Wexler vows
resolution of
censure against President
Bush for Libby commutation
WASHINGTON, D.C
(Press Release)—U.S.
Congressman Robert Wexler (Democrat, Florida) has drafted and will file a
Congressional resolution censuring President George W. Bush for "his
egregious and politically motivated commutation of Scooter Libby's prison
sentence."
The censure resolution will be formally introduced in the House of
Representatives on Tuesday July 10, when Congress reconvenes from the 4th of
July recess.
Wexler, a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday
that "this presidential intervention is an unconscionable abuse of authority
by George W. Bush, and Congress must step forward and express the disgust
that Americans rightfully feel toward this contemptible decision.
"Scooter Libby was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice by a
jury and was appropriately sentenced by a judge President Bush himself
appointed. This deceitful chain of events began with the Administration’s
falsifying of intelligence on Iraqi nuclear capabilities. It is clear that
the perjury of Mr. Libby in this case effectively protected President Bush,
Vice President Cheney, and other Administration officials from further
scrutiny regarding the clear political retaliation against former Ambassador
Joseph Wilson and his wife, Valerie Plame Wilson, a covert CIA agent. This
commutation is nothing short of political quid pro quo, and Congress must go
on record in strong opposition."
The House and Senate have previously expressed their disapproval, reproof or
censure of executive officials including the President in the form of
censure resolutions. Prior censure resolutions were passed by Congress
against President Andrew Jackson in 1834, President Tyler in 1842, and
President Buchanan in 1860.
The preceding story was provided by
the office of Congressman Robert Wexler
Libby
furor disproves one piece of Arab propaganda
SAN DIEGO—It is interesting, is it not,
that a Jewish member of Congress, Democratic Rep Robert Wexler of Florida, decided,
per the story above, to bring a resolution of censure against President George
W. Bush for commuting the sentence of another member of the Jewish community, I.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby?
What? you ask. What does religion have to do with this?
Exactly. Nothing at all.
But if you were to listen to the propaganda put out by the Arab world and its
sympathizers in Europe and elsewhere, which even has its adherents in the United
States, you might think such a turn of events could never happen. They
believe somewhat ridiculously that all the Jews stick together in Washington
and, in fact, are part of some grand conspiracy or cabal that dictates the
federal government's decision making on issues large and small.
Anybody who really knows us Jews would have to chuckle over the idea that we
could all agree on anything, much less something so important as foreign policy.
There are 30 Jewish members of the House of Representatives, 29 of them
Democrats and one, Eric Cantor of Virginia, a Republican. In the Senate,
there are 13 members of our community, 9 of them Democrats, 2 of them
Republicans (Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Norm Coleman of Minnesota) and
two of them independents (Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, and Bernie Sanders of
Vermont.)
It will be interesting to see how they divide on the issue of censuring the
President.
Following the July 2 presidential announcement—but prior to
Wexler's announcement today—a half dozen lawmakers posted comments on their
websites about the President's decision to eliminate jail time from
Libby's sentence while letting stand his fine and probation.
I thought it would be appropriate to reprise their statements to date, in
alphabetical order, as a gauge of how they might react to Wexler's censure
resolution. I'll also try to keep track of their statements in the future.
(Jump to continuation)
Israel
and Middle East
Israeli soldiers maneuver and pray during
5-day exercises on the Golan Heights. Photo: Abir
Sultan, IDF Spokesperson IDF
completes 5-day exercise on Golan Heights
By Dor Blech
GOLAN HEIGHTS,
ISRAEL (Press Release)—The largest training drill performed by the IDF, in
recent years, was conducted over the last five days. Numerous IDF combat units
participated, including the Golani Brigade, the Storm Formation artillery
support unit and the Golan support unit. They performed various war scenarios.
In the July 1-5 operation, a large amount of Armored Corps, Corps of Engineers,
and Air Force forces took part. This drill included the first live fire
operational exercises in a number of years.
The Golani Brigade
exercise summarizes a number of months of exercises, where the soldiers of the
brigade performed various maneuvers in the field.
"There were many different acts in the exercise," said Colonel (res.) Gil
Schwartzman. "It combined different types of warfare, in daytime and at night."
A large number of
reservist forces were called for the drill, as well as to instruct the regular
service soldiers based on their experience. "Everyone learned something from
the drill. Both those who participated in the actual exercises and those
instructing and orchestrating it," said Colonel (res.) Schwartzman. "The
reservists came to help and instruct; we like to call it 'quality education'.
The veterans teach the younger soldiers."
The medical teams of the formation also participated in the wide- scale training
drill. "The medical aspect of the drill placed emphasis on the integration of
the teams into the combatant forces, in order to better assist the medical team
in time of war," explained Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Tarif Bader, the support team
medical officer.
During the training drill, the medical team evacuated wounded from the field,
while riding tanks, armored personnel carriers, jeeps and helicopters. "Each
brigade has a medical company composed of doctors and medics, serving as a
medical services body away from the front lines," explained Dr. Bader. "The
battalion aid station evacuates the wounded to the medical battalion or to
hospitals. In the exercise, all of the battalion aid stations of the units which
were exercising went through exercises as well."
"This drill
contained many 'acts' and each progressing one showed great improvements," he
summarized. "Each of the exercises that were conducted will greatly help us
during real war, but hopefully we won't get to that point. This was an exercise
whose scale has not been seen for many years in the Golan Heights."
This training drill simulates a time of war ", said Alon, commander of the team
in the engineering company of the Golani Brigade, after finishing exercises by
Mt. Edom.
"Of course, thank God, there were neither real enemies, nor wounded soldiers and
casualties. However, the exercise level was very high. I really feel that this
drill as well as the exercises we conducted in recent months greatly benefited
our preparedness level."
Prominent features
in the background of the drill were the purple berets of the Givati brigade
officers, who came to inspect the drill. Additionally, they were looking to pick
up tips for their brigade's upcoming training drill, set to take place in the
next few months.
"Everyone's contribution helped make a drill of this level possible. I feel that
it will be remembered as a success", said Schwartzman about the drill. "Steady
progress can be seen when analyzing the exercise, and it is certainly
satisfactory."
The preceding story
was provided by the Israel Defense Forces
(Return to top)
_____________________ Olmert shuffles ministers in his coalition
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—The
Government on Wednesday, July 4, unanimously approved the appointment of
MKs Haim Ramon and Ruhama Avraham as ministers. The Government also approved the
following reassignments:
Minister Meir Shetrit will serve as Interior Minister. Minister Zeev Boim will
serve as Minister of Construction and Housing. Minister Yaacov Edri will
serve as Minister of Immigrant Absorption and will be responsible for the
development of the Galilee and the Negev.
Minister Ramon will serve as Vice Premier in the Prime Minister’s Office. He
will be involved in all areas of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s duties, including
in the diplomatic-security sphere, according to the Prime Minister’s
consideration.
Minister Avraham will be responsible for Government-Knesset liaison.Minister
Yitzhak Herzog will be responsible for the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer will chair the Ministerial Committee on the
Non-Jewish Sector. Minister Gideon Ezra will join the Judges Selection Committee.
The preceding story was provided by Prime Minister Olmert's office
(Return to top)
___________ EU Parliament President Pottering seeks new
Madrid-style Mideast peace conference
BRUSSELS (Press
Release)—Hans-Gert Pöttering MEP, the president of the European Parliament, has
called for an international Middle East peace conference to be convened under
the aegis of the Quartet. ‘’I am convinced that in the current situation, we
need a multilateral approach to solve the Mideast conflict,’’ Pöttering told a
conference organized by the Socialist group of the European Parliament in
Brussels. He gave as a model the Madrid conference in 1999.
The German
Christian-Democrat, who visited several Mideast countries last month as part of
his first trip abroad since his election at the head of the parliament, urged
Israel to support Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas and to avoid previous
failures by driving him into a corner. ‘’Israel must give Abbas the chance to
regain the confidence of 65 percent of the Palestinians who elected him as
president in 2006,’’ Pöttering said. He also called on Israel to release the
Palestinian legislators and other politicians arrested by Israel but made no
reference to the fate of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit kidnapped one year ago by
Palestinians near the Gaza Strip. The Brussels two-day conference was attended
by politicians, academics and high-level experts.
In a communiqué issued at
the end of the conference, the Socialist group’s leadership said that talks
between Palestinians should be urgently revived to allow the formation of a new
government "in the spirit of reconciliation and national unity".
The preceding story was provided by the World
Jewish Congress
(Return to top)
_______________ Sarkozy, Brown chat by phone with Olmert JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening, July 4,spoke with British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown and congratulated him on his appointment. The Prime
Minister wished his British counterpart success and congratulated the British
people on the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston.
Prime Minister Olmert expressed his appreciation the recent actions of the
British security forces in thwarting bomb attacks.
The two men agreed to meet soon and to maintain close ties in order to advance
bilateral relations, as was the case when British Prime Minister Brown served as
Chancellor of the Exchequer. The British Prime Minister said that Prime
Minister Olmert was a close friend who is active for peace and that he is
interested in jointly advancing the regional peace process.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday, spoke with French President Nicolas
Sarkozy. The two men discussed developments on the Palestinian track following
Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen’s recent visit to Paris. They agreed
to meet soon in order to advance bilateral relations and the peace process.
French President Sarkozy said that he was a true friend of the State of Israel
and the Jewish People and added that he intends to work to strengthen bilateral
relations.
The preceding story was provided by Prime Minister Olmert's office
Discourage ties with Iran, EU
delegation urged
JERUSALEM (Press Release) —Israel’s prime
minister Ehud Olmert has asked European Union member states to discourage any
contact with Iranian businesses in order to weaken the current Iranian regime.
Economic sanctions could be efficient if they were strongly implemented by the
international community, Olmert told a delegation of European Friends of Israel
(EFI) in Jerusalem. The group, led by Belgian member of the European Parliament
Férdérique Ries, is currently on a four-day visit to Israel.
Olmert told the delegation, which
comprises legislators from eleven European countries: "We must think about the
recent riots in Iran provoked by the lack of gas in the country. EU countries
must discourage any contact with Iranian business in order to weaken the regime.
Europe is of great importance in the struggle against a nuclear Iran. The
sanctions on Iran are doing their part but it is possible to impose other
sanctions, not just economic, such as the denial of entry visas to Iranian
passport holders."
The preceding story was provided by the World Jewish Congress
Tzipi-Benaissa talks included status of
holy places PARIS (Press Release)—Vice
Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi is currently in Paris for meetings
with French Persident Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
On
Wednesday, July 4, FM Livni also met for the first time with her Moroccan
counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa. They discussed the era after the
Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of the new Palestinian
government headed by Salad Fayyad, noting that despite the difficult situation
which this takeover Foreign
ministers Livni and Benaissa*
has caused on the ground, it has also created a new opportunity to move forward
in the political process.
Another issue raised during the meeting was that of the holy
sites in Jerusalem. Morocco has a keen interest in this subject, as Moroccan
King Mohammed VI serves as Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee - the Islamic
committee responsible for the holy sites in Jerusalem on behalf of the Arab
League.
The preceding story was provided by Israel's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
*Photo:
Guillaume Bureau
Latin American legislators converge
on Jerusalem for
seminars, tours
JERUSALEM (Press Release)—The Latin American
Division of the MFA, in collaboration with the Knesset, will hold a unique
five-day seminar starting Sunday, 8 July 2007.
All of the 22 participants attending the seminar
are either MPs or senators of Latin American countries. The aim of the seminar
is to allow the participants direct exposure to Israeli reality, to Israel's
policy positions and to relevant regional issues.
This is the third time this seminar, a major
project of the MFA's Latin American Division, is being held. This seminar is
based of the success of the two previous seminars, held in 2003 and 2005, in
which almost 50 delegates participated.
Among the participants to the current seminar are
the chairman of the Uruguayan parliament, the presidents of the Brazillian and
Mexican foreign committees, heads of ruling and opposition parties, and
presidential nominees. Previous experience has shown that response to these
seminars is extremely positive, and that the participants return to their home
countries to favorably promote Israeli positions.
The seminar program combines three main
components:
a. Lectures on Israeli, Middle Eastern and
governmental topics by lecturers from academic institutions, government
administration and the MFA.
b. Briefings and meetings with senior political and governmental figures,
including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Director-General of the MFA, the
Deputy Speaker of the Knesset and chairmen of various Knesset committees.
c. Study tours of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the north.
The
preceding story was provided by Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Europe
French
officials welcome American Jewish Committee
PARIS (Press Release) —An American Jewish Committee delegation concluded a
three-day visit to Paris for meetings with officials of the new government and
other leading personalities.
Among the highlights of the visit were discussions with Jean-David Levitte,
diplomatic advisor to President Nicolas Sarkozy; Bernard Kouchner, minister of
Foreign Affairs; Catherine Albanel, minister of Culture and Communication; David
Martinon, spokesman for President Sarkozy; U.S. Ambassador Craig Stapleton;
Israeli Ambassador Daniel Shek, and Richard Prasquier, the recently elected
president of CRIF, the umbrella body of French Jewry.
The AJC group also met with key officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs,
Interior, and Justice, and were invited to participate, together with visiting
U.S. Representative Robert Wexler, (Democrat, Forida) Chairman of the Europe
Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a roundtable discussion
on trans-Atlantic relations and the Middle East, sponsored by the weekly news
magazine L'Express and broadcast through its website.
The principal topics of discussion during the meetings centered on the Middle
East, including Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Israeli-Palestinian issues - as well
as the ongoing challenge of global anti-Semitism.
"We were very pleased with our meetings and the warmth of the reception we
received," said David A. Harris, AJC's Executive Director. "There appears to be
an ever-increasing convergence of views on the key challenges facing France and
the United States in the Middle East. This is most welcome, and augurs well for
the likelihood of success in confronting the serious threats to regional and
global security."
The AJC group also had the opportunity to meet privately with Tzippi Livni,
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was in Paris to see President Sarkozy
and Minister Kouchner, and with a high-level Moroccan delegation that had
traveled to Paris for meetings with French counterparts and with Minister Livni.
The meeting between Minister Livni and Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed
Benaissa was the first public ministerial meeting between the two countries in
more than three years.
AJC's Paris office, one of six in Europe, is directed by Valérie Hoffenberg.
AJC delegations frequently travel to France for meetings with government
officials, policy analysts, and Jewish community leaders.
Latvia's president dedicates Holocaust memorial
RIGA, Latvia (Press Release)—Politicians and Jewish leaders have inaugurated a
memorial honoring Latvians who tried to save Jews during World War II.
President Vaira Vike-Freiberga unveiled the monument, a large white wall tilting
on short legs that are inscribed with the names of those who saved Jews. "These
people, 269 in all if I am not mistaken, put their lives to risk. This was a
special kind of heroism," Vike-Freiberga told the 200 people gathered at the
ceremony in downtown Riga.
The memorial, designed by local artist Elina Lazdina, is located on the site of
a synagogue that was burned down on 4 July 1941, killing an unidentified number
of Jews who had hidden inside. Seventy thousand Jews were killed in Latvia
during the war. (Return to top)
United States
of America
Weiner announces
committee hearing to grill U.S. National
Park Service on why Lady Liberty's crown remains closed
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(Press Release)-— Rep. Anthony Weiner (Democrat, New York), a member of the
House of Representatives Energy & Commerce and Judiciary Committees, announced
Congressional hearings into the reopening of the Statue of Liberty, which
remains the only national park to remain closed since the attacks of 9/11.
Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (Democrat, ARizona), Chairman of the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands announced they will hold hearings
this summer to review management of the Statue and the decision to keep Lady
Liberty's crown closed.
While
Lady Liberty’s base, pedestal, and observation deck were reopened in August
2004, her crown – and the observation deck it houses – remain closed. The
Statue’s crown is the only site overseen by the National Park Service that has
yet to re-open since 9/11. The National Park Service overseas such sites as the
Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
The Interior
Department’s failure to reopen Lady Liberty has had a profound impact on New
York City’s economy. Since her crown was closed to the public, the Statue has
seen a 40.8% drop in visitors. This loss of 2.24 million tourists has cost New
Yorkers millions in lost economic benefits.
Weiner has been a
longtime vocal critic of the Park Service’s failure in “courage and imagination”
to reopen the Statue. Last week, Weiner’s legislation which provides the
National Parks Service with $1 million in the Interior Appropriations bill for
the purpose of reopening the Statue of Liberty unanimously passed the U.S. House
of Representatives.
In April 2004, Weiner
called on the Government Accounting Office (GAO) - the non-partisan, chief
investigative arm of Congress - to initiate a federal investigation into the
fund raising practices of the Statue of Liberty—Ellis Island Foundation.
The Foundation, a
non-profit organization, said they were working in partnership with the National
Park Service to raise the funds to reopen the Statue. But while the Foundation
raised sufficient funds to re-open the statue, Lady Liberty remains closed.
“The
National Parks Service has repeatedly ignored the will of Congress to reopen
Lady Liberty and send a strong message that
America will never yield in the face of terror,” said
Weiner. “These hearings will finally allow us to get answers why the Parks
Service is choosing to deny this generation of guests the thrill that
many of us first had as children – gazing at the New York landscape through the
iconic crown of the Statue of Liberty.”
My thanks to Abe & Bea Goldberg and Ruth Kropveld for sharing photos of
their family cruise on Holland America's Ryndam.
Please
Call Nancy Harrison at (619) 265-0808 to help you book a cruise from San
Diego or anywhere. Or click this ad to go right to her
email, or you can key in
sdheritage@cox.net
Aboard Holland America Ryndam
San Diego to Mexico cruising
Indonesian crew show
aboard Ryndam
Commentary
Your letters to
sdheritage@cox.net, or to San Diego
Jewish World, PO Box 19363,
San Diego, CA,
(USA) 92119. Please include the name of the city where you live.
Rationalizing the irrational: the
excuse Jews make to avoid acknowledging Arab hatred
ENGLEWOOD,
N.J.—Quite frequently there is significant evidence in the press about a
particular event to understand what is transpiring, yet at times we seem unable
to analyze the information, assimilate it or comprehend its import. Part of the
problem is a predilection not to accept what is unpleasant. Denial becomes the
response. Additionally, confronting the truth, especially when a situation
concerns us deeply is difficult to acknowledge because it might require some
form of action that could disrupt our lives.
During the Shoah, most Jews in Europe and the U.S. were unable to comprehend
what the Nazis were planning because there was no historical precedent for the
systematic, bureaucratically administered destruction of a people—and especially
one scattered throughout Europe. In November 1942, Jan Karski, a member of the
Polish underground resistance movement, met with leaders of the West in London
and in July 1943 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to inform them of his
first hand account of the Nazi effort to destroy the Jews of Europe. Karski also
met with U. S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter accompanied by
Frankfurter’s friend, the Polish ambassador in exile. After Karski told
Frankfurter what he had seen in the Warsaw Ghetto and in an extermination camp,
Frankfurter said he could not believe it. When the ambassador protested,
Frankfurter said he was not calling Karski a liar, but that he could not accept
the information. Either Frankfurter found the thought of Jews being killed in
this fashion inconceivable or he knew that if he acknowledged the systematic
destruction he would have to act publicly in their defense.
After having experienced the Shoah, the idea that a group might seek to destroy
the Jewish people should not seem like such an alien concept, yet that is
precisely the way some Israelis and American Jews act when it comes to the
Arab/Israeli conflict. Attacks against Israel by Arab religious and political
leaders are a real threat to their very being as a nation and a people.
Accusations that Jews are Satan, sons of apes and pigs, and evil are not just
words—they have motivated Arab homicide bombers and other Arab murderers into
indiscriminately maiming and killing Jewish men, women and children on buses, in
cars, restaurants and in their homes.
Some Israelis are willing to overlook public pronouncements in the Arab media
that call for the destruction of Israel and the Jewish people. They seem
oblivious to the impact Arab textbooks claiming Israel is illegitimate have on
students. They ignore clear violations of agreements made with the Jewish state,
and statements challenging any Jewish connection to sacred sites in the country.
Rarely is anything said when the Holocaust is denied. With all of the Arab
demonization of Jews, Israel and the denial of their right to live in the Land
of Israel, there are many Israelis who staunchly adhere to the notion that Arabs
want peace.
What do the Arabs
have to say or do before Jews acknowledge the true extent of Arab hatred and
their ultimate goal to obliterate Jewish presence from Israel? Why do Israeli
officials lower themselves to meet with a Holocaust denier who also rejects
their historical connection to the Land of Israel? In other words, is there any
way for us to understand this self-destructive and suicidal conduct?
Kenneth Levin, a
clinical psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, offers one of the most credible
explanations for this aberrant behavior when he says that Israelis are in “state
of chronic siege,” which causes them to seek ways out of their stressful lives.
Their search for a more normal existence has produced “the Oslo approach,” which
is founded on “wishful thinking” that has no connection to “reality.” Those
maintaining this view in the face of contradictory evidence and who will not
tolerate any debate are textbook “delusional,” Levin says. Jews who question
Arab motivation are called “enemies of peace,” similar to those engaged in
anti-Israel terror. (Jump to
continuation)
Jews
in the News
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like you, we're pleased when members of our community are
praiseworthy, and are disappointed when they are blameworthy. Whether
it's good news or bad news, we'll try to keep track of what's being said in
general media about our fellow Jews.
Our news spotters are Dan Brin in Los Angeles, Donald H. Harrison in San Diego,
and you. Wherever you are, if you see a story of interest, please send a
summary and link to us at sdheritage@cox.net
and we'll acknowledge your tip at the end of the column.
To
see a source story click on the link within the respective paragraph.
*As former
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan publishes a book, makes
speeches, and earns money as a consultant, his successor Ben Bernanke
is blazing a quieter path. A
story by Greg Burns of the Chicago Tribune is in today's San
Diego Union-Tribune.
*Freed BBC reporter Alan Johnston said the group which captured him, the
Army of Islam, seemed less interested in the Israel-Palestinian
conflict and more interested in "getting a knife into Britain in some way."
He added in a news conference in Jerusalem that he does not wish to return
to Gaza. The Associated Press
story by Matti Friedman and Steve Weizman is in today's San Diego
Union-Tribune.
*The commutation of the prison sentence of I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby,
former chief of staff of Vice President Dick Cheney, remains a top news
item. An Associated Press
story by Ron Fournier in today's San Diego Union-Tribune suggests
every politician from the President on down is engaged in some form of
hypocrisy in their public statements about the case. And, Robert Novak, the
columnist to whom the leak about Valerie Plame Wilson being an undercover
CIA agent started the case, suggested in
today's column that President Bush should have simply pardoned Libby, as
either way he would have caught heat from critics.
*In its world
briefs column, today's San Diego Union-Tribune contains three
Associated Press items of Mideast interest. First, Israel's Foreign
Minister Tzipi Livni met in Paris with Morocco's Foreign Minister
Mohamed Benaissa, despite the fact that the two
countries do not have formal diplomatic relations. Second, in a clash
about a mile inside the Gaza Strip, near the Bureij refugee camp, four
Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli troops. Third, a
demonstration was held in Rome to protest discrimination in the Muslim world
against Christians, which has forced many Christians to flee.
*Adonis
Irwin, 32, was sentenced to nine months in jail and three years probation
for the vandalizing the office of Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss
with paste-on swastikas—a hate crime. The Associated Press
brief is in today's San Diego Union-Tribune.
Watching the media gathering
and reporting the news
of Jewish interest
Date: July 5, 2007
Time: Noon, Eastern time
Place: United Nations, New York
Spokesman: Marie Okabe, Deputy Spokesperson, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Source: United Nations Transcript
Subject: Israel-Palestinians
Question: Is there any reaction
of the Secretary-General to the continuing Israeli attacks in Gaza?
Almost 20 people were killed during the last few days. I wonder if
there is any reaction from you.
Deputy Spokesperson: I don’t
have any specific reaction today. I think his past remarks would
apply in the continuing situation on the ground there.
Question: Most of the attacks
have targeted Hamas and militants, and
they killed civilians too. The lack of comments means that since
Hamas are getting killed, it doesn’t
matter from the UN’s point of view?
Deputy Spokesperson: No, it
does not mean that. The Secretary-General is always very concerned
about the civilian casualties on the ground, no matter where they
take place. The fact that there is no statement daily does not
reflect his position on that.
Date: July 5, 2007
Time: 12:38 p.m. Eastern time
Place: Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Spokesman: Scott Stanzel, Deputy Press Secretary
Source: White House Transcript
Subject: U.S., Britain, Middle East
Q I've got three British, Middle East-type questions. The first one -- has
President Bush personally been in touch with Prime Minister Gordon Brown on
the terrorism of the past week?
MR.
STANZEL: Not that I'm aware of. But, certainly, U.S. officials have been in
regular contact with their counterparts in the U.K., so those conversations
are frequent and very involved and regular.
Q Can the
U.S. consider Great Britain a full ally when Prime Minister Brown has said
that the war on terror is a phrase that won't be used anymore?
MR.
STANZEL: We absolutely consider the U.K. a very valued partner and a full
ally.
Q And
third, has the U.S. attitude toward Hamas changed in any way in light of the
release of Alan Johnston?
MR.
STANZEL: You know, we were pleased by the safe release of Mr. Johnston. It
was a great relief, of course, to his family and friends. And we would also
note that there's another hostage in Gaza, and that's Israeli Corporal
Shalit, and we hope that they would release him, as well. But that does not
change our attitude.
ISRAEL AND SAN DIEGO—A
letter favorable to Israel in its dispute with the Palestinians was printed
in today's San Diego Union-Tribune. It was written by Joyce Tavrow...
Loren Brent is one of the San Diegans who will be heading to Israel this
summer on the "Operation Birthright" program, which provides a free first trip
to Israel to Jewish youngsters of college age. If you, or someone in your family
are of the right age, and have never been to Israel before, this is the way to
see it. To learn more, contact the Israel Center at the United Jewish
Federation, (858) 571-3444. ... Six-year-old Shor Masori (along with his
brother Sky and mother Sandi) is visiting father Shahar's
family in Givat Olga, near Hadera. Asked by his maternal grandfather,
Don Harrison, whether he is having a good time, Shor responded over the
telephone: "Yes, they're spoiling me!"
TOURISM VIDEO—Israel's Consulate-General in Los Angeles forwarded the video on
the left, which provides a very secular look at Israel. Another video
promoting Tel Aviv takes a similar tack.
Perhaps
Shawn Green was inelegant, but he told the truth
Unless otherwise indicated, source for these stories is today's edition of The
San Diego Union-Tribune, to which we gratefully provide the links below. We do
not apply halacha to determine if a player is Jewish; rather, if he or she has a
Jewish parent or has converted to the faith, we count him or her as a member of
our community.
BASEBALL—Shawn
Green's
quote was inelegant, but truthful about the Colorado Rockies three game sweep of
their series with his New York Mets, including yesterday's 17-7 drubbing: "We
got our butts kicked all three games. They outplayed us in every way."
Green's own batting performance improved somewhat in the last game, as he went 2
for 4, with one of those hits being his 17th double. His BA is now .275.
Teammate
Scott Schoeneweispitched an inning in relief, giving up three hits and
two earned runs to the relentless Rockies batters. His ERA now is 5.68...Kevin Youkilissat out his Boston Red Sox game with the Tampa
Bay Devil Rays, while meanwhile taking seventh place on the list of the American
League's top hitters with his .329 average. The two men ahead of him with
.330 averages are Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees and Placido Polanco of
the Detroit Tigers.
TENNIS—At
Wimbledon on Wednesday, in women's doubles, Shahar Peer of Israel and
Sania Mirza of India were defeated by the combination of Lisa Raymond of the
United States and Samantha Stosur of Australia, 6-0, 6-7 (4), 6-1... Similarly,
in mixed doubles, Jonathan Erlich of Israel and Elena Vesnina of Russia
fell to the French combination of Fabrice Santoro and Severine Bremond, 6-3,
6-4.
Raymundo ringleader as Bet Shemesh beats up
Modi'in, 18-5
GEZER, Israel—Gregg Raymundo of the Bet Shemesh
Blue Sox is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in the first IBL
game he played, but you wouldn't have known it from watching the 18-5
pounding the Sox gave the Modi'in Miracle on Thursday night.
Raymundo
from Clovis, California, went 4-5 with two home runs, seven RBI, and three
runs scored to lead the Blue Sox to another victory and a 9-0 record on the
season.
For the Miracle, Dominican centerfielder Adalberto Paulino went 2-4 with
three RBI and a 2-run homer, but it wasn't enough as Modi'in drops to 4-3.
Thursday's early game between the Tel Aviv Lightning and the
Gregg
Raymundo
Netanya Tigers was a pitchers duel through six innings, but after the
seventh the Lightning stretched their lead into a lopsided 8-1 victory.
Tel
Aviv's Daniel Kaufman, from Marietta, Georgia, pitched six strong innings,
giving up just one run on three hits to go along with nine strikeouts and
three walks. Kaufman left the game after six innings with a 2-run lead, but
was given more support from the offense with a 5-run seventh inning to put
the game away. Dominican first baseman Stewart Brito upped his batting
average to .407, going 2-4 with two RBI and one run to help the Lightning
win their third consecutive game.
Daniel
Kaufman
The final game at Yarkon Field kept with the
theme of blowouts as the Ra'anana Express topped the Petach Tikva Pioneers
14-2, dropping manager Ken Holtzman's last-place club to 1-8.
Express
first baseman Scott Feller of Boca Raton, Florida, had a monster game, going
5-5 with three RBI and two runs scored. Juan Ramirez also pitched in
offensively, hitting a 2-run homerun in the second inning. Ramirez went 3-4
with three RBI and three runs scored.
Scott Feller
The Ra'anana offense didn't need all 14 runs, however, because Australian
John Thew pitched a solid complete game, giving up five hits and two runs
while striking out three batters to earn his first IBL victory.
Summaries:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Modi'in 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 11 5
Bet Shemesh 2 1 6 0 7 2 x 18 14 3
W: Rafael Bergstrom (3-0); L: Ian Okorofsky (0-1); HR: Gregg Raymundo
(2), Adalberto Paulino (1), Steve Litvack (1)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Tel Aviv 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 8 11 0
Netanya 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0
W: Daniel Kaufman (1-1); L: Rafael Rojano (1-1); HR: None
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Ra'anana 6 4 2 0 0 2 0 14 16 1
Petach Tikva 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 1
W: John Thew (1-0); L: Scott Cantor (0-2); HR: Alper Ulutas (1), Juan
Ramirez (2), Ben Field (1)
Standings:
Team W L % GB
Bet Shemesh Blue Sox 9 0 1.000 –
Tel Aviv Lightning 5 2 .714 3.0
Modi'in Miracle 4 3 .571 4.0
Netanya Tigers 2 4 .333 5.5
Ra'anana Express 2 6 .250 6.0
Petach Tikva Pioneers 1 8 .111 8.0
The Israel Baseball League apologizes for the following change in schedule
tomorrow: The Netanya Tigers take on the Ra'anana Express at 10 am at Yarkon
Field while the Tel Aviv Lightning play the Modi'in Miracle at Gezer Field
at 10 a.m. See
www.IsraelBaseballLeague.com for directions to the fields.
The preceding story was provided by the Israel
Baseball League
LIKE THIS?—Unidentified Israeli girl tries her hand at pitching a
baseball with encouragement from pitcher Josh Zumbrm of the Ra'anana
Express of the Israel Baseball League. Zumbrum, a Maryland native, played
for the Air Force Academy Israeli children
with cancer experience the joy
of baseball with players of Ra'anana Express
RA’ANANA, Israel (Press
Release) – Chaiyanu, the Israel branch of Chai Lifeline, hosted hundreds of
children with cancer and their families to an amazing outing at Park Ra’anana on
July 4th. A highlight of this event was the visit of some of the Baseball
players from the Israel Baseball League’s Ra’anana Express Baseball Team.
“They hit a home run with
every child” commented Yaakov Pinsky, director of Chaiyanu, “they played ball
not only with the sick kids but embraced the siblings and parents as well.”
When Yanai from Beer Sheva received an autographed baseball from pitcher, Travis
Zier he couldn’t stop smiling. He said “I have watched games with my Dad on the
internet I love the game but I never dreamed I would meet a real baseball player
and get a real baseball.”
Yanai’s
father said “This is a great day for all of us, Chaiyanu really gave us such
joy; I haven’t seen Yanai smile like this in months, thank you so much.” When
catcher, Jesse Michel gave Ron from Tel Aviv a baseball glove he showed him how
to wear it and how to catch as he played catch with him for over twenty minutes.
Ron’s father said “Ron wasn’t really feeling well today
Catcher Jesse Michel shows a glove
but his sister took him over to meet the team players and from that moment on he
felt great”.
Josh Zumbrun, pitcher for
Ra’anana Express, took a group of over thirty kids and showed them how to pitch,
while other children were catching and parents were enthralled by this whole
experience.
Gila.
the mother of Ruti who was just released from isolation after a Bone Marrow
transplant, said, “We started off the day with a clown show, treasure hunt, food
galore, a magic show and then the Ra’anana Baseball team came. We are originally
from Brazil and we know about baseball, so for us this was a very special treat
to play with the players and especially
Infielder Ben Katz-Moses of Ra'anana Express
poses
with some new Israeli friends at 4th of July event
with infielder, Ben
Katz-Moses who gave my husband a brand new glove. He’s been looking forward to a
new glove and couldn’t believe that at the Chaiyanu event he would get one
“When the famous singer Lior Narkis finished his concert my husband asked him to
sign his baseball glove, he was in seventh heaven!”
As Josh Zumbrun told Motti
Kornfeld, director of Community Development at Chaiyanu, "For many Israel
Baseball League players the opportunity to play professional baseball is the
realization of a lifelong dream. Yet, our presence in Israel is not nearly about
our dreams as much as it is about those in Israel - its communities and its
citizens. That's why we are here. To spread the joy that baseball has brought to
our own lives, by reaching out to the community in every opportunity."
Andrew Wilson,
communication manager of the IBL who made the connection between Chaiyanu and
the IBL said, “Thank you for inviting us to your event yesterday. The players
truly had a great time interacting with the children. I hope that we can
continue to come to Chaiyanu events throughout the year”.
The preceding story and photos were provided by
the Israel Baseball League
Story
Continuations
Censure resolution... (Continued from above)
Sen.
Benjamin L. Cardin (Democrat,
Maryland), July 3 (from his website)—"The president(')s decision to keep I.
Lewis "Scooter" Libby out of jail is a travesty that sends the message that the
White House and its employees are above the law and do not have to face the
consequences of their illegal actions. We are a nation of laws and a jury of his
peers convicted Mr. Libby of the serious charges of perjury and obstruction of
justice.
Today President Bush has given special treatment to one of the Vice President's
top political and legal advisors. At the very minimum the President should have
followed his own promise not to intervene in this case until Mr. Libby's appeals
were exhausted.
Rep. Steve Kagen (Democrat,
Wisconsin), July 2 (from his website)—"We
already knew that President
Bush believes
in amnesty.
Now he is telling the American people he does not believe in the Rule of Law. No
President and no individual - citizen or non-citizen - is above the Law. If
anyone violates the Law, there must be consequences equivalent to the crime."
Rep. Steve Rothman (Democrat, New Jersey), July 3 (from his website)—"We
teach our children that no one is above the law in America. But President Bush,
Vice President Cheney, and now the Vice President's former Chief of Staff, I.
Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, in their opinion, are exempt from the laws that govern
the rest of us. President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence is
a slap in the face to all Americans who count on our government to apply equal
justice across the board."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent, Vermont), July 3 (from his website)—“A
jury of his peers found Libby guilty of lying about his role in revealing the
identity of a covert C.I.A. operative,” Sanders said. “It is unfortunate that
President Bush in commuting his sentence has once again put political
considerations above the interests of our judicial system.” Libby was convicted
in March of obstructing justice and lying to a grand jury and F.B.I. agents
during a White House leak investigation. The president announced that he had
granted clemency hours after a federal appeals court denied Libby’s request to
remain free while his case is on appeal.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Democrat, Illinois), July 3 (from her website)—“I am
very disappointed by the President’s decision to commute Scooter Libby’s
sentence, but frankly I am not surprised. This decision was not based on the
facts or merits of the case; it was clearly political payback for being the
scapegoat in the Valerie Plame affair.
The Bush
Administration has been playing fast and loose with the law since the first day
they took office. Whether it’s authorizing warrantless wiretapping, suspending
habeas corpus, torturing prisoners at Abu Ghraib or revealing the identity of an
undercover CIA agent for political payback, the Bush Administration has
constantly shown a blatant disregard for the rule of law. Instead of enforcing
the law, the Bush Administration has defended and even rewarded people, like
Scooter Libby, who have broken the law.
I strongly
believe that this is the most corrupt Administration in the history of our
country. At every turn, this Administration has abused its power, ignored the
law and used fear to manipulate the American people for political gain.”
Rep.
Allyson Y. Schwartz (Democrat,
Pennsylvania), July 3 (from her website)—"The decision of President Bush to
commute the prison sentence of Scooter Libby is outrageous. We have long known
the President considers himself unaccountable to the American people, and it is
now crystal clear: he considers all members of his Administration above the law.
This choice by the President demonstrates yet another case of his terrible lack
of judgment. Scooter Libby lied to a grand jury and he lied to the FBI, but the
President apparently believes Libby’s lies were acceptable."
Rationalizing the irrational... (Continued from above)
Israelis are
influenced by a number of factors Levin explains. The so-called “new historians”
who rewrote Israeli history convinced a substantial number of Israelis that
Israel was at fault for the occupation of the territories and that its military
aggressiveness is prolonging the conflict. This in turn has created an impetus
among some Israelis to pressure Israel to relinquish the territories, which they
claim would end the hostilities and herald a new era of peace. That so many
Israelis see Israel as the aggressor is quite surprising in view of what really
happened: The Arabs rejected the UN partition plan in 1947 and five Arab
countries invaded Israel after it was declared a state in 1948. In 1967, the Six
Day War was precipitated by Egypt’s closing of the Straits of Tiran (Israel's
primary shipping route to the south and especially for oil), a casus belli
(an act of war) in of itself, the blockade of the port of Eliat and the
escalation of border fighting along the Egyptian and Syrian fronts. In 1973 the
Arabs attacked Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.
Unrelenting verbal
and physical attacks to undermine and destroy the Jewish State are ignored,
while the Arabs responsible for these actions are presented as “moderate” in
their behavior and in their expectations of what Israel must do to ensure peace
in the region. In particular, Israel is being asked to mend its ways and to be
more accommodating in its concessions to the Arabs.
Levin considers this attitude delusional since it fails to acknowledge the
limited importance Arabs attach to Israeli actions. For a century, for example,
Israelis have touted the power of economic inducements to bring social stability
to Arab countries and act as a disincentive to radicalism. This approach fails
to take into account the lack of significance Arabs view commerce with Israel
when compared to the economic potential of working with half a billion Arabs.
Ironically, as Arab wealth has increased, ideologically motivated extremists
have more funds to pursue their aggressive agendas.
Israelis also fail to consider the need for Arab regimes to keep Israel at arm’s
length in order to placate the fundamentalists who threaten them. That Egypt has
reneged on practically all of it agreements of the 1978 Camp David treaty is
also ignored.
Israel has no control in determining when the Arabs will decide that peace
should come to the Middle East, Levin opines. That will only happen when the
Arabs themselves believe that it is in their interest to stop the fighting. In
other words, Israel’s military should be able to prevent the Arabs from winning
a war, “but they cannot force peace.” This reality is so painful that some
Israelis “take refuge in delusions of Israeli culpability,” regardless of all
the evidence to the contrary.
The tendency to withdraw “to delusions of transgression, and of salvation
through self-reform and concessions, is common, even endemic, within communities
under siege,” Levin says. In psychiatric literature they describe this as
“Jewish-self hatred” or “identification with the aggressor.” Attributing
antisemitic caricatures to fellow Jews is another manifestation of this
pathology. Assuming responsibility for something over which you have no control
is similar to an abused child who feels responsible for his plight and views
himself as “bad.” The child maintains, “the fantasy that if he becomes good
enough,” his father will cease hitting him, his mother will give him attention
and whatever other form of abuse he suffered will stop.
The “fellowship fallacy”—that the Palestinians share Jewish values, goals and
positions is another myth that pervades some Israel circles. Having met
informally or in public forums with high-level individuals from the territories
who are connected to the PLO, the Israelis hear statements that are less
antagonistic and more reasonable than heard from the PLO leadership. They assume
that these conciliatory words are what the PLO would really agree to in
negotiations with Israel. Such was the case after informal discussions with
Faisal Husseini, the leading spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization
in the disputed territories. In October1989, Husseini proclaimed, “The
Palestinian Peace Camp has won, and now leads the PLO and the Palestinian
people.”
In a November 1992
speech to an Arab youth group in Amman, Jordan, however, Husseini declared, “We
have not conceded and will not surrender any of the existing commitments that
have existed for more than 70 years… We have within our Palestinian and united
Arab society the ability to deal with a divided Israeli society….We must force
Israeli society to cooperate…with our Arab society, and eventually dissolve the
‘Zionist entity.’” During the Oslo period, he asserted that their objective was
to establish a Palestinian state “from the river to the sea.”
The attitude toward
Husseini illustrates the willingness of many Israelis to overestimate words of
encouragement and underestimate the contradictory and inflammatory rhetoric he
expressed to others. This situation continued under Yasser Arafat whose
assurances about his yearning for peace would, incredibly, be accepted with
greater credibility than his speeches and statements to the Arab media and
public, and the racist curricula taught in Palestinian schools. The same
attitude seems to be operating with regard to Mahmoud Abbas, the president of
the Palestine Authority.
Those who challenge
these myths are attacked as racists and extremists for denying the humanity of
the Arabs and their feelings and aspirations. Mordecai Bar-On, a founder of
Peace Now, believed that part of the reason for this intolerance was due to a
lack of education and upbringing, which breeds less tolerance and an inability
to understand the “other” and complex issues. This would account, he said, for
the Sephardic community’s mistrust of Arabs. Distrust could also be found among
elements of the Ashkenazi community that were less educated and were more
traditional in background and practice.
Still another
popular myth is that Arabs cannot be antisemitic since they themselves are
Semites. If Arabs think that they cannot be antisemitic, it's out "of either
ignorance or bad faith," declares Bernard Lewis, one the world's leading experts
on Islam and the Middle East. "Semite, like Aryan, is a classification of
language, not of race or nationality. The misuse of both these terms originated
in the same quarters, and serves the same purpose." Antisemitism has never "been
directed against any but Jews, and this has been well understood by all
concerned. The Nazis saw no difficulty in simultaneously hating Jews and
courting Arabs, and there were few Arabs who likewise found no difficulty in
responding to this courtship."
The Egyptian
intellectual Dr. Mamoun Fendi, a columnist for the London Arabic-language daily
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, also refuted the argument incessantly discussed in the Arab
media—that the Arabs are Semites and accordingly cannot be antisemites. "When
Arabs respond to accusations of antisemitism with the argument that 'we are
Semites,' he said, "the West laughs... because the term antisemitism as it is
understood here in the West, is not the result of an anthropological
classification of the races. The 'semitism,' of the concept of 'antisemitism' is
mostly connected to the Jewish holocausts in Europe—that is, to the hatred of
those people [the Jews], which led directly to the gas chambers in which the
Jews were cremated. Therefore, when some Arabs say 'We are Semites,' the
ordinary man [asks]: 'When exactly were the Arabs cremated in the gas chambers
of Europe, and how are the Arabs connected to this?' Of course the Arabs were
not cremated by the Nazis. Therefore, the Arabs' claim that they are 'Semites'
is... an attempt to shove themselves into someone else's history.
"There are [in the
West]... some who ask whether this [Arab] attempt to shake free [of charges of
antisemitism] is connected to the Arabs' denial of this history, and that
therefore, they stand in the same ranks as Europe's Neo-Nazis who deny that the
gas chambers existed and that the Holocaust [ever] happened. While Germany
purifies itself of this historical crime, we find that some Arabs celebrate the
event [i.e. the Holocaust]."
Denying Israel's
right to exist "has clear genocidal implications," asserts Holocaust historian
Yehuda Bauer. There is little doubt that abolishing the Jewish state would
result in the "wholesale murder of its citizens."
After the Israelis
defeated the Arabs in the War of Independence, Ben-Gurion said "The Arab people
will not be reconciled to the fact that six hundred thousand Jews defeated them;
and this will remain a critical issue for us for a long time." He also
recognized the Arabs would not be deterred from liquidating the Jewish
State—that they would take every opportunity to achieve a strategic advantage,
and that they believed time was on their side: "It should not be assumed that
the defeat has restrained them from [wishing to] extirpate us from our land.
They are certain, with some justification that time is on their side. Ten,
fifty, a hundred or two hundred years. They have a classic example right here in
the country—the eleventh-century Crusader conquest. A Christian state rose[and]
thrived for decades, [but] eventually the Muslim world overpowered and totally
annihilated it."
Israeli Prime
Minister Golda Meir also understood the extent of this hatred when on October
16, 1973, she warned members of the Knesset: "I have never doubted for an
instant that the true aim of the Arab states has always been, and still is, the
total destruction of the State of Israel, or that even if we had gone back far
beyond the 1967 lines to some miniature enclave, they would not still have tried
to eradicate it and us."
Golda realized that
Arab leaders like Yasser Arafat were telling the truth when they openly declared
that there was no solution to the Arab/Israeli conflict other than the
destruction of the Jewish state. Yet, there is a predisposition in the West to
disregard whatever the Arabs say as insignificant since it does not reflect what
they really mean or will do, observes professor Gil Carl AlRoy.
This theory blames
the Arabic language for this disconnect. At best, the correlation between words
and action is unpredictable and random. Christian missionaries spread the
patronizing notion that Arabs were wonderfully mischievous children.
Most scholars reject
such views about the Arabic language. There is no ambiguity. Special emphasis is
added to ensure that what was said, was intentionally said and is clearly
understood. And therefore, failure to destroy Israel should not be misconstrued
as a lack of commitment to achieving that goal. In the West, journalists and
diplomats tend to highlight the discrepancy between what Arab leaders say in
public and in private. When Arab leaders make a public statement that affronts
Westerners, it is rejected as being meant only for Arab public consumption, for
the street, while in private these same leaders are amiable and conciliatory.
Levin and others
have done a great service by diagnosing the irrational behavior of many Israelis
and Jews who persist in acting out their fantasies. If we are to move beyond
this delusion, to accept the situation as it is instead of what we wish it to
be, we need to understand the nature of this pathology, which has caused
tremendous damage to Israel and the Jewish people. We cannot afford to
“rationalize the irrational.” The future of the Jewish state is at stake.