It indicates that if a dictator is overthrown through peaceful struggle, there is a 51 percent chance of a successful democratic transition after five years. In case of an armed struggle, the chances are only three percent.

The Syrian opposition is understandably impatient to bring Assad down and breathe freely. It should nonetheless meditate on these figures.

“Yes and no,” by Elias Samo

Can the Syrian regime survive? That is a question only a crystal ball can definitively answer. My analysis of the two primary components of the Syrian regime–a pyramidal political leadership under President Bashar Assad and a one-party political structure under the Baath party–leads me to believe the answer is “yes and no”. Yes, Assad will survive, and no, the political structure of one-party Baath rule will not….

“A sinking ship,” by Michel Nehme

Domestically, the mutiny in the Syrian army is slowly accelerating. It is beginning to pose a tangible threat to ! the military establishment, despite tight control by Baathist officers. The economy is gradually deteriorating–an indication of a long process that ultimately will topple the regime. The issue now is not whether the regime has been able to withstand or escape the storm, but rather the sense that the regime is slowly and daily getting weaker. Yet when it will finally collapse is not something that can be predicted, due to a variety of regional and international considerations….

Jack Ross

Tonight in Brooklyn, there will be a book party/discussion for Jack Ross's great new book on the anti-Zionist rabbi Elmer Berger, Rabbi Outcast.

Details: 7:30 PM, Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. 53 Prospect Park West (between 1st/2d Streets, Grand Army Plaza subway stop).

Meantime, here is an important section of Berger's 1957 book, Judaism or Jewish Nationalism? The Alternative to Zionism. Jack typed it up for us because of the debate over the dual loyalty allegations that surround Zionism.

It is difficult to understand how anyone can believe that an organization can be charged with accusing Jews of "double loyalty" as long as it believes, and says: 1) Jews are identified by their Judaism 2) Judaism is a religion 3) Judaism has no built-in nationalism 4) Religion and politics are separate and distinct.

The question of where the ACJ [American Council for Judaism, Berger's organization] believes American Jews stand on the question of a "double nationality" was covered in a basic statement that says:

In their long history, Jews have expressed various and sometimes inconsistent ideals and aspirations.  One may find them all in Jewish literature.  One must select and choose.  Those that are consistent with the new American order should be intensified, the others should be dropped.  Fortunately, the noblest in Judaism and therefore in the history of Jews can be welded without a seam to the noblest American tradition.

But the welding of the two traditions can come only if the Jew considers himself as an individual, integrated into an American society founded upon individual rights and responsibilities, seeking no special privileges or immunities, asking no special status or favors because he is a Jew or for the Jewish group or as parts of a Jewish community, a Jewish civilization or a Jewish peoplehood.

There are some who fear that we cannot be Americans if we retain our Judaism, and others who fear that we will lose our Judaism if we are fully American.  Both fears are baseless, springing from failure to remember the essential nature of Judaism as a religion of universalism adaptable to time and place.  The danger is not that we shall lose Judaism but that we shall lose our Americanism by importing the kind of non-religious separatisms that were born in pre-democratic or pre-western theories of Jewish race, nationality or secular community.

Avoidance of what is wrong is thus a positive aspect of seeking that which is right.

It is precisely because we positively seek an American Judaism that we are compelled to oppose Zionism, for Zionism leads to a secular separation as the end result of its basic principle that Jews are a nation.

Exponents of "Jewish" racism or "Jewish" nationalism are necessarily exponents of a Judaism that shrinks form its universal breath to tribal particularisms and emphasizes secular differences.

American life, in its freedom, will tolerate such Judaism and the secular, separate community that follows.  But it will wall them off and pass them by.  A status of Jews as a separate community with an overriding interest in its own welfare and a Judaism shrunk to fit are inimical to a full and dignified life for Jews in the United States.  They will create unnecessary tension between Jews and their fellow citizens, to the detriment of Jews.  They will also - to the detriment of America - deprive America of much that the Judaic part of the Judeo-Christian tradition has to offer American society but which it can impart only if Jews, as individuals, merge into the nation's life.

We therefore oppose all ideologies and organizations, be they Jewish or non-Jewish, that regard Jews as an identifiable secular minority.

There are, as this statement frankly indicates, more profound and complex considerations.

The first of these is that Zionism is a nationalism.  It so describes itself officially.  Furthermore, Zionism's nationalism is designed to embrace all Jews.  It is not limited to strengthening the nationalism of Israel, though even if that limitation did exist it would still not justify Zionist control over religious worship, education, philanthropy and public representation of American Jews.  But it is clearly and explicitly stated that Zionism's organizational and institutional mechanisms are designed "to strengthen and foster Jewish national consciousness."  Zionism seeks to advance the "Jewish" nationalism of all Jews by claiming all Jews have a common ancestry, common political interests, common national territory, common culture, common language, and a common national religion.  By employing these claims, it leads to a secular, national segregation of Jews in the United States.

Accusers of the ACJ would be hard-pressed to deny that Zionism is a foreign nationalism.  An abundance of official and authoritative statements prove that the movement is "national" in character.  It has been our experience, however, that often when it has documented this fact with authoritative declarations from Zionist sources, the documentation is dismissed as the expression of a "radical", or as a Zionist who is "not typical", or with the disclaimer "Rabbi Silver, or Rabbi Miller, or Ben-Gurion cannot speak for me."

There are, however, two formal, incontrovertible documents which provide substantive proof on a level which cannot be dismissed, discounted, or ignored.  These documents are "The Zionist Organization-Jewish Agency for Palestine Law" and the "Covenant" made under the "Status Law" between the Israeli Government and the Jewish Agency.  These two, formal documents should be cause for reflection on the part of the non-Zionist who talks himself into inactivity on the grounds there is no cause for concern about what Zionism is doing and plans to do in the life of American Jews.

There are no ifs, ands, or buts about these documents.  They are tightly drawn and they have official status.  In the sense that they give to non-Israeli organizations of Jews certain privileges in Israel in exchange for certain services, they can be said to posses the character of a contract.

The "Status Law" was adopted November 24, 1952 by the Israeli Knesset or Parliament.  It was followed on July 28, 1954 by the "Covenant" which made this law operative in relation to the Jewish Agency for Palestine, another name for the World Zionist Organization.  The Jewish Agency for Palestine is registered as a foreign agent with the United States Department of Justice.  All American Zionist organizations of any consequence are affiliates of, and disciplined by, the World Zionist Organization.

The activities which the "Status Law" assigns to, and which are accepted by, the Zionist movement - including American Zionists - leave no doubt about the "Jewish" nationalist character of Zionism.  The basic philosophy of the State of Israel toward non-Israeli Jews and the basic philosophy of the Zionist movement, together with some of the agreed upon activities for putting this philosophy into practice, are easily recognizable in the following paragraphs from the "Status Law":

1) The State of Israel considers itself as the creation of the entire Jewish people and in accordance with its laws its gates are open to every Jew who wishes to immigrate thereto.

2) The World Zionist Organization, since its foundation half a century ago, has stood at the head of the movement of the Jewish people and of its endeavors to fulfill the vision of generations to return to its homeland and with the assistance of other Jewish circles and bodies shouldered the main responsibility for the establishment of the State of Israel.

5) The mission of the Ingathering of the Exiles, being the central task both of the State of Israel and of the Zionist movement in our days, necessitates continued efforts of the Jewish people in the Diaspora, and therefore the State of Israel looks forward to the participation of all Jews and Jewish bodies in the upbuilding of the State and in assisting mass immigration thereto, and recognizes the need for uniting all Jewish communities to this end.

There can remain little doubt that if American Jews surrender to Zionist control they would put themselves at the mercy of a foreign nationalist movement.

In more bombastic language Rabbi Irving Miller admitted that Zionism's foreign nationalism was an uncomfortable shoe for an American to wear.  The speech in which he made the admission was given in Israel - not the United States.  On August 28, 1955, speaking in Jerusalem to a group which included a number of Israelis, Rabbi Miller said - somewhat testily - "do you think it is easy to attack your own Government, to fly the Jewish flag at all meetings, to live in the United States as though you were a citizen of Israel?  I sometimes wonder which is easier, to live like this, in America, or to live in Israel."

A few years ago Zionists themselves produced an even more dramatic demonstration of the questionable American integrity of a major organization of American Jews.  The organization was the United Jewish Appeal.  Some of America's leading Zionists, themselves, charged the organization with questionable loyalties.  They brought the charge spectacularly and without qualification to the attention of the whole country in a protracted battle in the nation's newspapers.

Here are the facts, as The New York Times reported them in February 1949.  Control of the United Palestine Appeal (now the United Israel Appeal) was at stake.  The UPA was the major recipient of United Jewish Appeal funds as it still is today.  To the extent local welfare agencies contribute to the UJA, they were, and are, also involved.

The secondary issues were complex.  They are not material to the question of "loyalty" - except in one particular.  In an effort to settle the dispute, Israeli Zionists from the Jerusalem branch of the Jewish Agency for Palestine came to the United States.  Upon the basis of public evidence, they were not only uninvited but unwelcome.  Some American Zionists were promptly charged that the meetings which followed were illegal.  Eventually 22 American members resigned their directorships of the UPA.  In a statement published in the New York Times February 20, 1949, they claimed the action of the Jewish Agency "jeopardizes UPA status as an American institution and will liquidate its definite privileges as benefits an American institution."

In reply, the Israeli Jewish Agency people said: "The Jews of America will not be much impressed with the legal red tape used by those who seem to have no regard for the fate of hundreds of thousands of Jews whose well being is involved in the rapid and successful conduct of the Untied Jewish Appeal campaign.  But the decision, either by morals or law is not exclusively one for members of the Zionist Organization of America administration.  In the first place, every Jew who contributes money to the United Palestine Appeal wants ti to go to Israel and nowhere else.  Therefore the powers of Israel on disposition of the money are of paramount importance.:

None of the people who now, without any proof, accuse the ACJ of charging "dual loyalty" have raised as much as a whisper about the United Jewish Appeal which was accused publicly and specifically by Zionists of having forfeited its American status while still enjoying American privileges.  Yet, the condition which evoked the charge still exists.

But having said this, only half the story is told.  For it must be added there is a recognized difference between the fact - "double nationality" - and the allegation that the ACJ raises the cry of "dual loyalty".

Critics of anti-Zionism generally have a responsibility to acknowledge and recognize this difference.  If they then wish to challenge the anti-Zionist caustion about "dual nationality", they may do so.  But they may not, at least with integrity and respect for the decencies of honorable debate, evade teh challenge and the necessity for proving Zionism is not a foreign nationalism, by smearing the issue with the charge that the ACJ charges Jews with "dual loyalty."

Dual nationality is a legal concept recognized in international law.  It is the situation that obtains when two or more sovereignties claim an individual as citizen or subject.  It is a stuatus imposed on the individual from without and is completely non-volitional on the individual's part.  Dual loyalty is something completely different.  It is the voluntary allegiance which an individual gives to more than one nation.

The ACJ itself, unlike its accusers, has constantly kept the distinction in mind.  Not only has it never used the phrase "dual loyalty", but whenever Zionists have publicly put these words into an ACJ spokesman's moth, the ACJ has taken the trouble to correct the damage such a public hue and cry might produce.

One thing the record shows then is that while no one can produce a single shred of proof the ACJ has ever charged "dual loyalty", Zionists themselves are pre-occupied with the problem.  They constantly raise it.  They themselves know whether or not within the framework of "dual nationality" to which they have subjected themselves and to which they would subject all non-Israeli Jews, the volitional question of "dual loyalty" enters.

In this connection, certain other objective factors should also be considered by Americans who are attempting to decide whether or not they will support or passively accept Zionism as a dominant factor in their lives and institutions.

Zionism is self-confessed to be dedicated to "the strengthening of the State of Israel."  It is in the very nature of sovereign states to have different interests and objectives.  Consequently they pursue differing policies and methods of realizing their own self-interest.  This is one of the very purposes of sovereignty.  This sovereignty of each of the national entities involved - in this situation, Israel and the Untied States - makes it improper for the citizens or government of one to intervene in the affairs of the people or government of the other.  No one can say where, or how, or under what circumstances "dual nationality" may assume the dimensions of a conflict of national loyalties.  The admitted national character of Zionism always holds this potential danger.

It is also a fact of international life and law that some nations never relinquish their national claims to people whose origins are in such nations.  If a person comes to the Untied States from one of these nations he must renounce his former citizenship in order to obtain American citizenship.  This is good enough for the United States.  But sometimes the country of origin does not recognize the renunciation.  Should such person owe any national obligation, such as military service, he might find himself liable for it if here were ever to return to his ancestral country.

Zionism has now put American Jews - because they are Jews - in this situation in relation to Israel. Zionism is even more demanding and aggressive in its exploitation of "double nationality" than a general situation such as has been just described.  For Zionism operates a whole complex of machinery in the United States to exact of American Jews national obligations to Israel.  The UJA fundraising, the bond sales, the enlistments of American national organizations to fight Israel's diplomatic quarrels with the United States Government, the exploitation of the synagogues and religious schools of American Jews as agencies to bring Israeli culture to American children are all well-integrated parts of this "double nationality" mechanism of Zionism in operation.

For those who accept the Zionist premise that before Israel existed Jews were a "homeless nationality" the combination of Israel and Zionism now provides a full answer.  They have a "national home."  They share the national character of that home and are beneficiaries of a double national status, if they are American citizens.

But for any who believe they are Jews by religion - not nationality - the whole proposition is fallacious and potentially dangerous.  Any foreign nationalism, such as Zionism, which controls charities, houses of worship, schools, and community centers all over the country poses a greater threat of a "conflict of loyalties" than a foreign nation without so elaborate a system of interference in, and control over, the lives of citizens of another country.  Who is to say to the Zionist manipulators of the organizational life of American Jews, "This is enough.  Beyond this foreign nationalist penetration of our institutions a conflict of loyalties develops?"  Who is to decide if an organized Zionist campaign against the Department of State is a difference of opinion among Americans or a conflict of loyalties?

If Israel is a state with national designs on none but its own citizens, the ACJ position is no disservice to Israel.  But if Israel is a State believing that it came into existence precisely for the purpose of giving all Jews a "double nationality", American Jews have a right to know this and to judge the actions of organizations to which they belong in the light of this fact.

The activities which the Zionist movement performs in America for Israel and the Israeli legislation cited here are proof that American Jews are confronted by more than romanticized oratory and easily dismissed propaganda.  These would be serious enough.  At the very least they would convey to our fellow countrymen the idea that Jews wanted to be regarded as possessors of a second nationality.  But the tangible existence of a legal structure in international affairs which is predicated upon the assumption of such a common "Jewish" nationality ought to lead American Jews to look beyond the hysterical attacks to the substance of the question raised.

Cyber attacks are heating up in the Middle East but do they pose a real threat to regional security? In my latest report for Monocle 24, I interview a number of experts and journalists in Israel to find the real story behind the attacks. You can listen to the piece here (piece starts at minute 1:11.00) or you can download the podcast of the Monocle Daily  on iTunes.  I recommend that you incorporate Monocle 24‘s live streaming coverage from around the world into your day

An interesting tidbit from the trial of Habib al-Adly, Mubarak's interior minister, from Ahram:

Essam El-Batawi, defence lawyer for former interior minister Habib El-Adly, continued laying out his case for his client’s innocence on Tuesday, claiming that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood (MB) had planned in advance to participate in last year’s 28 January “Friday of Rage” demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in coordination with the interior ministry, with the understanding that protests would remain peaceful in nature.

According to El-Batawi, meetings were held between Brotherhood members and representatives of the State Security apparatus in the run-up to 28 January.

This is entirely plausible and consistent with everything I've known about the Brothers over the last decade. Senior leaders were in constant contact with their State Security handlers. Is this damning for the MB? Perhaps. But maybe they weren't sure what to expect, and were waiting to see what the turnout was. Certainly they very quickly sided with the new powers that be on January 29, cozying up with Omar Suleiman who dangled recognition. And then again changed their position when he was compromised, although they never explicitly called for Mubarak to step down if I remember correctly. They adapted to the situation as it evolved, and it's worth remembering many Brotherhood leaders were arrested prior to the 28th.

The question is now whether they are continuing this approach with SCAF and the new security bosses. They almost certainly are, something that makes them sellouts to many of the revolutionary groups – as the rejection of their siding with SCAF on a handover of power to civilians in July rather than immediately shows.

Liam Neeson isn’t a cryptomuslim – but Jack Sparrow, on the other hand…

http://blog.beliefnet.com/cityofbrass/2012/01/liam-neeson-is-not-converting-to-islam.html

#Tahrir Square on #Jan25 – just a few of the amazing photos:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/cityofbrass/2012/01/tahrir-square-on-jan25two-in-pictures.html

#Tahrir Square on #Jan25 – just a few of the amazing photos:

http://blog.beliefnet.com/cityofbrass/2012/01/tahrir-square-on-jan25two-in-pictures.html

Israeli bulldozers demolish residence, shed south of Hebron
HEBRON (WAFA) 25 Jan – Israeli forces Wednesday demolished a residence that housed orphans and a shack in Khirbet Umm al-Khair, a locale in the Hebron south of West Bank, according to a Palestinian activist ... Witnesses told WAFA that the 60-year-old owner of the residence fainted while trying to stop the bulldozers from demolishing his house and shed. The demolition of the house left the orphans with no shelter during this cold winter, said Jabour. [according to Operation Dove, the houses had not received demolition orders]
link to english.wafa.ps

Army bulldozers destroy six sheds near Jerusalem
IMEMC 25 Jan -- Israeli soldiers invaded, on Wednesday at dawn, the Wa’r ad-Beik area of Anata town, north east of occupied East Jerusalem, and demolished six sheds. These sheds were home to six families, including five brothers and their families. The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER) reported that its Documentation Unit visited the area, and found out that the homes belong to five brothers identified as Jibril Jahalin and his family (5 members), Yousef Jahalin (8 members), Ahmad Jahalin (5 members), Mousa Jahalin (8 members), Jamila Jahalin (5 members), and Mariam Jahalin (5 members).
link to www.imemc.org

Official: Israel to demolish school, homes near Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 24 Jan-- Israeli forces on Tuesday issued demolition orders to a school and homes near Hebron in the southern West Bank, local officials said. Bani Naim spokesman Imad Amer said forces handed notices to Shuhada al-Haram school and three homes east of the village. The municipality condemned Israel's continuous demolitions in the area which aimed to force residents to leave, Amer said in a statement.
link to www.maannews.net

Mayor: Israel to destroy 12 Jordan Valley homes
TUBAS (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Israeli forces have handed out 12 demolition orders to residents of al-Aqaba village, the local mayor said Wednesday. The mayor of Tubas visited al-Aqaba and condemned Israeli threats to demolish homes and shelters in the village in a statement ... Al-Aqaba village is surrounded by Israeli military training bases and lies eight kilometers from the illegal Israeli settlement Maskiyot. Israel announced plans to expand Maskiyot in 2006.
link to www.maannews.net

Israeli forces block dirt road in Hebron
HEBRON (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Israeli forces blocked off a dirt road in the Tel Rumeida area of Hebron on Wednesday, a local advocacy group said. Youth Against Settlements said the closure aims to put pressure on the Abu Heikal family to leave the area, as they can no longer access their home. Israel already closed the main road to their home because of its proximity to the illegal Jewish outpost Admot Yishai. The dirt road was the only remaining entrance to their street.
link to www.maannews.net

Jerusalem Municipality still pursuing Al Bustan residents in Silwan
Silwan, Jerusalem (SILWANIC) 25 Jan -- The pursuit of Palestinians in the Al Bustan neighborhood of Silwan by the Jerusalem Municipality is ongoing. The Jerusalem Municipality is demanding to turn the only open space for children into a parking lot. This piece of land belongs to Mousa Owaidah whose house was demolished a few years ago. He then donated the land for the use of children living in the neighborhood.A hearing was held on Monday, 23 January 2012, at which time the Municipality of Jerusalem asked the court to give it the permission to turn the playground into a parking lot. Sami Ershaid, the lawyer representing the neighborhood, insisted the land be kept as a playground and presented a petition signed by Al Bustan residents protesting the proposed parking lot on the site. The final verdict was postponed to 18 April 2012.
link to silwanic.net

Fatah official: IPU to investigate MP arrests
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 Jan – The Inter-Parliamentary Union has agreed to a suggestion by a Palestinian delegation to send a fact-finding commission to Palestine including occupied Jerusalem.  Azzam Ahmad, who headed a Palestinian Authority delegation to the IPU's committee on the Middle East, said Wednesday that a fact-finding mission would visit Palestine in March to monitor firsthand Israeli violations against the Palestinian people. Ahmad told Voice of Palestine radio that the IPU had denounced the detention by Israeli forces of four Palestinian lawmakers as well as the prevention of Democratic Front leader Qais Abu Layla from entering Jordan as a member of the delegation to Geneva.
link to www.maannews.net

Israel steps up campaign of arresting Palestinian parliamentarians / Dr. Hanan Chehata
MEMO 24 Jan -- Israel has finally done what it has waited almost a year and a half to do; in a raid contravening international law it arrested two members of the Palestinian Parliament who had been seeking refuge in the International Red Cross compound in East Jerusalem. We all knew it was only a matter of time before Israeli forces made their move. Israel has no regard for democracy, so why would it matter that those it arrested are democratically-elected members of the Palestinian parliament? Israel cares little for international law and even less for international public opinion. Arresting them was to be expected after the occupation authorities had served illegal deportation notices on the two men. Is there any other country in the world which seeks to "deport" people from their own city?
link to www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk

Settlers / Extremists

Institute: Jewish extremists destroy Palestinian graves
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Jewish extremists destroyed Palestinian tombstones on Wednesday in the northern Israeli town of Beisan, the Al-Aqsa Institute for Waqf and Heritage said. A delegation from the institute visited the cemetery in the town, known in Israel as Beit Shean, and found a large number of graves destroyed and vandalized, official PA news agency Wafa reported. "Extremist Jews seek to obliterate what is left of Islamic landmarks in the city," said Sami Rizqallah, a deputy in the institute.
link to www.maannews.net

Gaza

Man killed in Rafah tunnel collapse
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- One man was killed on Wednesday after a smuggling tunnel collapsed under the border city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Medical sources in the Gaza Strip said that Faraj Abu Mustapha, 28, was working in the tunnel at the time of the collapse. Ma‘an's correspondent said that Abu Mustapha was involved in smuggling cement into the Gaza Strip.
link to www.maannews.net

Video: Beit Hanoun demonstration under fire
[photos also] ISM 25 Jan by Nathan Stuckey -- Gaza was treated to a strange new sight today, not really new, but something that has not been seen in Gaza in a long time: tear gas.  In Gaza protests are not smashed with tear gas and clubs like in the West Bank, they are met with live ammunition ... The demonstration started like all the others.  We gathered near the half destroyed Beit Hanoun Agricultural College and marched towards the no go zone.  There were about forty of us, men and women together.  As always, the demonstrators were armed only with a megaphone and our voices ... We walked down the muddy road that leads to the no go zone.  As we got close to the no go zone, the shooting began.  Shooting is not unexpected; bullets are the language of the occupation, at least the language that you hear.  Ethnic cleansing, oppression, and torture are also languages the occupation speaks, but the loudest voices of the occupation are the bullets and the bombs.  The bullets passed over our heads; they slammed into the dirt in front of us.  Then, the unexpected happened; the tear gas began to fall.
link to palsolidarity.org

Ashton calls on Israel to open Gaza crossings
GAZA (WAFA) 25 Jan -- European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton Wednesday called on Israel to open Gaza crossings, and reiterated European Union's commitment to supporting people living in Gaza as well as the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Ashton said, during a press conference held at the headquarters of UNRWA in Gaza City, “Our political message is clear; siege on Gaza must be lift[ed] and people and goods must be allowed to move freely. We want the economy to grow in Gaza and we want people to be able to build a better economy, but this requires serious negotiations.”
link to english.wafa.ps

EU grants UNRWA €55 million
GAZA (WAFA) 25 Jan -- The European Union Wednesday granted the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) €55.4 million as fund support, according to an EU-UNRWA press release. Ashton said 'the continued EU support to UNRWA is an essential element of the EU strategy to bring peace and stability to the region. The €55.4 million contribution we are signing today represents our ongoing commitment to Palestine refugees."
link to english.wafa.ps

First truckload of furniture leaves Gaza
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 24 Jan -- Israel on Sunday allowed one truckload of furniture to leave the Gaza Strip in the enclave's first export of non-agricultural goods since 2007, an Israeli legal rights group said. The furniture will be showcased at an expo in Jordan, but Israel continues to ban the sale of Gaza produce in its traditional markets in Israel and the West Bank, Gisha noted in a statement. The truck of furniture underwent rigorous security checks and traveled to Jordan via Israel and the West Bank. "The shipment of the furniture to Jordan proves that the marketing of these and other kinds of products can also take place in both the West Bank and Israel itself – Gaza's traditional markets," Gisha said.
link to www.maannews.net

Rafah crossing closes as Egypt marks year since uprising
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Egypt on Wednesday closed the Rafah crossing on its border with Gaza as it marked the first anniversary of the revolt that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak ... Egyptian authorities and the Hamas-led government in Gaza agreed that the terminal would close on public holidays. Travelers on Tuesday complained that movement through the crossing was slow. Locals on the Egyptian side of Rafah said a large force of soldiers was deployed in the border town on Wednesday.
link to www.maannews.net

Political detention / Incursions

Israeli forces rain Jenin refugee camp and Zanouba village in the northern West Bank
PNN 25 Jan -- On Wednesday, the Israeli forces raided a house in Jenin refugee camp, and also raided Zanouba village, west of Jenin. Security and local sources said that "enormous" forces from the Israeli army and Arabists attacked the house of the 31-year-old Mohammad Abu Imerah, and his brother's house Issam in Tal'it al-Khubez in Jenin refugee camp; they searched them and interrogated the two brothers. Al-Khumeni told Palestinian government news wire Wafa that he was granted an exemption from the Israeli forces two months ago, after being chased from the Israeli authorities under the pretext that he was affiliated with Al-Aqsa Martyers Brigades. The Israeli forces also raided Zanouba village, west of Jenin, accompanied with its bulldozers and vehicles. No arrests were reported.
link to english.pnn.ps

Troops abduct Hamas political leader in Jenin
IMEMC 25 Jan -- Israeli troops abducted, on Tuesday evening, Sheikh Mohammad Freihat, 46 years old. Sheikh Freihat is a religious figure and a political leader of the Hamas movement, in al-Yamoun town, west of the northern West Bank city of Jenin. Local sources reported that dozens of Israeli soldiers broke into the home of Freihat, forced him and his family out into the cold, before violently searching the property causing extensive damage. Freihat was then cuffed and blindfolded before being taken to an undisclosed location. Freihat is a former Islamic court judge in the Jenin district. He was removed from his post four years ago under a direct political decision made by the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. He was repeatedly imprisoned and interrogated by the Palestinian Authority for political reasons, especially due to his affiliation with the Hamas movement.
link to www.imemc.org

Prisoners' Club condemns mistreatment of Fatah leader in court
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 25 Jan -- The Palestinian Prisoner's Club (PPC) Wednesday condemned Israeli police mistreatment of jailed Fatah lawmaker, Marwan Barghouti, during an appearance in court. A court hearing was held in order for Barghouti to testify in a case filed against him and the PLO by American Jews. The Israeli police, after the hearing, pushed Barghouti to the ground and pulled him by the handcuffs in front of journalists.
link to english.wafa.ps

Society: Mother of defendant detained during trial
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 24 Jan -- Israeli forces on Tuesday detained the mother of a defendant who tried to shake her son's hand in a military courtroom near Ramallah, a prisoners society said. The society said Nisreen Shaheen was taken to an investigation center after trying to hold her son Ala's hand during his trial at Ofer court. Ala Shaheen was detained last week in Hebron.
link to www.maannews.net

B'Tselem 25 Jan '12: State won't prosecute officer responsible for shooting of Firas Qasqas
Firas Qasqas, an unarmed Palestinian civilian, was killed on 2 February 2007 by soldiers' gunfire, in Ramallah District. On 18 August 2011, in response to a petition filed by B'Tselem, the State Attorney's Office informed the High Court of Justice that the officer responsible for the shooting would be prosecuted, pending a hearing. In mid-January 2012, the State informed the Court that, following the hearing given the officer, no indictment would be filed against him ... B'Tselem intends to appeal the decision.
link to www.btselem.org

Refugees

VIDEO: Mohamad at Eton
Al Jazeera Witness -- We follow one boy's journey from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon to the UK's most prestigious public school. [This is an exceptional person, who if he's allowed to will one day be a great asset to Palestine. Video well worth watching. Unbelievable that Mohamad is only 16.]
link to www.youtube.com

Politics / Diplomacy

Palestinian leader: Talks with Israel over
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP)  25 Jan -- A low-level dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians about a future border has ended without any breakthrough, the Palestinian president said Wednesday, reflecting the impasse plaguing the negotiations for at least three years. President Mahmoud Abbas said he would consult with Arab allies next week to figure out how to proceed now. While frustrated with the lack of progress, Abbas is under pressure to extend the Jordanian-mediated exploratory talks, which the international community hopes will lead to a resumption of long-stalled formal negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state. Israel said Wednesday it's willing to continue the dialogue. Abbas didn't close the door to continued meetings, saying he'll decide after consultations with the Arab League on Feb. 4.
link to news.yahoo.com

Israeli-Palestinian talks must continue: EU's Ashton
Gaza City (AFP) 25 Jan -- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on Wednesday that informal talks between Israel and the Palestinians must continue and eventually turn into “genuine” negotiations. “I am a realist about where we are but I am a passionate believer that we need to keep talks going and increase the potential of these talks to become genuine negotiations,” she told reporters in Gaza City. “So we are looking to see what we can do to help, but at the end this is a discussion that needs to take place between the two sides.” Ashton, who arrived on Tuesday for a three-day visit to the region, said the purpose of her trip was to “keep things moving” as a series of informal talks between negotiators from the two sides appeared on the brink of collapse.
link to english.alarabiya.net

Barghouti: Conflict ends after Israeli withdrawal
BETHLEHEM (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will come to an end only when the occupation comes to an end and Israel withdraws to the pre-1967 borders, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said Wednesday. Barghouti, former secretary-general of Fatah in the West Bank, on Wednesday testified in court in Jerusalem in a case filed by Israeli Kleinman family against the Palestinian Authority ... The Fatah leader, who has been serving a life sentence since 2004, says he does not recognize the Israeli military court which convicted him. He refused to provide any testimony on those grounds.
link to www.maannews.net

Jihad leader: Unity with Hamas is not political tactic
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- The integration of Islamic Jihad and Hamas is a legitimate demand and not a political tactic, Jihad leader Khader Habib said Wednesday of efforts to bridge gaps between the movements ... Speaking at an Islamic Union meeting in Gaza, Habib said Islamic Jihad suffered dearly under the rivalry between Fatah and Hamas. The movement has "spared no effort" to reconcile the parties, he said.
link to www.maannews.net

Hamas leader to make historic visit to Jordan
AP 24 Jan -- Jordan's king will host the leader of Hamas [Khaled Meshal] this weekend, Jordan's information minister said Tuesday, his first official visit since his expulsion 13 years ago, another sign that Jordan is seeking a more active role in Mideast diplomacy. The visit is seen as part of Jordan's effort to engage with previously shunned Islamists, who have been gaining ground across the region in the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled dictators in Egypt and Tunisia. Islamists make up the most influential opposition in Jordan and have been gaining strength in recent months, though King Abdullah II has the final say in all matters.
link to www.haaretz.com

Hamas denies Mashaal's family summoned in Syria
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Jan -- Hamas on Tuesday denied reports that the wife and children of party leader Khalid Mashaal were summoned by police in Syria. Arabic-language newspapers had reported that Mashaal's wife and children were summoned and that his daughter Fatima and her husband were detained. Hamas accused Fatah and its affiliated media of fabricating the "latest lie" in order to thwart reconciliation between the parties.
link to www.maannews.net

Haniyeh to visit Iran
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh will visit Iran during an upcoming international tour, he announced Wednesday. The trip will begin Jan. 30 and include a stop in Kuwait, Haniyeh said during a visit to Khan Younis Hospital in southern Gaza ... The official visit suggests relations have improved between Hamas and Tehran following reports of diplomatic tensions. Iran is said to have decreased support for Hamas over its refusal to stand up decisively for embattled Syrian leader Bashar Assad.
link to www.maannews.net

Elections office opens in Gaza
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Jan -- The Gaza headquarters of the Central Elections Commission reopened Tuesday and will start work Wednesday, officials said. CEC director Jamil Khalidi received keys for the Gaza City office a day after the commission's chairman Hanna Nasir lamented its closure.
link to www.maannews.net

Palestinian politicians doubt elections will take place
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Several Palestinian officials expressed doubt on Wednesday that elections scheduled for May would take place. Senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan told Ma‘an that "the pre-date is nearing.... elections can not be held under two governments as the national unity government has not been formed." "Occupation may be a reason, but we have to overcome any obstacles that may be preventing elections," he added.
link to www.maannews.net

Unity committee to discuss detainees with Gaza officials
GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 24 Jan -- The cross-party committee set up to implement national reconciliation agreed Tuesday to meet with Gaza security officials to arrange the release of political prisoners, coordinator Khalid al-Batsh said. Al-Batsh, an Islamic Jihad leader, told Ma‘an the Freedom Committee would discuss the files of people detained for their political affiliation with security officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and make preparations for their release. Hamas and Fatah agreed to release all political detainees in the reconciliation deal signed in Cairo last May.
link to www.maannews.net

Palestine to call for vote on UN membership, says foreign minister
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 25 Jan – The Palestinian leadership intends to call for a Security Council vote on the Palestinian application for UN membership regardless of the outcome, Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad Malki told Voice of Palestine radio Wednesday. He downplayed statements by US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, that the new members that joined the Security Council on January 1 are not in favor of the Palestinian request.
link to english.wafa.ps

South Africa condemns Israeli settlement activities at UN
NEW YORK (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- South Africa on Tuesday condemned Israeli settlement activities as "acts of aggression" at a UN Security Council briefing in New York. South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations Ebrahim Ebrahim told the council that Israel's ongoing expansion of illegal Jewish-only settlements made the two-state solution "a distant, if not a pipe dream." Ebrahim, who is January's president of the Security Council, recalled South Africa's struggle to end Apartheid and said the country was certain Palestine would succeed in its own struggle for statehood.
link to www.maannews.net

Fatah official criticizes PA finance plan
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 Jan – A top Fatah official on Wednesday strongly criticized plans by the government of Salam Fayyad to institute sweeping reforms to Palestinian economy and tax policy. Mohammad Shtayyeh, a veteran economist, said that financial reform cannot be achieved by "burdening citizens, farmers and businessmen. Neither can it be achieved by prematurely pensioning thousands of civil servants."
link to www.maannews.net

Other news

Palestinian tax hike riles business, unions
DS 25 Jan -- RAMALLAH: Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has sparked a furor with a push to get Palestinians to pay more taxes and reduce reliance on the massive foreign aid that has kept their self-rule government afloat for a generation. Long accustomed to minimal taxes, the most powerful groups in the West Bank - private business, the civil servants' union and the main political party, Fatah - are fighting back, including with threats of labor strikes ... Jamal Muheisen, a senior Fatah official, said Palestinians cannot be expected to carry an additional tax burden as long as they live under Israeli rule, without a state of their own. "The occupation is the main reason for our crisis. Once we get rid of the occupation, we will have no financial problems. In the meantime, the international community should handle this problem," he said.
link to www.dailystar.com.lb

Protests in Ramallah over cost of living
RAMALLAH (Ma‘an) 25 Jan -- Hundreds of people took part in a mass demonstration in Ramallah on Wednesday to protest the new tax laws and the high cost of living. Protesters held banners reading "Yes to a national economy that protects the citizen’s dignity”, “People want to overthrow the new tax law”, and “18 shekels for one kilo of chicken, and 80 for meat, that’s if officials don’t know.”
link to www.maannews.net

Israeli hackers plan response to website attacks
JPost 25 Jan -- Tel Hashomer hospital, 'The Marker', 'Haaretz', 'Dan' bus company sites attacked; Israeli hackers vow response ... Also on Wednesday, the Haaretz Hebrew website was downed by pro-Palestinian hackers. Haaretz said it saw a message claiming responsibility for the attack by hackers calling themselves "Anonymous Palestine."Providing a moment of comic relief, MK Arye Eldad (National Union) commented on the Haaretz hack, saying that a mistake had been made, and that the [anti-Israel] messages displayed by the hackers are are actually the newspaper's latest editorial.
link to www.jpost.com

US government pledges $3.8 billion in loan guarantees to Israel
IMEMC 25 Jan -- In a meeting on Monday between U.S. State Department and Israeli officials, the U.S. officials promised to extend loan guarantees to Israel for the next three years. The $3.8 billion in loan backing is in addition to the $3 billion a year in aid given to Israel by the U.S. government.
Israel is the only recipient of U.S. foreign aid and loans that is not considered a ‘developing’ nation, with an annual GDP of $235 billion ($29,800 per capita). In contrast, the next biggest recipient of U.S. aid, Egypt, receives less than half of the amount given to Israel and has a GDP of $6,200 per capita.
link to www.imemc.org

Ministry of Agriculture signs $600,000 agreement with USAID
RAMALLAH (WAFA) 25 Jan -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a $600,000 agreement with the Ministry of Agricultural to refurbish the ministry's food laboratory in Arroub refugee camp near the West Bank city of Hebron, a ministry press release said Wednesday. The money will go for renovating the laboratory and to furnish it with modern equipment for testing livestock and its products, said the release. The lab should be ready in 90 days, it said.
link to english.wafa.ps

Analysis / Opinion

No compromise on Migron outpost / Zvi Bar'el
Haaretz 25 Jan -- The State of Israel's highest court - the institution that obligates every citizen - has transformed itself into a plaything in the settlers' hands ... Strong, choking nausea wells up in face of the "compromise proposal" Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered the trespassers in Migron. It is hard to identify exactly what is causing this. Is it the fact that the prime minister has once again surrendered to the settlers? Is it the realization of the weakness of the Israel Defense Forces - the army that apparently can attack Iran but can't manage to impose its sovereignty over a handful of settlers?
link to www.haaretz.com

A softer touch on the Nakba / Akiva Eldar
Haaret 24 Jan -- A surprising new study shows that much of the Israeli mainstream rejects the Zionist narrative that there was no expulsion of Palestinians in 1948.
link to www.haaretz.com

Hacking away at Arab and Israeli stereotypes / Khaled Diab
19 Jan -- Cyber-attacks on Israel shock those who see Arabs as backward – but on both sides such stereotyping is being challenged ...Of course, Israel is the Middle East's undisputed technological powerhouse, but anyone who lives here can tell you that the reality is far creakier and more makeshift than the image. Moreover, Arabs are hardly in the technological stone age and Palestinians, despite the restrictions of occupation, are gradually bolstering their innovative credentials. Nevertheless, many Israelis apparently do regard their nearest neighbours as being backward. "Many Israelis believe that Palestinians are not educated, are just farmers and labourers, and have no idea about technology, despite the fact that many work in Israel's hi-tech sector," says Khulood, who is from Nazareth and works for an international agency.
link to www.guardian.co.uk

U.S.

Does this look like 'incitement' to you? Zionist fabrications, smears intensify ahead of Penn BDS conference / Ali Abunimah
EI 24 Jan -- In the run-up to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) conference at the University of Pennsylvania in early February, at which I will be speaking, the defamation and fabrication machines of anti-Palestinian groups have gone into over-drive ... The latest smear against me comes in a column by Emily Schrader in The College Fix which slyly accuses me of “incitement to violence against Israelis.” Schrader is identified only as “a senior at the University of Southern California.” Here’s what Schrader writes: "... Abunimah in particular is highly controversial, having repeatedly condemned a two-state solution, and having gone on record with comments that sound a great deal like incitement to violence against Israelis. In 2002 he told the Washington Post, 'If Israel is going to maintain a military occupation over millions of people by nothing but brute force, then no power on earth is going to stop some of these occupied people responding in kind. The only way to end the violence is to end the occupation.'... ”
link to electronicintifada.net

California professor under attack for opposing 'study in Israel' scheme
EI 25 Jan -- A mathematics professor at the California State University at Northridge is the target of an attack campaign by various pro-Israel lobby groups and individuals because he maintains a website that supports the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, and for his outspoken criticism of Israeli policies. Recently, Dr. David Klein has come under fire for organizing in opposition to the 23-campus-wide California State University (CSU) system’s resumption of a study abroad program in Israel
link to electronicintifada.net

groups.yahoo.com/group/f_shadi (listserv)
www.theheadlines.org (archive)

Everyone knows that the Jews control Hollywood. Everyone also knows that Jews are ‘Israel-firsters’. Which means that those who are not ‘Israel-firsters’ are going to have a tough time making it in the movie industry. Take Tilda Swinton. Even falsedi’s resident film critic, the Highbury Gaon, said that We Need to Talk About Kevin was brilliant. Never mind that the ‘Hollywood Reporter’ has a perfectly reasonable explanation for why she hasn’t been nominated for the Oscars (as George Orwell might have put it, just because it’s nominated for the Oscars it doesn’t mean that it’s good, and vice-versa). The reason she wasn’t nominated for the Oscars was because she once wore a Palestine scarf in ‘British Vogue’. Because the Jews control Hollywood. And the Jews are Israel-firsters. And because Israel-firsters are so committed to the cause that they won’t let a brilliant and deserving actress be nominated for the Oscars. And of course wearing a Palestine scarf means that Swinton must be the most deserving of the ‘Best Actress’ gong.

No  more evidence required. You can count on less than one hand the number of times I’ve called out anti-Zionists for anti-Semitism on this site, but if the allegation insinuated by Phil Weiss isn’t anti-Semitic, then nothing is. Unless, of course, he has more evidence that he’d like to share.

PS I am Love came out before the appearance in Vogue, and she wasn’t nominated for that either.

PPS Steven Spielberg wasn’t nominated for War Horse. Any keffiyehs in his closet?